Coach Boone is an enigmatic hero, a self-made tyrant of tremendous pride and principle, seemingly impassive yet also easily wounded. Boone knows it's not quite fair to take Yoast's job, but is far too ambitious to refuse. He wants to coach a winning football team, and he believes that crushing his players' wills with brutal, military-style discipline is ultimately the best thing he can do for them. You could argue that he's right. Coach Boone forces the black and white players to room together at camp, sit next to each other on the bus and even learn details of one another's lives.
Water is for cowards.
Water makes you weak. When Boone forces his lads into a deadly 3 a.m. run, Yoast begins to think his new boss has crossed the line into sadistic mania. But wait, there's a plan. Boone's training camp is at Gettysburg College, and he wants his players to see the battlefield cemetery at dawn. If we don't come together on this hallowed ground, we'll be destroyed just like they were.