I feel like this is heading for the same argument as a few weeks ago.
As with the NCAAs, I think Greer did okay for himself. He put himself out there; perhaps he could have held back a bit or waited another 50 meters to make his kick given the fast pace. But I quite simply, as the case in the NCAAs, he wasn't going to be in the top 3 tonight no matter how he ran--Symmonds, KD, and Solomon were all on and would have been hard to take down, whatever the strategy.
For Greer to be competitive in the Olympic Trials final as a college junior is an accomplishment. If anything, good coaching help get there, and it wasn't the primary factor preventing him for a top 3 finish.
As for Jock, he did what he always does, nothing new there. How would we have known even a week ago that he would not have anything left in the tank at this point? His tactics have worked for him before, but he apparently wasn't in top form this week. Hopefully he'll be fresher for these races in the future.