The ultimate compliment would be to say that you are overjoyed at no longer having to coach against him. And to add to this useless piece of information... what exactly were these guys supposed to say?
Even when my neighbor's favorite cat (a wild animal known to go places he was warned not to) came up missing... I still told him I was sorry for his loss and hoped the little fella "landed on his feet".
Even though I may have known what happened to the cat... I'm a classy guy when it comes to telling you what you want to hear. I may have made a good coach.