How about Casablanca? Have you seen Casablanca?
If you have never watched it, and if you are thinking that it will be stale and out-of-date, then you are in for a treat.
Casablanca is a flat-out great movie.
Much, much better than Last Picture Show.
Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (A Brave New World Awaits...)
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If you have never watched it, and if you are thinking that it will be stale and out-of-date, then you are in for a treat.
Casablanca is a flat-out great movie.
Much, much better than Last Picture Show.
Why can’t we just money whip for Banks and Raymond. I’m sure they can be bought. Also what’s Sark’s aversion to keeping a Natty winning DC on staff who the players like and had defense improving ?
We're a little more than 24 hours away from a brave, new, burnt orange world.
After sharing new Texas coach Steve Sarkisian for the past eight days, No. 1 Alabama takes on No. 3 Ohio State in a national championship game with more subplots than season three of Cobra Kai.
It’s Texas’ latest source of inspiration (the Church of Saban) vs. its 2016 source of inspiration (the former Church of Meyer).
It figures to be a little surreal for Longhorns everywhere, as Sarkisian will showcase his abilities and offensive mind with all of the best toys available to him, while reminding everyone that a big leap for the Texas program is easier talked about than executed.
The Alabama machine, going for its fifth national championship in the last decade, wasn't made overnight. Same with Ohio State. The culture of the program was re-established in 2013 under Urban Meyer, and nearly a decade later, the machine is still rolling.
This is essentially a three-school sport with room for an anomaly. It's Alabama, Ohio State and Clemson. You'll get an occasional LSU unicorn. Or an FSU in 2013. Or Auburn in 2010. The only way you're crashing through the championship triumvirate is by having the best quarterback in college football and a TON of NFL talent to go with it.
Oklahoma has owned Texas and the rest of the Big 12 over the last six seasons, and the Sooners don’t measure up to the kings of the sport.
That's the step Texas is going to attempt under Sarkisian, but there are no shortcuts to getting there.
Having the best quarterback play in the Big 12 isn't good enough. The best in the country might get you an invitation to the party, but there's no guarantee you'll be able to hang around beyond midnight. Just ask Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.
Not until the Longhorns have a roster stacked with NFL talent and an elite quarterback at the same time should anyone begin to mention the "playoff" unless they want to sneak in as the No. 4 seed and be exposed.
It's not enough to be as good as Oklahoma, not if the goal is Sarkisian back in the title game as a play-calling head coach.
When Sarkisian gets that Alabama offense rolling on Monday with the likes of Heisman winner DeVonta Smith, Najee Harris and possibly even former Texas prep star Jaylen Waddle, understand that what we're watching is the zenith of the sport.
Sarkisian will bring the inspiration and the blueprint. We're going to see first-hand what it can look like when it can all come together and stay together for years at a time.
Before Texas can run under Sarkisian, it must learn to walk.
Day one is almost upon us.
No. 2 - The comfort of having Sark ...
It shouldn't be long now until the full Texas coaching staff is announced and ready to work. As things currently stand, a few thoughts stand out.
a. It's a hell of a thing to have a head coach that is in control of the offense.
In retrospect, it's stunning that Tom Herman was hired to be the head coach at Texas when he wasn't the key to his own offensive success. It makes the eventual hire of Tim Beck as the play-calling offensive coordinator quite stunning to consider a few years later because of the importance of the position within the program.
Sarkisian takes care of that as his offensive mastermind, ala Lincoln Riley, which really does make putting together the rest of the offensive staff quite easier. The staff surrounding Sarkisian needs to have a combination of cohesion from Alabama and impactful teacher/recruiter types.
Quarterback coach A.J. Milwee and offensive line/offensive coordinator Kyle Flood joining Sarkisian's staff should prove to be critical. Holmon Wiggins would give the Longhorns a combination of both needs in the same spot, which is ideal. Although he started somewhat slowly as an impact recruiter, holdover Stan Drayton can check those boxes.
If there's anything that's truly missing from this offensive staff at this point, it's a leave-no-doubt-about-it-badass-recruiting-machine to support an offensive staff that looks rock solid, but perhaps lacks an exclamation mark in recruiting. That's the kind of role that Alabama tight ends coach Jeff Banks was supposed to fill.
No. 3 - The DC hire is easier planned than executed. ...
It's not that Sarkisian has aimed small. The first call went to Will Muschamp, and I suppose we'll all have to forgive him if returning to the scene of an old job that is probably half as appealing as it was more than a decade ago wasn't enough. That Sarkisian has made a run at Dan Quinn, a name that might be the most notable defensive coordinator available in the NFL at the moment, is ballsy. Outside of those two names (and new Notre Dame DC Marcus Freeman), it's hard to see many defensive coordinators that Sarkisian can target who will make Texas fans believe that the dream team has been assembled.
If it comes down to Mississippi State defensive coordinator Zach Arnett or sneaky hush-hush possibility Pete Golding of Alabama because one of the few game-changing hires could not be pulled off, the Longhorns will have to settle for shopping at Macy's instead of Neiman Marcus. Sometimes you can get the same exact thing at Macy's that you'd find at Neiman Marcus, but it doesn't come in the big box with the red bow.
If it's Arnett, we're talking about one of the best young defensive coaches in the sport and a guy that nearly did the impossible in directing an impactful defense under the careless watch of Mike Leach. If Golding turns out to be the choice after the national championship game, we'd be looking at a coach that was good enough for Nick Saban for the last two seasons as a defensive coordinator, even if he is Alabama's current whipping boy. Same with Arkansas' Barry Odom. While he might not be flashy, he's regarded as a damn fine coach and would represent an excellent defensive coordinator hire for almost any school in the country.
No. 4 - The overall staff seems like it's going to be very strong ...
We're not looking at a staff making the step up from the JV.
This is a staff with a lot of college football coaching chops. Most of the offense will arrive from Alabama, possibly with rings. Stan Drayton has won a championship at Ohio State and been in the NFL. Bo Davis has won rings at Alabama and coached in the NFL. Terry Joseph has coached in multiple SEC locations and is moving from playoff-bound Notre Dame.
The final pieces still need to come together, but at worst we're probably talking about the best staff the school has owned since Mack Brown revamped his coaching staff in 2011 with the likes of Bryan Harsin, Manny Diaz, Bo Davis, Darrell Wyatt, Major Applewhite and Duane Aklina (among others). If the worst thing we can say about this coaching staff is that it'll be the best the program has seen in a decade, that’s progress.
No. 5 - A storm is brewing ...
In talking to Alabama insiders all week, you get the sense that they worry much less about Texas taking all of the Tide assistant coaches than they do of the potential impact of all this discussion taking place during the week of a national championship game.
The last time Alabama lost its offensive coordinator before a championship game, it was OC Mike Locksley taking the Maryland job, and by the time Clemson was done putting a 44-14 beatdown on Saban's squad, a lot of blame for what happened that night fell at the feet of the coaching staff.
Here we are all over again in 2020, and everyone I've talked to this week has mentioned the somewhat ominous cloud hanging over the championship game.
I guess when you have one of the best offenses of all-time and a defense full of future NFL players, there's not much to worry about outside of the coaches being distracted, but it's definitely one of the things Sarkisian has considered all week in putting his Texas staff together.
In a very abnormal week, Sarkisian has tried to keep things as normal as possible.
No. 6 - A storm is brewing ...
Matt Campbell just won’t go away. It turns out he wants no part of the Jets. As it turns out, Campbell's players aren't going away, either.
One after another this week, eligible Cyclones for the NFL Draft decided to come back for one more season. Brock Purdy. Enyi Uwazurike. Greg Eisworth. Charlie Kolar. The list goes on and on and on.
Nineteen starters will return from this year's Fiesta Bowl champions, including 39 of the top 46 players that were on the final two-deep. Basically, the greatest Iowa State team in history is going to run it back again in 2021 in an attempt at glory.
This isn't me overhyping the Cyclones. It's just me preparing you for the hype that is going to come their way during the upcoming off-season.
No. 7 - A DAMN GOOD WIN ... AGAIN!!!
What kind of potential season is the Texas men's basketball team having?
Well, the Longhorns beat the No. 14 team in the nation on the road with a last-second shot, and it didn't feel like a season-defining moment. Just the next one.
We've been fooled with the banana in the tailpipe routine before, so I'm not going to engage in hyperbole, as much as I'm just going to point out that Shaka Smart's team is starting to assemble a nice resume.
One of the things that was most notable about Saturday's win in Morgantown was just how unspectacular it was. This wasn't a Texas team that shot the ball well for most of the game. Texas was out-rebounded and gave up too many second chances. But the Longhorns just kept hanging around, and in the final four minutes, they did what really good teams do ... they made the most plays.
You can't get too far ahead of yourselves in the Big 12 because a multi-game losing streak looms as a possibility every week for the rest of the season, but so far ... this has been fun.
No. 8 – BUY or SELL …
(Double Buy) I don't really limit it to just those positions. You need five or six difference makers on staff, rather than two or three. I know limiting it to two or three wasn't what you meant automatically, but you're definitely barking up the right tree. I'll just go higher. Meanwhile, I think the overall defensive staff could compensate for not having a rock star in the DC hire.
(Sell) I'm ok with putting Golding on the same tier as Ash, but I'm not sure anyone can quite do that with Arnett. Not yet.
(Sell) This feels like the kind of thing that will have to be earned instead of given.
(Sell) I think holding on to a No. 1 seed in the brutal Big 12 will be easier said than done.
(Sell) The DC hire is critically important and belongs on a different tier than the cornerback coach. Personally, I find a lot of positions to be really important. I'm not sure I see a B- occurring.
(Sell) I just don't have that vibe at all.
(Sell) It doesn't feel in the cards at the moment.
(Buy) I'd be very surprised if it takes that long.
(Buy) In Stan Drayton, we trust?
(Sell) lol, wut?
(Buy) I think we'll see a breakout season in 2021.
(Sell) Child, please.
No. 9 - Scattershooting on the world of sports...
... The Baylor men's basketball team is 10-0 and has won every game this season by double digits.
... The Titans were in control of that game against the Ravens, and then Lamar Jackson just hit the turbo button and changed the game. It felt like the Titans never quite recovered from that 48-yard home run.
... I'm still trying to process Russell Wilson and the Seahawks getting pistol-whipped at home by a Rams team that started John Wolford at quarterback and finished with a gimpy Jared Goff.
... Former Longhorn running back Malcolm Brown isn't a star on the Rams, but that team knows that it can count on him in any circumstance. Cam Akers might have been the star, but in the fourth quarter when the team needed to close out the game and run the clock, it leaned on Brown to do the damage. It warms my heart to see him doing well.
... I keep waiting for the clock to strike midnight on Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen, but he just keeps on being the belle of the ball.
... Taylor Heinicke has my damn respect.
... I needed a break from the Premier League this weekend. I'm exhausted as a fan.
No. 10 - The List: Best Movies I've Never Seen ...
Listening to Suchomel talk about the long list of movies that he's never seen, including The Godfather I and II, I thought I'd put myself out on the live wire by making my biggest movie confessions.
Forgive me in advance.
10. M*A*S*H
9. Bonnie and Clyde
8. The Wild Bunch
7. The Searchers
6. Vertigo
5. West Side Story
4. The Princess Bride (I don't believe I've ever seen it from beginning to end)
3. The Graduate
2. Singin' in the Rain
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
Was the defense really improving?
Raymond doesn't need to be money whipped. He just needs to be offered. Apparently Sark has other guys higher on his list.
Last year Herman made a very high offer to Banks to join his staff. Saban caught wind of it, called Banks into his office and asked what the offer was. Alabama matched it and then some within an hour and that was the end of that. I am guessing something similar played out in the past week.
Favorite movie of all-time. Or at least top 5.
I'm quite a movie buff. It's what makes my list so shameful.
Banks is already making 700k+ per year.
At some point...
a. other people have money, too.
b. It's not worth it to take steps backward or lateral at best moves.
You didn’t answer why he doesn’t want to keep a Natty winning DC. I’m presuming Sark doesn’t want too many holdovers from previous staff because he wants to change culture. But you would know better.
For better or worse, Sark already said in an interview he wants someone familiar with the 3-3-5, though it won't be the exclusive scheme, and he will go 4 down sometimes in passing downs. Ash is a 4-3 or 4-2-5 coach for years.
Sark also said he wanted someone that was going to be ultra aggressive and attacking on defense. Not all of the names and schemes that have been discussed bring that kind of rep to the table.
@Ketchum As a 1969 graduate of UT, I definitely recommend watching The Graduate. I can't count the number of times I've watched. It really hit home here! I know "2001" was critically acclaimed, but it didn't do a lot for me other than the opening music which is awesome. Thanks for your courage. 
