ADVERTISEMENT

Ketch's 10 Thoughts From the Weekend (Development matters, even more than recruiting...)

(Sell) For one damn time, the University of Texas needs to flex some damn financial muscle and make the kind of dynamic, big-boy hire that guarantees success. That's not what the Tom Herman hire was. That's not what the Charlie Strong hire was. Those were the best hires available because Texas subscribed to the theory of not being the force that lifts coaching salaries in the sport to the kind of levels that cause academic people to cry out in vain. I don't think Texas will ever be the force I think it should be, but it's what I believe it should aim to be.

That's also not what last spring's punting on Shaka Smart was.
 
(Sell) The answer to that question is Charlie Strong.

In Charlie's defense the "fan support" he had upon arrival is not even in the same universe as what CDC had when he arrived.
 
If new oc is the way we are going to go, I would also like to see somebody from the outside come in. A name that I would like to consider would be Eric Bienemy the Kansas City Oc. Has worked with Andy Reid and it appears to be college friendly offense. I also think he has the potential to be a great recruiter.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ranrow
Horseshit. Teams don't luck into National Titles.
Talent without luck equals Zip.Injuries and bad calls have and will continue to be a large part of success and failure.An injury to Vince or without that drive extending penalty ,USC wins
 
How could you tell that we lost due to their better development versus our predictable and non productive offense? Are better developed players immune from really, really bad offensive schemes. I'm not sure the Patriots roster would win the conference with our current playcalling.
I don't believe anyone was suggesting schemes/coaching isn't part of the problem.

It's a jigsaw puzzle with many pieces.
 
  • Like
Reactions: losthorn
The Eagles gave the Reds a game. As a suffering Crystal Palace fan, I was proud of their effort.
It was a good game. If you're going to catch Liverpool on an off-day, playing them right after an International break is the time to do it.

Palace has some good players. Now that Zaha has his first goal, maybe he'll go on a streak. He was very good on Saturday.
 
Who would that be? I know you're not thinking of Meyer because you would never suggest he be hired because you despise him. There aren't many of those types of Coaches. Saban isnt gonna leave Alabama and I'll bet Dabo would be the same.
I wouldn't say I despise Meyer. That's a bit harsh.

The answer to your question, though, isn't exactly cut and dry. I was an advocate for John Harbaugh last time, in part because the Ravens hadn't given him a long-term deal and weren't paying him top scale money.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Never Nuff Horns
Hanks was amazing as Mr. Rogers.

ketch who would you consider if you were hiring a head coach in 12 months? Honestly I don’t give a shit about anything else right now
I haven't quite put my finger on it. Timing is everything in these deals.
 
  • Like
Reactions: drunk randoke
What if there's a pool of non NFL players from which team A gets its first pick, and team B has to make its team from the leftovers. Who would expect to be better?

The fallacy in the OP is the unstated premise that everyone who doesn't make the NFL is basically equal.
Nope.

My selected tools eliminates confirmation bias. There will be exceptions to the rule, as there is in almost everything else, but it's not opinion-based.
 
If new oc is the way we are going to go, I would also like to see somebody from the outside come in. A name that I would like to consider would be Eric Bienemy the Kansas City Oc. Has worked with Andy Reid and it appears to be college friendly offense. I also think he has the potential to be a great recruiter.

@Ketchum's head would explode if that happened.
 
I haven't quite put my finger on it. Timing is everything in these deals.

Big boys make their own timing. Not only is Urban Meyer available, but so is Bob Stoops. But rest assured we'll cower behind the 'too costly" mantra. What's hilarious is that the hire of EITHER of those guys would open a SH*TLOAD of checkbooks. The university has never quite understood the value LOST by not making such moves.
 
Like what?? People keep implying these things without any specifics...and don't say Zach Smith, Mack had Cleve Bryant...
You mean besides covering up domestic abuse?

Don't say that?

His handling of Aaron Hernandez?
 
Not much info. Can we get some information about whats going on inside program? So many rumors floating around the broad, but very little answers. I really don't care about anything else at this point.
Just because you care of very little else, doesn't mean there wasn't info in the column.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PaulieD
@Anwar Richardson

This explains why Okie St and TCU beat UT all the time...our recruiting really isn’t THAT much better than them. Four stars and three stars are very similar in quality based on Ketch’s metrics...most of them don’t make the NFL and the better coached players are not in burnt orange.

When UT was at its best under Mack, we had an overwhelming number of 5 stars and high 4 stars...if we don’t get many of those then our #5 recruiting ranking isn’t much better than their #20 ranking.
bingo. This warms my heart to know that someone is seeing the analysis correctly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MEP1992
What’s most concerning is the comment that Tom Herman has lost the team. If so (and I too believe that), why in the world does he get another year. Eat the cost, get rid of Herman, hire Urban and everything starts turning for the better. If not, quit showing up to games. 40,000 empty seat will speak volumes.
There were never 40,000 empty seats when Charlie was here.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PaulieD
B/S: Texas is not The Jonses. If we were we'd make the type of athletic department moves The Jonses make and we'd win championships. We're just good at fundraising.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Holy Cow
And you equate those with murder? Based on his convictions, it seems extremely likely that the shootings he was convicted for weren't his first. So many red flags with this guy yet Urban kept him in the fold. Did you read the article?

Which of Mack's "thugs" were murderers?
He also ignored that Mack threw those guys out of the program, instead of enabling the behavior and protecting them.
 
So Texas has only nine players that are in the top two Rivals tiers. Duvernay is a senior and he is inarguably playing well. The other eight are comprised of five sophomores (maybe one or two are redshirt freshmen) and three true freshmen. Are we already writing these guys off and saying they will never develop? Or saying that they should already be playing at their peaks? Seems a little premature.

There is not a single offensive or defensive linemen among these nine players.

We are nowhere near Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, LSU in terms of talent. And those teams have not only more talent but also tons more experienced talent.

I am like everyone else and not impressed with this coaching staff's play calling.

But this narrative that Tom Herman and his staff all need to be fired because they can't beat teams like Baylor and TCU and Iowa State who all have vastly inferior talent is simplistic at best. Their three stars are not that much less talented than our low four stars. And I would bet that all of those teams with their majority three star players have a lot more experience and have had more time to develop the talent they have.
No one is righting off the young players from that group.

Two things...

a. They need to be spread out across more positions. They all can't be wide receivers or defensive backs.

b. I expect at least half of those nine to be eventually drafted.
 
Good read Ketch.
Especially development, see TCU.
Quick (ignorant) question - in terms of coaching buy-outs - assuming guaranteed monies - what if said coach gets a job immediately at another school for same $$ - is there something written in contract that gets us off the hook or no?
Not completely sure.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PaulieD
We simply never see that type of consistent play from Sims. My gut is that he simply took advantage of a really really bad Cal team.
I agree, but it has to eventually start somewhere... or else.
 
If new oc is the way we are going to go, I would also like to see somebody from the outside come in. A name that I would like to consider would be Eric Bienemy the Kansas City Oc. Has worked with Andy Reid and it appears to be college friendly offense. I also think he has the potential to be a great recruiter.
He's an NFL guy all the way, though, unless he gets a big-time NFL job.

Ironically, he has some skeletons in his closet as well. He was actually banned from the CU campus at one point.
 
This is exactly why we're going to waste $30 million whether we fire him now or 3 years from now. By keeping him we just extend the mediocrity another 3 years, and there's a huge opportunity cost in doing that. In fact, it might end up costing us more.

Reminds me of my running argument with my wife over the years. Her answer to everything is to spend less money. My answer is to make more. You can only cut spending so much, but you can always make more. There's no way to account for how much retaining Herman will end up costing us.

Very good post. Revenue expansion is somewhat infinite, cost savings are by definition finite. The leverage generally lies in revenue expansion.

In my too many years of experience as a cpa and financial advisor, I've found that most people will drive across town to save a dollar, but won't walk across the room to pick one up off the floor- to exaggerate a point. It's an interesting phenomenum.

There is a very high likelihood, imo, that the most expensive choice will be retaining TH. The opportunity cost of failing to do now what you will eventually have to do later is probably high in this case.
 
Last edited:
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT