Ketch's 10 Thoughts From the Weekend (Let me be crystal clear...)

[JustHereForTheNachos]

I think I spend a great deal of nuance on everything I do for the most part. Hell, people associate me with using that word.

The fact is, Charlie's resume and record represent the worst in the history of the school, certainly in the modern era if you want to argue that one of the coaches that went into one of the world wars and died, not able to come back and improve a stint that was very close to Charlie's (but with one really good year in his hop pocket), well... ok.

The record of this season matters less than the bigger discussion about what Strong has done in three years that needs to take place, thing I've spent a lot of time writing about.

Viewed purely through the prism of record I get it. Viewed through the prism of complete 3 year resume, surely the talent and locker-room alone keep it from being the "worst ever." Asked a different way: Let's say you're a HC with time travel capabilities. You can take over the UT Football program in 2014 or in 2017. Which do you pick? It's an easy choice for 2017, right? Wouldn't "worst coach ever" mean you'd take the 2014 team every time?

 

[SouthAustinHorn]

Comes down to the offer. I believe the early offer was around 11 million and it was at least somewhat considered. If the next offer is closer to 30 million, I'd think they'd listen.

Also comes down to whether Pulisic would move. I don't know that he would. He shouldn't. It could really harm his career right as he is establishing himself at a club known for developing elite attacking players.

He can move in a year or two.

 

[SouthAustinHorn]

I always go back to my National Lampoon's Vacation analogy. I thought about it during Mack's waning years.

Clark Griswald got the family to Wally World. But given what you observed, do you want him in charge of planning another family vacation? Other than falling asleep at the wheel, car breaking down in the dessert, the aunt dying, killing a dog, and holding police officers hostage, it all went smoothly.

Sorry folks, Texas football is over. Moose out front should have told you.

 

[UTinDC]

what is my agenda in your mind?

Dump on CS and get him fired.

 

[LonghornsLegend]

teams had a chance to be really good.

You can lift those wins up as major accomplishments if you want, but the reality is that Notre Dame is a 3-6 team that had as much trouble with Navy on a neutral field than it did the Longhorns, while the Baylor team the Longhorns edged at home just lost by 40 at home to a team with Kenny Hill as its quarterback.

In my opinion, the Longhorns haven’t played a single team that is better than pretty good and most of the schedule is just downright average at best. This is the worst set of teams in the history of the Big 12 and the Longhorns are just a middle of the pack team.

You've been harping on this all week. Mind telling me what the big wins for OU are this year? They lost to the only decent teams on the schedule and they weren't even close or competitive. We can only play the games on the schedule. What's the point of blasting a team when they lose, then not giving them any credit unless the team the beat stays in the top 10?

 

[McGuapo]

I now regret looking down my nose at OU during the John Blake era.

 

[txfight]

First of all, why can't we be just a little bit happy that we finally made some defensive adjustments that worked and won a game on the road? I thought we got jobbed again by several bad no-calls on pick plays and holding, and still committed youthful mistakes like chop-blocks and untimely dropped passes, but in a hostile environment we rose above and pulled out the win.

Secondly, there's a little too much knee-jerking going on. After game 5 it was "Strong Is Gone" and now after game 9 it's "Strong Will Stay". Maybe we need to just take a breather, enjoy the games (especially the ones we win) and assess Strong at the end of the year like Fenves and Perrin are going to.

I love the weekly feature but it just seems like you have it out for Strong so bad, that it's handicapping your ability to report. We won the damn game. Admittedly it wasn't a top 10 team and it shouldn't have been as close as it was, but damn brother, we almost got beat by KU in 2005 and it didn't sully my adoration for that team. At some point a win is a win. This staff (and more importantly this administration) is going to give us plenty of opportunities to be pissed. But to read your stuff after consecutive wins you'd think we're the Cleveland Browns of the Big 12.

 

[Big5085]

I'm late to the game as I actually had to work this morning, so I'm sure some Cowboy fans has already stated this. Just in case though...

"Maybe I’ll even give everyone permission to dream big before the season is over."

For the love of God, please do NOT do that to us.

 

[scottaustin]

Comes down to the offer. I believe the early offer was around 11 million and it was at least somewhat considered. If the next offer is closer to 30 million, I'd think they'd listen.

I'll still take that bet..

 

[txfight]

I now regret looking down my nose at OU during the John Blake era.

That is sacrilege. We may be in the same position from a football program perspective but we're still better than those Crimson and Creme toothless inbreds. Until they add a 3rd word to their fight song or raise their 3rd world academic standards you should ALWAYS look down your nose at those carnies.

 

[jimboorange]

name the coach that is worse.

The period between DKR and Mack had its moments. I've said this before and I reiterate I'm not sold on CS but the moniker "worst coach" is a bit much. DKR's advice to to Mack was to gather the bb's an put them back in the box. McWilliams, Akers and Mackovic obviously did a poor job from that standpoint. Winning is top priority so hard to argue with Charlie's lack of success there but he's kept the bb's in the box from what I can tell and I think has done a good job of recruiting. Winning trumps everything though. I haven't answered your question. I would say Mackovic. 95 was his only good season, his 4th year. Followed that up with 8-4 and 4-7.

 

[txfight]

I supported Strong for longer than most on this board because of the recruiting, the clean program, and really, because I didn't see anyone out there to hire who was a sure-fire coaching hire. Herman, to me, looked like the 2013 version of Strong on paper. But I'm ready to upgrade IF we can assure an upgrade. Let's not fire him and his staff and then hope we can find someone better.

We need a quality AD yesterday for these reasons:

• If money is the reason they are keeping Strong, an AD is the guy who will rally the BMD's to pay for the buyout. If Fenves has to pay it all, then of course he's worried about the $15m firing the staff will cost.
• We need someone to reach out quietly to the potential sure-fire coaching candidates to gauge interest. This can't be like baseball where we fire first and then hope to upgrade with the backfill.
• No sure-fire coaching candidate is going to commit to the pressure cooker environment without a solid AD in place.
• IF we have to keep Strong, we need an AD that can help him find a DC. Also one that will sit him down make him hire a "Clock Consultant" or some other fancy termed person to make sure he doesn't keep screwing up game management. Maybe great coaches don't need that hand-holding from the AD but IF we are going to be stuck with Strong, then let's get him a hand-holding AD that can actually help him. That shouldn't cost $15m.

I'm more convinced than ever that every day we go without a qualified AD is another day we are doomed to mediocrity.

 

[txfight]

For those that I was angry or bitter, perhaps I should have explained the purpose of my first section.

It was being charged quite a bit over the weekend that I was being inconsistent in messaging from those that mistook opinion as reporting and vice versa. Perhaps the style of my writing in that section missed the mark.

I liked your writing style in that section. I honestly like your writing style in just about everything you put out. I may disagree with some of your content. But not disrespectfully.

 

[RLong68]

name the coach that is worse.

I think one can argue that McWilliams was. There's a real chance that after this season Strong's record will be better than McWilliams was after 3 seasons. McWilliams was also not a terribly good recruiter.

 

[McGuapo]

That is sacrilege. We may be in the same position from a football program perspective but we're still better than those Crimson and Creme toothless inbreds. Until they add a 3rd word to their fight song or raise their 3rd world academic standards you should ALWAYS look down your nose at those carnies.

Agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment, but I was speaking more of the specific decision making of the time.

 

[dvp7299]

Thanks for listening to what your reporting tells you "social justice warrior." I really enjoy reading this site, but sometimes you guys get so full of yourselves that it just becomes ridiculous

 

[FriscoWolf]

For those that I was angry or bitter, perhaps I should have explained the purpose of my first section.

It was being charged quite a bit over the weekend that I was being inconsistent in messaging from those that mistook opinion as reporting and vice versa. Perhaps the style of my writing in that section missed the mark.

You have been pretty clear on what was your opinion and what you were hearing from sources. Hard to believe there are still people that don't understand that. Good write up.

 

[Ketchum]

Fair enough. If I understand you, the risk that the new AD may not be on the same page as the new coach is worth taking. That may be the case. But to me, the biggest tragedy is that Perrin must obviously have been asleep at the switch in the manner in which he has evaluated Strong and established criteria for his evaluation. The coach should have to explain his approach for success and the AD should monitor it and hold the coach accountable. I am not in favor of an approach that says hire the best coach available, give him all the money he wants for himself and his assistants and hope for the best.

Totally agree the administration has messed this up.

Perrin has been about extending as much help as possible when it comes to Strong after Patterson left and not so much about holding him accountable.

 

[Ketchum]

Damn, you are getting crotchety @Ketchum

It's making me rethink my entire life.

 

[Ketchum]

This is funny considering you were "buying" him being the head coach at Baylor 2 weeks in. Which made zero sense at the time and I tried to advise you of that but you were being a prisoner of the moment. No one was giving the reigns to a Power 5 school to a green coordinator like Gilbert. You had a majority of this site up in arms asking how will we keep him after Baylor takes him lol.

Even in whatever scenario you were trying to create then he never made more sense then Babers or Montgomery, guys who proved themselves as an OC and had HC experience. Gilbert needed (needs) 2 years at a place like Texas before thinking about a big jump, you should have known that the day he was hired instead of playing into the hype.

That said I think he's done an incredible job, he just needs experience calling plays more. He didn't do it at Tulsa, it takes time. He's gonna be very successful in his career everyone just started putting the cart before the horse.

That's a bit of a misrepresentation of things, but I'm getting used to that.

 

[Ketchum]

Viewed purely through the prism of record I get it. Viewed through the prism of complete 3 year resume, surely the talent and locker-room alone keep it from being the "worst ever." Asked a different way: Let's say you're a HC with time travel capabilities. You can take over the UT Football program in 2014 or in 2017. Which do you pick? It's an easy choice for 2017, right? Wouldn't "worst coach ever" mean you'd take the 2014 team every time?

No. You're trying to set an incredibly low bar as the bar.

 

[Ketchum]

Also comes down to whether Pulisic would move. I don't know that he would. He shouldn't. It could really harm his career right as he is establishing himself at a club known for developing elite attacking players.

He can move in a year or two.

Except Klopp is known for developing players like him as well as almost anyone in the world. He would come to Liverpool with immediate playing time available and would be called on throughout the year.

 

[Ketchum]

Dump on CS and get him fired.

"Dumping on CS" when all I've done is point out facts is a little like when Trump calls an ad that plays his own words from his own mouth an attack ad.

 

[Ketchum]

You've been harping on this all week. Mind telling me what the big wins for OU are this year? They lost to the only decent teams on the schedule and they weren't even close or competitive. We can only play the games on the schedule. What's the point of blasting a team when they lose, then not giving them any credit unless the team the beat stays in the top 10?

OU this year is pretty meh. OU last year was pretty damn good, by and large, although certainly not elite.

 

[Ketchum]

I love the weekly feature but it just seems like you have it out for Strong so bad, that it's handicapping your ability to report.

 

[SouthAustinHorn]

Except Klopp is known for developing players like him as well as almost anyone in the world. He would come to Liverpool with immediate playing time available and would be called on throughout the year.

Sure as to Klopp, but I'm not sure playing time will be as available at Pool. He projects as similar player as Coutinho and the real article is already there. Plus he is pretty small for the EPL. I think he is better off staying where he is for at least another year or two.

 

[Ketchum]

The period between DKR and Mack had its moments. I've said this before and I reiterate I'm not sold on CS but the moniker "worst coach" is a bit much. DKR's advice to to Mack was to gather the bb's an put them back in the box. McWilliams, Akers and Mackovic obviously did a poor job from that standpoint. Winning is top priority so hard to argue with Charlie's lack of success there but he's kept the bb's in the box from what I can tell and I think has done a good job of recruiting. Winning trumps everything though. I haven't answered your question. I would say Mackovic. 95 was his only good season, his 4th year. Followed that up with 8-4 and 4-7.

all of the coaches from DKR through Mack rank above Strong. Period.

 

[Ketchum]

I think one can argue that McWilliams was. There's a real chance that after this season Strong's record will be better than McWilliams was after 3 seasons. McWilliams was also not a terribly good recruiter.

It's close. McWilliams did have a winning season and a fairly memorable bowl win over Pitt by the end of year three.

The test would be whether Charlie can go 10-2 in year four, win a conference and make a major bowl game next year.

 

[Ketchum]

Thanks for listening to what your reporting tells you "social justice warrior." I really enjoy reading this site, but sometimes you guys get so full of yourselves that it just becomes ridiculous

This post slightly confused me.

 

[Ketchum]

You have been pretty clear on what was your opinion and what you were hearing from sources. Hard to believe there are still people that don't understand that. Good write up.

There have been a lot of them.

 

[Ketchum]

Sure as to Klopp, but I'm not sure playing time will be as available at Pool. He projects as similar player as Coutinho and the real article is already there. Plus he is pretty small for the EPL. I think he is better off staying where he is for at least another year or two.

a. We have zero depth along the wings. With Mane out for quite a bit of January because of International duty, he'd walk in as a day-one starter in January.

b. With multiple cup plays still in play and regular action as a first-sub in EPL play at the least, I think it would be a great move.

c. I also fear that this is Coutinho's last yearay Liverpool, which would make him essentially Coutinho's replacement.

 

[CrowUT1]

Dump on CS and get him fired.

Good grief....his coaching is more than enough to get him fired. He doesn't need help with that

 

[bluejay7780]

No one is more familiar of the hurdles Charlie has had to jump over and I've written about them more times than I can count.

At some point you have to stop enabling the failure he is responsible for, though.

Agree to disagree. The Horns aren't a failure. Granted there is room for improvement, but for failure I look to these http://www.cbssports.com/topic/2146163/bottom-top-25 ; add Baylor and all the other schools that look the other way and run low-class programs. CS isn't a failure, he just isn't "your guy" right now.

 

[UTDB]

Viewed purely through the prism of record I get it. Viewed through the prism of complete 3 year resume, surely the talent and locker-room alone keep it from being the "worst ever." Asked a different way: Let's say you're a HC with time travel capabilities. You can take over the UT Football program in 2014 or in 2017. Which do you pick? It's an easy choice for 2017, right? Wouldn't "worst coach ever" mean you'd take the 2014 team every time?

I would choose the 2014 time for a take over.

 

[UTinDC]

"Dumping on CS" when all I've done is point out facts is a little like when Trump calls an ad that plays his own words from his own mouth an attack ad.

I think you may need to rephrase your analogy.