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

[MATF]

… Baylor wore all-black this weekend as a way of attending its own funeral and paying respect to its rotted soul.

Good stuff!

 

[Type O]

What? Please go back and check David McWilliams coaching record at Tech and Texas. Similar to Herman? I hope that was a typo.

Yeah, Tech did not win the conference that year...Aggie did. I think tech went 6-5 or 7-4 at best.

 

[Type O]

Which part in particular did you have a problem with?

Have we reached the point with this fan base after seven seasons that there's a yearning for TexAgs-style coverage?

Yeah, very strange reactions. Half of the whiners think Ketch is supporting Strong, half think he's trashing him. Kind of like the election...

 

[Type O]

You seem to be unable to discern the difference between my characterization of how the Administration views the situation, and how I may feel about it as a fan who doesn't have responsibility for the decision. Like it or not, after 7 years of mediocrity the risks are high for Texas in hiring the right coach, and we've seen multiple times that they swing and miss as often as they get it right.

Speaking of high-risks, you seem to be under the misunderstanding that university officials are well seasoned in making high-risk decisions in the public eye. They aren't and they seek to avoid such situations if at all possible. The UT President's control of hiring and firing, and bureaucrats' natural resistance to change is a big part of the problem here.

As for McWilliams, his resume after his first year as a HC looked just as good, maybe better, than Herman's. Both won their conferences their first years as HC; both had been top coordinators on teams that played for a NC; both had been assistants at Texas, both had UT post-grad degrees, and both had very little experience as a HC. Whether you choose to ignore them or not, the similarities for the 2 are what they are.

Dude...go back and look at the SWC standings for 1986. Tech did not win the conference. At Texas, Coach Mac went 7-5, 4-7, 5-6, 10-2, and 5-6. How is that at all similar to Herman's first 2 seasons as a HC?

 

[Type O]

Just to be clear, David McWilliams most certainly did not win the SWC title his one and only year at Tech. He finished 4th. Granted, he did beat his alma mater. The "clamoring" for McWilliams was borne overwhelmingly out of the nostalgic to get one of "Darrell's boys" as our HC combined with the hatred for Akers. It had nothing realistically to do with being a proven commodity.

This. Craben obviously is either an "old" that's going senile, or a "young" who has no clue.

 

[Pinkney]

I think when you know you have a guy in over his head and make whatever excuses you can to keep him, you're just enabling future failure.

You have become more of a douche in the last year. Your columns seem to be written by a different person when compared to years past. I agree with the guy who said you have gone all Trump. You are becoming a shock jock playing to your nut ball readership. Tough to read at times.

 

[linked]

I guess hate is a little much for fans attitude on Charlie, on the other hand Mackovic was the poster boy for it.

I think very few people hate Charlie but feel his coaching and management are highly questionable. Mackovic actually had some success but was clearly not liked

 

[Ketchum]

So......
Were the kids throwing temper tantrums while you were trying to write No good lovin in awhile?

You predicted 7.5 wins at the start of the season. So you are right on target.
What where you basing that on? The talent of the team perhaps?

I never once heard you say "the talent of the this team is 10 wins but I predict 7.5 wins because Strong sucks".

As it turns out you are where right on the money.
But now you seem full of venom because the team is a 7.5 team but you now see this as CS's fault and not the talent.

Strange.

You're ignoring the full context of the situation. The fact that he had to fire another coordinator. The fact that the sloppiness of the team and the at times horrible in-game management that has taken place. The fact that it has turned to be as easy of a schedule as Texas has faced in two decades.

That's the part that is strange.

The details matter.

 

[Ketchum]

You mentioned Gilbert this week, in your new thoughts. I commented in reference to that. If it bothers you when people bring up prior articles where you have done some flip flopping try not to be so much of a prisoner of the moment. It wasn't a big deal I just found it funny. Especially hwn you defend those exact same points numerous times in said thread, not sure why that's weird to you when someone wants to revisit a prior statement made about the OC who you brought up this week but I digress.

Do you have any other points or just that one?

 

[Ketchum]

I bet 99% of you who are complaining about the guy who is rebuilding our program with brick, mortar and class haven't been on a football field in any capacity since 8th grade.

I want to hear one person who has ever coached say that Texas isn't significantly better after 2 1/12 years of Charlie Strong than when he got here. Furthermore, this team is built for future success.

We need to shut up, go through the pain of rebuilding and start supporting a guy who is doing a fantastic rebuilding job. I am not sure it is this year, but we are not far off if we stick to our guns.

This isn't rocket science.

 

[Ketchum]

Very glad that your opinion is irrelevant.

Thank you for subscribing for 15 years, despite that.

 

[Ketchum]

A couple of interesting points but overall this thread provides comfort. Comfort that people that know very little about football get paid to prove they know very little about football. Thanks Ketch for reminding me not to waste time clicking your threads...

which part was the part where I know very little?

It's always interesting ti me when people make comments like this but speak in such vague terms without any specifics.

 

[Ketchum]

This would be a relevant comparison if the starting point for all of the coaches in the history of the school was the same, or if the culture, the opposing coaches, the existing chemistry etc... were the same. They aren't.

AGP Taylor, perhaps the greatest historian of the 20th century, once observed that trying to draw lessons from history and to apply them to current situations is folly because everything about every historical situation is different from every other one ------ the historical players, their motivations, their goals, their personalities, the histocial antecedents that preceded them ----- are different.

You've lived to basically see every Texas coach. Name a relevant comparison that makes me wrong.

 

[Ketchum]

Lots of Blood, very little Orange here.

And real fans will pack the sold out stadium against West Virginia.

what does that even mean?

 

[Ketchum]

It's also not a fact.

It's not?

 

[Ketchum]

The only thing perfectly clear is that Ketch is anti-Strong and has a homo-erection for Herman, who should be off of EVERYBODY'S list! Elite?? Losing big to SMU?? NOT!!

absolute silliness.

I didn't even rank Herman in my top 6 candidates a week ago.

Also, I'm not anti-Strong, I'm anti-below average coaching.

 

[Ketchum]

Jeez what a f--king negative piece of shit board this is. I'd swear Ketchum, jinsotex, MB horns, pBaker et al are all the same person. They all seem to have the same sources and same disgust for CS. While you hand out superlatives to certain players who deserve it, you asses seem to forget who reads this board. Our team deserves better regardless of what you think about Charlie. And for you Ketch, just who do you think would come here to coach? Come on, you have all of the inside knowledge.

The posters are the problem, not the sub.500 play over the last three years. Got it.

 

[Ketchum]

No. 5 – Buy or sell …

BUY or SELL: Sterlin Gilbert is still the offensive coordinator at Texas in 2017?

(Sell) I think he’s going to be the next head coach for Baylor if the Longhorns have the kind of season I think they’re going to have. Honestly, he’s perfect for them. If I was Baylor, I’d offer him the job right now and tell him to take over for Jim Grobe on Monday.

Yeah, I was wrong. A bit too hyper after the initial start. What part of me saying I was wrong isn't good enough?

 

[Ketchum]

Like I told you several weeks back @Ketchum ..you personally benefit from UT doing bad. And that's ok. People just need to understand where your motive comes from. You get to write negative posts to stir everyone up...and wait for the money to roll in...

good grief. The best growth this site has every seen occurred between 2004-2009, but don't let facts get in the way of a good (wrong) conspiracy.

 

[Ketchum]

I respectfully disagree. Nobody benefits long term from being negative when their product requires public followers. Mr Ketchum is the only negative staff member because he can be. The rest of the negativity comes from us. It is interesting how virtually every other "fan site " pursues positivity even at Baylor which must be really hard. Being negative is not a long term growth strategy unless you're the ayatollah or a despot.

I think we are on the road to trying to train somebody else up to being a big league coach and I hope it works this time.

what some people call negativity is really the truth, which is why there are no direct quotes of sections within all of the complaining that has taken place.

 

[Ketchum]

Did you not read his own words? More subscriptions now (when football times are bad) than when playing for National Championships...

Growth percentage by year was much higher when there was winning vs. when there was losing. We haven't grown as a business much since Texas started becoming very average, or we'd have double the subscribers we have now.

 

[Ketchum]

You have become more of a douche in the last year. Your columns seem to be written by a different person when compared to years past. I agree with the guy who said you have gone all Trump. You are becoming a shock jock playing to your nut ball readership. Tough to read at times.

quote the shock jock part, please.

 

[BrushCountryHorn]

Also, I have concluded both CS and SG were not ready for their respective jobs when they were hired and are basically learning on the job.

But one has turned a group that could do little to nothing last year into an effective unit, and he has shown great promise as a rising coach.

 

[ugsp22]

what some people call negativity is really the truth, which is why there are no direct quotes of sections within all of the complaining that has taken place.

Thanks! I appreciate your point of view. Perception is an interesting thing so that helps.

 

[CoachBobbyFinstock]

@Ketchum

What's your gut say if Texas goes 6-6...I think it's a real possibility.

 

[BrushCountryHorn]

He took a program in decline, and, in changing the horrible, losing Mack Brown entitlement culture, had to sacrifice all upper class leadership.

And yet Mack's horrible last three years were 8-5, 9-4, 8-5, and you are advocating for 6-7, 5-7, 6-6 to be retained?

 

[streettopeschel]

It's not?

DX Bible. 8-18-1 his first 3 years.

 

[JinSOTEX]

You have become more of a douche in the last year. Your columns seem to be written by a different person when compared to years past. I agree with the guy who said you have gone all Trump. You are becoming a shock jock playing to your nut ball readership. Tough to read at times.

Lol at douche. You must hate facts.

 

[Bigmonkey]

@Ketchum I for one appreciate what you did here - making it clear the difference between what you think (your opinion) and what sources are telling you (your reporting).

It's amazing to me how many people can't grasp that opinions are clearly different from reporting, and that opinions can change over time based on new facts and new information. My opinion has changed over the past 12 months - I was a Charlie supporter through last year and the early part of this year, thinking he just time as his players developed. After the Cal and OSU games, my opinion changed: he's just not a good coach, and he will always lose two to four games a year that a competent coach would win. Strong's ceiling is likely eight wins based on talent alone (and the crap-tastic Big !2), instead of 11 or 12 wins from a better coach.

Second, it should be obvious that this site benefits from a successful Texas team. It's called the bandwagon effect, and the bandwagon fills up when a team is successful and it empties out when the team craters. The Michigan bandwagon is getting pretty full these days, but you couldn't give away a ticket three years ago. Same thing will happen here when Texas becomes successful again - we will be overflowing when the ten-win seasons start happening. But if we stick around in 5-7 mediocrity for a few years, you'll see 75,000 at DKR and this site will be hemorrhaging subscriptions.

Let's just hope that the powers that be are committed to making Texas successful again.

 

[Ketchum]

@Ketchum

What's your gut say if Texas goes 6-6...I think it's a real possibility.

flip a coin at this point. Depends on the optics of those two losses.

 

[I'm_smarter_then_you]

flip a coin at this point. Depends on the optics of those two losses.

sad

 

[Ketchum]

DX Bible. 8-18-1 his first 3 years.

correct, I addressed this earlier.

a. I don't believe that you can limit the discussion to first three years only, although that is a component. It's one of the reasons when I make this statement that I put a clarification of sorts by mentioning the modern age of the sport. I was mistaken not to do so this time in the column.

b. When discussing the best coaches of all-time, you're discussing the totality of their work and right now, the totality of Strong's work is the worst of all-time. Do you dispute that?

c. Even if I conceded the data point from the first three years, aren't you really arguing as a defense that he's the second worst of all-time?

Is that it's come to?

 

[Longhorn Rebel]

which part was the part where I know very little?

It's always interesting ti me when people make comments like this but speak in such vague terms without any specifics.

LOL

 

[Ketchum]

LOL

 

[Saginaw Horn]

flip a coin at this point. Depends on the optics of those two losses.

Ketch, it would be up in the air at 6-6???