When it’s always something, it’s really only one thing, coaching. The holes aren’t being fixed, just rotating which ones leak more on a weekly basis.
Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (Real talk on Quinn and Sark)
- Thread starter Ketchum
- Start date
In determining who is the best candidate for a given job, the best indicator is how well one performed the same duties in the past. (Hello)
It is difficult to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. (Hello)
It is difficult to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. (Hello)
I can't believe I'm saying this, but Kiffin might be my first call.
Offensive guy
Great with quarterbacks
Great recruiter
SEC experience
I used to be a diehard Longhorn football fan. 10+ years of the same ol' s*** has taken that from me. We win, I'm guardedly pleased. We lose, I typically expect it and don't really care. Only thing that can change that attitude is at least 5 years of 8-9 win seasons or better. I don't see that happening anytime soon.
I was a season ticket holder for 20 years when I dropped them 9 years ago. Every year i think, this is the year I miss those tickets. Hasn't happened yet, and I still don't see it happening anytime soon.
I was a season ticket holder for 20 years when I dropped them 9 years ago. Every year i think, this is the year I miss those tickets. Hasn't happened yet, and I still don't see it happening anytime soon.
I'm not sure that Worthy leaving isn't better for all parties at this point. Worthy can go to a team with a QB who throws a good deep ball, and Texas can replace Worthy with a WR who doesn't drop multiple balls every week and actually puts effort into making a play on the ball or drawing a PI penalty if a pass isn't perfect.
You would be a Kiffin guy. Lots of people are stupid here.
Also I am not saying he isn’t a decent coach. He not demonstrably better than Sark is my point. I am not coming after him to replace Sark now or at any point in the future.
I'm a for winning guy. I've said this a million times. I don't fall in love with coaches or have an emotional attachment to them. You either win or GTFO. You obviously love Sark and coaches over the university.
Um, that isn’t how it works but sure. Than you for your opinion. I beg to differ. Prove me wrong.
It is? Can you bet it out for me including W-L after good seasons and any p-5 conference championships he may have?
Also years as a HC and success level specifically in p-5.
I see you find that funny. I mean it’s on Wikipedia so not hard to find. But weak minds you know.
Losing one of the best wide receiver talents in the history of the school isn't good for the school.
Kiffin has won 10+ games as head coach at 3 different schools.
Sark has never done that any school.
He’s winning at a power 5 school as well…10-3 last year, and 8-2 this year is pretty good. @Iceman could throw some data supporting this hire…
Sure, and he has followed those seasons with failures that would get him run out of dodge here.
So you would consider hiring Kiffin to replace Sark? No wonder this place is getting so out of control that other sites make fun of it.
Sark has fewer seasons, won 9 at USC then got fired and Kiffin won 10 then fell off a Cliff. Rehabbed at Bama, sandwiched two good seasons between a terrible one at FAU and won 5 games his first year, He did win 10 his season and is the beneficiary of an easy schedule where he has lost to the only decent teams he has played.
If we are comparing coaches he is certainly better given the extra 5 seasons he has on Sark but USC results are similar sans the alcoholism and I don’t think Kiffin would be an adequate replacement for Sark should he fail.
Kiffin went 10-3 last year and played in the Sugar Boiwl.
He's following that by going 8-2 and with a team currently projected to play again on New Year's Day in the Citrus Bowl.
All while playing in the SEC West.
Is that what you call following success with failure?
He's pretty good.
I can't hold your hand through all of this. Maybe another site will.
Thanks Ketch. Couldn’t read a single word of it. Maybe next week.
Everyone just calm down.
There's no question that there's a lot for us to unpack following a scene on Saturday night that left a lot of puzzled faces at DKR, but the default position of the Orangebloods universe after a loss can't be to act like zombies are running amuck on the streets and screaming bloody murder about the end of the world is the only way to live.
There are conversations that we need to have about Quinn Ewers, Steve Sarkisian and the overall state of the program, but I'm offering that we clear our heads and try to use some common sense when evaluating the current state of affairs from 30,000 feet.
No. 2 - Let's start off with a discussion of Ewers ...
The redshirt freshman simply isn't playing well in the last month. While we all should have been able to see a few clumsy performances coming from a young quarterback, it's impossible to discuss his redshirt freshman season without acknowledging that Ewers hasn’t really improved at all since returning from injury in early October.
His footwork is all over the place from play to play. His ability to go beyond a first read on most pass plays is an obvious area of needed improvement. Throw in questions about his overall knowledge of the offense and an inability to make deep throws anything other than an adventure with his receivers, and we've got a young man that has a lot of growth/improvement to make in the coming weeks, months and years.
None of this means that anyone should give up on Ewers. Far from it. His arm talent is undeniable, but there's more to mastering the position than being able to make an occasional badass throw with mechanics that remain as wild as a seven-month-old colt.
The fact that my naked eyes haven't observed any area of obvious improvement has left Ewers in a position where he's being questioned as a player for the first time in his career. With Arch Manning set to arrive in two months, Ewers can't expect to post a 129.5 efficiency rating for the season and expect that there won't be clamoring for the soon-to-be backup that has the golden last name.
The plan all along has been for Ewers to play for two seasons, go pro and then turn the keys to the car over to Manning, who would be walking into a top-10 level team in Sarkisian's fourth season as head coach. Instead, it seems like there's a much better chance that Manning will take Ewers' job than Ewers' will be preparing to be a top-five pick in the 2024 NFL Draft in 12 months.
I don't see how there's any way that the next off-season won't be defined by a Ewers vs Manning battle for the starting job. A Ewers that is making constant improvement is the favorite to win that job, but the guy we've seen since the Oklahoma game? The version of Ewers that has fans calling for Hudson Card to play is going to have a hell of a time holding off Manning if he doesn't start putting the pieces together.
It makes the stakes of these new three games (including the bowl game) pretty critical for Ewers, who simply has to get his groove back like he's Angela Bassett hanging out with Taye Diggs on the beach.
If he can’t show some exciting promise, he'll go into next season fighting to keep his job. Period.
No. 3 - As for Sark ...
It's Sark's job to produce elite quarterback play. It's why he was hired.
Yet, for the second straight season, the quarterback position is dissolving down the stretch to the point that there's a feeling that the Longhorns have played an entire year without the most important position on the field becoming settled for the future.
That's a massive indictment of Sarkisian.
Everyone wants to point to an offense that hasn't scored a touchdown in six straight quarters (along with six straight quarters in the second half) and a program that constantly walks to the edge of relevance before falling back, but Sark is failing at the one thing that is supposed to be his secret weapon ... quarterback whispering. He's the guy who is supposed to make quarterback wine out of water, but all we can taste is Maddog 20/20.
Yes, his play-calling and game-planning were massively suspect last night. Yes, his offense is its own cooler as soon as the clock strikes halftime. Yes, he's 11-11 in 22 career games, which is closer to Charlie Strong than Tom Herman.
Those things might all be very real issues, but I can't get beyond how poorly the area of his true expertise is playing as the season comes to a close, how little improvement at quarterback we're witnessing and how little distance has been covered in two years with the position.
Are we sure the ghost of Shawn Watson isn't pulling the strings? Has anyone seen Tim Beck?
I ask because those guys could have been given a five-star and turned out a player that ranks below Adrian Martinez, Donovan Smith and Hunter Dekkers in terms of season quarterback efficiency through 10 games.
No. 4 - Who saw this coming?
It's time to give Pete Kwiatkowski a little love.
In the three biggest games of this season (vs. Alabama, vs. Oklahoma and vs. TCU), the Texas defensive coordinator has produced results that should have seen the Longhorns finish 3-0 in these games.
While his unit is far from perfect, it has been nothing short of sensational in the biggest games of the season and only so much credit can be given to a guy (Gary Patterson) not calling the shots on game day.
Given all the buzz around his job status, it's only fair to give him some love when he produces a unit that everyone wishes the offense could be more like.
The world is a weirdly ironic place.
No. 5 - Two big defensive attaboys ...
Do you know who leads the Texas defense in tackles for loss with 9?
It's not Jaylan Ford, DeMarvion Overshown, Barryn Sorrell or Ovie Oghoufo.
Believe it or not, it's Jahdae Barron, who posted 3.5 on Saturday in his best performance as a collegiate player. It's hard not to think of this summer when Barron was close to entering the Portal, but decided not to after being told that if he just performed as a Texas player at this level, the NIL money would flow.
Well...
Meanwhile, you can't quite call Sorrell an all-conference player, but he's closing in on that kind of conversation.
A new bar was created by Sorrell on Saturday night with his 11 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. It felt like he couldn't be blocked.
Now, do it again. If Sorrell can tap into that kind of play on a consistent level, there's no limit to what we might call him in the future.
No. 6 - Scattershooting on the Longhorns ...
... So much for Bijan getting an invite to New York ...
... Was D'Shawn Jamison even missed on Saturday?
... It was hard not to think of the lack of linebacker depth when Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey wasn't able to make the play on Kendre Miller's 75-yard touchdown run. He'll be gone next year. So, will Overshown. Who knows with Ford? Who is playing linebacker next season?
... Danny Trejo didn't have an awesome night punting, but he very quietly had a pretty good night.
... The receiving game has pretty much evolved into two wide receivers, a tight end and no one else. Does Brennan Marion not have anyone else that can make half of a play? If we're keeping it real, he hasn't had a great first year as the wide receivers coach.
... Ovie Oghoufo is playing the best brand of football of his college career right now. He's not a difference-maker, but he's a good football player.
... If Ewers had enough passes to qualify, he'd rank eighth in the Big 12 in passing efficiency.
... Season efficiency rating: Ewers (129.5), Hudson Card (158.3). Who saw that coming?
No. 7 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) I see you woke up today and choose violence.
(Buy) BIG buy.
(Buy) It wasn't all negative last night. It just felt that way.
(Buy) None of the guys scheduled to return do it for me. I'd rather gamble on greatness.
(Sell) No, I can't rank him over John Mackovic.
(Sell) It's hurt equally the same. It's not an insignificant deal.
(Sell) They don't make four non-painful losses at Texas.
(Buy) I'm 60-40 on this, but the hot seat would be seriously toasty without real steps taken next season. A 7-5 season means the Ewers era was a miss.
(Sell) It's too early to say that, but so far ... they aren't right.
(Buy) There's no reason right now to truly feel like next year will be better than this year until some personnel replacements are ironed out and the quarterback play improves.
(Buy) Had he stuck with Card, he might not have needed anyone other than Card in the last two seasons.
(Sell) He's a No. 1 receiver not being used to the strengths of his ability.
(Sell) Nope.
(Sell) Not even close.
(Sell) No, not really.
(Sell) His main job task when he was hired was to fundraise and he's been sensational at that. The overall health of the combined athletic programs is quite good. He needs his football program to take off. How he manages the football program will define him in the next few years.
(Sell) This question didn't go where I thought it would. Card is not a major college receiver. I really couldn't begin to explain why someone would think he is.
No. 8 - Scattershooting on anything and everything ...
... If I had a vote that mattered ...
1. Georgia
2 Michigan
3. Ohio State
4. TCU
5. Tennessee
6. LSU
7. USC
8. Alabama
9. Penn State
10. Clemson
... Heisman Ballot: 1. QB Caleb Williams (USC), 2. QB CJ Stroud (Ohio State), 3. RB Blake Corum (Michigan), 4. QB Hendon Hooker (Tennessee) and Drake Maye (UNC)
... Kids, do not do this at home.
... If TCU makes the playoff, it's going to wish it didn't by the time Georgia or Ohio State/Michigan is done with it.
... Bryce Young is having a better year as a player in 2022 than when he won the Heisman, but his stats and his team aren't as good.
... Harold Perkins is what a five-star linebacker looks like when it goes super boom.
... Massive props to KSU for going to Waco and serving the Bears some sin. That was some performance.
... I lost my butt on PrizePicks this week while going heavy on the "more" in the Texas/TCU game. Oops.
... I could have done without that loss in Green Bay today.
... As far as regular season games in the NFL are concerned, the Minnesota/Buffalo game was about as good as it gets.
... Justin Jefferson is some kind of player.
... Having Pat Mahomes in fantasy is a hell of a lot more fun than not having him.
... It would be fun being a Dolphins fan right now.
... It sounds like UFC281 was worth purchasing.
... The World Cup begins this week. Let the sportswashing begin!
No. 9 - The List: Top 10 Whitney Houston songs...
I just found myself on a Whitney kick this week. I can't even remember how it quite started, but the sound of her voice last weekend had me searching for more and by the time I was done this week, I had listened to a lot of her.
What a voice. What a performer. As good as Mariah is, she never quite passed Whitney in my mind. There was just something majestic about her.
Here's my top 10.
10. Exhale
9. All The Man That I Need
8. Saving All My Love For You
7. I'm Your Baby Tonight
6. One Moment in Time
This song made the 1988 Summer Olympics feel special when I was 12.
5. How Will I Know
4. Greatest Love of All
3. I Have Nothing
Is it possible that this song is the true No. 1?
2. I Wanna Dance With Somebody
This is probably my personal favorite. It's a song that just makes me feel good.
1. I Will Always Love You
Objectively, this is the song that defines her career.
No. 10 - And Finally ...
It'll be 35 and sunny on Saturday in Lawrence with a 12-MPH winds.
What kind of Texas football team shows up? Good practices during the week isn't enough.
Good two years for him, no doubt. He also has had 6 more seasons including two in the NFL to get there.
So I ask again despite the fact the Mike has been dropped, so you hire Kiffin to replace Sark? Because we could absolutely get him away from Ole Miss.
a. Sark is a year older than Kiffin. I'm not going to punish Kiffin in this convo because the other coach lost his job and couldn't get another one because of a vice. That's the only reason he has an edge in experience as a head coach.
b. Would I hire Kiffin to replace him? I'm not completely sure. It's not a 2022 decision and it's hard to know what the 2023 or 2024 landscape would look like if Texas needed a coach.
c. That being said, if he keeps it up, he'll be one of the better options.
d. He's literally doing the thing at Ole Miss that Sark can't or hasn't done at Texas. He's doing it in consecutive years. Not including the Covid season, he's on pace to win 10+ games in four of his last 5 seasons as a head coach.
Soooooo.... what he did in 2013 doesn't really matter.
To add….he’s doing this at Ole Miss…winning a bunch of games at a B level program in the SEC…there’s no comparison…he even had a better record at USC than Sark…a. Sark is a year older than Kiffin. I'm not going to punish Kiffin in this convo because the other coach lost his job and couldn't get another one because of a vice. That's the only reason he has an edge in experience as a head coach.
b. Would I hire Kiffin to replace him? I'm not completely sure. It's not a 2022 decision and it's hard to know what the 2023 or 2024 landscape would look like if Texas needed a coach.
c. That being said, if he keeps it up, he'll be one of the better options.
d. He's literally doing the thing at Ole Miss that Sark can't or hasn't done at Texas. He's doing it in consecutive years. Not including the Covid season, he's on pace to win 10+ games in four of his last 5 seasons as a head coach.
Soooooo.... what he did in 2013 doesn't really matter.
His career win percentage is .661. It's actually .697 at Ole Miss
Sark career win percentage is .555 and it's .500 at Texas
So, yeah, he's ****ing better.
You could even say he’s a better play caller, better at adjusting, doesn’t coach scared… and is actually holding up the “all gas no brakes” motto…
@Russhorn - While I believe that facts support your specific argument on LK, I can somewhat understand your general sentiment (I have my doubts he's big time program material based on antics).
Rather than more back and forth on LK'd merits, I'm curious who'd you favor if we were in the market for HC?
In the spirit of playing along with my ask, I'll go on record in support of Lincoln Riley, though not sure how realistic he is as an attainable option (I assume Saban and Dabo are flat unavailable).
My sense is there's a marked dropoff after Riley before we get to LK, Patterson, Traylor, Dykes (last 2 promising but unproven to date sustaining success at big time programs), which is based on zero football expertise, but that's the point of a cfb message board.
Rather than more back and forth on LK'd merits, I'm curious who'd you favor if we were in the market for HC?
In the spirit of playing along with my ask, I'll go on record in support of Lincoln Riley, though not sure how realistic he is as an attainable option (I assume Saban and Dabo are flat unavailable).
My sense is there's a marked dropoff after Riley before we get to LK, Patterson, Traylor, Dykes (last 2 promising but unproven to date sustaining success at big time programs), which is based on zero football expertise, but that's the point of a cfb message board.
I wont argue with that, but Texas might be a better offense right now if you replace this year's version of Worthy with a healthy Neyor. I'm admittedly not a fan of what I have seen out of Worthy this season alone.
