Agreed.
I'm a whole lot more mellow than I used to be. But, I thrived on emotion....mostly because God didn't bother to bless me with too much athleticism, and that pissed me off!..as a player, and even as a young coach. I was always so hyped I was bouncing off the ceiling! I loved my coaches because they were azzholes and treated us like it was US Marines' boot camp. Well, I didn't like them too much at the time, but I respected them, we all did! and were afraid (terrified!) to disappoint them. I love 'em now. They were like those hardazz teachers we all had and it was only many years later that we are able to look back and realize what a huge service they did us.
One of my coaches used to call me "Peanut." I finally asked him, why do you call me that? He growled, "Because I know you don't like it. You have a problem with that!?" All I could do was mutter, "No sir." We never did anything right....according to them. Even if we made a play, we would later learn, usually in practice the following week, we could have done it even better. But ya know what I remember the most...
I picked off a swing pass to preserve a win. While the offense was taking a knee to run out the clock, that coach looked at me, winked, and said, "Good job, Peanut."
Those coaches made us better, more successful, than we had any business being. Talent-wise we were a 2-8 team. Yet, we routinely won 8-10 games and made the state playoffs.
I personally could not care less is USM regrets getting rid of Bower. And, that situation does not compare at all with a discussion about getting rid of Holtz. If Holtz achieved at the level of Bower’s success the title of this thread would likely be, “How does this sound……. Skip Holtz Field at Joe Aillet Stadium.”
Bower coached at Southern Miss for 17 seasons, the last 12 years as a member of CUSA. During those 12 years he led his team to 10 bowl games. The first year they went to a bowl game there were only 20 bowl games, only 40 teams made it. It was quite an achievement to play in a bowl game. Star players did not skip games back then. Now the majority of teams play in bowl games, players routinely pass on playing in bowl games. Heck we played against a team, in a bowl game, where the offensive plays were called by a member of the student body. Nobody cares about most bowl games now. But when Bower was going bowling most every year bowl games were a big deal.
Here are some of the teams Bower had to compete against during his time in CUSA: Louisville (ACC); TCU (Big 12); Cincinnati (Big East, now AAC); South Florida (Big East, now AAC); and Central Florida (AAC) defending national champions or so they say. Not to mention most of the AAC. Skip gets to play against UTEP, UTSA, Charlotte, Old Dominion, UAB. UAB even quit football and when they come back they smack us around like we just started playing the sport. CUSA in Bower’s day is no comparison to what is CUSA today.
USM finished in the Top 20 twice under Bower. The Top 20 twice! It is news when we even get a vote under Holtz. USM won 4 CUSA championships under Bower. Tech has no championships under Holtz, even in the watered-down mess that CUSA is.
In 12 CUSA seasons, Bower never had a losing record, never even had a .500 record in conference, 12 straight winning seasons overall and in conference. Holtz cannot claim any of this.
So we can stick with Holtz, who will be more than happy to retire here. We never have to worry about a big boy program taking him away. He would leave if given the opportunity, but nobody will ever give him that opportunity (see the South Florida years). Or we can cut our losses and take a chance on hiring the next hot, young coach who could win a championship or two and then bolt for a Power 5 job. Myself I would rather take our chances on becoming the next Central Florida or Houston. At least we could say we tried. A 14-0 season complaining we didn’t make the playoffs, trumps playing in a bowl game against a 3rd string QB or against an offensive coordinator from the student body.
It is time for Skip to go. He cannot win a conference title here. It is not in him. We owe it to our fans and players to strive for championships. It does not matter what regrets USM might or might not have. The situation USM was in is not comparative to our situation. They ran off a coach who could deliver conference championships and national rankings. We are looking for a coach who can deliver such results.
Whoa! Bulldog Tom you are off of D65's Christmas card list.
How dare you!!! Who are you to ask for a conference championship? Who are you to expect more than an occasional 9-win season and a bowl win? Besides, haven't you heard, Skip Holtz loves Ruston! But then, so does Leon Barmore and look how he did as coach....Barmore not only won conference championships, when we bothered to be in one, he won NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS! What does Barmore have to do with Holtz? Ummm….not a damn thing! back to the point:
Skip Holtz is who he is. His track record is to have a "stable" program. Don't rock the boat, don't take chances. Slow and steady. Like a captain of a cruise ship. Don't upset the passengers. What we want is a Captain Ernest Evans at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Full speed ahead...go for it!
Holtz has gotten comfortable....TOO comfortable. He feels no pressure to actually advance the program. And why should he? Too many people, inside and outside of Tech, are patting him on the back and telling him he's doing a great job. No....he's done a "good" job up to this point, but he has hit a plateau, and "good" is not good enough.
It was just a question. Thanks for your thoughts. If you recall, he was fired because the fans felt he could no longer deliver the titles and he had a penchant for losing to UAB.
I'm guessing that all would not be forgiven with Skip had he beat Marshall a few years back in the CG. My position on Holtz's hiring are well documented here. I want what we all want. I'm just not sure that I trust the guys who can't structure ticket prices or keep concession stands stocked to hire a replacement that is going to do any better.
Just like our passing game whoas...the solutions are not simple.
Time is your friend. Impulse is your enemy. -John Bogle
Granted he did not win a championship the last four years he was at Southern Miss, but he did win 4 titles in 12 years while in CUSA. His record against UAB was a perfect 8-0. Went to 10 bowl games in his last 11 years, during an era where bowl games were much harder to come to than today. Today 6-6 gets you a bowl game, 5-7 might work if you are in a Power 5 conference. My point is there is no comparison to be made between Bower and Holtz. None whatsoever, Bower was an excellent coach, a victim of his own success.
As far as trusting our current administration to pick a coach with potential to win a championship, you are probably right. We would be better off with a qualified AD, no doubt about it. My Tech fandom started during the Oakes years. So that means Oakes, Dooley, Van de Velde and McClelland. Only football coach Dooley had a clue. When looking at that list it is a wonder we are not a NAIA school.
"We have played in 4 straight bowl games......" Sorry guys, this is NO accomplishment! Darn near every team in the nation gets a bowl game. Oh wait, Tech mishandled that one too, a few years ago. Making a bowl game doesn't mean anything anymore.
Just like the baseball team was celebrated for getting a record number of wins. Good for them, that isn't something that should be celebrated. They still missed the post season. We as fans need to tell the marketing department to quit making the university look like small struggling potatoes.
So it was. I must've misremembered. I also got close to Tech under the Oakes administration. I suppose I'm leery of the powers that be to do anything other than go out and get a coaches son who's do well and split (Dykes), do poorly and split (Dooley), or do just enough to keep from getting fired.
Time is your friend. Impulse is your enemy. -John Bogle
I like Dr. Guice. Always have. I think he's a real good man. But Dr. Guice should have woken up this morning with legitimate concerns about the state of our entire athletic program. But especially the one that pays the bills: Football. Holtz is killing the energy in the stadium, and I can't imagine that Dr. Guice isn't already hearing from local merchants about the poor attendance.