No, haven’t defended any home losses. We definitely have problems with our football program... Firing everyone except Rattay probably isn’t a solution.
Hmm.....you don't know that that's not actually true. Skip coaches football today because its all he's ever known. PD on the other hand, is a man of many, diversified, talents. We've seen a lot of poor coaches in college football that many of us could "out coach".
Frankly, based on what I saw the last 4 games of this season, I like PD's chances to win in Hawaii much better than Skip's. However, if you want to see us really embarrass Hawaii, we'll send in D80.
This is funny to me. Coaching is one of the few professions (as well as teacher, being a journalist and refereeing -- I seem to have an attraction to these types of jobs) where everybody thinks they can do regardless of their education or experience. I was guilty of this at one time. It's easy to say I could coach better than so and so, but the fact of the matter is if you ask the average college football fan to draw up a single play to beat a 4-2-5 Man Free scheme, they simply can't do it. If you ask someone to draw up a man defense and a zone defense to line up against a trips formation, they simply can't do it. And that's one play, not taking into account calling play after play in a stressful game-day environment. I've been fortunate to be around some really smart minds at the high school level. I've learned a lot, and learned how much I didn't know. I still don't know everything, but I'm much more educated today than I was three years ago, when I was ignorant. There are some coaches who have a job at the college level who aren't great at the X's and O's but are fabulous recruiters, but the fact of the matter is it's extremely difficult to become a head coach in college football and not know a whole lot more football than fans do.
the bold, the beautiful, theprofessor
Yet out of the really die hard posters on here, we have several people who played, coached, administrated programs, etc. at various levels and most of us agree that what's going on from the athletic admin down to some of the coaching is anywhere from bad decision making to flat out poor job performance. There are some that don't see it that way and that is their right, but that group has gotten smaller the longer we keep the AD/HC duo we have right now.
Coaching is not difficult. Most people don't pursue coaching simply because they don't want to starve to death for the first 15 to 20 years of their career. This is EXACTLY the reason I didn't pursue a career in Journalism. It doesn't mean those people are too stupid, or afraid to coach the game.
For the most part, coaching is just like any other profession....it's an acquired skill. Some of these events you cite in your post are certainly substantiated proof of that. As you stated, you learned a lot in the last 3 years. The difference is, most of us didn't practice law in the 7th grade, or put braces on kids teeth in middle school. BUT....many of us DID play football in middle school, high school, college, etc ...and most of us have been exposed to football on at least a weekly basis (in some form) ever since. Furthermore, today's technology has given us more opportunities to study the game, witness good and bad football --as well as football coaching-- at the mere push of a button. We know more about football coaching today than we do about being a dentist or a lawyer, etc...because its exciting, and it's more available to us on a daily basis. Say what you will, but the coaching profession gets a lot of exposure.
As a legacy football coach, Skip Holtz never had to worry about starving to death. He didn't pay the same dues you described in your post above. He never had to teach 7th grade history classes or a 9th grade Civics class while simultaneously serving 5 to 10 years as a 35K per year assistant football coach at a Class A school in Podunk, La. Skip just didn't have to pay the same dues that the son of a barber, or a factory worker or a small town business owner would have had to pay to start a football coaching career. To the contrary, Skip started out on top, and has always been on top. Pardon the pun, but he got to "skip" the hard stuff. Sklp went to Notre Dame, because his father coached there. He started his coaching career at the college level (very unusual), and has always been there. In fact, as far as I know, Skip never coached a down off high school football. He mostly worked for his father off and on, and was able to capitalize on many of his fathers contacts over the years to get good jobs at schools like Notre Dame, Florida St, South Carolina, etc...
Perhaps Skip would be a better coach today, if he had started where you did.
To be clear, I don't begrudge Skip for being born on 3rd base. But let's don't ever forget that he didn't get there the same way most, including his daddy, did. As I stated in my previous post, it's all he's ever known. But it doesn't mean he's the messiah of coaching. His teams weren't prepared for at least the last 4 games of this season.
Good post HogDawg!
Coaching? I'll tell ya about coaching! Like:
*sweeping the bus out, topping off the tank...all at midnight in sub-30 degree temps, just so that bus would be ready for its normal run in the morning.
*mowing the field, under the lights, with a push-mower because the tractor was in the shop.
*throwing $30 on the counter at a Burger King just so a few of your players could eat after a game.
*supplying medical and other supplies for your kids, because the AD failed to include your program in his budget...oops!
* so on, and so forth....
But, I loved my kids(players), so it was all worth it.
You actually believe that just because Skip Holtz had a leg up on the competition, he didn't have to pay his dues? He was a GA for two years. He was a position coach for three years. Yes, he got an early shot at being an OC most likely because of who his father is, but it wasn't like he walked out of the college classroom into a role as an offensive coordinator. He has spent 13 years of his career as a college assistant. Everybody who gets to the position he's in has to earn that position. Yes, he had more advantages than the average college coach, but he's won everywhere he's been except for South Florida.
the bold, the beautiful, theprofessor
You also forgot painting the field till mid-night the day before the game (every home game)....
Spreading (15) fifteen 8yd dump trucks of sand over the field in 90+ degree heat at night with just little help from a few boosters that have the equipment to not make it a wheelbarrow job (every year)
Cleaning the concession stands
Cleaning the bathrooms
Doing laundry till 2 am and then breaking down game film so you can meet with your kids at 10:00 am the next morning
Having to call big Johnny into your office and tell him that his grandmother died of a heart attack and we have to go FIND your mom
Letting big Johnny sleep on your couch after for a month after his grandmother died of a heart attack and his mom went on a bad bender and trashed where you live
Being at the hospital with Marcus till the next morning after Marcus blew his knee or shoulder out because you are the closest thing that Marcus has to a father in this world
That's just a few things
This is what REAL coaches do - and they are not making $100k a year plus and being supplemented by a booster club and provided a vehicle and country club membership
''Don't be a bad dagh..."
He was Lou's son - he had a silver ticket into the coaching fraternity that very few are lucky enough to have
He was ran off at Notre Dame while on Lou's staff, he was FIRED from South Carolina while on Lou's staff and Lou was basically asked to move on because he insisted Skip be named coach in waiting
''Don't be a bad dagh..."