Jeff Bower USM

[faninmonroe]

I have been reflecting on what was once a solid USM football program under Jeff Bower. USM seemed poised to be the next best G6 program.

They won conference championships, bowl games and had a program to be proud of.

Bower resigns and that program has never been a top tier G6 program since.

I don’t want to end up like USM and push out a good coach that has built a decent program

I do wish we had a special teams coach and a consultant for 4th quarter. If you flip the 4th quarter losses over the last 10 years, our school is at the top of the G6 football programs.

We have a very solid base - we just need special teams and 4th quarter help. If Holtz won’t acknowledge that, then it is time to part ways.

[revf]

I have been reflecting on what was once a solid USM football program under Jeff Bower. USM seemed poised to be the next best G6 program.

They won conference championships, bowl games and had a program to be proud of.

Bower resigns and that program has never been a top tier G6 program since.

I don’t want to end up like USM and push out a good coach that has built a decent program

I do wish we had a special teams coach and a consultant for 4th quarter. If you flip the 4th quarter losses over the last 10 years, our school is at the top of the G6 football programs.

We have a very solid base - we just need special teams and 4th quarter help. If Holtz won’t acknowledge that, then it is time to part ways.

Bower won conference championships and was in the hunt for a conference championship every year.

Holtz hasn’t.

That’s the difference.

[PawDawg]

Bower also had a few P5 wins didn’t he?

[HogDawg]

I have been reflecting on what was once a solid USM football program under Jeff Bower. USM seemed poised to be the next best G6 program.

They won conference championships, bowl games and had a program to be proud of.

Bower resigns and that program has never been a top tier G6 program since.

I don’t want to end up like USM and push out a good coach that has built a decent program

I do wish we had a special teams coach and a consultant for 4th quarter. If you flip the 4th quarter losses over the last 10 years, our school is at the top of the G6 football programs.

We have a very solid base - we just need special teams and 4th quarter help. If Holtz won’t acknowledge that, then it is time to part ways.

Fear. Don't let FEAR control you. We can't keep an acknowledged underachieving coach out of simple fear.

I liked Jeff Bower. I never thought USM should have fired Bower in the first place, and I said so right here on BB&B. Why? Because Jeff Bower won 4 CUSA championships (1996, 1997, 1999 & 2003). That's exactly 4 more CUSA championships than Skip Holtz has won at LA Tech. Furthermore, USM's attendance and financial support was at an all-time high when Bower was fired at USM.

Comparing Skip Holtzs' record at LA Tech to that of Bower at USM is laughable.

[FriscoDawg]

The reasons Jeff Bower was let go at Southern Miss had very little to do with success on the field. The reasons that Skip Holtz should be on the hot seat have everything to do with success (or lack of) on the field.

If Skippy had won half of the 7 4th quarter come-from-ahead losses that he had at South Florida, he very likely wouldn't have been available for Tech to hire after 2012.

If Skippy had won half of the 14 4th quarter come-from-ahead losses that he has had at Louisiana Tech (including Mississippi State this year), even with a loss yesterday we probably wouldn't be having discussions here about the need to replace him.

But as some great football philosopher (Bill Parcells) once said, "You are what your record says you are."

Skippy is what his record says he is, and that is a coach whose teams find ways to give away 4th quarter leads to lose about three times more often than his teams find ways to erase 4th quarter deficits to win as what would have happened without the final play yesterday.

If college football teams had general managers who could recruit players but had little or no influence on game day coaching, Skippy would be a good candidate for that position. But that isn't the way college football works.

[HogDawg]

Bower also had a few P5 wins didn’t he?

Yes. Under Jeff Bower, USM beat Virginia Tech in 1992, LSU in 1994, Georgia in 1996, Illinois and Pittsburgh in 1997, Alabama & Oklahoma St in the year 2000, Oklahoma St in 2001, Illinois in 2002, Nebraska in 2004 and NC State in 2006. This was in addition to numerous wins over future P5 programs TCU and Louisville in conference.

So, that's 11 P5 scalps that Jeff Bower brought in.

[SicemDawgz]

Yeah, but Holtz has been one or two plays away many times. That’s good enough for me. Should we expect a coach to actually win occasionally over teams with a pulse here at Tech? Plus he loves Ruston, and that’s worth something.

[PawDawg]

Yeah, but Holtz has been one or two plays away many times. That’s good enough for me. Should we expect a coach to actually win occasionally over teams with a pulse here at Tech? Plus he loves Ruston, and that’s worth something.

spoken like a gold lot guy

[SicemDawgz]

spoken like a gold lot guy

Let them eat cake!!

[Gladzilla]

I noticed a lot of the sez was empty this weekend. Gotta keep taking money from those guys. They support the program.

[boxerdog]

Echo chamber

The Miss State game and the SMU game were vastly different. Miss State gifted us the ball a few times and shot themselves in the foot--until they didn't. Still could've won it on the field goal. I would have like to have seen us try to get closer but I understood why he ran it.

As for SMU, I think the offensive plays were correctly called down the stretch. In fact, I thought the offensive calls were good all game. On our last possession, the holding call really hurt us. I never saw the replay but getting backed up like that made the field goal an appropriate choice.

We needed to keep them in front of us on their last possession but yielding easy first downs (which allowed stopped the clock momentarily) was too passive imo. Allowed them to throw up a prayer--which got answered. I brought a friend to the game (LSU alum) who has no ties to Tech and no rooting interest. He thought Tech coaches called a good game and SMU got lucky at the end (sometimes happens).

To act like Skip made bad coaching decisions at the end of this game is a dull take imo. If anything, Skip should be commended for a well called and executed offensive game plan.

Now, yall can go back to saying the same things and affirming each others' outrage.

[glm47]

Echo chamber

The Miss State game and the SMU game were vastly different. Miss State gifted us the ball a few times and shot themselves in the foot--until they didn't. Still could've won it on the field goal. I would have like to have seen us try to get closer but I understood why he ran it.

As for SMU, I think the offensive plays were correctly called down the stretch. In fact, I thought the offensive calls were good all game. On our last possession, the holding call really hurt us. I never saw the replay but getting backed up like that made the field goal an appropriate choice.

We needed to keep them in front of us on their last possession but yielding easy first downs (which allowed stopped the clock momentarily) was too passive imo. Allowed them to throw up a prayer--which got answered. I brought a friend to the game (LSU alum) who has no ties to Tech and no rooting interest. He thought Tech coaches called a good game and SMU got lucky at the end (sometimes happens).

To act like Skip made bad coaching decisions at the end of this game is a dull take imo. If anything, Skip should be commended for a well called and executed offensive game plan.

Now, yall can go back to saying the same things and affirming each others' outrage.

In both games we played a prevent defense that we are terrible at. That cost us both games. That’s on the HC.

[boxerdog]

In both games we played a prevent defense that we are terrible at. That cost us both games. That’s on the HC.

I don't recall prevent defense in the Miss State game, I do remember poor pass defense though. Any coach that didn't run a form a prevent defense in the last possession of the SMU game is not smart. You could take a poll and 99% would have run some kind of prevent.

[HogDawg]

I don't recall prevent defense in the Miss State game, I do remember poor pass defense though. Any coach that didn't run a form a prevent defense in the last possession of the SMU game is not smart. You could take a poll and 99% would have run some kind of prevent.

WAY TOO MUCH CUSHION given by Tech's DB's on that last drive! I don't know how many fu#%$#^ times I've got to say it. I now scream it directly at Holtz at every home game.

Go back and watch that last SMU drive. Honest to God, I don't even know how our DB's CAN GET SO FAR AWAY from SMU's receivers? It was obvious were coached to play a laid back zone defense and not get anywhere NEAR an SMU WR. That's just shitty, lazy azz coaching.

[HogDawg]

I don't recall prevent defense in the Miss State game, I do remember poor pass defense though. Any coach that didn't run a form a prevent defense in the last possession of the SMU game is not smart. You could take a poll and 99% would have run some kind of prevent.

That's BS, by the way.