Originally Posted by
StrayDawg
Boxer / Dawgmatic,
I agree with your points about the admin being cheap and Bicknell being controlled. But, this problem is bigger than just last year.
Off the top of my head, I can remember at least two seasons (maybe three) when we finished dead last in defense in the entire country...last year and the year that Rice ran for 8 million yards against us. We had different coordinators, different schemes, 3-4, 4-3, and on and on. I think the players liked Bicknell, but I do not think they wanted to win for him. Rick Smith is a very good defensive mind who did well before coming to Tech and after leaving. But, his players were not allowed to hit in practice and therefore were sometimes poor in their fundamentals, that wasn't Oakes' fault.
No doubt Bicknell did not have an abundance of resources at his disposal, but he also made a lot of bonehead decisions (recruiting "strategy" is a great example). I'm just glad those days are over. Hopefully, it is all uphill from here.