[bluedevilflame]

Does that pic make anyone else ill?

I'm used to that gray sweatshirt, apparently the richmond danny rocco wears nice things!

[Schfourteenteen]

As much as we've harped McKay for leaving the way he did, Ritchie must have realized his days were numbered. And for him, getting fired is the end of the line. I wouldn't be surprised if Rocco saw the window to move up or even laterally closing, and this is the first good offer he got this offseason.

[NotAJerry]

I'm a sucker for the Al Golden look, haha

I am not a Rocco hater, but he didn't portray to me "Head Coach," especially in his game day dress.

Bill Belichick.

Can we end the asinine comments about what the coach wears?

[NotAJerry]

This is a top 5 FCS job and is easily a top job in the country overall, better than many FBS programs.

I agree with the rest of what you wrote, but this is just ridiculous. Liberty is a good job in FCS, but not top 5. It is absolutely not on par with App St., GA Southern, ODU, Montana, Montana St., JMU, Richmond, William & Mary, Northern Iowa or really any established top tier FCS job. Someone would be crazy to take the Liberty job over a good job in the CAA, SoCon, Big Sky or Missouri Valley. Liberty is a good job, much better than when Rocco took over, with the potential to be one of the best FCS jobs around in the fairly near future, but it's not there yet.

[alabama24]

I'm a sucker for the Al Golden look, haha

I am not a Rocco hater, but he didn't portray to me "Head Coach," especially in his game day dress.

Bill Belichick.

Can we end the asinine comments about what the coach wears?

Nope. Belichick looks like a thug. Plus, this is NCAA, not the NFL.

[01LUGrad]

Did anyone else pick yesterday (the worst possible day) to stay away from the internet like me????



Without reading through all of the threads on here, my inital reaction is that I am very grateful for the time that Rocco spent here. He took the program from the bottom to knocking on the door of the top. Were there some regrets along the way? Sure, but I wish him nothing but the best as he moves forward. Richmond is lucky to have him.

On the other hand............I.........won't miss................the way.........................he........talked in................................press....conferences.

Holy smokes, that was annoying.

[TH Spangler]

I support Liberty because of the Christian values it tries to inspire in its students. And it needs to stay that way. But less face it, recruiting 17 year old star athletes to a University that tries it's best to honor and abide by the "Liberty way" is no easy task. I think JB hinted at it in his interview. Liberty has to find a coach that wants to be here .... because of who LU is. One that believes in what the University is all about, and accepts the fact that our recruiting challenges could effect his personal career objectives. The Asa incident highlighted how difficult it is to coach these days.

I have no inside information on what happened with Rocco ..... but think about this, a coach that's focused on his own career and looking to move up to a school like Wake might feel like he has one arm tied behind his back at Liberty. We demand a winning team .... and then go nuts when a player slips up ..... it's got to be hard on a coach.

I think we can find the right guy .... the school is totally ($$$) committed to it's athletics.

[BiggAl57]

After talking with some folks, I'm afraid we are going to lose some talent. Not necessarily to Richmond, but it seems like a lot of guys might already be looking elsewhere.

There is a rumor floating around the team that if your coach leaves to go to another program (and not fired) you can follow him without losing any eligibility. I think there ia a lot of wishful thinking going one.

all my son said was that it felt like someone died today in the meeting

You may be able to shed some light on this. It feels like a lot of this team seems to have been playing for their coach more so than their school. Maybe I'm being idealistic or naive, but the guys that I played with put their jerseys on to play for Liberty. I realize it's different with football players on a full ride, but it seems like there isn't much pride in playing for Liberty itself. Am I wrong?

I can't summarize it for all the other players just my son. My son came to LU as a preferred walkon. He came to LU because of the christian foundations and to play football. I don't think he had any contact with DR until fall camp 08 when he drove up to see what camp was like and watch practice. He was talking with Coach Roberts and Manny during his senior year. DR walked up to him at the camp and told him he had a spot on the team and did not have to try out. He has busted his tail off since day one to earn playing time. Over the last 3 years he has been moved from position to position, filling in when starters get hurt and doing what ever he can for the team. As for the full scholly players i can't tell you if their motivation was for the coach or for the school. Based on what i have seen most of them are motivatied by what best serves them.

[Purple Haize]

I'm a sucker for the Al Golden look, haha

I am not a Rocco hater, but he didn't portray to me "Head Coach," especially in his game day dress.

Bill Belichick.

Can we end the asinine comments about what the coach wears?

I look at it like a Nuke LaLouche and his shower shoes situation. In the majors it gives you color and style. BUT you are not in the majors and it just makes you look like a slob. I have $5 that says he looks more professional on the sidelines next year.

Other random thoughts:
I think the Academic requirements at UR would be a bigger obstacle then the Liberty Way. We have a history of 'missionary admissions'
Also, the cost of UR is prohibitive. I know that BIGAL is proudly part of the 1% but that's a hefty price tag for walk ons. They do help fill out a roster
When did DR become such a hawk on academics? I mean if you were that concerned about it, why didnt the football team have the highest GPA on campus?
I don't expect to find out all the facts through media interviews because it wouldne detrimental to both sides if they aired dirty laundry.
WARNING POSSIBLE THREAD HIGH JACK: is leaving to be the head coach at Richmond a better move then leaving to be associate head coach at a certain ACC School?

[bigsmooth]

if rocco had taken this team to the playoffs no one would care about how he dressed. give me a break! i guess some are just chronic complainers or want to find fault in everything. Rocco is gone, we thank him for his achievements and we move on to bigger and better things.

[Purple Haize]

if rocco had taken this team to the playoffs no one would care about how he dressed. give me a break! i guess some are just chronic complainers or want to find fault in everything. Rocco is gone, we thank him for his achievements and we move on to bigger and better things.

Did you not see Bull Durham?

[bigsmooth]

you are such a comedian haize.

[Purple Haize]

you are such a comedian haize.

Tell me that scene isn't appropriate to the sideline apparel? You can learn a lot in life with humor. Once you own the steel Compny you can dress however you want, people will think you have flair. Dress however you want NOW......you will be paying top dollar from your suppliers.

[jcmanson]

Listening to Rocco's interview on WSET it sounded like his mind has been made up for a while now about leaving. It was just a matter of where.

[bigsmooth]

i never pay top dollar and never will. Im that good.

[Purple Haize]

i never pay top dollar and never will. Im that good.

Which is why you were the NOI bow tie!

[R i]

It is my impression that Rocco was going to leave after this year no matter what. After a busted season, his best offer was Richmond. I had that feeling all year.

1.)The way he placed all of his stock in the senior class.
2.) How he handled Asa and others.
3.) He rarely spoke of the future being bright.
4.)I have watched his press conferences from day one. This year he used that weekly presser as a chance to share his resume over and over. What he had done.
5.) The low number of signees or verbals.

It all adds up to me. I honestly have no problems with Rocco wanting to better his career, Its just dissapointing he did not get it done here, and still decided to jump ship. This program and vision is much bigger than one man. The only time we will see Rocco will be looking back at Richmond in the FCS poles.

[Purple Haize]

Where are all the posters who were prophesying that LU football would crumble if DR left? That only HE could lead us to the promise land? Why are they not on here now ?

[PAmedic]

i never pay top dollar and never will. Im that good.

that explains the Hyundai

[Purple Haize]

i never pay top dollar and never will. Im that good.

that explains the Hyundai

O no he didn. , snap. Yes he did!

[rogers3]

This is a top 5 FCS job and is easily a top job in the country overall, better than many FBS programs.

I agree with the rest of what you wrote, but this is just ridiculous. Liberty is a good job in FCS, but not top 5. It is absolutely not on par with App St., GA Southern, ODU, Montana, Montana St., JMU, Richmond, William & Mary, Northern Iowa or really any established top tier FCS job. Someone would be crazy to take the Liberty job over a good job in the CAA, SoCon, Big Sky or Missouri Valley. Liberty is a good job, much better than when Rocco took over, with the potential to be one of the best FCS jobs around in the fairly near future, but it's not there yet.

Those two schools are going nowhere, so you probably should take those off the list. For what Rocco wants to do, Richmond might be good for him, but he certainly didn't go to get their program on the same course as South Florida or Boise State. For the coach that wants to take a program in that direction, I'd say this is one of the top opportunities in the FCS.

[PAmedic]

i never pay top dollar and never will. Im that good.

that explains the Hyundai

O no he didn. , snap. Yes he did!

I love his car. I accidently backed right over it, but it's cute.

If he had a Pekingese, it would look good in there.

[bballfan84]

It is my impression that Rocco was going to leave after this year no matter what. After a busted season, his best offer was Richmond. I had that feeling all year.

1.)The way he placed all of his stock in the senior class.
2.) How he handled Asa and others.
3.) He rarely spoke of the future being bright.
4.)I have watched his press conferences from day one. This year he used that weekly presser as a chance to share his resume over and over. What he had done.
5.) The low number of signees or verbals.

It all adds up to me. I honestly have no problems with Rocco wanting to better his career, Its just dissapointing he did not get it done here, and still decided to jump ship. This program and vision is much bigger than one man. The only time we will see Rocco will be looking back at Richmond in the FCS poles.

Well he definitely left the program in better hands than when he took over. In my eyes he got it done here. When I first went to Liberty in 03 the football team was a joke under Karcher. They are much better now and have benefitted from the job Rocco did.

[ALUmnus]

There is a rumor floating around the team that if your coach leaves to go to another program (and not fired) you can follow him without losing any eligibility. I think there ia a lot of wishful thinking going one.

all my son said was that it felt like someone died today in the meeting

You may be able to shed some light on this. It feels like a lot of this team seems to have been playing for their coach more so than their school. Maybe I'm being idealistic or naive, but the guys that I played with put their jerseys on to play for Liberty. I realize it's different with football players on a full ride, but it seems like there isn't much pride in playing for Liberty itself. Am I wrong?

I can't summarize it for all the other players just my son. My son came to LU as a preferred walkon. He came to LU because of the christian foundations and to play football. I don't think he had any contact with DR until fall camp 08 when he drove up to see what camp was like and watch practice. He was talking with Coach Roberts and Manny during his senior year. DR walked up to him at the camp and told him he had a spot on the team and did not have to try out. He has busted his tail off since day one to earn playing time. Over the last 3 years he has been moved from position to position, filling in when starters get hurt and doing what ever he can for the team. As for the full scholly players i can't tell you if their motivation was for the coach or for the school. Based on what i have seen most of them are motivatied by what best serves them.

Like BigAl said, it's a player-by-player feeling. I've heard from one that a lot of players are actually happy, not that Rocco is leaving, but that it means the other coaches will be gone. Every player has their own connections, biases, grudges, etc., so it's really hard to say that there's a unified feeling among the team. I'm sure this is the case in most football programs, where the head coach typically isn't the one coaching you or making the decisions.

[new2flames]

I support Liberty because of the Christian values it tries to inspire in its students. And it needs to stay that way. But less face it, recruiting 17 year old star athletes to a University that tries it's best to honor and abide by the "Liberty way" is no easy task. I think JB hinted at it in his interview. Liberty has to find a coach that wants to be here .... because of who LU is. One that believes in what the University is all about, and accepts the fact that our recruiting challenges could effect his personal career objectives. The Asa incident highlighted how difficult it is to coach these days.

I have no inside information on what happened with Rocco ..... but think about this, a coach that's focused on his own career and looking to move up to a school like Wake might feel like he has one arm tied behind his back at Liberty. We demand a winning team .... and then go nuts when a player slips up ..... it's got to be hard on a coach.

Finally, someone who gets it! Liberty is GREAT, but you don't know that until after you get here. High school seniors who have been looking forward to getting out of the house, aren't excited about a 12:30 curfew. The attitude in admin. is that LU should be able to attract every top-tier player who claims to be a Christian...and if they don't, they aren't doing their job...seriously, does anyone think that Tebow would have passed on UF to come to Liberty? It is irrelevant to recruits how much money the head coach makes or the perks given to assistants...the current staff recruited hard.
I think we can find the right guy .... the school is totally ($$$) committed to it's athletics.