[thepostman]

Making it worse by posting that. And on top of that it makes our coaching staff look incredibly silly

[PatrickKelly]

That's funny stuff. For the record I'm a man, I'm 40 (reference to Gundy) so this is for sure not the Pat Kelly that was a wr on the team. So BJ, now I run the risk of being black listed because I dare ask if Gill can get us over the mediocre hump and into the promise land of playoff football? I would hope that Barber and others have more to do. Plus, Barber knew Gills body of work as a head coach so he probably wouldn't be shocked to hear someone simply asking a question.

[forbidden]

Somebody, please tell me that what I am reading above can't possibly be true. This is some of the most asinine stuff that I can think of really it is.

[thepostman]

BJ is a lot of things but he isn't a liar so I am sure it's real. I just am confused as to why pat Kelly thought talking to BJ was the course of action he should go. Oh well. It's pretty comical. Most of us agree that TE too early to make a decision on gill. It was a mere conversation starter

[BJWilliams]

Its because Pat is a personal friend of mine from my time calling LCA football games and when it came to his attention what was going on, he figured that since I was part of the board community that I could at least talk to somebody about it, express his concerns (since by his own admission, he tends to avoid message boards) and find out what could be done if anything about it. Discussion is certainly a good thing (otherwise places like this would not exist), but I also think that this really was an unintended consequence of the fact that someone who shares a name with (or his username was inspired by) one of our former football players makes those kind of "conversation starter" comments.

[jcmanson]

I think that's enough talk about this whole Pat Kelly thing. Let's get the conversation back on topic so we don't have to close this thread down.

Thanks guys.

[thepostman]

But wouldn't you agree that it's a bit silly of our staff to be concerned with this place? It's not the fist time it's happened and it won't be the last but I find it ridiculous everytime it happens. We say we are FBS read but with thin skin like this we are not.

[jcmanson]

But wouldn't you agree that it's a bit silly of our staff to be concerned with this place? It's not the fist time it's happened and it won't be the last but I find it ridiculous everytime it happens. We say we are FBS read but with thin skin like this we are not.

That's a whole different topic.

[SuperJon]

But wouldn't you agree that it's a bit silly of our staff to be concerned with this place? It's not the fist time it's happened and it won't be the last but I find it ridiculous everytime it happens. We say we are FBS read but with thin skin like this we are not.

Our entire administration, both on the University side and Athletics side reads this place. It's pretty sad.

[BJWilliams]

That's funny stuff. For the record I'm a man, I'm 40 (reference to Gundy) so this is for sure not the Pat Kelly that was a wr on the team. So BJ, now I run the risk of being black listed because I dare ask if Gill can get us over the mediocre hump and into the promise land of playoff football? I would hope that Barber and others have more to do. Plus, Barber knew Gills body of work as a head coach so he probably wouldn't be shocked to hear someone simply asking a question.

My final comment on the matter but I really don't know. As I said above, I was sent that note because PK is a friend of mine and wanted to pass along his concerns and see if anything could be done and just let it be known that some of the things that are said can potentially have consequences outside of the board, that we may not know about otherwise.

To get back on the original premise, I agree with those who think it is too soon to know if he is the right man for the job or not, and that if you want results more instantaneous...go make some Ramen or something that can give you much faster results than can be had with a football program changing coaches every couple seasons because of some people who appear to be a tad impatient.

Richmond didnt make their first playoff appearance until the 7th season the playoffs even existed, and went through I think six coaches before they won their NC in 2008, and with the exception of Mike London (who bounced to UVa following 2009), all of them up to that point in the I-AA/FCS era were there at least 3 seasons (the first coach of that era was there four seasons prior to the creation of I-AA/FCS). That said, any thought of making a change because the guy went 6-5 in his first year and is above .500 (for the record, only three coaches in school history are above .500 for their tenure...all were there at least three years) is premature

[PatrickKelly]

No one in this thread is advocating that Gill not be given at least 3-4 years. That's only fair to any new staff. I was simply asking what the overall thoughts of other posters are. As we grow as a program and a fan base we're going to have get a little tougher skin. Go on other message boards and you'll see we're pretty sensitive here.

I want nothing more than Gill to get us to the playoffs and beyond. I'll continue to support him and the program.

[PAmedic]

agreed on supporting TG and his team and agree on wanting more.

embarrassed by some of the nonsense posted and even more embarrassed for those who don't realize how embarrassed they should be.

look like a bunch of complete tools.

'nuff said. [sorry MANSON]

[Kolzilla41]

agreed on supporting TG and his team and agree on wanting more.

embarrassed by some of the nonsense posted and even more embarrassed for those who don't realize how embarrassed they should be.

look like a bunch of complete tools.

'nuff said. [sorry MANSON]

+1 medic

[jinxy]

Can we delete this whole thing. Wow.

[Purple Haize]

agreed on supporting TG and his team and agree on wanting more.

embarrassed by some of the nonsense posted and even more embarrassed for those who don't realize how embarrassed they should be.

look like a bunch of complete tools.

'nuff said. [sorry MANSON]

You've been reading your old posts haven't you?

[LUconn]

The way I see it, this was a legitimate question when Gill was hired. It would be a legitimate when any coach has been hired, before any games have been played. Is this the man for the job? In fact, we did ask this very question in that hiring thread. And really, I don't think anything has changed to sway the answer one way or the other. So it is still a legit question, but somewhat pointless to ask since we hashed out the same facts when he was hired.

[jinxy]

The question is legit. The 10 responses or so above is just sad.

[Purple Haize]

The question is legit. The 10 responses or so above is just sad.

[dakotafalcon4]

I really wish that we would call a spade a spade..

Bothers me that we claim BS championships yet we are constantly sharing the title and we are actually not the ones getting the playoff bids.

I wish we would claim an outright championship with a playoff bid before we start acting like we are FBS material.

Every time I hear the radio commercials about "your Big South champions" I want to say, "oh really, yea the playoffs have been really exciting".

[BJWilliams]

df4, nobody here is ok with us sharing the Big South Championship and not going to the playoffs (if anyone has said they are ok with that on record, they need their head examined). Everyone here wants to see us go to the playoffs, wants us to win outright conference championships (the last one was the fall of my final year in undergrad at Liberty) and one day move up to FBS and get a chance to play teams like Notre Dame and Alabama and Ohio State EVERY Saturday...that said, if we just bounce a coach every 2-3 years because we are impatient because he doesnt give instant championship results, we probably would set this program back to where it was during the Karcher days (and that was some dark history on the field for those who remember).

[olldflame]

Check out the username of our newest registered FF member

PatKellyWR9

[jlread]

Ummmmm maybe we should bring back more Dialog to this post topic after last nights 4th quarter disaster. This Hasn't happened since 2006...... Just say'n... Maybe this Pat Kelly is a prophet? Haha

[SuperJon]

I think the most damning thing for Gill from yesterday's loss is that he's lost a large majority of the fan base. I heard multiple students telling their parents things along the lines of, "Yeah, we're not bad. We win every game at home and lose them all on the road" or "We blow out teams that aren't good but lose to teams that are." The students aren't buying the hype anymore.

I heard multiple people talking about "fire Gill" or "I'm done with this team" while walking out of the stadium last night. One comment of "There goes the playoffs. No reason to come back this year" really stuck in my head.

A new coach is going to be given a grace period. Last year's 0-4 start was chalked up to a new coach and new system and all of that. Kent State was chalked up to them being FBS.

The tide started to shift around the Richmond game. We didn't expect to win that game but it was eye opening to see them (Richmond) prepared so much more than us, especially with our old coach on their sideline. Then we go to ODU in a game no one expected us to keep within two touchdowns. We have the lead and completely crap it away. After that game you could see that the grace period from the fans was starting to end. They were starting to notice some things but Liberty wasn't expected to win these games so the fans were still giving the benefit of the doubt because of one thing:

There's still a chance of the playoffs.

Then comes homecoming. Liberty gets out to a 19-point lead. Coastal can't stop us. Everything we do is working. As the third quarter ended and we were only up 12, the rumbling started. I could see people start to expect the shoe to drop. The comments started changing from positive to worrisome. By the time Coastal scored to tie it, no one around me expected us to drive to even get a field goal. They all expected to go to overtime. Some even got up to go to the bathroom during that last minute so that they wouldn't miss overtime.

The sound of the field goal in the second overtime getting blocked was also the sound of a fan base turning on a coach. Most aren't saying, "Fire Gill" yet, but the honeymoon is over. He no longer has the fans assuming the positive.

The same thing happened to Rocco, albeit it took a longer time. After the PC game in 08, people were shocked but okay with it. After Stony Brook in 09, the fans started wondering if he could win the big game. After getting blown out by Coastal on the road in 2010, the fans realized the WTF game wasn't just a one year thing but rather an every year occurrence. By 2011 and the Asa debacle, a large portion of the fan base was ready for him to be gone.

It's much harder to build trust back once it's gone. Right now the trust in the head football coach isn't there. I will be shocked if there are more than 16,000 people in the stands for the VMI game and it could very well go down from there.

Not many are saying, "Fire Gill" right now, but when the fans stop showing up, Jerry Jr will take notice. The largest donor to our athletics program is the University, so if the University isn't happy, Jr will move to make a change. The power goes to where the money comes from. In many schools that is the donor base or the program sugar daddy. In our case, that is the President of the University.

Can Gill turn it around? It's totally possible. It'll take a change in the way he coaches late in games and the way he prepares but it's totally possible.

Will the fans buy in until he proves he can? That's the bigger question and is the one that may be a no.

[CinciFlame]

This was a great post Jon. I look at the big picture and return on investment. The last I heard or budget for football was around $18, 000, 000. That's allot more than some FBS schools spend. Are we getting a good return for our $18, 000, 000? I started this thread to ask opinions on Gill. BJ now writes I want a fire sale and to clean house, that's not the case, but I've reached MY conclusion that Gill is a great man of faith, but a mediocre coach.

[thepostman]

great post SJ with insight on the feelings there at the stadium. Those are the ones supporting the program the most and they are feeling that way.

I still believe TG can be the guy to take us to that next step (playoffs) but he must re-evaluate how he coaches in the 4th quarter to do so.