From the class of 09 wrote:I don't think we should be in the habbit of firing 8-3 coaches. I know we aren't in a strong conference and the money into the program has increased but he's still been 8-3 the last couple years. In my mind last year was the first year we truely underachieved (we should have played in the playoffs). I would also think it becomes a pretty tough hire if you fired your last guy for going 8-3. Who wants to come into that situation? It's not like we are bama or someone like that. If we somehow didn't see the playoffs in the next 5 years then we could talk, but some of you guys act like we are a traditional powerhouse that's fallen on hard times instead of a newer program trying to rise to new heights.
07 we were a win over Toledo and a fairly called overtime against William and Mary away from being eligible for the playoffs (We certainly would have been in the discussion, doubtful we would have made it). That Toledo loss can really be attributed to the offensive playcalling in the second half.
08 we were a Lafeyette or Presbyterian win from making the playoffs. The Lafayette was a simple "not getting off the bus" game, but at home, and Presby was a defensive breakdown that wasn't corrected at all, and has haunted us ever since.
09 we were a win against a mediocre JMU team at home or a win over an SBU team that we had dead to rights in the final minutes from making the playoffs.
'10 we were a Robert Morris win, a JMU win (in a game where we held them to 10 points), or a Coastal win from making the playoffs. The RMU and CCU games were poorly coached defensivley, and the end of the RMU game felt strangely like the end of the Toledo game I mentioned earlier....
which brings me to my point.
4 years running, we've been sitting on the fence. It's the Tony Dungy/Jon Gruden situation. Coach Rocco, to this point, has been Tony Dungy for this program. It was nowhere when he got here, and he brought it to somewhere. Coach Dungy got my Bucs agonizingly close a couple times, but never got to the top. He was replaced after going 6-10, 10-6, 8-8, 11-5, 10-6, 9-7, which was a stark contrast to the 3-5 wins per season the Bucs were getting before he was there.
But, the owners made the call to move on, to bring in a new face that could take the foundation and keep building the team up.
The very next year, under Jon Gruden, the Bucs won the Super Bowl.
Dungy was a really nice guy, I liked him a lot and he did wonders for the team... but the fact is the Bucs were never going to win a Super Bowl with Tony Dungy. He had done all he could do.
Rocco is following the exact same path. So close, it's actually kinda scary. This season for Rocco is going to be exactly the same as the 2001 season for Tony Dungy (1 season of bringing the team out of despair, 4 seasons of success, but not quite reaching the goal, and then a final season where even moderate success isn't enough to keep his job. That was Dungy's situation in Tampa, and I believe that is Rocco's situation at LU). The fans appreciated Dungy for what he'd done, but as they say, almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and Dungy was the king of "almost" in his time with the Bucs.
It was my privilege to serve you today. If you have any feedback, please direct it to my Assistant Director....
One day at a time. GO FLAMES! BEATNCSTATE!
- By thecomeback
- By jmclaughlin