[flameslinger]

Gill was 20-0 as a Big Eight starter. He was also a winning leader and teammate. That's why Osborne hired him as his quarterback coach, so he could join a staff that just kept on winning and winning. Gill was part of a Husker program that won three national championships and just missed two other ones in a five-year span.... "I knew the minute I met Coach Osborne when he was recruiting me that he would help make me a man," said Gill

This is an old article. Read the rest here. http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml ... =204815577

This is why I think Gill is absolutely the right man to lead this program. I think he's the perfect head coach for us, as long as he leads the right way (what SJ and Haize are saying). The guy has been in winning programs as a player and coach. I really believe the more consistent wins will come. I also think that he can recruit quality athletes that will do well in our unique culture. I've liked his recruits so far, and we are really seeing very few on the field as of yet.

Also, consider the last line in regards to Josh's quote that it's not always about winning. This article is pretty revealing in terms of what is meant by that and where that is coming from.

[rogers3]

Just read the article below on UVA football and I wonder if this should serve as a warning to us? Also, read the comment at the bottom about the coach and players not having faith in each other. That is what a losing culture does to a team.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/sports/col ... 4b496.html

Rotate; London to Lynchburg, Gill to Richmond, Rocco to Charlottesville.

I doubt if UVa fans want a coach that lost the key games that kept his last team at home in the playoffs. As much as folks seem to question the effectiveness of our head coach, it doesn't take much to look back and see that our last coach seemed to have some pretty bad games, as well. Some were content to take the good with the bad, but probably some of the folks doubting Gill are the same ones who were saying that Rocco couldn't take us to the next level.

[jlread]

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.

Lots of good points here! I won't be at any more games this season. Theirs nothing on the line. Maybe they should consider that when they schedule Costal in the future it shouldn't be as early in the season. OR Maybe we need a new coach if we don't make the playoffs next year. I would venture to say a smart man would put in the contract that if we don't make playoffs after 3 years of your tenure The Gills a gone'r

[panther1]

The play calling at the end of the game is the BIG situation. We run on teams until they are beat up and then decide, " we will show them we can pass." We should have had 300 yards rushing in the last 3 games. They could not stop us.

[BJWilliams]

you do realize JLread that zero coaches would agree to a contract THAT strict about playoff participation right?

[Purple Haize]

Jlread may have the early lead for Dumbest Post of the Year!

The Conference games are scheduled by the conference office
No coach would sign a 3 year 'Play Offs or Else' contract. So there goes your 'Smart Man' theory

[jbock13]

Jlread may have the early lead for Dumbest Post of the year!

Which one, there's so many of them.

[Purple Haize]

Jlread may have the early lead for Dumbest Post of the year!

Which one, there's so many of them.

Good point. I'm going with the most recent!

[BJWilliams]

Im serious...any coach who agrees to a contract that says that if you don't go to the playoffs within three years you are automatically fired, whether they have an agent or not, should first off not even be coaching, and second, needs to get their head examined. As much as I know we ALL want to get to the playoffs, that would be an even bigger knee-jerk than firing TG after this season. Just because CJM went to the playoffs his first year (and probably will his second) does not mean we need to have some sort of raging penis envy and torpedo ourselves by making that sort of mandate on top of that. Im certainly glad that no one on here is the AD or they probably would have fired the coach as soon as he got to the locker room after this past Saturday night (well some of us anyway...the more sane among us, including SJ, PH and postie among others, at least are willing to give him a chance)

[Purple Haize]

Im serious...any coach who agrees to a contract that says that if you don't go to the playoffs within three years you are automatically fired, whether they have an agent or not, should first off not even be coaching, and second, needs to get their head examined. As much as I know we ALL want to get to the playoffs, that would be an even bigger knee-jerk than firing TG after this season. Just because CJM went to the playoffs his first year (and probably will his second) does not mean we need to have some sort of raging penis envy and torpedo ourselves by making that sort of mandate on top of that. Im certainly glad that no one on here is the AD or they probably would have fired the coach as soon as he got to the locker room after this past Saturday night (well some of us anyway...the more sane among us, including SJ, PH and postie among others, at least are willing to give him a chance)

For starters I wouldn't have fired him in the locker room. I wouldn't even tell him he had my 100% support! because that is always the harbinger of doom. If you think he is the right guy, and I do, you let him do his thing. So really its a good thing YOU are not the AD

As proof, you called SJ, Postie and I sane!

[SuperJon]

If I'm being lumped in the sane crowd with BJ, I don't want to be sane.

[BJWilliams]

I would let him do his thing as well. My comments were more directed at the people who practically wanted to run him out of town after the game on Saturday

[Purple Haize]

I would let him do his thing as well. My comments were more directed at the people who practically wanted to run him out of town after the game on Saturday

This was your quote 'Im certainly glad that no one on here is the AD or they probably would have fired the coach as soon as he got to the locker room after this past Saturday night'
It didn't differentiate

[BJWilliams]

thanks for that PH...I should have said, "Im glad certain people on here are not the AD" my point is, we don't need any knee-jerk reactions after what has been a very gut-wrenching three weeks. a lot of people on here are wanting to run the man out of town and he hasnt even made it to 20 games coached yet. Some (well one in particular) are even declaring this season a failure if we lose one more game. (although I think still others are calling it a failure after this past Saturday)

[thepostman]

I am honored beej, I thought you hated me now!

[Purple Haize]

raging penis envy

And from our guest moderator! I was

[thepostman]

no wonder the ad content is so awful!!!

[SuperJon]

We could torpedo ourselves with that raging penis envy.

[Purple Haize]

Yep. Gets you in the butt everytime

[thepostman]

nastygram pm's in 5...4...3...2....1..........................

[BJWilliams]

My point is (though colorfully worded) that we don't need to try to be like Coastal. they are a completely different context than we are.
The only thing that we have in common is we are both FCS/I-AA and in the Big South. If our goal was to be like them, that would frankly be a rather underwhelming aspiration

[SuperJon]

If our goal was to be like them, that would frankly be a rather underwhelming aspiration

If our goal is to make the playoffs three times, the regionals in baseball for a decade, be a national seed in baseball, make the super regionals in baseball, and win the league in basketball a few times, yeah, that's an underwhelming aspiration.

The entire Beat Coastal "rivalry" is based on the fact that we know we have to beat them to have success.

Your arrogance towards other programs is the epitome of the Liberty Athletics arrogance that is the #1 thing holding us back from moving forward. Get off your high horse and realize how much further along other programs may be when compared to us. We aren't the gold standard, even if we have the most gold.

[BJWilliams]

I never thought we were the gold standard...my point is that we don't have to spend so much time an energy trying to go about it the same way they did. Its good to want success...you just don't have to use someone else's model to achieve success. If a model works for them, then it works for them. Im not saying that our model is better than that, just that if we want to be successful like they have been successful, we dont necessarily have to do it exactly the way they did it. It may take some swallowing of a bitter pill to do, but that doesn't mean we have to become CCU 2.0 just so we can get better results.

[BJWilliams]

Just because we want to be successful like Coastal, does not mean we necessarily have to "be like Coastal"...see what Im sayin homeslice? (yeah I said homeslice...what ya gonna do about it)

[adam42381]

The problem is that Liberty's model is clearly not working. Whether it's arrogance from the top down or something else, a major change is needed in the near future. You can't keep telling everyone you're ready to move up in the near future while continually looking down at the schools that are more successfull in the present.