Many of you want to focus on experience, the xs and os, and scheme philosophies. Maybe you're right in doing so. But after watching 17 years of mediocre football, I think we simply don't have a culture of winning anymore. We don't have players who know how to win - haven't had that in 17 years. We don't have coaches who know how to create that environment of urgency; that culture that sends a clear message to the players that losing WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. Maybe we do want to rope in the higher higher ups and put some blame on them too.
No matter how you slice it, it's everyone and it's everywhere. Unfortunately for the coaches, I think they're caught in the cross hairs. They're with the team more than the admins, and thus have more ability to directly influence them on a personal level. The players are who we all must rely on to execute , to make plays, and to win. But they need to WANT IT, and I just don't think we have enough people on the team who are SOOO DESPERATE TO WIN.
Some of you rightfully want to look at recruiting. 5-stars, 4-stars, etc. I agree with you to a point. Zion is a 2-star (and he plays like it at times) but how many 4-stars did he beat out? We've recruited 4-stars and 5-stars who are weak; who are not leaders. We've recruited 2 and 3-stars who are high character kids who might have some leadership skills, but combined with a team/culture that doesn't know how to win, they usually just fall by the wayside. And we've recruited a bunch of other nice players, but it's simply NOT good enough. They're fast. They're strong. But they don't have the heart to be anything other than a 3rd/4th/5th round pick, and they're OK with that. THAT is state of this program - simply being OK with being a late round NFL draft pick. This is a LOSING mentality.
How do you fix this? Gary's on the Blake James kick, which I like to see. Go right to the top. Maybe. I don't know, and let's be honest - NO ONE ELSE DOES EITHER. Very small chance Manny gets it done here. But that IS the task at hand. He has a terribly rough hill ahead of him. He will likely fail. And guess what? Butch probably would fail too, and even Super Mario would have less than a 50% chance of getting it done here. It's BIGGER than the coach. I don't care who gets it done. But we need a guy to change the ENTIRE culture of this team. Right now, Manny's got the opportunity. It's easy for us throw shade at him. It's easy for us to be overly critical of EVERY single move he makes or doesn't make. But he's the guy right now. So, and I've said this earlier, I have no choice but to be all-in with Manny. So, let's go and see how he does.
No matter how you slice it, it's everyone and it's everywhere. Unfortunately for the coaches, I think they're caught in the cross hairs. They're with the team more than the admins, and thus have more ability to directly influence them on a personal level. The players are who we all must rely on to execute , to make plays, and to win. But they need to WANT IT, and I just don't think we have enough people on the team who are SOOO DESPERATE TO WIN.
Some of you rightfully want to look at recruiting. 5-stars, 4-stars, etc. I agree with you to a point. Zion is a 2-star (and he plays like it at times) but how many 4-stars did he beat out? We've recruited 4-stars and 5-stars who are weak; who are not leaders. We've recruited 2 and 3-stars who are high character kids who might have some leadership skills, but combined with a team/culture that doesn't know how to win, they usually just fall by the wayside. And we've recruited a bunch of other nice players, but it's simply NOT good enough. They're fast. They're strong. But they don't have the heart to be anything other than a 3rd/4th/5th round pick, and they're OK with that. THAT is state of this program - simply being OK with being a late round NFL draft pick. This is a LOSING mentality.
How do you fix this? Gary's on the Blake James kick, which I like to see. Go right to the top. Maybe. I don't know, and let's be honest - NO ONE ELSE DOES EITHER. Very small chance Manny gets it done here. But that IS the task at hand. He has a terribly rough hill ahead of him. He will likely fail. And guess what? Butch probably would fail too, and even Super Mario would have less than a 50% chance of getting it done here. It's BIGGER than the coach. I don't care who gets it done. But we need a guy to change the ENTIRE culture of this team. Right now, Manny's got the opportunity. It's easy for us throw shade at him. It's easy for us to be overly critical of EVERY single move he makes or doesn't make. But he's the guy right now. So, and I've said this earlier, I have no choice but to be all-in with Manny. So, let's go and see how he does.
