I know things look awfully bleak to a lot of you guys, but I'm a glass half-full type of dude so here it goes.
1. He has been the head coach for less than 2 years and you simply don't run a coach off that quickly. It doesn't matter if the current A.D. hired him or not. That's not nearly enough time to build a foundation for your program. He's basically had 1 recruiting cycle.
2. For the folks who are saying he can't recruit, you are sadly mistaken. I would venture to say he is recruiting at a higher level than his predecessor. Everyone of the current commits have multiple power 5 offers with the exception of 1. The recent decommitments notwithstanding, I believe he is bringing in more talented and higher rated kids from out of state than his predecessor.
3. The lack of talent on defense is flat out ridiculous. I'm not sure there's a player on defense who would make the 2 deep at any other SEC schools. The closest defender we have to a little above average maybe Hall. No pressure from the defensive ends whatsoever and very little if any push from up the middle. No playmakers at all on the defensive side of the ball.
4. Drew Lock has not progressed as much or as fast as anticipated. He's a 3rd year starter and he should be leading this team up and down the field more than he has. I'm not sure, but it seems like he can't read the whole field. Open receivers dropping the ball much too often. This team was and still is a trainwreck and HCBO was left with all the debris.
5. I know, yes he tried to change a top rated defense. But in looking at the product and players this year, maybe he knew what he was doing. He probably noticed the lack of playmakers at lb and safety and felt he needed the d-line to stay at home instead of pinning their ears back and rushing up the field while losing gap integrity. Maybe he knew he didn't have a Kentrell Brothers to clean up and read the ballcarrier as the year before. This man didn't become dumb just because he was named head coach.
6. We can't act like we're a blue-blood. Coaches ain't looking at Mizzou as a destination job, well maybe 1 coach is, Barry Odom. I know the True Son comparison made to KA, but that's like comparing apples to oranges. He has promising young players in the fold and still a decent recruiting class thus far, even with the recent decommitments. He needs time to build his foundation and 2 years is simply not enough. When he starts winning consistently and at a high level, you'll never have to worry about him jumping ship like you will with hiring others. So sit back, relax and take a deep breath and let our head coach build his program. I would hate to see Sterk fire HCBO and his successor comes in and starts winning with the kids Barry took his lumps with. Sorry for the rambling, but this how I feel and I have faith in our head coach.
1. He has been the head coach for less than 2 years and you simply don't run a coach off that quickly. It doesn't matter if the current A.D. hired him or not. That's not nearly enough time to build a foundation for your program. He's basically had 1 recruiting cycle.
2. For the folks who are saying he can't recruit, you are sadly mistaken. I would venture to say he is recruiting at a higher level than his predecessor. Everyone of the current commits have multiple power 5 offers with the exception of 1. The recent decommitments notwithstanding, I believe he is bringing in more talented and higher rated kids from out of state than his predecessor.
3. The lack of talent on defense is flat out ridiculous. I'm not sure there's a player on defense who would make the 2 deep at any other SEC schools. The closest defender we have to a little above average maybe Hall. No pressure from the defensive ends whatsoever and very little if any push from up the middle. No playmakers at all on the defensive side of the ball.
4. Drew Lock has not progressed as much or as fast as anticipated. He's a 3rd year starter and he should be leading this team up and down the field more than he has. I'm not sure, but it seems like he can't read the whole field. Open receivers dropping the ball much too often. This team was and still is a trainwreck and HCBO was left with all the debris.
5. I know, yes he tried to change a top rated defense. But in looking at the product and players this year, maybe he knew what he was doing. He probably noticed the lack of playmakers at lb and safety and felt he needed the d-line to stay at home instead of pinning their ears back and rushing up the field while losing gap integrity. Maybe he knew he didn't have a Kentrell Brothers to clean up and read the ballcarrier as the year before. This man didn't become dumb just because he was named head coach.
6. We can't act like we're a blue-blood. Coaches ain't looking at Mizzou as a destination job, well maybe 1 coach is, Barry Odom. I know the True Son comparison made to KA, but that's like comparing apples to oranges. He has promising young players in the fold and still a decent recruiting class thus far, even with the recent decommitments. He needs time to build his foundation and 2 years is simply not enough. When he starts winning consistently and at a high level, you'll never have to worry about him jumping ship like you will with hiring others. So sit back, relax and take a deep breath and let our head coach build his program. I would hate to see Sterk fire HCBO and his successor comes in and starts winning with the kids Barry took his lumps with. Sorry for the rambling, but this how I feel and I have faith in our head coach.
