We had made it.
The university of Missouri, My team, had finally made it. Walking out of arrowhead knowing we would be ranked number one and were one win away from actually, for real, playing for a national title. It was our time.
I remember wondering what probably most of the country was wondering, How the hell did they get here? The recruiting rankings had pretty well held steady. Some ups but we fielded teams of mostly 3 stars and for a period of years won with the best of them. We were spoiled, and about one thing we were wrong. Recruiting rankings DO matter. Despite our team proving otherwise on the field every week, we were wrong.
Gary Pinkel was a unicorn. His staff and him had an uncanny eye for talent and a rarely seen knack for coaching up and playing to players strengths. For a period of time recruiting rankings did not matter. Our 3 stars beat your 4's and 5's and dammit we loved them for it, but what we should have realize at the time was, Gary Pinkel was a unicorn.
There is a coaching search coming and with each game it looks closer and closer. There is most likely not another Gary Pinkel out there. Whoever we choose is in for a long rebuild with the rest of us. The next man up must have a proven track record of recruiting. It has to be an absolute must to get an interview. We aren't going back to 2007, very, very few are. We were spoiled into believing something just can happen that really rarely does.
We have very little talent and a culture of accountability and expecting to win seem like only distant memories. We are not going to consistently win in this league with 90% 3 stars and we sure as hell aren't going to do it when the players have no faith in the coaches, the scheme, or themselves. There are hard decisions to be made. Players, maybe quite a few, need to go. All of the coaches need to go. Accountability must be restored. This is a job that can only be done correctly by someone that has held the reins before. This is the SEC. We tried hiring a coach to learn on the job and all saw what happened.
This is going to be a tough job. a long tough job. I don't know who is the right person for the job and more importantly I don't know who is right that would accept it. It may require thinking outside the box a little. I will not claim to have any answers, but the hard truth of the matter is if we don't hire someone that has head coaching experience and a track record of high level recruiting we are toast before we begin and will just add more years to what will already be a long rebuild.
The university of Missouri, My team, had finally made it. Walking out of arrowhead knowing we would be ranked number one and were one win away from actually, for real, playing for a national title. It was our time.
I remember wondering what probably most of the country was wondering, How the hell did they get here? The recruiting rankings had pretty well held steady. Some ups but we fielded teams of mostly 3 stars and for a period of years won with the best of them. We were spoiled, and about one thing we were wrong. Recruiting rankings DO matter. Despite our team proving otherwise on the field every week, we were wrong.
Gary Pinkel was a unicorn. His staff and him had an uncanny eye for talent and a rarely seen knack for coaching up and playing to players strengths. For a period of time recruiting rankings did not matter. Our 3 stars beat your 4's and 5's and dammit we loved them for it, but what we should have realize at the time was, Gary Pinkel was a unicorn.
There is a coaching search coming and with each game it looks closer and closer. There is most likely not another Gary Pinkel out there. Whoever we choose is in for a long rebuild with the rest of us. The next man up must have a proven track record of recruiting. It has to be an absolute must to get an interview. We aren't going back to 2007, very, very few are. We were spoiled into believing something just can happen that really rarely does.
We have very little talent and a culture of accountability and expecting to win seem like only distant memories. We are not going to consistently win in this league with 90% 3 stars and we sure as hell aren't going to do it when the players have no faith in the coaches, the scheme, or themselves. There are hard decisions to be made. Players, maybe quite a few, need to go. All of the coaches need to go. Accountability must be restored. This is a job that can only be done correctly by someone that has held the reins before. This is the SEC. We tried hiring a coach to learn on the job and all saw what happened.
This is going to be a tough job. a long tough job. I don't know who is the right person for the job and more importantly I don't know who is right that would accept it. It may require thinking outside the box a little. I will not claim to have any answers, but the hard truth of the matter is if we don't hire someone that has head coaching experience and a track record of high level recruiting we are toast before we begin and will just add more years to what will already be a long rebuild.
