Will we actually hire an OC?

Plenty takers out there. Tge right one would be needed if they go down that road.

 

Next year is going to be ugly. Barring some off field fiasco Napier will not be let go. But if the writing is on the wall it will become a priority to replace the guy who will be in charge of finding a replacement. Waiting to fire both simultaneously would be a terrible idea.

If/when Stricklin goes would be the signal to Billy that it is now or never. I think that signal gets sent at the end of next season.

 

G

etting rid of the ad sets instability in motion. They don’t need to do that unless they actually do want to make our coaches dead men walking.

 

There is no such thing as stable.

Losing seasons and a disgruntled fan base are the heat making the pot boil.

Napier could still survive, even succeed under a new AD, he would just need to win.

 

If Stricklin is still the AD heading into 2024 that is a pretty clear indicator the university isn’t seriously committed to winning. We hired Miss St’s AD and have gotten Miss St results.

 

Some of y’all are ridiculous. There was whining and complaining in these boards about Jeremy Foley. There is whining and complaining about SS. BN cam in right after Mullen recruiting fiasco. And Covid. And NIL starting up. Our football program is as in a shambles. It’s going to take time to build it back. The s FSU rebuilt in 3 years… while
Playing a glorified hs schedule in a glorified hs conference.
We do not want to go the UTenn route and replace coaching staffs every 3/4 years. I e need to BUILD a solid foundation and a solid program. Recruiting is the life blood of football and our recruiting has improved massively. Now give it time to work.

 

And yet some schools transitioned smoothly. Still evaluating OC film.

 

Ok, what’s your assessment of special teams then? Any changes needed there or do we just hoof that situation is going to, like, self-correct?

 

This is such a poor argument for keeping an underperforming head coach. Which of Tennessee’s coaches whom they fired since Fulmer would you have kept if you had been in charge?

I’m not (yet) calling for Napier’s head, but I am at the point where it’s “put out or get out” with him. This idea that he should get a guaranteed fourth season no matter how badly he bungles the third is ridiculous. I understand the argument for stability, but sometimes that results in stabilizing as a below-average program, and that just is not acceptable here. Napier has had his last losing season that is not existential as far as I’m concerned.

 

I'm not sure what one has to do with the other...

Absolutely we need a coach assigned to ST's...our play cost us wins this year.

And I do think we need an OC other than Napier. My point is that if coach is not sold on the idea of getting an OC to help free him up to attend to other matters, then he won't be convinced there is a need due to lack of production. Offense was actually, far and away, the best unit on the field. And pretty good, all things considered (atrocious OL).

 

It’s just an another area, like playcalling, where I think there are obvious deficiencies. When you said you didn’t necessarily think a change was in order, I wanted to know if you thought one was in order for special teams.

 

Why wait? Enough of this failed experiment! Take our lumps now and get a new coach.

 

I will believe it when I see it.

 

Do not mistake descriptive speech for normative speech.

It is not "being ridiculous" it is being realistic about what the situation is. I would be willing to wait five or six years for results but thinking everyone else is going to go along with my desires would be being unrealistic.

If next season were a remotely average schedule we probably would be looking at a minimum of seven wins and a bowl game, which would buy Napier more time. But the circumstances are not such. We have a very realistic chance of finishing next season with a worse record than this season, capping off one of the worst three season runs in the history of the program. Patience is not something that is going to be in strong supply then.

Maybe Stricklin stays, and maybe Napier finally turns the corner in 2025, with smiles all around. It is possible. I just do not think it likely.

 

Don't think anyone survives 3 losing seasons (if it happens next year) nor does the AD after a 4th losing season (again if '24 was 5-7 again). I really hope Billy can turn it around, but the offseason isn't giving me a lot of hope.

 

I’ve been saying for a while, the only reason for such a buyout on a coach no one else was targeting was job security for Stricklin. He knows his future is tied to Napier. He knows he has only ever hired one football coach as an AD and fired him in less than 4 years. He knows ADs at big-time programs do not survive two consecutive failed football hires.

Therefore he made sure his own demise was years in the future if Napier failed.

 

Do not assume changes have not already occurred that are not public

 

If we had a good defense this year we could have been in the playoffs possibly.

 

I assume nothing. But I would like to start seeing some reassuring information. So far it all looks pretty bad. If I had to bet one way or the other this moment, then I would say 2024 is a wasted season just like 2014 was. But we will see. Maybe there’s a great turnaround coming that’s going to blow our minds.

 

Never say never, but the chances of Napier having another 5-7 dud of a season are infinitely higher than him having a 10-3 type turnaround ala Norvell in 2022.

And I say that not because of our players or talent, but because as of RIGHT NOW, we have no ST coach, no new OC, still the 2 OL coach experiment, and no hired replacements for Chaos or Raymond. The issues that plagued us the past two years that are not talent related have yet to be addressed.