The Program Is In Good Hands

[Rollo83]

I wanted to write this post before tomorrow’s game. I just wanted to say, that no matter what happens tomorrow I am still thrilled with the state of the program compared to where it was just a few short years ago when Coach Clawson took over.

A few weeks ago, some people on this board, in their infinite wisdom (tongue firmly in my cheek), were calling for Clawson’s job after a couple of tough mid-season losses. Fan is short for fanatical and our common sense is sometimes blurred by our passion.

Do we remember the mess this program was in when Greg Brandon left? Coach Clawson did it right in rebuilding the program. He’s upgraded our talent with some of the top recruiting classes in the MAC the last few years. He’s developed one of the best defense in the conference…a sure fire recipe for winning championships. He’s eliminated most of the off-field distractions that dogged his predecessor.

Sure, none of us are happy losing to Toledo over the past few years, but those things tend to even out…just ask John Cooper and Jim Tressel. Yes, you can quote his record in close games, but all I keep going back to is the eye test. And my eyes tell me that this is a team that is very well coached.

Clawson has the stones to make the tough decisions. None of us could see benching a three-year starter at quarterback for a 5’ 11” redshirt sophomore with no practical experience. But Clawson knew what he had to do. That’s coaching! None of us could imagine taking a insignificant wide receiver as a freshman and turning him into a sophomore running back that’s on pace to have the second best season of any running back in school history. Clawson had the vision to see his potential as a running back because as he said, “he makes people miss.” That’s coaching!

Our defense has experienced multiple key losses due to injuries this year and they still lead the MAC in virtually every defensive category. Back-ups and younger players have stepped in and this unit has hardly missed a beat. When second and third unit players come in prepared and are able to contribute, that says something about your team. That’s coaching!

Urban Meyer and Dave Clawson both did one of the hardest things a coach has to do. They came into a mess of a program at BG and turned it around and instilled a winning attitude and changed the culture. Yet, I still see people here taking shots at them.

I have no idea what will happen in Buffalo tomorrow and I hope like hell the Falcons win. But, either way I am proud of this team and I won’t be calling for a new coach at BG…and you shouldn’t either. Because if you do, you’re just simply wrong!

Roll Along...

[komet_falcon]

That's a good point Rollo

[Flipper]

I expect BG to win today. I think we have the better team and stylistically we match up well wth the Bulls.

I think Dave Clawson has done a tremendous job here. He stabilized the program and raised the bar so far as talent and depth goes. He has a coaching staff that's loyal...Elko in particular turned down bigger $$$ to stay here...and our student athletes are genuine student athletes that really seem to like playing for the man. The retention rate of the players bears that out.

Having said all that....if we don't win today...the doubts about DC 's ability as a coach to get this team to take that final step will still be there. Would that cost him his job here? No...it won't and it shouldn't ...in fact it I would anticipate someone hiring him away from us well before it will come to that. But...if you look at his run here as a head coach, I think it's a bit naive to think that people won't have their doubts if come il short on a real test again.

[Dayons_Den]

Well said Rollo. Lone benchmark of a truly healthy and successful program is depth. I cannot recall a time where our team was so deep on both sides of the football with quality, tuned in players.

[FalconTurf]

We can second guess every decision made by a coach. Ultimately I like what is going on in BG. With the depth and development of talent I believe we will be in the very same position at the end of next season with games that matter. And if Clawson gets a better offer the next coach will look like a genius the first couple of years as he benefits greatly from what has been established. Regardless of the outcome I am proud to be a fan of this program.

Beat the Bull out of Buffalo! Go BG!

[kdog27]

The last 3 weeks have made me feel a lot better about where we are and where were going. Putting away bad teams from the get go is a sign of a good team. Hopefully now we put it all together against better competition.

[Flipper]

Kdog makes an excellent point....I think it could very well be that the letdown against UT was the final step the team needed to take to mature because they're playing at a level I haven't seen before even when they were reeling off six in a row last year.

I also agree with Rollo and ayon that the future looks very bright because we have so many quality athletes in the program. When you have guys like Baird, Gourdine and Lunsford running around on the third team defense, you know you have some serious depth.

[BGWriter]

The last 3 weeks have made me feel a lot better about where we are and where were going. Putting away bad teams from the get go is a sign of a good team. Hopefully now we put it all together against better competition.

This is where I am.

But as for the original poster invoking the name of John Cooper and saying things "even out" -- I'm guessing he meant it took Cooper's firing and the hiring of Tressel to MAKE things even out (sort of) in the recent outcomes with UM. Cooper was simply awful in that rivalry (2-10-1) and his 3-8 bowl mark. There has been no worse big game coach in OSU's history than Cooper was.

I don't want Clawson to be BG's Cooper, where he racks up a nice record against everyone BUT Toledo and in bowl games. If that happens, he WILL lose his job.

The bottom line: It's been almost 25 years since BG won a MAC title, and it's been since Rothlisberger was at Miami that BG even played for the title. Yes Clawson has done a great job of bringing back depth and quality to the team overall, but at some point you want your program to become championship caliber.

I'm hoping today is the first step of that happening, and the the game we all look back on and say, "That's when it all turned around, and BG became a real power in the MAC."

Roll Along!

[BGSU33]

I for one love what Clawson and his staff have done with this team and program and want them here to stay. We finally have a good program again and it was done in the right way. My only concern with Clawson has been his teams' inability to win a "big" game. We lost our bowl games, we lost a potential MAC East title game, we lost all of our non-conference BCS games, and we lost all but one game against our rival Toledo during his tenure. We just don't have any benchmark victories. That said, winning today could finally show and prove a lot as a coaching staff and where this team is as a program and finally give this program a much-needed notch in its belt.

[sportydude1818]

I will hold my opinion until after today's game. I think Dc has done ok in beating up on what could be the worst collection of teams the Mac east had ever seen plus eastern michigan. Fact is we are probably the 4th or 5th best team in the Mac overall as of today. We can change that with a win today and a great showing in the Mac title game .. I've never called for him to be fired I'm just saying he's had a very up and down career so far at BG and if we lose to UB it's another disappointment in my opinion.

[Schadenfreude]

Great post, Rollo. We agree, pretty much.

[manager]

Yes, the program is in good hands. The program has a quality, hard-working coaching staff that has recruited quality and talented young men. The coaches have found ways to use the talent. The trip to Detroit is earned and well-deserved. Another hurdle awaits. I'm confident BG will compete. This team has learned to win. That is sometimes the hardest thing to do.

[mscarn]

Great post.

So much of being a head coach at this level involves things that have nothing to do with coaching. I'm most impressed with how Clawson has modernized the program from an off-the-field standpoint. At the DFO position he recruited Clint Dowdle from Tennessee, a person so highly regarded he only left BG for the chief of staff position in the athletic department at a Big 12 school (Kansas State). To replace him we go out and hire Dennis Slutak, the former director of football operations at USC under Pete Carroll. (By comparison, Toledo's DFO was a GA at Northwestern). Recruiting is as competitive as ever and we now have a staff member devoted to this (Asil Mulbah) who ably coordinates this massive undertaking along with Coach Hunter. The guy before him had the job for a couple weeks before taking the same position at LSU, a school that takes recruiting pretty seriously.

Head coaches are only as good as their assistants and we've got excellent ones who are replaced with other excellent ones when there's an opening. Our 1st year linebackers coach was a top FCS defensive coordinator before BG. The guy before him coached full-time at UCLA. We've kept recruiting and coaching dynamo Nick Monroe and his boss Mike Elko, the best defensive coordinator in the conference by far.

We also have the tendency to cavalierly write off our competitors in the MAC as easy marks who should be vanquished without much effort or energy. It's easy to forget that they have coaches with impressive, winning histories that sign 25 players on scholarship every year just as we do. Akron has a brand new stadium and a coach who went undefeated for a year at Auburn. The head coach at UMass was the offensive coordinator at Notre Dame under Brian Kelly. Hell, the guy just fired by Miami was the offensive coordinator at Michigan freakin' State and came with the endorsement of Jim Tressel.

It's not easy to win and we have a coach that does. For that we should be grateful.

[jpfalcon09]

Clawson has brought accountability and respect back to the program. The players legitimately care about each other and enjoy playing together. This is half the battle for any head coach, once you have that, you can coach up the players to become better at their positions. If he does leave for greener pastures, he'll have left a great foundation for the next coach and BG will be a destination for any top up and comer.