FIRE THE COACH

NWLB · Post by **NWLB** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 2:14 pm

If GB wins against Toledo, I’ll be content to let him ride-out the last year. If he loses, assuming the rest of the season goes as I expect it will, break-out the pitch forks people.

Blackney was white-hot after the 1994 season. But the key to this, is that we learned a lesson with Blackney. The other point to be made, was that BGSU hired Blackney with the expectation of having to wait several years to see results. In truth, we were about as bad as Ohio, Kent, or Akron was at the time. The school was willing to wait and hope, no “pay and pray” as we do now.

Flash forward to present day, and I think we are thankfully avoiding the same mistake. Maybe we lose a coach that goes onto bigger things. Maybe GB isn’t actually as bad as he seems. Nobody truly knows I guess. But I would rather see the school learn from history than repeat it. Even if we wind-up on the losing side of the bet now and then.

These days, coaches are a commodity.

Blackney got a sharp bump in team performance, as Urban did. He gained from strong recruiting in Ankney’s final years, as Urban did to a much lesser extent. GB’s elevation to head coach didn’t see a truly marked improvement in either performance or recruiting. And overall, its been a gentle decline in both areas. In all cases, I think the real highlight of Blackney and Urban’s time, wasn’t the recruiting, as it was their ability to get what they had to do more. Blackney took his hands off the wheel, Urban got out of town, Brandon missed the bus.

takeoffeh · Post by **takeoffeh** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 4:35 pm

NWLB,
Nicely put.

Tricky_Falcon · Post by **Tricky_Falcon** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 7:36 pm

Looking back he probably should've taken the UNLV job after his second season.

Schadenfreude · Post by **Schadenfreude** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 8:08 pm

hammb wrote:I thought Brandon got an extension after the Motor City Bowl season?

I stand corrected.

So, essentially, what we did is tack one year onto the end of Brandon's contract as a reward for:

1. Winning the MAC West,
2. Winning Bowling Green's first bowl game in 11 years
3. Beating the No. 12 team in the country.
4. Going 2-1 against the Big Ten
4. Guiding the Falcons to their first Top 25 finish in school history.

Seems to me Paul Krebs did the right thing there.

NWLB · Post by **NWLB** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:40 pm

I don't think a single year extension, for a year like that, is wrong. And I'll even say, if he won the division, and a bowl, OK, give the man another year. Not two, not three. But give him a year.

Unfair that he is out to hang again the next year? Not really, he didn't win the conference, and divisional titles mean nothing. Indeed, neither does the rest, save to make people feel all fuzzy inside.

Flipper · Post by **Flipper** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 10:17 pm

I''ll take a bowl win and a national ranking over a MAC title any day of the week...

NY-BG-FAN · Post by **NY-BG-FAN** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 10:55 pm

Flipper wrote:I''ll take a bowl win and a national ranking over a MAC title any day of the week...

I totally agree. While the winning the MAC should always be a primary goal, you don't get a BCS bid for doing it and I think MAC Champions are generally forgotten over time. Fact is, if you're a non-BCS school, the "upset" wins and the rankings are what give your program credibility over time. With the glass ceiling the BCS has set up, it's all about who will be "the next Boise State." Flawed yes, but I think the college football "elite" are more likely to remember us beating #19 Purdue on the road, getting Gameday to come, and then beating #12 NIU for the occasion. Does anyone who doesn't follow the MAC really remember that Miami actually won the league in '03? They know Roethlisberger played there but thats about it. As bad as Miami whipped us, we had the better wins over better teams in-season, and more publicity around us throughout that season. I think.

MACMAN · Post by **MACMAN** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 1:04 am

National ranking means little, and while Bowls bring in some cash, they have no meaning...they take place so long after the seasons are over, teams sit idle and then are expected to perform well...blagh. Give me those big early season games.

But to the point GB is not a bad coach...he is just not wired right to be a head coach, sorry but that is how I see it, its time to move on....but to whom? do we want a coach like Minney has that has many players looking to transfer right now.......
you need to let those waters calm.....Id give a new coach...a new interesting prospect that is 7 years of guaranteed hands off 100% backing...and I know ears are listening on this point..but lets a coach with backbone who sees the reality of zero tolerance, there is no need for 2nd chances.

h2oville rocket · Post by **h2oville rocket** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 7:01 am

NY-BG-FAN wrote:
Flipper wrote:I''ll take a bowl win and a national ranking over a MAC title any day of the week...
I totally agree. While the winning the MAC should always be a primary goal, you don't get a BCS bid for doing it

I suspect the reality is that if you don't win the MAC you don't have ANY chance of a BCS bid. In fact, my supicion is MAC teams have no chance at a BCS bid under any circumstances unless you go undefeated, beat at least two ranked teams and have a name that rhymes with Riami.

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 8:18 am

h2oville rocket wrote:
NY-BG-FAN wrote:
Flipper wrote:I''ll take a bowl win and a national ranking over a MAC title any day of the week...
I totally agree. While the winning the MAC should always be a primary goal, you don't get a BCS bid for doing it
I suspect the reality is that if you don't win the MAC you don't have ANY chance of a BCS bid. In fact, my supicion is MAC teams have no chance at a BCS bid under any circumstances unless you go undefeated, beat at least two ranked teams and have a name that rhymes with Riami.

If this year's BG team would have went through the year undefeated (Wins over Minny, MSU, and BC) I think they would have a shot at a BCS game, especially with how many other teams have been beaten at the top.

Either way, I do agree with Flipper that the national rankings & big wins are more valuable (to me, and the program as a whole) than a MAC Championship. Like NY said, the MAC Championship should be the primary goal, of course, but the peripheral wins are far more valuable to your program's credibility.

The problem with this program is we really haven't been doing either of these things. We haven't won the MAC since the early 90's, and haven't even made it to the title game since '03. Worse than that we haven't had a signature win since Purdue, really. If you wanted to argue Northwestern from the MCB, I suppose I may grant that, but they didn't even finish .500. Beating Memphis in '04 certainly doesn't garner much national hype either.

Flipper · Post by **Flipper** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:06 am

The problem with the conference as a whole is thaty we lack those kind of marquee wins...and the bar has been set a tad higher. In the past a win over a Big10 bottom feeder would have been huge...now it doesn't mean as much.

This weekend is so important...a loss may provide Brandon with a tougher task asa head coach than a win. Two divisional losses will just about kill our chances for a title. What happens then? Last year the team packed it in after the Temple loss, I'd like to think this year's team wouldn't do the same thing...but once you pull that rip chord and pop the parachute, it gets a whole lot easier to bail out the next time things get tough.

BGSUFootballFan · Post by **BGSUFootballFan** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:10 am

Flipper wrote:The problem with the conference as a whole is thaty we lack those kind of marquee wins...and the bar has been set a tad higher. In the past a win over a Big10 bottom feeder would have been huge...now it doesn't mean as much.

This weekend is so important...a loss may provide Brandon with a tougher task asa head coach than a win. Two divisional losses will just about kill our chances for a title. What happens then? Last year the team packed it in after the Temple loss, I'd like to think this year's team wouldn't do the same thing...but once you pull that rip chord and pop the parachute, it gets a whole lot easier to bail out the next time things get tough.

That's why I posted earlier in a different thread, that I believe if we beat Kent we will beat Ohio because we always have their number. But if we lose to Kent, we will lose to Ohio because we tend to lose in streaks. 5-3 (3-1) is a lot different than 3-5 (1-3). I think these next two games will tell a lot about this staff and this team.

1987alum · Post by **1987alum** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:11 am

Flipper wrote:This weekend is so important...a loss may provide Brandon with a tougher task asa head coach than a win. Two divisional losses will just about kill our chances for a title. What happens then? Last year the team packed it in after the Temple loss.

Correction, last year's team packed it in before the Temple loss.

Good points, though, Flip. Saturday will be a very telling game for Coach Brandon. How the Falcons play will tell a lot about the direction this program is heading.

Jacobs4Heisman · Post by **Jacobs4Heisman** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:40 am

1987alum wrote:
Flipper wrote:This weekend is so important...a loss may provide Brandon with a tougher task asa head coach than a win. Two divisional losses will just about kill our chances for a title. What happens then? Last year the team packed it in after the Temple loss.
Correction, last year's team packed it in before the Temple loss.

Good points, though, Flip. Saturday will be a very telling game for Coach Brandon. How the Falcons play will tell a lot about the direction this program is heading.

No offense to you '87, as this is directed at a group.

But how much more evidence do we need to see what direction the program is headed? Every time Brandon fails a "watershed" test, most of the people that said that was the game that will tell us what we need to know, then say that the next game is the one that will really tell us where we're at.

I heard countless times before last season that it was THE watershed season for Brandon. It was a miserable failure. I know that every game gives us more information and will lead every individual in one direction or another re their feelings on Brandon's competency as a HMFIC. My question is this -- at what point do you make up your mind? Does it take us going 4-8 again? What if we go 6-6 but lose to Toledo? What if we go 5-7 but beat Toledo?

Basically, what season result would it take for you (the "royal" you), to have confidence in Brandon moving forward?

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:52 am

Jacobs4Heisman wrote: Basically, what season result would it take for you (the "royal" you), to have confidence in Brandon moving forward?

AFAIC this season is already pretty much a failure because we yet again laid a total egg in an important conference game. Sure we could turn it around and possibly win out and even win a bowl game, but that still wouldn't be enough to give me confidence.

Essentially this year has already proven to show the exact same signs as '04, '05, and '06. Gregg Brandon does not have the ability to get his team ready to play on a week to week basis. Sure, when we're ready we can be pretty good, but that's not enough. You've gotta have the team ready to play every week. There are only 12 games, and if you cannot get them ready to play 12 weeks then we need to find somebody who will. It's even more annoying that it always seems to be a conference game against a key contender that we seem to fall apart against.