Another editorial: "mistake" of firing Brandon

[footballguy51]

This article was found in today's BG News. May the puking fest begin:

http://media.www.bgnews.com/media/stora ... ailedition

Gregg Brandon was one of the most successful major college head football coaches in the country over the past six years. His teams featured a high-scoring, creative offense that was among the best in the country.

University officials fired him for no good reason.

What were Athletic Director Greg Christopher, interim President Carol Cartwright and the Trustees thinking?

Brandon represented the continuation of the era of Urban Meyer, the best football coach in the country. Meyer had maintained close ties with BGSU, the school where he began his remarkable head coaching run eight years ago. He visited this year. Meyer would have taken Brandon to Utah (and perhaps Florida) with him if Brandon had not been offered the head job here. Meyer apparently encouraged players to attend BGSU long after leaving. Now Bowling Green apparently has cut itself off from the No. 1 football coach in the nation.

And Christopher blew the University's chances for being in a bowl game by firing Brandon the day after the UT game and letting two Bowling Green assistants go to UT. Five MAC teams got bowl bids including Northern Illinois, whose record was 6-6, same as BGSU.

A look at Brandon's record this year and related issues:

1. BG played a tougher pre-conference schedule than Ohio State, who hosted three patsies.

2. BG beat a top 25 team at its place (Pitt) and played a top 10 team (Boise) tough at its place.

3. BG lost close to what turned out to be a mid-range Big 10 team (Minn.).

4. BG decided to play "money games" on the road against Pitt and Boise because the athletic dept. runs a $10 million annual deficit in order to keep up with the major college "Joneses."

5. BG's player behavior problems were minor compared to UT's alleged game-fixers and OSU's Maurice "the felon" Clarett and more recent ex-backup QB arrested for soliciting.

6. The AD is in charge of promotions. He went cheap this year, apparently to sabotage Brandon.

7. Now BGSU is out $250,000 in addition to the $300,000-400,000 it will pay its new coach. (UT is paying $360,000-plus for its new coach (who had raided two top BGSU assistants already). Imagine what $600,000 would have bought in experienced assistant coaches, etc.) It does not matter whether the money is donated or from the BGSU budget. It could be better spent on things other they buyouts. How about scholarships for BGSU, whose overall enrollment is falling fast?

8. Brandon's 59 percent overall win record is impressive especially with all the big name schools BG must play on the road and his 64 percent MAC record is astounding.

9. Unlike some MAC schools, BG under Brandon never played soft in a non-league game to get ready for a league game. At times this left BG beaten up physically for the MAC contests.

10. Even in the meaningless UT game BG players went all out less than 7 days after a heartbreaking double-overtime defeat to Buffalo, who walloped Ball State Friday night.

11. The Doyt with artificial turf and the Sebo Center filling one end is an attractive venue (thanks to ex-AD Paul Krebs), but the improvements have significantly reduced the home field advantage. No more uncertain grass surface. Fewer tricky winds.

12. The fan experience at BG games is mediocre. It starts with the lackluster PA announcer who creates no enthusiasm. There is lots of down time for fans, especially when TV timeouts are needed. BG's play by play media coverage is abysmal. The Toledo radio station that carried football games this year cannot be heard in BG at night. BG's radio play by play guy is boring most of the time. Televising BG home games on the BCSN TV channel in metropolitan Toledo hurts home attendance. Doyt tickets are overpriced. Guest tickets at Akron's Rubber Bowl are $5. All these failings are on Christopher's shoulders.

In conclusion, Gregg Brandon ran a respectable, winning program. He is a decent, honorable human being and a good family man. He made us proud. He deserved another year. As loyal alumni, Falcon Club members, and long-time season-ticket holders, we are ashamed of BGSU for its embarrassing and expensive actions.

-Jack and Kay Hartman

[Schadenfreude]

Just to be clear: That's not the opinion of the newspaper staff. It's the opinion of a couple of season ticket holders.

[Redwingtom]

So, Urban was still coaching and recruiting our team from afar?

[kdog27]

Gregg Brandon was one of the most successful major college head football coaches in the country over the past six years.

He was?

University officials fired him for no good reason.

Yeah none.

Meyer apparently encouraged players to attend BGSU long after leaving.

So did he or didn't he?

3. BG lost close to what turned out to be a mid-range Big 10 team (Minn.).

Care to mention the final score.

5. BG's player behavior problems were minor compared to UT's alleged game-fixers and OSU's Maurice "the felon" Clarett and more recent ex-backup QB arrested for soliciting.

Convenient that they left out what our players did.

his 64 percent MAC record is astounding.

Astounding?

11. The Doyt with artificial turf and the Sebo Center filling one end is an attractive venue (thanks to ex-AD Paul Krebs), but the improvements have significantly reduced the home field advantage. No more uncertain grass surface. Fewer tricky winds.

Talk about reaching for anything.

Sincerely Mrs. Brandon

Now it makes sense.

[BGorDeath]

Blah....blah...blllaaaahhhh....bbbbbbllllllaaaaaaahhhhhheeeehhh

[hammb]

These articles are laughable. Anybody who knows football knows that our coaching staff was doing a poor job. The die hard fans know it. The current players know it. The past players know it. Gregg Brandon was not a good head football coach.

Yeah, he was a great guy, and it sucks that he's out of a job, but he got paid $250k to go away. That's not a bad deal. He'll easily find a coordinator position, likely at a place where he's making about the same as he did here as the head coach.

He and his family will be fine. Hopefully his assistants can land jobs somewhere as well, and they'll be fine.

If we make the right hire we'll be far better off. If some new coach comes in here, bangs some heads, and starts winning nobody will be crying for Gregg any longer.

[factman]

Is this the same Jack Hartman that used to live in BG that is/was a journalism prof at Central Michigan?

[takeoffeh]

A mistake to fire Brandon? I’m not sure. I really liked Coach Brandon. But lets look at all these points: Sorry if it's choppy...i'm a work.
1. BG played a tougher pre-conference schedule than Ohio State… Agreed, Welcome to Division I college football. It happens.
2. BG beat a top 25 team at its place (Pitt) and played a top 10 team (Boise) tough at its place…Very True. But we still lost conference games at home. That’s embarrassing!
3. BG lost close to what turned out to be a mid-range Big 10 team (Minn.)… Ok, I don’t understand why this is a point here. Close? It should have been, but to me we looked mentally unprepared. IMO, we should have won that game. Especially after beating Pitt.
4. BG decided to play “money games” on the road... A necessary evil for a MAC school. Again, doesn’t support that firing Brandon is a mistake. Sure it beats up the players, but that’s college football.
5. BG’s player behavior problems were minor…Uh, no they weren’t. Players behaviors like that embarrasses the program. I thought their punishment was a joke. That set a bad example. They should have been gone.
6. The AD…apparently to sabotage Brandon? Yup, you caught him. We didn’t land on the moon either. Many reason’s why funding was less this year. Turn on the news.
7. Now BGSU is out $250k in addition to the $300-400k to pay it’s new coach. I agree with this. That is a major problem. Did Brandon lose his good assistants over the years? Yup, sure wish we could have kept them. This happens in College Football. The AD needs to be able to pay top dollar for new assistants. IMO, that’s why in recent history, we’ve been great with a new coach for the 1st 2-4 years, then mediocrity sets in. I played for Blackney, and I thought he was a great coach. But look who he lost 2 years after the Vegas bowl: Malone, Seeliger, Ferraro, Ligs, Pusatari,..etc. Just to name a few. Changing a players position coach is huge. Now I’m not saying they weren’t replaced with good coaches, but it does have an affect on the players.
8. Brandon’s 59% overall win record... We all know this one.
9. Unlike some MAC schools, BG never played soft.. Very true! That’s why I’m proud to be a falcon. That’s why I consider BG one of the top MAC programs.
10. Even in the meaningless UT game.. ??? 1. UT game is never meaningless. 2. Buffalo shouldn’t have been a loss, shouldn’t have been a close game.
11. The Doyt with artificial turf and the Sebo, reducing the home field advantage…Yea, cause upgrading our facility to the best in the MAC reduces our home field advantage? Rule of thumb here, the better the facility, usually means a better home field advantage. It’s all about pride and attitude.
12. The fan experience…To blame the PA announcer or the play by play…honestly? There is a reason Akron’s tickets are $5. You want better attendance, it starts from within. Winning helps, but it’s not the main factor. Sticking with traditions, and letting the students know about these traditions. The players need to be ambassadors of the program at all times. Not getting arrested. They need to go to different organizations on campus and getting these people excited about the home games. The coaches need to do the same.

Maybe all this is the AD’s problem. I don’t think it is. I liked Brandon, and had a lot of respect for Brandon. But our program has had some issues winning at home, and we have had some issues off the field. That has to change. I hope that our AD makes the right decision getting a new HC. Honestly, this is BGSU…not Toledo.

[NWLB]

Is this the same Jack Hartman that used to live in BG that is/was a journalism prof at Central Michigan?

The same that kept running for BG school council after his kids were out of the system. You could draft a list of things.

If Jack Hartman thinks firing Brandon was a bad idea, then it surly must be exactly the right thing to do.

[factman]

yep!

[Redwingtom]

So, what exactly did Mr. Sebo have to do with the Sebo Center Mr. Hartman?

[Warthog]

This same letter was in the Sentinel-Tribune on Tuesday.

I will give you, that yes, when looking at some of the win-loss record stuff, you can use statistics to say Brandon was a good coach. But if you take the time to look into game management, player management, program management, these people are putting their head in the sand and overlooking all the crap that was going on.

[NWLB]

Indeed. Lies, darn lies, and statistics. By the numbers you can argue strongly that he was a good coach. This was not about bare numbers. I wonder if he wrote the letter because he actually cares, or more as a chance to get his face and name out in front of people again. He always seems to be the guy shouting the opposite of the consensus. Lots of public runs at office were like that with him, or other public issues he made a point of kvetching about.

[pottereed]

Here's Brandon's record at BG since 2003:

2003 10-2 regular season. Loss to Ohio State 24-17, with a chance to tie at the end (I was there). Beat Toledo. Loss to Miami in the MAC Championship game. Win over Northwestern in Motor City Bowl.

2004 8-3 regular season. Lose to Toledo. No MAC Championship game. GMAC Bowl win over Memphis.

2005 6-5 regular season. Lose to Toledo. No MAC Championship game. Beat Temple 70-7. No bowl.

2006 4-8 regular season. Low point of Brandon's head coaching career. Lose to Temple 28-14 and Kent State at home 38-3. Lose to Toledo.

2007 8-4 regular season. Beat Toledo! BG football stops regressing. Invited to GMAC Bowl (at large). Lose most lopsided bowl game ever 63-7 against Tulsa.

2008 6-6 regular season. BG picked to win MAC East. Lose to Eastern Michigan and Miami at home (MAC bottomfeeders). Beat bad Toledo team. BG football regresses again.

Other than 2007, BG football has been in a downward spiral. I love the Falcons too. Kudos to Mr. Christopher for recognizing that BG football has been going backward in the Brandon era. Thanks coach Brandon for those awesome early years (2003-2004). Those were fun.

[MarkL]

Meyer apparently encouraged players to attend BGSU long after leaving.

So did he or didn't he?

I've actually heard that before on a few occasions. Supposedly, if Meyer was talking to a recruit that seemed to be veering toward FSU, Miami, or Georgia, he'd mention BGSU as a school with a good staff and a place where a player can shine faster and for a longer period of time. Essentially, if he didn't want to see that player on the other side of the ball, he'd point him toward NW Ohio. Not sure if it's true, but at least it's a cool story.

However ... if it is true, I don't expect it would change with a new coach. Coaches generally find ways to pay tribue to their old schools, e.g. Steve Spurrier voting for Duke in the first week of the coach's poll each year.