In Defense of Coach Jinks

[Antimob]

1. Each year the team is put in near-impossible positions due to the non-conference scheduling of the clueless administration, past and present.

2. Name another coach outside of Meyer and Clawson that signed Top 3 classes. It'll wait. And it doesn't take 1 or two...it takes several when the talent was as depleted as it was under Babers. Yes some didn't work out, but that happens in every single program in America.

3. The "leading in arrests" narrative is completely (and perhaps purposefully) misleading. Most violations are of a minor nature consistent with every college program in the country and all are dealt with swiftly and fairly. Marijuana in college? Fights during Spring Break? I'm shocked, shocked! Call the Washington Post!

4. He has shown the ability to adjust by firing Eliano and bringing in the most highly qualified defensive coordinator in the MAC. The defensive staff is highly qualified, experienced in the MAC and has a track record to suggest they'll turn the defense around if given time.

5. He had the class to speak honestly about the effect of the wanna-be big-shot media darling boosters on recruiting. Saying other things have damaged recruiting (which they have) does not render this untrue. It was a small-time, low-class move that no coach deserves and thankfully does not represent the majority. Anyone not named Sebo has not made the financial investment in BG football to have any sway over the hiring and firing of a coach.

Babers gutted this program from both a talent and discipline standpoint. This was never going to be a 3 year rebuild and those that thought it would be don't understand the roster limitations we've had. The bottom line is Jinks and his staff are working every day to bring in talent and make the program better while anonymous big-mouths and sniping "fans" work to counteract these efforts.

Bring it on, and come back with more than snark...

[factman]

Well said!

[Falconwriter]

While all of those things may be completely or partially true...it doesn't excuse the fact that Mike Jinks was UNQUALIFIED to be a D-1 football coach, not even at a mid-major. He is in over his head, and whatever issues Baber may have left for the program, Mike Jinks has only ended up worsening in some way. I am tired of being the laughingstock of the MAC in two of its major men's sports. When Mike Jinks is a bad footnote in BG football history, he'll end up having (insert number of years he coached) of the worst records in the entire history of the program. That didn't happen by coincidence.

[jpfalcon09]

1. Each year the team is put in near-impossible positions due to the non-conference scheduling of the clueless administration, past and present.

2. Name another coach outside of Meyer and Clawson that signed Top 3 classes. It'll wait. And it doesn't take 1 or two...it takes several when the talent was as depleted as it was under Babers. Yes some didn't work out, but that happens in every single program in America.

3. The "leading in arrests" narrative is completely (and perhaps purposefully) misleading. Most violations are of a minor nature consistent with every college program in the country and all are dealt with swiftly and fairly. Marijuana in college? Fights during Spring Break? I'm shocked, shocked! Call the Washington Post!

4. He has shown the ability to adjust by firing Eliano and bringing in the most highly qualified defensive coordinator in the MAC. The defensive staff is highly qualified, experienced in the MAC and has a track record to suggest they'll turn the defense around if given time.

5. He had the class to speak honestly about the effect of the wanna-be big-shot media darling boosters on recruiting. Saying other things have damaged recruiting (which they have) does not render this untrue. It was a small-time, low-class move that no coach deserves and thankfully does not represent the majority. Anyone not named Sebo has not made the financial investment in BG football to have any sway over the hiring and firing of a coach.

Babers gutted this program from both a talent and discipline standpoint. This was never going to be a 3 year rebuild and those that thought it would be don't understand the roster limitations we've had. The bottom line is Jinks and his staff are working every day to bring in talent and make the program better while anonymous big-mouths and sniping "fans" work to counteract these efforts.

Bring it on, and come back with more than snark...

1. BGSU has had plenty of years where they've played multiple P5 opponents and still had success. 2003, 2007, 2008, 2014, and 2015.

2. This argument is counterintuitive. If Jinks signed such great recruiting classes then the results would be showing on the field. The third year under Dave Clawson showed great progress from the 2nd, and the argument can be made he was given a worse hand than Jinks. We've seen zero progress in year three under Mike.

3. There's absolutely no doubt the attrition from this summer hurt the program. The staff was forced to pull guys from the Juco ranks to fill gaps in depth. It was a devastating off season to a program that couldn't afford it.

4. Great. Why did Mike hire unqualified coaches when he took the job? That was a huge criticism and within two of his first three games the team allowed 77 points twice. Hiring Eliano and other defensive coaches for their positions was again an ill-advised move.

5. I can't disagree with this. Mike's been forthcoming about some touchy subjects. Kudos to him. He knows that comes with the territory. I do think it's crap that a donor couldn't put his name behind his comments. But, we wouldn't be here if the results both on and off the field weren't as poor as they have been the past two and a half seasons.

[Schadenfreude]

1. Each year the team is put in near-impossible positions due to the non-conference scheduling of the clueless administration, past and present.

Scheduling is a bit tougher than I would like it to be. But Bowling Green barely beat Eastern Kentucky, for goodness sake.

2. Name another coach outside of Meyer and Clawson that signed Top 3 classes. It'll wait. And it doesn't take 1 or two...it takes several when the talent was as depleted as it was under Babers. Yes some didn't work out, but that happens in every single program in America.

You mean two of our four previous coaches? Jinks seems to be a good recruiter. But when does the team start getting better?

And are we certain talent was that depleted? A massive Babers-era depletion was always one way to try to explain how we went from MAC champion to losing 77-3 at Memphis the next season. But are we certain Babers couldn't recruit? He seems to be winning at Syracuse, at least so far.

3. The "leading in arrests" narrative is completely (and perhaps purposefully) misleading. Most violations are of a minor nature consistent with every college program in the country and all are dealt with swiftly and fairly. Marijuana in college? Fights during Spring Break? I'm shocked, shocked! Call the Washington Post!

I agree with this. We've had a bit more turnover than I would like, but people pushing this argument seem to have an axe to grind. Even great head coaches have players who screw up.

4. He has shown the ability to adjust by firing Eliano and bringing in the most highly qualified defensive coordinator in the MAC. The defensive staff is highly qualified, experienced in the MAC and has a track record to suggest they'll turn the defense around if given time.

This could be true. We saw signs of possible improvement last weekend. Naysayers, of course, will point to the fact that he hired Eliano in the first place.

5. He had the class to speak honestly about the effect of the wanna-be big-shot media darling boosters on recruiting. Saying other things have damaged recruiting (which they have) does not render this untrue. It was a small-time, low-class move that no coach deserves and thankfully does not represent the majority. Anyone not named Sebo has not made the financial investment in BG football to have any sway over the hiring and firing of a coach.

I can understand why Jinks is frustrated by people using the Blade to take anonymous shots at him. If these people were being quoted by name, it would be one thing. But anonymously? I can understand why that bugs him.

You also raise a good point: How confident are we that these boosters quoted anonymously by the Blade actually have any clout?

Even so, I also understand why fans are pushing back on this. Our problems are pretty obvious to anyone paying attention. Jinks made a mistake taking that question head on, even if I don't blame him for being a bit frustrated.

Babers gutted this program from both a talent and discipline standpoint. This was never going to be a 3 year rebuild and those that thought it would be don't understand the roster limitations we've had.

I disagree. I don't even think Jinks thought this was going to be more than a three-year rebuild. Heading into his first season, he was giving the impression that the Falcons might compete right away. Wasn't he?

Can you point where Jinks ever said in his first year that this would be a multiyear rebuild? Did he ever layout a time table for restoring the greatness the way Dave Clawson did?

I don't remember him every doing that. In my mind, this has been one of Jinks's biggest mistakes as a head coach: Not being more clear about what fans can reasonably expect and when. We never got a clear timetable.

That's why, after barely beating Eastern Kentucky and getting walloped by Miami, Jinks seemed completely out of answers, and hope seemed lost.

With Clawson, we expected a five-year rebuild and that's what he delivered, along with just enough progress to keep many of us from jumping out of windows. (Although he always had his critics.) WIth Jinks? We never got a clear timetable. Until last Saturday, we saw precious few signs of progress.

(And I'm being generous by allowing that we saw progress Saturday. Losing 52-35 to Toledo is not where we want to be, obviously.)

A different head coach could have sold me on staying on the bandwagon by managing expectations. I think Jinks is a good guy who means well. But he has never done managed expectations well. And this has turned into an enormous problem right now.

[mbenecke]

Interesting stat, kind of out of context, but still with some merit:

Last year, our pass defense was 105th in the country in terms of passing yards per game. This year, our pass defense is 10th in the country, giving up nearly 100 less yards per game through the air than one year ago.

Our pass defense this year is statistically better than at schools like Georgia, Penn State, Alabama, West Virginia, USC, Wisconsin, LSU, Ohio State, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Texas, Texas A&M, Florida State, and Oklahoma, among many others.

[gspointer]

I have to agree with all of your points. I would look for improvement in the remaining games and go from there. He was dropped into a bad situation

[jpfalcon09]

Interesting stat, kind of out of context, but still with some merit:

Last year, our pass defense was 105th in the country in terms of passing yards per game. This year, our pass defense is 10th in the country, giving up nearly 100 less yards per game through the air than one year ago.

Our pass defense this year is statistically better than at schools like Georgia, Penn State, Alabama, West Virginia, USC, Wisconsin, LSU, Ohio State, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Texas, Texas A&M, Florida State, and Oklahoma, among many others.

Yeah, but how much of this is because teams go run heavy against BG? I don't have the time to look but I have to think opposing teams have run the ball more than passed through six games.

[guest44]

This guy took over the defending MAC champs, and they have been beyond awful since. I do agree that the administration is clueless.

[kdog27]

1. Each year the team is put in near-impossible positions due to the non-conference scheduling of the clueless administration, past and present.

2. Name another coach outside of Meyer and Clawson that signed Top 3 classes. It'll wait. And it doesn't take 1 or two...it takes several when the talent was as depleted as it was under Babers. Yes some didn't work out, but that happens in every single program in America.

3. The "leading in arrests" narrative is completely (and perhaps purposefully) misleading. Most violations are of a minor nature consistent with every college program in the country and all are dealt with swiftly and fairly. Marijuana in college? Fights during Spring Break? I'm shocked, shocked! Call the Washington Post!

4. He has shown the ability to adjust by firing Eliano and bringing in the most highly qualified defensive coordinator in the MAC. The defensive staff is highly qualified, experienced in the MAC and has a track record to suggest they'll turn the defense around if given time.

5. He had the class to speak honestly about the effect of the wanna-be big-shot media darling boosters on recruiting. Saying other things have damaged recruiting (which they have) does not render this untrue. It was a small-time, low-class move that no coach deserves and thankfully does not represent the majority. Anyone not named Sebo has not made the financial investment in BG football to have any sway over the hiring and firing of a coach.

Babers gutted this program from both a talent and discipline standpoint. This was never going to be a 3 year rebuild and those that thought it would be don't understand the roster limitations we've had. The bottom line is Jinks and his staff are working every day to bring in talent and make the program better while anonymous big-mouths and sniping "fans" work to counteract these efforts.

Bring it on, and come back with more than snark...

I'm not going to address this whole thing, others already have...Then why in the summer of 2016 was Jinks singing the praises of the talent he inherited? Comparing some of the roster to big 12 rosters. Either a complete misjudge of talent on his part (problem) or he got nothing out of that talent (also a problem). The media seemed to agree with the cupboard not being bare. BG was picked to repeat in the east by most outlets.

So when do we see progress or does jinks just get to laugh all the way to the bank? 4 wins, 2 wins, and whatever this s**t show of a season produces.

77-3 to a non-power 5 team. That is and always be indefensible. Oh and we were in a shootout with that same team 12 months before and Memphis was better in 2015!

Also how do you go from practically being unbeatable in the east in December of 2015 to the laughing stock of the east by September 2016. Damn Babers and his voodoo dolls!

[zete]

What is frightening is to think we may end up like Kent St or Eastern. That's what all the hoopla is about in a nutshell.

[CrazyFan]

1. Each year the team is put in near-impossible positions due to the non-conference scheduling of the clueless administration, past and present.

2. Name another coach outside of Meyer and Clawson that signed Top 3 classes. It'll wait. And it doesn't take 1 or two...it takes several when the talent was as depleted as it was under Babers. Yes some didn't work out, but that happens in every single program in America.

3. The "leading in arrests" narrative is completely (and perhaps purposefully) misleading. Most violations are of a minor nature consistent with every college program in the country and all are dealt with swiftly and fairly. Marijuana in college? Fights during Spring Break? I'm shocked, shocked! Call the Washington Post!

4. He has shown the ability to adjust by firing Eliano and bringing in the most highly qualified defensive coordinator in the MAC. The defensive staff is highly qualified, experienced in the MAC and has a track record to suggest they'll turn the defense around if given time.

5. He had the class to speak honestly about the effect of the wanna-be big-shot media darling boosters on recruiting. Saying other things have damaged recruiting (which they have) does not render this untrue. It was a small-time, low-class move that no coach deserves and thankfully does not represent the majority. Anyone not named Sebo has not made the financial investment in BG football to have any sway over the hiring and firing of a coach.

Babers gutted this program from both a talent and discipline standpoint. This was never going to be a 3 year rebuild and those that thought it would be don't understand the roster limitations we've had. The bottom line is Jinks and his staff are working every day to bring in talent and make the program better while anonymous big-mouths and sniping "fans" work to counteract these efforts.

Bring it on, and come back with more than snark...

John Wagner apparently learned how to post on a message board. What do you like on your hot dog John?

[Flipper]

Quit blaming Dino Babers for everything...his first recruiting class was the usual old/coach new coach mishmash and his second class was middle of the pack in the MAC. You people act like he burned down the stadium, salted the wells and urinated on the entire Falcon Club.

Jinks is in year three and his team don't look any better than it did last year. No...I take that back...he actually beat the FCS cupcake on this year's schedule. Defend him all you want, but he never should have been hired and he never would have been hired if we were blessed with a competent AD when Babers left--

[hammb]

Ah...another wah wah Dino Babers post. That's original.

Let's take all D1 games out of it. Mike Jinks is 2-1 against FCS opponents and the point differential in those games is exactly even. The 2 victories came down to the very last play, and the loss wasn't as close as the 8 point margin would indicate, tacking on a garbage TD late. IF the man had any clue how to be a head coach in college football he should have been 3-0 and won those games easily. I don't care how badly you may think Dino screwed this program over (which I've took umbrage with since day 1), you will never convince anybody that he left the program in such awful shape that 2 years from his departure we should still be struggling to beat FCS opponents.

The only defense of Mike Jinks is to say that we owe him so much more money we cannot afford to buy him out. That's it. He's done absolutely nothing of merit as HC of this program, and his job performance is absolutely indefensible. And for all his work of "digging out of the hole Dino left" he has gotten worse every year he's been here.

[Roll Along!]

That story in the newspaper did more harm than good for the cowardly donors who want him out. If these are really high end donors, I don't understand how they can be leaders in businesses and yet cowardly hide behind anonymous quotes. You want him out? Put your name behind the quotes. As the AD, you have to keep him for another year or it looks like your department is run by the boosters. What new coach wants to come into that situation?

Jinks absolutely did a horrible job during the first two years of coaching this program and he's admitted as much. He's corrected many of those mistakes since the end of last year. Did he damage the program over those first two years? Absolutely. Has he started the turn around over the past year? I think so. That's why he got 5 years. The last AD knew he'd make a crap ton of bad decisions early but he needs the security of 5 years to make it happen. I think he gets another year for his last two classes to mature and really take a big step forward next year.

Did it have to be this way? No. The last AD could have hired someone who could have turned it around quickly. But cutting bait and running to a new coach now is going to do more damage to this program than allowing Jinks the opportunity to see this through. This guy can be our PJ Fleck if given time. Definitely not as quickly as PJ did it at Western Michigan, but eventually with similar results.