GB getting a contract extension

1987alum · Post by **1987alum** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 2:56 pm

Flipper wrote:In fact, Meyer beat exactly one team above .500 in his tenure here.

Wow. I did not know that.

tiznow · Post by **tiznow** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 2:59 pm

Warthog wrote:Oh, and going to a bowl game does not make him a good coach. Almost half the teams in I-A make a bowl game now. When you get to play Buffalo, Kent, and Temple every year, you are basically half way to be bowl eligible by default. The bowl system is so watered down now that qualifying for a bowl does not mean you have a good team.

In Brandon's five seasons, his MAC record is 27-14. BG has had a losing MAC record once in his five years. That is not middle of the road.

The MAC receives three bowl bids. In other conferences it is watered down, but in the MAC a "middle of the road" team doesn't go bowling. Every conference has their door mat teams.

TG1996 · Post by **TG1996** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 3:00 pm

I fear the conversations this place would have if we ever learned Brandon's political affiliation....

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 3:12 pm

I do not overvalue Meyer's contributions to our program. I don't think you possibly can. He laid the groundwork for all the good that Brandon has accomplished, but did not stick around long enough to see the house that was built on his foundation.

My problem is that I feel Meyer laid the foundation for a mansion and Brandon built a 3 bedroom ranch on it.

Obviously Urban's teams have not accomplished as much on paper as what Brandon's did, but to even suggest that Brandon is on the same level as Urban Meyer is ludicrous. I think there are other Urban's out there chomping at the bit for their first opportunity at a coaching gig. You're happy with what we have which is above average, but not the dominant MAC program I think we could have.

I love how we end up with this conversation on a weekly basis...it's fun and keeps us on our toes

Flipper · Post by **Flipper** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 3:25 pm

You don't build jack in two years. Building a program is a multi year process that involves a consistent approach. I think we're there now after stable recruiting classes in 2004 forward, but we sure as hell weren't there in 2002 and Urban Meyer would probably be the first one to admit it.

You can say "Meyer didn't achieve as much on paper, but the groundwork... " all you want, that's just another way of saying "I have no way to prove my bias, so I'm going to dismiss the evidence that disproves it".

Urban Meyer has done some wonderful thigs in college football since leaving here, but he didn't do them here. I think people use those accomplishments to puff up Meyer's tenure here and that isn't fair either.

Meyer did a good job here...he woke a ot of people up and brought back the winning attitude Gary Blackney had prior to the fat punter debacle...but he didn't achieve the things Gregg Brandon has here.

Globetrotter · Post by **Globetrotter** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 4:13 pm

1987alum wrote:
Globetrotter wrote:If all of what you state in the beginning is true, and I dont argue that it is not, then who put us into this position?
Globetrotter: Put us in what position?

He wrote:

We were a pretty young team that was picked to finish FIFTH in the MAC East by the MAC Media, We had a new starting QB who did pretty well thru the season. As far as the teams we beat...we played who was on our schedule so don't be hating on the kids for something they can't control.

(Who was hating on the kids?)

Globetrotter · Post by **Globetrotter** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 4:16 pm

You think you can do better? It cracks me up how people on this site think they can run this program better than a man who's been in the business 25+ years.

Let me go on record saying that if the options are me or Gregg Brandon I think we should choose Gregg Brandon. [/quote]

Globetrotter · Post by **Globetrotter** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 4:21 pm

Falconfreak90 wrote:
I am gonna stop at this point because we all have our opinions of Coach Brandon and that's ok...and good. He's a good coach, his players graduate and when they step out of line and break rules, he punishes them. Can we do better with another coach? Possibly. And we can certainly do a whole lot worse. ?

We can also do a whole lot better then the 2 most embaressing losses in BG history.Those are trivia question losses

Globetrotter · Post by **Globetrotter** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 4:25 pm

Flipper wrote:Neither the 2001 nor 2002 teams were near the top of the MAC. The 2001 team lost at WMU and Marshall and at home to Miami. They beat a Toledo team that was without it's starting QB and sat quite a few regulars early in the game.

The 2002 team lost to NIU, UT, and USF...the only good teams they played all year. In fact, Meyer beat exactly one team above .500 in his tenure here.

We are by no means a middle of the road MAC team. We fininshed in a tie for e the divisional championship and went to a bowl last year...that's not middle of the road. WE had one "bad" year where we won only four games. When you look at teams like UT, Miami and NIU, I think you'd have to say that our rebuilding was a heck of a lot less painful than their's.

People like to point to 2005 as a major disappointment...to an extent it was, but that team also had the fewest returning starters of any MAC team that year AND we lost the key to our offense for a big chunk of the season.

There's a consistent pattern of overstating Meyer's contributions here and understating Brandon's. This is especially true of the job GB did in 2003. Fine...call for the head of a successful coach here all you want. But you keep in mind what has happened to other programs in this conference and what has happened to this program in the past.

Be very careful what you wish for....

I am not sure anyone is calling for his head. I think people are calling for not rewarding him for his past two years. If a buyout is cheap and possible I am all for a one year extension. I agree that we dont want to go into a year with a lame duck coach. I said before that we could not afford a buyout so an extension seemed foolish, It does not if we can realistically buy him out. I hope we win the MAC championship and he gets another job. Then everyone wins IMO.

JoeFalcon · Post by **JoeFalcon** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 4:33 pm

As a pro-Brandon guy, there's not much to add on the excellent points already made placing his tenure in context. Every school in the MAC would have fired their coach by now according to the unrealistic benchmarks some have set in place for Coach Brandon. You could negatively scrutinize every coach in the conference, most of whom are excellent football coaches:

2008 MAC champion Butch Jones, CMU: inherited bulk of team, lost badly to I-AA at home, capitalized on down year in the conference, lost bowl game.
Amstutz, UT: losing record last two years.
Hoke, Ball State: losing overall record, high water mark is 7-5 and a bowl loss.
Brookhart, Akron: losing record last two years.
Solich: 4-7 first year, no MAC titles and lost only bowl game.
Montgomery, Miami: 2-10 last year, 6-7 this year.
Cubit, WMU: 5-7 last year, lost bowl game in 2006.
Novak, NIU: 2-10 before retiring.

The coaches at EMU, Kent, Temple and Buffalo have never even had a winning season.

We are so spoiled in football it's ridiculous.

(A quick response to Globetrotter above: a one year extention makes him a lame duck, too. And thank you for quoting Flipper's entire post--I rather enjoyed reading it again

)

tiznow · Post by **tiznow** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 4:34 pm

Globetrotter wrote:
Falconfreak90 wrote:
I am gonna stop at this point because we all have our opinions of Coach Brandon and that's ok...and good. He's a good coach, his players graduate and when they step out of line and break rules, he punishes them. Can we do better with another coach? Possibly. And we can certainly do a whole lot worse. ?
We can also do a whole lot better then the 2 most embaressing losses in BG history.Those are trivia question losses

The 2 most embarrassing losses in BG history? Does the history of BG football only go back to 2003?

TG1996 · Post by **TG1996** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 4:47 pm

tiznow wrote:The 2 most embarrassing losses in BG history? Does the history of BG football only go back to 2003?

Of course not.
It goes back to 2001 for many.

Flipper · Post by **Flipper** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 4:58 pm

Globetrotter wrote: I hope we win the MAC championship and he gets another job. Then everyone wins IMO.

Wow...

He's not successful enough to warrant an extension, but if he achieves even more success he'll leave and you'll be happy. You want a successful coach to achieve even more success so he'll leave and then we can get another coach even though the one we already have a winner.......did you suffer a blow to the head or something?

Warthog · Post by **Warthog** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 5:15 pm

Flipper wrote:You don't build jack in two years.

Hmmm, Meyer took Utah to a BCS bowl in his second year and won the national title in his second year at Florida. That's at least a pretty damn good foundation.

Falconfreak90 · Post by **Falconfreak90** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 5:21 pm

Forget it Flip....it ain't worth it anymore. There are those that would drive Coach B to the airport to get him outta here and there are those that support him. I support the man and will continue to do so. If ever there was a year to run the table and go 13-0, 2008 is it. It still wouldn't be good enough for GT and he'd find something else to nitpick.

CMU won the MAC this year. Yet, they lost to Clemson 70-14 and North Dakota State at HOME, 44-14. Hmmm....

It happens to everyone at some time or another. I remember when OSU got killed by Penn State in Happy Valley 63-14. OSU has been embarrassed on national TV in the last two BCS title games. I remember one time Oklahoma lost to Nebraska 69-3. Miami U lost to Colorado 42-0 and 47-14 to Cincinnati this past season. UT lost to MN and Kansas 63-14 and 63-21 in back to back weeks and still won the MAC title in 2004.

Damn...I said I was gonna move on. I will now....sorry for the lie.