Could SMU lose Bennett?

[Jim Rome]

Did anyone else freak a little when Texas A&M athletic director Wally Groff got canned .... errrrrr, "resigned" .... last week, effective after the football season?

I think SMU fans should be scared. Groff was/is a solid backer of R.C. Slocum. He's kept R.C. on as coach, even though he's grossly underacheived in Aggietown. Think about it: the 'necks down there have nothing better to do than live and die for the Aggies, so their fan support is unlimited. They have the "resources" (cash) to do anything they want, in terms of facilities, coaching salaries, etc. And their fans/alums like to think of themselves as a competitor of Texas.

But when's the last time R.C. led the jar-heads to a win in a big game? 20 years ago? For all their claims of greatness down there, they've never won anything. They occasionally trot out a really great player, like Quentin Coryatt (please don't throw Dat Nguyen up in my grill is a great player - he was a nice college player, but incredibly overrated), but they have accomplished exactly nothing during R.C.'s tenure.

Now there's a new president, who just ran Wally Groff. That means R.C.'s security blanket is gone. I'm guessing that if they don't win something significant, ol' R.C. is going to have to tighten up his résumé so he can get a defensive coordinator's gig someplace. He clearly isn't head coach material.

All this leads to Bennett. If/when A(M cans R.C., who would be a better candidate than our man Bennett? If he has any success at all at SMU (and we all know he will!), he'd be A&M's top candidate. He played there. He's been an assistant coach there. He has recruiting ties all over the state. Other coaches talk about him like he's the second coming of Vince Lombardi, and would line up to coach with him at a university that pays more. And he has lots of friends in the College Station area.

We all want Coach Bennett to lead the Ponies back to greatness. And he will. But if he does, and the head 'necks in aggietown run R.C. -- which they should have done years ago -- they'll come wave a huge bag of cash. Time to dip into the Commitment fund and lock up Coach Bennett, and make sure there's a REALLY expensive buyout clause in his contract.

[JasonB]

Actually, most Aggies I tak to want Kubiak as thier coach. Bennett isn't really on the radar for them right now - most of their alums would love to have an offensive minded guy...

[Otto]

An offense would be a nice addition to the Aggies.

And I agree with JasonB - aren't you getting ahead of yourself? Let's see Bennett start winning before we worry about a big-money school stealing him.

With that said, you make some good points. Sure would hate to lose him, with all the excitement he's helped generate.

[MustangFan]

Coach Bennett isn't going anywhere. He chose to live in Highland Park because of the schools and the wrestlng program for his son, and his kids are the most important parts of his life. He's going to stay at SMU at least until they graduate high school.

[MustangMom]

I think Coach Bennett commited to SMU to build a program and leave his legacy. I think (and hope) we don't have to worry about A&M.


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Go Mustangs!!
-MustangMom

[MarcAg]

I think saying most Aggies want Bennett is wrong. I think a lot want him but I wouldn't say most want him. I personally do not want him. I would much rather have Bennett. I don't think RC is going anywhere right now unless it is his choice. He hasn't been having great seasons of late, but since 1990 only Bobby Bowden has more wins than him. He will have a good season this year and that will get the pressure off of him for a while. I can see Bennett going to A&M, but only if RC leaves under a positive situation. Bennett and RC are suck good friends that if RC is fired I don't see Bennett going there. If RC decided to retire (which I don't think he will do for several years) then I think Bennet might come.

I think Bennett is going to get things turned around for you guys. Good luck this season


[This message has been edited by MarcAg (edited 08-29-2002).]

[Fresh]

I just hope we win enough games that we have to worry about fighting off offers for Coach Bennett.

[BoazHoes]

That is too funny....I seem to remember people talking about Caven being the next up and coming SEC coach as well. Vince Dooley's prodigy son returns to Georgia to take the Dawgs back to the glory land. We are all on the Bennett band-wagon now and for good reason however lets not be to over presumptious. It is a nice "theory" Jim Rome but far from a reality. Kubiak is the shoe-in if and only if RC retires or leaves. He will never be fired. By the way are you saying Seth and Steve McKinny are not solid players in the NFL. Sam Adams, Rich Coady, or Brandon Mitchell. They are overrated also right. Rome your jungle karma is off this time.

[Jim Rome]

BoazHoes, back away from the pipe.

Steve McKinney is a nice NFL player (although he's hurt.) Seth McKinney might be, but he's a rookie and hasn't proven anything just yet. (Admittedly, he was great in college, so he should fare well with the Dolphins.) Sam Adams was great, and might be again, if he can keep his weight in check. Rich Coady is a nice guy and a marginal NFL player at best. Brandon Mitchell is another in a long line of good A&M players who are average at best in the NFL: Dat Nguyen, Pat Williams, Keith Mitchell, Ron Flemons, Ron Edwards, Robert Ferguson, Aaron Glenn, etc.

I didn't say Coryatt was the only good NFL player to emerge from aggietown, just the best in recent memory. I was just using him as an example. My original post was more of an indictment of the team's performance under R.C., not ripping each individual player. He's had talent there, he just hasn't gotten the most out of it.

[True Colors]

At one time, there were more running backs in the NFL from aTm than any other school in the country. I'm not sure that the same thing is true today, but it was at one point during the 90's.

And you are mistaken if you think that R.C.'s only connection to the aggy power brokers is Wally Groff. Believe me, there are many, many other good ole boys that Slocum is tight with. It will be extremely tough for anyone to unseat him, mark my words.

On a side note, it saddens my heart to see Wally Groff go(being the non-fan of aTm that I am). Practically every single one of their sports has slipped over the last few years(excluding the ones that are always in the tank like men's basketball). Groff was your typical, "government bureaucrat" pencil pusher type whose main skill was working the aggy political system over many, many years. It's such a shame that he couldn't have been there another decade or two.

[MarcAg]

BoazHoes must have missed sports center last night. Coady was cut by the Rams

You are crazy if you think Aaron Glenn is average at best. You are right on a lot of those guys, but no way is Aaron Glenn average at best. Aaron Glenn is one of the better corners in the NFL.

I think it is way too early to judge Robert Ferguson. If you judged a lot of great WRs by what they did in their first couple of seasons there would be a lot who rated very low. Guys like Rod Smith and Joe Horn did very little early on in their careers. I'm not saying he will be great or even good, just saying it is too early to judge him.

[Jim Rome]

I've got to give it to you, MarcAg - it is too early to judge Robert Ferguson. And I admit, based on what we saw when he was at A&M, I still think he can be a very good WR, especially with Brett Favre throwing to him.

But I'm not sold on Aaron Glenn. He has talent, to be sure, but unless your name is Darrell Green, it's hard to be that good at CB when you're only 5-8. I can't think of another CB under 5-10 or 5-11 who I'd say is really good. Glenn makes the most of his ability, I guess, but his ceiling is less than that of most "top" CBs - in my opinion.

And, to be fair to Aggies everywhere, I do think Seth McKinney will be a very good pro - perhaps even a Pro Bowl center one of these days.

[MarcAg]

Sports Illustrated says Glenn is one of the top 5 CBs in the league. ESPN the magazine says he is a pro bowl caliber CB (obviously since he has been to the pro bowl a couple of times). NFL.com says, "regarded as one of the top cover men in the NFL"

I don't know what to think about Ferguson. It will be interesting to see how he turns out.

[Jim Rome]

True. Ferguson has the jets to become Favre's best deep threat.

[Big Sam]

Last I knew, many A&M fans I converse with aren't Bennett fans. He was there when they were coming off probation and were short of talented bodies on D. As a result he had a passive D, which was out of character for him.

Slocum sacrificed him to buy some time (this is there words) for some early struggles by his teams. I don't know what Bennett thinks of Slocum, but I do know that he wanted to be at A&M a lot. Losing his job there hurt.

A&M would be attractive to him (it would be to most). However, I wouldn't know if he would be at the top of the list there. Depends is he is rehabilitated in the eyes of those at A&M or not.

Take Care,
Sam S.

PS - Nice to see you guys really improved this week against TTU. Hope your guys used ot this build into some confidence and momentum for the next few games.