by ponyte » Tue Sep 30, 2014 1:50 pm
I believe he was worth it. We went to four bowls and won three (Does he have the best SMU bowl record of all coaches?). We did play for a conference championship.
We had none of those post -DP with any coach.
And all the previous coaches have left the program in a mess. That is one big reason they got fired or 'resign'. So he really didn't leave the program much different than any other post DP coach.
It was nice, real nice, having 4-5 years of not being the worse program in the nation year in and year out. For one brief period, we won, went to bowls and weren't a total embarrassment. Prior to Jones nothing comes close to that level of success.
It wasn't Jones' fault we played in the WAC or CUSA. And he may have helped us get into the AAC. It may not be a big time football conference but it is a powerhouse MBB conference. So overall an improvement for the entire department.
The question wasn't hiring him, but when to separate from him. After the ASU issue? After last season? One can only speculate.
But unlike any other time we have looked for a new Fb coach, this time there we have a significantly better pool interested in the job than only other post DP time.