How do we fix this going forward?

[Texasscout96]

Ok I must be honest, I was never much of a Sonny Dykes fan. I really could not stand his Dad at Tech!

But things were good. We were winning. We were keeping studs and we were recruiting new studs.

So what's wrong with what we are doing? We seem to be a revolving door for coaches. And every time a coach leaves, we have to stink for 2-3 years while the new coach builds things up.

I love SMU and I always will. But why can't we do a better job of moving things forward and keeping the winning tradition? Alabama doesn't have this problem. Or Ohio State. Or Clemson.

Can't we just cheat off of their paper?? You can't tell me that a kid would rather go to Tuscaloosa, AL over Dallas, Texas!!

Please SMU... Fix the problem...FAST!!

[Illa J]

It starts with the people at the top, and the top have not yet made the commitment necessary to facilitate a long-term winning culture.

[Rebel10]

Get to a P5 conference. Outside of that almost nothing else will stop it. If SMU hires Lashlee and he has high levels of success at SMU for a few seasons and a P5 school that he likes comes calling he will probably be gone and I would not blame him. Maybe the PAC 12 would like to expand into Texas one day and would take SMU. But I am not sure we have the right AD to really get SMU into a P5 conference IMO.

[Big Hoss]

Get to a P5 conference. Outside of that almost nothing else will stop it. If SMU hires Lashlee and he has high levels of success at SMU for a few seasons and a P5 school that he likes comes calling he will probably be gone and I would not blame him. Maybe the PAC 12 would like to expand into Texas one day and would take SMU. But I am not sure we have the right AD to really get SMU into a P5 conference IMO.

Yes. All of this.

[MDJenkins]

It’s very easy to fix…Fire Hart! He’s so incompetent.

[Topper]

Get to a P5 conference. Outside of that almost nothing else will stop it. If SMU hires Lashlee and he has high levels of success at SMU for a few seasons and a P5 school that he likes comes calling he will probably be gone and I would not blame him. Maybe the PAC 12 would like to expand into Texas one day and would take SMU. But I am not sure we have the right AD to really get SMU into a P5 conference IMO.

Yes. All of this.

Ditto. In Sonny's defense he can clearly see, and I suspect TCU made it clear to him, that SMU will be playing the likes of UTSA, UAB and UNT for the foreseeable future and that Baylor, the Frogs, and Tech will continue to oppose our moving up to the Big 12. The Mountain West teams snubbed the AAC and we were left with dregs. Memphis will be gone soon IMO. The Big 12 isn't what it used to be, but wouldn't you rather have your program on the same playing field as Tech, OSU, ISU, Baylor and TCU than the Blazers, the Roadrunners and other teams that no one in Dallas gives a whiff about? There are something like 8 present or future SEC and Big 12 teams within a morning's drive from Dallas. With the exception of TCU none of them will play us at Ford because of attendance issues. It will be even more difficult to recruit in the new environment, especially with UNT now playing at our level. Dykes was put in a difficult position when TCU fired Patterson so early, but I suspect he sees the reality of his situation at SMU and, like us, was frustrated that the leadership at SMU was so ineffective at putting us in a better position.

[HarvCrimYaleBlue]

Conference affiliation is all that matters and all that ‘needs’ to be fixed.

Until then enjoy a rebuild every few years.

Even then, if you don’t win, coach is gone and it starts again.

[Bergermeister]

Name the last SMU head football coach that left "gracefully".

[Insane_Pony_Posse]

But why can't we do a better job of moving things forward and keeping the winning tradition? Alabama doesn't have this problem. Or Ohio State. Or Clemson.

Why can't everybody be Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant, or Nick Saban?
Because some are extremely talented at what they do, and some are not.
Rather than long to be Bama and Ohio State.
How 'bout just get to a G5 conference championship game?
We've won one Football Conference Championship in like 37 years?

[peruna81]

Leadership is the key to advance any organization. Turner has done much on some fronts, but doesn't buy in on the "front door" idea of athletics in a university. While not Pye-Lite, he is happily indifferent to athletics... glad when they succeed, but only involved if there is trouble brewing (ie Brown). Like Hart, as one poster put it in another thread, he is reactive rather than pro-active. That means attrition rules rather than advancement.

IF SMU is to move up in conference affiliation, the next two years are critical. I believe that is one reason FHCSD chose to leave...he saw this current administration as simply happy with status quo. Efforts to market SMU happened only during Dykes' time here, and with some measure of success. Why did it take a new man to move that point? Leadership. Dykes provided an important part of that impetus, even though he has handled his exit poorly.

The cloud of 40 years ago still haunts leadership at SMU. I contend it should be embraced, along with Doak Walker, Jerry LeVias as the first SWC scholarship black player, Hayden Fry for leadership, Forrest Gregg for courage, and the Death Penalty as a teaching tool of over-reach and eventual change that is now a part of the NIL formula at all universities.In effect, follow the Marine Corp mantra during recruit training..."Embrace the Suck".

Leadership is defined as "follow me", not "Go on out there and get them". It is past time for SMU to find a leader.

They exist in the business world and among our alumni. Start there.

[redpony]

P-81 well stated. and obviously we lack leadership at our university, especially in sports.

[ponyboy]

I realize we're talking longer-term-program type issues, but I will say this. Unless we get a mass exodus of players, which I don't see happening -- beyond our seniors -- we've got a lot of talent. And Lashlee runs a very similar offense. I don't see any drop off in terms of the quality of what we see on the field next season. The only hole right now, in that sense, is the 2022 recruiting class.

But, yeah, the only long term solution is to get in a P5 conference. Or continue to flirt with being the best of the left behinds or never weres. I really don't know if that's a problem with Turner and Hart -- maybe it is. Or maybe it's just unsolvable and, being a small private school, we're doomed to other-ran status.

By the way, how many coaches across the country leave their programs on good terms? Very, very, very few. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm thankful for Sonny and what he did here to help us continue the climb.

[JasonB]

Leadership is the key.

This is the first time post-DP that the boosters have completely taken over. Turner is not in control, and Hart is on the way out. The key to all of this is who we hire as AD - it needs to be someone big-time who can drive us to the next conference. And the key to the Lashlee regime is who he can bring in as a DC. We are going to put together a great young staff that can recruit above everything else, we just need a DC who understands modern concepts.

[PNW_Stang]

I just don’t get why every time a coach leaves SMU, there is a ton of drama and they can’t wait to GTFO. It isn’t just the attendance. Attendance with Sonny seemed to be increasing each year (just look at the student section!), and that was with no major wins (other than a mediocre TCU), no big bowl, no bowl wins, meltdowns at the end of each season, blowout losses to schools like ECU, etc. That late 2019 ECU game crowd showed what we could be if we had a winning culture.

So why it is always a Greek tragedy when a coach decides he wants out of here?

At least most other G5 schools win their conference, or finish better than 3rd of 4th on their best season, before their coaches leave too. That’s irritating.

[Big Hoss]

I just don’t get why every time a coach leaves SMU, there is a ton of drama and they can’t wait to GTFO. It isn’t just the attendance. Attendance with Sonny seemed to be increasing each year (just look at the student section!), and that was with no major wins (other than a mediocre TCU), no big bowl, no bowl wins, meltdowns at the end of each season, blowout losses to schools like ECU, etc. That late 2019 ECU game crowd showed what we could be if we had a winning culture.

So why it is always a Greek tragedy when a coach decides he wants out of here?

At least most other G5 schools win their conference, or finish better than 3rd of 4th on their best season, before their coaches leave too. That’s irritating.

Agreed on how we act when a coach leaves. I get it sucks that coaches leave us every few years, but until we move up to a P5 conference, get used to it. I don’t think Sonny is the devil here. He didn’t do everything the way I would have liked, but I don’t think he royally screwed us either.

Bring on Lashlee, as I think he’ll provide the smoothest transition for our program to the next stage.