Bennett to get interviewed on ESPN radio

[Buddha]

Coach Bennett is going to be on at 11:05 AM this Wednesday with "The Goodfellas." Since half of that snappy program (Brian Estridge) is a member of the TCU radio broadcast, you can expect a lot of "are you afraid of the Frogs?" questions. But pub is pub, you know?

Now that I've mentioned it, I also must confess that I won't be able to get to a radio. Can someone speed-type a transcript again, like they did when Coach B was at the WAC media day thing?

Thanks

[Mustangs35SMU]

Yes please someone transcript it seeing as I start that thing called school that day

[giacfsp]

Sounds like a job for smoopower

[Sewanee Stang]

It was a good interview. Coach Bennett was very enthusiastic, and Newy and the other guy seemed impressed. Coach said that right now Chris Phillips is the guy. More depth at quarterback this year. More talent at skill positions. Said that facilities, resources, admin support, and new conf affiliation will result in a winning program.

[SMUFan]

I'm no secretary, so I don't type that fast, and I promise you this isn't word-for-word accurate. And there were some complete thoughts I missed. But here's what I got:

(When asked about the schedule .... "who did this to you?")
One thing that's a challenge .... we looked into making a switch, but because of conference alignment and some other things, we weren't able to do that. But over the next two years, that will get better.

(When asked about the QBs)
We think Chris is the guy. But we've got two junior college guys, Tony Eckert and Jerad Romo, who are in here competing. The last two years, we've been quarterback-poor. We should be better there this year.

(When asked how he keeps his players motivated after last year)
Kids are resilient - they kept me motivated. We were the youngest team in the NCAA last year. We had (40-something) freshmen playing last year. We had six games that came down to the last drive, but we weren't able to get over that hump. We had four straight games that came down to the last play. I have 14 guys this year who have started on defense, and some new guys on offense. They've worked hard to get better, and we will be better.

(When asked about Rusty Burns)
One of the most impressive things about Rusty is that when he was at Cincinnati, they won Conference USA. He lost nine starters off his offense, and the next year they still finished second in offense in Conference USA with 28 points per game. He has a really unique package, and he makes it fun for the players. I think they like the offense, and I think they like him.

We're going to win here. I knew when I took this job that it was going to be tough. But I'm excited about the team, and I'm especially excited about the young players -- I don't think we missed on a single freshman. I think every one of them is going to be a Div. I -- a good Div. I -- football player. And the more kids we bring in who fit the mold of what we're looking for, the better we'll get.

(When asked about the impending move to Conference USA)
I talked to Dr. Turner and Jim Copeland and said "we've got to get more regional." We had two games last year when we got home at 7 in the morning. And we're playing some good teams -- Nevada, a week after they beat us 12-10, goes out and just drills Washington. But when you look at teams like Memphis, Tulane (he mentioned some other CUSA schools) and then you also have Rice, Tulsa, UTEP -- this is more regional. And all those schools recruit Texas, so there will be some rivalries there.

(When asked where he gets his never-ending energy and positive demeanor)
You know, I listened to Coach Bear Bryant tell a story once. When he went to Texas A&M, his wife asked him why they left Kentucky -- I think they (Kentucky) had just gotten beat by Baylor 56-3 or something like that. He said "Honey, you know, coaching is a lot like sex. Even when it's bad, it's pretty good."

[Hilltopper]

You make a hell of a secretary! Thanks for the transcript for us out-of-towners.

Last line is pretty funny.

[SWC2010]

Sorry Hilltopper, but the mental image of Bear Bryant having sex is not funny to me. I'm off this thread...

[Hilltopper]

You're right - that image isn't funny (and thanks for creating that mental picture for all of us.) I just meant that the fact that he said it was funny.

OK, I'm going to go get sick now....

[Roach]

The parts I like the best are his obvious enthusiasm and confidence about the future for the program, and how he credits the players for their resilience and attitude. When we start winning again, it would be easy for Coach Bennett to say something like "I stayed on 'em and they won." Instead, I think his response will be about how they did it on their own, with some guidance from him and his staff. He's really giving credit to the players, even before the wins come, and that's pretty cool to see. Coach B is a good man.

[PonySnob]

With the kind of money we are paying Bennett, he should be enthusiastic. He has yet to deliver anything except the worst season in 50 years and yet the big fat paychecks keep coming. Talk about getting paid to not deliver against expectations!

[PK]

PonySnot...you're so full of it the stench is terrible. Do us all a favor and stay way down wind from us. Thanks.

[PonySnob]

All that I was saying was that Bennett should be enthusiastic and confident about the future - it's hard to believe anything could get much worse than last season. Personally, I like Phil Bennett and I think he is the right guy for this job. Unfortunately, the previous coach was a complete idiot and SMU fans are paying the price today for his lack of abilitiy in addition to the ridiculous sanctions placed on the athletic department by the administration.

It sounds like the school has started moving in the right direction with regards to athletics and hopefully we will continue to get better athletes which will enable our football and bball programs to rise to a level of respectability that they have not been at in quite some time. Clearly Bennett has a plan for this program which should show improvement this year and SMU fans should be able to have positive expectations in 2005.

[Water Pony]

PonySnob, you're full of it. You claim Phil Bennett deserves no confidence from us in your first post and then say you didn't intend it. Just like a few players in the NFL, who criticize their teammates, coaches and opponents; then claim they were misunderstood.

Your style is clear. Be a cynic, the glass is a quarter full guy.

Give us a break!

[giacfsp]

Well said, PK and WaterPony. Snob mocks Coach B's enthusiasm, then says "he's my guy." What a pantload. If any of us was building what he's building, a lot of us would have caved in by now. Coach Bennett's energy and belief in his system is unwavering, and is as important as any other factor in why he WILL turn it around.

At that point, PSnob will tell us he supported him all along, etc. What a fraud.

[SWC2010]

Brutal, giacfsp, but true.......