It is decided

[mrydel]

There is no more question in my mind on next years coach. My wife told me that it would be stupid to fire Bennett and have to start over from scratch. I know on which side my bread is buttered so I officially am camped on the keep Bennett side.

But, for sake of discussion. If Bennett were to leave, for Iowa State for instance, I think a very bold move would be to try and hire the Rice coaching staff to come to SMU. Graham has always recruited Dallas and Texas well and Applewhite seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Their defense schemed against Willis better than any other team this year. That I would think would be a bold move and perhaps a good salesman could get it done.

[CalallenStang]

There is no more question in my mind on next years coach. My wife told me that it would be stupid to fire Bennett and have to start over from scratch. I know on which side my bread is buttered so I officially am camped on the keep Bennett side.

But, for sake of discussion. If Bennett were to leave, for Iowa State for instance, I think a very bold move would be to try and hire the Rice coaching staff to come to SMU. Graham has always recruited Dallas and Texas well and Applewhite seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Their defense schemed against Willis better than any other team this year. That I would think would be a bold move and perhaps a good salesman could get it done.

Ha, you posted this just as I posted an "Applewhite for Offensive Coordinator" thread. Great minds think alike.

[ponyfan84]

You are right. Firing Phil would only make things worse, and fans would be frustrated all over again with starting from scratch.

[mustangxc]

Agreed! Keep Bennett for one more year. Evaluate his performance after the 2007 season. Upgrade the coordinator positions. Use the money that would be used for a buyout to improve other areas of the program. As painful as yesterday was we need to be patient and supportive. SMU Football is rising. Our key playmakers are lowerclassmen. There is no one better for SMU than Phil Bennett at this time. Miami is going to have a difficult enough time hiring a replacement for Coker and that is a very attractive job. If we fire Phil now we will probably regret it. I know I would have liked to see Rossley's results had he stayed 1 or 2 more seasons. Cavan definitely needed to go though. Support Phil Bennett. SavePhilBennettsjob.com

[Corso]

Agreed! Keep Bennett for one more year. Evaluate his performance after the 2007 season. Upgrade the coordinator positions. Use the money that would be used for a buyout to improve other areas of the program. As painful as yesterday was we need to be patient and supportive. SMU Football is rising. Our key playmakers are lowerclassmen. There is no one better for SMU than Phil Bennett at this time. Miami is going to have a difficult enough time hiring a replacement for Coker and that is a very attractive job. If we fire Phil now we will probably regret it. I know I would have liked to see Rossley's results had he stayed 1 or 2 more seasons. Cavan definitely needed to go though. Support Phil Bennett. SavePhilBennettsjob.com

Amen! Agree with basically everything you said here. Great post.

[Bergermeister]

gag

[Pony Soup]

Why do mustang fans always settle for mediocrity? Let's give him one more year to see how it goes..." No way - lets make sure potential recruits know we are serious about winning. 6-6 doesnt cut it, and what kind of AD signs us up for 4+ more years of this on his way out?

Thanks....for nothing. Orsini needs to bring in his own regime - now!

[MrMustang1965]

For those of you who think a Big 12 program (albeit Iowa State) would hire a coach with PB's record, you're insane.

Prediction: PB stays at SMU. Rusty Burns fired as OC. Mustangs go 9-3 next year and go to a bowl.

[BrianTinBigD]

If we can't do any better than Phil, then let's keep him around. If Norm Chow wants to run a college program or Knute Rockne's ghost is looking for a gig then we should look into the situation. Also, for those of you that saying Bennet's firing would require 5 years to turn this situation around again, you are actually saying that Phil left the place in the same shape that Cavan did. Another coach should be able to pick up right where Phil left off and improve the sitaution if he is an improvement. Can someone explain to me the way that Rice was able to turn it around? Apparently it did not take 5 years. They are winning now and whipping our arse in recruiting so I can't see how we are going to magically get better than Rice over the next 4 years.

[Stallion]

there you have it-9-3 just 20 hours after the season crashed and burned. That is a record for even MM65 to say something stupid after the season is over. 9-3 next year? Have you checked out our graduation losses-how about our schedule? Usually you don't get this kind of rah! rah! nonsense until at least March.

[MrMustang1965]

there you have it-9-3 just 20 hours after the season crashed and burned. That is a record for even MM65 to say something stupid after the season is over. 9-3 next year? Have you checked out our graduation losses-how about our schedule? Usually you don't get this kind of rah! rah! nonsense until at least March.

I'm an optimistic, glass half-full kind of guy. I'll be one of the first in line to buy season tickets for next year. How about you?

[PonySnob]

For those of you who think a Big 12 program (albeit Iowa State) would hire a coach with PB's record, you're insane.

Prediction: PB stays at SMU. Rusty Burns fired as OC. Mustangs go 9-3 next year and go to a bowl.

What about PB's defensive coordinator Jim Gush? Is he kept around for another year....it seems that QB's and WR's often are not stopped by his defense.

[perunapower]

there you have it-9-3 just 20 hours after the season crashed and burned. That is a record for even MM65 to say something stupid after the season is over. 9-3 next year? Have you checked out our graduation losses-how about our schedule? Usually you don't get this kind of rah! rah! nonsense until at least March.

I'm an optimistic, glass half-full kind of guy. I'll be one of the first in line to buy season tickets for next year. How about you?

I, personally, like your optimistic attitude. I feel the same way. I would be in line to buy season tickets with you if I didn't get student tickets. Contrary to the gloom and doom that has taken over the board again, this program has a bright future still. Last year, we were a few good breaks from being a sub-par team. This year, luck wasn't with us. But, it is fact that if we remain competitive the breaks have to fall our way some time. We just need to limit our mistakes and we won't have 20 different "fire the coach threads" or "the world is coming to an end".

For everyone who thinks that next year is going to kill us. You will be sadly mistaken. Tech and TCU are not unbeatable. Tech lost to Colorado this year and we have proven that we could beat a TCU team with less talent. UNT and ASU better be wins. End of story. UTEP loses Palmer and Higgins, UH loses Kolb, Tulane loses Ricard. UCF and Memphis have proven very weak this year and Rice's success remains to be seen if it can last more than year. I know we lose a lot of good players, but there are players behind them who are capable of filling their shoes, and some of them have very big shoes to fill.

[mr. pony]

[quote="mrydel"]There is no more question in my mind on next years coach. My wife told me that it would be stupid to fire Bennett and have to start over from scratch. I know on which side my bread is buttered so I officially am camped on the keep Bennett side.

[/quote]

Yeah? Well, my wife thinks he should go. No question.

[mrydel]

There is no more question in my mind on next years coach. My wife told me that it would be stupid to fire Bennett and have to start over from scratch. I know on which side my bread is buttered so I officially am camped on the keep Bennett side.

Yeah? Well, my wife thinks he should go. No question.

Now I know who you are. My ex-wife's new husband.