Bennett proponents--Answer this:

[BRStang]

None of you has answered my original question #1: How do you explain the fact that Graham and Rice are able to make such a dramatic turnaround in ONE YEAR? How are Rice's recruiting standards any less stringent than SMU? Coaching matters.

#2: When Phil Bennett says SMU fans should "expect a bowl game", and he fails to deliver on this, doesn't he get a FAILING GRADE BY HIS OWN MEASURING STICK? Should SMU fans just forget this and move on?

#3: When a coach fails to get above .500 in FIVE SEASONS in a mid-major conference, especially when he promised championships right away, do you consider that a failure to attain a goal? Can you think of any other D-1A program that would accept this kind of failure or Bennett's record as a head coach here?

#4: Don't incessant turnovers and penalties at key moments fall at least partially on the coaching staff? Isn't this a discipline/focus issue? Hasn't this been a problem for as long as you can remember under Bennett? Can you think of another team that has fumbled the opening kickoff twice within 3 games leading to quick scores?

#5: Is there any excuse but play calling for failing to convert on 2 1st and goal situations from the 1? How about the numerous 4th down and short failures over this season, where we chose not to take the 3 points?

#6: Isn't the "firing Bennett will set the program back 5 more years" argument inconsisent with your position that he has done great things for this program? If that were the case, wouldn't that be an admission that he has done nothing to advance this program?

#7: Do you disagree in any way that the overall caliber of Bennett's recruiting classes have gotten worse, not better, every year he has been at SMU?

#8: Do you believe that 6-6 with this year's schedule and a loss to NTSU and a blow-out loss to ECU is something to be proud of? Do you consider it progress from last year? Do you honestly believe that with the loss of so many key seniors on defense, we have a shot at being better under PB with next year's schedule?

#9: What do you believe is the appropriate standard by which a D-1A coach should be measured? Is it wins and losses? Or is it something different--maybe "graduation rate", for instance? What do you believe is at the core of "The Commitment"? Winning? Something else? I dare say that if the answer to the above is not WINNING, then all hope is lost, and this program better go back to running a daycare instead of a football team, like someone else so eloquently put.

Attack me all you want, but I want SMU to win. Anything else is pointless. If SMU doesn't want to win, it should not be playing and wasting my time and energy. I think PB did a decent job of making key baby steps in a number of different areas. But, I think he's done about as much as he can do at this point. Let's let someone else pick up the ball and run with it for a change.

[smuhype]

BRStang is tough to argue with on many of his points --- Although the decision to move on is a bit trickier that just making a change ---

A bowl game (regardless of record or venue) would have been a HUGE step forward in us returning to credibility.

It pains me to think that we had our entire schedule finally set to pull this off with finally a QB that appears to be solid and committed to our program.

While I have no reason to question Orsini on ANY decsion thus far, I do believe he has one hell of a decision to make and even in the face of Saturday's dissappointment, he is not shying away from the option he has to pull the trigger....

YOU HAVE TO WONDER HOW THESE THREE FATAL FACTS WILL PLAY INTO HIS CALL (BY THE WAY, IF ONE OF THESE THREE "SITUATIONS" FALL THE OTHER WAY WE ARE BOWLING):

1) UNT LOSS --- PB has to answer what the hell happened that night

2) Keeping Willis out of UTEP Game --- While i like his call did it hurt the overall direction of the program by preventing our 7th win?

3) Two 1st and Goals and no Touchdowns --- How do you explain

Those I believe will be the 3 things that define the season of 2006.

I remain sick over the entire situation....

[thefamousguy]

None of you has answered my original question #1: How do you explain the fact that Graham and Rice are able to make such a dramatic turnaround in ONE YEAR? How are Rice's recruiting standards any less stringent than SMU? Coaching matters.

#2: When Phil Bennett says SMU fans should "expect a bowl game", and he fails to deliver on this, doesn't he get a FAILING GRADE BY HIS OWN MEASURING STICK? Should SMU fans just forget this and move on?

#3: When a coach fails to get above .500 in FIVE SEASONS in a mid-major conference, especially when he promised championships right away, do you consider that a failure to attain a goal? Can you think of any other D-1A program that would accept this kind of failure or Bennett's record as a head coach here?

#4: Don't incessant turnovers and penalties at key moments fall at least partially on the coaching staff? Isn't this a discipline/focus issue? Hasn't this been a problem for as long as you can remember under Bennett? Can you think of another team that has fumbled the opening kickoff twice within 3 games leading to quick scores?

#5: Is there any excuse but play calling for failing to convert on 2 1st and goal situations from the 1? How about the numerous 4th down and short failures over this season, where we chose not to take the 3 points?

#6: Isn't the "firing Bennett will set the program back 5 more years" argument inconsisent with your position that he has done great things for this program? If that were the case, wouldn't that be an admission that he has done nothing to advance this program?

#7: Do you disagree in any way that the overall caliber of Bennett's recruiting classes have gotten worse, not better, every year he has been at SMU?

#8: Do you believe that 6-6 with this year's schedule and a loss to NTSU and a blow-out loss to ECU is something to be proud of? Do you consider it progress from last year? Do you honestly believe that with the loss of so many key seniors on defense, we have a shot at being better under PB with next year's schedule?

#9: What do you believe is the appropriate standard by which a D-1A coach should be measured? Is it wins and losses? Or is it something different--maybe "graduation rate", for instance? What do you believe is at the core of "The Commitment"? Winning? Something else? I dare say that if the answer to the above is not WINNING, then all hope is lost, and this program better go back to running a daycare instead of a football team, like someone else so eloquently put.

Attack me all you want, but I want SMU to win. Anything else is pointless. If SMU doesn't want to win, it should not be playing and wasting my time and energy. I think PB did a decent job of making key baby steps in a number of different areas. But, I think he's done about as much as he can do at this point. Let's let someone else pick up the ball and run with it for a change.

You make numerous valid points! It's now time to pony up some cash and bring in a Real head coach who can get us to the next level.

[perunapower]

1. Rice has not proven this to be a turnaround. UCF had a great year last year and they are back in the cellar. I'm not so quick to anoint Graham as the best coach ever.

2. I haven't forgotten it. I'm disappointed we didn't get to one. I'm not so quick to call this season a failure, though. We were certainly on the cusp of going to a bowl, and even greater the conference championship.

3. That is disappointing, yes. I hate the way you worded that. But I know this takes patience to do it the right way, and I see progress.

4. Yes and no. Turnovers and penalties can be due to immaturity or coaching. I think a lot of ours are due to brain farts and immaturity. Doesn't make them acceptable, but it makes them understandable.

5. This I have a problem with. This is ridiculous and I hope it is addressed and fixed.

6. No, the firing Bennett would set the program back 5 years is accurate, especially if multiple players transfer after he leaves. We are not a team that a coach, especially a big name coach, would just pick up the pieces and make it work. He would want everything to have his name on it. That would take many years. Developing a recruiting base in the area would take years. That would be the major setback to the program.

7. Willis, Martin, Sanders, McCann, Handy, and a whole lot of others. There are many redshirts and underclassman on this team from prominent area high schools that will be a great factor in the future.

8. Losses are never something to be proud of. I consider this season progress because to me it did not seem like we squeaked out wins over teams. We played impressively at home, but not so great on the road. With the exception of the first two and ECU, we were in every game until the end in a much improved conference.

9. You can't just look at wins and losses. It goes deeper than that. You examine the performance at each game, at each practice, how much time is devoted, how much effort is used, etc. You have to examine all aspects of the performance, not just the end result. You have to ask why. Why did we lose to Tech, UNT, UTEP, ECU, UH, and Rice? Why did we win against SHSU, ASU, Tulane, Marshall, UAB, and Tulsa? What kind of recruits has Bennett gotten? How do the scout teams look? You have to look beyond the record to see what needs to be done.

[thefamousguy]

1. Rice has not proven this to be a turnaround. UCF had a great year last year and they are back in the cellar. I'm not so quick to anoint Graham as the best coach ever.

2. I haven't forgotten it. I'm disappointed we didn't get to one. I'm not so quick to call this season a failure, though. We were certainly on the cusp of going to a bowl, and even greater the conference championship.

3. That is disappointing, yes. I hate the way you worded that. But I know this takes patience to do it the right way, and I see progress.

4. Yes and no. Turnovers and penalties can be due to immaturity or coaching. I think a lot of ours are due to brain farts and immaturity. Doesn't make them acceptable, but it makes them understandable.

5. This I have a problem with. This is ridiculous and I hope it is addressed and fixed.

6. No, the firing Bennett would set the program back 5 years is accurate, especially if multiple players transfer after he leaves. We are not a team that a coach, especially a big name coach, would just pick up the pieces and make it work. He would want everything to have his name on it. That would take many years. Developing a recruiting base in the area would take years. That would be the major setback to the program.

7. Willis, Martin, Sanders, McCann, Handy, and a whole lot of others. There are many redshirts and underclassman on this team from prominent area high schools that will be a great factor in the future.

8. Losses are never something to be proud of. I consider this season progress because to me it did not seem like we squeaked out wins over teams. We played impressively at home, but not so great on the road. With the exception of the first two and ECU, we were in every game until the end in a much improved conference.

9. You can't just look at wins and losses. It goes deeper than that. You examine the performance at each game, at each practice, how much time is devoted, how much effort is used, etc. You have to examine all aspects of the performance, not just the end result. You have to ask why. Why did we lose to Tech, UNT, UTEP, ECU, UH, and Rice? Why did we win against SHSU, ASU, Tulane, Marshall, UAB, and Tulsa? What kind of recruits has Bennett gotten? How do the scout teams look? You have to look beyond the record to see what needs to be done.

If Rice doesn't go to a bowl for another 10 years that's still more success than SMU has seen in 20. If UCF doesn't see the field in a bowl game they have in one year seen more success than SMU in 20 years.

Just because Justin made that ill advised statement doesn't mean All of our players are going to transfer once Bennett is fired!

[planoponyfan]

BRStang makes a lot of good points - but I still want to see Bennett on the sideline next year.

I recall being disappointed in Tom Rossley after his last season when he finished 5-6. I was excited when Mike Caven came along the next year and gave us the only winning season we've had since the death penalty. Unfortunately, that was his high water mark and it was done largely with a team recruited by Rossley.

Bennett's in more or less the same position Rossley was in after his last season. There are a couple of big differences though.

1. for the first time in years, we know who our starting quarterback will be next year. You forget that the UNT loss was Justin Willis' first game. He's been pretty solid ever since. This kid has the talent to make this team competive every week.

2. Willis will leave if Bennett is fired. Who takes over at QB then? Who else will leave if Bennett is fired? Firing Bennett and bringing in someone else throws everything out the window. We could go back to square one. 1-11, 3-9, 4-8.. those could be our winning totals next year with a new coach and QB. 7-5 or 8-4 is far less likely.

If we take a step back next year then yes, Bennett should go. But I think we're better off giving him one more year to try to get the team to the post-season. A new coach makes everything a question mark. I just don't think SMU needs that right now.

[Hoofprint]

1. for the first time in years, we know who our starting quarterback will be next year. You forget that the UNT loss was Justin Willis' first game. He's been pretty solid ever since. This kid has the talent to make this team competive every week....

This is the best point in the last two days' discussion. We've had to break in a new QB every year since the start of time, or so it seems. We've got a chance to have the same starting QB -- and a really talented one -- for four years. This is a position we haven't enjoyed since Flanigan. Keep Bennett, keep Willis, keep improving.
I'm ready for spring ball!

[BRStang]

1. for the first time in years, we know who our starting quarterback will be next year. You forget that the UNT loss was Justin Willis' first game. He's been pretty solid ever since. This kid has the talent to make this team competive every week....

This is the best point in the last two days' discussion. We've had to break in a new QB every year since the start of time, or so it seems. We've got a chance to have the same starting QB -- and a really talented one -- for four years. This is a position we haven't enjoyed since Flanigan. Keep Bennett, keep Willis, keep improving.
I'm ready for spring ball!

And this, my friends, is partly why SMU continues to stagnate. There is no urgency and pressure to WIN NOW on the school when so many fans are willing to live with mediocrity. Just lie to me and tell me next year will be different. Unbelievable.

Where in the he!! else would you ever hear this kind of cr@p? Really sad.

I'm sure next year we'll have a new crop of newbies saying this all over again after a really, really, terrific, almost winning season..."Just wait til next year." "We're on the cusp." "Phil Bennett's a nice guy." Blehhhhhh!

[2112]

In his fifth year, with a veteran team, and we can't beat Rice with a first time coach?Not good at all boys and girls!

[93Mustang]

BR,

You make the best arguments available for change, but this decision is still a tough one because we don't know what we'll get should PB get fired. Having watched the hoops team play a few times already, it is obvious that coaching matters. Doherty has the team looking great - same guys, they're just playing better. However, will Orsini be able to find a Doherty quality coach in football? The only way firing PB makes sense to me is if we make a significant upgrade in head coach. That said, I don't think we could pull that off unless we went with the huge risk of hiring a guy like Dodge who has very little college experience. Let's face it, if we go with a proven D1 coach, it will have to be a retread who is down on his luck (like Doherty) and that list currently includes: Neuheisel, Barnett, Coker, ASU coach, and MSU coach. With the exception of Neuheisel, none of these guys does much for me and we probably won't talk to Neuheisel because he's had some NCAA infractions while at CU that carried over to UW. Another route would be hiring a guy like Graham or Kragthorpe who have won in our conference by throwing huge money at them, but the risk there is getting these guys to say yes for what is a lateral move - TCU pulled this off by getting Fran to leave NM, but I can't see either of those guys (Kragthorpe or Graham) coming unless we seriously overpaid them and they have some strong desire to get to Dallas. That leaves the ultimate risk of Dodge. He has done an awesome job at Southlake and would likely bring his son (after he graduates of course) and some other decent recruits with him, but is Orsini really going to bet on a HS coach with one year of college coaching experience?

Having said all of that, I think this decision is really hard and probably won't be made unless and until Orsini has the back end (the new coach) locked up. A knee jerk firing followed by us scrambling to fill the position with another unproven BCS coordinator would be a disaster in my opinion. Based on the foregoing, my gut tells me we want PB to get a chance to win with an experienced Willis.

[LakeHighlandsPony]

In his fifth year, with a veteran team, and we can't beat Rice with a first time coach?Not good at all boys and girls!

TODD GRAHAM BEAT US WITH A BACKUP QB!!!

[BRStang]

BR,

You make the best arguments available for change, but this decision is still a tough one because we don't know what we'll get should PB get fired. Having watched the hoops team play a few times already, it is obvious that coaching matters. Doherty has the team looking great - same guys, they're just playing better. However, will Orsini be able to find a Doherty quality coach in football? The only way firing PB makes sense to me is if we make a significant upgrade in head coach. That said, I don't think we could pull that off unless we went with the huge risk of hiring a guy like Dodge who has very little college experience. Let's face it, if we go with a proven D1 coach, it will have to be a retread who is down on his luck (like Doherty) and that list currently includes: Neuheisel, Barnett, Coker, ASU coach, and MSU coach. With the exception of Neuheisel, none of these guys does much for me and we probably won't talk to Neuheisel because he's had some NCAA infractions while at CU that carried over to UW. Another route would be hiring a guy like Graham or Kragthorpe who have won in our conference by throwing huge money at them, but the risk there is getting these guys to say yes for what is a lateral move - TCU pulled this off by getting Fran to leave NM, but I can't see either of those guys (Kragthorpe or Graham) coming unless we seriously overpaid them and they have some strong desire to get to Dallas. That leaves the ultimate risk of Dodge. He has done an awesome job at Southlake and would likely bring his son (after he graduates of course) and some other decent recruits with him, but is Orsini really going to bet on a HS coach with one year of college coaching experience?

Having said all of that, I think this decision is really hard and probably won't be made unless and until Orsini has the back end (the new coach) locked up. A knee jerk firing followed by us scrambling to fill the position with another unproven BCS coordinator would be a disaster in my opinion. Based on the foregoing, my gut tells me we want PB to get a chance to win with an experienced Willis.

Wow, I find it interesting that you were posting this while I was posting about what could save Bennett. I think we are on the same page. EDIT: All except the "gut feel" part.

[93Mustang]

Just read your post. Great minds think alike.

[Mexmustang]

Unless we can make a major upgrade, the only alternative is to put Coach Bennett under the gun and upgrade his staff. It is time he understands that loyalty while important is no substitute for ability. He needs to explore special teams play (get a full-time coach), who, how and where the offensive coordinador is during games (get a new offensive coordinator). Hire top people and delegate. I have a feeling Phil is still growing on the job and is somewhat reluctant to hire quality and let them run their own show (designate a head assistant coach). Why else is the offensive coach on the sidelines instead of the up in the coaches box?

[ACHall]

Question: Did anyone feel PB outcoached anyone this season? I was at all the home games and the UNT game, and with the exception of the IAA games (ArkSt included) and the second half of Tulsa, I never got the feeling that PB could coach us to a win. It's like watching our BB teams from the past five years. We could only win on talent, never on prep or gametime coaching. PB has to go, the team will never grow under him. He's just not a good head coach, DCord sure, he's proved that. He just seems overwhelmed most of the time. Hire Coker (or any of his clones) force him to get Major AW as the OCord, then give the job to Major in four years.