Press Conference up at SMUMustangs.com

[BRStang]

nm

[RGV Pony]

LOVE the backdrop

[ALEX LIFESON]

Just finished watching the whole thing. I wish The Ticket had carried mob boss Steve Orsini, that guy gives me great hope! There is a new sheriff in town Stangers!

[jtstang]

Actually I thought Bennett was the more impressive to the two, if only because he sounded like a guy who had nothing to lose when talking about our recruiting handicaps. On the same subject, Orsini sounded like a guy who still had a job to lose at first before finally opening up to direct questions on things like degree programs and the like. I thought it was interesting changes to that area had already been addressed by the trustees and he was just waiting on a "timeline". What the hell does that mean?

Kudos to the departing coach for invoking the "rat's @ss" in the @ss in an answer.

[that's great raplh]

although its time for him to go, i will miss bennett - class act

[Stallion]

it means that we are hiring a New Coach who will not see the real benefit of the change, if at all, until at least year 4-5 of his tenure. It means we are building our program by finishing Step No. 2 before Step No. 1. Boy that must be reassuring to a quality Coach with options. SMU trying to get its [deleted] together by Year 22 or 23 after the DP. Its a recipe for mediocrity in an athletic program.

[Stallion]

Anybody else having trouble accessing this interview or did they just block my computer?

[expony18]

i believe mediocrity would be a step up from where we are now... and yes im having troubles too.... but then again i have a mac

[Hoop Fan]

I did not get a warm fuzzy feeling listening to that press conference. we clearly still have major issues in getting jucos and transfers. Yeah, Doherty came here, but he needs to find 3 good kids per year and he has the national AAU circuit to easily connect him to the players. Football is a massively different animal.

Phil Bennett was a man and a class act at the podium today. Well done Bennett.

[JesuitPony]

Just got done watching the press conference. Bennett came across as truly disappointed, but very confident in his ability to continue coaching in D1. Thought he was very candid and, at times, direct with the reporters, especially Kate. Orsini sounded patient and aware that there were issues (read "the model") that needed to be addressed in addition to hiring the right coach. I hope that I was not reading that last statement into what I heard, but after seeing what he did for UCF, I think that Orsini is the right guy for SMU at this point in our football program. He definitely has a plan. Let's hope that the trustees, admin, Turner, etc. are receptive to change in order to generate some football success.

[mrydel]

I came away from listening to the interview with 3 impressions.

1. Bennett is a very class act. He even said Sam would finish at SMU.

2. Orsini emphasized head coaching experience, solid recruiter, and between the lines I got the impression he was leaning towards an NFL person. Just my gut feeling

3. I thought I understood Orsini to indicate he actually got the timeline he asked for on items like transfer hours and majors, and they would be improved over the next one to two years. Of course that may not happen but I felt that is what he was trying to convey without getting into specifics.

Orsini was parsing like Clinton in the differences between academic admissions, transfer hours, majors and then emphasizing that no one ever came to him with a problem getting someone admitted after he had told them to do so if the occasion occured. He knows there are still problems to overcome but it is not going to happen tomorrow.

I was very pleased that Bennett conducted himself not only as a true gentleman but also with the utmost respect and true love for SMU. He did not need to do that. Thank you Coach Bennett.

[Pony Soup]

Anybody else having trouble accessing this interview or did they just block my computer?

Someone is getting smart over there...