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So Baylor hires a coach from UofH. Baylor is extremely similar to SMU, but would we ever do that? Did we even consider Briles? If not, I wonder why not.

If we hire Johnson, it seems to me we are still placing a major emphasis on our Magnolia League status and hiring a coach that is palatable to some on campus and compatible with our compromised view toward winning in athletics . Thats how it feels. SMU does not sell itself. Somebody is gonna have to sell SMU to a wide target audience of fans and recruits. Is Paul Johnson this guy? With guys like Gary Barnett and Rick Nueheisal around, it sure seems like Johnson is a compromise. And to those that say winning will allow Johnson to recruit, what if he doesnt win right away? Very good possibility he won't. Is he the type of guy that can keep the fan base and recruiting momentum going if the honeymoon is short?

Wow! You could not have said it any better. Barnett and Nueheisal are Ron Meyer types that know how to sell SMU. The "Choir Boy" image for a coach could limit our success in the recruiting and in wins.

Hoop Fan wrote:So Baylor hires a coach from UofH. Baylor is extremely similar to SMU, but would we ever do that? Did we even consider Briles? If not, I wonder why not.

If we hire Johnson, it seems to me we are still placing a major emphasis on our Magnolia League status and hiring a coach that is palatable to some on campus and compatible with our compromised view toward winning in athletics . Thats how it feels. SMU does not sell itself. Somebody is gonna have to sell SMU to a wide target audience of fans and recruits. Is Paul Johnson this guy? With guys like Gary Barnett and Rick Nueheisal around, it sure seems like Johnson is a compromise. And to those that say winning will allow Johnson to recruit, what if he doesnt win right away? Very good possibility he won't. Is he the type of guy that can keep the fan base and recruiting momentum going if the honeymoon is short?

I think one of the biggest things about Johnson is he can get the most out of the talent he has. Navy is certainly not the most talented team around but other than his first season there which netted only 2 wins, he has been very successfull. I am no expert here but I would venture to say that SMU is somewhere in the same ballpark of talent that Navy currently has, or their players would at very least not be considerd a great deal better than ours, yet they are having another very good season and we could only manage 1 win.

However, I am a huge Art Briles fan. just wanted to mention that too.

Hoop,

That is a very legitimate question.

While there might be heated disagreement about WHO the next HC should be, all of the respected people on this board realize we need an immediate infusion of JC help.

That will be the most telling indicator to me as to how serious SMU is about winning. How aggressively we go after JCs.

This PJ hire strikes me as a Magnolia hire as well. Will he go after JC help or try to build it 'the right way'? We shall see, but I am not optimistic.

As I said earlier, this appears to be yet another victory by the Trustees over the Mustang Club.

to me, the time to hire a solid Paul Johnson type with solid experience was in 2002. Now, the stakes are higher. We need both: A proven coach at the D-1 level and a face for the program. SMU is out of time to hope and compromise. It is time to go for it.

Alot of people have said that Bennett ran out of leverage to get changes made. Will Johnson bring that leverage? I don't think he has half the name brand and leverage that Doherty brought for basketball. Not half.