Todd Graham

[mrydel]

You guys remind me of the ponyfans poster that said we should never want a great basketball recruit to sign with SMU because they would just end up leaving early for the NBA. It is amazing to me that you are afraid we might get a coach that is good enough that someone else may want them.

[Bergermeister]

The only non-BCS coach left with a bowl game to play. Could he be our next coach?

I think he is. We will see.

Does that mean we have to have his mug painted on OUR equipment trailer? (that was his insistence at Rice)

[jimhagle]

Is it his fault Tulsa came calling[a place he admittedly loves] with more money? Maybe his ties to this area[Allen High]could get him to settle here once and for all. We are nitpicking these good coaches to death-no one is perfect-this process has been under the microscope too long and we are all getting far to anal.

[perunapower]

Is it his fault Tulsa came calling[a place he admittedly loves] with more money? Maybe his ties to this area[Allen High]could get him to settle here once and for all. We are nitpicking these good coaches to death-no one is perfect-this process has been under the microscope too long and we are all getting far to anal.

No, but it's his fault for telling his team not worry about him because he wasn't going anywhere until at least 2010.

It's also his fault that he didn't tell his team he was leaving until AFTER it was in the news and on TV.

It's also his fault that he lied to Rice alumni and supporters and sucked $5 million from them.

Do NOT paint this serpent of a person as a man just getting a raise. He handled his job transition in the worst way possible.

[Insane_Pony_Posse]

It is amazing to me that you are afraid we might get a coach
that is good enough that someone else may want them

Exactly Mrydel!

I think Todd Graham would be a great fit at SMU.

Coach Graham is "up and coming" as opposed to
being on the downslide or trying to make a comeback.

It should be Graham, June Jones, Fran, or Mike Shula within a week!

[Horn&PonyShow]

I think the real question is do you really need a coach with saying power...I mean SMU isn't Rice...there is still history and tradition, if you get a guy who can turn the program to a 7-8 win team go to a couple of bowl games and then leaves so what? It makes the job attractive to another coach from that point....The main thing is to turn the program around...period...then worry about the future from that point later.

[mrydel]

I bet we could have signed Bennett to a lifetime contract.

[Junior]

Do we really want him? I mean, we'd have to deal with the MOB and all. I'd hate for us to get our feelings hurt like the Tulsa fans did.

[Stallion]

actually Todd Graham sucked about 10 Million out of Rice alumni to rebuild a run down, decrepit old stadium that had not been improved in 30 years. Thank You Todd Graham is what they ought to be saying. Rice sucks, the program sucks, they are not committed to winning, they are not committed to paying a market rate for their Coach. Adios Rice. If a second miracle ever comes around again and they get a Coach who takes them to a bowl game then they will lose him too because Rice sucks, the program sucks, they are not committed to winning, they are not committed to paying a market rate for their Coach. Don't have to be Nostradamus to figure this out.

[papawasamustang]

What he did @ Rice was a fantastic accomplishment. I applaud him for that.

However, I believe that any team (including us) in CUSA has the ability to turn their program around in any given year & make it to a bowl.

[SMUBob]

If we are going to hire a coach who we know will be gone in one to two years at the first whiff of success (i.e. rent-a-coach), then he'd better bring along with him a first rate OC or DC who is capable of stepping up into the HC job when the rental coach moves on.

That way, the program doesn't have to be torn down and rebuilt yet again. So I guess the question is, if we're hiring Fran, does he bring all or most of the A&M staff, and would we want Gary Darnell (DC) or Les Koenning Jr. (OC) to be the next HC at SMU? Because we ought to be looking more than one move ahead in this chess game, unless we wanna top out at 7-5 and then start all over again.

[mrydel]

If we are going to hire a coach who we know will be gone in one to two years at the first whiff of success (i.e. rent-a-coach), then he'd better bring along with him a first rate OC or DC who is capable of stepping up into the HC job when the rental coach moves on.

That way, the program doesn't have to be torn down and rebuilt yet again. So I guess the question is, if we're hiring Fran, does he bring all or most of the A&M staff, and would we want Gary Darnell (DC) or Les Koenning Jr. (OC) to be the next HC at SMU? Because we ought to be looking more than one move ahead in this chess game, unless we wanna top out at 7-5 and then start all over again.

More importantly, have a large buy out in order that you do not have to go back to our deep pockets to once again have to spend all of their personal money to get a quality hire. I relish the day we have to accept a large buy out because we lost our coach.

[jimhagle]

There's a reason why Rice settled on the coach they got-he might stay there for awhile and what Graham did there in one year[changing from a triple option to a spread] is quite frankly remarkable. Call it luck-I think not.

[Stallion]

it was truly remarkable. Its damn hard to do that-luckily he had two guys like Armstrong and Dilliard to quickly make the transition

[jimhagle]

I believe Armstrong ran the option in high school as well as at Rice the year before so it was a tough transition for him.