WWJD

[JasonB]

I understand the frustration with how the team played this year, and last year. But the results are that we are one of 30 teams in the country to go to 4 straight bowls.

Sure, we are probably going to struggle next year in the Big East. But you can't assume failure, you can't fire someone based on assumed failure, and you can't fire a guy who has taken a moribund program to 4 straight bowls.

From a results vantage point, from RGT's perspective, I think you look at 4 straight bowls, how he lobbied to help get us Brown, and how he helped us to upgrade the conference, and you have to give him a chance to fail. If RGT keeps him around next season, I don't think you can really blame him for that.

How many coaches are going to be interested in this job with 1) a ton of unknowns about the Big East and 2) we fire a coach who goes to 4 straight bowls?

I am not happy with how the season went, but we have to be realistic here...

[redpony]

but everybody can blame him for his moribund recruiting. Of course that will really show after he is gone (in the next yr or two max.). I for one, don't care for his total lack of ethics and integrity -see recruiting for another university while employed by SMU.

[Rebel10]

I understand the frustration with how the team played this year, and last year. But the results are that we are one of 30 teams in the country to go to 4 straight bowls.

Sure, we are probably going to struggle next year in the Big East. But you can't assume failure, you can't fire someone based on assumed failure, and you can't fire a guy who has taken a moribund program to 4 straight bowls.

From a results vantage point, from RGT's perspective, I think you look at 4 straight bowls, how he lobbied to help get us Brown, and how he helped us to upgrade the conference, and you have to give him a chance to fail. If RGT keeps him around next season, I don't think you can really blame him for that.

How many coaches are going to be interested in this job with 1) a ton of unknowns about the Big East and 2) we fire a coach who goes to 4 straight bowls?

I am not happy with how the season went, but we have to be realistic here...

Actually SMU is prolonging the inevitable which will hurt the school in the long run.

[East Coast Mustang]

I understand the frustration with how the team played this year, and last year. But the results are that we are one of 30 teams in the country to go to 4 straight bowls.

Sure, we are probably going to struggle next year in the Big East. But you can't assume failure, you can't fire someone based on assumed failure, and you can't fire a guy who has taken a moribund program to 4 straight bowls.

From a results vantage point, from RGT's perspective, I think you look at 4 straight bowls, how he lobbied to help get us Brown, and how he helped us to upgrade the conference, and you have to give him a chance to fail. If RGT keeps him around next season, I don't think you can really blame him for that.

How many coaches are going to be interested in this job with 1) a ton of unknowns about the Big East and 2) we fire a coach who goes to 4 straight bowls?

I am not happy with how the season went, but we have to be realistic here...

Well said. The best case scenario for all involved would be if JJ decided to retire after this season.

He'll be 60 in February, he's not happy here, and he's losing a ton of playmakers on both sides of the ball coming off a 6-6 season going into a conference with stiffer competition next year. I think he sees the writing on the wall and may not want to tarnish his legacy next season. The OOC schedule is brutal next season, JJ might not want to stick around for what could easily be a 3-9 campaign.

[redpony]

or a 1-11 season

[JasonB]

The only hope I have for next season is that if you look at the OL players we have on the roster, most of our higher recruited players haven't played yet.

Lowe, Myers, Gottshaulk, Hughes, Rice, Duhe and Weeks all were rated high enough by the recruiting services that they have a good chance of being solid players without being considered "diamonds in the rough". Free, Collins, McJunkin, and Lasecki all qualify as diamonds in the rough type recruits.

[Rebel10]

The only hope I have for next season is that if you look at the OL players we have on the roster, most of our higher recruited players haven't played yet.

Lowe, Myers, Gottshaulk, Hughes, Rice, Duhe and Weeks all were rated high enough by the recruiting services that they have a good chance of being solid players without being considered "diamonds in the rough". Free, Collins, McJunkin, and Lasecki all qualify as diamonds in the rough type recruits.

I just hope our O Line coach does a better job of coaching them next year than he did this year. If Palcic coaches them as badly as he did at UCLA we are in trouble. JJ needs some new younger better coaches on his staff.

[gostangs]

June departed his senior day speech with..."see you down the road" probably reading too much into that - but it sounded kind of like goodbye.

[JasonB]

I think that this season, Palcic was just trying to put something patchwork together to last the season... which is why we desperately hoped that Lowe would be ready, and we ended up playing a center at guard and a guard at tackle.

Next year, I think Gottshaulk moves back to right tackle, and Reich, Lowe, Myers, and Weeks battle on the left side. Rice will have one guard spot, Lasecki at center, and then Hughes, Duhe and others compete for RG.

The line will be young, but much bigger and more athletic than it was this year. We had a gap of two years of bad OL recruiting, and the wave recruited by Klemm should be ready to play next season. I think the performance of the line next year will say a lot about the OL coach, one way or the other.

[Rebel10]

I think that this season, Palcic was just trying to put something patchwork together to last the season... which is why we desperately hoped that Lowe would be ready, and we ended up playing a center at guard and a guard at tackle.

Next year, I think Gottshaulk moves back to right tackle, and Reich, Lowe, Myers, and Weeks battle on the left side. Rice will have one guard spot, Lasecki at center, and then Hughes, Duhe and others compete for RG.

The line will be young, but much bigger and more athletic than it was this year. We had a gap of two years of bad OL recruiting, and the wave recruited by Klemm should be ready to play next season. I think the performance of the line next year will say a lot about the OL coach, one way or the other.

Let's just hope Palcic does better than he did at UCLA. And his recruiting has been almost non existent this year.