If we can do this for basketball.....

[GoRedGoBlue]

to can Bennett brings a couple of issues:

the cost to replace him would be too great

do you know of any 'bigtime' football coaches with baggage out there available? Orsini brought Daughterty out of exile at FAU and brought back O'Leary at UCF. Who would you bring to the Hilltop that the alumni wouldn't have a calf over?

you fail to realize how deep the hole was at SMU. Try 1 winning season in almost 20 years. The DP cloud still lingers, even just a little bit and Bennett has started turning things around with recruiting, redshirting said recruits, developing a winning program, which takes time.

A coach can turn around a basketball program very quickly due to the fact that one single player can make a very large difference to a team's performance. 1 player out of 5 is 20% of the offense and defense on the field at any one time. That is not the case for football by the dynamic of the game.

Bennett goes 7-5 he's safe. 5-7, Orsini pulls the trigger

[SMUnick]

Hey Grapevine... If you are reffering to me, as the poster you should ban, you should do some research. I do not know what my post number is but probably about 99 percent of my posts so far have been pretty pro-SMU. I seem to forget the term that some users on this forum call the pro smu people. "sunshiners"? ... Well... for over a year I have been a sunshiner, and always thought SMU can do things right.... and yes.. finally they have with the hiring of Orsini, and the hiring of Doh... But what is incredibly unbelievable is the support of our football program, who yes, only has 1 winning season the last 20 years! We are talking of our coaches and program like they are Pete Carrol and USC!
- and of the 3 points I mentioned...three of them stand pretty true... no winning record... our assistant coaches need to revamp our schemes and work with the athletes we have here at smu (poor assistant coaching)... and sub-par recruiting... So ban me for speaking my opinion, but its about time some people here start realizing how important these next few athletic seasons are... We should not be happy unless we win 8-9 games. Our schedule is ridiculous. Get on Bennett's bandwagon when he proves something. Beating TCU and UTEP are nothing if you get blown out by teams like tulane, and lose to teams like ECU.

[GrapevineMustang]

No, it wasn't you. You seem like a pretty loyal fan.

[SMUnick]

Heres my deal... I want SMU to be a succesful athletic program. I do not want to be satisfied with average seasons.. We have the opportunity to do something great here. Our expectation levels should be extreme right now.

[LonghornFan68]

to can Bennett brings a couple of issues:

the cost to replace him would be too great

do you know of any 'bigtime' football coaches with baggage out there available? Orsini brought Daughterty out of exile at FAU and brought back O'Leary at UCF. Who would you bring to the Hilltop that the alumni wouldn't have a calf over?

you fail to realize how deep the hole was at SMU. Try 1 winning season in almost 20 years. The DP cloud still lingers, even just a little bit and Bennett has started turning things around with recruiting, redshirting said recruits, developing a winning program, which takes time.

A coach can turn around a basketball program very quickly due to the fact that one single player can make a very large difference to a team's performance. 1 player out of 5 is 20% of the offense and defense on the field at any one time. That is not the case for football by the dynamic of the game.

Bennett goes 7-5 he's safe. 5-7, Orsini pulls the trigger

So what about 6-6?

[mrydel]

to can Bennett brings a couple of issues:

the cost to replace him would be too great

do you know of any 'bigtime' football coaches with baggage out there available? Orsini brought Daughterty out of exile at FAU and brought back O'Leary at UCF. Who would you bring to the Hilltop that the alumni wouldn't have a calf over?

you fail to realize how deep the hole was at SMU. Try 1 winning season in almost 20 years. The DP cloud still lingers, even just a little bit and Bennett has started turning things around with recruiting, redshirting said recruits, developing a winning program, which takes time.

A coach can turn around a basketball program very quickly due to the fact that one single player can make a very large difference to a team's performance. 1 player out of 5 is 20% of the offense and defense on the field at any one time. That is not the case for football by the dynamic of the game.

Bennett goes 7-5 he's safe. 5-7, Orsini pulls the trigger

So what about 6-6?

I guess he shoots and misses.

[expony18]

In 2001, he led the Wildcat defense to a No. 3 national ranking, allowing just 262.4 yards per game, as K-State made an Insight.com Bowl appearance... Coached the Wildcat defense to a No. 4 national ranking in total defense and a No. 6 national ranking in pass efficiency defense in 2000... Coached Dyshod Carter and Jerametrius Butler, just the second pair of teammates in K-State history to each record 10 or more career interceptions... Led the Wildcats to a No. 1 national ranking in pass efficiency and a No. 2 national ranking in total defense in 1999... Kansas State also led the nation in turnover margin that year... Nominated as National Assistant Coach of the Year in 1999... Coached the secondary at Oklahoma while serving as co-recruiting coordinator in 1998, helping the Sooners rank sixth in the nation in total defense... Was the defensive coordinator at TCU in 1997, leading the Horned Frogs to their highest national defensive ranking in five years... Coordinated the defense at Texas A&M and in 1995 and 1996... In 1995, the Aggies ranked in the national top 10 in every major defensive category, including third in total defense and scoring defense and second in pass efficiency defense... Named American Football Quarterly Defensive Coordinator of the Year that season... Began his coaching career at Texas A&M as a part-time defensive ends coach from 1979-80 before assuming a full-time position in 1981... Moved to TCU and coached tight ends and tackles in 1982... Was the defensive coordinator at Iowa State from 1983-86... Was the defensive coordinator at Purdue from 1987-90... Moved to LSU where he began coaching outside linebackers in 1991 before being named assistant head coach and defensive coordinator from 1992-94... LSU led the SEC in every major defensive category and finished eighth in the nation in total defense in 1994.

Bowl Experience: Player: 1975 Liberty Bowl, 1977 Sun Bowl, 1977 Bluebonnet Bowl; Coach: 1978 All-American Bowl, 1991 Independence Bowl, 1995 Alamo Bowl, 1999 Holiday Bowl, 2001 Cotton Bowl, 2001 Insight.Com Bowl.


Prominent Players Coached: Reggie Brown, Jerametrius Butler, Dyshod Carter, Lamar Chapman, Rich Coady, Jarrod Cooper, Chris Dishman, Kevin Garrett, Dennis Gibson, Bill Hitchock, Darren Howard, Corey Ivey, Warrick Holdman, Steve Jackson, Torie James, Jon McGraw, Keith Mitchell, Jim Thorpe Award winner Terence Newman, Dat Nguyen, Mark Simoneau, Fred Strickland, Dennard Walker and Jim Thorpe Award winner Roy Williams. (http://smumustangs.cstv.com/sports/m-fo ... hil00.html)

COACHING CAROUSEL: In addition to keeping his coaching staff intact, head coach Phil Bennett received a one-year contract extension and a salary increase after a 5-6 finish with a 3-1 record against bowl teams. He is now signed through the 2009 season and will receive a base salary of at least $500,000. (http://www.cstv.com/tsx/current/m-footbl/smu.html)


we have a very experienced coach and a steal @ $500,000.... When NFL teams were coming to him asking him to come to coach (before the 5-6 season) and he said no because he hadn't finished what he promised we also have a man of integrity... PB will be/ is the man who will turn around the program, and all his doubters will be jumping on the wagon or the new "pony express"

It's possible he also benefitted from Snyder's recruits

as far as i know neither t newman or or roy williams are snyders godfather to his children (aka Dat).... not to mention PB's explayers take time out of their busy schedules to come watch some of his practices... He might not be a great offensive minded coach, but he is very very well respected among former players, current players, his coaching peers, and high school coaches... he's only been a head coach for a limited time and last time i checked Mack Brown/ Bobby Bowden etc. don't call the plays for the offense. give him some credit he's slowly turning us around.... and we need to stop this constant coaching turnover... what kind of players want to come to a school (no matter how great the campus and stadium is) if every 3 years there is a new coach

[The PonyGrad]

I believe the point made at the start was how about getting a FB coach with national reputation. The rebuttal was that PB had a national reputation. Whether you like what he has done here or not I think you have to concede that point. That is not a sunshiner endorsement of the FB program results to date, it is just a fact. And if SMU started looking for a new FB coach right now would we be able to get one with a better resume that PB had when we hired him?

Think about it.

[jtstang]

I believe the point made at the start was how about getting a FB coach with national reputation. The rebuttal was that PB had a national reputation. Whether you like what he has done here or not I think you have to concede that point.

Did he get that national reputation before or after he went 0-12?

[EastStang]

I can't think of a name coach who would come here for several reasons. (1) Salary. We won't pay what UT, A&M, etc can pay. (2) TV and Endorsement deals. No many people would pay to watch a weekly football show hosted by SMU's coach. (this translates into fewer $$$). (3) Recruiting and academic restrictions. They're still there. (4) Lack of attendance. (5) Our very strong view about following ALL of the NCAA rules. Isn't Tom Osborne a congressman or something? Maybe he'd be available after November.

[SMU Football Blog]

Putting aside all feelings for Phil Bennett's performance to date, including what I think he will do this year, I think it is funny that people keep asking the rhetorical "Who you going to get to take this job?"

It was asked of the AD position. The answer was Orsini, whose resume exceeds all of our collective expectations.

It was asked with of the basketball coach position. The answer was Doherty, whose resume exceeds (nearly) all of our collective expectations.

At some point, people will learn to stop asking that question.

Especially in football considering there are a third of the number of head jobs in IA football as there are in Division I basketball. At worst, we would be looking at someone with a resume comperable to Bennett's when he came here.

[jtstang]

I have to admit, even though he's been somewhat down since getting dumped by NC, I never thought in a million years Doherty would come here. I guess anything can happen.

But first we need to get rid of Bennett. MAX!!!! OH MAAAXXXX! WE HAVE A JOB FOR YOU!!!!!

[nc pony]

If we don't make a bowl game this year, given our very SOFT N-C Schedule, I think Bennett should worry. The problem is, he's signed thru 2009!

We should've waited until after this year is over to have given him an extension. The TCU win really gave him that extension. Last year was a breakthrough for us, but we should have waited to see if we can build on that or if that was just a lucky season. A one to two win improvement would warrant an extension.

my 2 cents

[smu diamond m]

I think the contract ext could've waited on Bennett. I like Bennett, and think he's going a good job, but if he hasn't done it by next year, then he isn't going to get it done by 2009.

[tmustangp]

If we can sign a high profile coach for our basketball program...(Yes.. I said high profile)... then we could sign a high profile coach for our football program. When Tubbs was fired nobody ever thought we would be in the running for a national coach of the year.....

bennet was absolutely a high profile assistant coach.. k state was pretty high profile in the late 90's and early 21st