Kevin Sherrington this morning in DMN

CaribbeanGreen · October 15, 2006

If you think RV is going to hire us a good football coach when he fires DD you are sadly mistaken. He won't hire the best candidate for the job, he'll hire someone he can get along with, and be friends with. Don't believe, look over at the Super Pit. JJ gets an extension for what? .500 or just below year after year. Anyone who was there the night JJ was introduced should remember RV's quote about his short list he keeps in the top of his desk, its so short he can't find it. By firing DD all RV does is save his but for another 3 - 4 years. Personally I hope DD stays, so they both can leave together next year.
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RV has done a lot of great things for the department, so I'm not indicting him on anything here... he's a lot better than his predecessor. As far as coaching hires, however, I'll agree slightly on JJ. I think he seemed like a gift at first because the Trilli era (when i was in school at NT) was so, so, so pathetic. But based on his progress, yeah, I think this is a make or break year.

I wonder how look at the sports differently, you know?? What if JJ had been below average in non-con, beating up on weak sisters and getting the occasional mid-major or low-BCS win, but rolled through the SBC, winning 4 straight league championships, being undefeated for three of those years. We usually flamed out in the first round of the NCAAs, getting beaten soundly, but once scored a mild upset (maybe a 7-10 or 6-11 game). Then, JJ has a year where he wins 6 or 7 games and crashes back to earth, and started the next season with a few non-con blowouts, one rivalry mid-major win, and weak-looking split in the SBC that put the team at .500 in conference with 2/3rds of the way to go. Oh yeah, also, during this whole run, even in the good years, Jones had a very plodding, methodical, pound-you-down-on-the-blocks offense that was not great to watch and won games 50-40, etc. I KNOW things are different in the two sports, but it's an interesting thought. I'm not putting any agenda out there one way or the other -- I just wonder if we would have the same look/reaction as we do with DD, or are our expectations totally different for hoops? Just a question.

Texas Stranger · October 15, 2006

Probably much of the nation judges our "academic achievement" and standing as a university by our commitment and success on the athletic field. May not be right, may not be fair but thats probably how it goes.
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Quite a few people are under this misconception. By this argument, OU would be higher regarded academically than Rice, and we would be higher perceived academically than Harvard. People would be hired or fired on Mondays as their academic credentials changed over the weekend.