June Jones Or Dodge

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

A $2 Million coach ALWAYS gets there faster than a $200K coach. The PONY EXPRESS is now alive and well and will race through C-USA.

ALWAYS..????

Why didn't Notre Dame win more then... ??? also the Yankees have double the salary of most most teams and they haven't won any World Series in a while. More expensive does not mean better ( for anything*) but more people in the Highland Park and SMU area seem to think so.

* especially when dating girls.... LOL (see bankrupted husbands)

[Dodge2007]

ALWAYS..????

Why didn't Notre Dame win more then... ??? also the Yankees have double the salary of most most teams and they haven't won any World Series in a while. More expensive does not mean better ( for anything*) but more people in the Highland Park and SMU area seem to think so.

* especially when dating girls.... LOL (see bankrupted husbands)

Good post!!!!!!!!!

[stebo]

SMU thinks that they can throw money at the problem. It doesn't always work. Bad attendance? How about a state of the art on campus stadium? Errrrr - BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Didn't work. Ok, how about hiring an up and comer like Phil Bennet - at the time the hotest asst around? Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Didn't work. SMU was a couple of plays away from a great season under Phil. June Jones will not have the same type of allure in Dallas that he had on the isalnds. He took a Superbowl San Diego team and managed to turn them into mediocre. Look at their schedule from last year? Easy, Easy, Easy... in fact, they have had easy schedules for the last few years now. Their biggest competition has been from powerhouse teams like Fresno and Boise... And those teams are not exactly world beaters. All the really had to do was beat an entire schedule of sub 500 teams. I think that they beat one team with a winning record in Boise... maybe two, not sure.

As for Jones moving on up? Well, I don't see who will pay him $2 million anywhere else. There are auto-bid schools that don't even pay that much. SMU is pulling a classic SMU move and trying to throw money at the problem. Jones is smart, his star QB is graduating and there is nobody really there to replace him. He listed off a bunch of reasons about facilities and commitment as for the reasons that he was leaving Hawaii - they addressed them all and he ran for the money. They even offered to raise the money and match it from what I understand but it was too little too late. What most on here (and around the country) doesn't realize is that Hawaii is like UTEP - they are both very easy to turn around because there are no admission requirements. PB addressed a little of this while he was at SMU and got them to lighten up a little on that but SMU still makes all football players go through an interview process with the entrance committee and Jones will not be able to round up all of the local thugs the way that he did on the islands. Aloha Jones! Which means welcome in Hawaii! It also means goodbye, so Aloha SMU Boosters - you just wasted your money in my opinion. You can Aloha that big donation goodbye. Bad choice in my opinion. I know I am in the minority... but Jones was like a GOD in Hawaii, the newspaper was not kidding when they said that he could probably run for an win the Governor's Office. He has just made a huge mistake in my opinion. SMU does not have more potential then Hawaii - Hawaii was a cush job for Jones that was willing to match the offer. He just couldn't stand the AD. Well, he should have just told them to fire the AD... hell, he could have told him to make him the AD - they would have done anything to keep him. At SMU he is going to figure really quick that people do not give a damn about their program. There are a handfull of very rich alumni that care - but they can only fill about 100 seats in Ford. Ford will remain empty, Jones will win the close games that PB struggled with - and SMU will probably be in the NO Bowl within a year or two... but I don't see him ever being more then a 7 or 8 win coach there. I just don't see it.

[Eagle1855]

hey, you gotta start somewhere. Personally, I prefer the old wine and dine, but I'm old-fashioned like that.

[untcampbell]

This has been covered probably but Jones was hired to take over a team that lost something like half their games in overtime, last possession, etc. 2007 SMU was a better them than North Texas was in 2007 or 2006. Jones took the job because SMU is so close to a turnaround that when he does get this program moving forward, AGAIN, it will further cement his legacy as a football coaching savant.

He gets $2mm to take over a program with great facilities and a team that was on the cusp (no, REALLY) of being a bowl team, yet disguised in the cloak of a record that looks like the 0-11 Hawaii team that he took over.

Our advantage would be that it is likely easier to turn around a program with low expectations in a conference generally recognized as weaker than C-USA. If the DC comes in and stabilizes the defense and the offense continues to improve like in 2007, we could get our bowl much sooner than SMU.

Toss up, but both teams should be notably better next year.

Scott Campbell

[Daddy Dumpsalot]

And for the third time now. The difference betwen the two programs will be who hires the best DC, and this is where NT will excell in hires. It depends on how quickly GD is able to shore up our D line. Our defensive line is our number one concern/priority right now. We need Ike or Gilmore or someone to step up and take the line to the next level in order for them to turn our defense around.

Rick

You're right. I don't think facilities or conferences have anything to do with it....only the defense

[ADLER]

SMU thinks that they can throw money at the problem. It doesn't always work. Bad attendance? How about a state of the art on campus stadium? Errrrr - BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Didn't work. Ok, how about hiring an up and comer like Phil Bennet - at the time the hotest asst around? Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Didn't work. SMU was a couple of plays away from a great season under Phil. June Jones will not have the same type of allure in Dallas that he had on the isalnds. He took a Superbowl San Diego team and managed to turn them into mediocre. Look at their schedule from last year? Easy, Easy, Easy... in fact, they have had easy schedules for the last few years now. Their biggest competition has been from powerhouse teams like Fresno and Boise... And those teams are not exactly world beaters. All the really had to do was beat an entire schedule of sub 500 teams. I think that they beat one team with a winning record in Boise... maybe two, not sure.

As for Jones moving on up? Well, I don't see who will pay him $2 million anywhere else. There are auto-bid schools that don't even pay that much. SMU is pulling a classic SMU move and trying to throw money at the problem. Jones is smart, his star QB is graduating and there is nobody really there to replace him. He listed off a bunch of reasons about facilities and commitment as for the reasons that he was leaving Hawaii - they addressed them all and he ran for the money. They even offered to raise the money and match it from what I understand but it was too little too late. What most on here (and around the country) doesn't realize is that Hawaii is like UTEP - they are both very easy to turn around because there are no admission requirements. PB addressed a little of this while he was at SMU and got them to lighten up a little on that but SMU still makes all football players go through an interview process with the entrance committee and Jones will not be able to round up all of the local thugs the way that he did on the islands. Aloha Jones! Which means welcome in Hawaii! It also means goodbye, so Aloha SMU Boosters - you just wasted your money in my opinion. You can Aloha that big donation goodbye. Bad choice in my opinion. I know I am in the minority... but Jones was like a GOD in Hawaii, the newspaper was not kidding when they said that he could probably run for an win the Governor's Office. He has just made a huge mistake in my opinion. SMU does not have more potential then Hawaii - Hawaii was a cush job for Jones that was willing to match the offer. He just couldn't stand the AD. Well, he should have just told them to fire the AD... hell, he could have told him to make him the AD - they would have done anything to keep him. At SMU he is going to figure really quick that people do not give a damn about their program. There are a handfull of very rich alumni that care - but they can only fill about 100 seats in Ford. Ford will remain empty, Jones will win the close games that PB struggled with - and SMU will probably be in the NO Bowl within a year or two... but I don't see him ever being more then a 7 or 8 win coach there. I just don't see it.

There were few restrictions still in place during the Phil Bennet era, now there are none. All SMU requires now is the NCAA minimum, nothing more. That's not saying that SMU will recruit LSU type players that require subtitles when they speak, but June Jones will not be challenged by any elevated requirements. SMU now requires NCAA minimum, nothing more. I believe it's in his agreement.

[FirefightnRick]

My grammar mistakes always got me in trouble, I should learn how important it is to (or is it too.......aw sh*t who cares) to slow down and correct my grammer mistakes before I post. My bad.

You really think a DC is going to be the difference in whether or not SMU rises to the top 20 faster than UNT?

I don't, it is much deeper than than, my fire fighting buddy. I could rattle off several other key factors but I would have too many spelling or grammar errors.

You asked, and I gave my answer. If you don't like my answer, fine, but don't be such a "Dodge2007" about it. In fact, next time try and remember what it was that you asked in the first place.

Dodge2007

Who gets the most wins and turns the program around the quickest?

You said nothing about the top 20, but which school turns their program around the quickest. Vast difference between top 20 and simply "turning it around". Of course I'm sure you knew that.

Rick

[emmitt01]

You asked, and I gave my answer. If you don't like my answer, fine, but don't be such a "Dodge2007" about it. In fact, next time try and remember what it was that you asked in the first place.

Dodge2007

You said nothing about the top 20, but which school turns their program around the quickest. Vast difference between top 20 and simply "turning it around". Of course I'm sure you knew that.

Rick

You'll have to excuse him Rick...he always has been slow on the uptake.

[dodgefan]

NCAA minimum? I read quotes from their press conference, where pres. Turner said they would be competitve on the admissions, but I didn't see the part where they would accept ncaa minimum?