Chico and Skladany get 2 year extensions

[casual fan]

3 points.

1. The "cupboard" has produced zero draft picks. Mac made the most of what was there.

2. The past needs to be seared into the collective brain of the Mean Green Nation so the same mistakes can be avoided. The fact that the "cupboard" is still being argued is proof that it has not been seared enough.

3. We won last year because of depth and coaching. In the end a signing class looks good only if the players reach their potential.

[LongJim]

Again, I don't see any mention of cupboards, recruiting classes, Apogee, Fouts, "how great I am", or anything of the kind in the article. Only "We have to keep the momentum going and not slip back to where we were." I hope he says that every day, on the hour, for the rest of his contract. I hope every player does, as well.

[UNT90]

Every coach makes the situation they inherited sound terrible and talk about how greatly they have improved the situation. It's the nature of what they do, especially in the middle of contract negotiations.

Unless they are a coach named Tony Benford, that is.

[Green92]

You can't use reason to explain things to people who complain about everything. They'll never be happy.

[KingDL1]

Wow I couldn't care less about who inherited what, the best point of this whole thing and kind of getting lost is the Coaches Pay is finally getting much more competitive. Its the down the road scenario I really like we will be in better shape to pay the next head coach because this higher rate coaches pay has been added in the budget. I do hope Coach Dan can lead us to bowls for a long long long damn time. But the next time it comes to finding a new head coach and assistant coaches we can make more attractive offers, and be selecting from a higher caliber pool than I feel we have had to choose from in the past. I think we are taking a real step forward and out of the bargain basement.

[Cerebus]

But for how long?

He can get away with it until he starts losing again, if history is any indication.

[UNTP1]

I totally understand constantly reminding everyone "in house" of how far we've come and how we can never go back. Mac reminding RV in private conversation is absolutely necessary. But constantly reminding the general public that any excitement they feel over our recent success should be tempered by memories of being destitute? The Ford motor company has never run an F150 commercial that ended with "built Ford tough...unlike the Pinto".

And let's be honest...barring a tornado, massive flood or the rapture, Apogee will never be Fouts. No need to visit the past for fear of returning there.

Personally, I makes me more excited every time he mentions the desolate state this program was in when he arrived. Maybe I'm in the minority but I don't see it as him trying to temper our current excitement level at all. For me it is the opposite of tempering the excitement. It reminds me of how far this program has come in such a short time, and then my football pants get excited thinking about how much farther the program can go in the very near future.

Edited March 7, 2014 by UNTP1

[eulessismore]

Wow I could careless about who inherited what, the best point of this whole thing and kind of getting lost is the Coaches Pay is finally getting much more competitive. Its the down the road scenario I really like we will be in better shape to pay the next head coach because this higher rate coaches pay has been added in the budget. I do hope Coach Dan can lead us to bowls for a long long long damn time. But the next time it comes to finding a new head coach and assistant coaches we can make more attractive offers, and be selecting from a higher caliber pool than I feel we have had to choose from in the past. I think we are taking a real step forward and out of the bargain basement.

This. Yes, I love Coach Mac, but the contract is ultimately about quality of coaching staff.

[ragpicker]

Truth hurts -- we had a 9-year (decade) of futility before he arrived. You can't sugarcoat that and you can't pretend like it didn't happen.

The good news is now that he has turned it around, and landed an extension the onus is squarely on his shoulders if we falter.

Agreed. It aint braggin if you can back it up.

[GOMG2013]

We need to remember it was Dodge's recruits that won it last year, now it is time for DMac's recruits to show up and continue.

All DMac did was get the SR's to buy-in and in their 4th and 5th years they got it. Now it is all on DMac.

Dodge sucked as a college coach but he certainly did not leave the cupboard bare.

Kirby, lemon, ybarbo, pegram, jimmerson, lee, buyers, jjones, trice, c.Harris, m Smith, akunne, Whitfield, macek, paul all came under Mac. Thats more than half of the starters. Most of the depth and backups also came with Mac. The turnaround on special teams was due to Macs recruits and the Perry hire.

[jdennis82]

Wow I could careless about who inherited what, the best point of this whole thing and kind of getting lost is the Coaches Pay is finally getting much more competitive. Its the down the road scenario I really like we will be in better shape to pay the next head coach because this higher rate coaches pay has been added in the budget. I do hope Coach Dan can lead us to bowls for a long long long damn time. But the next time it comes to finding a new head coach and assistant coaches we can make more attractive offers, and be selecting from a higher caliber pool than I feel we have had to choose from in the past. I think we are taking a real step forward and out of the bargain basement.

As I mentioned over in the basketball board, this is why I'm fine riding out at least one more year of Benford. The increase in staff pay for football makes this a tough time to both eat the contract of Benford and also find room in the budget to hire a worthwhile replacement.

[Mean Green 93-98]

Kirby, lemon, ybarbo, pegram, jimmerson, lee, buyers, jjones, trice, c.Harris, m Smith, akunne, Whitfield, macek, paul all came under Mac. Thats more than half of the starters. Most of the depth and backups also came with Mac. The turnaround on special teams was due to Macs recruits and the Perry hire.

Pegram, Jimmerson, Marcus Smith, and Whitfield were primarily backups last season. And Marcus Smith actually was recruited by Dodge and committed while Dodge was still HC.

Starters recruited by Dodge: A. Johnson, Y'Barbo, Anyiam, Chancellor, Thompson, Byrd, D. Miller, Abbe, Boutwell, Bellazin, Sarge, Zach Orr, and Will Wright.

Starters recruited by Mac: Kirby, Lemon, D. Smith, Harris, Akunne, Buyers, Jones, Trice, Lee, Paul, and Macek.

No doubt that secondary was entirely Coach Mac's doing. But every other unit was led primarily by Dodge's recruits.

And that's considering that there were 3 full Coach Mac classes to draw from and only one full Dodge class (anyone from the class of 2009 who did not redshirt had already graduated).

[Cr1028]

Wow I could careless about who inherited what,

But at least you care to some degree.

[VideoEagle]

Maybe I'm alone in this, but the "they were nothing before I got there" rhetoric has had its day with me and should be put to bed.

I know what you mean. I don't think he meant anything quite that way, but it can seem that way. I've been told that Hayden Fry really did say that and it angered a number of former players at the time. But everyone got over it. I suspect most coaches taking over losing programs say the similar things.

[GOMG2013]

Pegram, Jimmerson, Marcus Smith, and Whitfield were primarily backups last season. And Marcus Smith actually was recruited by Dodge and committed while Dodge was still HC.

Starters recruited by Dodge: A. Johnson, Y'Barbo, Anyiam, Chancellor, Thompson, Byrd, D. Miller, Abbe, Boutwell, Bellazin, Sarge, Zach Orr, and Will Wright.

Starters recruited by Mac: Kirby, Lemon, D. Smith, Harris, Akunne, Buyers, Jones, Trice, Lee, Paul, and Macek.

No doubt that secondary was entirely Coach Mac's doing. But every other unit was led primarily by Dodge's recruits.

And that's considering that there were 3 full Coach Mac classes to draw from and only one full Dodge class (anyone from the class of 2009 who did not redshirt had already graduated).

sorry i could not be more specifc and do more research, but the whole point I was making was Mac's players contributed just as much as the players Dodge left. (not going to put numbers or an analysis to that statement)

Some get upset with the mindset that Dodge left the cupboard bare. From a college football team standpoint, it was bare. Of course you are going to find starters and contributors on every team. Still does not mean the team was left full of talent and Mac benefitted from the previous coaches recruitment. Mac won in spite of the previous coach in my opinion.

This was not a team full of talent that just lacked coaching. There have been situations in sports where that was the case, but this is not one of them.

[Ben Gooding]

Well I am glad that Mac and his coordinators got raises. It sends the right message for the future. It was refreshing seeing it on ESPN as a CFB headliner. BUT, let's be realistic. Mac has a losing record paired with 2 losing seasons. Mac has all of his players this year and another 5-7 or 4-8 year is absolutely inexcusable and shouldn't be accepted, particularly after a raise for the 3 top coaches. The coaching staff is obviously not on the "hot" seat, but in my mind and in everyone else's they should be under a microscope. 4-8, 5-7, and 9-4 is not going to move mountains and we the fan base need to take that into perspective. We lost seniors, great, but a 6-6 season is unacceptable. He has been recruiting in preparation for the future the past 3+ years, the future is here. No excuses.

[KingDL1]

But at least you care to some degree.

Yup, I was careless!