A series of unfortunate events

85Bears

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Dude it was reported by multiple people. Hell even Paul jones mentioned it just the other day on the pay board. He didn’t even watch the defense usally he was sitting by the QB or WR or OL.
Heresay and lies lmao , yep the guy with a law degree from Pepperdine didnt have his roster memorized. As time passes the blame Leach crowd is looking dumber and dumber and dumber
 

OG Goat Holder

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Sep 30, 2022
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Mike Leach passing away was a tragedy and we are worse off for it happening. But I’m sorry, it is just ignoring the obvious to pretend that there weren’t cracks in the foundation. And those cracks have turned into craters in the two years since he passed. But the cracks formed partly under Leach’s watch.
Unbelievable.

Y’all see me talk about culture all the time, you’re proving it to be true. You don’t even realize what success is.
 

615dawg

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Geez I thought I was negative. You take the cake.

You need to actually talk to people who are involved in the system man. You’ll see that it’s not as much about that money only as you seem to think.
I'm not being negative. I'm being a realist. NIL and the transfer portal has killed college football except for about 12-15 schools. I'm sick of the most common words on every football game being "a transfer from"

Most of the players don't care about the school they are playing for. They aren't engaged on campus because they are just going to transfer next year. And when we go to a 105-man roster, its going to get worse. Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Texas et. al. will be able to entice players to come just to keep them from playing against them.
 

85Bears

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It’s their job to push the narrative for the current coach. It’s their livelihood.
And thats all it is. Pushing a narrative PR spin. Same crap that was shoveled on the fan base after the SE Louisiana game last year “great offense”. Lmao
 

MSUDC11-2.0

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We have way too many problems to count and they can’t all be blamed on one person or coaching staff. But it is cult like delusion to act as if Leach’s staff played absolutely no rule in the current state of affairs.
 

85Bears

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We have way too many problems to count and they can’t all be blamed on one person or coaching staff. It is cult like delusion to act as if Leach’s staff played absolutely no rule in the current state of affairs.
given everything going on with our program for you to be arguing with yourself about Sark being named coach in 2020 is delusional and
Pointless. Blaming Leach for the current state of the program is high comedy.
 

Pookieray

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The program was falling apart slowly when Leach was still alive by virtue of poor recruiting…. His death just sped up the downfall. If Leach were still with us I think it’s pretty clear 2024 and 2025 would’ve been really tough, even still.
Disagree, Leach would have processed guys and hit the portal to bring in what he needed if his recruits didn't pan out. He knew what he needed and what to look for. He did it everywhere he went and it worked.
 

Pookieray

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Dude it was reported by multiple people. Hell even Paul jones mentioned it just the other day on the pay board. He didn’t even watch the defense usally he was sitting by the QB or WR or OL.
Well yeah, he was the OC. But you better believe when he saw something on tape after the game he would have made mention of it to the DC. Arnett served us well as DC, but was in way over his head as HC. I'm guessing Leach knew his team and knew it well.
 

MSUDC11-2.0

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Disagree, Leach would have processed guys and hit the portal to bring in what he needed if his recruits didn't pan out. He knew what he needed and what to look for. He did it everywhere he went and it worked.
I certainly get the argument that Leach’s history warranted some trust. I made it many times myself in 2020 and 2021, and to an extent it was playing out that way.

I also think it’s a dangerous assumption to make that because Leach made it work in the 2000’s and 2010’s, it was going to be similarly successful in this era. Some good things were accomplished in 2021 and 2022 but I don’t want to overstate it either…. Those teams still left quite a bit of meat on the bone and lost highly winnable games.
 

Pookieray

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I certainly get the argument that Leach’s history warranted some trust. I made it many times myself in 2020 and 2021, and to an extent it was playing out that way.

I also think it’s a dangerous assumption to make that because Leach made it work in the 2000’s and 2010’s, it was going to be similarly successful in this era. Some good things were accomplished in 2021 and 2022 but I don’t want to overstate it either…. Those teams still left quite a bit of meat on the bone and lost highly winnable games.
every coach we've had has lost winnable games. Jackie and Dan even! Heck, even Saban lost some. He should have never lost to UM either year! It happens to even the greatest coach in NCAA history and you think it shouldn't or couldn't happen to State???
 

Dawgzilla2

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Had Leach not died we'd be coming off a 9 win 2023 season. This season may have been down, but not to this level.

Don't start with the mythical 9 win 2023 season. We were very fortunate to win 9 games in 2022. Who knows what happens if Leach were still with us? We don't even know who would be on the team after the transfer portal and all, but I'm certain our 2023 defense would have been worse than 2022's.

I think Leach would have at least won 6 games and kept our bowl streak alive, but we will never really know.
 
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MSUDC11-2.0

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every coach we've had has lost winnable games. Jackie and Dan even! Heck, even Saban lost some. He should have never lost to UM either year! It happens to even the greatest coach in NCAA history and you think it shouldn't or couldn't happen to State???
That’s not really my point. More so meant that yes Leach was having some success but there was cause for concern too. The insane amount of roster turnover we just had speaks to that for me. It was necessary because our roster plan post-2023 under Leach and Arnett was basically nonexistent.
 

Barkman Turner Overdrive

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Maybe so. I still would argue the transition to and away from a short Sark tenure would’ve been smoother than the transition to and away from Leach. And I say that as someone who was by no means anti Leach.
That’s valid. I remember being in the Superdome for the 2019 opener against Sunbelt Billy and ULL. Our D looked like a beer league softball team with every bit of slowness and lack of athleticism that you would associate with a bunch of beer bellies. Sark would not have let the S&C program go that far south.
 
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MSUDC11-2.0

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That’s valid. I remember being in the Superdome for the 2019 opener against Sunbelt Billy and ULL. Our D looked like a beer league softball team with every bit of slowness and lack of athleticism that you would associate with a bunch of beer bellies. Sark would not have let the S&C program go that far south.
Man I can still see Erroll Thompson sucking wind chasing ULL’s QB and it was hard to watch. And Erroll was mostly a really good player for us. But Joe’s S&C guy was a disaster and did us no favors. I thought Leach’s S&C guy fixed it to an extent, can’t say I had major issues with him.
 

Pookieray

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That’s not really my point. More so meant that yes Leach was having some success but there was cause for concern too. The insane amount of roster turnover we just had speaks to that for me. It was necessary because our roster plan post-2023 under Leach and Arnett was basically nonexistent.
Our roster turnover was due to Arnett and his crappiness as a HC. Leach would have filled any voids he needed. We will lose a huge portion of our roster again this year due to the same type of crappiness. In years past they had to stick it out and stay in the system and get better in whatever system that they signed up for. We've changed systems 2 times in 2 years. Anyone that could bolt from last year did leaving us having to pick up the pieces, once again. It aint' easy to build a roster with a new coach as most players want to see the coaches performance. We aint gonnna have a very good resume to sell, once again, at the end of the season.
 

85Bears

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Don't start with the mythical 9 win 2023 season. We were very fortunate to win 9 games in 2022. Who knows what happens if Leach were still with us? We don't even know who would be on the team after the transfer portal and all, but I'm certain our 2023 defense would have been worse than 2022's.

I think Leach would have at least won 6 games and kept our bowl streak alive, but we will never really know.
2023 had 8 home games Lol
 

Bulldawg77

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All you Leach fans need a dose of Reality. Had he not passed he was going to retire either after the bowl or after last year he was experiencing health problems before he passed. He didn’t recruit well, he recruited with little to no effort and the danger of hiring him is the rebuild after it. Here are the facts:
After he was fired at TT, they have have had 4 coaches and two interims. W 87 L 88.
Since leaving WSU, they are on there second HC. W 20 L22.
Leach always leaves a depleted roster. Y’all can try to defend that but since he passed two years we are 7 W 7 L. With a loong season ahead .
 
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85Bears

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All you Leach fans need a dose of Reality. Had he not passed he was going to retire either after the bowl or after last year he was experiencing health problems before he passed. He didn’t recruit well, he recruited with little to no effort and the danger of hiring him is the rebuild after it. Here are the facts:
After he was fired at TT, they have have had 4 coaches and two interims. W 87 L 88.
Since leaving WSU, they are on there second HC. W 20 L22.
Leach always leaves a depleted roster. Y’all can try to defend that but since he passed two years we are 7 W 7 L. With a loong season ahead .
Yea cuz 2023 worked out so well and its led to this horse turd of 2024. You were right all along. Now without Leach around we are so
Much better off**. Those 9-4 seasons with top 20 rankings egg bowl win bowl game win….. they were painful and awful
 

Bulldawg77

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Yea cuz 2023 worked out so well and its led to this horse turd of 2024. You were right all along. Now without Leach around we are so
Much better off**. Those 9-4 seasons with top 20 rankings egg bowl win bowl game win….. they were painful and awful
Surprising how you are missing the point of this.
And no I never ever supported ZA as HC ever. I knew he was a disaster from how he handled recruiting and coaching while DC here
 

Dawgzilla2

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Leac

2023 would have been a very good season with Leach returning a veteran team with 8 home games. I know Coach34 disagrees but he still thought Arnett and Peterson were doing a great job midway through last season.
Riiiiiight.

I'm not sure how the 8 home games factors in to your fantasy. In real life, we won our 4 non conference games in 2023. We went 0-4 in our home SEC games to Bama, LSU, UMiss and UK. Leach maybe beats UK.

To keep your fantasy alive, the undead Leach hast to win some road games. And our defense would have stunk.
 

greenbean.sixpack

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Don't start with the mythical 9 win 2023 season. We were very fortunate to win 9 games in 2022. Who knows what happens if Leach were still with us? We don't even know who would be on the team after the transfer portal and all, but I'm certain our 2023 defense would have been worse than 2022's.

I think Leach would have at least won 6 games and kept our bowl streak alive, but we will never really know.
You do realize an Arnept coached team won 5 and came with a whisker of beating USCe (technically Knox won the USM game). A senior laden, Leach coached team certainly would have played UK, the Barn and OM much closer and likely beat USCe. Win 1 or 2 out of UK/Barn/OM. That's 7 or 8, win the bowl game and that's 8 or 9.
 

greenbean.sixpack

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Leac

2023 would have been a very good season with Leach returning a veteran team with 8 home games. I know Coach34 disagrees but he still thought Arnett and Peterson were doing a great job midway through last season.
I wouldn't put much stock in his viewpoint(s), he may know the ins and outs of the game, but when it comes to critical thinking and the big picture, he just doesn't get it.
 

Howiefeltersnstch

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Leach kicking the bucket definitely put us in a bad position. Imo they should have given Spurrier the interim title and done an extensive search and taken their time hiring a coach. Tbh Arnept wasn't even a great DC. Certainly was not ready to be a HC. Spurrier probly had enough experience to keep a steady hand on the rudder until we found a new captain without capsizing the whole thing. That's exactly what Arnept did.
 
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greenbean.sixpack

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This season was going to suck no matter the coach because the talent was gone
Not just because of that. We have much more talent (on paper) than Toledo and probably ASU. I've never seen an SEC team get pushed around by such an inferior team. I'm still in shock.

One more performance like that (no effort, no energy, no preparation), Levee will have to be fired.

Had we lost 35-34, I could live with it, because we all knew the D sucked, but for the offense to look so pathetic against such lesser talent, is even more concerning.
 
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Dawgzilla2

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You do realize an Arnept coached team won 5 and came with a whisker of beating USCe (technically Knox won the USM game). A senior laden, Leach coached team certainly would have played UK, the Barn and OM much closer and likely beat USCe. Win 1 or 2 out of UK/Barn/OM. That's 7 or 8, win the bowl game and that's 8 or 9.
Yeah, we could have won 9. We might have won only 5. My issue is with you stating definitively "we would be coming off a 9 win 2023 season". I think it is more likely we would have won less than 9.....but we will never know.
 

IBleedMaroonDawg

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I'll be glad when we finally quit looking for somebody who's feet to lay this at and start figuring out how in the 17 we're going to get out of this mess. What is Leach? Was it Arnette? Was it this one or that one? I'm really getting sick of hearing it. I'm beginning to care less about who made the problem, but I'm interested in what we will do about it.

Somewhere, we have to have some intelligent people who can lay out a plan.
 

pseudonym

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I blame Cohen. We could have and should have done better than Joe ******* Moorhead when Mullen bailed.
Reviews of the Moorhead hire:
Screen Shot 2024-09-15 at 9.42.25 PM.png
Screen Shot 2024-09-15 at 9.41.18 PM.png

It was pretty universally thought to at least be a decent hire. People can second-guess all they want.

I thought the mistake was:
  1. Firing a coach after two years. You can disagree all you want, but State was (and still is) considered one of the hardest SEC jobs. Firing a coach after two years at one of the hardest jobs in the country makes future hires more difficult. Supposedly, Billy Napier turned us down in 2020 to spend two more years at Louisiana-Lafayette. Weird example because he is now on the hot seat, but the point is we shouldn't have difficulty hiring the UL-L coach. I think we assumed we could close the deal, which brings me to my second point:
  2. If you're going to fire a coach, do it no later than the day after the Egg Bowl. We waited until after the bowl game. That is why we overpaid for Leach. He had all the leverage after we struck out with Napier and other suitable candidates already at new jobs. I loved Leach. He is a legendary figure in college football. But I believe 2022 (or a comparable season) was going to be his peak at State.
Once we didn't fire Moorhead after the Egg Bowl, we should have given him one more year. He either turns it around or you can properly fire him and hire the next coach without the blackball of "Come coach at the hardest job in the SEC and get fired after going 7-9!"
 
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Called3rdstrikedawg

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Should we require our coaching candidates in the big sports over 40 years of age to undergo a thorough physical before signing them?. And I would even go so far to say that any candidates with ANY inkling of heart issues or history to spend one day in the hospital and undergo a heart cath. Our university is spending millions of dollars on these guys and losing one like Leach really upsets the entire program. In our case.....for years.
How coughing symptoms and strained voice for 3 years should have indicated the possibility of congestive heart failure. His press conferences in 2022 were almost unbearable to watch! Somebody failed him or either he was a stubborn patient who wouldn't listen.
 

Dawgg

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Saddens me to say this, but I don't think Saban could win consistently at MSU. He might get us back to a few years like Mullen, but that's about it. However, I'd take that if he were willing to come!
I think Saban saw what college football (and the SEC) was becoming and got out before he started having those later year Bobby Bowden seasons. He preserved his legacy doing that.
 

Dawgg

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Sark would have been gone in 2021 at the latest.
I agree. Sark would have, at best, used our program to clean up his image and would have still taken the Texas job as soon as it came open. At worst, he would have crashed and burned without the resources he had at Washington, USC, or Alabama (and now at Texas).

Leach was the more stable choice. He wasn't going to use State as a stepping stone. He would have retired here and he had a history of winning at 'out of the way' places.
 

Dawgg

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Well yeah, he was the OC. But you better believe when he saw something on tape after the game he would have made mention of it to the DC. Arnett served us well as DC, but was in way over his head as HC. I'm guessing Leach knew his team and knew it well.
I've heard Saban say in interviews that he spent most of his time during practices with the defense and specifically the DBs because that's where he can contribute the most from a positional coaching perspective. He said the worst thing a head coach can do when they come up from being a coordinator is decide to micromanage the other side of the ball.

This is the same concept just in reverse. Being an offense oriented coach, the last thing Leach needed to do was decide he was going to be the D-Coordinator too.
 

OG Goat Holder

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I thought the mistake was:
  1. Firing a coach after two years. You can disagree all you want, but State was (and still is) considered one of the hardest SEC jobs. Firing a coach after two years at one of the hardest jobs in the country makes future hires more difficult. Supposedly, Billy Napier turned us down in 2020 to spend two more years at Louisiana-Lafayette. Weird example because he is now on the hot seat, but the point is we shouldn't have difficulty hiring the UL-L coach. I think we assumed we could close the deal, which brings me to my second point:
  2. If you're going to fire a coach, do it no later than the day after the Egg Bowl. We waited until after the bowl game. That is why we overpaid for Leach. He had all the leverage after we struck out with Napier and other suitable candidates already at new jobs. I loved Leach. He is a legendary figure in college football. But I believe 2022 (or a comparable season) was going to be his peak at State.
Once we didn't fire Moorhead after the Egg Bowl, we should have given him one more year. He either turns it around or you can properly fire him and hire the next coach without the blackball of "Come coach at the hardest job in the SEC and get fired after going 7-9!"
Well, we tried to fire him after the Egg Bowl, but our leadership got in their feels.

Also, do you not remember the circumstances that led to his firing after the bowl? It wasn't just the game.
 

OG Goat Holder

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All you Leach fans need a dose of Reality. Had he not passed he was going to retire either after the bowl or after last year he was experiencing health problems before he passed. He didn’t recruit well, he recruited with little to no effort and the danger of hiring him is the rebuild after it. Here are the facts:
After he was fired at TT, they have have had 4 coaches and two interims. W 87 L 88.
Since leaving WSU, they are on there second HC. W 20 L22.
Leach always leaves a depleted roster. Y’all can try to defend that but since he passed two years we are 7 W 7 L. With a loong season ahead .
Wait, Leach is now responsible for Texas Tech last 15 years? Wazzou's last 6? Wow OK.

And last I checked they weren't all that bad anyway. Texas Tech went 8-5 in 2010. Washington State had a 3-game COVID year then 7-6 in 2021.

Your argument is plumb stupid. Even Bart and Charlie are pushing that garbage, saying a Leach system is hard to come out of it, blah blah, and people were bltching about Leach's recruiting. It's comical, not backed up by facts and done solely to carry water for this current administration and coaching staff. PERIOD.
 
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The Cooterpoot

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Leach didn't recruit a single day he was here. He has a little idiot he called his CEO doing it and that little 17r pissed off every coach and handler in MS. We'd have a RB right now if not for that idiot. Leach had one foot in retirement. I appreciate the couple good years but he ditched our talent 💯!
 
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