From the get go, I have said 5. Certainly by then we should know. If he has not learned by then.... You know he has a Hall Of Famer right there to be a "sounding board". Not all coaches have that advantage.
Let me just add this: I think we are going to be damn good this season. Only 2 games are lost causes, as far as I am concerned: Bama and Okl,
I cannot disagree with you. Darn right about that. It worries me, to be honest.
It will also be interesting to see if Sam Pittman at Arkansas survives the season. Why do I bring him up? Before hiring Beamer, Pittman's name came up as a reason to hire Beamer. Both were position coaches, not an OC nor DC, prior to their hires as SEC Head Coaches. If things don't go well for us this season and Pittman gets fired and Clemson returns back to the level they were when Muschamp was here, things will get interesting. Beamer has benefitted by Clemson not being as good as they were when Muschamp was here. I'm not saying Beamer would be fired. I'm just saying that the pressure in 2025 would be enormous.
I remember in Pittman's 2nd season at Arkansas, the Hogs were 4-0 and had just beaten Texas and Texas A&M, had climbed to #8 in the country, and had many Carolina fans convinced that two years is enough time to turn a program around if you hire the right guy. The next week, Gameday was at their game in Athens, where they lost 37-0. Then they went 4-4 over their last 8 games (but were still a solid team) and have only gone downhill from there.
Glad you pointed that out. Just another example that in this league, it's not easy to avoid a tough schedule. I just hope that IF things don't turn out well for us this season, nobody gives a "pass" because of our schedule. But some will. We are in the SEC, not the ACC.
