Good topic from True Maroon - What game did you realize we might need to move on from Arnett?

Rupert Jenkins

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Nov 29, 2017
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Got concerned with Arizona and knew it wasn't gonna work with WM also. Time to make a change right then
 

dawgflo

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Nov 17, 2021
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Agreed. I live in Alabama and have a bunch of young kids so we don't come back for many games. I came back for Western Michigan and was extremely underwhelmed with everything that day. The crowd, the environment, the performance.......everything.
 

JDawg13

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Dec 10, 2018
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Auburn. Was not happy with how we looked prior to then but that was when I realized he had to go. That game combined with the juco commitments we were taking at the time were the catalyst for me
 

columbiadawg2

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Feb 2, 2010
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It was kind of a slow death by 1,000 cuts type deal for me. 2nd half of AZ was quite concerning but I think that really showed his mentality as a HC. All breaks, no gas. And it kinda just spiraled faster and faster off the cliff after that.
 

FlotownDawg

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Aug 30, 2012
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Auburn. I gave him a bit of a pass for the Arkansas game since we won. But there was no offensive improvement at all and Auburn just kicked our arse. Then the Kentucky beatdown solidified it.
 
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kired

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Aug 22, 2008
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Haven't felt good about Arnett at any point this season, and it's just kept snowballing for me. I said all along we should let the season play out and see if things improve. There's been no improvement.

This is statistically overall the worst team we've had since Croom. Obviously losing Will hasn't helped. But Mullen made due with Tyson Lee and Chris Relf. Croom took us to a bowl with true freshman Wesley Carroll. Losing your starting QB isn't an excuse to have zero offense.
 
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BirdPuppy

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Aug 5, 2023
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Gradually grew more disappointed every game starting with the Arizona game and throwing in the towel after the Auburn game.

A bit different from JoMo. Moorhead I knew by game 4 we were doomed after watching Nick Fitz throw 36 times in a monsoon.
 

MaroonOldCrow

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Aug 22, 2012
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Agreed. I live in Alabama and have a bunch of young kids so we don't come back for many games. I came back for Western Michigan and was extremely underwhelmed with everything that day. The crowd, the environment, the performance.......everything.
Same. First game on campus I'd been able to get to since moving. I was very disappointed.
 

benatmsu

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May 28, 2007
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Had serious concerns after the WMU game.
Was downright disturbed after LSU game, but convinced myself "It's LSU. Can't take anything from that?"...but they've been proven not to be as great as we thought...

I don't remember what game it was after, but the comment was made (maybe it was Barbay, can't remember) when asked about why Whittemore went missing after the first game and the answer was something like "Well, he and Tulu play the same position...we can't play them both as much as we'd like." I was 75% out. I get what you're saying... but you and your ****** offense stink. Find a way to get your playmakers on the field.

I was 100% out after Arkansas - the in-game decisions, the demeanor, the lack of offense. It was all too much.
 
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Podgy

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South Carolina. We have that ability on offense yet our former DC of a head coach has a terrible defense and didn't let our skilled players on offense lead.
 

Dogdazey

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Nov 16, 2012
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Kentucky game was my aha moment. Previous games there were instances where I definitely questioned things, but for the life of me, I didn't want to START OVER AGAIN. But during the Kentucky game, all of the pre-snap penalties, all of the misalignments, the inability of our team to actually have the right personnel in the game on different downs. This far into the season whether its your first head coaching gig or not, these are things that by the middle of the season, my son's junior high team had close to mastered, and we are a supposed SEC WEST team. I knew then it was time. Auburn whipping us, making us like it was overkill!
 

Ranchdawg

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Dec 13, 2012
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AZ blew my mind then the LSU flop. That's when I posted on here to fire him now. It was obvious to me then that this coaching staff was going in the wrong direction. The leadership just wasn't there.
 
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msudawg1200

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Sep 19, 2012
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Got concerned with Arizona and knew it wasn't gonna work with WM also. Time to make a change right then
This. Now, Arizona ended up being way better than we originally gave them credit for, but being +4 in TO margin and barely winning in OT while the secondary looked clueless was a concern. Then, Western Michigan happened. Kentucky was my breaking point where I decided I was done paying any money to the program if Arnett wasn't relieved of his duties. Attending that game reminded of the end of the Croom years. Felt hopeless and there was no hope for the future.
 

HailStout

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Jan 4, 2020
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I had the creeping feeling in my stomach during the Arizona game. It got worse with every week. I lied to myself until the Arkansas game.
 

QuadrupleOption

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Aug 21, 2012
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Arkansas for me, but I HOPED we'd be able to pull out a win against Kentucky or A&M to get to 6. I've known since Western Michigan that the Egg Bowl will be an ***-whipping so I've resolved myself to a year of BS from those clowns.

I like Arnett, and I really hate that all this happened but he brought it on himself with the way he handled the offensive transition.
 
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Rupert Jenkins

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I was never that big of a fan of promoting Zach in particular after he blew it up so I had my doubts. I did eventually accept it and was waiting for things to gel but I swear they looked worse every game
 

T-TownDawgg

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LSU
Up til then we looked very anemic against lesser teams and people actually believed they were “sandbagging for LSU”. No fight, horrible blocking, wrong routes, wrong throws, etc. Looked like a 3 stooges episode.
 

Drebin

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Aug 22, 2012
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It was the Arkansas game for me with the 4th down decisions.
I felt we had a bigger problem that we realized just by seeing how uncompetitive we were against LSU. That was the worst we had looked as a football team in more than a decade and it was alarming. But I cashed my chips in finally after the Arkansas game. I kinda felt he was a dead man walking at that point. After the Auburn game, I felt it needed to happen immediately.
 

MaxwellSmart

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May 28, 2007
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Arizona started my doubts but the total ineptness with LSU pretty much showed he was in over his head. Western Michigan was where all hope went down the drain for good. I'd have cut him loose a week earlier on the field after Kentucky.
 

Car Ramrod.sixpack

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Sep 21, 2017
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After the Auburn game I knew he had to go at some point, possibly after the season. After the KY game I was done and wanted his *** fired before the post game presser.
 

IBleedMaroonDawg

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Nov 12, 2007
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South Carolina when we could not make a stop. You could see just how slow and out of position our players were. Any offense was the result of individual players and there was no sign of an offensive scheme.
 

Ash189

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Oct 8, 2014
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SELA was concerning to me. I remember pointing out to my wife that we still had a lot of starters playing in the third quarter. Maybe I’m spoiled, but I hoped the game would have been more in-hand at that point. Raised flags for me.

Western Michigan was when I was convinced.
 

patdog

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May 28, 2007
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Like others have said, I've been concerned ever since the 2nd quarter of the SE Louisiana game. In our 4 wins, I've come away thinking "pshew we got lucky" twice and "man, that was a lot closer than it should have been" twice. I'd say after WMU, I seriously thought he might not make it through the season. After the Kentucky game, was pretty sure he wouldn't.

For the record, I think 8:00 Monday morning was the right time to fire him.
 
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missouridawg

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Oct 6, 2009
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Gradually grew more disappointed every game starting with the Arizona game and throwing in the towel after the Auburn game.

A bit different from JoMo. Moorhead I knew by game 4 we were doomed after watching Nick Fitz throw 36 times in a monsoon.

I wish Hudspeth would've punched JoMo in the face at halftime of the UK game and told him to snap out of it. Such a terrible coaching night that totally set the stage for a horrendous tenure.
 

Lawdawg.sixpack

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Jul 22, 2012
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Been feeling for the last couple of games that we needed to move on at the end of the year. But the “fire him NOW” moment came after TAMU’s second kickoff.

TAMU tackled Tulu on the 20, but they were offside. Yet instead of taking the 5 yards and making them kick again, despite the fact that our offense sucks and we RAN THE OPENING KICK BACK, we elect to add the 5 yards as the end of the run back, taking the ball in the 25.

Stupid. And a loser mentality.
 

Darryl Steight

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Sep 30, 2022
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Been feeling for the last couple of games that we needed to move on at the end of the year. But the “fire him NOW” moment came after TAMU’s second kickoff.

TAMU tackled Tulu on the 20, but they were offside. Yet instead of taking the 5 yards and making them kick again, despite the fact that our offense sucks and we RAN THE OPENING KICK BACK, we elect to add the 5 yards as the end of the run back, taking the ball in the 25.

Stupid. And a loser mentality.
"Loser mentality" is why I said the Arkansas 4th down decisions. 4th and 1 around midfield, and he punts. And he repeated it, I think 3 or 4 times. I checked out at that point. Call it 'paralysis of analysis' or whatever, but that's someone who is not ready. Scared to win.
 
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