Let's talk about Lebby's preseason quote...

[RiverCityDawg]

If you look at our talent, I think we're actually only one game behind where we should be. ASU and Arkansas are much better than all of us thought. We absolutely should not have lost to Toledo and we should have been more competitive against Florida and Arkansas for sure. I'm not sure how we could have expected much more against all the top 25 teams we played, we just aren't there as a program with all that happened the last 2 years.

I'm in the "I don't know camp" with Lebby, but need to see a lot in the next 60 days when it comes to fixing the DC mistake and upgrading talent in the portal. Next year is going to be tough again with the schedule, but we have to take steps in the right direction with at least 4 or 5 wins.

 

[Dawgbite]

This year is the culmination of a series of mistakes and unfortunate events that culminated into the current mess we have. The first domino was hiring Leach, this wasn’t a mistake but Leach gutted the roster of the type of players that 99% of other coaches need to be successful. This was fine as long as Leach was here and coaching. Leach’s death was very unfortunate in that he had completely changed the the roster and the timing of his death was doubly unfortunate. At the time of his death we had no AD, we really had no choice but to name Arnett head coach. What we should have done was name him interim for a year and kept all of Leach’s staff that we could and performed a real coaching search this past year. Allowing Arnett to completely replace the staff and change the team’s philosophy was a major mistake. Swapping Arnett for Lebby initially has not been an improvement, it may turn out to be the correct move but only time will tell. We needed stability and that comes from an experienced head coach not an assistant. We couldnt afford to experiment with an assistant coach and fail which exactly what year one has been. We have two options, keep Lebby and give him time to learn how to be a head coach and become successful or start over again with an experienced head coach. Neither option has a high probability of success in the short term with inferior talent which we currently have. We’re in an era of buying players when we’re are the poorest school in the poorest state. The deck is stacked against us. There isn’t a perfect solution.

 

[85Bears]

This year is the culmination of a series of mistakes and unfortunate events that culminated into the current mess we have. The first domino was hiring Leach, this wasn’t a mistake but Leach gutted the roster of the type of players that 99% of other coaches need to be successful. This was fine as long as Leach was here and coaching. Leach’s death was very unfortunate in that he had completely changed the the roster and the timing of his death was doubly unfortunate. At the time of his death we had no AD, we really had no choice but to name Arnett head coach. What we should have done was name him interim for a year and kept all of Leach’s staff that we could and performed a real coaching search this past year. Allowing Arnett to completely replace the staff and change the team’s philosophy was a major mistake. Swapping Arnett for Lebby initially has not been an improvement, it may turn out to be the correct move but only time will tell. We needed stability and that comes from an experienced head coach not an assistant. We couldnt afford to experiment with an assistant coach and fail which exactly what year one has been. We have two options, keep Lebby and give him time to learn how to be a head coach and become successful or start over again with an experienced head coach. Neither option has a high probability of success in the short term with inferior talent which we currently have. We’re in an era of buying players when we’re are the poorest school in the poorest state. The deck is stacked against us. There isn’t a perfect solution.

What players did Leach “gut” ?

I remember a major culture problem stemming from Sloppy Joe and Leach had to purge some bad apples who were too good to go to practice.

The mistakes were obvious and they started when Arnett was named permanent, the staff was fired and replaced with bums and
retreads, the offense was round peg-square holed to some primitive monstrosity, and a veteran 9-4 roster was wasted.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

What players did Leach “gut” ?

I remember a major culture problem stemming from Sloppy Joe and Leach had to purge some bad apples who were too good to go to practice.

The mistakes were obvious and they started when Arnett was named permanent, the staff was fired and replaced with bums and
retreads, the offense was round peg-square holed to some primitive monstrosity, and a veteran 9-4 roster was wasted.

They did this with Croom too. The sheep just went on and on about the dumpster fire talent, building a foundation, etc. they won’t ever acknowledge that even if the talent is low, it’s not as low as the record. And they also don’t seem to want to acknowledge that there is thing now known as the immediate eligibility transfer portal.

 

[85Bears]

They did this with Croom too. The sheep just went on and on about the dumpster fire talent, building a foundation, etc. they won’t ever acknowledge that even if the talent is low, it’s not as low as the record. And they also don’t seem to want to acknowledge that there is thing now known as the immediate eligibility transfer portal.

Seriously, would Sloppy Joe have a better record than 2-10 ? I think he would He beat Toledo with Akrons roster

 

[Barkman Turner Overdrive]

Seriously, would Sloppy Joe have a better record than 2-10 ? I think he would He beat Toledo with Akrons roster

He would have gone 0-10 in the all SEC schedule of 2020. Recall how slow and out of shape the defense was in 2019. Could you imagine having no disciple SLOMO at the helm during COVID with no organized practices or workouts?

 

[85Bears]

He would have gone 0-10 in the all SEC schedule of 2020. Recall how slow and out of shape the defense was in 2019. Could you imagine having no disciple SLOMO at the helm during COVID with no organized practices or workouts?

For sure, that was culture rot. Joe had lost control

 

[paindonthurt17]

TBD. We’ve got the right offensive system.

We could have nick saban and bill belichick on our staff and still gone 4-8 this year though.

This is the correct answer

We are awful on defense and that’s not ALL on lebby or even hutzler.

 

[paindonthurt17]

100% true statement, we have 8 sacks this season the closest team to us is Alabama with 22, there are something like 6 players in the SEC who individually have more sacks than us. Coaches coach up players, I've seen none of that from Putzler and if he is then we are so deep in trouble from a personnel standpoint there is no hope!

It’s both
Hutzler isn’t good and we are awful talent wise on defense. AWFUL

 

[paindonthurt17]

I don't see it. As civildawg said, a good coach doesn't go 2-10 in their first season. 5-7, maybe. 6-6, perhaps. But not 2-10.

Yall are really dumb

 

[Howiefeltersnstch]

Ain't nobody getting fired. Turner maybe but doubtful. Certainly nobody else

 

[BulldogBlitz]

Something to remember about Hutzler: I've been told it will cost around 3 million to fire him. The person that told me that usually has good information. He said we are unlikely to fire him.

That's some really bad hiring practices.

 

[LandingDog]

It’s funny how many people are saying give a 2-10 1st year coach 2 more years who were so quick to fire a 5-7 1st year coach. I don’t think Arnett was the long term answer by any means. But it’s not like last year was anywhere near the disaster this year is. And we’d be in much better position to make the move now & start with hopefully a good coach instead of being locked in with a clueless staff.

Two totally different situations. Arnett was a disaster. He had to go. Had he not totally dismantled the offense with a senior laden roster and QB room and coaching staff built for it, he might still be our coach.

 

[85Bears]

Our “decision makers” since 2022

 

[Maroon13]

This year is the culmination of a series of mistakes and unfortunate events that culminated into the current mess we have. The first domino was hiring Leach, this wasn’t a mistake but Leach gutted the roster of the type of players that 99% of other coaches need to be successful. This was fine as long as Leach was here and coaching. Leach’s death was very unfortunate in that he had completely changed the the roster and the timing of his death was doubly unfortunate. At the time of his death we had no AD, we really had no choice but to name Arnett head coach. What we should have done was name him interim for a year and kept all of Leach’s staff that we could and performed a real coaching search this past year. Allowing Arnett to completely replace the staff and change the team’s philosophy was a major mistake. Swapping Arnett for Lebby initially has not been an improvement, it may turn out to be the correct move but only time will tell. We needed stability and that comes from an experienced head coach not an assistant. We couldnt afford to experiment with an assistant coach and fail which exactly what year one has been. We have two options, keep Lebby and give him time to learn how to be a head coach and become successful or start over again with an experienced head coach. Neither option has a high probability of success in the short term with inferior talent which we currently have. We’re in an era of buying players when we’re are the poorest school in the poorest state. The deck is stacked against us. There isn’t a perfect solution.

Spot on.

All the coaching turnover is over and done. Here we are with a green coach. However even with that in mind, my biggest concern is the latter.

We had a $8million donation and $3million donation recently. Hints of more to come. Now let's see what Lebby can do in the portal. This off season will tell us a lot about our ability to rebuild.

 

[patdog]

Two totally different situations. Arnett was a disaster. He had to go. Had he not totally dismantled the offense with a senior laden roster and QB room and coaching staff built for it, he might still be our coach.

And yet still had a much better season than Lebby. I just think if you hire a guy, you just about have to give him 2 years unless it’s a total disaster. I’ve sat through a lot of seasons comparable to or worse than 2023. Never anything worse than 2024.

 

[She Mate Me]

I don't see it. As civildawg said, a good coach doesn't go 2-10 in their first season. 5-7, maybe. 6-6, perhaps. But not 2-10.

Frank Beamer went 2-9 and 3-8 in his first two years at Va Tech. Then he got them to 20 something straight bowl games including quite a few of the Sugar and Orange varieties.

Has no bearing on Lebby, but sweeping generalizations are generally wrong.

 

[Turfdoc992]

The only sensible answer is that no, we don’t have the right guy. We’re 2-10 and haven’t been close to winning an SEC game.

The defense is laughable, and we look undisciplined. Mullen had us looking well-coached within a few games.

This may be unpopular and I don’t care, but the most reliable way to get this ship righted is to try to bring Mullen back soon. He’s done it before. Every other hiring option caries more risk.

“Rabble rabble, he can’t recruit in this era”

whatever recruiting he could get done would be a dam n sight better than what is occurring now.

Dude is a good coach, has name recognition, and would get good coaches and players to come here. Of course with leaders like Selmon and Keenum I doubt they view this as an option.

But you are bringing back a Dan Mullen who is 15 years older. Perhaps he is one that has more energy at 52 than at 35 but given what I see of him currently I don't think so. He had some juice then, I don't think he does now. But perhaps he is wiser now? Is he even relevant with current players? Would good assistants jump at the chance to come work for him - maybe - he will be far more reliant on them to bring the juice than 15 years ago.

If Lebby does not fired, or reassign Hutzler (he has experience with special teams and we are paying him) in the next week then he has lost credibility with me. Is Hutlzer Lebby's McCorvey?

 

[civildawg88]

Frank Beamer went 2-9 and 3-8 in his first two years at Va Tech. Then he got them to 20 something straight bowl games including quite a few of the Sugar and Orange varieties.

Has no bearing on Lebby, but sweeping generalizations are generally wrong.

Do you understand how long ago that was and how much the roster game has changed since then? It's not even comparable

 

[She Mate Me]

Do you understand how long ago that was and how much the roster game has changed since then? It's not even comparable

Since I've lived it, yeah I understand how long ago it was. I have little doubt Beamer would figure out how to be a good coach today.