I wrote in post a couple of days ago that all this complaining about Polkie was kind of moot because from what I was told by Coach Polk he wasn't going to be coaching much longer. I had no idea that it would happen two days later though.
Well my overall opinion on the immediate future is not worth much since I don't follow this stuff day to day like many of you. I have no idea if Tommy will be successful or not. I have no idea if Cohen will come from Kentucky. I have no knowledge if Buck would be interested.
I do know that Coach Polk is a standup guy. I do know that he has convinced Tommy in staying a few times. Now he might have been selling something he had no right in doing. Reading Polk's letter he does feel he he had the right to make promises to Tommy. Maybe he did. The thing I do know is that Polkie should step down immediately so Tommy has some games under his belt before there is an actual decision to be made. Similar to what Bob Knight did at Texas Tech. I know it is a tough situation, but I think the team will get better as this season goes on and it will give Tommy some adjustment time.
With all that said, I am sad that an era is coming to an end. My time at State was great and much of that was because of Coach Polk. I have offered analysis of Coach Polk in the past and my opinion of his Coaching ability. Not all of it rosey. This season is an example of the situation which happened many times during Polk's career. I always said that Coach Polk treated the players like men and it was up to the team to gel. The incentive was usually lead by player leadership. He prepared us to play baseball as well as anyone ever has. However it took players stepping up in those leadership roles to get the team to mesh. So when certain important leaders left sometimes there was a vacuum for a little while the next season. That seems to be this year as it was in 80 and 82 for my teams.
I didn't play with Tommy so I only know him from my visits to campus and alumni games. He has always been great to talk to, so I like him as a person and think he deserves a chance. There are no guarantees when a coaching change happens. I am all for giving a guy who loves a place as much as Tommy loves MSU a chance.