So I didn't watch much. Saw that we lost. Saw that we were ineffective -- again -- on offense. Saw that the defense mailed it in basically.
Yawned.
This is what we are. It's not going to get better. We're not going to get better. Four or five losses a year *MSU level* is the reality of who Gus is. Falling further and further behind our primary rivals -- UA, UGA, LSU -- is the reality of who Gus is.
He's never known what to do to fix it because he didn't have the experience of working through the ranks. Saban wasn't Saban at Kent State, Syracuse, WVU, Ohio State, Navy, Michigan State, Toledo, the Oilers or the Browns. But he learned something at each of those stops from the coaches he worked with/for.
Who has Gus learned from? 14 years as a high school coach in shitty Arkansas. Winning in high school in Arkansas is like winning the Miss RC Cola competition. Who gives a fuck? There's very little talent there. He leveraged the fact that he had some highly desired recruits (none of which turned out to be worth a fiddling fuck in a colostomy bag) into a job with Houston Nutt's Arkansas team. We all thought Nutt was a bitch for clashing with Gus, but based on what we've seen of his ego since maybe Nutt wasn't in the wrong to ditch him less than a season in. From there to Tulsa. He worked under Todd Graham. Wow. A coaching luminary. Then a couple of years under Chizik where Cam Newton made him look like a genius. Then a year at Arkansas State -- his only head coaching experience.
He doesn't have the background to handle this job. He needed seasoning. When he caught lightning in a bottle with Marshall, it confirmed in his own mind that he's a genius.
I heard people on the SEC Network last night. They noted that Cam was on the sidelines during last night's game. This was their comment. "Maybe Cam's got some tips to help this offense. Maybe Gus will listen to him, he sure doesn't listen to anybody else..."
That, my friends, is one of many problems.
I have no doubt Gus is a good guy. I'm sure he's doing the best he can. But he simply did not have the experience or background for a job of this magnitude. Few do, really. He needed a few years and a few stops to learn a) he damn sure isn't the smartest person in the room, 2) some ways to handle certain situations, C) some different philosophies on what can work.
70 Replies
9704 Views