Re: New Era

[75Fan]

I think we were making progress but it was at a slow and steady pace.

We looked pretty good against Georgia for a good part of that game and they are top echelon.

We played Jax State and SEMO close games and they were top echelon of our conference.

Our plays were mostly conservative IMO.

Awareness of the first-down marker was a problem more often than not.

We actually looked quite good when the QB had enough time to throw the ball downfield instead of in the flats.

[msuowns]

If I remember, we had our share of problems.  I won't go into it, since he is no longer the coach, and things got better the last couple of years.  It is the negative side of the business.

We do not need a high school coach, nor a retread that failed elsewhere.  We need an assistant from a major program, who has had his share of responsibilities, and knows how to run a balanced offense.  We can still pass often, but need to be able to run the ball, and control the clock, when needed.  We also need to allow more D1 transfers, if they are of decent character.  I believe in giving second chances, but not third and fourth chances.  
Most of all, I want a coach who has the ambition to improve the program and build a winner.  A lot to ask, but I trust our AD will find a worthy replacement.  He wants the athletic department to be top notch in all areas.

It's still a throw of the dice, but maybe the best odds.

[smidge34]

I still vote for calling Joker's agent.  :shrug:

[BigD21]

Taggert will wind up with a good job.  He left Western, South Florida, and Oregon in good shape.  Given four years, Florida State would have been alright.  Jimbo Fisher was pretty anxious to get out of Tallahassee for more reasons than money.

I can see Ken Saal now... media asks "why did you hire Willie Taggart?"  Saal responds "well I did a survey in bowling green and a certain percentage of WKU fans said they'd start rooting for us if I hired him."

[runningracer]

To be clear, I did not say that Taggert was someone we could, or should hire.  I was merely pointing out that he will wind up with a major program when he gets tired of taking time off and decides to go back to work.  Frankly, I wouldn't hire anyone who went to Western.  Two games I distinctly remember are beating Louisville 9-7, and Western coming in ranked number one in the nation, and Leaping Lindsay Hudspeth and co. leading them 42-0 at halftime in route to a 49-0 victory.  That must have been the ultimate of a long bus ride back to Bowling Green.  :shock:  :lol:

[msuowns]

To be clear, I did not say that Taggert was someone we could, or should hire.  I was merely pointing out that he will wind up with a major program when he gets tired of taking time off and decides to go back to work.  Frankly, I wouldn't hire anyone who went to Western.  Two games I distinctly remember are beating Louisville 9-7, and Western coming in ranked number one in the nation, and Leaping Lindsay Hudspeth and co. leading them 42-0 at halftime in route to a 49-0 victory.  That must have been the ultimate of a long bus ride back to Bowling Green.  :shock:  :lol:

I posted a really interesting thread on hell haven about the 49.0 beat down, it was deleted last week. EKU just chit canned their head coach. They don't put up with losing like we have for 20 years now.

[smidge34]

EKU screwed up imho.

[msuowns]

To be clear, I did not say that Taggert was someone we could, or should hire.  I was merely pointing out that he will wind up with a major program when he gets tired of taking time off and decides to go back to work.  Frankly, I wouldn't hire anyone who went to Western.  Two games I distinctly remember are beating Louisville 9-7, and Western coming in ranked number one in the nation, and Leaping Lindsay Hudspeth and co. leading them 42-0 at halftime in route to a 49-0 victory.  That must have been the ultimate of a long bus ride back to Bowling Green.  :shock:  :lol:

I posted a really interesting thread on hell haven about the 49-0 beat down, it was deleted last week. EKU just chit canned their head coach. They don't put up with losing like we have for 20 years now.

[A_1985_grad]

I would imagine the days of us hiring a Power FBS assistant are over unless it's someone well down the chain (i.e., grad assistant level), and I don't think that will happen. The Houston Nutts of today already make well above what we can pay, and they're not likely to take that kind of cut to be the head man at a mid-major school that doesn't have a recent track record of winning. (Don't worry, they aren't going to EKU either.)

Still, there are plenty of good candidates that should be available from upper-level FCS teams or lower-tier FBS schools. I believe we could realistically target assistants from schools like Northern Iowa, Central Arkansas, Furman, etc. Chris Hatcher came from this level, and though he was far from a savior, I still believe his hiring was a good idea at the time, it just didn't work out. Would we consider a Div. 2 coach or even an NAIA or JUCO head coach? I would if it was the right guy. I mean, if a high school coach is seriously being discussed, why not?

Point is, we need not be disappointed if the next guy IS NOT from a big-time conference, assuming the administration is serious about improving the program and not just rearranging what's already here. We need to give him a chance, even if he doesn't have a big-time pedigree.

[HoptownRacer]

peay's coach was successful at ULL but had some NCAA baggage, he was a position coach at Miss. State last year so you know he wants to pile up as many wins as he can and move on.  peay made a good hire, but there was some luck involved there.

[Westtennracer]

I've wanted to post this for a while, but was locked out of my account and had to change my username. It was time for him to go. Last season he lost to two horrible teams ( tech and peay) with the playoffs on the line.

[Racer81]

Kevin Saal will move the HC salary level up to respectable. Why?  1) He knows we can't get anyone worth a crap without increasing the current base pay.  2) He knows the value of a good football program to campus fall experience. 3) MSU must have a good football program for his resume to pop for his career advancement. If we want Racer football to improve we better be ready to donate to move salaries and facilities forward.  So get ready to invest or quit the bitching.

[Efan]

No one likes Jake?  Good ol EKU boy. Seemed to do a good jod for you aa a DC.

[OSRacer]

Really like Jake Johnson... defense was a bright spot he's an excellent coach.

[runningracer]

If Mitch Stewart wants to continue in football, he needs to work under a different coach than Chris Hatcher.  Prior to his position as head coach, the only experience he had was under Chris.  Most coaches have at least two or three different programs that they have worked in to form an idea of how to run a program.  

This may sound strange considering my past criticisms, but I believe Mitch Stewart has abilities that would serve another program well, given his knowledge of receivers and quarterbacks.  He would benefit working under a head coach that could  demonstrate  new  methods that he would be able to pick up by watching how other coaches run a successful program.  The lack of experience when he became a head coach was a mistake on the part of Murray State, and I hope Mitch will find a new position, if that is what he wants, because he has potential at his age to do well in the future.