Sure but the context of those seasons is different. We didn't just go 6-7, 5-7, 5-7, we just went 10-4, 8-5, 7-3 (probably 10-3 without the cancelled games). We're 4-3 after 7 games, after starting 6-1, 5-2, 5-2.
Herman was 7-6 coming off of 3 losing seasonsm and we were right there in 5 of the 6 of the losses instead of getting stomped repeatedly. After 7 straight seasons of getting blown out at least twice per year, we lost only 1 blowout in 4 years. In other words, it wasn't a great season by any means but there was noticeable improvement from the very beginning.
Earlier this year we were down 33-7, i.e. 26 points, to Arkansas. In 4 years with Herman we never once trailed by that much (after his first season we only even trailed by 20+ once). We've now blown 21 and 14 point leads in back to back weeks. In the previous 4 seasons we never blew a lead of more than 10. We're 0-3 against the 3 good teams we've played. In other words, we aren't any better than we already were.
I'm not saying fire the guy after half a season obviously, just that we need to stop comparing the purported "bare cupboard" to how little we had to work with after the shambles of 2014-2016. Herman's on-field results were certainly mixed, but they aren't primarily what got him kicked out of here. We should, at the very least, be no worse this year than last.
Last edited: Oct 19, 2021