Htown, I asked you what you thought, not what you know. And if you start out a reply with "let's not derail the thread", then perhaps your response shouldn't be 100% outside of the topic of the thread.
I wasn't turning a basketball topic into a football one, I was merely pointing out the similarities of firing a coach that over his tenure has been successful but has sh*t the bed a few too many times over the past few years. To some extent, I wish I shared your commitment to mediocrity - it would minimize my frustration of watching this team.
I answered your question, out of respect, since I had been asked a direct question. I simply pointed out, I was not interested in having a football discussion. I am fact based, not feeling based, and can give you no answer until I have at least two seasons of data to work with as far as football. I will however have your football discussion you desire.
The conversation went as follows:
"I do agree with you that the program desperately needs an infusion of excitement..... Despite a 6-7 season, didn't Charlie Strong just provide that to our football program?"
Your point was that a new coach would infuse excitement. Attendance seems like the most reasonable metric of excitement. It is at least the best metric for those that care enough about a team to use their time and money to see a game. I was unsure about attendance. After research, I determined that on average, 4,000 less fans attended Texas games in Charlie Strong's first year. I stated that this was evidence that a new coach does not necessarily bring excitement, at least enough excitement to impact attendance.
You then asked me what direction I thought the football program was going in. I know you like feelings, but I try to evaluate facts. The facts of last season are we went 6-7, winning two fewer games than the year before. We suffered the worst home loss since 1997 to BYU. We suffered the worst thanksgiving loss since the 1940s. The four worst home losses in Texas history are by 63 to UCLA in 1997, 43 to Baylor in 1989, 38 to TCU in 2014 and 34 to BYU in 2014. Texas suffered its first shutout since 2004 to a team it beat the previous season by 10 points. For the first time in program history, Texas suffered 5 losses of 20 points or more in a single season. The last two games of the season were blowouts, and we were blown out by a 7-6 Arkansas team in a game where our offense recorded negative yardage on every drive in the second half until Arkansas put in its second string. That Arkansas team finished in last place in its division. 5 of the teams ahead of it in its division lost their bowl games. Our only wins of significance were against a 7-6 injury riddled Oklahoma State squad and a 7-6 West Virginia squad. Attendance dropped by an average of 4,000 fans.
While the facts show that the 2014 season was certainly worse than the 2013 season (we beat a sugar bowl champion OU team that finished in the top 10, were playing for a big 12 title the last week of the season, won 8 games, lost our bowl to a top 10 oregon team), there is not enough information about what direction the program is heading. I simply do not know. There are a lot of question marks on next years team. We could win anywhere from 2-10 games as far as I am concerned. The facts of 2014 were horrible, however, many successful coaches have had horrible first seasons. It could be a sign that serious rebuilding was needed or it could be a sign of bad coaching. We will not know until after this season. Will Swoopes start again? Will Heard start and be a good QB? I do not know. It has not even been spring practice. I cannot yet form an opinion. I feel nothing positive or negative yet as I simply do not have enough information.
Your response tells me that you feel that mack brown and rick barnes are the same. This a simplistic viewpoint. They coach different sports and the programs they coach are at different levels. Your comments about mediocrity tell me you are upset that I pointed out facts that refute your feelings that barnes has taken top 10 teams to nit before and indicate that your feelings that there was more excitement for football may also be inaccurate.
It makes sense, in general, that a person who prefers making judgments based on feelings and does not take time to think about all the facts and data, would assume that another individual is committed to mediocrity and not equally committed to success because the other has a more nuanced, fact based, and reasoned thought process.
Complacency can certainly be bad, but so can rash decisions. The key is to find a balance. DKR went 6-4 in 1965, 7-4 in 1966 and 6-4 in 1967. Firing him after 1967 would have been rash. Billy Donovan went to the NIT two consecutive seasons after winning a national title and then lost in the first round of the NCAAs the third season. Firing him after those three years would have been rash.
I am not for rash decision making. That is precisely why I refuse to make a rash call on the direction of the football program after one season. I will say that I intend to attend all of our homes football games and OU game (unlike the 4,000 that stopped going last year) like I usually do (despite the fact I am moving away from Austin and the games will no longer be close by) and I am sure the morning of each game I will be hopeful for and feeling a Texas football victory will happen like I always do.
Longhorncatholic,
Interesting that we are having the same arguments here (pros and cons), that we had with Mack in football.
Not saying it's a bad thing, just very interesting.
We had the same debate with Augie. Firing Augie after 2012 would have been the wrong call as he took us to the CWS in 2013. Not every situation is the same. Mack Brown, Augie Garrido and Rick Barnes are all different people in different situations. Just because one was done, does not mean that the rest are done. Thinking that way is illogical as the ability of Mack Brown has no effect on the ability of Garrido or Barnes.