I think that's a great ideal! If you look around at the Top Program's.They only have 1 Head Coach. Texas AM, Oregon, Clemson and LSU. Hookem'
Mario has produced, and if he is ok by Richards-Ross and Goodwin then I am not going to knock his hire. I was a recruited track guy, and I can tell you track recruiting is very viscous and a certain conference in the southeastern part of the country does not play by the rules (not surprising). That f**k you NCAA attitude also extends to academics for their track athletes.
Can't knock the men's team for field events in recent years. Thornton was touted as a great sprint coach. Remember the Flying Frog days of TCU? His sprint Texas individuals (Goodwin a clear exception) and relay teams did not consistently excel while plenty of top male sprinters at ATM and Baylor did very well in the NCAA ranks. It is confounding that UT's men's track does not fare better considering the HS track talent in Texas. Perhaps UT will apply the $$ savings from having a single HC to the hiring of a top notch sprint coach or two who can recruit well. The women's team has been underperforming for years and requires a complete rebuild.
Please get some Sprinters for the Women's Team. We have good ladies in the 400. But the Sprinting Dept. has taken a nose dive. Hookem'
A long time ago Jody Conradt told me something very interesting. She said Liberal Arts majors had to have two years of a foreign language to graduate. She said that could be an issue in recruiting marginal students. Two years of a foreign language might be problematic for some students. It caused her to look more carefully at some of the academically marginal students. Although she didn’t say this specifically, I understood that some students weren’t recruited that would have been if that requirement wasn’t in effect. As I understand, the foreign language requirement is still in effect at UT for Liberal Arts degrees. I don’t think that requirement was in effect at TCU when Thornton was there, although I’m not sure. I don’t think it is currently in effect at Texas A&M. Prop Joe, do you know? My point is that it is easier to recruit top athletes without that foreign language requirement than with it. My guess is that is at least part of the reason Thornton was not able to replicate the sprint success at UT that he had at TCU. It may also be a factor in the women’s program as its sprint corps is not as strong as it has been. Of course, Pat Henry hurts UT more by being at Texas A&M more than he did at LSU. Anyway, a little food for thought.
TT and Moo, I will trust her judgment over some outsider. If she had a negative view of him she would have kept her mouth shut.
Doesn't really matter who feels what way; all are strictly opinions. He was hired. He will either succeed or flop. The fact is that he has never run a men's program before, let alone a combined men's and women's program. He has no head coaching experience. Yes, he is very skilled in his area of expertise; but, he has no skins on the walls when it comes to running a program.
