re: ***Coaching changes discussion***

quote:

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I'm not so sure it is the coaching staff's fault.

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Sure it is. They sign and recruit the kid.

I mean I get what you are saying, but at some level it is the coach's job balancing taking 5 star sloppy seconds and having a cohesive team. Teams like Arkansas and Michigan St. find a way to beat people without having to deal with entitled five stars. Locker room chemistry matters, even if we can't pick through kids like Nick does.

Sumlin has been playing the numbers game since day one, taking risky but highly regarded recruits to try and create a momentum around the program. And for those efforts we had a 2012 class (including Trey Will) that for the most part was a disaster to our depth, and a five star legacy that almost tore apart the program because of his entitlement. The 2014 class was great because of JFF and not because we signed risks in 2012.

Is it hard to know what sloppy seconds five stars are worth it and which ones aren't? Sure, I couldn't do it. But I don't get paid five million a year to try.

My main criticism with Sumlin is that he has been TOO focused on building a narrative, building hype, and not focused enough on building a team of players that fit together. Knowing how he has changed his recruiting he might agree, and I think going forward he will look for different traits out of players. But it might be too little too late if we can't get some production out of the roster full of sloppy seconds that we do have.