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What Have You Thought About A&M Coaches Over the Years?
Posted on 4/15/14 at 3:44 pm
Posted on 4/15/14 at 3:44 pm
Not trying to be the stereotypical boastful Aggie, but I thought this would be a fun thing to talk about! I was thinking about something else in the basketball thread, and I realized something I hadn't noticed before:
Over the years I have had a good run making predictions about Aggie BB and football coaches. Most of this can be confirmed via Texags since this site hasn't been around that long.
-I thought Fran was a fraud before he coached the first game here. I hated how he left Bama.
-I thought the BSG hire was genius. I loved what he did at UTEP and I thought he was the perfect fit for us.
-Sherm was the one I was a little off on. From the get-go I though he would be a failure and in wins and losses he was. But we were lower as a program at that point than I wanted to admit and he did build us up a little bit.
-Turg I though was a good hire that would keep the boats running but no elite 8s or final 4s.
-I thought Sumlin's offensive style would catch the SEC off guard and have more success than most people thought. I told everyone I knew I expected us to be in the national title discussion year 2. Yes, back before we playing a single game in the SEC (some of that was just me trying to take on the SEC mentality I grew up with though).
-I thought BK would kill the momentum we had in basketball
What about yourself? Don't lie, who was on the Franwagon? Did someone seen Sherm rebuilding our program like he did? Who else thought BK was a mistake from day 1?
EDIT: Better title.
Over the years I have had a good run making predictions about Aggie BB and football coaches. Most of this can be confirmed via Texags since this site hasn't been around that long.
-I thought Fran was a fraud before he coached the first game here. I hated how he left Bama.
-I thought the BSG hire was genius. I loved what he did at UTEP and I thought he was the perfect fit for us.
-Sherm was the one I was a little off on. From the get-go I though he would be a failure and in wins and losses he was. But we were lower as a program at that point than I wanted to admit and he did build us up a little bit.
-Turg I though was a good hire that would keep the boats running but no elite 8s or final 4s.
-I thought Sumlin's offensive style would catch the SEC off guard and have more success than most people thought. I told everyone I knew I expected us to be in the national title discussion year 2. Yes, back before we playing a single game in the SEC (some of that was just me trying to take on the SEC mentality I grew up with though).
-I thought BK would kill the momentum we had in basketball
What about yourself? Don't lie, who was on the Franwagon? Did someone seen Sherm rebuilding our program like he did? Who else thought BK was a mistake from day 1?
EDIT: Better title.
This post was edited on 4/15/14 at 3:48 pm
11
Posted on 4/15/14 at 4:26 pm to cardboardboxer
- I thought Fran was a huge hire and I was super-excited. I ain't gonna lie, I was on the Franwagon, when he was first hired. I know a lot of people on this forum are about ten years younger than me, so I don't think y'all really know what it was like. 99% of the fans believed he was going to take us to the Natty in a couple of years, for sure. I am suspicious of anyone who denies being excited by Fran. I've never met anyone in real life who is being honest who wasn't. It's embarrassing, but true. My excitement turned to hatred after one year when it was clear he was a fraud. I lost many, many usernames arguing with people who just wouldn't give up the dream. He was a pompous little jerk.
- I thought Sherman was a lame disaster of a hire and that we would suck for 4 more years. It turned out I was right, though at one point he did have a little momentum that he himself killed, so I was still right. Sherman is a good man, but a prideful one. His decision to not hire an OC despite the AD pleading with him to do so caused him to bad playcall losses out of the jaws of victory.
- Sumlin. Honestly, I was too depressed at this point to care. I was hoping for a miracle but doubting it would happen.
- BCG. I love BCG. I'd take him back now. Love that man, even though he's a drunk who left us.
- Turge. I thought he'd maintain, but not impress. I was right. I ended up hating his boring teams and shite attitude and was glad when he left. Watching that smug punk suck it up at Maryland has been beautiful.
- BK. Crap.
- I thought Sherman was a lame disaster of a hire and that we would suck for 4 more years. It turned out I was right, though at one point he did have a little momentum that he himself killed, so I was still right. Sherman is a good man, but a prideful one. His decision to not hire an OC despite the AD pleading with him to do so caused him to bad playcall losses out of the jaws of victory.
- Sumlin. Honestly, I was too depressed at this point to care. I was hoping for a miracle but doubting it would happen.
- BCG. I love BCG. I'd take him back now. Love that man, even though he's a drunk who left us.
- Turge. I thought he'd maintain, but not impress. I was right. I ended up hating his boring teams and shite attitude and was glad when he left. Watching that smug punk suck it up at Maryland has been beautiful.
- BK. Crap.
This post was edited on 4/15/14 at 4:30 pm
Posted on 4/15/14 at 4:30 pm to cardboardboxer
ive only been around for one major hirer and that was sumlin. was very excited
Posted on 4/15/14 at 4:37 pm to cardboardboxer
- Fran I thought would do fairly well. I was quickly unhappy with him, but at the new hire, I can't lie, I was pretty damn excited
- Sherman I remember telling a friend, he may not be our guy, that's still tbd, but even if he's not, he's the guy to clean up this mess and he'll leave it a helluva lot better than he found it. I feel that was not only a fair assessment but profound. I was pretty happy my friend remembered me telling him that and brought it up to me after last year.
- Sumlin I loved the hire. Loved it. I wanted him as our next coach around 2010 when I saw an interview with him. I hadn't kept up with his career after he left but he blew me away with how much he just got it and I have always loved Air Raid. I was honestly worried we were going to miss him because he'd move on to another big program before Sherman left
- Hoops, BCG, I was, as I've been with all the hoops hires, pretty skeptical. He seemed like a good coach but hell, everyone does when you hire them. He won me over quick because I'd never seen a team work so damn hard
- Turgeon. I liked it bc WSU had been good, he had a good pedigree, and he seemed like a winner. I quickly grew to dislike him despite his success
- Kennedy. I posted in the other thread but I was just happy to be rid of Turge. Kennedy was a nobody to me and I just hoped Byrne had found another rising star. I was pretty ambivalent to him in general (other than he wasn't Buzz and was obviously a cheap arse hire)
- Sherman I remember telling a friend, he may not be our guy, that's still tbd, but even if he's not, he's the guy to clean up this mess and he'll leave it a helluva lot better than he found it. I feel that was not only a fair assessment but profound. I was pretty happy my friend remembered me telling him that and brought it up to me after last year.
- Sumlin I loved the hire. Loved it. I wanted him as our next coach around 2010 when I saw an interview with him. I hadn't kept up with his career after he left but he blew me away with how much he just got it and I have always loved Air Raid. I was honestly worried we were going to miss him because he'd move on to another big program before Sherman left
- Hoops, BCG, I was, as I've been with all the hoops hires, pretty skeptical. He seemed like a good coach but hell, everyone does when you hire them. He won me over quick because I'd never seen a team work so damn hard
- Turgeon. I liked it bc WSU had been good, he had a good pedigree, and he seemed like a winner. I quickly grew to dislike him despite his success
- Kennedy. I posted in the other thread but I was just happy to be rid of Turge. Kennedy was a nobody to me and I just hoped Byrne had found another rising star. I was pretty ambivalent to him in general (other than he wasn't Buzz and was obviously a cheap arse hire)
Posted on 4/15/14 at 4:43 pm to tmc94
and if you really wanna go back...
- RC I was pretty meh on. Loved the defense but he wasn't Jackie
- Kermit. We were actually pretty excited. My ol lady still swears up and down that if not for the sanctions, he'd have taken us quickly to glory
- Barone. Yeah, I knew nothing and no one was excited.
- Watkins. Dead cat bounce. Couldn't be worse, right? Right?
- and for good measure, Childress. Meh. He was like our 94th choice. Hard to have much excitement. I loved MJ though - I did think it was about time, but I still loved that man. Great guy all around who won an awful lot of ballgames.
- RC I was pretty meh on. Loved the defense but he wasn't Jackie
- Kermit. We were actually pretty excited. My ol lady still swears up and down that if not for the sanctions, he'd have taken us quickly to glory
- Barone. Yeah, I knew nothing and no one was excited.
- Watkins. Dead cat bounce. Couldn't be worse, right? Right?
- and for good measure, Childress. Meh. He was like our 94th choice. Hard to have much excitement. I loved MJ though - I did think it was about time, but I still loved that man. Great guy all around who won an awful lot of ballgames.
Posted on 4/15/14 at 4:50 pm to Cooter Davenport
quote:
I am suspicious of anyone who denies being excited by Fran.
I swear it is true. I didn't like that hire.
Part of it is the Bama side of my family told me he was a snake, plus honestly I was still on the RC bandwagon.
Edit: It didn't take that long to prove my instincts right thanks to 0-77. How the hell we ever gave him an extension after that game blows my mind.
This post was edited on 4/15/14 at 4:54 pm
Posted on 4/15/14 at 4:51 pm to cardboardboxer
I was skeptical of Sumlin but would have been about anyone at that point. Once Sumlin made it a priority to put SEC logos everywhere, I knew he was going to be good because I knew he'd market the program to recruits well.
Posted on 4/15/14 at 4:52 pm to tmc94
quote:
- Sherman I remember telling a friend, he may not be our guy, that's still tbd, but even if he's not, he's the guy to clean up this mess and he'll leave it a helluva lot better than he found it. I feel that was not only a fair assessment but profound. I was pretty happy my friend remembered me telling him that and brought it up to me after last year.
That is pretty awesome tmc.
quote:
I wanted him as our next coach around 2010 when I saw an interview with him
Me too, I was pushing for his hire hard the week prior to that OU game.
quote:
I quickly grew to dislike him despite his success
Oh yeah, I think everyone can agree there. He hated us.
Posted on 4/15/14 at 5:00 pm to Cooter Davenport
Football:
This.
My basketball thoughts:
Melvin Watkins - Gotta be better than Barone
Fail
BCG - Nobody can win at Texas A&M so this guy is gonna flop
Another Fail
Turg - OK apparently we can win games, this guy is gonna rock
frick ME
I was too busy with traveling for work at the time when BK was hired to really notice and have an opinion, the first I remember really hearing about him was when the Parkinson's was diagnosed.
quote:
- I thought Fran was a huge hire and I was super-excited. I ain't gonna lie, I was on the Franwagon, when he was first hired. I know a lot of people on this forum are about ten years younger than me, so I don't think y'all really know what it was like. 99% of the fans believed he was going to take us to the Natty in a couple of years, for sure. I am suspicious of anyone who denies being excited by Fran. I've never met anyone in real life who is being honest who wasn't. It's embarrassing, but true. My excitement turned to hatred after one year when it was clear he was a fraud. I lost many, many usernames arguing with people who just wouldn't give up the dream. He was a pompous little jerk.
- I thought Sherman was a lame disaster of a hire and that we would suck for 4 more years.
This.
My basketball thoughts:
Melvin Watkins - Gotta be better than Barone
Fail
BCG - Nobody can win at Texas A&M so this guy is gonna flop
Another Fail
Turg - OK apparently we can win games, this guy is gonna rock
frick ME
I was too busy with traveling for work at the time when BK was hired to really notice and have an opinion, the first I remember really hearing about him was when the Parkinson's was diagnosed.
This post was edited on 4/15/14 at 5:01 pm
Posted on 4/15/14 at 5:55 pm to cardboardboxer
quote:-This.
I thought Fran was a fraud before he coached the first game here. I hated how he left Bama.
I can proudly say that I was never on the Fran bandwagon. Something about him just rubbed me the wrong way.
For the life of me, I don't know why I still occasionally see one of those 'Frantastic' shirts being worn on gameday.
-I didn't have a strong opinion on Sherman but I felt good about the Sumlin hire. He was a known quality to me and, if the hiring search for a head coach was to go no farther than the Houston city limits, then I felt we had made the right decision.
-With the BK hire, I went along with it since Bill Byrne had chosen well with BCG and Turgeon.
I was naïve in thinking that BK would continue maintaining a winning program that the previous two coaches had worked so hard to establish.
Posted on 4/15/14 at 6:00 pm to WestCoastAg
quote:dear god I can't speak English
hirer
Posted on 4/15/14 at 6:03 pm to cardboardboxer
basically everyone in this thread is Nostradamus
Posted on 4/15/14 at 6:07 pm to cardboardboxer
Fran - Hated him from day one. Knew he'd fail.
Sherman - Loved him (at the time). Was impressed with how he utilized talent such as putting Tanny out at WR. Loved how he recruited at OL, just didn't realize he wasn't recruiting as well on defense. Also didn't realize he was a flop as an in-game coach.
Gillispe - Great hire, still is a great hire in our history.
Turgeon - Never liked that hire. Never liked how he recruited, was always worried about him being a step down for our program.
Kennedy - Loved the hire. I thought that there was no way someone who had one 30+ win season in his career could fail here (a perennial tournament team at that point). Plus, I loved his connections to SEC states seeing as it was around the time we were changing conferences.
Sumlin - I did not believe he could put together a solid SEC defense. To some degree, he hasn't proven me wrong, but anyone with a pulse can see he is recruiting the talent to get us there. I completely underestimated his recruiting.
Sherman - Loved him (at the time). Was impressed with how he utilized talent such as putting Tanny out at WR. Loved how he recruited at OL, just didn't realize he wasn't recruiting as well on defense. Also didn't realize he was a flop as an in-game coach.
Gillispe - Great hire, still is a great hire in our history.
Turgeon - Never liked that hire. Never liked how he recruited, was always worried about him being a step down for our program.
Kennedy - Loved the hire. I thought that there was no way someone who had one 30+ win season in his career could fail here (a perennial tournament team at that point). Plus, I loved his connections to SEC states seeing as it was around the time we were changing conferences.
Sumlin - I did not believe he could put together a solid SEC defense. To some degree, he hasn't proven me wrong, but anyone with a pulse can see he is recruiting the talent to get us there. I completely underestimated his recruiting.
This post was edited on 4/15/14 at 6:11 pm
Posted on 4/15/14 at 6:37 pm to cardboardboxer
Slocum, Watkins, and Johnson were the coaches when I graduated:
Franchione - I thought we had landed a major coup, taking him from Alabama. HOW WRONG I WAS.
Sherman - My first reaction was "WTF!!". I wanted Brian Kelly, Kevin Sumlin, or Charlie Strong (he was on my radar after Florida brutally shut down Ohio State in Tempe)
Sumlin - I thought he'd do well. I had no idea he'd do well THAT QUICKLY.
Gillispie - I heard good things about him and was optimistic. He exceeded my wildest expectations.
Turgeon - All I knew about him was that he took Wichita State to the Sweet 16. He kept us in the tournament, although we should have made the sweet 16 at least in 2010 (frick you in the eye John Higgins!!)
Kennedy - I had no idea who he was, but wasn't impressed with a coach from a 1-bid league. He performed worse than my lowest expectations.
Childress - I knew he was Nebraska's pitching coach. That's about it.
Franchione - I thought we had landed a major coup, taking him from Alabama. HOW WRONG I WAS.
Sherman - My first reaction was "WTF!!". I wanted Brian Kelly, Kevin Sumlin, or Charlie Strong (he was on my radar after Florida brutally shut down Ohio State in Tempe)
Sumlin - I thought he'd do well. I had no idea he'd do well THAT QUICKLY.
Gillispie - I heard good things about him and was optimistic. He exceeded my wildest expectations.
Turgeon - All I knew about him was that he took Wichita State to the Sweet 16. He kept us in the tournament, although we should have made the sweet 16 at least in 2010 (frick you in the eye John Higgins!!)
Kennedy - I had no idea who he was, but wasn't impressed with a coach from a 1-bid league. He performed worse than my lowest expectations.
Childress - I knew he was Nebraska's pitching coach. That's about it.
Posted on 4/15/14 at 6:41 pm to Warrior Poet
quote:
basically everyone in this thread is Nostradamus
I can back it up if y'all won't mind some links to the hive mind. My opinion on Sumlin in 2011:
quote:
Why Sumlin is Better Than the Coach You Wanted
1. He will use the talent that we currently have better than any of the other candidates.
2. He has the best shot at keeping our current class intact (or improving it) out of the candidates.
3. He will not complain about A&M's less palatable traditions and try to change them- he knows coming in about the lack of cheerleaders, the corps block, and our preference of waffles over pancakes.
4. He has positive connections with Texas high-school coaches.
5. He won't have a $4 million salary, so if he doesn't work out (as ANY coaching hire could) we will be in better shape next time. Plus he would burn the RC bridge.
I can't find my BK comments at this time, but I did call the LHN karma meltdown in early 2011:
"My hope is that the football gods punish yall for this arrogance, just like they punished you for thinking HCiW would prevent your program's downturn during a transition in leadership."
For Sherm I found me saying the Mizzou 2010 game would make or break his A&M career. Ooops.
This post was edited on 4/15/14 at 6:48 pm
Posted on 4/15/14 at 6:44 pm to cardboardboxer
quote:
For Sherm I found me saying the Mizzou 2010 game would make or break his A&M career. Ooops.
I actually predicted that we'd run the table after the 3-3 start in 2010 as a joke...and it happened.
Too bad that the search function only goes back a year. If you search for any of my posts in October 2010, you'll find it.
This post was edited on 4/15/14 at 6:51 pm
Posted on 4/15/14 at 6:46 pm to CGSC Lobotomy
That is pretty awesome,
Posted on 4/16/14 at 7:46 pm to cardboardboxer
Not gonna lie, but I hated the Sumlin hire. At the time, all I kept thinking of was the 2008 Texas Tech squad and how their mighty air raid got shut down by little Ole Miss. We were joining the SEC and taking an offense that SEC teams historically knew how to shut down.
Add to the fact that this was another good old boy network hire and I almost gave up all hope on everything A&M athletic related.
Add to the fact that this was another good old boy network hire and I almost gave up all hope on everything A&M athletic related.
Posted on 4/16/14 at 9:50 pm to greenbastard
I think many people thought that. The whole jogging buddy thing.
I can't think of anyone really excited about Sherm.
But most seemed excited about Fran.
I can't think of anyone really excited about Sherm.
But most seemed excited about Fran.
Posted on 4/17/14 at 2:53 pm to cardboardboxer
I was young when I was introduced to A&M football and that was with Jackie Sherrill as our guy. I loved the early thanksgiving games as my family would be all be in joyous moods after he would kick the shite out of the Fred Akers Texas teams and bring us into the Cotton bowl.
I, of course, loved RC and his early super dominant SWC wrecking crew teams. I started losing patience with him in his last year's though with his inability to win a bowl game, beat TU, and compete for the big-12 crown. Still hold him in a high regard though because he WAS a good coach and a good man through and through.
-I was initially happy with the Fran hire but that quickly went to shite. I loved the offense, and Stephen McGee is probably my favorite quarterback of all time. But he wasted so much talent, and couldn't win a big game. Never mind that he couldn't win a big game but he would get annihilated sometimes, (see 77-0, and bowl results) and that was just embarrassing. He'd beat a good TU team a couple times, but in the end I was done in him.
-Sherman was a stopgap, imo. I never envisioned him as a college guy. He fielded a couple of really good teams though. Recruited offense well, defense not so much but I think he did the best he could with it. His last season before he got fired had to be one of the most excruciating painful seasons to watch because we led in every game only to choke in the second half. And he NEVER MADE ADJUSTMENTS! Same mantra every game... play a great 1st half, then instead of playing to win, we'd play not to lose, and well.... fricking lose.
Sumlin, initially was a good hire, imo, but not a slam dunk at the time. I knew about his successful UH teams and stints as offensive coordinator with others but going into the SEC, I didn't see us winning any shootouts. At the time Mark Richt was on the hot seat at UGA, and I wanted him or Kirby Smart who is Alabama's DC as we all know. Sumlin was like my 3rd or 4th choice but I'm happy to eat a little crow as that first season was just amazing, esp after hearing about all the haters just laughing at us leaving for the SEC and just proclaiming we would be doormats for years. I was half right about Sumlin, though. We do get in a lot of shootouts, lol but we win too. I can't wait for next season because it'll really show how well we can face adversity without #2 to bail us out.
I, of course, loved RC and his early super dominant SWC wrecking crew teams. I started losing patience with him in his last year's though with his inability to win a bowl game, beat TU, and compete for the big-12 crown. Still hold him in a high regard though because he WAS a good coach and a good man through and through.
-I was initially happy with the Fran hire but that quickly went to shite. I loved the offense, and Stephen McGee is probably my favorite quarterback of all time. But he wasted so much talent, and couldn't win a big game. Never mind that he couldn't win a big game but he would get annihilated sometimes, (see 77-0, and bowl results) and that was just embarrassing. He'd beat a good TU team a couple times, but in the end I was done in him.
-Sherman was a stopgap, imo. I never envisioned him as a college guy. He fielded a couple of really good teams though. Recruited offense well, defense not so much but I think he did the best he could with it. His last season before he got fired had to be one of the most excruciating painful seasons to watch because we led in every game only to choke in the second half. And he NEVER MADE ADJUSTMENTS! Same mantra every game... play a great 1st half, then instead of playing to win, we'd play not to lose, and well.... fricking lose.
Sumlin, initially was a good hire, imo, but not a slam dunk at the time. I knew about his successful UH teams and stints as offensive coordinator with others but going into the SEC, I didn't see us winning any shootouts. At the time Mark Richt was on the hot seat at UGA, and I wanted him or Kirby Smart who is Alabama's DC as we all know. Sumlin was like my 3rd or 4th choice but I'm happy to eat a little crow as that first season was just amazing, esp after hearing about all the haters just laughing at us leaving for the SEC and just proclaiming we would be doormats for years. I was half right about Sumlin, though. We do get in a lot of shootouts, lol but we win too. I can't wait for next season because it'll really show how well we can face adversity without #2 to bail us out.
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