frankenfish

I'm not convinced Kelly is the answer, but in context he was the right choice at that time. Way back when the Hat got canned and the hire of Tom Herman fell through, Coach O made sense with his pitch- pay me less as a head coach, I’ll be the recruiting coordinator and use the money you’re not paying me to be head coach to pay the best coordinators. Aranda was that on D and he got lucky with the Slinger/Joe Brady/Joe Burrow combo, but once he won, he decided he needed the big money, and that all fell apart.

So Coach O gets fired and our new AD comes back home from A&M, and says he’s paying top dollar, but wants an established coach (that worked really well with Jimbo, but I digress.) Rumor was it was Riley from Oklahoma, but he went West (to try to avoid the SEC IMO, but what do I know?) So who fits the AD’s criteria?

Saban? He’s not leaving Bama, and just retired, so that wasn’t a possibility.
Riley? Off the board to USC.
James Franklin? Had proven to be a good coach, but not a great one, and had no real motivation to leave Penn State.
Brian Day? Not going to leave The Ohio State University.
Urban Meyer? Please…
Kiffin? Not going to fire Coach O and bring in Kiffin…
Then who? Napier was hot at the University of Louisiana Lafayette, but hadn’t proven himself on the big stage.

So Kelly’s resume was really the best fit for these criteria. Has won everywhere he’s been, three coach of the year trophies, left the program in better shape than when he go there/doesn’t have a history of flaming out. I guess another way to ask, if not Kelly, then who?

Like I said, I'm not convinced Kelly is the answer, but was anyone in their right mind saying at the time, "You know what LSU should do? Give the current DC at Notre Dame, who had only been the DC there for one season, having been at DC at Cinncinnati before that, his first HC gig?"

I mean, subjectively I think not, but objectively maybe it is too much to expect it, every year. Admittedly, this is year one, but it looks like the top 4 SEC teams will get into the playoffs, but maybe most years the top 3?

So coming off of the recent signing day and knowing the impact NIL had that, and that we're losing ~50% of each recruting class to the portal then have to rebuild the team each year also through the portal, LSU would need to be at least #3 in the SEC, currently ranked as:
-UGA (3)
-TEX (5)
-Bama (11)
-TN (7)
-USC (14)
-Ole Miss (13)
-MO (21)
-UF
-Vandy
-Ark
-A&M
-Auburn
-OU
-UK
-MS St

So in order to be at least #3 a team would need to go 6-2 in the SEC. There are a lot of variable listed up there, plus injuries (what if Hilton and Guillory were healthy this year?) So I think I've talked myself into thinking it is too much to ask that LSU consistently be among the top 3 strongest programs in the SEC, year in and out, but maybe I just have low expectations.
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I just assumed those two dislocated toes are bothering him. I know they would me, but again, I'm just assuming that. Maybe coaches don't want to put the team in the best chance to win?

I always enjoy Cole Cubelic's summary each week of each team, and noticed he mentioned Bo in his LSU report this week:
LSU: Rivalry win. Def in full attack mode. 4 great off edge. His hands are lethal. Inside & outside moves. 40 just all over the place. Seems like he's in on every single play. 35 good on the rush. They had QB on the run most of the game. Tackled well in open field again. LBs perused well. Really good vs run. Got yo k game going early. Like pocket movement for QB. Got 2 involved right away. Like how 13 climbs pocket. Changes arm angles. Good quick distribution vs high pressure. Still tries to fit it in some spots that might not be there. 66 good, had some battles with 40. He finishes though! 86 had a good game. Evened up formation & got zone runs going a little. 29 got it going. Runs low, good burst. Has a nice jump cut. RBs struggled in pass pro. 89 gets after it when in there at TE.

That's all I have...

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happy paying 57% income taxes

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I'm not saying it's right, but in a smaller population that is that homogenous, you likely know more family members who have benefitted from those programs than you do folks who are ripping off the system, or you are at least willing to consider that you know some who benifit. Here I feel like I don't know anyone who benefits from gov't programs, but see lots of stories about grifters.

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I would imagine that their decision to return was a big factor in Lunsford's retirement.

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And I think Heard, too. Heard wasn't beating out Campbell at LT, or Jones at right, and with Frazier coming back Jones wouldn't kick down to rigth guard to make room for Heard at right tackle, so Heard didn't see a path to playing this year. That at least makes sense to me...

In the past the rumor was some big named DCs would only come if they had a say in the position coaches, and prior head coaches were insistent on keeping some position coaches (Raymond, for instance.)

Kelly can now meet with a DC candidate and say, "come work for me; we'll pay you $X and you'll have a major say in filling your position coaches, who we'll pay a total of $Y."

That really opens the door wide for candidates...

In that picture is sure does look like Coach O skipped leg day, amirite?

I hear Matt Canada is available.

Was he the kid that got run over by a car at an all-star game? they said no effects from that, but if you saw the video, you gotta wonder...