"Hi,
>
>I recommend that columnists read this because it could be good column
>fodder. If you don't write of it near term, you'll definitely be
>writing about it when Hitt finally wises up in an estimated 2-3 years
>and cans "Hoodwinker" O'Leary:
>
>New UCF defensive coordinator spent "past 10 seasons" in same position
>at Iowa State. Kyle wrote that he "helped take the defense to new
>heights the past five seasons."
>
>Well, given that "Iowa State's defense was ranked just 102nd in total
>defense in 2006," coupled with the fact that Skladany suffered through
>his first five seasons there, how can you write that he took them to
>"new heights?" That's preposterous!!
>
>So what if, as you wrote, he only had 5 returning starters? That's a
>lame excuse. This is college and once 4 years are up, arrivederci!
>Other teams, such as USF, don't have a problem succeeding with
>underclassmen. After all the Bulls' QB (Grothe) was a highly successful freshman...
>
>Of course, O'Leary also continues to play the "we're still young card."
>After going 0-11 he blamed it on the kids not being his recruits,
>although Kruczek won 5 games with the same team...Then he goes 8-5 and
>he's suddenly a football messiah and no need to contrive youth excuses...
>
>However, after this season's debacle he again falls back on the "we're
>still young," defense. "Hoodwinker" O'Leary should be his nickname!
>
>Oh, BTW: Isn't it funny that the reason UCF is getting Skladany is
>because former Knights, Auburn and Texas defensive mastermind, Gene
>Chizik, took over at Iowa State and ran Skladany out of town...
>
>So, instead of having Chizik as head coach, which is what he
>practically begged for, we get an Iowa State reject who took the
>"Cyclones defense to new heights," with its 102nd-place ranking in total defense...
>
>You don't help the future of UCF's program by writing poppycock and not
>pointing out the obvious about O'Leary, who has paid millions of
>dollars (from boosters) to cancel games against well-known schools, in
>which we would have earned hundreds of thousands for each canceled
>game. So, in total those cancellations cost the program millions. Do
>you think boosters like myself will be inclined to keep giving UCF money, just so they can waste it?
>Fat chance!
>
>UCF's football program is in dire staits. You guys fell for the "bowl story"
>last year. But remember, UCF easily could have had only 1 win (vs.
>Memphis) in 2005. Add that record to the 0-11 and this year's 4-8 and
>you'd have 5-29...
>
>Still, his first two years record of 8-16 definitely didn't merit a
>guaranteed $10M contract, did it?
>
>Funny that his coaching staff earned more than any other in the state. Yup!
>More than the Gators and the Seminoles. For that money they should be
>impact coaches, don't you think? Well, impact coaches don't allow the
>lowest-rated team in the U.S. (Buffalo) to beat you. No sir! Impact
>coaches aren't coaching 0-11 teams, are they? Nope!
>
>To be or not to be bamboozled, that is the question gentlemen? "
>
>
>

Some UCF fans are too high with the good times and too low with the bad times. I think we did give O'Leary the big money way too soon, but I'm still willing to give him another year or two before running him out of town. He did take us to our first ever bowl in his second season, and yes I know that like the poster said, we could very easily have only won 1 game this year, but I will flip that around...

1) In the USF game we were a roughing the punter and/or INT in the end zone away from at least going to OT if not winning the game

2) In the USM game we held them under 300 yds. of offense and if Moffett doesn't throw the INT for a TD at our own 4, we have a great chance to win

3)At Tulane, we miss a FG and fumble the ball in Tulane territory at the end of the game and only lose by one...definitely should have been a "W"

4) In the ECU game we're down by 6 with the ball near midfield and they get a pick 6 to win by 13.

Yes our defense sucked most of the year and all the aboves are "almosts" and probably a reflection of a lack of discipline/not being able to perform in the clutch, but I'm not ready to write this team/O'Leary off...I just want to see us win the close games again in '07 like we did in '06.

Just my 2 cents...

Mike the Knight Wrote:Some UCF fans are too high with the good times and too low with the bad times. I think we did give O'Leary the big money way too soon, but I'm still willing to give him another year or two before running him out of town. He did take us to our first ever bowl in his second season, and yes I know that like the poster said, we could very easily have only won 1 game this year, but I will flip that around...

1) In the USF game we were a roughing the punter and/or INT in the end zone away from at least going to OT if not winning the game

2) In the USM game we held them under 300 yds. of offense and if Moffett doesn't throw the INT for a TD at our own 4, we have a great chance to win

3)At Tulane, we miss a FG and fumble the ball in Tulane territory at the end of the game and only lose by one...definitely should have been a "W"

4) In the ECU game we're down by 6 with the ball near midfield and they get a pick 6 to win by 13.

Yes our defense sucked most of the year and all the aboves are "almosts" and probably a reflection of a lack of discipline/not being able to perform in the clutch, but I'm not ready to write this team/O'Leary off...I just want to see us win the close games again in '07 like we did in '06.

Just my 2 cents...

Last year, most of the plays fell in your favor, this year they went the other way. It sucks to be on that side of the gamebreakers. ECU, however, went about 50/50 on those this year. A couple more fall our way, and our season goes from good to great (ie RICE AND UAB plays).

knightmight Wrote:"Hi,
>
>I recommend that columnists read this because it could be good column
>fodder. If you don't write of it near term, you'll definitely be
>writing about it when Hitt finally wises up in an estimated 2-3 years
>and cans "Hoodwinker" O'Leary:
>
>New UCF defensive coordinator spent "past 10 seasons" in same position
>at Iowa State. Kyle wrote that he "helped take the defense to new
>heights the past five seasons."
>
>Well, given that "Iowa State's defense was ranked just 102nd in total
>defense in 2006," coupled with the fact that Skladany suffered through
>his first five seasons there, how can you write that he took them to
>"new heights?" That's preposterous!!
>
>So what if, as you wrote, he only had 5 returning starters? That's a
>lame excuse. This is college and once 4 years are up, arrivederci!
>Other teams, such as USF, don't have a problem succeeding with
>underclassmen. After all the Bulls' QB (Grothe) was a highly successful freshman...
>
>Of course, O'Leary also continues to play the "we're still young card."
>After going 0-11 he blamed it on the kids not being his recruits,
>although Kruczek won 5 games with the same team...Then he goes 8-5 and
>he's suddenly a football messiah and no need to contrive youth excuses...
>
>However, after this season's debacle he again falls back on the "we're
>still young," defense. "Hoodwinker" O'Leary should be his nickname!
>
>Oh, BTW: Isn't it funny that the reason UCF is getting Skladany is
>because former Knights, Auburn and Texas defensive mastermind, Gene
>Chizik, took over at Iowa State and ran Skladany out of town...
>
>So, instead of having Chizik as head coach, which is what he
>practically begged for, we get an Iowa State reject who took the
>"Cyclones defense to new heights," with its 102nd-place ranking in total defense...
>
>You don't help the future of UCF's program by writing poppycock and not
>pointing out the obvious about O'Leary, who has paid millions of
>dollars (from boosters) to cancel games against well-known schools, in
>which we would have earned hundreds of thousands for each canceled
>game. So, in total those cancellations cost the program millions. Do
>you think boosters like myself will be inclined to keep giving UCF money, just so they can waste it?
>Fat chance!
>
>UCF's football program is in dire staits. You guys fell for the "bowl story"
>last year. But remember, UCF easily could have had only 1 win (vs.
>Memphis) in 2005. Add that record to the 0-11 and this year's 4-8 and
>you'd have 5-29...
>
>Still, his first two years record of 8-16 definitely didn't merit a
>guaranteed $10M contract, did it?
>
>Funny that his coaching staff earned more than any other in the state. Yup!
>More than the Gators and the Seminoles. For that money they should be
>impact coaches, don't you think? Well, impact coaches don't allow the
>lowest-rated team in the U.S. (Buffalo) to beat you. No sir! Impact
>coaches aren't coaching 0-11 teams, are they? Nope!
>
>To be or not to be bamboozled, that is the question gentlemen? "
>
>
>

Whoever wrote this needs some :chillpill: and/or :rootbeer: , and possibly even a :tasha: .

With regard to the decision to hire Skladany, I'll take O'Leary's judgment over that of the person that wrote this diatribe.

The argument about Kruczek winning 5 games with the "same team" that O'Leary had in 2004 is ludicrous. First of all, which 5 games is this person referring to? The 2003 team won only 3 games, and only one of those wins was a blowout. Second, did this person attend any home games in '03 and in '04? The '04 team easily demonstrated more disciplined play than the '03 team did and also didn't have the off-field problems the '03 team had. The '04 team DID have injury problems, though, something that the '03 team didn't struggle with nearly as much.

As for the "we're still young" business, did it ever occur to this person that O'Leary was merely stating this because the team is, in fact, mostly underclassmen? Why does it have to be a statement of defense? Defense from what?

Oh, and yes, we paid a crapload of money to our coaching staff, but it turned out that some of the assistant coaches didn't do such a hot job. Look, folks, if we don't take some risks as a program, we're not going to reap rewards. We can't become afraid to pay big money to coaches with solid records just because things might go sour.

Give O'Leary more time; he's just finished his third season here, for crying out loud.

Okay, maybe I need to take a :chillpill: now. lmfao

A writer complaining and whining...whats new? You (UCF) have a good coach and he has done a solid job for you. "UCF future so bright she's gotta wear shades"... Don't sweat the small stuff....

Where is this from??

The guy obviously is stirring the pot and pretty much said so from the first line when he begged someone write about him and his topic.

This guy is way too emotional. Even if he was right, I wouldn't listen to him because he's not thinking through his head.

I'm not saying it's a USF fan, Lance Thompson or Mrs. Chizik, but whoever it is is way too attached.

O'Leary is a proven commodity. If the 4-8 and 0-11 seasons are really due cause for the end of the world...or even the 3 minutes of my life that I won't get back while reading that...then why wait until now to write about it?

Looking around our campus - at the stadium, at the season ticket sales, at the recruits, even if O'Leary went 0-11 and retired after this season, he was worth every penny.

who ever wrote that does not know the first thing about college football. First, USF's Grothe is the first QB that USF has had in five years. If Leavitt is such a genius, than why did it take him five years to get a good QB. Also, give Grothe credit, but wait a minute, Steven Moffett had a pretty damn good year and than followed it up with crap. Lets see what Grothe does this year.

Everyone wants Chizik as a head coach, well lets see. Chizick was a great defensive coordinator, but that does not mean he will be a great head coach. Mike Kruzcek was a great OC, but when he was giving a head coaching job, well, he sucked.

UCF's new defensive coordinator will do a tremendous job if this spring is any indication, and why not. UCF has facilites that match any BCS program and judging from this recruiting class, we are going to do fine.

GOL is techincally in his fourth year, but due to his heart attack, he really has only had three recruiting classes and no one can argue that this recruiting class could compete with any CUSA team and dare I say, most of the non premier BCS teams.

I would say most have no idea just what UCF has on defense this year that really was not there last year. UCF will have three DT's that are over 300 pounds each and all three have experianced their first full off season to get bigger and stronger. Running on this UCF defense will be very tough this year. Our DB's are going to be very good with the addition of Darin Baldwin and that does include the kids that are not even in school yet. If UCF gets any kind of decent LB play, this defense could be very good.

The talent was there last year, but the coaching was the worst I have ever seen in my 20 plus years as a UCF fan. Things will be different this year and trust me, the idiot that wrote that about UCF knows nothing about college football and coaching.

Well..it finally looks like this person pretty much had O'Leary pegged. I spoke with this person recently and he still thinks UCF will hang on to him for at least one more year because Hitt doesn't want to admit he was wrong and the cost of the buyout. I disagree...O'Leary is history. UCF can't afford to keep him.

knightmite Wrote:Well..it finally looks like this person pretty much had O'Leary pegged. I spoke with this person recently and he still thinks UCF will hang on to him for at least one more year because Hitt doesn't want to admit he was wrong and the cost of the buyout. I disagree...O'Leary is history. UCF can't afford to keep him.

I'm waiting for the outcome of this "third party investigation" - I think if this guy finds a way to void the contract without the buyout, O'Leary is gone, if not, he stays.

Well...how many more alumni and fans is O'Leary going to drive away? The only people in the stands for the most part are students. Alumni are nauseated how there donations were squandered on such a ridiculous contract. O'Leary takes talent and turns it to mediocrity. This guy who wrote this article had everything pretty much pegged. UCF CANNOT afford to keep O'Leary till the end of his contract. Losing this game to Kansas and previous to North Carolina State is total ineptitude. Good talent...Bad coach! O'Leary = bad Karma!

Let's see here, when O'Leary took over UCF ...
- We had joined the MAC because of scheduling issues and they were the only invite (other than the Sun Belt)
- Our recruiting had gone to crap as a result (no one wants to play in the mid-west, and Sunshine/Sun Sports exposure was a major deal for the MAC)
- Kruzeck had dipped into "questionable" recruits academically and discipline-wise (O'Leary said "cockroaches")
- O'Leary had a heart attack in the middle of the recruiting season, while trying to manage Minnesota's post-season chances

O'Leary really didn't have his first recruiting season until 2004, and Kruzeck's team had already started the dive into the 17 game losing streak. We had players getting kicked off the team because O'Leary was cleaning house. The 2005 Bowl had UCF's APR in the toilet, not O'Leary's doing at all.

I talked to Orsini when at the Hawaii Bowl. He talked about how he needed the O'Leary program, not for winning, but how the program is run. That's why we pay O'Leary. For the size of UCF, he's not overpaid. In fact, there are plenty of coaches paid more than him. I really tire of UCF fans not realizing what we have.

We have one of the best programs in C-USA, rebuilt over 5 years (finally). We have one of the highest APRs in C-USA as well, with Rice only being well above the rest of the curve. We are moving forward. O'Leary has built the program we have. And he's made it about the student-athlete.

That's why I moved from a small-time booster (<$100) to a much larger booster (>$1K). I can appreciate what O'Leary is doing off-the-field as much as on.

Frankly, the thing that is PO'ing me lately is not O'Leary, but all of the attendance BS. UCF should be selling out every game. No excuse, period. I live in Maryland and make every home game, went to Buffalo, K-State and Marshall. I go to every bowl game.

Get behind UCF, win or lose. This fair weather BS only prevents us from getting recruits. The fans do far, far more damage when they leave when UCF is 2-3 TDs down than anything O'Leary does. Remember, it says something to the recruits when the fans aren't behind the team.

I've seen people miss too many comebacks by UCF to really even give anyone a pass on this. People need to be at the games. Until then, I think the criticisms of O'Leary are a joke. The fanbase involvement is the problem before even looking at O'Leary.

The UCFAA is doing everything to lately to make the tickets very affordable, and it doesn't make any difference. It's absolutely pathetic.

This year looks like the tide is turning in favor of O'Leary's overall impact on the football program. Yeah, UCF won another championship but more importantly the graduation rates and gpa's of the athletes have greatly improved under O'Leary. I think sometimes we forget that getting a quality education should still be the main goal of a university or college. So winning a championship is just the icing on the cake. While I still question some of the things O'Leary does on the field I think more emphasis has to be placed on the educational impact he has had on his athletes. I sure hope next year is a good year so we can develope some consistency from season to season. I think many people feel UCF should be in the hunt for a championship more times than not. But right now I'm just enjoying this season along with the mens BB team being ranked at #19 in OOC games. Go UCF!

(11-21-2010 05:36 PM)UCFBS Wrote:  Let's see here, when O'Leary took over UCF ...
- We had joined the MAC because of scheduling issues and they were the only invite (other than the Sun Belt)
- Our recruiting had gone to crap as a result (no one wants to play in the mid-west, and Sunshine/Sun Sports exposure was a major deal for the MAC)
- Kruzeck had dipped into "questionable" recruits academically and discipline-wise (O'Leary said "cockroaches")
- O'Leary had a heart attack in the middle of the recruiting season, while trying to manage Minnesota's post-season chances

O'Leary really didn't have his first recruiting season until 2004, and Kruzeck's team had already started the dive into the 17 game losing streak. We had players getting kicked off the team because O'Leary was cleaning house. The 2005 Bowl had UCF's APR in the toilet, not O'Leary's doing at all.

I talked to Orsini when at the Hawaii Bowl. He talked about how he needed the O'Leary program, not for winning, but how the program is run. That's why we pay O'Leary. For the size of UCF, he's not overpaid. In fact, there are plenty of coaches paid more than him. I really tire of UCF fans not realizing what we have.

We have one of the best programs in C-USA, rebuilt over 5 years (finally). We have one of the highest APRs in C-USA as well, with Rice only being well above the rest of the curve. We are moving forward. O'Leary has built the program we have. And he's made it about the student-athlete.

That's why I moved from a small-time booster (<$100) to a much larger booster (>$1K). I can appreciate what O'Leary is doing off-the-field as much as on.

Frankly, the thing that is PO'ing me lately is not O'Leary, but all of the attendance BS. UCF should be selling out every game. No excuse, period. I live in Maryland and make every home game, went to Buffalo, K-State and Marshall. I go to every bowl game.

Get behind UCF, win or lose. This fair weather BS only prevents us from getting recruits. The fans do far, far more damage when they leave when UCF is 2-3 TDs down than anything O'Leary does. Remember, it says something to the recruits when the fans aren't behind the team.

I've seen people miss too many comebacks by UCF to really even give anyone a pass on this. People need to be at the games. Until then, I think the criticisms of O'Leary are a joke. The fanbase involvement is the problem before even looking at O'Leary.

The UCFAA is doing everything to lately to make the tickets very affordable, and it doesn't make any difference. It's absolutely pathetic.

I agree. You would think that with all the alumni in central florida there would be more of an interest. It's still a great time without spending a fortune. But everthing comes down to marketing and percieved value. They have to find a way to suck them in to the games. Maybe a concert afterwards for only those in attendance. I don't really know but somehow they have to alter the fans habits. Consistency, is a great start so I hope they keep winning.

(11-21-2010 05:36 PM)UCFBS Wrote:  Let's see here, when O'Leary took over UCF ...
- We had joined the MAC because of scheduling issues and they were the only invite (other than the Sun Belt)
- Our recruiting had gone to crap as a result (no one wants to play in the mid-west, and Sunshine/Sun Sports exposure was a major deal for the MAC)
- Kruzeck had dipped into "questionable" recruits academically and discipline-wise (O'Leary said "cockroaches")
- O'Leary had a heart attack in the middle of the recruiting season, while trying to manage Minnesota's post-season chances

O'Leary really didn't have his first recruiting season until 2004, and Kruzeck's team had already started the dive into the 17 game losing streak. We had players getting kicked off the team because O'Leary was cleaning house. The 2005 Bowl had UCF's APR in the toilet, not O'Leary's doing at all.

I talked to Orsini when at the Hawaii Bowl. He talked about how he needed the O'Leary program, not for winning, but how the program is run. That's why we pay O'Leary. For the size of UCF, he's not overpaid. In fact, there are plenty of coaches paid more than him. I really tire of UCF fans not realizing what we have.

We have one of the best programs in C-USA, rebuilt over 5 years (finally). We have one of the highest APRs in C-USA as well, with Rice only being well above the rest of the curve. We are moving forward. O'Leary has built the program we have. And he's made it about the student-athlete.

That's why I moved from a small-time booster (<$100) to a much larger booster (>$1K). I can appreciate what O'Leary is doing off-the-field as much as on.

Frankly, the thing that is PO'ing me lately is not O'Leary, but all of the attendance BS. UCF should be selling out every game. No excuse, period. I live in Maryland and make every home game, went to Buffalo, K-State and Marshall. I go to every bowl game.

Get behind UCF, win or lose. This fair weather BS only prevents us from getting recruits. The fans do far, far more damage when they leave when UCF is 2-3 TDs down than anything O'Leary does. Remember, it says something to the recruits when the fans aren't behind the team.

I've seen people miss too many comebacks by UCF to really even give anyone a pass on this. People need to be at the games. Until then, I think the criticisms of O'Leary are a joke. The fanbase involvement is the problem before even looking at O'Leary.

The UCFAA is doing everything to lately to make the tickets very affordable, and it doesn't make any difference. It's absolutely pathetic.

Come on Bryan, How do you expect a bunch of Floridians raised on the "Big 3" to get behind a school in a non-AQ conference facing non-AQ teams that bring a whole 100 fans to the game who are probably just parents of the players.

If you've noticed, every time we face an AQ school at home, the place is PACKED! Yes, the other team brings more to the game, but also more from UCF and Orlando. Visit just about any other school in the country when they play a non-AQ at home and look at their attendance. Thousands of empty seats.

Add to this the state of our economy and you get what we got. Empty seats. Will AQ be the cure-all? Not immediately. And maybe not for decades. It will definitely boost attendance. But the stadium will expand to 55K, and we will probably have 5K-10K empty seats per game except some sellouts for rivalry or ranked match-ups. Then it will expand to 65K. And we will still be talking empty seats. Until one day, in the not too distant future, there will be a waiting list for season tickets.

Only a certain percentage of students/alum follow sports. A percentage of that follows football. And only so many of those remain in the area. Not to mention, we don't have the bandwagon fans yet like say a Miami or UF has. But we are growing and growing quickly. And once the economy turns back around, there will be a lot of people wishing they owned season tickets.

(12-07-2006 07:53 AM)knightmight Wrote:  "Hi,
>
>I recommend that columnists read this because it could be good column
>fodder. If you don't write of it near term, you'll definitely be
>writing about it when Hitt finally wises up in an estimated 2-3 years
>and cans "Hoodwinker" O'Leary:
>
>New UCF defensive coordinator spent "past 10 seasons" in same position
>at Iowa State. Kyle wrote that he "helped take the defense to new
>heights the past five seasons."
>
>Well, given that "Iowa State's defense was ranked just 102nd in total
>defense in 2006," coupled with the fact that Skladany suffered through
>his first five seasons there, how can you write that he took them to
>"new heights?" That's preposterous!!
>
>So what if, as you wrote, he only had 5 returning starters? That's a
>lame excuse. This is college and once 4 years are up, arrivederci!
>Other teams, such as USF, don't have a problem succeeding with
>underclassmen. After all the Bulls' QB (Grothe) was a highly successful freshman...
>
>Of course, O'Leary also continues to play the "we're still young card."
>After going 0-11 he blamed it on the kids not being his recruits,
>although Kruczek won 5 games with the same team...Then he goes 8-5 and
>he's suddenly a football messiah and no need to contrive youth excuses...
>
>However, after this season's debacle he again falls back on the "we're
>still young," defense. "Hoodwinker" O'Leary should be his nickname!
>
>Oh, BTW: Isn't it funny that the reason UCF is getting Skladany is
>because former Knights, Auburn and Texas defensive mastermind, Gene
>Chizik, took over at Iowa State and ran Skladany out of town...
>
>So, instead of having Chizik as head coach, which is what he
>practically begged for, we get an Iowa State reject who took the
>"Cyclones defense to new heights," with its 102nd-place ranking in total defense...
>
>You don't help the future of UCF's program by writing poppycock and not
>pointing out the obvious about O'Leary, who has paid millions of
>dollars (from boosters) to cancel games against well-known schools, in
>which we would have earned hundreds of thousands for each canceled
>game. So, in total those cancellations cost the program millions. Do
>you think boosters like myself will be inclined to keep giving UCF money, just so they can waste it?
>Fat chance!
>
>UCF's football program is in dire staits. You guys fell for the "bowl story"
>last year. But remember, UCF easily could have had only 1 win (vs.
>Memphis) in 2005. Add that record to the 0-11 and this year's 4-8 and
>you'd have 5-29...
>
>Still, his first two years record of 8-16 definitely didn't merit a
>guaranteed $10M contract, did it?
>
>Funny that his coaching staff earned more than any other in the state. Yup!
>More than the Gators and the Seminoles. For that money they should be
>impact coaches, don't you think? Well, impact coaches don't allow the
>lowest-rated team in the U.S. (Buffalo) to beat you. No sir! Impact
>coaches aren't coaching 0-11 teams, are they? Nope!
>
>To be or not to be bamboozled, that is the question gentlemen? "
>
>
>

Its fun to look back at read what some clowns wrote 4 years ago...as it just exposes them for being total fools that they are.

Old thread resurected but it's amazing how little opinion has changed over GOL. His tenure has definitely been mired in controversy.

I find it amazing that O'leary kept his job. If he didn't know what was going one he was inept. If he new what was going on he was complicit. People that keep bragging on O'Leary are just fools. UCF needs a fresh start in football. This one step forward and two steps back is frustrating at best.

(07-31-2012 01:09 PM)knightmite Wrote:  I find it amazing that O'leary kept his job. If he didn't know what was going one he was inept. If he new what was going on he was complicit. People that keep bragging on O'Leary are just fools. UCF needs a fresh start in football. This one step forward and two steps back is frustrating at best.

Osiri pegged us with an absurd contract buyout. We're still stuck with it.