I'd like to revisit two as yet unanswered questions I originally posed:

First: Why does progress to some here only have to be so infinitesimally incremental, when some of us see that it is possible to have some transformative leaps as well?...It's like you're saying, we want to get there, but we don't want to get there yet. Why not? What are you waiting for that's so important?

Second: The DBD and Rhoades (MRM) comparison:

Assume for sake of illustration that DBD is the basketball coach and Rhoades is the football coach (Assume each has the current knowledge and skills of the other in the opposite sport.) Question: what is the difference?

To me, the answer is all about attitude...In my opinion, MRM relishes the challenge and wants them to bring it on. He's not satisfied with moral victories, and he's not afraid to put pressure on himself and his team from the get go and every chance he gets post game interviews. (The "Bring it on" quote after last night's game when asked about LA tech losing to North Texas and probably on a mission to make Rice pay when they come here Saturday night, The "No Excuses" mantra he has repeated several times. The "good things happen when you are more aggressive" that Seth Gearhart said coaches keep "yelling at him" about. The post-game interview quote by Marcus Jackson about his greatly improved defense being characterized by the basketball coaches as going from "horrible to bad, and still needing to be improved.")

DBD as a basketball coach in my opinion would have us continue what has happened in that sport since 1970. We've had some up years, but never got over the hump. Lots of excuses why not over that time.

MRM as a football coach would in my opinion, kick more butt sooner and would be performing better in his year 9 than DBD in his year 9. My guess is that MRM would have had likely multiple Signature Wins by year 9, with a record closer to those posted earlier in this thread of TCU and Boise than the other G5 also-rans used as justification.

MRM appears to have a transformative attitude with little fear, DBD has so far demonstrated an incremental attitude. Can DBD transform himself, and thus transform Rice football is the remaining question in year 9?