USM just needs a win. Doesn't matter against who. Doesn't matter how.

(09-07-2013 09:17 PM)shiftyeagle Wrote:  

(09-07-2013 09:14 PM)Funslinger Wrote:  I wasn't looking for a victory today. I just wanted to see progress. Instead, the team regressed even more. Unless something changes on offense, we will win one game. Thank goodness FIU is on the schedule.

What makes you think we are better than them?

Have you watched them play? I have. If we turn it over less than ten times we beat them.

(09-07-2013 09:10 PM)Funslinger Wrote:  

(09-07-2013 08:17 PM)usmbacker Wrote:  Karma is a b#tch. When your arrogant fans demand a coach with 14 straight winning seasons gets fired and celebrate he was fired in the tasteless manner he was, sooner or later they will get their reward. USM deserves every bit of being the laughing stock of college football.

We had more success after Bower than we ever had with him even counting last season. We were never one victory against a bad UAB team away from a Sugar Bowl under Bower. It's time to move on. Bower was done.

The mistake was indeed made by the adminisration. But it wasn't firing Bower. It was hiring Johnson.

There is stupid and then there is you. Fedora had one really good season. The year before Bower was fired, he won 9 games and a bowl game. He won 7 games and went to a bowl the year he was fired. He went to Nebraska and played a great Nebraska team toe to toe in 1999. He beat an undefeated TCU team and stopped them from going to a BCS bowl. He beat LSU and Georgia. He beat Nebraska. You are one stupid human being.
Bower went undefeated in CUSA play three times. Now USM is the joke of college football. It is dumb@sses like you that deserve it. Enjoy.

(09-07-2013 09:24 PM)EagleRockCafe Wrote:  

(09-07-2013 09:10 PM)Funslinger Wrote:  

(09-07-2013 08:17 PM)usmbacker Wrote:  Karma is a b#tch. When your arrogant fans demand a coach with 14 straight winning seasons gets fired and celebrate he was fired in the tasteless manner he was, sooner or later they will get their reward. USM deserves every bit of being the laughing stock of college football.

We had more success after Bower than we ever had with him even counting last season. We were never one victory against a bad UAB team away from a Sugar Bowl under Bower. It's time to move on. Bower was done.

The mistake was indeed made by the adminisration. But it wasn't firing Bower. It was hiring Johnson.

There is stupid and then there is you. Fedora had one really good season. The year before Bower was fired, he won 9 games and a bowl game. He won 7 games and went to a bowl the year he was fired. He went to Nebraska and played a great Nebraska team toe to toe in 1999. He beat an undefeated TCU team and stopped them from going to a BCS bowl. He beat LSU and Georgia. He beat Nebraska. You are one stupid human being.
Bower went undefeated in CUSA play three times. Now USM is the joke of college football. It is dumb@sses like you that deserve it. Enjoy.

All of those wins you speak of happened before 2005. In Bower's best season we never came close to a Sugar Bowl. Bower was great until the final three seasons. It was obvious to anyone with football knowledge that the game had past him by.

Bower won zero championships in his finally four season. Fedora won one in four seasons with an 8-5 season being wasted by having a horrendous DC. If we had Duggan in 2010, we win 10 or 11 games. Too bad Fedora hadn't learned to let his buddy go one season earlier.

(09-07-2013 08:17 PM)usmbacker Wrote:  Karma is a b#tch. When your arrogant fans demand a coach with 14 straight winning seasons gets fired and celebrate he was fired in the tasteless manner he was, sooner or later they will get their reward. USM deserves every bit of being the laughing stock of college football.

I don't think any serious follower of college football considers USM to be any laughingstock. If anything it's a headscratcher--how a solid program could fall like that.

I obviously don't speak for anyone but myself, but I consider USM's troubles over the past couple of years to be an outlier, nothing at all that characterizes the overall reputation of USM.

(09-07-2013 09:28 PM)Funslinger Wrote:  

(09-07-2013 09:24 PM)EagleRockCafe Wrote:  

(09-07-2013 09:10 PM)Funslinger Wrote:  

(09-07-2013 08:17 PM)usmbacker Wrote:  Karma is a b#tch. When your arrogant fans demand a coach with 14 straight winning seasons gets fired and celebrate he was fired in the tasteless manner he was, sooner or later they will get their reward. USM deserves every bit of being the laughing stock of college football.

We had more success after Bower than we ever had with him even counting last season. We were never one victory against a bad UAB team away from a Sugar Bowl under Bower. It's time to move on. Bower was done.

The mistake was indeed made by the adminisration. But it wasn't firing Bower. It was hiring Johnson.

There is stupid and then there is you. Fedora had one really good season. The year before Bower was fired, he won 9 games and a bowl game. He won 7 games and went to a bowl the year he was fired. He went to Nebraska and played a great Nebraska team toe to toe in 1999. He beat an undefeated TCU team and stopped them from going to a BCS bowl. He beat LSU and Georgia. He beat Nebraska. You are one stupid human being.
Bower went undefeated in CUSA play three times. Now USM is the joke of college football. It is dumb@sses like you that deserve it. Enjoy.

All of those wins you speak of happened before 2005. In Bower's best season we never came close to a Sugar Bowl. Bower was great until the final three seasons. It was obvious to anyone with football knowledge that the game had past him by.

His last three seasons..

7-5...Bowl win
9-5...CUSA East title
7-6...bowl game.

If those are horrible years, then you are totally clueless. Fedora had one season where he excelled. Problem was he recruited like crap because his plan was to leave as soon as he could. He used USM and good for him, his plan worked. Now USM is the worst FBS team in the country. Yea, those last three years under Bower were just terrible.

(09-07-2013 09:21 PM)Funslinger Wrote:  

(09-07-2013 09:17 PM)shiftyeagle Wrote:  

(09-07-2013 09:14 PM)Funslinger Wrote:  I wasn't looking for a victory today. I just wanted to see progress. Instead, the team regressed even more. Unless something changes on offense, we will win one game. Thank goodness FIU is on the schedule.

What makes you think we are better than them?

Have you watched them play? I have. If we turn it over less than ten times we beat them.

Yes I have. I've also watched us.

(09-07-2013 09:36 PM)shiftyeagle Wrote:  

(09-07-2013 09:21 PM)Funslinger Wrote:  

(09-07-2013 09:17 PM)shiftyeagle Wrote:  

(09-07-2013 09:14 PM)Funslinger Wrote:  I wasn't looking for a victory today. I just wanted to see progress. Instead, the team regressed even more. Unless something changes on offense, we will win one game. Thank goodness FIU is on the schedule.

What makes you think we are better than them?

Have you watched them play? I have. If we turn it over less than ten times we beat them.

Yes I have. I've also watched us.

Some people still have some kool aid left I guess. What part of 0-14 with a loss to Texas State does he not get.

(09-07-2013 09:28 PM)Funslinger Wrote:  

(09-07-2013 09:24 PM)EagleRockCafe Wrote:  

(09-07-2013 09:10 PM)Funslinger Wrote:  

(09-07-2013 08:17 PM)usmbacker Wrote:  Karma is a b#tch. When your arrogant fans demand a coach with 14 straight winning seasons gets fired and celebrate he was fired in the tasteless manner he was, sooner or later they will get their reward. USM deserves every bit of being the laughing stock of college football.

We had more success after Bower than we ever had with him even counting last season. We were never one victory against a bad UAB team away from a Sugar Bowl under Bower. It's time to move on. Bower was done.

The mistake was indeed made by the adminisration. But it wasn't firing Bower. It was hiring Johnson.

There is stupid and then there is you. Fedora had one really good season. The year before Bower was fired, he won 9 games and a bowl game. He won 7 games and went to a bowl the year he was fired. He went to Nebraska and played a great Nebraska team toe to toe in 1999. He beat an undefeated TCU team and stopped them from going to a BCS bowl. He beat LSU and Georgia. He beat Nebraska. You are one stupid human being.
Bower went undefeated in CUSA play three times. Now USM is the joke of college football. It is dumb@sses like you that deserve it. Enjoy.

All of those wins you speak of happened before 2005. In Bower's best season we never came close to a Sugar Bowl. Bower was great until the final three seasons. It was obvious to anyone with football knowledge that the game had past him by.

Bower won zero championships in his finally four season. Fedora won one in four seasons with an 8-5 season being wasted by having a horrendous DC. If we had Duggan in 2010, we win 10 or 11 games. Too bad Fedora hadn't learned to let his buddy go one season earlier.

As I said, karma is a b#tch. You earned it.

The bad thing about firing Bower was losing the consistency he guaranteed. He won and STAYED AT USM. He didn't leave for the UNC job. MOST coaches are not that loyal. One good season and they are gone. It's hard to have a consistent program that way.

(09-07-2013 09:50 PM)T_Won1 Wrote:  The bad thing about firing Bower was losing the consistency he guaranteed. He won and STAYED AT USM. He didn't leave for the UNC job. MOST coaches are not that loyal. One good season and they are gone. It's hard to have a consistent program that way.

Believe me the arrogance that got him fired is getting their due now. I still can't believe a poster actually said last year was better than Bower's last three years. That is the stupidity we have had to deal with.

This whole bower/fedora/ej thing is ridiculous.

Hope you guys feel better now....jfc

Can't wait to see the "Fire Monken" thread that will appear in two weeks.

Our OL is not good, AB is...well...just awful, and we do not have a running game b/c of this

Our offense is a mess and it ain't b/c of coaching...we just don't have the talent....yet

Having said this, I believe Monk has to start Mullens next week. The read-option requires mobility which AB doesn't have. 5 int's in 7 quarters of play....just fk

Sink or swim, that decision has to be made IMO

Placing blame is pointless. We have a really bad football team and a staff that has a lot to learn. It's gonna take longer than most thought. It's probably going to get worse before it gets better. We just gotta hang in there.

Talking about coaching hires may be pointless, but I find it more enjoyable than talking about how Bridgeford can't tell the teams apart. More importantly, it's a discussion that has implications for the future.

The mistake wasn't necessarily firing Bower. It was firing Bower and then thinking we'd be able to bring in a new guy from outside the program every 3-5 years and the he'd be worth a damn.

Supposedly we couldn't afford to keep Fedora. Well, we've got $2 million invested in Ellis Johnson and $2 million invested in Monken, plus another couple million invested in their respective staffs. We were drawing 30,000+ pretty consistently during Fedora's tenure. We'll average about half of that this year if we're honest about the numbers.

Fedora started at around $1,700,000 per year at UNC. He was already making close to $1,000,000 per year at USM.

Run the numbers however you want, but I'm going to say that we did have the money to keep Fedora. We- in the person of Richard Giannini- were too scared or lazy or whatever to make it happen.

Letting Fedora go was not the financially sound option. The proof is right in front of us. The financially sound option was to throw a bunch of cash at him and convince him that we were headed for a BCS conference with him leading the parade.

The lesson for the future is that there's no small-time plan for USM that works. We can't shoot for being a middling upper middle mid-major with a nice little AAA baseball-style stadium and a balanced budget. We tried that, and we ended up as a broke program in a terrible conference that hasn't won a game since the Truman administration.

We've got to be all in. It's like that stupid quote that overweight girls post on Facebook: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.” Call me a fat little b*tch, but that's how I feel about USM.

And I have no idea how that became my profile picture. I think it's from the Sun Herald "Mugshots of the Week". I hope I have not been hacked or something.

Your best post. EVER. Tell it, Andre.

(09-08-2013 10:17 AM)AndreWhere Wrote:  Talking about coaching hires may be pointless, but I find it more enjoyable than talking about how Bridgeford can't tell the teams apart. More importantly, it's a discussion that has implications for the future.

The mistake wasn't necessarily firing Bower. It was firing Bower and then thinking we'd be able to bring in a new guy from outside the program every 3-5 years and the he'd be worth a damn.

Supposedly we couldn't afford to keep Fedora. Well, we've got $2 million invested in Ellis Johnson and $2 million invested in Monken, plus another couple million invested in their respective staffs. We were drawing 30,000+ pretty consistently during Fedora's tenure. We'll average about half of that this year if we're honest about the numbers.

Fedora started at around $1,700,000 per year at UNC. He was already making close to $1,000,000 per year at USM.

Run the numbers however you want, but I'm going to say that we did have the money to keep Fedora. We- in the person of Richard Giannini- were too scared or lazy or whatever to make it happen.

Letting Fedora go was not the financially sound option. The proof is right in front of us. The financially sound option was to throw a bunch of cash at him and convince him that we were headed for a BCS conference with him leading the parade.

The lesson for the future is that there's no small-time plan for USM that works. We can't shoot for being a middling upper middle mid-major with a nice little AAA baseball-style stadium and a balanced budget. We tried that, and we ended up as a broke program in a terrible conference that hasn't won a game since the Truman administration.

We've got to be all in. It's like that stupid quote that overweight girls post on Facebook: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.” Call me a fat little b*tch, but that's how I feel about USM.

Fedora hated being at USM. He could not wait to leave for a bigger, BCS type school. USM would have never had enough money to keep him. He had a plan and he worked it. Good for him.

USM football has had a hard time surviving when we had 18 straight winning seasons. Can it survive being possibly the worst FBS team in the country for the second straight year? I honestly don't know the answer to that question. I do know it is going to be tough.

(09-08-2013 10:28 AM)EagleRockCafe Wrote:  

(09-08-2013 10:17 AM)AndreWhere Wrote:  Talking about coaching hires may be pointless, but I find it more enjoyable than talking about how Bridgeford can't tell the teams apart. More importantly, it's a discussion that has implications for the future.

The mistake wasn't necessarily firing Bower. It was firing Bower and then thinking we'd be able to bring in a new guy from outside the program every 3-5 years and the he'd be worth a damn.

Supposedly we couldn't afford to keep Fedora. Well, we've got $2 million invested in Ellis Johnson and $2 million invested in Monken, plus another couple million invested in their respective staffs. We were drawing 30,000+ pretty consistently during Fedora's tenure. We'll average about half of that this year if we're honest about the numbers.

Fedora started at around $1,700,000 per year at UNC. He was already making close to $1,000,000 per year at USM.

Run the numbers however you want, but I'm going to say that we did have the money to keep Fedora. We- in the person of Richard Giannini- were too scared or lazy or whatever to make it happen.

Letting Fedora go was not the financially sound option. The proof is right in front of us. The financially sound option was to throw a bunch of cash at him and convince him that we were headed for a BCS conference with him leading the parade.

The lesson for the future is that there's no small-time plan for USM that works. We can't shoot for being a middling upper middle mid-major with a nice little AAA baseball-style stadium and a balanced budget. We tried that, and we ended up as a broke program in a terrible conference that hasn't won a game since the Truman administration.

We've got to be all in. It's like that stupid quote that overweight girls post on Facebook: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.” Call me a fat little b*tch, but that's how I feel about USM.

Fedora hated being at USM. He could not wait to leave for a bigger, BCS type school. USM would have never had enough money to keep him. He had a plan and he worked it. Good for him.

USM football has had a hard time surviving when we had 18 straight winning seasons. Can it survive being possibly the worst FBS team in the country for the second straight year? I honestly don't know the answer to that question. I do know it is going to be tough.

My take on that, first, is that Fedora spoke more positively about Southern Miss and USM athletics than anyone we've got on the payroll right now. We could use a pep talk from that dude about now.

Nevertheless, maybe Fedora was never a long-term possibility. I do wonder whether he recruited for the long term. But if what you said is true, this is what I'm saying: don't hire a Fedora. Hire a long-term option.

What do I mean by long-term? I mean someone who will stay long enough to move us up a notch conference-wise. Has we kept Fedora just a couple more years, that could have happened. When the guy leaves, you want to have something tangible to show for it.

No one can keep someone forever. Even LSU loses coaches. Les Miles was playing footsie with Michigan a couple of years ago. So it goes... but LSU keeps people long enough to win a national championship. That's their goal, just like our goal has to be to get back to where we were in terms of conference affiliation.

You can't hire someone you can keep forever because he sucks (e.g. Ellis Johnson). You know, we paid less for EJ than we did for Fedora. That should have been an immediate red flag.

But we can't hire someone every 3-5 years. We've got to pay a little more, get candidates who are a little better, and keep people a little longer. We should have kept Fedora a little longer. His work here was not done.