(08-28-2017 02:04 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote: (08-28-2017 01:50 PM)RiceLad15 Wrote: I don't think any of us are "missing" anything. I think most, if not all of us, recognize Bailiff's strengths, which all fall on the quality of his character and how he runs the program (developing quality young men).
However, most of us have grown tired of the weaknesses that Bailiff cannot overcome, all of which have to do with the actual coaching of a football team. At some point, new blood is needed and those strengths cannot compensate for those weaknesses.
No argument from me. I just wonder why 250 former players did not think he should be fired. Are they less knowledgeable than you and me?
I think the prevailing opinion among a lot of former players is that it simply cannot be done within the current constraints, and that it is therefore not fair to hold Bailiff accountable for results when matters beyond his control prevent the attainment of the results that we want. I think the perception is that Bailiff is a decent person who treats players well, and the 250 includes some who played for Bailiff and want to see him retained for that reason, and others who played for other coaches about whom they did not feel that such things could be said, and they want to see Bailiff retained for that reason.
I'm fully aware that there are some significant limitations imposed on Bailiff and the athletic program in general, that are not imposed on other programs. The insistence upon proper student-athletes I fully support. A lot of the other stuff is stupid and/or superfluous and accomplishes nothing useful. Those things should therefore be eliminated. I think Bailiff is a reasonable person who tries to work within the unreasonable constraints placed upon him. Todd Graham was an unreasonable person who refused to work under those constraints, and got a lot of them changed. I think there are a number of people in the administration who would prefer not to have to deal with another such loose cannon. But i don't see those things changing until another unreasonable person takes over. Isn't there an Einstein quote about all progress depending upon unreasonable people? I think this may be an example.
But more to the point of my concern, none of those things caused us to start our first offensive series with a delay of game and two false starts. Nor do they explain any others of a number of obvious preparation and execution errors. And because the number of such errors seems to be pretty consistently alarming for any Bailiff-coached team, I simply do not believe that he is the best person to coach this football team.
To succeed at Rice, I think you have to recruit as well as possible in order to narrow the inevitable talent gap, you have to run contrarian schemes that present preparation problems for opponents in order to bridge that gap, and you have to execute those schemes to perfection in order to win. I thought David did a good job of the first for several years, resulting in the 2012-2014 run. But I don't think he has ever done a good job of the other two pieces.
As for the BOT, I think they feel that they are doing a reasonable job of supporting the program. They are subsidizing it to the tune of $20-plus million a year. And their primary objective is to be good stewards of the endowment. So I don't really think they can be blamed for the kinds of things that are going wrong. As far as investing more, we were all told 4-5 years ago that the EZF was the key to getting better. Well, we built it and the trajectory has been steadily downward ever since it was announced that we were going to do it. Quite frankly, the program has to produce in order to convince the BOT that increased investment is justified. And so far, it hasn't.