https://www.toledoblade.com/sports/ut/20...0191210136

(12-10-2019 04:57 PM)SylvaniaRocket Wrote:  https://www.toledoblade.com/sports/ut/20...0191210136

We’ll see...

(12-10-2019 05:28 PM)RangerRocket Wrote:  

(12-10-2019 04:57 PM)SylvaniaRocket Wrote:  https://www.toledoblade.com/sports/ut/20...0191210136

We’ll see...

Briggs left out that Candle is in over his head. Maybe we get lucky with some new coaches.

Fiction: Toledo quit this season.

I asked Candle if he lost the team at the end of the year, and, as expected, it did not go over well.

“I’m not even going to answer that,” he said. “That’s crazy. Did we lose the team? No, we didn’t lose the team.”

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How can Candle sit there and say that's a crazy question?? That upsets me. Does he not realize the reality of what happened this season? It ended on the worst note imaginable, a 49-7 league loss to CMU, after all the other horrific losses. Certainly a valid question from Briggs, IMO.

(12-10-2019 06:08 PM)inductchuck16 Wrote:  Fiction: Toledo quit this season.

I asked Candle if he lost the team at the end of the year, and, as expected, it did not go over well.

“I’m not even going to answer that,” he said. “That’s crazy. Did we lose the team? No, we didn’t lose the team.”

========
How can Candle sit there and say that's a crazy question?? That upsets me. Does he not realize the reality of what happened this season? It ended on the worst note imaginable, a 49-7 league loss to CMU, after all the other horrific losses. Certainly a valid question from Briggs, IMO.

Because head coaches, like corporate CEOs, almost universally have the shared trait of an ego much larger than most can fathom, who believe they are infallible and solely responsible for the successes (but not the failures) of their organizations.

The one exception to that is if the come under investigation. Then their self-assessment inevitably becomes one of total and complete incompetence, where they couldn't possibly be expected to have the slightest idea about how to deal with <insert scandal of your choice>. (Reference, Meyer, Tressel, Paterno, Pitino for just a few examples.)

(12-10-2019 06:57 PM)northcoastRocket Wrote:  

(12-10-2019 06:08 PM)inductchuck16 Wrote:  Fiction: Toledo quit this season.

I asked Candle if he lost the team at the end of the year, and, as expected, it did not go over well.

“I’m not even going to answer that,” he said. “That’s crazy. Did we lose the team? No, we didn’t lose the team.”

========
How can Candle sit there and say that's a crazy question?? That upsets me. Does he not realize the reality of what happened this season? It ended on the worst note imaginable, a 49-7 league loss to CMU, after all the other horrific losses. Certainly a valid question from Briggs, IMO.

Because head coaches, like corporate CEOs, almost universally have the shared trait of an ego much larger than most can fathom, who believe they are infallible and solely responsible for the successes (but not the failures) of their organizations.

The one exception to that is if the come under investigation. Then their self-assessment inevitably becomes one of total and complete incompetence, where they couldn't possibly be expected to have the slightest idea about how to deal with <insert scandal of your choice>. (Reference, Meyer, Tressel, Paterno, Pitino for just a few examples.)

Egos or blinders, I don't know if they're the same thing or not but certainly one of those things. Of course he lost the team but who on the team can actually tell the coach, "you lost the team?"

Well, if it wasn't he "lost the team," then what else is left but his skill set? That's worse. You can get back loyalties. Fixing stupid is more difficult.

So many questions left unasked by that article. A fluff excuse piece for our crappy, underperforming season.

Watching this year was the definition of insanity. Same stuff week to week, but expecting a different result. Predictable O and D, penalties, fumbles, zero ability to stop a pee-wee team on 3rd down. After the BYU game, did our D get another turnover? I'd add lack of development at the qb position. Lack of speed in the WR corps which didn't allow us to push the ball down field. Its been more than 5 years without punishing LB's plugging holes and it is getting old.

At the end of the season the team just had no fire and looked every bit like they didn't want to be there. Coach may say he didn't lose the team, but the eye test says something was going on. CMU wanted us bad and we just laid down. Stuff that was supposed to be fixed after the BG game, never materialized.

How about multiple #1 recruiting classes, not translating into the field. Has that MAC championship been turned into further success? EMU and Kent played their hearts out against us with multiple zero star recruits. Its amazing we got 6 wins when you look at how close we were in some of those victories.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

(12-10-2019 06:08 PM)inductchuck16 Wrote:  Fiction: Toledo quit this season.

I asked Candle if he lost the team at the end of the year, and, as expected, it did not go over well.

“I’m not even going to answer that,” he said. “That’s crazy. Did we lose the team? No, we didn’t lose the team.”

========
How can Candle sit there and say that's a crazy question?? That upsets me. Does he not realize the reality of what happened this season? It ended on the worst note imaginable, a 49-7 league loss to CMU, after all the other horrific losses. Certainly a valid question from Briggs, IMO.

I don’t know what happened this year?????? It was a nightmare. It seemed as though we were going along so well. Then we just completely fell apart.
And as the season went on, we just could not compete with any one. Even the last two games we won we looked like crap. I really hope it was the coaches that left that were the problem. Kind of hard to believe it was the talent on the field.

I think it's fair to ask the question as to whether or not he "lost the team" - but the term may not be understood by the coach. I do think it's fair to say the team was not playing with much passion down the stretch. Subjective to say that, but it certainly "felt" that way to many.

I would have felt encouraged if Candle had responded by saying something along the lines of "we all failed. As coaches we didn't have our team prepared to play, and as players - there were a number of areas where we did not execute - and we have a plan on how to correct that for next year. We have started that process and it will continue on until we get to the point where we are performing at a level that is expected to once again be the champions of this league"

Once you accept the poor performance, then you can put yourself in a position to move forward. I get concerned that he does not know how to do that - or may be unwilling to accept an evaluation that he lead a team that performed well below expectations. As much as it seemed a tired trope under Campbell - "trusting in the process" indicates you have a plan, you've communicated the plan, and everyone knows what is expected. It works.

My concern is that his response was defensive - and not very enlightening. He gathered his thoughts about the same way he managed time on the clock in a crucial loss. First he states "I'm not even going to answer that" - and then he goes ahead and provides an answer. And not a very good one at that. He acts as if the question has no reason to be asked - yet I would venture to say the majority of knowledgeable Rocket fans "felt" like the team had given up in the second half of the season. We can only guess as to what is going on.


Edit: After finally being able to read the article instead of just the one snippet provided on this thread, I would say that overall, I was happy with the rest of the responses Candle provided in that interview. Self-reflection is good. That's a good sign.

(12-10-2019 06:57 PM)northcoastRocket Wrote:  

(12-10-2019 06:08 PM)inductchuck16 Wrote:  Fiction: Toledo quit this season.

I asked Candle if he lost the team at the end of the year, and, as expected, it did not go over well.

“I’m not even going to answer that,” he said. “That’s crazy. Did we lose the team? No, we didn’t lose the team.”

========
How can Candle sit there and say that's a crazy question?? That upsets me. Does he not realize the reality of what happened this season? It ended on the worst note imaginable, a 49-7 league loss to CMU, after all the other horrific losses. Certainly a valid question from Briggs, IMO.

Because head coaches, like corporate CEOs, almost universally have the shared trait of an ego much larger than most can fathom, who believe they are infallible and solely responsible for the successes (but not the failures) of their organizations.

The one exception to that is if the come under investigation. Then their self-assessment inevitably becomes one of total and complete incompetence, where they couldn't possibly be expected to have the slightest idea about how to deal with <insert scandal of your choice>. (Reference, Meyer, Tressel, Paterno, Pitino for just a few examples.)

There is NO WAY I will ever put Jason Candle in the same category as the folks you mention above. They have serious character/cheating/lying/etc. flaws. JC is no way in that place. He is learning to be a D1 HC on our time. Im guessing he is learning a whole lot through this process, most of which he probably had not been directly responsible for in the past.

Lets hope we recover on the recruiting trail, hire good, fresh coaches and have a good winter to get the Rocket FB program back on track.