Former AAC Coaches

[Apis Bull]

Am I the only one that hopes that Matt Rhule, Tom Herman, Justin Fuente, and Willie Taggart fail miserably?  I'm appreciative of what xCWT has done for us, but this pisses me off.  The AAC has no chance (we had very little to begin with) of being taken seriously if our good coaches keep leaving.

[Triple B]

1 hour ago, Apis Bull said:

Am I the only one that hopes that Matt Rhule, Tom Herman, Justin Fuente, and Willie Taggart fail miserably?  I'm appreciative of what xCWT has done for us, but this pisses me off.  The AAC has no chance (we had very little to begin with) of being taken seriously if our good coaches keep leaving.

I'm sure you're not alone but I'm not of that thinking. Although I fully understand your reasoning, I'm never going to wish ill on someone wanting to better his position like that and I really don't see this as having any effect on whether the AAC is taken seriously or not. Should always be a good supply of young coaches to step in to those positions to hopefully carry on what the deserters had going. 

[Danm1983]

This may or may not be more schadenfreude than hoping they fail, but I hope they are all moderately successful - just beyond mediocre, maybe good enough to win a division here or there and play in some bowl games, but never to win a conference championship or appear in a playoff at those schools. And this is probably my homer goggles on, but I can take issue more with Herman and Taggart, being that I think Houston and USF are better destinations to begin with over Memphis and Temple, and were those two to stay, they could have helped elevate the AAC by being perennial powerhouses in the East and West. Only after they mire in winning records but never the "next level" of winning, will I hope they realize they could've planted roots and been legends at their previous schools. As much as the AAC isn't considered at the big boys table, who is to say in 5-10 years of double digit wins and domination that one or both wouldn't have cracked the playoff or champ game...or been invited to the big boys table.

[Apis Bull]

USF, UH, Memphis, and Temple all appeared to be programs on the rise.  We seem to have come out okay, but this could set the other three back, Memphis and Temple the most.

[I like GOOOOLD (and green)]

Out of the 4 schools you mentioned, USF has the best foundation to take a hit and still pull through alright.  Memphis is SUPPOSED to be pretty good this year though, so not sure if they are completely set back yet or not.  Honestly, I hope they do well this season because that would be a testament to the (growing) strength/quality of the conference-which benefits all schools except perhaps Navy.  Memphis probably won't feel the real hit until next season when the prior regime's workhorses have moved on.  They might suck this year though, that's why the beginning of CFB season is so exciting-you never know what you really have.  The relative strengths/weaknesses of the teams as a whole but our conference specifically are very fluid year to year.

To be fair, Strong should be able to pull in talent to restock the armory so to speak, but there is a better than 50/50 chance that there is a fall off next season and maybe season after that.  I trust that he's become a better coach after dealing with what I imagine are very difficult conditions over at UT.  With that, his ability to develop talent will be key.  Rhule and Fuente found ways to develop relatively unheralded talent, that's the key to the mid term success of USF.