So....what's changed?

[Gatorbull325]

What has changed is the defense. They shut down Temple for the 1st half. I think BJM is beyond underappreciated. Oh yea, Charlie is going nowhere, so lets just focus our Jedi mind power on Gilbert leaving the team one way or the other. I am curious to see if we should give Shaun King a shot. He has been an offensive position coach for two different coaches. Hell he probably could make a fusion of both offenses based on the gulf coast and Gilbert's veer and shoot. 

[Ghostbuster]

Before I didn't think firing the guy was a good idea because his record was decent enough and he was only in year two.  I still feel the win loss record is not a reason to fire (even if we lose out) but other reasons may be good enough...

1) So I admit this is kinda lame to just go with what others say.... but the Daily stampede guys on Twitter were calling for Charlie to be let go right after the last game.  Those guys know more about football than me so I figure it's reason enough to consider.

2) The "process" has been troubling to me for a while, and the Temple game really emphasized it.

-Conservative play calling by not using timeouts at end of first half to try and score.

-Special teams have been consistently bad, and really hurt again.  Supposedly they plagued Charlie at Texas too so maybe it's something his guys can't teach. 

-Questionable QB usage.  Previous week we alternated backup QBs in the first half, which had to mess with the players' rhythms (not just the QBs, but the receivers).  Then against Temple we kept in a beat up QB who didn't look 100% and asked him to run a lot of option plays and get beat up even further.  This is just dumb and a misuse of talent to me.

-No noticeable creative adjustments.  Where are the trick plays?  Temple called *two* onside kicks against us.  When will we do something to spark the offense that isn't a HB dive on 4th down?

-What has Strong done to show he deserves what I assume will be a high salary for our conference?  He had a chance last year and didn't get it done.  (Going back to Louisville, he couldn't beat UCF with Bridgewater and he obviously did bad at Texas.  When does it become a pattern?) This year I feel is more of a rebuild so I give leeway on wins/losses, but *still* where are the sparks of greatness that give hope of the future?  Where's the story of some kid Charlie found and converted to a different position where he's flourishing?  If those stories are out there someone needs to tell ESPN so they can stop running with the stories about Blake's wife and kid.  Yes Charlie got the QB here but the former number one rated pocket passer somehow isn't thriving in an offense built for running QBs....

So yeah all those things are adding up making me reconsider whether I want the teams in the future to follow this mold taking shape.

[USFBulls727]

7 hours ago, NewEnglandBull said:

Don’t know if the outright fire CCS has increased all that much but about 99.9% want a change in OC and ST coach. I think the large consensus is if CCS is not willing to fire these guys and go with a new offensive strategy THEN he should be let go. 

I guess the same question can be applied to Gilbert. What's new? Is it all on him now, and not the crappy OL? Looks to me like it's the same as it ever was. Btw, I agree with you that CCS will probably have to make the changes you mentioned to buy himself a little more time...

[USFBulls727]

3 minutes ago, brybull1970 said:

Like only a few others you were able to objectively assess the team beyond the box score. At 5-0 I saw this coming and was laughed at, literally. Now those same individuals have the same look on their face as HuffPo liberals on election night in 2016.

I also thought we looked mostly like garbage through the first 7 games, and we've basically looked the same through the last 4. The competition has just been better. I just find it odd that the folks who mocked the "Fire Everybody" crowd are now kind of joining them, even though nothing has changed. All the excuses that were being made before could still be made though the Temple game, but they've ditched that and are on board for firing people. Maybe it's the Mob Mentality as someone mentioned, maybe they were in denial and are starting to see the light, maybe it's because they learned of the cheap buyout, or maybe they just have a large enough sample size now. To me, it looks quite risky to pay Charlie $2.5 Mil next year rather than buying him out for next to nothing.

[TheAccountant]

I still am not on the fire CCS bandwagon yet. I think it is too early to fire him and I think firing him sends a bad message to every other potential coach, and we would struggle to get a half decent replacement.  

I do think that MK needs to have a serious conversation with CCS and tell him that if things don't change and this team doesn't make strides this offseason and come out firing next year, he is going to be gone by the end of the season. Maybe this will light a fire under his ***.

IMO CCS is a stubborn old man that doesn't want to adapt. He wants to play conservative and he wants to use the same staff he used at texas. And we all know how his time at texas went. So is CCS just a terrible coach or is he terrible at hiring staff? This year reminds me the CWT offense before he started letting QF do his thing. This time though, the entire offense is QF. Right now, it is handcuffed and needs to be set free. We have SO much talent on that side of the ball, but are not utilizing it at all. GILBERT NEEDS TO BE GONE!

As far as defense, I think that the first half of the temple game showed what we could be. I think that inexperience and lack of focus has plagued that side of the ball all season. If we can get some size, experience, and proper focus coming into next season, I think the defense will be ranked in the mid 50's rather than the high 100's like this year. 

Special teams is a joke and the coach (name is slipping my memory) also needs to be gone. 

[Orlando Bull]

10 hours ago, The Sheriff said:

Gilbert isn’t the problem. However the mob mentality that rules society presently would rather fire an OC that has been extremely successful in his tenure here minus one or two outings vice placing blame where blame is due.

Our defense sucks (minus this past week). Our special teams just aren’t special. If Strong is a heralded DC, his time has come and gone based on the season long performances we’ve witnessed the last two seasons. Furthermore, he doesn’t have the jugular mentality that Leavitt and Taggart possess.

Most of our players come from hardened backgrounds - kill or be killed. When you have a team on the ropes and you don’t go full John Kreese on them, you’re undermining the very premise that these kids thrive on. Run the **** score up and worry later about the implications. 

All of that is VERY true. I have taken up for these coaches because it appeared as though the intent was to win the time of possession game and keep the defense off of the field as much as possible. Losing 2 DTs and a CB to the NFL and Auggie being gone certainly hasn't helped.

But... Knowing all of that, a coach has a few options... Continue to try to win TOP, or, try to outscore your opponents. The back breaker where BB fumbled for a temple TD is a shining example of why Gilbert needs to go. Everything he does is the "obvious" move. We were trying to run the clock out the whole second half. He still continues to run up the middle on  first down. Prior to our last 2 drives, we ran on first down 12 out of 14 drives. Then, we get the ball with less than a minute? And, of course you have to pass... Here you go Blake... We haven't let you get in rhythm all day, but, go out there and make a miracle kiddo!

I am not really in favor of firing CCS yet, but, a change at OC needs to happen. Honestly, this may not be firing CSG, maybe it's more of a come to Jesus meeting with the AD and being mandated to be more aggressive at all levels.

You could say the same for the defense. Temple's QB is very good on short routes, slants, etc. I haven't seen him throw very many accurate deep balls though. Be aggressive. Make him beat you with the throw that's not in his wheelhouse. Don't continue to give him the 7-yard routes. 3rd and 6, we're giving an 8-yard cushion. By contrast, Temple was playing full press on our guys. I conceptually felt that before this game, but, I really watched this time to confirm it. Our DBs are playing too soft. I think Hampton, Wilkins, and Hoggins are pretty good players, but, the coaches aren't putting them in a good position to show that.

The reality is that either CCS thinks this job is beneath him, he doesn't care, he has too much faith in his coordinators, or, he's just not a good coach. I think it's the 3rd option in this case, but, a fire needs to be lit. We also need to learn a lesson with coaching hires. Go after a young guy who hasn't had a chance and you get a different level of committment. CCS is making his money, probably feels like the program lack-luster compared to UF, UL, UT. I think he CAN be great for us, but, I am not sure if it's going to work out that way.

[Bulls On Parade]

If Strong didnt like all the conservative play calling he would have told Gilbert to open it up at this point.

I really don't see Strong making this big drastic change at OC will make a big difference, we could have the greatest OC and Strong would make sure we are very conservative in what is called.

I was happy we were 7-0 but saw a team that was not good.

Unless Strong is willing to pull a XCWT and open up the offense he needs to go.

 

 

 

 

[ForestBull]

3 hours ago, USFBulls727 said:

I also thought we looked mostly like garbage through the first 7 games, and we've basically looked the same through the last 4. The competition has just been better. I just find it odd that the folks who mocked the "Fire Everybody" crowd are now kind of joining them, even though nothing has changed. All the excuses that were being made before could still be made though the Temple game, but they've ditched that and are on board for firing people. Maybe it's the Mob Mentality as someone mentioned, maybe they were in denial and are starting to see the light, maybe it's because they learned of the cheap buyout, or maybe they just have a large enough sample size now. To me, it looks quite risky to pay Charlie $2.5 Mil next year rather than buying him out for next to nothing.

Yeah because coaches would be lining up at the door if we fired an undefeated coach for performance issues...

[CousinRicky]

What is the buyout if we keep him a 3rd year?

[Bull94]

19 minutes ago, CousinRicky said:

What is the buyout if we keep him a 3rd year?

I believe we will owe him 20 weeks of his base salary. I think next years base salary is $2.0M so roughly $770K??

assistants pool goes up to $3.4M next year. this year it was $2.25M

the buyout won't bankrupt us as  long as we don't do something stupid like extending his contract with more guaranteed buyout.