Alright, I'm in.
And what did Charlie Strong actually win? One BCS game and not once ever being in the discussion for a national championship?! THAT is what you feel UT should aspire to? 18th in the nation, 21st in the nation, unranked and unranked (starting at 2013 and moving back). THAT is the "glory" you envision for Texas?! lol. No thank you.
Charlie won.
Charlie won.
Charlie...won.
Hopefully that sunk in so we don't have to repeat that. He won one BCS game. That was more than Texas won under Mack during that timeframe. You conveniently ignore the University he helped get that BCS win. That would be Louisville.
Again, Louisville.
Louisville is a lot of things but in Texas' league isn't one of them. When comparing the two programs, it's not even close. Access to recruits, financing, history and so forth, Texas demolishes Louisville in every single category. This isn't to slight Louisville who I have no ill feelings towards. This is simply the truth. Nobody envisions ranking 18th or 21st as the long term goal for Texas. Those were the long term goals for Louisville. Again, Louisville. Charlie isn't coaching Louisville anymore. He's coaching Texas, not that I should have to tell you why that's important. But because this rhetoric you're spewing is getting rather old, I'll do it anyways. Charlie has luxuries he never had with Louisville. A desolate program that he turned into a BCS contender. A school in Louisville that was stealing Florida recruits like it was Star Lord in a General Dollar in Cabo. He made that team a BCS contender. A feat that National Championship winning coach (Mack Brown) couldn't do with Texas in that same period. Moving on.
My point is that no championship team has had a recruiting class with seven unfilled spots at any time within a decade of winning a championship. You aren't recruiting at an elite level if you can't fill a recruiting class and you can't finish better than about 18th in the nation if you don't have an elite recruiting class. Attrition is to be expected, but name one program that has had the level of attrition of UT prior to the season even starting since Charlie Strong took over. Charlie Strong set a record for recruiting failure at UT if we use the metric of getting signed players on campus. He simply is not doing a good job of recruiting players who can play when it comes to game day.
To start, I'd love to see the research that states no team has ever had that many unfilled spots at any time within a decade of winning a championship. In addition, I'd love to see the research that states the importance of that "fact". Who says you aren't recruiting at an elite level if you aren't filling a recruiting class? You? What credentials do you have to make that call? Have you coached dozens of young men into the NFL? Have you coached a team to a BCS game? What evidence do you have that an unfulfilled class won't land you higher than 18th in the Nation? I'm sure even the likes of Billy Beane would like to see those metrics.
You have officially stated your very first fact in the entirety of this post to this point, attrition is to be expected. Unfortunately you took a steamer on that fact when you doubted the necessity of the level of attrition we've seen to this point. I'm not sure where you live. If it's Oz, Narnia or The Shire after Frodo and Sam made the courageous journey to Mordor to destroy the ring of power. Whatever beautiful and majestic place you live in, it's clearly made you blind to the state of the Texas program prior to being taken over by Coach Strong. Let me describe it you in it's simplest form, embarrassing. Our program was embarrassing. The student athletes were practically running the show. There was no effort on the field. We missed passes, blocks, tackles and holes like we were boycotting the sport. Between the players getting picked up for crimes, coaches getting punished for fraternizing with students and Mack dumping coaches like he was Brett Michaels on VH1, our program had no present and most certainly had no future. We were in a state of disarray and mass changes were necessary.
This isn't simply about attrition. It's about a changing of the guard. It's about trying to get a Botanic Garden out of field of weeds. I'm sure SHA can emphasize a little more on this.
We aren't winning a conference any time soon, let alone dreaming of a national championship as long as the mediocrity that exemplifies the program from the top on down continues to define the program. Patterson doesn't believe in excellence. Who should any athlete believe in excellence? Bellmont is bloated, inefficient, stuffed with mediocrity and Patterson lacks the ability to change any of that (he does, however, understand sending his wife on a shopping boondoggle to Dubai is one of the highest priorities of the program, lol). A program that embraces mediocrity, bloat and hypocrisy does not deliver excellence. Nothing about UT athletics exemplifies excellence, save and except maybe volleyball, swimming and golf. Mediocrity defines UT athletics.
Well this was really only a matter of time wasn't it? Was it Jimmy Johnson/Barry Switzer who won those Super Bowls in the 90's or was it Jerry Jones? Don't answer, that was rhetorical. Deloss Dodds never won Texas a National Championship. Mack Brown on the other hand did. Patterson will never win a National Championship for Texas but Charlie Strong might. Most here won't disagree with your opinions on Patterson to date. But using that as fuel as to why Texas can't find success makes about as much sense as the viewership behind "Keeping Up With the Kardashians."
Whatever Crystal Ball you're working with, myself and every other poster here would love to have a turn. I'm sure there's a HornSports Power Ball we'd like to put together. If not, your assumptions that Texas won't win a National Championship or even a Conference Championship, are as legitimate as an Ashley Madison account. The future is uncertain, most would agree. One thing that is for certain is that Charlie Strong is getting the program in line with the principles on which it flourished for a very long time.
I do understand how recruiting works. A team that starts a season with only 78 scholarship players isn't recruiting well. End of story. Spin 78 scholarship athletes into some version of great success in your own mind, but the fact is that program is wallowing in mediocrity from the AD on down to the underpaid quality control staff. Any program that has only 78 scholarship players even before it has to deal with injuries is a program in trouble. Charlie Strong simply has not righted the ship at UT yet. This year will be as mediocre as last year.
It's clear to see how your mind was working if you thought the ship would be righted in a single season. Rome wasn't built in a day. But a dead horse was beaten in one.
The program is not in good shape. Quite deluding yourself. Until people are willing to admit painful truths, nothing will change. Not a single credentialed writer is willing to ask Steve Patterson uncomfortable questions - what are the next budget cuts, at what level will the program be fiscally sound, will you release the financials we can get via Open Records Act requests if you don't,what metrics does Patterson believe he should be held accountable to in order for Fences as well as the alumni to decide if he should be retained? No one dares ask uncomfortable questions, because too many people are comfortable with the status quo and they know if they rock the boat Patterson will lash out against them because Patterson doesn't want to be bothered with aspiring to excellence. hell, he doesn't want to be held accountable at all. And that isn't leadership, which is why Vegas has the program looking at 6-6 and willing to take the other side of any amount of money anyone wants to bet if anyone disagrees. UT football is mediocre because too many people are absolutely ok with mediocrity. And if you don't believe that, the bookies in Vegas are willing to take your money. It is frustrating as hell that UT is in this situation, but the program is and will be for a while.
I defer to everything I've already stated about your use of Patterson as an excuse for Strong's ability to lead and alter this program. Simply put, you spend entirely too much time worrying about how the money in Bellmont is being used to focus on the intricacies of this rebuilding process. If you want your thoughts to be respected, come forth with a respectable thought. Your loathing of the AD has nothing to do with the efforts of Strong and his crew to turn our program around. What we have now is a group of "78" men who are ready to go to war for their coach. Who are ready to sweat, bleed and grind for their coach. And it's taken time to get there. And there is still work to be done. But the tide is changing in Austin. You can either swim with it or get left behind.
