In all my years of watching WVU's football and basketball teams, this is certainly one of the lowest points. Perhaps not the bottom but close to it. I remember the Cignetti years and all those painful losses. I watched the Sonny Moran and Joedy Gardner years. We are in the Big 12 now and the competition is much stiffer than that which Cignetti faced or Moran and Gardner faced, but we are spending so much more today and our programs are in a very different era. But when watching WVU football, I feel a return to the Cignetti era. Poor coaching, inadequate talent, mistake filled games and loss after loss. And while Huggs is certainly a HOF'er and deserving of that status, the program seems to be in a downward spiral, finishing last in the Big 12 last year winning just 4 conference games and not expected to be much better this year (although anything can happen).
In football, with Nehlen and RRod, we did not always have the best talent but we had confidence that we were well coached and would overachieve. But with Stew (and I loved Stew as a person and a position coach and as a true West Virginian), Holgs and now Brown, we have not been well coached. We are not overachieving. Particularly with Brown. I think I read that he has won just 4 P5 games against teams that ended the year with a winning record. Ugh. And Huggs has struggled adapting to the changes in basketball and he will never make any coaching changes that might help the program. And it is the fans that suffer.
I have nothing against Brown. I like him. But he is failing. I love Huggs. He loves the university and the state and he really, really wants us to be proud of our teams. But finishing dead last, last year, and not a lot of optimism going into this year is deeply troubling. I think Brown needs to go. And we will have to suffer through a rebuilding effort that may happen quickly or may take several years. As for basketball, Huggs has earned the right to determine his coaching destiny. My fervent hope is that he rights the ship and goes out under his terms and on a huge winning note. But we are at a cross-roads. And not just Brown, but the AD. Our athletic programs are simply not very good.
Brown's buyout will be huge (I read around $16M after this season). And if he is asked to leave, I have no idea how many players and recruits leave as well. The portal is hell. But as we have seen with other programs, the portal can also be a blessing in helping teams to turn it around very quickly. But I have zero confidence in Lyons to pick our next football coach. And can we come up with the money, not only to pay Brown, but to hire a very good coach? The fact is, that as much as this is going to cost, it is cheap when compared to the lost revenue if we don't fix the program. Gee is facing an enormous challenge. We really, really need him to lead and make the right decisions.
Miracles happen and maybe Brown can somehow turn it around this year but I just do not see that happening. We are simply too unbuttoned and lacking in talent, imo.
In football, with Nehlen and RRod, we did not always have the best talent but we had confidence that we were well coached and would overachieve. But with Stew (and I loved Stew as a person and a position coach and as a true West Virginian), Holgs and now Brown, we have not been well coached. We are not overachieving. Particularly with Brown. I think I read that he has won just 4 P5 games against teams that ended the year with a winning record. Ugh. And Huggs has struggled adapting to the changes in basketball and he will never make any coaching changes that might help the program. And it is the fans that suffer.
I have nothing against Brown. I like him. But he is failing. I love Huggs. He loves the university and the state and he really, really wants us to be proud of our teams. But finishing dead last, last year, and not a lot of optimism going into this year is deeply troubling. I think Brown needs to go. And we will have to suffer through a rebuilding effort that may happen quickly or may take several years. As for basketball, Huggs has earned the right to determine his coaching destiny. My fervent hope is that he rights the ship and goes out under his terms and on a huge winning note. But we are at a cross-roads. And not just Brown, but the AD. Our athletic programs are simply not very good.
Brown's buyout will be huge (I read around $16M after this season). And if he is asked to leave, I have no idea how many players and recruits leave as well. The portal is hell. But as we have seen with other programs, the portal can also be a blessing in helping teams to turn it around very quickly. But I have zero confidence in Lyons to pick our next football coach. And can we come up with the money, not only to pay Brown, but to hire a very good coach? The fact is, that as much as this is going to cost, it is cheap when compared to the lost revenue if we don't fix the program. Gee is facing an enormous challenge. We really, really need him to lead and make the right decisions.
Miracles happen and maybe Brown can somehow turn it around this year but I just do not see that happening. We are simply too unbuttoned and lacking in talent, imo.
