Football Coaching Discussion

[yoteforever]

Oct 12, 2014 7:51:13 GMT -6 yoteforever said:

Oct 12, 2014 7:12:19 GMT -6 GoYotes said:

I appreciate the perspective provided by both yoteforever and obc. It helps me better understand my frustrations from yesterdays game. The athletic department is in a tough position right now. To be competitive at the FCS level, especially when playing in the MVFC, requires a huge dollar investment in the form of coaches salaries, facilities, etc. But how much do you want to invest in something when a large portion of the Coyote fan base doesn't seem to care.

I believe football game day in Vermillion is a great experience. The University in general has put a lot of effort into improving the game day experience. The band playing throughout the tailgate area and a lot of USD personnel visible and enjoying the experience. Trying to do whatever they can to get Coyote fans, both adult and student, to show up and stay at games. The band does a fantastic job during the game. Media coverage, print, radio and TV, is far improved from where it was a couple of years age. Most importantly, the product on the field is improved, even though the top to bottom quality of the Valley makes it hard to see the improvement. There are a ton of quality young men wearing Coyote red and they are led by a good coaching staff.

Too many of the fans just seem to not care. I ended up with 4 extra tickets to yesterdays game due to some of the people I was going to the game with have some changes outside their control to their plans. I saw some alumni that I knew in the tailgate area, told them the game was sold out and asked them if the wanted to buy the tickets at face value. They declined and were going to take their chances finding tickets at a discount. I didn't want to get stuck with 4 tickets, so I went and stood by the ticket booth and within 2 minutes sold the tickets to some UNI fans.

I hate to even start on the game. The students second half attendance continues to be terrible. The adult section, for being a sellout, was the most apathetic crowd I have been part of in the Dome for the last few years. Way too many never got off their seat and seemed to be more interested in visiting with friends than the game and a large number left at the end of the third quarter and continued to stream out through the fourth quarter.

Despite all the above, I feel we are gradually building momentum and are doing things the right way and to have long-term success is needs to be built the right way. Hopefully having some people showing up yesterday hoping to buy a ticket at the door and finding the sold out sign will build the demand. It is hard to be patient, when you want so much for the program to be successful. I think all the avid Coyote fans need to stay on board with both game attendance and financial commitment. We need to continue to do all that of us individually can to build spread the Coyote brand.

Remember, it is always a good day to be a Coyote.

goyotes, I also think your editorial is excellent. And spot on. I'm a die hard. 7-8 years ago I went to Nielsen and said you have to make this a game day experience. Tailgating has to be ramped up and offered. He rebutted the idea, but thank your Howling Pack Board for agreeing, and now you see what we have for tailgating. People having a lot of fun. But yesterday, that crowd was A P A T H E T I C. It was dismal. Is was asked to sit down when I stood and cheered for 3rd and longs. I to worry about the amount of money being spent when the fan base could care less as a whole. Scares me to death.

I tell ya, I love this program, but I don't think I slept many winks last night. We have one opportunity to make a change with the dollars being invested in the arena, and that's it. If we blow it what we are going to have is 869 fans in a 6000 seat arena watching games. And IF that happens, forget about raising the funds needed to finish the football program off the right way. I'm telling you now that's a bigger issue than most think.

[coyote61]

I'm tired of this team being terribly coached, and I'm tired of Glenn saying that we need more birthdays and that were are a young team. Honestly he said that in year one, and it is no longer an excuse. Our special teams coach was getting ripped all game long by Glenn, and our O coordinator is not worthy of being in Div. I. Our Yotes are no better coached now than they were Glenn's first year. Either blow up the staff and keep Glenn as head cheerleader or keep Joe as the major fundraiser and hire a whole new staff. All of our other fall sports are doing quite well, and I assume the basketball teams will be successful. Time to move on. I am not sorry if this offends anyone.I bleed Coyote red just like everyone else here. Go Yotes!!

[Charlie]

I totally agree with coyotes61. If in year three the same mistakes are still being made as in year one, it is time to look at the coaching staff. Special teams continues to be the biggest struggle. If the special teams coach can't figure out that he needs to put guys on the field that can tackle, he needs to be gone. Hard for our defense to hold all game when the other team starts with ball nearidfield all game because of the Coyotes inability to cover kicks.

[Coyote Fan]

I am actually somewhat surprised today. There is not as much negative backlash to this post as I thought there would be. I just wish this program would get things going and figure out a way to win. I guess the MVFC is just damn tough.

[yoteforever]

Oct 12, 2014 18:02:10 GMT -6 Coyote Fan said:

I am actually somewhat surprised today. There is not as much negative backlash to this post as I thought there would be. I just wish this program would get things going and figure out a way to win. I guess the MVFC is just damn tough.

CF,

The reason there isn't as much backlash is bečause there is śome validity to your post. If you would somehow interject some latitude and objectivity into your posts instead of being as smooth as gravel, you'd get further.

As I stated in the middle of the night post I made after the game giving done historical perspective as I see it, the point I'm trying to make is the absolute ñeed for stability in anÿ sports program that doesn't have the tradition to fall back on, name recognition so to speak. NDSU has tradition, and if they make the wrong hire, it doesn't take as long to recover as it does át USD. You'll admit you wanted Meierkort fired, and deep inside of me I agreed to a certain extent but or different reasons.

But the position I took then is the same as now. A new clock starts ticking on "starting over " with the hire of a new coach. And if you think for one second Coach Glenn won't push for Wes being hired, I think you're wrong. Wes provides "stability" but I do think most posters here would have a ćow if Wes was named HC. This is what I wás trying to wárn you about when Ed was fired and Joe wad hired.

I like reading your analyògy because ÿou do gave a feel for the situation. Just soften your tone and try not to be so polarizing. Fair?

YFE

[Yote 53]

Then is my second worry, and it's far greater than who's our coach today or tomorrow. And that is our investment in the program we are/aren't making for tomorrow. Originally we were spending a few million dollars renovating the Dome, expanding seating, coaching offices that would no longer be embarrassing to show recruits, and several other ammenities that would enhance our program. But those plans have been taken off the board for now, and that's a shame. We needed those plans to come to fruition in order to just keep us at some sort competitive equality. It doesn't matter who's coaching if there are no bullets in the gun. Just to remind you, SDSU is investing nearly $100M for their football future. We aren't close to that. That's what scares me to death.


This really bothers me. Football has been neglected for years and years, decades, at this school and it looks like we're about to take the shaft again. Really, has anybody seen attendance for basketball? Football attendance has actually improved since the move to D1. Yesterday, while frustrating, was also a lot of fun. Did you see the amount of tailgating going on yesterday, and has been going on all season? Football is at least an event. Basketball games are poorly attended and attendance has slipped since moving to D1. But I guess we blew all that money on other sports and now nothing will be left over for football.

Like I said in a post earlier last week, maybe we should have taken that money spent on new uniforms and put it towards something more important. Maybe coach's salaries, then we could afford to pay assistant coaches that are qualified and get the job done.

[wylie]

We need to give Joe some more time. However, I do think that all aspects of recruiting need to be reviewed and perhaps reassigned (which might mean changes among the assistants). Special teams are effort/resilience/recruiting and I think these must improve.

[obc]

Oct 12, 2014 20:17:50 GMT -6 Yote 53 said:

Then is my second worry, and it's far greater than who's our coach today or tomorrow. And that is our investment in the program we are/aren't making for tomorrow. Originally we were spending a few million dollars renovating the Dome, expanding seating, coaching offices that would no longer be embarrassing to show recruits, and several other ammenities that would enhance our program. But those plans have been taken off the board for now, and that's a shame. We needed those plans to come to fruition in order to just keep us at some sort competitive equality. It doesn't matter who's coaching if there are no bullets in the gun. Just to remind you, SDSU is investing nearly $100M for their football future. We aren't close to that. That's what scares me to death.


This really bothers me. Football has been neglected for years and years, decades, at this school and it looks like we're about to take the shaft again. Really, has anybody seen attendance for basketball? Football attendance has actually improved since the move to D1. Yesterday, while frustrating, was also a lot of fun. Did you see the amount of tailgating going on yesterday, and has been going on all season? Football is at least an event. Basketball games are poorly attended and attendance has slipped since moving to D1. But I guess we blew all that money on other sports and now nothing will be left over for football.

Like I said in a post earlier last week, maybe we should have taken that money spent on new uniforms and put it towards something more important. Maybe coach's salaries, then we could afford to pay assistant coaches that are qualified and get the job done.

Great point! How many USD fans/donors found out about those changes and were really put off by them? Can only speak for myself, but I will say it still bothers me. And please do not take that as I do not want and am not excited about a new basketball arena and other upgrades being made. Those will help immensely.

[sdyotefan]

I want the Coyotes to win every game more than anyone. I have attended Coyote sporting events since I was a freshman in 1967. I met Joe Glenn then and he is a class act! He has more passion for the Yotes being successful than all of the rest of us combined! It is frustrating to lose close games and yes special teams need to improve immediately which would help. But remember the teams we're playing in FB have been at the FCS level for years and in most cases are at the top of all FCS teams in the country. And if you didn't know there are 121 FCS football teams in the country! Did some of you really think that transitioning to D1/FCS would be quick and easy and would be as easy as hiring a coach or spending more money? If so I find that amazing and I have some land to sell you. Does anyone else remember as an example that we lost to UNI in 2009 66-7 and we scored first? I believe that the Coyote FB program is definitely headed in the right direction when you look at our overall quality of athletes, competitiveness, etc and a lot of that improvement is thanks to Joe Glenn! Are we there yet--no but I believe the glass is far more half full than half empty!

[yoteforever]

Oct 12, 2014 21:48:48 GMT -6 sdyotefan said:

I want the Coyotes to win every game more than anyone. I have attended Coyote sporting events since I was a freshman in 1967. I met Joe Glenn then and he is a class act! He has more passion for the Yotes being successful than all of the rest of us combined! It is frustrating to lose close games and yes special teams need to improve immediately which would help. But remember the teams we're playing in FB have been at the FCS level for years and in most cases are at the top of all FCS teams in the country. And if you didn't know there are 121 FCS football teams in the country! Did some of you really think that transitioning to D1/FCS would be quick and easy and would be as easy as hiring a coach or spending more money? If so I find that amazing and I have some land to sell you. Does anyone else remember as an example that we lost to UNI in 2009 66-7 and we scored first? I believe that the Coyote FB program is definitely headed in the right direction when you look at our overall quality of athletes, competitiveness, etc and a lot of that improvement is thanks to Joe Glenn! Are we there yet--no but I believe the glass is far more half full than half empty!

Everything you say is true. Joe is more Coyote than Charlie Coyote himself. That alone in public opinion buys him some time,because people feel that he is building this program from the ground up the right way. It would be interesting to see where USD football would be ranked amongst the 121 teams. My guess is we are somewhere around 40, but have no basis for that. It would also be interesting to see what the average length of time all 121 schools have been in FCS. Then you could make a fair comparison. I like the fact that some people are jumpy and wanting to win now....that's good. But you also have to be fair with yourself, and see if those expectations are valid. In closing my thoughts about the current situation, my only real concern is that Joe is done, or close to being done this year. He made a three year commitment to Sayler when he signed on, and this is the end of three. This is a tough job, and I think it has taken it's toll. So if he does step down, you know he's going to endorse Wesley to take the head job, and from the reaction on this board in the past, that won't be acceptable to many. Personally speaking, I think Wesley B. Is as fine a young man as God has put on earth. I know many don't like his play calling, but I don't see it that way. I see more of a talent issue,but that's just my opinion. But regardless, if Joe steps down, and Wes doesn't get the job,this staff is gone, and all continuity that came with it. Once again, we are starting over. And that's been my main issue is we can't keep starting over. We haven't got the tradition or the fan base to do so.

The second thing that scares me is our lack of future commitment to football. That went away when the Arena Project came in too high, so Dome improvements were put on hold or scrapped. That's the scary part people. Again I say, it doesn't matter who the coach is if we don't have the $$$. I say let the year play out, and evaluate then. I to was disappointed Saturday, hell, who wasn't? But then you step back and look at the big picture, we did go toe to toe with one of the preseason favorites, and could have won the game as easily as lost it. Maybe the tide will turn, maybe it won't, but we need another six weeks to find out. We are definitely better than we have even, They pass the eye test. But I will say this...if special teams don't improve or change, and I mean NOW, we could get beat again and again on that alone. In the last 3 years, I can think of 5 games that were lost because of them.

[fightsd]

I'm gonna to put this Meierkort v Glenn issue to rest right now. Joe is a better coach than Ed ever was. Period. It actually makes me sick that people are comparing the two. Sure we can go look at career records, stats, etc. but it didn't take much to rack up a lot of home wins when we were scheduling no-name teams from the NAIA or D-2 for half of our home games, literally about half. Ed was good for about 2 wins against serious teams a year. He would have needed several national championships while he was here to offset his behavior around the football program and in the community, and even then that would be no excuse for the things he was doing and allowing to happen. I'm not going to start in with horror stories about Ed, this isn't the time or place for that, but I will say that he absolutely deserved to be fired. Regardless of his win-loss record. Let's just say if Ed wasn't let go and the things he was up to got out, USD would have been a household name for the wrong reasons. We would have been the laughing stock of the state, conference, FCS, and basically everyone that watches ESPN. The tax fraud thing was the tip of the ice berg. <SIDE NOTE: I saw Chris Lundy (one of the guys that was involved) around campus this week even though he plead guilty to felony charges a couple months ago?> We would have been facing serious NCAA penalties if they caught wind of some of the things he was up to. If you think it's hard recruiting now, have fun watching us recruit with half our scholarships.

Back on track with this post. Joe is doing things the right way. There are no shortcuts to a winning football team. He knows how to build a program. He's been doing it his whole life. No one on this board, including and especially myself, knows how to coach a football team like Joe. He is bringing in the right guys and building stand-up men. The guys that don't want to get on board with the right way of doing this are gotten rid of. That is how great programs are built, not by bringing in the screw ups that can't stay out of jail or have no business being in college then watching and laughing as they embarrass the school and the program.

Should Joe be fired? Absolutely not. Frankly, it's a dumb thing to even say.

Do we need a change at the helm of the program? Well, I guess I just don't know yet. Personally I would like to see him stay, but I definitely see the other sides point of view. But if Joe is leaving, it needs to be on his terms. Let him retire like he wanted to when he left Wyo. Firing him would be a nightmare for the program.

Everyone is so quick to blame the coaching staff for losing records. We need to stop and think that maybe this team has been set up for failure for a long time. No money coming in, no support from other parts of the state, a self proclaimed pathetic fan base, hell the students aren't even interested. Not saying the coaches shouldn't take some of the blame, but the problems are rooted deeper than the coaching staff. Bottom line is, until we gain some support, we will always be landing the second best recruits. We can't go in and offer kids a better college football experience than NDSU or UNI or even state. We just can't afford to offer the best facilities or perks or promise them 10,000 fans a game. Our only recruiting edge is the Joe Glenn factor and we have people calling for his head.

[golfingyote]

This thread is mind...blowing...Fightsd just nailed it. I echo his remarks. This is the premeir FCS conference in the country. You do not flip a switch and all of a sudden go 5-3 or even 4-4 in it. I do agree that there needs to be some coaching changes, but firing Joe Glenn would be insane and make zero sense from a program standpoint. Onward and upward. Another battle next week with Missouri State.

[GoYotes]

We all agree the team and fanbase could use a good shot in the arm. I have a feeling that shot will be delivered on October 25. It happened on September 10, 2011 and it can happen again. Down goes Frazier. Lets make sure we pack the Dome. Let your friends know the game will be a sellout and to get their tickets now before they are released to the general public.

[usdguy99]

Frankly, Joe can stay forever if he wants as long as we start beating the school up north.

[yoteforever]

Oct 13, 2014 11:48:32 GMT -6 GoYotes said:

We all agree the team and fanbase could use a good shot in the arm. I have a feeling that shot will be delivered on October 25. It happened on September 10, 2011 and it can happen again. Down goes Frazier. Lets make sure we pack the Dome. Let your friends know the game will be a sellout and to get their tickets now before they are released to the general public.

Wouldn't that be exciting? My gosh, what a day that would be.