By year 2...

[MAUSERWERKE]

I have heard some pundits state that by year 2 you will know if you have the "right guy (coach)." As I recall Saban had bubba in contender form in his second year. He had a mess to deal with, lack of depth etc. The barely able to speak Smart had jawja looking like Natty contenders by year 2. I am sure there are many other examples to cite across the country.

With this in mind, what should we expect next year? I for one will expect a massive leap, expect to compete in every single game and have at least 8 wins. This of course assumes Pruitt is indeed "the right guy".

Thoughts?

As I posted in another thread, I don't think it is helpful to set arbitrary W-L expectations, at least not for next season. The schedule should be easier, but I don't see more than a couple of additional "sure" wins there. We have to face the fact that this is a multi season rebuild, practically from the ground up. If Pruitt can get the team to play competitively in every game, play more physical football and not make stupid mistakes, I will be happy, regardless of the W-L record.

 

[JonGrudensAgent]

I believe we will see progress by year 2.

Maybe not on the field in terms of improved quality of football, or in W/L record, a bowl game, or an enjoyable game day experience culminating in celebrating a win but there will be progress.

Pruitt is already seeing it in practice. Just ask him.

 

[savannahfan]

After year 2,,,,,,, we will be looking at year 3.

 

[McDad]

After year 2,,,,,,, we will be looking at year 3.

Most accurate reply of thread.

 

[bag12day]

Most definitely. The schedule next year is much easier.

How many teams will out talent UT next season outside of Alabama and Georgia...and maybe Florida?

So I'm curious.... what makes next years schedule so much easier? We swap auburn for miss state, so far so good but we get byu replacing utep ( the cougs just beat Wisconsin) and fill out the schedule with the same paid fillers and SECe teams we always have. Is it the home vs away cause I don't see a lot of difference between 18 and 19 other than losing auburn.

 

[Alex10]

Saban? Maybe not as bad as what we are now but they were pretty bad.[/QUOT

I have heard some pundits state that by year 2 you will know if you have the "right guy (coach)." As I recall Saban had bubba in contender form in his second year. He had a mess to deal with, lack of depth etc. The barely able to speak Smart had jawja looking like Natty contenders by year 2. I am sure there are many other examples to cite across the country.

With this in mind, what should we expect next year? I for one will expect a massive leap, expect to compete in every single game and have at least 8 wins. This of course assumes Pruitt is indeed "the right guy".

Thoughts?

yep, I’m one of the ones saying you’ll know or not if you have the right guy by the end of year 2... by that I don’t mean win every game I just mean you will see the marked improvement in the fundamentals and the passion, you will see a team not afraid to compete and giving everyone a good game... of course you’ve got some people on here now saying he needs 8 to 10 years to prove it. At first I honestly thought they were joking, sadly they are not.

 

[turdherder11]

I think we see a slight increase in improvement towards the end of next year. The more players he recruits and the faster they arrive, the quicker and better we will get. I think we will also see improvement with the young DBs towards the end of this season. They are getting better every week. If all of the positions were not improving, I'd be concerned.....that's not the case. As a team, they will improve by the end of year 2 and we will see great improvement year 3, contending year 4-5. It might be quicker with a top 10 signature upset somewhere in year 2/3

 

[savannahfan]

All kitchens aren't the same when you hire a new cook. The place may be well-stocked with fresh produce, meats, spices, and flavoring herbs. Some are not. The chef's experience notwithstanding, it will be the difference between your meal. Whether you will be served a dish rivaling a five star resturant or simple bowl of oatmeal. The oatmeal server isn't going to serve better until his food supply orders are all in place. His kitchen may be miles away in some secluded hideaway in Wyoming. Instead of the 5 star chef kitchen 10 mile drive from a meat plant and produce warehouse. Turnaround time is different but you want to eat right now. Truth be told oatmeal might be preferred but it'll have to serve until better ingredients arrive.

Sure road is presently dark
And you can no longer see
Just let the process throw a spark
And have a little faith in he
This Pruitt fellow even if you cry
Just keep believing or at least try
And have a little faith in he
That Pruiitt fellow, you'll see
Have a little faith in he
Have a little faith in he
Have a little faith in he

Sometimes, even if the "food" looks great, you can still get food poisoning....

 

[savannahfan]

Not only did Saban have Bama in elite position in year two, in his "bad" 6-6 year one, all of Bama's losses were one possession games. They were very competitive in all their losses, and even upset a couple of ranked teams. We havent seen that with Pruitt so far at all. UT has been embarassed in both games against opponents with a pulse. So these comparisons only go so far.

What was the "left over mind set " of the guys Saban inherited?? I don't remember his team being as beat down mentally as the bunch Pruitt has had to deal with.

 

[bigorangecrush89]

What was the "left over mind set " of the guys Saban inherited?? I don't remember his team being as beat down mentally as the bunch Pruitt has had to deal with.

I don't know anything about that. I Didnt follow alabama that close in the mid 2000's. I cant imagine it was that good considering the fiasco that had gone on with their coach being fired.

 

[McDad]

What was the "left over mind set " of the guys Saban inherited?? I don't remember his team being as beat down mentally as the bunch Pruitt has had to deal with.

I would like to know how you, or anyone outside the team, knows unequivocally that CJP inherited a team which was beat down mentally. Is it CJP saying it? The AD? Perhaps our team psychologist? From where are you gleaning such insight?

 

[savannahfan]

I don't know anything about that. I Didnt follow alabama that close in the mid 2000's. I cant imagine it was that good considering the fiasco that had gone on with their coach being fired.

GASGUY in an above post gives the answer to the Bama record just before Saban. ( don't know yet how to get more than one post inserted into what I want to refer too).

 

[rgvol]

I don’t think that’s realistic. Not because Pruitt’s not a good coach(too early to tell), but Saban and Smart had inherited much more favorable circumstances.

Saba didn't if I remember right bama was a train wreck.... Now Kirby is a different story.

 

[SaintLouisVol]

I have no tangible expectations. No wins counts, etc. I just want to see the team improve. I want to see a stronger, tougher, better executing team than this year. Simple eye test evidence that the coaching staff is having an impact on the team. The wins will come if they are doing that.

Eventually, Pruitt will peak. When he does, it will be pretty obvious. We saw it with Dooley and saw it with Jones. Once he does, everybody will have to decide if his best is good enough.

 

[EZE]

So I'm curious.... what makes next years schedule so much easier? We swap auburn for miss state, so far so good but we get byu replacing utep ( the cougs just beat Wisconsin) and fill out the schedule with the same paid fillers and SECe teams we always have. Is it the home vs away cause I don't see a lot of difference between 18 and 19 other than losing auburn.

No, you replace WVa and Grier with BYU.

 

[SaintLouisVol]

So I'm curious.... what makes next years schedule so much easier? We swap auburn for miss state, so far so good but we get byu replacing utep ( the cougs just beat Wisconsin) and fill out the schedule with the same paid fillers and SECe teams we always have. Is it the home vs away cause I don't see a lot of difference between 18 and 19 other than losing auburn.

I'm not too sure how good Wisconsin is this year. Iowa played them to the wire and should have beaten them. They definitely are not as good as they were last year. At least so far.

 

[DiderotsGhost]

They were better off than Tennessee is now. It’s not even close. They went to bowls the 3 years prior to Saban’s arrival.

The worst loss for Alabama in 2006 (Shula’s last year) was by 15 on the road to eventual national champion, Florida.

That and Shula's biggest issue in his last season was an insane number of injuries. Without all those injuries, Shula could've plausibly finished 9-4 and held onto his job for another season.

Shula wasn't a great college coach by any means, but he wasn't a bad coach either. He's the guy who inherited the 'dumpster fire' at Bama; not Saban.

 

[Other_Guy]

Lot better, yes, but enough with these comparisons PLEASE.

Kirby Smart inherited a 10 win team.
Saban is the GOAT. Find a much more comparable comparison.

 

[KnoxRealtorVOL]

I have heard some pundits state that by year 2 you will know if you have the "right guy (coach)." As I recall Saban had bubba in contender form in his second year. He had a mess to deal with, lack of depth etc. The barely able to speak Smart had jawja looking like Natty contenders by year 2. I am sure there are many other examples to cite across the country.

With this in mind, what should we expect next year? I for one will expect a massive leap, expect to compete in every single game and have at least 8 wins. This of course assumes Pruitt is indeed "the right guy".

Thoughts?

Kirby is barely able to speak?

 

[livefaith]

I've said it since this question was posed months ago...

We'll ALL know if Pruitt is "the man" by January 1, 2020. No excuses. Every upper level coach has shown BIG improvements in year 2. Plus... our schedule seems to be a bit easier next year.

"Did you just call me"?

"No ya Moron. He was calling me"!

 

[jakez4ut]

i jsut think our situation is wholly different than both GA's and Bama's when smart and saban got to town. rosters were better, administrations were waayyy more settled, and neither were coming in to programs that were in as bad a shapes as ours is mentally and physically.

i'd also contend that both took over at a time in their respective divisions, where it wasn't quite as daunting. so there were some builts ins on the schedule that made getting to 7 or 8 wins that first year, a little more acheivable, than what we've had to deal with.

we got the best Ole Miss team in 30 years in 2013. we got 2 national championship contenders in OU and Oregon. a conf title contender in WVU. we get to play Auburn, LSU from the West during rebuilds. we are having to put up with the some of the best USCe, Vand and KY teams they've had in YEARS.

they didn't have to deal with as much of that in their first couple years and when they did by year 2, they were doing it with better rosters.

i think year 2 for pruitt will be better than year 1. the schedule does lighten up. some of those teams i mentioned earlier will be losing some of their cache as star players depart. we avoid the big bad national title contender OOC game.

but we will still have roster issues. depth will still be an issue in spots, and next year's team gets younger in spots that matter.

i think if you can get to 7-5 next year, it's probably a success and shows improvement over this year. you can still recruit like crazy, and by 2020, we may have a team that can compete with anyone in the middle of the conf, and at least stand eye to eye with some of hte ones at the top of the conf....and you see if you can get to that 9+ win regular season in 20 and 21.

if things are going in that direction by then, then we should be reloading.

that's the hope anyway. i don't see any quick turnarounds with this particular rebuild, long story short....we're at least a year behind what Bama and GA did in year two, and i don't see us competing for championships in year 3 necessarily either.

 

[HooahVol]

I think we were enough of a dumpster fire it will take 3-4 years at least before we are back to 8+ win seasons. At that point I think success will spawn more success and eventually we are back to getting the type of talent needed to compete for the SEC these days.

 

[Cosmo Kramer]

Schedule is much easier next year. BYU and MS St are much easier games than W Virg and Auburn. MS St loses a ton of their best players. Mizzou loses Lock. If you take him off their team I would imagine they would suck. Vandy loses their QB.

 

[nomads-11]

Next year is proportional to the OL and DL .... and maybe in that order. Right now we can't seem to gain a yard coming out of or going into the end zone. Just can't score.

 

[jakez4ut]

Schedule is much easier next year. BYU and MS St are much easier games than W Virg and Auburn. MS St loses a ton of their best players. Mizzou loses Lock. If you take him off their team I would imagine they would suck. Vandy loses their QB.

and we lose our entire starting DL.

we're still gonn have some roster issues next year. i wouldn't look at some of those other teams losing some of hteir star power as much an opportunity for us to rise up, as much as it may be some of the field falling back to our level.

and i don't mean that in a negative way necessarily, i just don't see our roster being overhauled enough that we're going to be "better" than 3/4 of the team on our schedule next year.

i may just be closer to even, that's all.