I think this is all very interesting. I'm not signaling out anyone in particular so nobody get their panties in a wad but fact is that most fans have no credibility when it comes to discussing the firing of a position coach...IMO. They only do so based on statistical production of a certain group. My point being in most cases talented players are the key to the coaches image.
Coach Elder - Is deemed one of the best ST coaches ever at UT in the eyes of fans (I'm not disagreeing). But, he had Cam, EB, and Kamara taking balls to the house and a punter with one hell of a leg.
Coach Mahoney - I can remember so many people calling for his head early on. Well now his group has more experience and being called one of the best in conference. Now nobody has any issues with OL coach.
Coach Z - Injuries played a big role but most people are glancing over our play style. A) he doesn't call the plays and B) we have a 3 heads running back monster who dominates touches. That's the bottom line. And when we do throw we aren't looking to hit the home run. Our WR production is a bi-product of our recent style of play. Considering we are supposed to change that this year, I would look for this groups production to increase. But make no mistake we will still be feeding our horses in the backfield and calling quick hitters.
Look, not making excuses for the guy but lots of factors are present here. If we ran a spread and threw 75% of plays then he may look like a genius to many. I'm just not sure he can be judged fairly taking everything into account.