We had the opportunity to hire Patterson. We've had multiple opportunities to hire Mike Leach. There have been other great coaches interested. We just didn't hire them.
Can't tell you how many times I've been flamed/ridiculed on here for saying Leach. Wanted him in 2007 w/The Chief as DC, after Stooley and Botch. Funny to see someone refer to him as a great coach.
Firmly behind CJP but will always wonder what might've been...
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Hamilton became the preferred candidate after getting the backing of Buzz Peterson, Pat Summit, and Phil Fulmer.
Love people that put out stuff like âscoring at will on the Bammersâ. Leechâs offense is one based on timing and designed to take advantage of defenses not having enough skilled secondary guys to cover all the receivers on the field. He has done well in the Big12 and Pac12 due to most teams not having dominant D-lines. However their rival brought in Chris Peterson who has been building Washington up like an SEC team, focusing on the D-line. Over the last 5 years Leech has scored 13,10, 17, 14, and 15 on Washington, getting blown out in all 5 games. Bowl games against the Big10 have looked bad too. 2017 against Michigan St they scored 15. 2016 against Minnesota they scored 12.
Leechâs offense would look great against the G5 teams and bottom of the SEC but would get blown up by every team with a good D-line (almost all SEC teams).
Heâs at Wash St, for Godâs sake. The fact theyâre even playing in bowl games is a miracle. How have we looked vs Big Ten teams in bowl games the last few years?
I'm plenty happy with Pruitt but Leach would have been a home run hire Imo. The man is a offensive guru and his personality is infectious. He would have been the second coming of the Spurrier imo.
Patterson wasnât this known homerun in 2009 and some of the points already made mightâve prevented that narrative in the SEC. Sometimes a HC makes one move too many and it doesnât work out...example Dennis Franchione. Guy was a superstar at every stop along the way until Texas A&M. What happened? Not saying Patterson shouldnât have been hired with revisionist hindsight, just not assuming an outcome damn the different situations. Iâve previously pointed out the relationships...both personal and business that has instituted him as a superstar in DFW. Heâs widely beloved and justly so. Heâs also stubborn, hot-tempered and curmudgeonly. Check out any press conference after the Baylor game for evidence. Would have been a different persona for Knoxville media who didnât remember Majors.
Love people that put out stuff like âscoring at will on the Bammersâ. Leechâs offense is one based on timing and designed to take advantage of defenses not having enough skilled secondary guys to cover all the receivers on the field. He has done well in the Big12 and Pac12 due to most teams not having dominant D-lines. However their rival brought in Chris Peterson who has been building Washington up like an SEC team, focusing on the D-line. Over the last 5 years Leech has scored 13,10, 17, 14, and 15 on Washington, getting blown out in all 5 games. Bowl games against the Big10 have looked bad too. 2017 against Michigan St they scored 15. 2016 against Minnesota they scored 12.
Leechâs offense would look great against the G5 teams and bottom of the SEC but would get blown up by every team with a good D-line (almost all SEC teams).
Not stating emphatically either way. Iâd feel safe declaring him a better COACH than all 3. Heâs a better program builder than all 3 I just donât see that program at the top level of the SEC...which Iâm sure youâd agree is all fans paramount goal? As for Franchione, Saban wasnât truthful about his future plans, Urban Meyer...list goes on and on. A little sleaze never cut into success. Main point with Franchione is that because a process works for you at every previous stop doesnât ensure guaranteed success. No way that A&M shouldnât have worked. He was landing recruits, instilling his system and it just went kerplunk. Thatâs my OPINION on what would have happened to Patterson in Knoxville. Most likely way better than what weâve endured but it wouldâve taken the next guy building on it to get us back...imo.I haven't seen your other posts about GP.
I don't think citing Franchione as an example of what potentially could've happened with GP coming to Knoxville is a valid one.
Franchione was an offensive innovator, but he was a selfish, self-serving dude who flat out lied to the Bama players about "...holding on to the rope" during NCAA sanctions while planning his rapid departure to aTm. And he didn't even have the character to tell the Bama players in person that he was leaving. He was all about himself--and it finally caught up with him at aTm.
Gary Patterson seems to be the exact opposite--the difference being that he seems to LOVE the game and is a TEACHER of the game of football. For all of Major's faults--he loves the game and was a teacher of the game.
Sure--every coach out there in the profession has a degree of self-interest...i.e., they have a family to provide for and a future to secure for them--as well as a legacy to think about.
And almost every elite coach in the sport is stubborn, hot-tempered, and somewhat curmudgeonly--Bear Bryant, Neyland, Saban, Schembechler, Hayes, John McKay, Spurrier, etc....
I don't want a coach who isn't ill-tempered after losing!
Osborne from Nebraska....Petersen from Boise St./Washington may be the exception to the rule.
I don't think it's too far-fetched to believe that hiring GP as our HC back in 2009 would've yielded much better results over the last 10 years than the trio of LK, Dufus, and Lyle.
Do you actually think that GP would not have been able to do better than those three?
Not stating emphatically either way. Iâd feel safe declaring him a better COACH than all 3. Heâs a better program builder than all 3 I just donât see that program at the top level of the SEC...which Iâm sure youâd agree is all fans paramount goal? As for Franchione, Saban wasnât truthful about his future plans, Urban Meyer...list goes on and on. A little sleaze never cut into success. Main point with Franchione is that because a process works for you at every previous stop doesnât ensure guaranteed success. No way that A&M shouldnât have worked. He was landing recruits, instilling his system and it just went kerplunk. Thatâs my OPINION on what would have happened to Patterson in Knoxville. Most likely way better than what weâve endured but it wouldâve taken the next guy building on it to get us back...imo.