Schadenfreude wrote:Antimob wrote:1. Each year the team is put in near-impossible positions due to the non-conference scheduling of the clueless administration, past and present.
Scheduling is a bit tougher than I would like it to be. But Bowling Green barely beat Eastern Kentucky, for goodness sake.
2. Name another coach outside of Meyer and Clawson that signed Top 3 classes. It'll wait. And it doesn't take 1 or two...it takes several when the talent was as depleted as it was under Babers. Yes some didn't work out, but that happens in every single program in America.
You mean two of our four previous coaches? Jinks seems to be a good recruiter. But when does the team start getting better?
And are we certain talent was that depleted? A massive Babers-era depletion was always one way to try to explain how we went from MAC champion to losing 77-3 at Memphis the next season. But are we certain Babers couldn't recruit? He seems to be winning at Syracuse, at least so far.
3. The "leading in arrests" narrative is completely (and perhaps purposefully) misleading. Most violations are of a minor nature consistent with every college program in the country and all are dealt with swiftly and fairly. Marijuana in college? Fights during Spring Break? I'm shocked, shocked! Call the Washington Post!
I agree with this. We've had a bit more turnover than I would like, but people pushing this argument seem to have an axe to grind. Even great head coaches have players who screw up.
4. He has shown the ability to adjust by firing Eliano and bringing in the most highly qualified defensive coordinator in the MAC. The defensive staff is highly qualified, experienced in the MAC and has a track record to suggest they'll turn the defense around if given time.
This could be true. We saw signs of possible improvement last weekend. Naysayers, of course, will point to the fact that he hired Eliano in the first place.
5. He had the class to speak honestly about the effect of the wanna-be big-shot media darling boosters on recruiting. Saying other things have damaged recruiting (which they have) does not render this untrue. It was a small-time, low-class move that no coach deserves and thankfully does not represent the majority. Anyone not named Sebo has not made the financial investment in BG football to have any sway over the hiring and firing of a coach.
I can understand why Jinks is frustrated by people using the Blade to take anonymous shots at him. If these people were being quoted by name, it would be one thing. But anonymously? I can understand why that bugs him.
You also raise a good point: How confident are we that these boosters quoted anonymously by the Blade actually have any clout?
Even so, I also understand why fans are pushing back on this. Our problems are pretty obvious to anyone paying attention. Jinks made a mistake taking that question head on, even if I don't blame him for being a bit frustrated.
Babers gutted this program from both a talent and discipline standpoint. This was never going to be a 3 year rebuild and those that thought it would be don't understand the roster limitations we've had.
I disagree. I don't even think Jinks thought this was going to be more than a three-year rebuild. Heading into his first season, he was giving the impression that the Falcons might compete right away. Wasn't he?
Can you point where Jinks ever said in his first year that this would be a multiyear rebuild? Did he ever layout a time table for restoring the greatness the way Dave Clawson did?
I don't remember him every doing that. In my mind, this has been one of Jinks's biggest mistakes as a head coach: Not being more clear about what fans can reasonably expect and when. We never got a clear timetable.
That's why, after barely beating Eastern Kentucky and getting walloped by Miami, Jinks seemed completely out of answers, and hope seemed lost.
With Clawson, we expected a five-year rebuild and that's what he delivered, along with just enough progress to keep many of us from jumping out of windows. (Although he always had his critics.) WIth Jinks? We never got a clear timetable. Until last Saturday, we saw precious few signs of progress.
(And I'm being generous by allowing that we saw progress Saturday. Losing 52-35 to Toledo is not where we want to be, obviously.)
A different head coach could have sold me on staying on the bandwagon by managing expectations. I think Jinks is a good guy who means well. But he has never done managed expectations well. And this has turned into an enormous problem right now.