Now that we had a season that included a win at Notre Dame, and finishing 8-4, competing in a very strong conference, which is about as good of a season as ANYONE should expect from us, are there actually people out there who still think Huff should be fired at this point? Just curious the level of delusions of grandeur that actually exist on this forum.
Serious Question
- Thread starter CamJoanBaller
- Start date
My two cent observation is that he is improving. Last season, we seemed to start out hot, make no halftime adjustments, then fade in the second half. The last few games, we have fought to the end and won. Offense is still painful to watch.
I'm disappointed that we are not in the title game, but I"m cautiously optimistic about Huff over the next couple of years if he is here that long. And yes, we have some that were extremely critical of Huff and staff from the get go and have been proven wrong and we have some that lost their minds early in the year over some of the bad losses, so they still would rather be correct and have him fail or fired than enjoy winning.
Quick Summary:
People are going to bitch after losses and want the coach to be fired, and bitch if the team didn't win the way we thought they should. People will gloat and think we're on the road to a national championship if we're undefeated, and be afraid of losing the coach if we're successful at doing so.
Some will bitch about the schedule. Some will predict we'll win every game every year.
Some will blame the fans, some will blame the coaches, some will blame the players.
Signed,
Every fanbase in America
People are going to bitch after losses and want the coach to be fired, and bitch if the team didn't win the way we thought they should. People will gloat and think we're on the road to a national championship if we're undefeated, and be afraid of losing the coach if we're successful at doing so.
Some will bitch about the schedule. Some will predict we'll win every game every year.
Some will blame the fans, some will blame the coaches, some will blame the players.
Signed,
Every fanbase in America
- Huff should not be fired.
- 8-4 with two losses at home and two losses to 6-6 teams, one of which lost to a I-AA, is not “as good a season as ANYONE can expect from us”. We were unprepared and unfocused in those four, and actually in several wins as well. I EXPECT to win every game. If that is not your expectation, move on to something else.
- The idea that the SBC is a “very strong conference” is over-stated. It was the right move, and when all the shuffling is done that will be clear, but really all of the G5 leagues are about the same.
- 8-4 with two losses at home and two losses to 6-6 teams, one of which lost to a I-AA, is not “as good a season as ANYONE can expect from us”. We were unprepared and unfocused in those four, and actually in several wins as well. I EXPECT to win every game. If that is not your expectation, move on to something else.
- The idea that the SBC is a “very strong conference” is over-stated. It was the right move, and when all the shuffling is done that will be clear, but really all of the G5 leagues are about the same.
Huff should of course come back. He turned around what looked like a mess early on. Every Marshall fan should expect to win the division every year. That is the standard. You do that and the championships will come, but playing in the game should be the expectation. The SBC is the best or nearly the best G5 league for many reasons outside of product on the field. Merely competitively, it is a bit better than what we left because it is deeper and will be better than the new CUSA and MAC is most years. The SBC teams are committed to winning and have fan bases.
My take, I’ve only been critical of Huff on the appointing of Trick Daddy to OC, that was a very lazy move to not go out and find a proven OC to lead a talented group of kids.
Trick Daddy was not a proven OC and we have suffered some loses because of that.
Now am I critical of Trick Daddy, Yes, because his play calling was nothing more then Bill Legg’s and Bill Legg2.0’s style and creativity. Has Trick Daddy shown he’s trying to make changes and dial up something that will work to keep the defense guessing, Yes, I thank him for that.
I like Huff and his energy, I hope he turns out to be right about Trick Daddy and we win 2,3,4 or 5 championships in the next 5-10years.. but time will tell.
I liked Doc and his way of building a program but he should have fired Bill Legg long before he did, and he should have done his homework of Bill Legg2.0.
So I do not want to see Huff gone and as far as Trick Daddy if he keeps winning I’ll leave him alone..
I remember a time Marshall Football never lost hope of a win, we could have been down by 30 with 8mins left in the 4th and everyone knew we had a chance at winning. That’s what I want for this staff, find ways to win and gain back the support of that fan base..
Trick Daddy was not a proven OC and we have suffered some loses because of that.
Now am I critical of Trick Daddy, Yes, because his play calling was nothing more then Bill Legg’s and Bill Legg2.0’s style and creativity. Has Trick Daddy shown he’s trying to make changes and dial up something that will work to keep the defense guessing, Yes, I thank him for that.
I like Huff and his energy, I hope he turns out to be right about Trick Daddy and we win 2,3,4 or 5 championships in the next 5-10years.. but time will tell.
I liked Doc and his way of building a program but he should have fired Bill Legg long before he did, and he should have done his homework of Bill Legg2.0.
So I do not want to see Huff gone and as far as Trick Daddy if he keeps winning I’ll leave him alone..
I remember a time Marshall Football never lost hope of a win, we could have been down by 30 with 8mins left in the 4th and everyone knew we had a chance at winning. That’s what I want for this staff, find ways to win and gain back the support of that fan base..
I was very disappointed in the loss to BGSU a week after the biggest win in school history. The two Laborn fumbles on the goal line can be pointed to as for reason to that defeat but after the first quarter in that tilt we simply could not stop the Falcons. Like to have that game back but would also like to have Huff back!
"I EXPECT to win every game." HHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHHHAHAHAH
"but really all of the G5 leagues are about the same". - This is total BS. CUSA is terrible. The MAC is actually a better product in most regards. The Sun Belt has a lot more talent than these other two conferences. As far as 'relevance', you are correct. But talent wise I strongly disagree. The top half of the Sun Belt is much stronger than the top half of those other conferences. That being said, we cannot expect to be in the top half of the sun belt right away, although I do think we are a top half CUSA team, and would certainly be a top MAC team.
We had an all-time great defense that kept us in a lot of games. You still see the same coaching mistakes offensively now that you saw last year and we struggle to put up 20 points. IF we lose every defensive player that could potentially leave (players not using their COVID year) and the offense doesn't make major strides in the off season next season could be pretty ugly.
If we had a just average QB play this year we would have won the conference. We have one of the best defenses in the nation and our running game was one of the best in the nation too. At one point Laborn was contending for the #1 running back. I think he's around 10th now. WR isn't all that bad. Colombi was horrible and Fancher is too raw.
Expecting to be the top of the SBC this year or next year should not be that lofty of an expectation. While I do believe the SBC to be a step up from CUSA I do not believe the talent in the SBC is that much above our roster.
I don't disagree with this, however 8-4 is still a solid year. There are ALWAYS going to be gaps in the roster. I think CUSA is definitely a step below the SBC. I think we are strong in the CUSA comparison and average in the SBC, program speaking. We have not done anything special historically that the top half of the SBC hasn't also done. We had one magical season once we made the transition to the MAC. Other than that, why is it our expectations would be to be a high level SBC team already? I think we had a great season. Certainly not a season to fire Huff, which is what I was asking
Huff would have been back had he gone 4-8. Talk of him being fired after year 2 is just stupid. Given the change at QB in week 6 (I think) I am proud of this team for winning 8 games. I was extremely critical of the staff earliler in the season, but the fact is they rallied the troops and found a way to have a successful first season in the SBC. Of course I wanted to win the division. You have to be realistic and look at McCall vs Fancher. With that said we still should have beaten them at home. Huff proved he can succeed in the portal and I expect him to do it again this off season. While I think Fancher grew tremendously he needs competition next fall and will not get it from any of the freshman. I fully expect Huff to bring in another Columbi type transfer and am excited about the future. Every team has holes, but it at least appears that we have a solid foundation in place. At the end of the day, a win at ND, 5-3 in the conference, 8-4 overall was a successful season. The D certainly saved us. Had Henry worked out as expected this could have been a 1999 type of year. Now lets put the exclamation point on the season and go win a bowl game!
I don't believe he should be fired but I think he will be gone if someone offers him just about any job that could get him out of Huntington.
no, he should not be fired. Years 3 and 4 will be more judgemental. The staff did a great job winning at Notre Dame, got lost in the woods, and they did a really good job to save the season.
At the end of the day we were 8 and 4, finished third in the division.
Depends on what we want. As I stated above, Year 3 is more of a judge.
At the end of the day we were 8 and 4, finished third in the division.
Depends on what we want. As I stated above, Year 3 is more of a judge.
A lot you may not like Sagarin, but based on his model we played our toughest schedule since 2011. Seven of our 8 conference games were against top 100 teams, which doesn’t sound hard but we usually only had 4-5 per year in CUSA post 2012. Five of the games were against top 75 teams. Sagarin has the SunBelt East ranked just below the ACC Coastal division and second only to the AAC among group of 5. We had the best record in our division, but had the toughest cross division schedule. We played 3 top 50 teams (ND, Troy and JMU).
Given all that 8-4 isn’t bad. What makes it hurt is that we should have beaten BUGS and Louisiana, so 10-2 was right there. One bad quarter cost us the Coastal game, so 11-1 was within grasp. At 11-1, only loss to Troy, we would be playing 10-2 Troy in a rematch this weekend with the winner having a shot at the NY6.
Given all that 8-4 isn’t bad. What makes it hurt is that we should have beaten BUGS and Louisiana, so 10-2 was right there. One bad quarter cost us the Coastal game, so 11-1 was within grasp. At 11-1, only loss to Troy, we would be playing 10-2 Troy in a rematch this weekend with the winner having a shot at the NY6.
Exactly. Expecting to win the conference this year in the SB is silliness. Maybe some year we can make a magical run and do that. I would have actually been very happy to start the season if you told me wed go 8-4 and beat Notre Dame.
All the people who say "we should have won this game"... ok well Notre Dame obviously is saying "we should have beat Marshall". So there are always going to be those games, every single year, except once in a blue moon it can be a magical run. Other than that, 8-4 and a winning record in as strong of a conference as we will ever be in, is pretty damn good.
I had us going 9-3 or 8-4. Didn't have us beating ND or App., nor losing to BG. Didn't think we'd have the issues on offense that we did. The fact that this team improved as the season progressed and peaked/is peaking now, is awesome to see for a change. Kudos to Huff / staff and the team. Win the bowl and it will be a good season with very strong finish, no question. jmho
I look at Sagarin often. I think it is a fairly good judge of team rankings to be honest. It seems less biased.
I think what happened was we beat ND and then just crapped the bed at Bowling Green a week later. Went from the pinnacle to a kick in the left gonad within 7 days. It is like damn, we scored with the homecoming queen and then her little brother dropped kicked us in the egg sack.
WHY??
Magical? When will we “magically” have the players and coaching to make this happen?
Me also but I would have been much happier if we lost to ND and won a championship.
8-4 is ok but Conference Championships is what matters.
Why- because the Sun belt is a higher competition of a conference than we have ever played in. And its not like we are rolling in there with the best program and best players. So "I expect to win the next level conference year 1" attitude is.... silliness
You might be happier losing to ND and then winning a championship, and I would agree with you 100%. But there is still the other half of the fanbase who care more about relevance than winning. You know the ones- they think We Are Marshall the movie is still the most profound thing in their lives. Getting recognition for beating ND is way more important to those fans than winning the conference because ND is national level, and the SB isn't.
Looking back on the season, that BGSU game sticks out so much. What happened to the defense that game? I recall them making some insane catches, but that game really stands out.
Defense kept messing up on 3rd down. Marshall gave up far too many 3rd and 10+. One of their TD drives we let them convert 3rd and 10 and 3rd and 18… absurd
Then on offense we had a bunch of turnovers deep in BG territory. Two red zone fumbles and Colombi threw a terrible pick on first down when we were around the 40.
Definitely not still salty about that game
I told all my buddies that week we would lose the BG game. We always play like crap there, I do not care if it's a different coach or team. We are just not meant to win there. I'm also still salty about it, what could have been! If we somehow win that game there is not telling how many we win this season. That game most definitely got into everyone's head and it took a qb change and a gut check to come out of that spiral.
We should have won more championships in Cusa. We have the players and talent and ability, Doc handed a great team to Huff. Huff didn’t need to rebuild. We clearly have been out coached in our losses this year and last year. We should be playing for a championship.
We will never have anymore talent then we have now, unless less we score a QB that can take control of every game.
We didnt need magic we needed a offense, and Huff blew his chance at getting that right.
I do not see any possibility where he is fired or where is lured away by a larger program. I think he certainly did enough this year with the big win in South Bend coupled with closing out the season strong to ensure he wont be fired (which I fully agree with). However, there is no way a big time P-5 school is going to come calling for a coach who has failed to reach a lower level conference title game in a couple years of effort.
Overall, Huff has been decent, just like I said, good enough to keep his job, but not great enough to be in serious contention for a major program. Now in year 4 if he still has not even reached a conference title game, there will be a different discussion to be had by everyone involved.
Overall, Huff has been decent, just like I said, good enough to keep his job, but not great enough to be in serious contention for a major program. Now in year 4 if he still has not even reached a conference title game, there will be a different discussion to be had by everyone involved.
40 new players on the roster this year says...you're not exactly right.
Although he suggested a "rebuild" wasn't necessary, he openly discussed lack of depth and very little competition for earning starting roles on the team (aka.. we sucked at the #2s). We needed players...a lot of players.
So we have the chance to finish 9-4, with a win over ND and this season isn't as good as what Doc did? Doc averaged a little over 7 wins a year. His first three regular seasons were non winning seasons. He took over a team that won a bowl with an interim coach and went 5-7.
This year has had its disappointments for sure, but we finished the season strong; we usually faltered down the stretch when Doc was here.
Who said Doc was better then Huff? I didn’t.
I liked Doc’s way of handling a program and bring in some talent. But Doc should have fired his buddy Bill Legg long before it happened, then Doc tried to save himself and hire a new OC from a FCS team with a high production Offense, only it wasn’t Crampsey Offense, he was handed a masterpiece and it made him look good. They ran the exact same O as Bill Legg, so I called him BillLegg2.0. I mean the guy had about 3 more plays the Bill but that was about it.
plus I don’t like Bill Leggs style of football so I’m my opinion I hope he’s gone from our program and never returns. We’ve had like 2 good years with him around and he’s been around along time…
This year Huff has proven 2 things,
1) Trick Daddy wasn’t ready for a OC job.
2) he seems to have corrected the ship and is making proper changes to better the team.
Now finishing 9-4 will be nice but I’ll take the championships and loses to P5 schools any day.
PS. Doc was handed a trash team, our bowl win that year was like a miracle.
We need a bowl victory to go into the off season with a positive outlook and some BIG MO, IMO
Need some critical recruits this winter/spring, particularly from the Portal and/or Junior College ranks to improve and shore up some crucial positions on both sides of the ball.
Think we had some challenges with this year's OOC schedule, with BG and ND? Well, look at what lies ahead next fall. Open with an AAC foe, ECU, on the road, followed by a FCS foe at home along with VA Tech, also in the JOAN. Then on the road to another solid Power foe, NC State. 2 powers in 2023 with ONE less FCS foe!
Need some critical recruits this winter/spring, particularly from the Portal and/or Junior College ranks to improve and shore up some crucial positions on both sides of the ball.
Think we had some challenges with this year's OOC schedule, with BG and ND? Well, look at what lies ahead next fall. Open with an AAC foe, ECU, on the road, followed by a FCS foe at home along with VA Tech, also in the JOAN. Then on the road to another solid Power foe, NC State. 2 powers in 2023 with ONE less FCS foe!
To be fair, with the new transfer portal rules, we don't know if bringing in 40 new players a year isn't the new normal. They get to bring in 25 new players with every signing class. Bringing in 15 additional tells me that we had 15 that left and opened up 15 additional spots. Will it be the same again in 2023?
So what youre saying is we couldn't even win CUSA, a lesser conference to the SB, and yet we have the expectation to win the SB.
This is my point with delusions of grandeur. It just needs to stop.
Agree. But Huff’s comments on needing improved depth still hold true. We saw a tremendous drop off in talent after #1s when he arrived. It will be interesting to see how/if the portal helps or hinders improving this.
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