We couldn’t be in a worse position..

[W-S HerdFan]

..in terms of the football program. Coming off of an utterly embarrassing collapse in the bowl game, we now face the grim reality of another, most likely uglier season in 9 months. And even if Huff, with no time left on his contract, pulls off a miracle comeback effort, will anyone be able to welcome him back on a multi-year deal starting 21 months from now?
Unless Smith & Spears connect on a Hail Mary in the next couple of days, we are looking at a Southern Miss type of existence……

 

[Tonycried2]

..in terms of the football program. Coming off of an utterly embarrassing collapse in the bowl game, we now face the grim reality of another, most likely uglier season in 9 months. And even if Huff, with no time left on his contract, pulls off a miracle comeback effort, will anyone be able to welcome him back on a multi-year deal starting 21 months from now?
Unless Smith & Spears connect on a Hail Mary in the next couple of days, we are looking at a Southern Miss type of existence……

We will most likely finish well below .500 in Huff's swan song season. Could a new guy build on the ashes that Huff leaves behind? I guess we'll just have to see what rolls down the pike!

 

[redsfan5590]

How to kill a program:

1. Isolate the team from the region (non-fans)- "Its hard to live in Huntington, it's hard to get people to want to live in Huntington."
2. Isolate the team from their fans- "The fans made life miserable for that young man. He hated his life."
3. Cut off future fanbase growth (new/young fans) - look at the way we played, no kid wants to watch that.
4. Hire poor coaches underneath you - Trickett
5. Fail to recruit players for your system - Lack any backup RB for a team that lives on the ground/short yardage pick up. No real WR.
6. Create mistrust within your team - Lie about a player
7. Create division amongst your team (stars get treated differently) - allow some players to play when they want
8. Lack an identity

 

[BleedsGreen33]

How to kill a program:

1. Isolate the team from the region (non-fans)- "Its hard to live in Huntington, it's hard to get people to want to live in Huntington."
2. Isolate the team from their fans- "The fans made life miserable for that young man. He hated his life."
3. Cut off future fanbase growth (new/young fans) - look at the way we played, no kid wants to watch that.
4. Hire poor coaches underneath you - Trickett
5. Fail to recruit players for your system - Lack any backup RB for a team that lives on the ground/short yardage pick up. No real WR.
6. Create mistrust within your team - Lie about a player
7. Create division amongst your team (stars get treated differently) - allow some players to play when they want
8. Lack an identity

Don't forget about cutting access off to the fans. Closing practices because he's afraid some scout might see that we're going to be running back to back wildcat plays.

 

[Herdguy04]

Doc had a chance to correct 2016 and he did.
Significantly improved the team the year after.

As much as I dislike how this season went, Huff should be given the opportunity to do the same.
As I have said, Huff HAS to improve or else he is highly unlikely to be hired anywhere at a position he'd want.
If he does improve, MU is in a better state than it is now, Huff is hired away and we don't have to pay a buyout.
If he doesn't, then MU doesn't have to pay the buyout, Huff is not extended, and both part ways since he was fired anyway.


I think the hardest part about all this, was the team, just a year prior, was so much more promising, and with Huff being a first time HC, we all hoped, he'd make adjustments as a HC, and learn from his mistakes, as well as working to be more open about his process.

Nope, we got, quite the opposite actually, a guy who refused to change, the team actually declined, and he has been deflecting any sort of blame onto literally anyone else.

 

[Rock98Dog]

Losing Alston with Porter and Burton graduating (all Doc recruits) leaves us with no proven pass rush. If Abraham leaves we have no proven CB. Dix at LB looks like he will be a player, but our defense overall is in trouble.

The OL is a shambles. We lose 3 starters that might not have been great but were likely better than the guys on the bench. We go get a guy from Tulsa that never became a starter even though he was there 5 years. Can’t start for a 4-8 team as a RS senior but we think he will contribute in one season here?

Looks like we are making strides at WR but will have no proven RB1. I like Payne as a relief guy, but he’s not The Guy.

Unless some miracle occurs we are winning about 4 games next year.

 

[Chris McLaughlin]

Losing Alston with Porter and Burton graduating (all Doc recruits) leaves us with no proven pass rush. If Abraham leaves we have no proven CB. Dix at LB looks like he will be a player, but our defense overall is in trouble.

The OL is a shambles. We lose 3 starters that might not have been great but were likely better than the guys on the bench. We go get a guy from Tulsa that never became a starter even though he was there 5 years. Can’t start for a 4-8 team as a RS senior but we think he will contribute in one season here?

Looks like we are making strides at WR but will have no proven RB1. I like Payne as a relief guy, but he’s not The Guy.

Unless some miracle occurs we are winning about 4 games next year.

Fairly certain Micah has used up his eligibility. He never red-shirted but this year was his COVID year:

2019 t-freshman: played in 13 games
2020 t-sophomore: played in 10 games
2021 t-junior: played and started in all 13 games
2022 t-senior: played in 13 and started 12 games
2023 covid senior: played and started in all 13 games

 

[BleedsGreen33]

Doc had a chance to correct 2016 and he did.
Significantly improved the team the year after.

As much as I dislike how this season went, Huff should be given the opportunity to do the same.
As I have said, Huff HAS to improve or else he is highly unlikely to be hired anywhere at a position he'd want.
If he does improve, MU is in a better state than it is now, Huff is hired away and we don't have to pay a buyout.
If he doesn't, then MU doesn't have to pay the buyout, Huff is not extended, and both part ways since he was fired anyway.


I think the hardest part about all this, was the team, just a year prior, was so much more promising, and with Huff being a first time HC, we all hoped, he'd make adjustments as a HC, and learn from his mistakes, as well as working to be more open about his process.

Nope, we got, quite the opposite actually, a guy who refused to change, the team actually declined, and he has been deflecting any sort of blame onto literally anyone else.

2012 and 2016 were just dips for Doc. 2012 was because of a dreadful defense which he fixed and 2016 happened because of injuries. This is not the same deal. We have trended down each season and there's nothing you can point to that shows that 2024 will be anything more than a continuation.

This team needs almost everything.

No QB. We can debate all we want, but it's not close to settled.
RB is now a question mark.
OL is trash
TEs aren't anything to write home about.
WRs suck. Plain and simple. They're all small, can't separate, and can't catch.
Kicking is horrendous.
Our DL is now decimated to graduation and the portal.
LB leaves a lot to be desired, especially with Neal graduating.
CB has youth, but gone is one of the best corners we've ever had in Abraham.
S has youth and our best in JJ Roberts is recovering from ankle surgery.

Our HC continues to do the same stupid stuff he did in his first season.
Our DC is horrible and can't adjust.
Our OC will once again be a guy that's never called plays.

Yea. There isn't one single thing that you can hang your hat on going into 2024. Sure you can claim some of these young players are poised to emerge and have so much potential, but you can't prove that. It's fandom.

 

[The Real SamC]

This is not the same deal. We have trended down each season and there's nothing you can point to that shows that 2024 will be anything more than a continuation.

Yes. Doc is gone. He had his era. It had its ups and its downs. He had his skills and his short-comings. There were good times, and bad times. A decision was made, by a tiny cabal, to cut him loose. It is all water under the bridge. It is over.

We are now talking about Charles Huff. Who simply does not know what he is doing. He is not a head coach. He is incompetent. This is not a cyclical thing, where you build for the future. There is absolutely zero reason to believe that 24 will be any better. He is not capable of leading this team to anything meaningful. And, next year, we will not catch VPI and ECU at all time lows. And, the rest of the SBC is building and we have a man incapable of building.

And it gets worse. MU is not automatically just "supposed" to be at this level. We are not that big, we do not have a huge student body from which we can collect involuntary fees from, we do not command a must-have TV media market, etc. There is no reason we are not Tennessee-Chattanooga, or Youngstown State, or Nebraska-Omaha or Radford or any of 100s of other schools. We are where we are, in I-A, because of the FANS. Fans who gave, built, gave again, turned out, and saw us rise from the ashes. Fans that CH s*** upon with his unforgivable and course (and flat wrong) statements.

We have to get this guy out of here and get somebody qualified in. 2025 season is very late. Yet more damage, some of it irreparable, will be done by then.

BTW, substitute "MH" for "Doc" and my first paragraph still applies. CS seems to lack any leadership skills whatsoever. It seems to be time for us to look on how his exit will play out.

 

[riflearm2]

his unforgivable and course (and flat wrong) statements.

"Coarse," stupid. The word you're looking for is "coarse."