The cutting board…
There is a saying on the farm about it being nut-cutting time. I would say OU has reached that point. About the time you think things can’t get any worse for OU football, they do…While the coaching mishaps during the OSU game were legendary, the lack of preparation for the Clemson game and the subsequent lack of execution was even more mind-boggling and yes, embarrassing.
Don’t get me wrong, no one this website has ever suggested that Bob Stoops was anything but a slightly above average coach, but even a decent coach should have his players better prepared than they were against Clemson. It is obvious from watching this team this year that there is something badly wrong with this coaching staff.
I do want to cut Bob some slack here. David Boren’s insisted two years ago that OU stay in a watered down Big 12 and as a result recruiting has dropped off dramatically. This round robin conference will always have problems recruiting against the monster SEC.
At the same time I blame Bob for part of this. He is the football coach and he should have seen this coming and said no to Boren and the other bureaucrats. Regardless, even with the talent drop off on this team for OU to be embarrassed by land grant colleges like OSU and Clemson is simply unacceptable.
Now that I have gotten that off my chest, I must admit that I was not surprised by the Clemson butt-kicking…Clemson has athletes and is very well-coached, particularly on defense. Conversely the Big 12 and OU have lost a step with the rest of college football when it comes to athletes and this game simply reinforced how deep this divide is. I suspect that the other Big 12 versus power conference bowl games will show the same thing.
At this point, we can cry over spilt milk or make lemonade out of the lemons.
The bad news is that we suck…The good news is that we sucked on national television and as a result, possibly this embarrassment will get someone’s attention. Boren and Castiglione obviously couldn’t care less when it comes to OU football, so OU fans will have to rely on Regents to get something done.
Fan pressure must be placed on these guys to freeze coaches’ salaries and contract extensions to send a message to every member of this coaching staff
Take Bob, Josh and Mike to court for mal-practice and recover their pay raises for this year. (I am obviously kidding about this one, but not by much.
Send those coaching who do not have guaranteed life-time contracts packing. Expendable coaches include…
Jay Norvell for two reasons. First, as someone once said when you have a two quarterback system you have a no quarterback system. Same goes for co-offensive coordinators. Secondly, Norvell is a co-offensive coordinator on a staff that is totally clueless.
Someone has to be the fall guy on offense and since that guy can’t be Boren’s in-law, Norvell will have to go. Additionally, Jay Norvell is still a hot item among coaching circles so he will be snatched up quickly, a move that will not create a scene.
The second departure from the staff should be that of Tim Kish. The only guy more boring on the recruiting trail than Bob Stoops is Kish. Recently the Sooner brain trust put out a photo of a Kish and Bob in the home of a prospective recruit. The picture had bore-fest written all over it.
Bob Stoops is not Barry Switzer when it comes to in-home visits with prospects. This is where a charismatic assistant coach can come in handy. Kish is not that guy and being drinking buddies with Mike Stoops should not quality a person to be a football coach.
Finally, the third assistant coach to hit the bricks has to be Bobby Jack Wright. BJW was hired years ago because of his ties to Texas high school football coaches…Bob can hire any number of coaches to do this so hiring someone who can also coach would be a huge bonus.
It’s probably time for Merv Johnson to move from the Director of Football Operations position to the broadcasting booth full time next year. This opening will free up a spot for the personable Bobby Jack.
Use these openings to hire young, energetic coaches that can overcome an otherwise bad coaching situation. Make this happen fast in order to infuse energy into the last month of the recruiting season.
Finally, As ugly as it was this season a solid recruiting class supported by strategic coaching changes can go a long way in making things look better this time next year…This mess was not created overnight and it will not be cleaned up overnight, but without changes being made, we will be experiencing this same feeling this time next year. Now is the time for dramatic changes to be made.
Okay OU Regents, the ball is in your court. Make it happen…