A great perspective from a lifelong Clemson fan
"Seriously.
Even I got fooled briefly.
I was never "all in." I didn't support hiring Dabo. But I did think it was possible to experience success under him. I was jumping around my living room Thursday night when NC State won thinking we had a chance to go back to the ACCCG.
I am a die hard Clemson fan. I've been going to games for 25 years. I love the Tigers. I will always pull for them and quite frankly, it has way more impact on my life/happiness than it should. My wife thinks I'm nuts sometimes.
All of that said...this is getting ridiculous. Not only can we not beat good teams (1-7 vs. top 25 teams under Dabo), but now we've dropped 2 straight to the worst teams in our division (UMD '09, BC '10). Talent is not the issue. We have guys in the hunt for ACC offensive and defensive player of the year. We are a top 20 talented team by every scouting service.
The issue is coaching. We hired an unqualified HC. He hired or retained an unqualified staff. We are a poorly coached team.
Clemson fans are passionate. They love everything Clemson. Their love has blinded many to our staff's incompetence. Some people like to pump sunshine and scream at those that are realists and can look at both sides of the token. I've reviewed both sides and feel there is enough evidence to render a judgment.
Dabo will not get us to the promised land. We will not win BCS bowls with Dabo. Coaching matters too much in college football. Clemson cannot out-recruit incompetent coaching.
A successful season is now off the table. We've lost 4 games already...Tommy Bowden's average for regular season losses. We cannot go back to the ACCCG for all practical purposes.
The only thing that remains is to avoid an embarrassing, program damaging season. A mediocre 8-4 mark is the best we can hope for. We will be lined dogs in 2-3 more games. If we lose 2 of those, we will have eclipsed Tommy Bowden's worst season ever for regular season losses. You would have to go back to Tommy West's 3-8 season to find one worse.
If we lose to SCar, we will have destroyed a 40 year old record of not losing to them back to back. This season is already a failure. I just hope our experiment doesn't result in a devastating season that sets us back years as a program.
Firing Dabo won't fix everything though. That's not what I'm saying (though I am saying we should have never hired him). We have a moron for an athletic director, so allowing him to make another hire does us no good. We have an anti-athletics president as well, so fired the AD just allows Barker to appoint another puppet (likely Billy D).
The problem is Barker. We must eradicate Clemson of his horrific leadership if we want to find success anytime in the near future.
I hate today. I really do. Up until this moment, I had retained hope. I wasn't "all out." I still won't pull against Dabo or this team, but I've resigned myself to the fact that he's not a good head coach, he doesn't have a good supporting staff, and we will not reach my measure of success under his leadership.
It's a very sad day for this lifelong Clemson fan."
Anybody who wants Dabo fired is going to have a huge disappointment. TDP won't fire him, Dabo's his guy. He wanted Dabo from the beginning and then he gave us that sham of a "national coaching search". It's embarrassing how bad Clemson football is right now. Its going to be a 5-7 season. The only win left is Wake Forest. NC State, FSU, and USuC are all losses.
ReplyDeleteI think you have summed up a lot our fans thoughts. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteCan IPTAY members file a class action lawsuit against Barker and TDP for telling us there was a national coaching search, taking all of our donations, then not searching?
ReplyDeletewe should hire an experienced, proven, big-time head coach that knows how to run a big-time program. there is no reason we should not be the ultimate super power of the ACC. the conference is soooo weak, yet we can't find a way to win it. we will always get good players at Clemson (no reason to keep thinking that Dabo is the key to our recruiting). time to hire a coach with a proven system (M.Leatch, Rich Rod, Spurrier, B.Petrino, S.Holtz)!!
ReplyDelete@Derek, you are very correct, sir. Swinneys' job is safe as long as TDP is around, and his contract is up in '13 I believe. Swinney's hire reeked of old-boy politics and cronyism; the only justification for his hire is TDP's hunch. Swinney and Bowden have proven that strong talent can't overcome crappy coaching.
ReplyDeleteWrite to Barker and the BOT all you want, but nothing will happen until fans stop wasting their money on this clearly inferior product. Barker may be an academian, maybe, but he's also a whore. Stop his gravy train and you'll see change.
I think NC State attendance will be 65,000 at best. Any takers?
I don't just want Dabo relieved of his duties. We must cut off the head to kill the snake. Start with Barker. A new president would fire TDP immediately. A new AD will replace Dabo after he fails to win the ACC next year.
ReplyDeleteDon't attack the symptoms. Eradicate the cause. Barker pledged to step down after 10 years as president. The time has come for him to move on.
I wish Tom that would be so awesome.
ReplyDeleteIf you think Barker should be fired and TDP should be fired then why are you posting their addresses and email? You seem to be a fairly intelligent person use your head and post emails and addresses for someone who can actually get rid of them. I can't write a letter to Barker askign for him to be removed, it has to go to the Board of Trustees.
ReplyDeleteChairman of the Board of Trustees - David Wilkins: David.Wilkins@nelsonmullins.com
ReplyDeleteI really, truly believe we do not have a lot of "sunshine pumpers" in our fanbase.
ReplyDeleteWe have a lot of sunshine pumpers on our websites - true. At least the public ones. Strangely, on the by-invitation only websites, the ones that are run by rational people intent on having rational discussion, we don't have any sunshine pumpers at all, and when you walk around the lots during a pregame tailgate, you don't find a lot of pumpers either.
What I actually think we have is a bunch of coaches, family members of coaches, and AD and Clemson U staff employees who are making a dedicated attempt to control discussion on the public websites, and are playing the loyalty/you're-a-bad-fan card to excuse mediocrity and avoid accountability. There weren't many of these guys until the last few years...and then almost overnight they became an overwhelming cacaphony. They shout down criticism almost like it's their job...largely, I suspect, because it is.
Strangely, nobody ever MEETS these guys outside the boards, either. Whatever, this Thought Police shit is getting mighty old.
I am not on staff and try to look at things from the total University perspective. Football is what 5% to 10% of what Jim Barker thinks about? Clemson is an academic institution first and foremost. That is where he focuses.
ReplyDeleteFootball is what TDP thinks about 80%+. He gave Bowden a new contract then fired him before the first year was up? This tied his hands financially and Dabo was all he could afford. He can't get rid of Dabo now and be paying for two coaches that don't work there anymore.
The managerial problems of TDP are seen in football but they are evident in many other places as well. The swimming process and decision was embarrassing. What kind of coaches has he hired? Look at their lack of ability to compete in the ACC?
Clemson is improving as a academic institution. This will bring in higher quality students who will graduate and make more money. Some of this will flow back to the University.
Look at Michigan, Cal, UNC, UCLA for examples of excellent public schools with great sports. It can happen at Clemson. Frankly, I think Clemson wants to be thought of as an excellent academic institution first. The administration and board do not want to ever be the butt of jokes about IPTAY meaning - It's Probation Time Again Y'All!
Clemson is more than a football team. Barker has done a great job. Terry Don has not.