Quit yer bitchin'

[MrCraig]

Allow me to answer your question with a question. Have you ever heard of University of Central Florida, or UCF? Did you know that Scott Frost had a 19-7 record during his tenure there, winning 6 games his first year and going 11-0 and winning bowl games his second year?When he left for Nebraska after that season he took his whole staff with him?
Did you know that very next year (last year) that very same UCF team went 12-1 with an entirely new HC and staff, their only loss being to LSU in their bowl game after losing their starting QB to a horrific leg injury?
So it is entirely possible for a new staff to take over a very good football team with no regression.

And I would counter your argument with Florida after Urban Meyer left, Texas after Mack Brown left, Western Michigan after PJ Fleck left, Florida State after Bobby Bowden left and again after Jimbo Fischer left, Florida again after Steve Spurrier left... do you need more examples? The exception to the rule is exactly that. I said early in the off-season that we should temper our expectations because there’s always hiccups when there’s a coaching switch.

You are comparing Apples to oranges. Yes, those were iconic coaches, but their teams were in decline.
In 2009 FSU went 7-6 when Bobby left.
In 2010 Urban Meyer went 8-5 (4-4 in conference) and Mack Brown’s Texas team went 8-5 his last year after missing a bowl game the previous year.
App is much more in a situation as UCF was last year with a loaded roster, and good experience and win totals steadily climbing.

You say there are “always hiccups” with a coaching switch, but clearly my example of UCF proves that wrong

Alright, find me another example. If you can prove that UCF was the rule and not the exception, I'll back down.

How about I give you an assignment?
Find a program that was at the top of their game, had a coaching change, then the new coach had a downturn but eventually brought it back to the top.

I’m sure there are plenty of examples of new coaches having downturns, and not turning it around and eventually being fired.
I’m sure there are examples of weak programs getting turned around after a few years and being great, but how many successful HCs of top programs (when they were hired) fell off and turned it around?

Not saying at all that Coach Drink isn’t the right guy or won’t be successful, but just because there is a coaching change does not mean there “will always” be a drop off as you said

Easy. Kirby Smart at UGA. I also checked out Boise St and Ohio St. Almost every time they have had a coaching change there were some bad losses in the first year, and then they rose back to the top. I think you’d be harder pressed to find an example, other than UCF of a program that was very good, changed coaches, and then continued to be just as good the very next year.

[The Rock]

And I would counter your argument with Florida after Urban Meyer left, Texas after Mack Brown left, Western Michigan after PJ Fleck left, Florida State after Bobby Bowden left and again after Jimbo Fischer left, Florida again after Steve Spurrier left... do you need more examples? The exception to the rule is exactly that. I said early in the off-season that we should temper our expectations because there’s always hiccups when there’s a coaching switch.

You are comparing Apples to oranges. Yes, those were iconic coaches, but their teams were in decline.
In 2009 FSU went 7-6 when Bobby left.
In 2010 Urban Meyer went 8-5 (4-4 in conference) and Mack Brown’s Texas team went 8-5 his last year after missing a bowl game the previous year.
App is much more in a situation as UCF was last year with a loaded roster, and good experience and win totals steadily climbing.

You say there are “always hiccups” with a coaching switch, but clearly my example of UCF proves that wrong

Alright, find me another example. If you can prove that UCF was the rule and not the exception, I'll back down.

How about I give you an assignment?
Find a program that was at the top of their game, had a coaching change, then the new coach had a downturn but eventually brought it back to the top.

I’m sure there are plenty of examples of new coaches having downturns, and not turning it around and eventually being fired.
I’m sure there are examples of weak programs getting turned around after a few years and being great, but how many successful HCs of top programs (when they were hired) fell off and turned it around?

Not saying at all that Coach Drink isn’t the right guy or won’t be successful, but just because there is a coaching change does not mean there “will always” be a drop off as you said

Easy. Kirby Smart at UGA. I also checked out Boise St and Ohio St. Almost every time they have had a coaching change there were some bad losses in the first year, and then they rose back to the top. I think you’d be harder pressed to find an example, other than UCF of a program that was very good, changed coaches, and then continued to be just as good the very next year.

Kirby didn’t inherit a top tier team and didn’t really dip that much in his first year.
Rich went 5-3 in the SEC in his last year and smart went 4-4. Not really proving your point there...

[appstatealum]

"Find a program that was at the top of their game, had a coaching change, then the new coach had a downturn but eventually brought it back to the top."

The only G5 program I can think of that didn't seem to miss a beat after coaching changes is Boise St -

UCF

[Yosef84]

I hope nobody dislocates a shoulder patting yourselves on the back over having "gotten it right". It's WAY too early to draw any conclusions. I get it. Nobody was happy about the defense last year but any reasonable analyst over the past year has commented that we had some questions to answer with the key players we lost. Maybe some of you guys who proclaimed Brown the Messiah of 3-4 D should consider that he might have been happy to bail. Maybe he knew he was going to be in over his head. Personally, I think we should stop pining for the guy who left App after ONE year's experience as a DC. We have a DC who has won a National Championship at Auburn and who has tons of experience. I think we support the guy who came here and who is studying film today getting ready to prep for UNC. To be clear, I'm not actually trying to slam Brown here, but he chose to leave so it serves zero purpose to trash our current DC in favor of one who chose to leave. One game and a failed experiment with man coverage are not enough basis to draw ANY conclusion.

You really don’t know what you’re talking about. Everyone was satisfied with our top 20 defensive efficiency last year. We have 8 returning starters, 6 are seniors. We lost 2 NFL guys, Ronald Blair and Doug Middleton who are still playing on Sundays after 2015 and our defense was even better in 2016.

Also, almost anywhere Ted Roof has been didn’t succeed on defense. Yes he won a national championship but took over one of the best defenses in college football, and they still let go of him like numerous places after not coaching to their standards

If you're going to start your post with "you don't know what you're talking about" then at least get your numbers right about the returning starters. We don't have 8 returning starters on D. My post was addressed to those who have obviously been waiting for the first opportunity to say "I told you so" about the Roof hiring. There's a whole ridiculous thread on "Fire Ted Roof" after two games. If you're one of those individuals then my comment was addressed to you. I don't need a history lesson. I've been here for quite a while and I know whining when I see it. Nobody is happy about the way the D looked Saturday but some folks just need to get some perspective.

[MrCraig]

You are comparing Apples to oranges. Yes, those were iconic coaches, but their teams were in decline.
In 2009 FSU went 7-6 when Bobby left.
In 2010 Urban Meyer went 8-5 (4-4 in conference) and Mack Brown’s Texas team went 8-5 his last year after missing a bowl game the previous year.
App is much more in a situation as UCF was last year with a loaded roster, and good experience and win totals steadily climbing.

You say there are “always hiccups” with a coaching switch, but clearly my example of UCF proves that wrong

Alright, find me another example. If you can prove that UCF was the rule and not the exception, I'll back down.

How about I give you an assignment?
Find a program that was at the top of their game, had a coaching change, then the new coach had a downturn but eventually brought it back to the top.

I’m sure there are plenty of examples of new coaches having downturns, and not turning it around and eventually being fired.
I’m sure there are examples of weak programs getting turned around after a few years and being great, but how many successful HCs of top programs (when they were hired) fell off and turned it around?

Not saying at all that Coach Drink isn’t the right guy or won’t be successful, but just because there is a coaching change does not mean there “will always” be a drop off as you said

Easy. Kirby Smart at UGA. I also checked out Boise St and Ohio St. Almost every time they have had a coaching change there were some bad losses in the first year, and then they rose back to the top. I think you’d be harder pressed to find an example, other than UCF of a program that was very good, changed coaches, and then continued to be just as good the very next year.

Kirby didn’t inherit a top tier team and didn’t really dip that much in his first year.
Rich went 5-3 in the SEC in his last year and smart went 4-4. Not really proving your point there...

Lol ok dude. Check Richt’s recruiting rankings his last few years. Kirby inherited a goldmine of talent and lost more games than Richt the year before. It exactly proves my point. By your metric the current coaching staff, including Roof, is better than last year because we are 2-0 and last year we were 1-1. I never said this season was going to be lost. I said there would be some hiccups transitioning to a new coaching staff. Giving up 40-some points to UNCC would be a hiccup.

[TractorApp]

Watched the replay of the game yesterday after I calmed down. I coached a little high school ball back in the day, so while not an expert, I think I know a little about the game. I would put the main reasons Charlotte hung 40+ on us as follows:

1. They are flat out better than most all of us expected on offense. Some real play makers at QB, RB and receiver. They made some very athletic plays with our guys often times in good position to tackle them or defend the pass. Many of those catches were really exceptional.
2. To state the obvious, we did not tackle well at the line of scrimmage. Again, some of that is the QB and RB made some really elusive and athletic moves. I'm confident that extra tackling drills are on the agenda this week. Sure tackles vs. highlight reel light 'em up tackles is what we need to beat UNC.
3. For Pete's sake, I hope we work on getting our CBs heads turning back toward the line of scrimmage and looking for the ball. That was disappointing.
4. I agree with everyone else that the kids did not look like they were thinking about things and not just reacting and playing fast. Again, Open date could not come at a better time. Time for coaches to earn their money.
5. I hate the Unsportsmanlike penalties. I can live with the late hits as long as they are not cheap shots, but the Unsportsmanlike late in the game where we bailed them out on their last scoring drive just can't be allowed to stand.

On offense, if we have Sutton back and Victor Johnson at LT is at 100% I like our ability to score with them. From what I saw Saturday, if Johnson can't go, we are in trouble. I don't know why we weren't either having a RB/slot help or having a TE chip the Charlotte DE lined up over our backup LT. Also, hope coach let's Zac be Zac, even for just this one game. We saw a couple glimpses of that Saturday and it was quite the difference. Darrynton Evans, wow... just wow.

[hotrod2001]

It's too early.

What if (and hear me out) Charlotte is actually on the upswing, and underestimated them? I mean they have a new coach which took Austin Pey from an FCS disaster to a contendor in just one season. He's young, charismatic and was openly saying after the App game that he's determined to change the culture of the 49ers so they're no longer "everybody's homecoming opponent." I'd say before groaning how Charlotte managed to hang with us, lets see how they do against Umass this week, and then FAU and FIU after what is undoubtedly going to be a wash against Clemson. IF they've indeed improved they should be able to win at least two of their next four games, if they win three out of their next four games then I'll be convinced that they're no longer a doormat and are serious about changing their program.

I'd be lying if I wasn't slightly concerned with our guys performance the last two weeks, but wasn't Ted Roof who was letting Benny LeMay slip through his hands. The boys need to wake up if they want to try to knock off the Tarheels next week. Maybe there's something to having the big opponent of the year the first out of the gate instead of an FCS tuneup. I don't know, but it's still to early for me to take the temperature of some chairs just yet.

[Rick83]

It's too early.

What if (and hear me out) Charlotte is actually on the upswing, and underestimated them? I mean they have a new coach which took Austin Pey from an FCS disaster to a contendor in just one season. He's young, charismatic and was openly saying after the App game that he's determined to change the culture of the 49ers so they're no longer "everybody's homecoming opponent." I'd say before groaning how Charlotte managed to hang with us, lets see how they do against Umass this week, and then FAU and FIU after what is undoubtedly going to be a wash against Clemson. IF they've indeed improved they should be able to win at least two of their next four games, if they win three out of their next four games then I'll be convinced that they're no longer a doormat and are serious about changing their program.

I'd be lying if I wasn't slightly concerned with our guys performance the last two weeks, but wasn't Ted Roof who was letting Benny LeMay slip through his hands. The boys need to wake up if they want to try to knock off the Tarheels next week. Maybe there's something to having the big opponent of the year the first out of the gate instead of an FCS tuneup. I don't know, but it's still to early for me to take the temperature of some chairs just yet.

It's still too soon to call but I suspect that Healy will turn the 49ers around much like Napier has turned the Ragin Cajuns around. Also, I believe Healy brought most, if not all, of his assistant coaches with him from Austin Peay so they all know each other and know how to work with each other in game situations. Drink has had to build his staff from scratch so they've got to figure out how to work smoothly together in high-intensity game situations. I don't think that just magically happens.

[AppStateNews]

but wasn't Ted Roof who was letting Benny LeMay slip through his hands.

That is correct. But it was Ted Roof that was still installing new things on Friday so our guys were always out of place. You can't reasonably install new scheme and fits the day before the game and think players aren't going to be out of place.

I have seen some people say maybe they knew we could just out man Charlotte and that is why Roof decided to install this now instead of spring/fall camps. I don't know whats going on in Drink or Roof's minds, but my guess is Roof is not comfortable calling plays in the old scheme (his bread and butter has always been a 4-3), so he's trying to change to a 4-3.

All that said, it sounds like things are on the mend in that regard. I haven't heard of anything about changing of duties, but, I would not be surprised if Gasparato is in the booth giving actual recommendations for play calls instead of just calling out alignments.

[AppSt94]

My suggestion is for everyone to take a breathe and allow this to play out. Let’s get through September before we storm the bastille. If we have to break a few hearts by losing in two weeks to get this fixed, so be it.

[hotrod2001]

It's too early.

What if (and hear me out) Charlotte is actually on the upswing, and underestimated them? I mean they have a new coach which took Austin Pey from an FCS disaster to a contendor in just one season. He's young, charismatic and was openly saying after the App game that he's determined to change the culture of the 49ers so they're no longer "everybody's homecoming opponent." I'd say before groaning how Charlotte managed to hang with us, lets see how they do against Umass this week, and then FAU and FIU after what is undoubtedly going to be a wash against Clemson. IF they've indeed improved they should be able to win at least two of their next four games, if they win three out of their next four games then I'll be convinced that they're no longer a doormat and are serious about changing their program.

I'd be lying if I wasn't slightly concerned with our guys performance the last two weeks, but wasn't Ted Roof who was letting Benny LeMay slip through his hands. The boys need to wake up if they want to try to knock off the Tarheels next week. Maybe there's something to having the big opponent of the year the first out of the gate instead of an FCS tuneup. I don't know, but it's still to early for me to take the temperature of some chairs just yet.

It's still too soon to call but I suspect that Healy will turn the 49ers around much like Napier has turned the Ragin Cajuns around. Also, I believe Healy brought most, if not all, of his assistant coaches with him from Austin Peay so they all know each other and know how to work with each other in game situations. Drink has had to build his staff from scratch so they've got to figure out how to work smoothly together in high-intensity game situations. I don't think that just magically happens.

I think the broadcast said that Healey brought a lot of the AP staff along with him as well as some people he worked with at 'Nooga.

Like I said elsewhere, it's almost like we're in the Penn State chair where you have to sit back and have some more data to see if you've lost your edge or if the team which wasn't supposed to be in the game and almost beat you is actually better than advertised.

[AppAlum1]

Watched the replay of the game yesterday after I calmed down. I coached a little high school ball back in the day, so while not an expert, I think I know a little about the game. I would put the main reasons Charlotte hung 40+ on us as follows:

1. They are flat out better than most all of us expected on offense. Some real play makers at QB, RB and receiver. They made some very athletic plays with our guys often times in good position to tackle them or defend the pass. Many of those catches were really exceptional.
2. To state the obvious, we did not tackle well at the line of scrimmage. Again, some of that is the QB and RB made some really elusive and athletic moves. I'm confident that extra tackling drills are on the agenda this week. Sure tackles vs. highlight reel light 'em up tackles is what we need to beat UNC.
3. For Pete's sake, I hope we work on getting our CBs heads turning back toward the line of scrimmage and looking for the ball. That was disappointing.
4. I agree with everyone else that the kids did not look like they were thinking about things and not just reacting and playing fast. Again, Open date could not come at a better time. Time for coaches to earn their money.
5. I hate the Unsportsmanlike penalties. I can live with the late hits as long as they are not cheap shots, but the Unsportsmanlike late in the game where we bailed them out on their last scoring drive just can't be allowed to stand.

On offense, if we have Sutton back and Victor Johnson at LT is at 100% I like our ability to score with them. From what I saw Saturday, if Johnson can't go, we are in trouble. I don't know why we weren't either having a RB/slot help or having a TE chip the Charlotte DE lined up over our backup LT. Also, hope coach let's Zac be Zac, even for just this one game. We saw a couple glimpses of that Saturday and it was quite the difference. Darrynton Evans, wow... just wow.

Thanks for your calm analysis. I think you are exactly right. And, if I had to pinpoint the number one problem it is that we did not tackle well at the LoS. If that is fixed, then good; if not, ... it's gonna be a LONG season on this here message board. New scheme or not, failure to tackle will derail the best scheme.

[Yosef84]

Watched the replay of the game yesterday after I calmed down. I coached a little high school ball back in the day, so while not an expert, I think I know a little about the game. I would put the main reasons Charlotte hung 40+ on us as follows:

1. They are flat out better than most all of us expected on offense. Some real play makers at QB, RB and receiver. They made some very athletic plays with our guys often times in good position to tackle them or defend the pass. Many of those catches were really exceptional.
2. To state the obvious, we did not tackle well at the line of scrimmage. Again, some of that is the QB and RB made some really elusive and athletic moves. I'm confident that extra tackling drills are on the agenda this week. Sure tackles vs. highlight reel light 'em up tackles is what we need to beat UNC.
3. For Pete's sake, I hope we work on getting our CBs heads turning back toward the line of scrimmage and looking for the ball. That was disappointing.
4. I agree with everyone else that the kids did not look like they were thinking about things and not just reacting and playing fast. Again, Open date could not come at a better time. Time for coaches to earn their money.
5. I hate the Unsportsmanlike penalties. I can live with the late hits as long as they are not cheap shots, but the Unsportsmanlike late in the game where we bailed them out on their last scoring drive just can't be allowed to stand.

On offense, if we have Sutton back and Victor Johnson at LT is at 100% I like our ability to score with them. From what I saw Saturday, if Johnson can't go, we are in trouble. I don't know why we weren't either having a RB/slot help or having a TE chip the Charlotte DE lined up over our backup LT. Also, hope coach let's Zac be Zac, even for just this one game. We saw a couple glimpses of that Saturday and it was quite the difference. Darrynton Evans, wow... just wow.

That's a good summary of issues. I can't say I disagree with any of them. It actually gives me hope because those are some very "coachable" issues that I don't expect to continue.

[Rekdiver]

We are replacing 2 great CB’s.

[Mjohn1988]

Think our guys on D don’t take pride in what they do? Then check out the profile on Jordan Fehr at appstatesports.

[Rick83]

Think our guys on D don’t take pride in what they do? Then check out the profile on Jordan Fehr at appstatesports.

This young man is so damn impressive...with his god-given talents and work ethic he's going to be successful...and I'm not talking just about football.

[Longrifle28]

Think our guys on D don’t take pride in what they do? Then check out the profile on Jordan Fehr at appstatesports.

Great student athlete. Also laid the smackdown on the UNCC running back last weekend that attempted to hurtle the defensive back going down the sideline..

[AppStFan1]

It is too bad we did not pony up the money to pay Brown. He was our biggest loss.

Pay him for what job, DC? Certainly there was no way he was staying in that role for us once Satt asked him to come to UL. Brown probably makes as much as Drink now.

I thought we should have asked Brown to interview for our HC job, but from what I’ve heard he may not have been interested in that either.

Yes we just don't have the money to pay him to stay as DC and I don't think he wanted to stay either. He just wanted to go P5 and follow Satt. As I said before, I felt Brown and even Iron Mike were our two biggest losses from coaching staff. I hated to see Dale Jones go as well.

I'm sure Brown is making as much as Drink. He will be a HC someday.

[Cro-Magnon App]

Everybody is an analyst. Everybody is a critic. Everybody knows what's best, better than the coaches do.