Worst I’ve ever seen

[yosef69]

So out of the 131ish FBS level schools we hypothetically rank 105? Uh ok

Did you watch us get pounded by south ally?

[MAD Doctor]

So EZU is better than us? This guy is just getting a rise. Most of us acknowledge we are playing like a bad football team right now, but only a fool would think we are bottom 25.

[Bigdaddyg1]

So out of the 131ish FBS level schools we hypothetically rank 105? Uh ok

Did you watch us get pounded by south ally?

Yep but the ranking is still dumb.

[appgrad95&97]

Bill Connelly's SP+ has us at 92. Sagarin has us at 90. It ain't good.

[Yosef1986]

Rankings are only projections, however, this year we beat an FCS school - a so so ECU team, and have been run over by Clemson and USA. We have not shown enough in 4 games to be viewed any different. We need to show our product on the field to make any progress on rankings.

[Yosef84]

"Define bad? A losing record, internal strife, losing the team? All of those are more justifiable for moving on then the lack of conference titles...."

Bad: getting blown out at home on ESPN to S.Alabama. Getting blown out in two of the first four games to start the season. Watching most of the team quit in the S. Alabama game. Likely finishing the season without a conference championship for the fifth season in a row. 6-6 in 2022 with two of those wins against FCS competition. Hope my definition of bad helps you understand.

the USA blowout is really indefensible. A team with vastly less resources absolutely wiped the floor with us based on coaching and heart (you know, the things we used to be good at). They have 20% of the donations and ticket sales. They are in a state where even their most ardent supporters have a "real" team they pull for. To have people wax over it like its no big deal is what is truly baffling. Clemson blowing App out can be excused. USA blowing App out is the canary in the coal mine.

While some are okay with Clemson blowing us out, some are not. Those days should be well behind us against any team, although with the portal and NIL it might be a theme moving forward, but Clemson doesn't even use the portal. Clemson set 122 year old records against us....
Not against Limestone, not against Citadel, not against SC State, UNCharrisburg....against App State.

Nobody is "OK" with anyone blowing us out....including Clemson. It IS, however, more understandable given a huge disparity in resources. Also, they came within ok me TD of matching that record the next week against a conference opponent. Adding perspective and context is not being "OK" with it

[Yosef84]

The whole debate about Drink is just tiresome. He did a great job in 2019 except for the GS game which was a HUGE miss. That was one of the biggest "no show" games in App history until Thursday. App was head and shoulders superior but looked unmotivated and unprepared because Drink refused to acknowledge "hate week".

He's done great at Mizzou and seems to be a great fit. They had no culture to step on so his business-like approach has won games and he has them on track. He had another no-show game Saturday and almost lost to Vandy....dropping 4 places in the poll. He's a very good strategist and manager. He's not a motivator. Whatever the situation, he's a good coach and we can't keep blaming him for issues 5 years later.

I'm 100% pulling for Clark, Ponce and Sloan to get this season on track. Time to stop living in the past

[Stonewall]

The article is entertainment.However , being mocked in any major media is a hit to our brand.

[Yosef1986]

One of my staff played football at Mizzou - many years ago. He is an insider with the program. From his view - they are winning and Drink has moved the program forward - however, he is not sold that Drink is some sort of genius - great recruiter and has been able to "get out of the way" and let the other coaches coach. He is winning, however, maybe not all Drink. He also sited numerous in game poor decisions by Drink - so far they have survived.

[AppWyo]

https://www.cbssports.com/college-footb ... ian-state/

https://www.espn.com/college-football/s ... e-carolina

[asumba95]

A lot of App fans deserve what they get. Many walk around with an arrogant attitude and talk a lot of crap about other programs- UNC, Charlotte, Wake, etc. Many carry that mantra of any team any time. That’s all great but once we get some humble pie served to us that crap talk comes back.

Talking crap about being better than UNC, Charlotte and Wake in football is like bragging about being the tallest midget.

[appst1992]

One of my staff played football at Mizzou - many years ago. He is an insider with the program. From his view - they are winning and Drink has moved the program forward - however, he is not sold that Drink is some sort of genius - great recruiter and has been able to "get out of the way" and let the other coaches coach. He is winning, however, maybe not all Drink. He also sited numerous in game poor decisions by Drink - so far they have survived.

I think, in general, head coaches are as good as their assistants. Take Saban for example, no doubt a great coach, but what made him successful year in and year out is that he attracted the very best assistant coaches in the business. Assistant coaches want to hitch their wagon to a head coach who they believe will benefit them in getting to the next level in their career. I think that's what some of these coaches have going for them...Drink, Fickel, etc...they attract talented assistants who believe they can "go places" with them. This was my main concern with hiring Clark...does he have the reputation, credentials, track record, intangibles to attract the best assistants we can get, and is he perceived across the industry as a coach who could benefit an assistant coach who wants to progress.

[AppStFan1]

One of my staff played football at Mizzou - many years ago. He is an insider with the program. From his view - they are winning and Drink has moved the program forward - however, he is not sold that Drink is some sort of genius - great recruiter and has been able to "get out of the way" and let the other coaches coach. He is winning, however, maybe not all Drink. He also sited numerous in game poor decisions by Drink - so far they have survived.

That is kind of what Napier was at Louisiana. Made bad decisions but had a good staff. I always thought him taking Link with him was a huge hit. He was a great special teams coach for us.

[Mjohn1988]

One of my staff played football at Mizzou - many years ago. He is an insider with the program. From his view - they are winning and Drink has moved the program forward - however, he is not sold that Drink is some sort of genius - great recruiter and has been able to "get out of the way" and let the other coaches coach. He is winning, however, maybe not all Drink. He also sited numerous in game poor decisions by Drink - so far they have survived.

That is kind of what Napier was at Louisiana. Made bad decisions but had a good staff. I always thought him taking Link with him was a huge hit. He was a great special teams coach for us.

That said, putting together a great staff is a huge part of being a good head coach.

[AppStFan1]

One of my staff played football at Mizzou - many years ago. He is an insider with the program. From his view - they are winning and Drink has moved the program forward - however, he is not sold that Drink is some sort of genius - great recruiter and has been able to "get out of the way" and let the other coaches coach. He is winning, however, maybe not all Drink. He also sited numerous in game poor decisions by Drink - so far they have survived.

That is kind of what Napier was at Louisiana. Made bad decisions but had a good staff. I always thought him taking Link with him was a huge hit. He was a great special teams coach for us.

That said, putting together a great staff is a huge part of being a good head coach.

Indeed. That is one area I think Shawn struggled in early and hope this new staff can get it together so we can say he turned it around from that standpoint.

[ArmantiWaterSafety]

One of my staff played football at Mizzou - many years ago. He is an insider with the program. From his view - they are winning and Drink has moved the program forward - however, he is not sold that Drink is some sort of genius - great recruiter and has been able to "get out of the way" and let the other coaches coach. He is winning, however, maybe not all Drink. He also sited numerous in game poor decisions by Drink - so far they have survived.

I think your friend is correct in that statement of Drink not being a genius, but that doesn't mean he's not a great head football coach. The mark of any great leader is being able to surround yourself with people smarter than you and having the humility to accept they're smarter than you by making decisions with their input.

[spacemonkey]

Drink seems like a pretty legit coach. He has been successful everywhere he has been. NCState had a great offense while he was there. At Boise before NC State he put up a lot of points as the OC. I don't get all of the hate for him. He is a very successful human being.

[BTK2000]

One of my staff played football at Mizzou - many years ago. He is an insider with the program. From his view - they are winning and Drink has moved the program forward - however, he is not sold that Drink is some sort of genius - great recruiter and has been able to "get out of the way" and let the other coaches coach. He is winning, however, maybe not all Drink. He also sited numerous in game poor decisions by Drink - so far they have survived.

That is kind of what Napier was at Louisiana. Made bad decisions but had a good staff. I always thought him taking Link with him was a huge hit. He was a great special teams coach for us.

That said, putting together a great staff is a huge part of being a good head coach.

Indeed. That is one area I think Shawn struggled in early and hope this new staff can get it together so we can say he turned it around from that standpoint.

What? you don’t think rehiring dale jones to do a job he did poorly (DC) in the FCS days was the greatest idea ever? Sometimes I wish we could find hungry, smart, innovative coordinators and not just “app guy” re-treads

[t4pizza]

One of my staff played football at Mizzou - many years ago. He is an insider with the program. From his view - they are winning and Drink has moved the program forward - however, he is not sold that Drink is some sort of genius - great recruiter and has been able to "get out of the way" and let the other coaches coach. He is winning, however, maybe not all Drink. He also sited numerous in game poor decisions by Drink - so far they have survived.

That is kind of what Napier was at Louisiana. Made bad decisions but had a good staff. I always thought him taking Link with him was a huge hit. He was a great special teams coach for us.

That said, putting together a great staff is a huge part of being a good head coach.

Indeed. That is one area I think Shawn struggled in early and hope this new staff can get it together so we can say he turned it around from that standpoint.

What? you don’t think rehiring dale jones to do a job he did poorly (DC) in the FCS days was the greatest idea ever? Sometimes I wish we could find hungry, smart, innovative coordinators and not just “app guy” re-treads

Dale may not be thought of well as a DC by most fans, but we sure had a very strong linebacker crew the entire time he coached us. Nobody can take away his strengths as a linebacker coach.

[AppinVA]

That is kind of what Napier was at Louisiana. Made bad decisions but had a good staff. I always thought him taking Link with him was a huge hit. He was a great special teams coach for us.

That said, putting together a great staff is a huge part of being a good head coach.

Indeed. That is one area I think Shawn struggled in early and hope this new staff can get it together so we can say he turned it around from that standpoint.

What? you don’t think rehiring dale jones to do a job he did poorly (DC) in the FCS days was the greatest idea ever? Sometimes I wish we could find hungry, smart, innovative coordinators and not just “app guy” re-treads

Dale may not be thought of well as a DC by most fans, but we sure had a very strong linebacker crew the entire time he coached us. Nobody can take away his strengths as a linebacker coach.

And he was great as a keeper of the culture (as a LB coach).

Sorry for the following veer off the main topic, but… We fancy ourselves as a player-run program. And we have been for years, and probably still are for the most part. However, the player-leaders who “run” the program need to be held accountable by the coaches in the background, so they can be molded into effective leaders and even checked when needed. I sometimes wonder how much of this has been done by the coaches under this administration. Who are our player leaders today? Used to be one could name them without hesitation. Outside of Joey, and maybe Horn, I don’t see a rock solid team leader. Maybe they’re just quiet, and that’s okay, but I especially don’t see one on the defensive side — at least in the same way as a Meech or a John Law, etc.