Unconquered

I will remember it for a team having the easiest path in history to the mnc game yet was incapable of showing up on the road. The stars were aligned for us to get to the mnc game and we still screwed it up. I will also remember it as our team looking unprepared to play its biggest rival at home. The team was flat. I will also remember it for being wrong about EJ-good kid, but the terrible presnap reads, inaccurate passing refusing to run, all of it. I really thought he would lead us tot he promised land.

Hopefully I will also remember it as the the last year Jimbo lost to a truly awful team for no good reason or
It may be remembered as the year it became obvious JImbo was not up to being hc at this school.

The next few years will color how we all view this year.

As to being conference champs, is winning the big east or mountain west a big deal? THE ACC this year is much closer to them than the big 4.

Weinke wasn't the only difference. I hope you know that.

Yes, his offense was so bad that it got him to a head coaching job at a major institute. Terrible. He was so terrible at his job that he kept getting promoted.

His X's and O's have him to where he is now.

His offenses have underachieved give their talent level.

As to getting this job, he can thank bobby refusing to go out gracefully for that. If Bobby had left after 2004 like everyone wanted him to do, then Jimbo does not see this job in any capacity unless he is hired by the new hc to be oc.

He took a job in 2006 when many others would not. Not many credible coaches would come here because they did not think we would actually push Bobby out at any point and they knew he would never leave of his own accord. Then there is the part about the school president probably no longer being here when bobby leaves so all your time as the dutiful oc goes for naught because a real coaching search would ensue. If bobby would have agreed to 2007 as his last (like tk tried to get him to do) we would have gotten a much better name than Jimbo.

The stature of 2 of the guys in that scenario would shock you. So Jimbo was plan d when he was brought here by TK.

FWIW, Jimbo could not get the head UAB job in 2006 or he would have gone there instead. If he was looked at as so great UAB would have hired him at that time instead of Calloway.

Things broke JImbo's way. if Bobby had left in 2007 or 2008 JImbo would not have gotten this job. Jimbo got the job because WVU wanted him and TK knew this place would fall into the abyss if Bobby was left to his own devices. If Bobby was willing to leave (he was asked) jimbo would have been allowed to go to WVU with a minimal payment on his buyout and we would have gotten a real hc. Bobby wasn't so the whole hciw thing was done.

So this faustian bargain was struck and for better or worse we are living with the results.

Just so you understand: If we had an opening after 2008 and Jimbo was oc somewhere else and comes to interview not a chance in hell he gets this job. Not a chance. I would have been surprised if any coordinator get the job. It would have been an hc.

So now that you understand the primary reason he got this job is that he wanted out of LSU and was willing to come here with conditions that most other premier oc's would not accept.

There were other coordinators that were more desired by TK.

27, UAB job must be approved by University of Alabama trustees. He was considered done deal before they blocked it.

bad fsu and bad acc

This, the fact that we made UF offense look top 10 against us was crazy but we all assumed that EJ was going to have a great year this year especially after the clemson. Maybe its mostly on coach Fisher, yes CU defense wasn't that great but it showed what EJ was capable of if given the full reins. We ddn't use him to his abilities and I think after the NC State game, he never really recovered, which coaching is partly to blame.

No, that was Sexton's spin. Calloway was the first choice because Jimbo was willing to go for the same 400k salary that Calloway took to be hc.c Calloway was the preferred candidate.

The issue for the Bama bot's was the salary not the candidate.

Everybody does realize that if we would have lost more games, we would have played a tougher schedule...

What does this mean, exactly?

I criticize Jimbo all the time. But since I do a lot of coaching myself, I step back and look at what is actually happening. It seems that certain people will try and find anything they perceive to be wrong with the program and then find a way to "blame" Jimbo.

First, I don't think there is anything really wrong with our program. Watching this team grow for the past 3 years has been a thing of beauty. I was a student in 99, so I know how things were at the end of our run. I was still a student in 03, so I could start to see the program unravel. It was a fall far larger than anyone seems to want to admit. We don't just bounce back from that. I've enjoyed watching someone put the pieces back together.

Second, I don't believe in the need to "blame" someone for everything. We lost a game to NC State. What happened? We had trouble picking up stunts up front, and our defense didn't adjust well to short passes over the middle in the second half. OK. I wish we would have adjusted in-game to the passes. I know that since then we have come up with an answer when teams do that, but should have happened at the time. There were plays there to be made on offense, and we didn't make them. That sucked. The UF game, we turned the ball over and didn't adjust to them going with power sets. 2 games and we failed to adjust. Now there's a bit of a pattern forming on defense. OK. My opinion is we need our defensive coordinator to make better in-game adjustments.

I can see what's happening in the games, or at least what I think is happening, but I don't "blame" anyone. Special Teams could have made another play. We could have forced an extra fumble. A player could have made a play on the ball. Our offense could have had an extra big play. A great team, when one element doesn't have a great day, the other two pick up the slack. We are a really good team. We aren't yet a great team. No problem, because I can see that we're on our way there.

I do criticize Jimbo. All the time. I thought we used Wilder with too many zone runs. I don't think he yet has the vision for that, and perhaps never will. He does do well, though, on power plays where there is one hole he's supposed to hit. We got better about calling plays for him later in the year, but I still think he ran too many zones. Freeman is the better of the two on zone runs, but inside and outside. And I would have loved to have seen more of Pryor as a single back with E.J. under center.

I thought we played scooter too much. I'm just not a fan. I'd rather see Green in there. My opinion is that if both reach what they're capable of, that Green will be better.

I don't like us being in shotgun on 3rd and short. If we are, I'd like to see us run EJ more on QB power plays. I'd like to see us run less spread formations. I do think we'd utilize O'Leary a lot more if he'd do a bit better about being in the right place when he runs patterns.

I have specific complaints. These complaints don't mean Jimbo is bad at his job. It means I have a different opinion on a few things. I think he's taking this team in the right direction, and it's a joy to watch.