CMA wasn’t my pick either – I thought his interview was just a courtesy since they were interviewing Orlando (that was who I thought was the leading candidate). But Major is coaching my Coogs so I support him.
I hope he knocks the OC hire out of the park and gets the offense revved up for 2018 because I think the defense will be “good enough”. There are some nice transfers picking UH as their landing spot and that signals to me that CMA might have the recruiting touch (similar to Sampson) – just hope it translates on the field into double-digit wins in most seasons. I am not going to write him off after one season but he needs to avoid the Tulsa and Tulane type losses next season. Very few go undefeated – what UCF did was tremendous but cannot be the standard. However, I think now most Coogs expect to be in the conversation for the NY6 G5 bid for most seasons.
The future is BRIGHT! The goal should always be to win them all in front of a packed house, but we will have arrived at where we want to be when the “lucky” plays are the difference between 9-10 wins or 11-12 wins. Go Coogs1
Agree, we were a lot closer to not being bowl eligible than we were to being 12-1. Two of our close losses included scoring against prevent defenses with a minute or so left in the game.
I’ve been around long enough that I can tell if a coach will be successful or not. A lot of us can. Helton, Dismal, Briles, Sumlin, Levine, Herman and now Applewhite. It was pretty easy to see after their first season how their tenure was going to be. And I will say that Applewhites isn’t looking too good. And for those that claim that you’re not a real Cougar if you don’t get behind the coach, that’s flawed as the only reason we complain about the coach is because of his lack of wins. We want UH to win not the coach to fail.
I will call it right now. Applewhite will be successful. In 2018 he will improve on 2017. He will have a great 2019 signing class thanks to his reputation with HS coaches and the IPF facility being open. After that the upward trajectory will continue.
Why would recruiting all of a sudden get better in 2019? He’s been recruiting for UH for 3 years now. Heck that’s the supposed reason we hired him over other candidates!
The only negative thing I saw from CMA this year was a poor hire at OC and maybe some of the positional coaches.
I did not see in-game or in-season decisions that concerned me, in fact quite the opposite… I was surprised at how quickly he handled some decisions. In particular:
The early departure of a coach was handled quickly and efficiently.
He pulled the trigger on benching Allen who was having difficulty in the offense (saving the argument for a square peg in a round hole for another thread) much sooner than I expected… then Postma. Considering his history at UT, I thought he might have stuck it out longer with a struggling QB.
He didn’t make any disastrous or inexplicable game decisions. His clock management was good, he didn’t panic too soon in games, he went for it on 4th down at opportune or appropriate moments, he kicked field goals within the capabilities of his kicker, etc.
The one knock if I had to make one, is that the adjustments to strategy made during the games were occasionally lacking (two games in particular come to mind - Tulane and Memphis). He got out-coached a couple of times, but I am not really shocked by that considering he is a first-year HC.
He has the opportunity to fix his biggest mistake - a poor offensive strategy that needs to be shelved by bringing in a competent OC with a successful track-record; someone who can be the HC of the offense and let CMA focus on game management and motivation.
It already has improved, but my post pointed to the biggest reason, the IPF. HS coaches are already cooing over it and pointed to the fact it is better than UT’s. This will make a difference.
Also, he will have gotten to build relationships with recruits of his choosing from their juniors years on. That also makes a difference.
Agree with this, right now CMA is sitting on the fence. A good 2018 and he’s back in good graces and then, of course, the P5’s will come poaching. A repeat of 2017 and more than likely gonzo. I will gladly eat a big ol’ bowl of crow if he turns it around
I doubt 1 good season will make him an attractive HC unless that school is desperate. Bottom line if we don’t make it to at least the aac title game then he has to go. No excuses.
If he has a 9-win season, regardless of title game, he is getting a 3rd year. That is not because I am gaga for CMA, but you are risking serious problems in future hiring if he meets the arbitrary 9-win threshold established by administration and then we fire him.
I sure would like to have the crystal ball some of you guys apparently have. I don’t know how you can possibly judge how CMA will do in the future based on this one particular season. To recap, he lost his best offensive player and one of the best playmakers this school has ever seen (Ward) and his best defensive players not named Ed Oliver (Steven Taylor, Howard Wilson, Tyus Bowser, Brandon Wilson). Couple that with the fact that he was a first time head coach. Was anyone on this board annointed the very best at their job the first year you ever held a position in that job? If so, it’s because you owned your own business and annointed yourself. I don’t think anyone realistically believed this year would be anywhere near as good as 2015. There were lots of reasons 2015 was so good, including a roster packed on both sides of the ball with experience and athleticism. Herman was able to take advantage of that. I was hopeful 2017 would be at least as good as 2016 and it was. Next year will be telling. If we don’t see major improvements (pun intended), then CMA is not the right guy. But I’m not willing to admit he’s the right or wrong guy until after next year.