They are not the type to sit down on a problem. They didn’t get to their stations in life without being aggressive problem solvers. This was a very rare confluence of multiple components here.
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Rah…Rah…go team!..
Whatever…
They are gonna punt from the 30.
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Go hire Tosh Lupoi and pay him big bucks and lets move on!!!
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I like this idea. I’m getting pissed we’re being out recruited by Scumlin and that desert school who got spanked twice by UH.
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Here is the meat of my post - From Renu’s comments regarding winning seasons to Tilman’s ego, this administration is responsible for creating a fan environment that has set Applewhite up for failure.
The long version - Am I the only one who thinks the admin (primarily Pezman and Khator, Fertitta has been busy with his new projects, the Rockets and Fertitta Center) has totally botched this situation post bowl game?!? I mean they were completely caught with their pants down and have boxed themselves in with their statements.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the Pezman hire, Tilman has been more than generous with UH, and not enough good things can be said about Renu Khator, but I think they really got caught off guard by all this, which is uncharacteristic. Even worse their mismanagement of the situation has painted the university into a corner.
Their responses in regards to Applewhite after the bowl loss were completely tone deaf to the outrage. I maintain that Applewhite was the best hire out of the candidates that would accept Fertitta’s terms. Tilman, as amazing as he has been, has to own this situation. His criteria limited the field of applicants. It is still possible that Applewhite turns out to be a good overall HC, but have no doubt, our administration was obviously caught unprepared for what transpired in Fort Worth (and it was bad, worthy of dismissal bad). It should be obvious to everyone at this point that they wanted a third year of Applewhite.
Most schools at our level would see multiple eight-win seasons as good, not great, but solid. This was an unpopular opinion at the time (and I am sure it still is now), firing Levine after an overall winning record was dangerous, to future coaching prospects and to the fan base. I am all for setting high expectations, we should not accept mediocrity, but sometimes patience is warranted. By firing Levine when they did, they set a precedent, whether unwanted or not, and the fanbase is applying the same logic to a different situation. Look at all the Applewhite-Levine comparisons.
As much as I dislike how Judas left this program, I would not trade 2015 for anything. Having said that, this administration created a monster that they are having trouble controlling, and that monster is us, an impatient fanbase that wants it all and wants it NOW - DAMN IT! The recent lashing out at Pez and Khator is evidence of this and just the beginning of what I believe is a situation that will get uglier before it gets better.
The University’s leadership has made statements and created an environment that have put Applewhite in an unwinnable situation. Nothing short of Nick Saban will satisfy this fan base and heaven forbid Saban loses to Tulsa, SMU, Tulane, Memphis, Navy, Temple, or anyone else… ever, because he would be toast. I don’t like where this is headed. Having high expectations is one thing, but I am sensing an attitude of entitlement now, and that is dangerous.
I don’t know how this will end, but I don’t see how anybody comes out smelling like roses, especially us, the fans.
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The timing of this debacle is really really bad!
Wow, you are complementary to the administration and blaming them at the same time. Timing is what’s off. If we were 4-4, the administration would have dismissed Applewhite after that eighth game and had enough time to find a qualified ambitious P5 coordinator from a top 6 team.
Everyone was caught off guard with the bowl game blowout. There is a lot of blame to go around but the obvious issue were injuries.
Fans act as if we are Alabama, Ohio State or a team of that stature that loses one game or go undefeated almost every year. We do not have that type of program and that type of fan base.
Our program is a rollercoaster ride. We are not a P5 so we are going to have some up years and down ones. Going 8-5 wasn’t bad. By comparison, UT had a 9-4 record this year but the 4 years prior, they were worse than 8-5.
I wish everyone would settle down and let it play out.
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I’m a big fan of both of them as they have done so much for the institution. That being said, Renu could’ve saved the “not the end of the world” comment. That comes across as someone who doesn’t know what’s going on.
Now that we’re 5 days after the game and he’s still the HC is both alarming and disappointing. Basically they’re conceding next season and they’ll be trying to sell it big when renewals go out and that’s going to rub a lot of people the wrong way.
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Will making the change get UH closer to its goal or will staying the course? That is what leadership must decide…all i know is quitters don’t win championships
Being G5 should not equate with on and off years. Boise State has fielded a winning program EVERY year since forever. UCF is the new face of the AAC. Memphis and USF have on and off years. Who else?
UH should be in the hunt for a AAC championship every year. He have everything a coach needs to succeed with the exception of attendance and that’s on us.
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The Coogs are going to be in a funk record wise for the next 2-3 years until they can bring in a head coach and staff that will stay longer than a year without constantly looking for the next gig that pays more. I honestly do not believe that this team will be much more than a .500 team next year, and it could get real embarrassing real fast with OU and Pirate Leach. I have said it before and I will say it again…this team has not had a leader since Roberts left for the NFL.
Since Dana Dimel was fired, we have had only 3 losing seasons. We have won or tied our division 6 times but only won the conference twice. I’d say that’s “in the hunt”.
Yes, this administration has done great things, but they have mismanaged how they have handled this particular situation, and I believe it is out of character for them. I also believe they are beginning to realize they created an insatiable monster in this fanbase.
Additionally, I don’t think this administration is the type to dismiss a coach midseason. I think they would interview new candidates, but they would wait till the end to make announcements.
Agreed with injuries and blame.
The Bama and tOSU comment is exactly my point.
8-5 is solid, but it does need to be improved. What I don’t like is the quit we showed. That is concerning. Applewhite, if retained, better realize eff’ing quickly that BS will not fly. Injuries or no, coordinator losses or no, it is unacceptable to have this team unprepared and giving up in a game. This is why he went from solidly having a third year to his employment in question in the course of one game.
The hyperbole definitely needs to be toned down. As always, I will call people out when they are making stuff up just to rag on Applewhite, but I won’t blame them for being upset. I am still getting social media posts and messages from non-UH friends asking what happened. This loss was bad. Unlike some of the others on this board, I would say this is his first bad loss. There have been disappointing losses under Applewhite, but none that I would have characterized as bad until now.
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Agree, and they have boxed themselves into a corner here. There was no damage control and telling your customers that a 70-14 result isn’t the end of the world was a bad idea (proven by the fact that she deleted the tweet but the internet never forgets).
They either get rid of Major or punt to next year. If they punt, the majority of fans will ticked and Major will have to hire a staff while everyone knows that he was almost fired. Renu announced as much to the world.
They really only have one choice at this point. Punting would lead to a really bad result.
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Exactly what I am saying. This is the first time I have seen them make statements that were absolute head-scratchers and it is also why I said Applewhite is in an unwinnable situation. He leaves, he is the scape goat for a lot of crap that went wrong this year, some his fault and some not. He stays, and he is a lame duck coach not given the full support by the administration or the fanbase, not to mention that there was a very large contingent that never gave him their support to begin with no matter how he did.
He’s screwed one way or the other, but here is the bigger issue… What kind of coaching search can we accomplish this late in the process without having to seriously financially entice someone away from their current position? What kind of coach can we get when they know a couple of back-to-back 8-win seasons, and their head is on the chopping block? If we fire Applewhite, that is now two coaches in recent history that we have let go with winning records.
A lot of top quality coaches might want to avoid a university who fires winning coaches because they didn’t win every game they were favored to win, or they didn’t win the division or conference every year in a competitive league like the American.
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I agree with pretty much everything you said, especially the part quoted above. I think Pez/Khator/Fertitta were all thinking as long as CMA could be competitive against Army, the injury/lack of DC excuse would be there and CMA would get another year with hopes of health and new coordinators. But that shellacking threw everything off course. And now, there’s not a good solution for exactly the reasons you laid out in your last post. CMA is certainly a lame duck unless he can hire great coordinators, win the conference and go to a NY6 next year. But before he has the opportunity to even win one game next year, he has to convince good coordinators that coming here wouldn’t be disastrous for their careers. Good luck with that! If we fire CMA, we are extremely late to the game in finding a replacement. I think RK’s twitter statements are a reflection of how taken aback admin was by this loss. All I can say is I’m glad I’m not them having to make these decisions right now.
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Still in a tantrum poor child
We would have a problem with hiring a new head coach as well. Any candidate takes one look at our schedule and the state of our program, ie the starting talent we are losing vs schedule, and they are looking down the barrel of a 6-8 win season. With a dismissal, this fanbase and administration would now set the standard that back-to-back 8-win seasons and you are fired, eg Levine and Applewhite.
Basically, whoever comes in has two years to win big or they risk being fired. Not a good situation to get up-and-comers to buy-in to what you are selling.
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