curious tulsa cat the coaches that are returning to the program, do you think they have also been "coached up" since leaving here? EMAW
Long answer to a short question that probable did not expect and answer. I originally typed “get fracked” but decided that was not really adding anything to the argument. I wrote this long winded reply instead…..
The decline in 2004-2005 was not totally unexpected by me. I was not, however, expecting Snyder to retire. I was hoping the assistants would be changed and the recruiting updated. The Prince experiment to bring young blood and vitality into the program failed for a variety of reasons the most blatant of which was Princes ego and failure to understand K-States unique problems and his own weaknesses. He drove off anyone who did not agree with his methods without first examining if perhaps they were right and he was wrong. All of this culminated is discourse, confusion, paranoia and dissention in the team leading to a lack of direction, lack of leadership and a lack of winning.
I think (I hope) the coaches have learned from their mistakes. I see most of the failure in 2004-2005 coming from a combination of apathy on the part of the players expecting to be good without working hard, apathy from the coaches expecting to be good without working hard, tiredness from Snyder from pushing so hard and finally getting some success with a Big XII championship. I think this combined with a natural decline in recruiting success (all programs have it to some degree or less) and a change in fundamental recruiting methods, and a change in the Big XII offensive sets caused a lack of winning which led to a decline in confidence which led to more losing.
What Snyder and company have going for them is they understand how to win. They do not expect that they know how to win but can adapt and use what they have. As to whether the “Coaches have been coached up”, This I feel is an inane comment and bears little comment. I assume what your are referring to is that the current coaches did little to inspire a wining record in 2004-2005. I hope you are not saying that coaching plays no effect on winning at college football.
We all would like to have seen more dynamic younger coaches brought in to help. Could we have done better than Snyder? I doubt it with the university leadership and athletic department as screwed up as it was. I would have liked different coaches that were proven winners. I was hoping to get Patterson, or Meyer, or the next Bob Stoops, or next Bear Bryant to come to Manhattan. The reality is things were more messed up in the program than any of us realized. The entire athletic department was fracked and that kept any serious candidates from being considered. (you can decide whether this was because of the frackers or frackees or potential coaches). That is why Snyder came back. He was a constant that understood K-state and could be working while the athletic department crumbled and was rebuilt around him. Snyder brought in people that he knew and trusted. They are not the best in all of football. But we know their strengths and weaknesses.
This is very long way to say that I trust these coaches more than the last set of coaches. Will they get us to 11 wins? I don’t know. Is it better than Prince? Yes! Do I expect a better team than last year? Yes. Will they win more? Damn I hope so. Thing is you have to stay positive at this point in the season. It more fun that way.
