We can't get a good coach
KSU is a BCS job with a fanbase that cares about football and has a decent budget to work with. The mindset of "oh, we're poor little KSU, we can't do any better than a former legend who is clearly past his prime" is, once again, committed to mediocrity and is based off of the premise that you're scared of the future because of our past. Well, this isn't the KSU of 1989. The fact that we didn't win without Snyder is irrelevant. There is enough of an infrastructure at KSU to be successful in this conference with the right personnel. And by successful I mean above KU, BU, and ISU on most years and on the level of MU, OSU, and TTU.
It's not THAT hard to get a mid-major up and comer coach or former elite coach that has fallen from grace at KSU, in fact I'd argue that the school is well positioned to do so. Aside from obvious exceptions like Patterson, Chris Peterson, and Urban Meyer, a good number of elite schools get nervous about hiring someone who hasn't had success at a BCS school, or had an acrimonious breakup with their former BCS school. Instead, the way for most good coaches to break into or stay in the BCS ranks is at a school like KSU that needs a little more momentum than normal to be really good, but isn't a football black hole where nobody gives a damn (Indiana, Duke, etc). Look at this list of up-and-comers/good coaches fallen from grace at BCS schools:
-Jerry Kill, Minnesota (previously NIU)
-Tommy Tuberville, TTU (previously Auburn)
-Houston Nutt, Ole Miss (previously Arkansas)
-Mike London, Virginia (previously Richmond, who was 28-13 in London's tenure in one of the toughest conferences of FCS and won the 2008 FCS national title)
Each of these BCS teams are overmatched by the big names in their conference, but there is at least an infrastructure for success at each of these institutions. Sound familiar?
I also take issue with this statement:
"Therefore, do we fire somebody that's improving our stock each year to hire an extremely high risk employee that has a better chance of failure than success?"
If your definition of improving stock is barely making a little bit above even, then that's your prerogative. Another way to look at it is that he's been back two years and only improved by one win from year-to-year when he could've easily improved by three had he not run off Vic and/or hired a DC who doesn't adjust his gameplans. That win total is not likely to rise this year even with the former #1 prospects at LB and RB on the team. Part of that is a function of the schedule, but Texas is still down and Tech is still finding it's footing. OU, OSU and A&M appear to be the true grinders on the schedule, and this year we would've had to play at OSU and Nebraska anyway if Conference Armageddon hadn't happened. So on top of last year you basically add one grinder game and a potentially tough one at Tech and lose CU in the process. It's not a great situation, but it's not the end of the world as some KSU fans think it is.
KSU should've won 9, potentially 10 games last year (depending on how you look at the Missouri loss), and with a competent defensive coordinator that should've been the expectation for this year. Assuming Klein can actually throw or OB was able to teach him how to over the course of the offseason, the only games on the schedule that don't appear to be at least somewhat winnable
when comparing personnel on paper are OU and OSU. However, Cosh will more than likely be pegged for 2-3 close losses that should end up as wins to put us...right at 6 or 7 wins as the ceiling. And that's assuming we do end up winning a few close games that we shouldn't have, just like last year with North Texas, ISU, UCLA and UCF, two of which could be at least somewhat attributed to the opposing offense inexplicably blowing a clear opportunity to score--ISU and UCF. We also got lucky with UCLA dropping passes left and right. Last year could've easily ended 4-8, maybe 3-9 and all of those potential losses besides UCF would've been blamed on the defense not doing its job. While the defense wasn't exactly chock full of BCS talent, it was clear that they were out of position for most of the year, which was painfully exposed on national tv against Nebraska.
Yet Bill thinks that keeping Cosh around is a good idea? Coordinator jobs aren't like head coaches, you aren't necessarily obligated to give them multiple years to install "their" system.
So this is why I don't accept the mindset espoused by you or other KSU fans that we can't do any better than what we have now. Personally, I think we can do better WITH Snyder, and that's what I'd consider best case scenario--2-3 years of Snyder adjusting his S.O.P., firing Cosh, treating his good coaches better, and winning 8-9 games a year. However, it's clear that at this point he has to feel significant pressure from the fanbase and ADJC to really be spurred to make any changes in what he does. This is why I don't have a problem with those who want to go all the way and fire Snyder. If you allow a culture of mediocrity and excuse-making to be widely accepted, then all you reap is the future wreckage of your program while others pass you by. KSU basketball was lucky to get out of it's 20 year dry spell that was caused partially by accepting a mindset that reinforced the yearly rationalizations of "well, we're getting a little better every day and that means we'll be good next year or two years from now. We can't shake things up, because that would be risky!"
To use the business analogy again, history is littered with the remnants of companies that sat on their laurels and watched others pass them by as markets and realities changed. Running a business successfully takes a measure of risk. So does running a successful football program. You can't be afraid to demand changes when your operations have become mired in mediocrity, and you can't be afraid to respectfully but firmly cut leadership that is not willing to adjust their strategies to ensure future success. If this was the KSU of 1989, then by all means we would all be begging him to stay and get us 6-7 wins every year. But it's not 1989 anymore, and it's sad to see so many people act like it still is.
