Let's ALL Calm Down on the Coach K Firing Squad

[Empire Lindy]

Folks, are we reall serious with all this FireCoachKrag.com crap? The guy has barely broken in his Cardinal coach cap and we're trying to run him out of town on a rail.

Last night was disappointing, no doubt about it, but let's step back and consider a couple things here. There are VERY few coaches who step into a Top 10 program and keep it there from day one. Les Miles took a bad loss in his first season to a Tennessee team that finished 5-6. He still managed to get the team to 11-2 and a Peach Bowl win over Miami. In fact, Miles is about the ONLY example in the last decade of a coach who has taken over a Top 10 program that had yet to fall off at all... the rest have lifers who have (re)built and/or maintained their programs (Beamer @ VT, Tressell @ OSU, Alvarez @ Wisconsin, Stoops @ Oklahoma, Brown @ Texas). I think you get the point.

Even the infallable Bobby Petrino wasn't exactly an overnight success. Sure, he never lost to Kentucky, but I wager that he never played a UK team with this much offensive talent. Additionally, he DID get drubbed by Memphis in year one (MEMPHIS!) and was completely undressed by Ben Roethlisberger and the Miami Redhawks in his first bowl game. Were we asking for his playbook and headset after that first year? I sure the hell hope not.

There is a learning curve that we all should have expected for Kragthorpe and the new staff. We daydreamed of national title games and Heisman trophies, probably to a fault, but the fact is that with this defense, this defensive coordinator, and a coach installing a new attack that it was going to take some time to get back to running like the engine we've become in the last 2-3 years.

With the remaining schedule, I think Junky was right tempering expectations to 8-4 and hoping for a nice bowl win to propel ourselves to 2008. It stinks that Brian is going to probably lose some NFL money and go out on a low note, but let's not form a Steve Kragthorpe lynchmob because of it. At least give the guy a full year and a recruiting season under his belt before we go calling him names and asking for his coaches card.

[Needabuzz]

I agree completely.

I also still stick with my stance that if the team didn't make unusual mistakes at the very beginning and they would have won this game.

The season isn't over they can still win the BE and get a BCS game.

[bling49]

I believe Coach K deserves a fair shot, a 3 game stint isnt enough.

Although 6 years like Lloyd Carr and multiple losses to your biggest rival is too much.

hopefully he gets things straightened out, I just dont believe this will be a prosperous season, 8-4, 9-3 is a realistic expectation.

Rutgers
Cincy
USF
WVU

.......all look like very tough games to win now.

[fatlineman]

The only member of Louisville's coaching staff that we should be campaigning to fire is Cassity. It's obvious he doesn't have what it takes.

[swole]

Here here! Let's not go all big blue on the guy.

[farmdude]

I also wonder how Cassity ended up on this staff. He had shown since the day he got here that our defensive schemes were the weak link on all of our teams. The inability to stop the 3rd and long conversions and the inability to defend the misdirections, nothing has changed. I seriously hope that Krag looks for a top notch D coordinator for next year.

[bling49]

Well we were getting beat by ground and by the air.

It's suprising, I cant tell if it's the scheme or the athletes or the mental mistakes or all the above.

I think it may be the athletes as much as I hate to say it.

You can make plays especially stopping the run just by flowing to the ball and filling gaps, that wasnt happening so our d-line and linebackers take the hit there.

Rod Council on Tamme was a mismatch.
The Woodsen-to-johnson for the last TD for the win was a blown coverage I hope because for the win he was 15-yards wide open and Coach Krag said they were in zone coverage and should have had someone there.

This is so very, very bad right now.

[Junkman]

Originally Posted by Empire Lindy

Folks, are we really serious with all this FireCoachKrag.com crap?

Damn, I had to check and see if there really was such a link! That would really be "UK'ish" of someone.

[cardfaninpittsburgh]

a couple years ago there was a poll here asking who was more vital to the cardinal athletic department...pitino or petrino...right after the final four season i think...

anyway, my contention then, and now, was that it was bobby petrino. he is by far the best football coach louisville has ever had. his ability to recruit, his attention to detail, the discipline he demanded from his players, his game planning all took louisville to a level many cardinal football fans only dreamed about. in fact, he took it to a level where now cardinal football fans unrealistically expect it to stay every year.

realistically competing for a national championship takes better players from top to bottom of the roster than louisville has ever had, regardless of coaching.

i'd suggest we enjoy the entertaining offense we have, take what we can get from the rest of the team and realize that the past few years have been very special and appreciated them for what they were.

it remains to be seen what steve kragthorpe will do with his time here. but, if he does nothing else, maybe he'll help people appreciate what bobby petrino did for this program and stop bashing the man for doing what most of us would do given such an opportunity, whether you like how he did it or not.

[CardAlum]

Originally Posted by bling49

Well we were getting beat by ground and by the air.

It's suprising, I cant tell if it's the scheme or the athletes or the mental mistakes or all the above.

I think it may be the athletes as much as I hate to say it.
.

I have to agree with you with it being the athletes. Rod Council is NOT living up to his hype and Bobby Buchanan just plains sucks. (sorry Ray)

Lets give the coach some time to get HIS players in here and lets see what happens

From now on, i am putting a saying in my sig