RUMOR MILL: Kragthorpe Packing His Bags??

[Derrrick_Cheezman]

I don't know if any of you have heard this, but I have spoken with three or four guys who have all heard that Kragthorpe is strongly considering a job offer from TCU....

Any word on this?

[Empire Lindy]

The "rumor mill" is that he's going to SMU... and I would tell you not to hold your breath. This is being circulated by a lot of disgruntled fans like you and me. Started with a blog posting by an SMU board that mentioned some cryptic hints that COULD HAVE BEEN Krag... but that the very same blog said why it wasn't specifically Kragthorpe. With Houston Nutt's resignation from Arkansas, several people now believe he's the guy going to SMU.

[Derrrick_Cheezman]

Well I have heard Texas Christian, but whether its TCU or SMU or back to Tulsa it doesn't matter to me. I just want to know if he's going to recover the team for next season or if he's going to leave.

[cardfan]

Recover the team? First he has to recover his head. It's stuck up his azz..

[Redbird Attack]

Hopefully the rumor mill is true.

[wkuCardinal]

Be careful what you wish for. Although he did a real bad job this year, I'm not sure letting him go is the best thing to do. It'd be another lost recruiting year for UofL and no guarantee the next guy could do any better.. plus UL would be competing with some of the top jobs out there this year.. Arkansas, Michigan, potentially LSU.

I'm as fed up with this coaching staff as anyone, but I'm not sure Kragthorpe moving on would be the answer. If he took a new job tomorrow though part of my would be doing snoopy dances.

[nmcardsfan]

I read this article in the C-J yesterday. Crawford brings up some good points, some stated by WKU already.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/...57/1002/SPORTS

Forget chestnuts roasting on an open fire. It may well be the University of Louisville football coach feeling the flames this holiday season.

Cardinals fans are that hot. There are no fewer than three "Fire Steve Kragthorpe" Web sites.

With so much smoke flying, it's hard to take a cold, hard look at the situation. But that's exactly what is required as Kragthorpe heads into the last game of his first season as coach.

And here's some cold, hard truth: No matter how much you think U of L football has crashed and burned this season, to remove Kragthorpe now would be to drop napalm on the whole thing.

Let me make clear -- that's not to endorse the job that the new U of L coaching staff has done. But there's a big difference between criticizing and calling for someone's head. It's a distinction that is being lost more and more in sports, but it won't be lost here.



It's one thing for fans to blow off steam and shout for coaches' jobs. It's another to legitimately believe that a program like U of L can turn on a coach after a single difficult season.

That's a disconnect with reality.
Take a deep breath

If Kragthorpe were cut loose, who would replace him? U of L could be competing against some of the biggest jobs in college football for a replacement. And it would be sending this message to the next guy: If you don't win this year, you're gone.

If Kragthorpe were cut loose, another recruiting class would likely be sacrificed. Last year's was put together on the fly. Bobby Petrino's last class isn't burning up the world. Three in a row is a big setback.

But there are deeper issues. One is the right of athletic director Tom Jurich to run the department as he sees fit. He hired Kragthorpe the same way he has hired every other coach, because he believes in Kragthorpe the way he believed in those others, and he's given no indication that he has stopped.

I keep hearing things like, "All of Jurich's accomplishments are being wiped out by this hire."

That's ridiculous. The $160 million-plus in facilities aren't crumbling to the ground. The Orange Bowl trophy hasn't turned to a pumpkin.

Part of this is about whether Jurich has earned the support of U of L fans -- not just in prosperity, but in adversity.

Beyond that, there's an issue of fairness. Look at the list of players lost to injury this season, and not just players, but starters. The X-rays are what they are. Those and other bad breaks are not sufficient excuse in themselves, but they have been real.
Fans deserve answers

No matter how frustrated the fans, U of L cannot act rashly with this coach, and it should not.

But fans do deserve hope. Many are paying NFL prices. They deserve not to feel blamed for what is happening. They deserve not to be treated like outsiders. They deserve explanations instead of justifications. And they deserve to know how, specifically, Kragthorpe plans to fix things.

This frustration is not media-driven. From the outside -- and none of us has seen the inside -- this team has looked poorly organized and ill-motivated. From flipping birds at Kentucky to saliva-gate at West Virginia to Willie Williams and his alleged pot grazing, this season has left U of L fans confused and embarrassed.

The on-field problems have been there on national television for all to see. And they are significant enough that change is a necessity. Offense, defense, special teams. Player, media and public relations.

Home Depot may sponsor college football, but I'm not sure even it would take on this project. And I can't say, based on this season, that I'm sure Kragthorpe can put back the pieces.

But I can say, based on what U of L's program aspires to be, that Kragthorpe should be the guy who gets to try.

[Redbird Attack]

Sorry but I don't buy into this "fear change" crap. We are in for a VERY tough time the next few years regardless if he stays or goes. But if he stays those tough times will last a LOT longer than if we can him now. Recruits be damned this guy is god awful. He took an Orange Bowl team to 5-6 can you imagine what this team will look like when Brohm is gone with the rest and half the team transfers out of this mess? This clown has already destroyed in 1 year what it took 10 to build, if UofL doesn't move now it will be to late to join the elite college FB ranks. We are nothing more than Tulsa now.

[Die Hard Cards]

I don't think its a job where "if you don't win this year then you are gone." It's more of a "if you go .500 or less with the second most talented team in school history (last year being the most talented) you are gone" type of deal. It takes some serious fucking up to take essentially last years team that was a half away from playing for a NC to this years team that is going to need to win their 12th game just to bring us back up to .500.

[wkuCardinal]

Well there were a lot of variables. Injuries, discipline issues, scheme issues. The transition definitely did not go very well but who out there do you know for sure would do a better job? Steve Spurrier? One fan over on ITV speculated that Bill Parcells would be the next coach at Louisville. Apparently he bought a farm in Oldham County. LOLOL

Not to give Kragthorpe any excuses, but there really has been a lot of bad breaks this year. I say the smartest thing to do, at this point, is to give him one more year. By next year it will be pretty clear if he can be a good coach. He will have a couple recruiting classes on their way by then. Even though we lose some players next year, I believe a good coach would make improvement on this year - marked improvement, in fact. We'll have a very experienced secondary and while we will have several players in prominent roles who have yet to really prove themselves, most of them have been highly touted or shown a lot of promise.

-B