3 hires I loathed, & I know I didn’t join CIS until late 2013, but I was on other platforms that discussed CFB:
1. Shannon
2. Golden (I specifically said “Who” out loud while in my office)
3. Diaz
I vehemently disapproved of all 3 hires. I was “OK” w/ the Mario hire, although I had my concerns just b/c being out West; & b/c I’m heavily involved in football, I have various connections to UO’s program. I watched them a lot just b/c, again, I’m out West. I figured w/ Mario’s recruiting abilities, he’ll be able to overcome some coaching deficiencies.
I wasn’t gravely concerned about yr 1. Concerned? Yes, but not gravely concerned. I even battled w/ many posters explaining the how’s & y’s we had a 5-7 start. My concerns came yr 2, as I was certain, based upon empirical data of coaches we consider good-elite, that a coach of Mario’s reputation developed at UO would take a roster thats better than the rest of the ACC sans FSU & Clemson to at least 9 wins.
After discussing the GT game w/ a former UO alum + NFL vet, that’s when I was turned on to the fallacies of Mario’s coaching while there, & was admonished to examine the PAC-12, as a whole, during Mario’s tenure. When I discovered how watered down the league was from 2019-2021, and re-watched **** near every loss UO had to inferior teams on paper, ? marks raised. So it’s something I took notice of, & as the 2023-4 season unfolded, some things just reared itself.
Now, here’s y I’m hopeful this season: When Mario inherited Justin Herbert, he went 21-6 including 2-0 in bowl games. Mario hasn’t had a NFL level QB since Herbert. W/o Herbert, He’s 26-20 at the P5/4 level, which is no bueno, BUT now he has a NFL caliber QB, & arguably the best QB in the ACC.
W/e deficiencies that may exist can be glossed over by Ward. Ward + Martinez r the sole reasons y the vast majority of media outlets r bullish on us. It’s y I’m like this is a 10+ win roster. All I can go by is data & history. I agree we have some holes on the roster, particularly in the 2ndary, but there’s not enough holes to deter us from 10+ wins, imho, or should I say “it should not deter us.”