I don't want for us to lose Lingard because he's frustrated about playing time. No matter the reason, losing elite talent will not help us get to where we want to go. We've generally got to find a way to make sure we do the best we can to work with guys that aren't happy about their playing time. I know that all of us are frustrated with our team this year, and for the past 18 years.
All that being said, i'm not really sure how this one is on our coaches. Lingard hurt his knee substantially enough that he was not medically cleared for his knee until a couple weeks ago. Then, in practice, he sustains a concussion (per Tweed), and ends up in the protocol. Then, in a game where we thought we would have a chance to play some of our backups, we inexplicably end up in a dogfight. We all wanted to see him finally play against Central Michigan, but do people honestly think this was the right time to get him in?
Our offensive line was getting blown up. He hadn't faced game action in a year. Both of our starting RBs have arguably been our best offensive players this season. This largely wasn't a case of them being ineffective because of something they did (Harris did bounce that one run where it looked like he had a lane). To suggest that we would put him in to face this situation is pretty unrealistic. Now, should all of that be communicated to him so that he understands where he stands in the rotation? Yes, that seems like a better way to handle it. But if the complaint is that he is frustrated he hasn't played, i'm just not seeing it.