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Manny and WQAM and other thoughts (long)

There are things that happen in the locker room that we aren't privy to. When he says the team follows Jarren that's a dead giveaway right there. JW has entertained transferring on multiple occasions since coming here. I'll go on record saying JW will not finish his career at UM.
 
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Jassid82 said:
I don't like starting threads too often unless I am just really really disturbed at something and I need a space to vent. Thank god CIS gives us that. Have no idea what we did back in the 80s and 90s after tough losses!

Manny was on WQAM this morning. 7am sharp. I don't have the link but here are the points.

*I am starting to get the feeling (and I know its been said on here a million times) that Manny just doesn't know how to fix this "disease" he is talking about within the program. And it is bothering him. Its like having a child that acts out all the time and no matter how many times you beat them, ground them..none of it works. They just won't act right. I heard it in Mannys voice when he talked about things that he saw leading up to the game that look familiar when they came off other bye weeks (in other words, guys BSing around and not taking game prep serious). He even said that the hotel walk through was a mess the night before. So he knew this team was not prepared and prayed that they would snap out of it come kickoff. That was disturbing to hear as a fan.

*I got the feeling that even though he loves many of the upperclassmen (Shaq and Pinck included) I think he is ready for them to go. I think they just aren't the leaders that he thought and expected them to be as he is basically a "HC in training". I think he depended on the Srs to really takeover as leaders and it didn't happen like he expected. In fact, I would go as far as to say that I got the impression that maybe the Srs are the ones that are leading this wave of not taking every week serious. You can tell Manny was guarded with his words. But I was trying to read between the lines. Whenever a HC says, "The 2020 class is hyped up and they actually have a group chat. They have the mindset that none of this will happen on our watch and that's the mentality we need. At some point, there will be a class to come in and turn this around.", then you know that he is not fully happy with how this Sr class conducted themselves as a whole leadership wise.

*He didn't get to much into Xs and Os. It was more like a therapy session for him. He was really in deep thought about the season as a whole and how things got to this point to where a team this talented is 6-5. He alluded to the fact that some of the players assume that just because you have that "U" on your helmet that certain things are a given. Like beating FIU. I got the feeling that he doesn't think it is Xs and Os related but a mental thing with this team. One thing I thought was interesting was that he said that this team feeds off of Jarren. When Jarren came out flat, the whole team went into the tank. That is a good thing and bad thing I guess. Shows he is the unquestioned leader of this team but Good God man..if Jarren doesn't have his "A" game on any given Saturday, we can assume that we are going to more than likely lose??


Those are the basics of the 20min interview. Said he doesn't expect any decommits in the 2020 class. They are solid as a rock. 2021 he is expecting some guys to drop.

I'll say this, Manny isn't going anywhere this year. That 3 game winning streak saved his job at least. But I am going to need him to stay off the yachts this offseason, stay out of the jewelry store conjuring up new pieces for next season, and stop the bravado. I am hoping he is humbled and realized being the HC at UM is more then just wearing that U on your shirt and hat, it takes hard work and dedication. He needs to make some tough decisions on his staff.

He needs to study every coach that had a bad record there first year and what they did to turn it around the second season. (Nick Saban at Bama, Urban at UF, etc) I know it sounds corny, but he needs to get into the lab and study every tendency and every detail of what coaches like this did to completely turn there program around in such a short time. His job depends on it.

He needs to make the tough decision and fire Enos and Baker. Gotta start from scratch. Neither of them are good coaches are even good recruiters. Double whammy in my book.

He needs to start taking this job serious. I look back on the last offseason and realize that Manny just didn't take this serious. He thought he could walk in, give a few speeches, hire a "good OC" and just coast to 10-11 wins. That yacht ride he took to the banquet should have been a sign for us. It was cool at the time but it looks extremely foolish now.

Sorry for the long review. I know posters will hit me with the "None of this matters. Blake and Manny have to go". Well, if they don't go, doesn't mean I am turning in my O&G gear either. Now am I going to renew my season tix? Not so sure yet. That said, I am looking to see a new Manny Diaz going into Spring ball. New focus and renewed energy. Playtime is over. His HC career depends on it. Neg away. LOL.
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Well said 82!!! Eloquently put.. Culture eats strategy for breakfast!!.. after about 36 hours I've calmed a bit. Culture isn't easy and I think about how long it really takes for buy in. I just want Manny to cut the fat.. We might struggle but it will eliminate the entitlement and get us back to out working opponents.
 
Jassid82 said:
For this team to be dead last in the country in 3rd down conversion % is a fireable offense alone for Enos.

But what scares me about whether Manny has the balls to fire anyone is the ole, "We have to keep the recruiting class together no matter what." theory. If Manny fires Enos, I fear that he will think a new OC will want to bring in his own guys. That said, it sounds like many of the 2020 kids love being Canes and don't care who is coaching. Manny included. Good sign in case things need to get shifty in the next 30-45 days.
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Manny hired Enos.

You are excusing him by letting him hire an entirely new staff one year after hiring this one.

If you need to fire both coordinators after one season bc they are so bad, then the problem is the HC who hired them.

Anything other than Diaz himself being fired is just kickkng the can down the road.
 
Jassid82 said:
I don't like starting threads too often unless I am just really really disturbed at something and I need a space to vent. Thank god CIS gives us that. Have no idea what we did back in the 80s and 90s after tough losses!

Manny was on WQAM this morning. 7am sharp. I don't have the link but here are the points.

*I am starting to get the feeling (and I know its been said on here a million times) that Manny just doesn't know how to fix this "disease" he is talking about within the program. And it is bothering him. Its like having a child that acts out all the time and no matter how many times you beat them, ground them..none of it works. They just won't act right. I heard it in Mannys voice when he talked about things that he saw leading up to the game that look familiar when they came off other bye weeks (in other words, guys BSing around and not taking game prep serious). He even said that the hotel walk through was a mess the night before. So he knew this team was not prepared and prayed that they would snap out of it come kickoff. That was disturbing to hear as a fan.

*I got the feeling that even though he loves many of the upperclassmen (Shaq and Pinck included) I think he is ready for them to go. I think they just aren't the leaders that he thought and expected them to be as he is basically a "HC in training". I think he depended on the Srs to really takeover as leaders and it didn't happen like he expected. In fact, I would go as far as to say that I got the impression that maybe the Srs are the ones that are leading this wave of not taking every week serious. You can tell Manny was guarded with his words. But I was trying to read between the lines. Whenever a HC says, "The 2020 class is hyped up and they actually have a group chat. They have the mindset that none of this will happen on our watch and that's the mentality we need. At some point, there will be a class to come in and turn this around.", then you know that he is not fully happy with how this Sr class conducted themselves as a whole leadership wise.

*He didn't get to much into Xs and Os. It was more like a therapy session for him. He was really in deep thought about the season as a whole and how things got to this point to where a team this talented is 6-5. He alluded to the fact that some of the players assume that just because you have that "U" on your helmet that certain things are a given. Like beating FIU. I got the feeling that he doesn't think it is Xs and Os related but a mental thing with this team. One thing I thought was interesting was that he said that this team feeds off of Jarren. When Jarren came out flat, the whole team went into the tank. That is a good thing and bad thing I guess. Shows he is the unquestioned leader of this team but Good God man..if Jarren doesn't have his "A" game on any given Saturday, we can assume that we are going to more than likely lose??


Those are the basics of the 20min interview. Said he doesn't expect any decommits in the 2020 class. They are solid as a rock. 2021 he is expecting some guys to drop.

I'll say this, Manny isn't going anywhere this year. That 3 game winning streak saved his job at least. But I am going to need him to stay off the yachts this offseason, stay out of the jewelry store conjuring up new pieces for next season, and stop the bravado. I am hoping he is humbled and realized being the HC at UM is more then just wearing that U on your shirt and hat, it takes hard work and dedication. He needs to make some tough decisions on his staff.

He needs to study every coach that had a bad record there first year and what they did to turn it around the second season. (Nick Saban at Bama, Urban at UF, etc) I know it sounds corny, but he needs to get into the lab and study every tendency and every detail of what coaches like this did to completely turn there program around in such a short time. His job depends on it.

He needs to make the tough decision and fire Enos and Baker. Gotta start from scratch. Neither of them are good coaches are even good recruiters. Double whammy in my book.

He needs to start taking this job serious. I look back on the last offseason and realize that Manny just didn't take this serious. He thought he could walk in, give a few speeches, hire a "good OC" and just coast to 10-11 wins. That yacht ride he took to the banquet should have been a sign for us. It was cool at the time but it looks extremely foolish now.

Sorry for the long review. I know posters will hit me with the "None of this matters. Blake and Manny have to go". Well, if they don't go, doesn't mean I am turning in my O&G gear either. Now am I going to renew my season tix? Not so sure yet. That said, I am looking to see a new Manny Diaz going into Spring ball. New focus and renewed energy. Playtime is over. His HC career depends on it. Neg away. LOL.
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So Manny was implying the team does not respect or get up for inferior opponents. How on earth is this even possible? This team is 6-5 and was 7-6 last year against a ridiculously easy schedule. What is this mindset even based on? How do you even explain this?
 
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Jassid82 said:
I don't question Manny's love for the program and his genuine desire to be the one to bring it back. (For example, Golden didn't want this job. Didn't love the program. He used us to get the PSU gig.) I say that to say, that is probably one thing that is holding the UM admins up from firing him immediately. They know he has the passion necessary to turn it around. And I have left the bandwagon that this is about money. I believe we have that too. Losing to Butch of all people and Manny still have his job 24hrs later, as much as some of those UM admins hate Butch, I know there has to be a deeper reason.

That said, I have no clue why Blake still has his job.
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You think Al Golden didnt want to turn this around? You think he didnt care if he failed and never became a HC again?

You think Randy didnt love the U, likely way way more than Manny the Nole ever did?

STOP THIS BS TALKING POINT about Manny “really wanting to do it”. So does Dannyboycane but you dont hire him now do you?
 
Jassid82 said:
I think everyone is up for review including coaches. If anything, I think Blake is going to force his hand like he did Richt at the end of last year. Diaz doesn't have enough cred built up to walk around Hecht telling people what he is and isn't going to do. They will pressure him to make changes.
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I don’t get how you come to that conclusion when Manny was unanimously the BOT’s, Administration’s, and AD’s hand picked selection.

No one is going to tell Manny what to do because they A. Believe in him and B. Have zero ******* idea how to fix this without firing him
 
TheOldU2002 said:
So a guy with no experience and no pedigree comes in and completely botches his staff hires. And your solution is to just let him pick an entirely new staff again?

How about hire someone who actually knows what he’s doing to be HC.
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I never said that he should pick an entirely new staff again
 
Jassid82 said:
Hes not getting fired this season and that's clear or they would have done it by now. So the only thing left for him to do is spend the offseason trying to fix it. (shrugs) If he doesn't, we all know what his fate will be. Especially seeing that season ticket sales will be down due to this being probably the worst home schedule we have had in decades. Blake should be fired for that alone.
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If he is 100% not getting fired, then there is no point in firing his underlings. If the HC remains it will not matter.
 
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The Franchise said:
The good/great coaches aren’t always yapping about culture and disease and all that nonsense. They create a competitive environment and they provide the leadership.

As the HC, your primary job is motivating your team and pushing the right buttons to get your team ready every week. If the team looks dead during the game because you didn’t do your job getting them ready for the last 2 weeks, then press some buttons during the game.

Put Perry in for a series or two. Maybe he brings a spark. Go tempo. Tire the outmanned team out and stop them from flopping and resting. Give your team a jolt of energy. Don’t just stand there looking the perpetual bottom in a ghey ****.

Bottom line: Why are you taking $4M per year if you’re not even able to do your primary job—motivation and button pushing? You’re useless if you’re sitting around abdicating that job waiting for the disease to cure itself or for the locker room to take over.

Then the alleged disease graduates, and next year’s excuse will be youth. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
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Yes, but I'm gonna go a little more specific here. The immediate job of the HC is to hire and motivate the assistants to be great, both in their preparation, adjustments, and recruiting. What we are seeing is the fruit of poor evaluations of assistants and a lack of accountability for them. The assistants have the most one-on-one interaction with their player groups and with the units. They have to be pushing the buttons and the HC has to know who is performing and who is lacking. Right now, he looks clueless.
 
After listening to his interview on QAM, Manny seems as befuddled as us fans do. That's a scary thought.

However it went down when Manny got the job, his coaching tree was very limited. That seems to be why he retained all the D staff and thus, only had to hire his replacement. After canning the entire O staff, he relied on his "homerun" hire Enos to assemble a competent staff. It also seems he believed ridding himself of the O staff would help rid the team of the "disease" he's referred to several times. So far, that hasn't seemed to work. IF he decides to move on from either of his coordinators, my question has always been where does he get the next one/s? I believe his options are extremely limited at this point.

We've seen this for some time now - this team playing down to the competition. It happens all across CFB. Manny's correct when he says it's difficult to get these kids motivated week after week. We hear it from many CFB HC's. The great ones find a consistent way to get it done.
 
Jassid82 said:
Agree. But here again, Manny showed his "rookie" card on that one. I really believe he thought there was no way on Gods green earth that this team could lose to FIU. No matter how much they loafed around.

Jimmy Johnson use to brag that, "We don't practice for teams like Montana State or North Dakota State, our talent alone will beat them. We prepare our guys for the FSUs and Oklahomas of the world". Now Jimmy was probably just exaggerating but if Jimmy told Manny this in there offseason get together and Manny wrote that down.. I hope Manny rips that page out of the notebook. This aint 1987 anymore. This program needs to treat FIU like they treat Clemson.
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It’s not the 80s and 90s anymore. NOBODY can skate on just talent.

You rarely saw the huge upsets like you do now.

Advances in training and scheming have evened up the playing field a great deal for the little guys.

Only a handful of teams can even think about trying to skate on talent. Georgia lost to USCe. Clemson lost to Syracuse. Ohio State lost to Purdue. Alabama is the only team that never loses to scrubs. Saban’s approach to the game works, regardless of how intolerable he is.

G5 teams routinely punk P5 teams. ****, even some FCS schools are getting in on the action.

Outside the top 5, there has NEVER been this level of parity in college football. So you better have your **** together as a staff or the paper talent won’t produce results on the field.
 
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Hurracanes said:
Díaz is too soft to be able to change the culture. Players don’t fear him and to a degree, respect him. They may like him but that’s not enough to establish a certain expectation from your players.

Also, half the team are his ******* players. He chose them! What makes him think new players will change much?
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Assistant coaches need to respect him first.
 
TheOldU2002 said:
But you think he needs new coordinators after one year? He botched it so badly and you want to let this moron pick again?
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I said that he needs to make tough decisions, meaning he needs to fire some people. Whether it is the AD who tells him to fire people or if he comes to the conclusion that he needs to fire some people it is still a tough decision. With that being said, if you look at my other posts you would notice that my solution is getting a new AD who is qualified and knows what needs to be done. I also said Manny needs to recognize that this is an X's and O's problem not just a cultural proble. How he or the AD goes around fixing it is up to them.
 
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twes.305 said:
I mean u never know until you try. It is better than doing nothing. Strawlet needs to go to, but the only thing I can see happening is Flake getting canned, which I believe he will pretty soon.
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Doubt he gets canned


He botched the hire so bad it will take 4-7 years to recover
 
Bench them then ****! I better see a bunch of freshmen playing against duke.
 
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