Agreed that it is hard to win with no kicker and minimal OL. That being said, there is no excuse for losing to Georgia Tech and eking out a win against Central Michigan. Georgia Tech lost at home to the Citadel....and their only other win was a 4 point win at home to South Florida. Just based on talent alone, those should be comfortable wins.
Manny's mouth has only made matters worse for himself. The whole "TNM" and bravado in the offseason, the 3rd version of the Turnover Chain, and the Touchdown Rings are great if you can back up the talk and swag, but looks pathetic if you don't. IMO, Manny (or whoever the next coach is) needs to be a no nonsense, "my way or the highway" ****. I know a lot of people on here don't like to place blame on the players at all, but sorry, they are soft as ****. It is the coach's job to toughen them up, but the players need to take a hard look at themselves as well.
To date, this team has not improved as the season has gone on. They came out flat and looked unprepared after both bye weeks. That is on the coaching staff. They continue to play inconsistently on both sides of the ball, make stupid pre-snap penalties, commit dumb and critical personal fouls, etc. It is frustrating because if this team would just play fundamentally sound, smart football, they would win at least 8 games a year consistently. It is not where we want them to be, but it would serve as a starting point to again becoming a dominant team that will regularly win 10 or more each season.
It wasn't an option on the poll, but give Manny the rest of the season for the team to show improvement. If the team does improve, give him another season to right the ship. However, if they don't make a bowl, I think he should be canned. FIU and Louisville should be 2 wins and at a minimum, they should beat either FSU or Duke on the road or even Pitt. The key thing is they should at least show improvement and fight. Enough of the flash and talk, do it on the field.
If Manny should be canned, I hope they sign a coach who has shown himself to be a CEO as a coach at the FBS level, like a Saban, Dabo, Meyer, or Bob Stoops. Perhaps a Matt Campbell as an example. If they do, it is on us as a fanbase to be patient to let him turn this thing around and do it his way. I know many of us are tired of mediocrity, but if Manny is canned, it will be a full rebuild as he put it. The new guy will need to have time to fix the program.