My first takes:
- I'm as frustrated as the average fan with where we are, but I have an unabashed love for CPJ. Just disclosing my bias.
- CPJ's combo of (a) chip-on-his-shoulder personality + (b) differentiated offensive scheme to mask inferior raw talent is/was a perfect fit for our school. I mean, look at all of you unhappy know-it-alls.
- The 2014 Orange Bowl wasn't that long ago. Our most successful season since 1990. Only one better was 2010 Orange Bowl loss, also CPJ. That's a long time. I'd gladly take the losing seasons in exchange for those special years, as would about 85% of the programs out there. So yeah, I'm nervous.
- We have clear structural issues in the school (majors, curriculum, flexibility, priorities) and athletic department ($$, alumni/fan base, obligations) that are significant hurdles. My impression that CPJ has done damn well considering all those, and layer Bobinski's tenure on top of that... maybe I'm wrong?
- George Godsey sounds great - Young assistant, offensively-minded, beloved here and I'm sure our fan base would give him a longer leash to de-option the program than anyone else. But he's been in the NFL for 6 years. Just playing the odds, I'm not sure the NFL-to-college transition has been very successful for most. And I hate to say this, but does that hire sell season tickets?
- We have a major attendance problem. If we're going to improve as a program, that has to change, and a lot of it (not all) starts with the hire. I flew down for the Miami game this year and we had to have 20,000 empty seats. 10,000 seats x $50 avg net x 6 games = $3MM net a year. Woof.
- On the other hand, CPJ wasn't a spring chicken, he loves golf, and so it's not like he had another 15 years in him. Maybe he saw where we are, saw the resources and time needed to turn it around, and said might as well hand over the program to the right guy now.
- Right now, I feel a lot more like when O'Leary left than when Gailey was fired.
Fingers crossed.