I listened to this presser for the second time yesterday during a quick car drive I had. I hesitate to post this, because the situation has become as bad as a political conversation, where a centrist is hated by both sides... I'm on the record that I'm fine with CGC getting one more year with changes made (which seem to be happening) and also fine if CGC was terminated AND we upped our salary budget to at LEAST $5MM for HC + $3.5 for the assistant pool. So relucantly, I appreciated this press conference...
1. He repeatedly said that today was about the seniors playing their last football game and how much he appreciates them. The easy/tone-deaf way to approach this presser was to only talk about the future given how dark the present is. He noticeably stops himself from doing that a few times to refocus on the outgoing class of guys. That shows maturity.
2. Asked about changes, he said "with immediacy" (I learned that's actually a word) needed changes will be addressed this week, and said there will be a time to discuss those changes/
3. Asked about progress, he mentions a few wins earlier in the year, talks about depth issues, and mentions injuries - showing his frustration a bit here that "no one wants to talk about them" - but also mentions other teams are fighting similar challenges, etc. I thought this was a mature moment.
4. He says in no uncertain terms that the last two games were a clear step backwards. Granted, he'd have been rightly hammered if he didn't acknowledge that, but he does. Reminds us for the 20th time that these were against two of the top 6 teams in the country -- a valid talking point.
5. A few strong points:
- He reminds everyone of the true freshmen contributing on the team in key roles. Definitely valid and a sign of future program improvement if that quality can keep up.
- He refuses to blame upperclassmen for lack of leadership or quality of play. We all watch enough of this team and talk enough about it to know where our weakest talent is but he never goes there. Say want you guys want about him saying "loving our players" and all that but if you think he doesn't know, you're crazy. He's appreciative for these guys sticking around so we can field a football team the last few years.
- I think he answers the questions toward the media members in attendance respectfully while showing a bit of frustration, and I'm sure a lot is the frustration of things he'd love to say, but won't. I respect that.
- If I were him, I'm sure I would not have thrown my players' talent level out there, but I'm not sure I could have kept my mouth shut about the other stuff. Again, respect.
6. A few areas I think he has missed... I'm not sure that the post-game presser is the right time for these, but I want to hear about these items more in the offseason/spring practice:
- Acknowledge that we haven't been the developmental program that we aimed to be. Yes, CGC took over a ööööty roster situation with lack of talent overall (though he can't say that), and serious lack of depth in many areas (he probably doesn't say that enough, though some of our fans refuse to believe it). Certainly, I've seen some guys improve - but for lots of others, especially the upperclassmen, I haven't seen the development that we aimed to see.
- Address the QB situation in detail. What are we being guarded about now? The season is over. Was Sims truly too banged up to see the field, or did we hold him out to keep him healthy for the offseason (which is 100% valid IMO). Why didn't we see Peery at all? Same reason?
- Is the death of money-down the death of the gimmicks? Were the gimmicks needed to keep fans and players engaged during the worst of the turnaround? Does that mean that we'll have a proper depth chart, injury report, and game week pressers going forward so we know what's going on, or are we still doing this Above the Line stuff and guessing on the details?
- "What's the plan?" I know he doesn't want to talk about the future after the seniors' last game. If I'm the SID I think he needs some one-on-ones to lay out his case.
- I would say it point blank if I were him -- "I'm invested here."
Bottom line, I think everyone inside and outside knows the deal - next year we have to show that we've turned the corner from these doldrums, or we're moving on. I can live with that. It might mean a disaster next year, but in the interim we continue to improve the roster for the next administration. Attendance can't get worse, even with a new HC IMO. So give it one year. Save a few million. It could be a very savvy bet.