A lot of frustration and disgust are seen and heard about the state of the two primary athletic programs. Along with that, everyone seems to have ideas how to fix things, mostly centered around replacing Mack and Satterfield. As PO’d as people seem to be, one or both of those replacements may happen pretty soon. (This isn’t a discussion how to pay for those coaching moves…)
To objectively and fundamentally fix something, it’s vital that we at least try to analyze true cause and effect. Otherwise, you’re just spinning your wheels, giving the car more gas, and hoping your tires get grip or traction. Without the right analysis and an effort to fix the right problem, the chance that you end up with better results is mostly a random event. It’s change for the sake of change with no reason to rationally expect those better results.
Satterfield’s head coaching record was 51-24 before coming to U of L, and 38-10 in the Sun Belt Conference. Those comparable numbers at U of L so far are 18-18 and 12-13, respectively. His overall record the last two years is 10-13.
Mack’s records at Xavier were 215-97 overall and 105-49 in conference. His U of L records are 63-31 and 34-18, respectively, which are not much worse than at Xavier. But no U of L fan anywhere thinks Mack is doing the same job. As bad as Denny Crum’s final few years were, we averaged 17,457 fans in attendance his last season two decades ago. We will be lucky to get 17,000 fans for one or two games this year. Thousands of fans have clearly given up on him.
Before he was ultimately dismissed, Tom Jurich was suspended on September 27, 2017. Petrino was 29-14 in his second U of L tenure prior to 9-27-17. And he was 7-12 over two seasons afterward. The QBs on the roster in 2014 were Will Gardner, Kyle Bolin, and Reggie Bonnafon. Petrino is winning again consistently at Missouri State.
I’m not a big believer in coincidences. Not counting David Padgett, U of L has had three coaches in the major sports over the last four years who had experienced some level of recent success prior to September 2017. All three of them either failed thereafter or are showing indications that they will fail. I'm sorry, three out of three ain't a coincidence.
Many fans think we’re wasting our time bringing back Satterfield, and they’re already gunning for Mack. But IMO, that’s the wrong focus if you want fundamental improvement. The evidence shows that there’s something suddenly wrong with the water here. What used to be a place where coaches matriculated to improve themselves and their careers is now a place they come to put them at serious risk. I think a proven coach at a lower level would be crazy to risk sidetracking a potentially lucrative career by taking any U of L head coaching job. And we’re equally crazy to think that a standalone coaching change—and nothing else—is going to start fixing our problems…
To objectively and fundamentally fix something, it’s vital that we at least try to analyze true cause and effect. Otherwise, you’re just spinning your wheels, giving the car more gas, and hoping your tires get grip or traction. Without the right analysis and an effort to fix the right problem, the chance that you end up with better results is mostly a random event. It’s change for the sake of change with no reason to rationally expect those better results.
Satterfield’s head coaching record was 51-24 before coming to U of L, and 38-10 in the Sun Belt Conference. Those comparable numbers at U of L so far are 18-18 and 12-13, respectively. His overall record the last two years is 10-13.
Mack’s records at Xavier were 215-97 overall and 105-49 in conference. His U of L records are 63-31 and 34-18, respectively, which are not much worse than at Xavier. But no U of L fan anywhere thinks Mack is doing the same job. As bad as Denny Crum’s final few years were, we averaged 17,457 fans in attendance his last season two decades ago. We will be lucky to get 17,000 fans for one or two games this year. Thousands of fans have clearly given up on him.
Before he was ultimately dismissed, Tom Jurich was suspended on September 27, 2017. Petrino was 29-14 in his second U of L tenure prior to 9-27-17. And he was 7-12 over two seasons afterward. The QBs on the roster in 2014 were Will Gardner, Kyle Bolin, and Reggie Bonnafon. Petrino is winning again consistently at Missouri State.
I’m not a big believer in coincidences. Not counting David Padgett, U of L has had three coaches in the major sports over the last four years who had experienced some level of recent success prior to September 2017. All three of them either failed thereafter or are showing indications that they will fail. I'm sorry, three out of three ain't a coincidence.
Many fans think we’re wasting our time bringing back Satterfield, and they’re already gunning for Mack. But IMO, that’s the wrong focus if you want fundamental improvement. The evidence shows that there’s something suddenly wrong with the water here. What used to be a place where coaches matriculated to improve themselves and their careers is now a place they come to put them at serious risk. I think a proven coach at a lower level would be crazy to risk sidetracking a potentially lucrative career by taking any U of L head coaching job. And we’re equally crazy to think that a standalone coaching change—and nothing else—is going to start fixing our problems…
