I am as frustrated with the outcome of the past two weeks as anyone. I watched the 4th quarter meltdown today and the missed field goal. While I agree Coach Satterfield and his staff are underachieving, I do not believe that him leaving either by choice or by force would benefit UofL football. The program needs stability. The best programs in the country do not make coaching changes every 3-years when their head coach is struggling. The decision to make a change has to be more than wins and losses.
What I see is a coach that by and large can put together a game plan that works, but is plagued by a horrible defensive scheme that does not have the personnel to execute it. I also see a head coach trying to execute at the P5 level making questionable decisions with clock management, special teams, and offensive play calling. I do see his recruits, many redshirt freshman making impacts on the field. I see a locker room that appears to be unified and players that seem to represent the school well on and off the field. I don't see the incompetence of Ron Cooper or Steve Kragthorpe and I don't see disunity and apathy like I saw under Petrino 2.0. This however, looks like a coach, staff, and roster that is still incomplete, work in progress.
As much as it pains me to write this, all you have to do is look at UK and the patience that Barnhart has had with Stoops. While I believe a lot of what Stoops and UK have assembled is sketchy, it is working. The program is very stable from a talent perspective, has an identity now, and is winning. UofL would benefit in allowing Satterfield to remain for 5 years and build the program completely. By doing so it will stabilize and balance out the classes and hopefully produce some positive results we all want to see.
I do believe Satterfield much like Stoops, will need to makes some changes on the staff. DC Brown really needs to be evaluated. The defense has not improved at all on the line and he appears to be running a scheme for which he has not recruited the correct personnel. The question will be if Satterfield will be willing to make those moves? Will Tyra or the next AD make him make those changes? Will the AD be able to communicate the plan to the fans and donors so that they'll remain supportive through the process. Having the fan and donor support is as almost as critical as Satterfield doing his part. Without leadership and effective communication from the AD, it will be hard to manage patience and expectations.
What I see is a coach that by and large can put together a game plan that works, but is plagued by a horrible defensive scheme that does not have the personnel to execute it. I also see a head coach trying to execute at the P5 level making questionable decisions with clock management, special teams, and offensive play calling. I do see his recruits, many redshirt freshman making impacts on the field. I see a locker room that appears to be unified and players that seem to represent the school well on and off the field. I don't see the incompetence of Ron Cooper or Steve Kragthorpe and I don't see disunity and apathy like I saw under Petrino 2.0. This however, looks like a coach, staff, and roster that is still incomplete, work in progress.
As much as it pains me to write this, all you have to do is look at UK and the patience that Barnhart has had with Stoops. While I believe a lot of what Stoops and UK have assembled is sketchy, it is working. The program is very stable from a talent perspective, has an identity now, and is winning. UofL would benefit in allowing Satterfield to remain for 5 years and build the program completely. By doing so it will stabilize and balance out the classes and hopefully produce some positive results we all want to see.
I do believe Satterfield much like Stoops, will need to makes some changes on the staff. DC Brown really needs to be evaluated. The defense has not improved at all on the line and he appears to be running a scheme for which he has not recruited the correct personnel. The question will be if Satterfield will be willing to make those moves? Will Tyra or the next AD make him make those changes? Will the AD be able to communicate the plan to the fans and donors so that they'll remain supportive through the process. Having the fan and donor support is as almost as critical as Satterfield doing his part. Without leadership and effective communication from the AD, it will be hard to manage patience and expectations.
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