Elephant in the Room (This isn't Going Well At all)
Can anyone tell me one single thing this staff does well? High School Recruiting? Transfer portal? X's and O's? Team culture? Building excitement for the program? Where are they meeting expectations? Cuz I can't think of any examples. I can't even think of one single thing that I'd even give them a "C" or above.
The excitement around the name of the hire was about as low as possible, but that in of itself is not the end of the world. But then couple that with that the fact coaches personality also generates little to no enthusiasm. For a program like UC, who had been building and building up their program, who still has to compete for eyeballs with the Bengals, Reds, FC Cincinnati and other regional schools this is problematic IMHO.
I believe what you've seen slowly transpire is the destruction of so much of what Luke had built up, and had built upon the work of many others (RM, MD, BK, BJ). There is next to zero excitement for UC football around the city. Outside of diehards I hear almost no one talking about it. Heck, even going into last year, with a brand new coach and a brand new (Power 5) league, the Bearcat conversation around the proverbial water cooler seemed pretty minimal, if not completely non-existent .
I understand you're replacing a big name, and that there's turnover and new faces, but I'm sorry there should have been way more buzz surrounding the team. New coaches and new leagues should have a built-in level of excitement but that didn't seem to translate here. IMO it was seemingly squashed by an absolute dumpster fire of a hire.
Anyone remember when it was announced Scott Satterfield's staff budget was like 7.5 million dollars, at the time on par with schools like Clemson and Nebraska, and in the top 15 of all teams? Does it look like to you guys that Scott Satterfield has built an elite staff? I mean he's had 2 offseasons to put all that money to use. Fwiw, last year they only used, I believe, 4.2 million. Why aren't they using their full allotment?
How do you guys feeling about the new "GM" we brought in? Does it seem like he's getting good bang for his buck? Has he elevated recruiting? Do you think he's attracting the talent needed to be a top program?
We had an OC immediately bolt for an assistant NFL job. Our DC, who was also the AHC, just left to become the CO-DC and Safties coach at Ol' Miss. We've has numerous other departues. Is this not a little concerning? Supposedly we have plenty of money, and yet a DC who spent is entire paid career with Satterfield takes a job with a lower title. And who does Coach bring in to replace him? The LB coach from Iowa State? You serious, Clark? Something isn't right.
I can't even remember the last time I saw a recruit attatched to us, even if just on a visiit, that is top 300. It's like this staff won't even attempt at signing a 90 rating recruit or above. And if you look at many of the offer lists it only looks worse. We're beating out the likes of Buffalo, Ohio U, Bowling Gree, East Carolina, Boston College. If you look at many of our average composite ratings they're trailing the likes of Vandy, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Maryland, and BYU. They're on par with the likes of USF, Tulsa, Cal and Houston.
I think we all know we BADLY needed WR help this year, right? So who did this staff go out and get in the portal? A former walk-on from Florida Atlantic who had 400 yards and 4 TD's last year. Seriously, that's maybe who they're highest on. With Power 5 money, about 200 million in facility upgrades, and what's supposed to be middle of the road NIL for the BIg 12, this is who we are capable of getting, even with immediate PT available. I'd also iike to note we just inked a DT from Southeast Mississipi St. who had 3 solo tackles last year with zeros across the board for sacks, fumbles, INT's, etc. This is where we're at.
I'm going to wrap it up shortly here, I promise. And I apologize for those that may be offended by this, or deem unecessary or overly harsh. I really am only trying to put to words what I feel like so many are thinking... This is bad guys, real bad. This coach stinks and his staff stinks.
I think apathy has started to set in for many and I certainly wouldn't look for the results on the field help change that. I honestly believe Scott Satterfield is just about the worst hire they could have possibly made. It's a failure on almost every level. It was doomed from the start. He's not a good coach, he's not a good recruiting, and personality wise he not at all a fit. Cunningham and/or whatever boosters pushed for this have killed any and all momentum from the college football playoff. While we should be improving in many areas, due to increased spending and increased exposure, we have somehow manage to regress. There's a lot of blame to go around and many should feel absolutely embarrassed. What's been done to ths program is almost unbelievable. And I REALLY, REALLY hope they're already planning on how theyre going to approach the next hire this upcoming offseason.
/rantover