Pondering our current football status (Long, sorry)

[BrunswickDawg]

Shira- stepped down to become AD. We didn't fire him even though he was bad. And even named a building after him. A guy that didn't win a SEC game for something like three years in a row.
Tyler- NCAA fired him.
Bellard- Retread essentially. Fired after four straight losing seasons and losing three Egg Bowls in a row. It was time.
Felker- Had one winning season in five years which was his first year and was allowed to stay two more years after Tech and 10. And then we hired him BACK as an assistant.
Sherrill- Left after three consecutive losing seasons and NCAA issues.
Croom- Had one winning season in five years. We fired him one year removed from his best season.
Dan- Current

It seems to me recently if we ever had a problem with football coaches it was holding on to them way too long. All of our coaches going back to the 50's got at least 5 years. I think the problem is as I think you are saying we didn't support them the right way. If we gave Jackie the same facilities and money to hire assistants relative to the 1990's as what we are with Dan right now- who knows what happens? I think the issue was more from the athletic department level until 2007 than anything. If you don't have support from them, you aren't going to hire a good coach unless there is some alum that is a MSU grad that is a coaching guru. And that's going to lead to not winning which leads to lack of fan support.

Good points. I think a big difference now compared to any other point in our history is our athletic department as a whole - and specifically our AD. Cohen just seems to be a perfect fit for where we are right now. He’s a pro, he’s an accomplished coach, he understands the financial side, and he’s an MSU guy. I think he will be asking Dan the right questions and keep pushing him productively.

[IMissJack]

Good points. I think a big difference now compared to any other point in our history is our athletic department as a whole - and specifically our AD. Cohen just seems to be a perfect fit for where we are right now. He’s a pro, he’s an accomplished coach, he understands the financial side, and he’s an MSU guy. I think he will be asking Dan the right questions and keep pushing him productively.

The only questions I have about Cohen long term, is whether he will be as progressive with the marketing type ideas as Byrne and Stricklin.

[Todd4State]

The only questions I have about Cohen long term, is whether he will be as progressive with the marketing type ideas as Byrne and Stricklin.

I think marketing is important. But winning is the best form of marketing a team could have. Stricklin was great at it and I think he's a big reason why we have the cowbell use and tradition- I saw some BYU fans in front of me with their cowbells and enjoying the tradition of it, and I think that's because of Stricklin's work on that front. At the same time I think the AD we have now is better for us as far as where we are as an athletic department in terms of moving the program forward in terms of winning. I don't think Scott could talk to Dan on the same level as Cohen can because of Cohen's coaching background. And I think it goes both ways because I think Dan can go to Cohen with something and Cohen can understand why he wants something a little more than maybe Scott could.

It seems like things have changed a lot with Dan ever since Cohen became AD in a good way. It's like it gave him a shot in the arm.