If they keep lowering the bar, Ray will stay here forever. First it was, gotta make the NIT. Next it was gotta be over .500 and just miss the NIT. Now it's go at least 7-11 in the conference. Woohoo!
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You just can't compare Mullen are Ray in my opinion. Mullen was pretty well known, had coached some big name QB's and had coordinated National Championship teams. I don't mind someone with some solid credentials being handed a program as a first time head coach. I do have a problem with a unheard of guy being handed a train wreck of a program. Still, I support Ray and am hopeful he proves something in year 3. However, if he doesn't then the clock is ticking. I don't want to hear shit about him not having that 13th scholarship player and how you can't win with the 12 scholarship players.
If Ray goes 7-11 in conference in 10-3 OOC that's 17-14 overall and enough improvement in year 3 to give him a 4th year with a senior laden team. We won 7 conference games in 2 years . If he can double his conference win total in year 3 yes I think he deserves a 4th year . As a fan this is the BARE MINIMUM he needs to do to maintain his job . 7 wins is not a goal.
Pearl, however, is being careful when it comes to setting expectations for his first Auburn team.
?I think the No. 1 thing you do with expectations when you first come in is don?t set a timetable,? he said. ?I?ve got to build a strong foundation and we?ve got to have a focus on the process. I?m not concerned about the record right away...
Highlight to see who said all of this...because it sounds an awful lot like what a bunch of you are slaughtering Ray for...
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Duh, of course Pearl is going to say that but guess what, he is Bruce Pearl. If some no name assistant head coach said that (of course Auburn would not of gone the Stricklin route), I don't think the Auburn fans would be as patient.
Of course with Pearl's track record, he will more then likely have them .500 next year and in the dance a year after that. His rebuild will be probably 2 years max.
Bookmarked.
He can't recruit but 2.5 months of this entire recruiting cycle. SO, he's going to miraculously recruit an NCAA team of freshmen in 2.5 months at a traditionally shitty SEC school? Get back on your rocker.
What he is actually going to prove is that total rebuilds of meandering programs take time. But you've proven in this very thread that you are comfortable moving the goalposts between every post -- so in 2 years, I'm confident that you will do the same once again...
I think money is a big difference between auburn and state. In the last couple of years auburn ,they have spent loads of money on coaches. Malzahn, Pearl, They hired the head baseball coach from Oklahoma, and the head softball coach from Arizona State, who's won two softball national championships in the last few years. I like van steudaman a lot, but when is the last time we hired a head coach of that stature who didn't have Mississippi State ties.
Bookmarked as well when Ray has his amazing 3rd season next year and all but Smoot will stay on the Ray bandwagon. Remember Engie, you and Coach have said numerous times that if Ray doesn't make the NIT next year it's time to go in a new direction. By Ray's fourth year, he may only have Smoot on his side.
What you guys fail to realize is that rebuilds in basketball don't take as long as what we are seeing with Ray.
He has several factors working against him that prolong any rebuild.
A) Never been a head coach - this is huge. If he had been a head coach, you wouldn't of seen him take chances on players like a Daniels or the kid from Findley Prep and yes Dawg61 we would have a full roster. There would also be some other nuances that he would have learned along the way that would make our program better.
B) No ties to the southeast for recruiting purposes - this is really killing him. If he were a great recruiter, it would alleviate problem A. If he were a great recruiter, we would be channelling great young players into the program and be seeing strides forward instead of going backwards from next to last to dead last.
C) Stricklin saying he has all the time in the world to rebuild. This shit is all on Stricklin here which may have lead to some of Ray's questionable decisions in the first place. When you feel no pressure to win, that is a very bad thing. Just is. Ask Croom, he thought he had 5 years and would never get fired.
When you add A, B, and C up you get at minimum a 4-5 year rebuild when a 1-2 year rebuild in basketball is usually all you need unless you are on Probation, your program was rocked with a murder scandal or your AD blows up the program.
So you want him to just offer someone to get to 13 next year but you want to cut guys who you don't think have developed in 1 year. What if we offered Troutman? Will that make you happy because we got to 13 or will you want to cut him after 1 year because he's not as good as you hoped?
The coaching search was 2+ years ago. WTF difference does that make at this point? NONE is the correct answer.
A search can be an imperfect process and still arrive at the correct conclusion. Hence how Nick Saban ended up at Alabama after they were publicly humiliated by Spurrier, RichRod, and Petersen...just among the names we know about...
And, I already know you are going to fail reading comprehension and attempt to twist that into me saying that Rick Ray = Nick Saban -- when that wasn't what I said at all -- but have at it.