The transfer portal reminds me of slow- pitch softball. In the beginning you get all you buddies together to play in a softball league. Initially it all about just being with your buddies. Some of the guys on your team are really good and other teams see that. The next year some of the guys have left and now play for teams you have played against. Winning starts to take precedent over friendship.
You too have been made aware of players on other teams that are better than some players on your team. You start talking to these guys about coming over and some do. This means some buddies no longer have a place on your team. Over several years your team of buddies is now a team very different . Yes, you are now wining but not with friends and even the better players you now have you are still looking for even better players. You have lost sight of why you even started playing softball.
And so it is with college football…. We are losing sight of what we liked about it.
I loved the Athletic article. It was interesting to see where players ended up, and it also indicated that a lot o them weren't DI caliber players. Still doesn't mean they couldn't be treated with the respect that we all deserve . And that Deion demands for himself.
Sanders coaches like he played, and that is hard, nasty and whatever it takes to win. He is also a showboat and enjoys that. But Sanders knows that before he can strut around he better produce wins. So far, not so good. I like Neon Deion's persona as a player, but probably not as my HC. Compassion has a role in coaching. It was / is Mike Riley's strength. Not too much. Players have to be accountable. But enough to let the team know you are human.
For once, I agree with you. Lanning is no shrinking violet. He is very demanding of his players, but attentive to each of them personally. They seem to love the guy and would run through a wall for him. Toughness and compassion are the key.
I’m not a neon dion fan whatsoever but Mario Cristobal is hands down the worst game coach ever in the history of football, he is absolutely clueless in real time as to anything in front of him situationally and on the playing field. He’s proven that in real time over and over again to the point of comedy. As they say the rest is history..,
Mario needs to recruit (he's very very very good at it) and let his coordinators coach. Unfortunately, I am not sure he will allow that. It's why great coordinators don't want to work with him.
He’s a roid robot. He has no coaching ability whatsoever. It was a miracle Oregon got rid of him for nothing. He made Helfrich and Taggert look decent too.
I had the curtain drawn back a few years ago when a family friend was an assistant coach at a local D3 university football program. He had a player who had worked hard, and was definitely deserving to start or be in the rotation. When he mentioned it to the D Coordinator- the response was "I don't care how good he is. He'll never see the field as long as I'm here. I just don't like him."
Sometimes with players and playing time- it's as petty as the coach just not liking someone. I've hears coaches say they want the best players on the field/court- but sometimes it's only if they're the coaches guy.
John, I don't understand the significance of "10,000 new season ticket holders" along side a 90+% renewal rate. Plus I thought the last few seasons were sold out. Seems like a very high turnover rate given the last few seasons have been sold out if I am not mistaken.
What might the AD say to clarify the arithmetic?
Thanks again for providing such timely and insightful information.
I'll ask... but my understanding is that Oregon did NOT sell out season tickets last season. They did have some sell outs, but it came after single-game tickets went on sale.
Sports has always been a "business", every thing is when money is involved, but dignity doesn't have to be sacrificed in business of any kind. How much dignity you give or don't give is a direct reflection of character, and what someone truly believes is important. No one is perfect at it, because we are imperfect people, but consistency of bestowing dignity is important. Tolkien once wrote, "Not all that glitters is gold." Putting winning as the only goal isn't either.
You might want to ask Mullens about the dumpster fire that is Oregon WBB. Graves appears to be a great person with an admirable past record, until the departure of Ionescu and Co. Then the bottom started to fall out with repeated defections and 12 straight losses to end the season last year, along with the departure of 3 of the top starters. I get that there is a lot of movement in the portal but other teams are succeeding in spite of that. What graves is attracting from the portal so far looks underwhelming. Tough to attract top talent to a last place team that lost its best players. Is there a plan beyond "let it ride?"
“Was Sanders unnecessarily cruel in the way he publicly ran off the players?”
IMHO, yes! And, who doesn’t get to clean out their desk after being “fired” unless the employee committed malfeasance and is being escorted out of the office by security? A HC, or a good HC, shouldn’t refer to players as “furniture”, not a good analogy in my book. I’m not a fan of a person that likes to direct from a pedestal or whose ego gets in the way of common decency. Maybe it’s the momma bear in me…
Deion conflicts me. I like that he relayed the importance of actually going to class and studying to his team. He told them that 99% of you will never see an NFL field from anywhere but the stands, so you both owe it to, and should take advantage of, your college education and institution. Great message.
Deion also, when asked if he would follow his sons to the NFL said that he wouldn’t (or heavily implied he wouldn’t), stating something to the effect of “my job is to raise outstanding young men, build generational wealth for them, and set them up for their career journey”. Great message.
However, the way he treated the UC players when he took the job was classless and bush league. And his motor mouth wears me down. And ultimately he is a coach of a 4-8 team. So really, if he is holding players to a standard, shouldn’t he be able to back it up for himself?
The O line at UC is reportedly improved. We will see. Because if Shaduer goes down, he will see another 4-8.
And if he does, will he buy himself a bus ticket out of Boulder?
He currently has many top players going into the portal during the spring opening. It is hard to tell if Primes showboating over coaching is the problem or if they are primadonna players who can't take the rough and tumble of truth.
Xavier Smith, the guy who Shedeur Sanders mocked on Twitter that started this round of drama, was an FCS All-American as a Freshman after transferring to Austin Peay
While FCS All American level players likely aren't P5 starters, that's 100% quality depth that Deion chased off the team and mocked for it.
Given that Colorado had such an atrocious passing D last year, I'm sure they'd have greatly appreciated some of that young, quality depth they didn't have.
Sanders and the Buffs couldn’t handle the PAC12, and won’t be able to handle the BIG12 either. He’ll move his fraud circus to somewhere else after this next season. Loved The Athletic piece, it’s nice to have some follow up on those players he treated so poorly.
Right or wrong, and most of us think it's wrong, P4 college football has become 100% business. The players wanted to get paid. Now they're getting paid. Along with that comes some down side. They're getting treated like business decisions on the corporate level. Some businesses (head coaches) treat their employees with dignity and respect, but many don't. Welcome to the real world. You wanted it, you got it. Zero sympathy for any of them. While no longer on the football team, all had the option to stay on scholarship at Boulder and finish their degrees as academic students. They chose not to. Move on, it's a business just like you asked it to be.
That's where we differ. Not that I'm right and you're wrong, I've just completely lost any care I could ever have for any of them as players. They are nothing more than commodities, as they asked to be. When they used to commit to a school and that fanbase, they earned and deserved our caring. Now they treat the schools and fan bases like we're paper towels they use in the lunchroom when it's convenient for them. Why would I ever care about a commodity like that? Just returning the same level of care they show for us. They better get used to it, it's the real world now.
I'm just hoping it pays at least enough to cover the cost of the MWC scheduling payments. That they had to sign such a hamstringing contract for future alignment (and pay to do it) shows what a bind they were in, but if they could at least recover the financial costs that'd be nice.
writer Brandon Marcello tweet: Mountain West and Pac-2 will soon discuss whether to stretch scheduling partnership into a second year (2025-26), MWC commish Gloria Nevarez tells
@247Sports. "Imminently soon because you have to decide nonconference schedules and aligning everything."
I hope not. Or at least I'm hoping it's more limited in game amount. The Beavers have been doing a good job scheduling games for 2025 so far, with 7 games on the schedule (meaning they need 5 more). They already have Fresno State as an OoC scheduled opponent, but I would rather them fill out the schedule with more P5's (there are schools with openings, including Utah and Stanford) than I would pay to put 5 more MWC games on the schedule.
The transfer portal reminds me of slow- pitch softball. In the beginning you get all you buddies together to play in a softball league. Initially it all about just being with your buddies. Some of the guys on your team are really good and other teams see that. The next year some of the guys have left and now play for teams you have played against. Winning starts to take precedent over friendship.
You too have been made aware of players on other teams that are better than some players on your team. You start talking to these guys about coming over and some do. This means some buddies no longer have a place on your team. Over several years your team of buddies is now a team very different . Yes, you are now wining but not with friends and even the better players you now have you are still looking for even better players. You have lost sight of why you even started playing softball.
And so it is with college football…. We are losing sight of what we liked about it.
Slow-pitch softball ... love that.
Outstanding analogy
I loved the Athletic article. It was interesting to see where players ended up, and it also indicated that a lot o them weren't DI caliber players. Still doesn't mean they couldn't be treated with the respect that we all deserve . And that Deion demands for himself.
I thought it was a valid story.
Sanders coaches like he played, and that is hard, nasty and whatever it takes to win. He is also a showboat and enjoys that. But Sanders knows that before he can strut around he better produce wins. So far, not so good. I like Neon Deion's persona as a player, but probably not as my HC. Compassion has a role in coaching. It was / is Mike Riley's strength. Not too much. Players have to be accountable. But enough to let the team know you are human.
For once, I agree with you. Lanning is no shrinking violet. He is very demanding of his players, but attentive to each of them personally. They seem to love the guy and would run through a wall for him. Toughness and compassion are the key.
I’m not a neon dion fan whatsoever but Mario Cristobal is hands down the worst game coach ever in the history of football, he is absolutely clueless in real time as to anything in front of him situationally and on the playing field. He’s proven that in real time over and over again to the point of comedy. As they say the rest is history..,
Mario needs to recruit (he's very very very good at it) and let his coordinators coach. Unfortunately, I am not sure he will allow that. It's why great coordinators don't want to work with him.
He’s a roid robot. He has no coaching ability whatsoever. It was a miracle Oregon got rid of him for nothing. He made Helfrich and Taggert look decent too.
You spent too much time with Scholz...very, very, very too much time...
Deion as a big time head coach isn’t…
GO DAWGS
I’m sure your well aware of the miserable
case Sanders and his Son were involved
in. So your “cold blooded” title inclusion
fits Deion. That sad event exposed the darkside of his so called Christian bravado.
Great info in this article John.
I had the curtain drawn back a few years ago when a family friend was an assistant coach at a local D3 university football program. He had a player who had worked hard, and was definitely deserving to start or be in the rotation. When he mentioned it to the D Coordinator- the response was "I don't care how good he is. He'll never see the field as long as I'm here. I just don't like him."
Sometimes with players and playing time- it's as petty as the coach just not liking someone. I've hears coaches say they want the best players on the field/court- but sometimes it's only if they're the coaches guy.
Thanks for all of this.
I feel for that kid, I hope he was able to transfer to a school where he could get playing time. Also, that DC is a jackwagon.
John, I don't understand the significance of "10,000 new season ticket holders" along side a 90+% renewal rate. Plus I thought the last few seasons were sold out. Seems like a very high turnover rate given the last few seasons have been sold out if I am not mistaken.
What might the AD say to clarify the arithmetic?
Thanks again for providing such timely and insightful information.
I'll ask... but my understanding is that Oregon did NOT sell out season tickets last season. They did have some sell outs, but it came after single-game tickets went on sale.
Sports has always been a "business", every thing is when money is involved, but dignity doesn't have to be sacrificed in business of any kind. How much dignity you give or don't give is a direct reflection of character, and what someone truly believes is important. No one is perfect at it, because we are imperfect people, but consistency of bestowing dignity is important. Tolkien once wrote, "Not all that glitters is gold." Putting winning as the only goal isn't either.
Appreciate this.
You might want to ask Mullens about the dumpster fire that is Oregon WBB. Graves appears to be a great person with an admirable past record, until the departure of Ionescu and Co. Then the bottom started to fall out with repeated defections and 12 straight losses to end the season last year, along with the departure of 3 of the top starters. I get that there is a lot of movement in the portal but other teams are succeeding in spite of that. What graves is attracting from the portal so far looks underwhelming. Tough to attract top talent to a last place team that lost its best players. Is there a plan beyond "let it ride?"
I am told that Mullens and Graves met after the season. I will ask.
“Was Sanders unnecessarily cruel in the way he publicly ran off the players?”
IMHO, yes! And, who doesn’t get to clean out their desk after being “fired” unless the employee committed malfeasance and is being escorted out of the office by security? A HC, or a good HC, shouldn’t refer to players as “furniture”, not a good analogy in my book. I’m not a fan of a person that likes to direct from a pedestal or whose ego gets in the way of common decency. Maybe it’s the momma bear in me…
Deion conflicts me. I like that he relayed the importance of actually going to class and studying to his team. He told them that 99% of you will never see an NFL field from anywhere but the stands, so you both owe it to, and should take advantage of, your college education and institution. Great message.
Deion also, when asked if he would follow his sons to the NFL said that he wouldn’t (or heavily implied he wouldn’t), stating something to the effect of “my job is to raise outstanding young men, build generational wealth for them, and set them up for their career journey”. Great message.
However, the way he treated the UC players when he took the job was classless and bush league. And his motor mouth wears me down. And ultimately he is a coach of a 4-8 team. So really, if he is holding players to a standard, shouldn’t he be able to back it up for himself?
The O line at UC is reportedly improved. We will see. Because if Shaduer goes down, he will see another 4-8.
And if he does, will he buy himself a bus ticket out of Boulder?
Doubtful.
I am in the same boat with Prime.
He currently has many top players going into the portal during the spring opening. It is hard to tell if Primes showboating over coaching is the problem or if they are primadonna players who can't take the rough and tumble of truth.
Xavier Smith, the guy who Shedeur Sanders mocked on Twitter that started this round of drama, was an FCS All-American as a Freshman after transferring to Austin Peay
While FCS All American level players likely aren't P5 starters, that's 100% quality depth that Deion chased off the team and mocked for it.
Given that Colorado had such an atrocious passing D last year, I'm sure they'd have greatly appreciated some of that young, quality depth they didn't have.
He had strong messaging... also, some not so strong.
Sanders and the Buffs couldn’t handle the PAC12, and won’t be able to handle the BIG12 either. He’ll move his fraud circus to somewhere else after this next season. Loved The Athletic piece, it’s nice to have some follow up on those players he treated so poorly.
John, sorry you had to deal with Meggs. Consider yourself fortunate to have not played for him.
Right or wrong, and most of us think it's wrong, P4 college football has become 100% business. The players wanted to get paid. Now they're getting paid. Along with that comes some down side. They're getting treated like business decisions on the corporate level. Some businesses (head coaches) treat their employees with dignity and respect, but many don't. Welcome to the real world. You wanted it, you got it. Zero sympathy for any of them. While no longer on the football team, all had the option to stay on scholarship at Boulder and finish their degrees as academic students. They chose not to. Move on, it's a business just like you asked it to be.
I do think it's interesting to see what happens to the players afterward.
That's where we differ. Not that I'm right and you're wrong, I've just completely lost any care I could ever have for any of them as players. They are nothing more than commodities, as they asked to be. When they used to commit to a school and that fanbase, they earned and deserved our caring. Now they treat the schools and fan bases like we're paper towels they use in the lunchroom when it's convenient for them. Why would I ever care about a commodity like that? Just returning the same level of care they show for us. They better get used to it, it's the real world now.
Re: CW Contract
I'm just hoping it pays at least enough to cover the cost of the MWC scheduling payments. That they had to sign such a hamstringing contract for future alignment (and pay to do it) shows what a bind they were in, but if they could at least recover the financial costs that'd be nice.
writer Brandon Marcello tweet: Mountain West and Pac-2 will soon discuss whether to stretch scheduling partnership into a second year (2025-26), MWC commish Gloria Nevarez tells
@247Sports. "Imminently soon because you have to decide nonconference schedules and aligning everything."
I hope not. Or at least I'm hoping it's more limited in game amount. The Beavers have been doing a good job scheduling games for 2025 so far, with 7 games on the schedule (meaning they need 5 more). They already have Fresno State as an OoC scheduled opponent, but I would rather them fill out the schedule with more P5's (there are schools with openings, including Utah and Stanford) than I would pay to put 5 more MWC games on the schedule.