McCarney - Buy or Sell?

[cstrunk]

Let's fire him and hire Criner or Walden again, that will be better. National titles don't happen overnight.

Nobody has said anything about a National Title yet. Especially when we can't even win the freakin' Big 12 North when it has been weak over the past few years!! At this rate we may win the Big 12 North by 2015, the Big 12 by 2030, then maybe a national title by 2065.

You're right. These things take time.

 

[price26]

I would agree that Mac has been very conversative throughout the years and would love to see him be more agressive. But think of what Mac is has done and has to work against.

1) When Mac came in he was and still is in the shadow of the Iowa Hawkeyes in the state recruiting battle.

2) In light of that he has found some very talented players and taken ISU to five bowl games.

3) Mac is still working against almost 20 years of futility where we didn't make any bowls and lost to Iowa 15 straight times.

4) He is now still ahead of the almighty Kirk Ferentz 5-3.

5) Mac can't make the kicks for the kicker and can't open the holes in the line for the running backs. But he has taught players like Meyer to not force things and the running backs to (normally) hold onto the ball and play error-free football which has given us a chance to win some games.

Right now I'm a buyer of Mac, that may change tomorrow, but honestly who else are you going to get and at what cost is it going to come at?

I think if things start to go downhill from here and we fail to make a couple bowl games in the next couple seasons or the season just really goes in the crapper and we end up with only 3 wins in our next 9 games and don't make a bowl then I would say it is time for Mac to go. But right now I would say Skladany or Cotton needs to go first. Probably Skladany.

 

[DJB]

SELL!! The cyclone fan's memory is short and full of "but if's." Remember just last year: Baylor, Bowl loss to a lesser conference (but a good team), and blown OT's to weak teams. Oh yeah, but we beat Iowa...you are forgiven Dan. BS!!! Stop having to be optimistic about next FB season halfway thru the current season. Oh yeah, BB season is just around the corner.

 

[Kyle]

The poll now works, sorry for the problems with it stating invalid poll. You can now register your opinion

Thanks Jeremy! I now realize I probably should have added the option "Fired if he doesn't accomplish some other specific goal." Anyways, I didn't want to bias the poll too much with my first post, but I voted to get rid of him if we don't win the North. I'd probably also be satisfied if by some freak occurance we ran the table in the North and didn't win due to losing to Texas and Oklahoma. Short of that though, forget 12 years of to get it right, McCarney has had 7 years of decent teams, the best being the one farthest removed.

I've seen a lot of people advocate for new coordinators, which I think is bunk. The biggest problem is the overall conservative philosophy, which is all on the head coach as far as I'm concerned. I actually like Skladany and our D has been solid the past few years. I think the biggest problem with it is McCarney's gameplan, which calls for it to allow the little stuff in favor of not giving up the big stuff. Our biggest problem is not taking risks on offense, which is probably partially Cotton's fault. I also think Cotton answers to McCarney's gameplan though. It certainly wasn't his choice to not even try with over a minute left today.

 

[CyinCo]

I'm OK with the outcome of the game today. I thought we played well. We stalled in the second half but I didn't see one particular reason for it. I just thought the Iowa D made better adjustments than we did.

I'm currently a "buy" on Mac. However, if we don't win at least 6 games despite our current schedule, I'll be re-evaluating.

I've always said that I trust in JP. I'll let JP decide what happens.

 

[Nedrick]

I don't know... On one hand, Mac has brought ISU out of the football cellar and brought a moderate level of success. But on the other hand, he seems to have hit the ceiling wins-wise. After 12 years, I really don't see him changing his philosophy of play. Aside from changing up some assistants, what would he do differently?
But like someone else mentioned, what kind of coach would JP be able to attract? I doubt he could lure a head coach from another established/up-and-coming program. But with the McDermott hire, maybe JP does have a few tricks up his sleeve. You've got to think he's got SOMEONE in mind for football.
In conclusion, I'm currently on the buy-boat. Give him this year (with the brutal schedule) and next and if we don't see improvement, show him the door nicely.

 

[clone33]

Im buying him...now. If we dont win the north, i'm selling. Dont give me the crap about a hard schedule. All we have to do is win teh games we are suppose to + Nebraska and we win the north. If we find a way to screw that up, then i will expect a big 12 Championship (not just north) for Mac to keep his job.That being said, I hope that Mac spends 20 more years here.

 

[ICCYFAN]

I'm OK with the outcome of the game today.

I've taken you to task for this type of rhetoric recently; I just don't understand it! I was at the game and Iowa did not play that well. We had them on the ropes (meaning double digit lead) and didn't go for the knock-out punch. DMac's conservative nature hand-delivered the momentum to UI and they never gave it back. You claim you're "not willing to settle for mediocrity" yet you're "OK" with the fact we lost a game which was eminently win-able! How do these two statements jive? Will you be "OK" if we play within 21 points of Texas and 14 points of Oklahoma? Will you be "OK" if we lose to Nebraska in OT? At what point do the excuses (budget, facilities, fan support) end and the coach be held accountable? It's been twelve years!:growl5cj:

 

[Kyle]

I just thought the Iowa D made better adjustments than we did.

In other words we were out coached?

 

[cstrunk]

Remember, K-State was just as bad or worse than we were when Bill Snyder took over. In less than ten years, he brought that team to national status. They had a stretch of four years in a row where they won 11 games each season. They arguably had a national title team in 1998 before stumbling to TAMU in the Big 12 Championship game. Now we know K-State hasn't been that good the past few years, but it wasn't very long ago when they were the storied program risen from the depths of college football to become one of the nation's powerhouses.

WHY CAN'T THIS HAPPEN AT IOWA STATE? Somebody please answer that. McCarney has had 12 years and hasn't even won the Big 12 North, let alone the Big 12 Title. Why should we have to wait and see if he can do it next year or next year, when he has proven that he can't do it even once in his tenure here.

We know that McCarney has done a fine job of building the program to be an average team instead of a pathetic one, but who cares. He's had his time to get things done here. I agree when others say that had this been any other D-1 coach, McCarney would have been gone by now. It's time to say our thanks and farewell's to good old coach Mac if he can't get things done. Soon.

 

[CyinCo]

I've taken you to task for this type of rhetoric recently; I just don't understand it! I was at the game and Iowa did not play that well. We had them on the ropes (meaning double digit lead) and didn't go for the knock-out punch. DMac's conservative nature hand-delivered the momentum to UI and they never gave it back. You claim you're "not willing to settle for mediocrity" yet you're "OK" with the fact we lost a game which was eminently win-able! How do these two statements jive? Will you be "OK" if we play within 21 points of Texas and 14 points of Oklahoma? Will you be "OK" if we lose to Nebraska in OT? At what point do the excuses (budget, facilities, fan support) end and the coach be held accountable? It's been twelve years!:growl5cj:

Being OK with the result and being OK with losing are two different things. I hate losing. I hate it. Period. But we didn't make a lot of mistakes. We didn't have turnovers. Our defense didn't fold up of shop. The biggest screw up was the long kick return and the missed field goal. Our offensive execution could have been better. The point is, I think we played a good game. But we got beat. That happens sometimes. Consider this. Iowa has won 24 of 25 at home prior to this game. We gave them about all they could handle.

And, Yes, I agree we got out-coached in the second half. They made adjustments and we didn't.

 

[moater]

Dmac has always went into every game with a solid gameplan that works in the first half. The other team makes adjustments at the half but we never seem to have an option to go to other than the original gameplan. The boys played hard showing some improvement but its the the B12 North or adios

 

[ICCYFAN]

Being OK with the result and being OK with losing are two different things.

Not really! Do you agree that this was a win-able game? If so, you really can't consider this a "moral victory"; it's simply yet another in a long string of losses that could have been wins. After twelve years under this regime, your expectations should be higher...

 

[cyclonewino]

Hold - for now. Mac's teams always seem to get a lead and then try to coast to victory. Today we saw where they learned this trick. 1:22 to go and 3 time outs and Mac wants to coast!!!!! Yes we may have screwed up, but Iowa already had all the momentum they needed, couldn't we at least trusted our guys enough to make a play instead of saying they might screw up and give Iowa the HALFTIME lead? How can they win when the staff says we can't try to turn the game around? The play calling was fine, it is simply the inability to lead a team to victory. Coasting in NOT an option!!! People want to talk about the 4th and 10 call as gutsy, but when you're down it's easy to lay it all on the line and make a gutsy call. Do it when you have a lead and NEED to make a play!

 

[cstrunk]

Pete Carroll: "We didn't bring him (Diante Garrett) all the way down from New Jersey to gain only 35 yards." This quote was from USC's head coach responding to his All-American wide receivers preformance against Arkansas.

Good teams find ways to get their playmakers the ball. That's how you win ball games.

Compare Pete Carroll's mentality with Coach Mac's.

 

[JokersWild]

Dmac has always went into every game with a solid gameplan that works in the first half. The other team makes adjustments at the half but we never seem to have an option to go to other than the original gameplan.

EXACTLY!! Mac is not a gameday coach. End of story. If I was coaching against Mac, I would not be nervous at all about the score at halftime. That is my biggest gripe with Mac. I want a different gameday coach!!!

 

[darts180]

And, Yes, I agree we got out-coached in the second half. They made adjustments and we didn't.[/quote]
Oh my God, are reading what you are writing???

 

[Cyclonepride]

I am solidly in the buy column. I watched/ listened to the first half before going into a wedding (#$&*#!!). And I caught the final minute or two. I can handle a road loss to a top 20 team, where they were in it the whole game, didn't self destruct, and where the other team played well. I feel better about ISU than I did before the game. They have a tough, tough stretch of games, and I think if they can come out of the next four games at 5-2 or even 4-3, I feel really good about their chances in the North. We should stay fully behind the team.

 

[farmrmac]

Keep him. Lost a freind last night. Puts things in perspective.

 

[83Clone]

And, Yes, I agree we got out-coached in the second half. They made adjustments and we didn't.

Oh my God, are reading what you are writing???[/QUOTE]


Amen brother, our coordinators got taken to school in the second half-they ran basically two plays, one of which is the obnoxioux bubble screen, that got all their yards in the second half.

And they shut us down. Their secondary is horrific and we couldn't pass in the second half? What is up with that? Why don't we try the obnoxious bubble screen.