Burning questions on a Wednesday

[technoCat]

Thank you all for both the thoughtful, rational responses, as well as the sarcastic ones, and all others in between. I honestly knew the answers to most of my questions, but a few of you brought clarity and confirmation to my thoughts. Mostly I just thought some of the other threads were going nowhere and decided to throw another one out there for a distraction, haha. I still am not so patiently waiting for some good news. On another thread it was mentioned that Udy is also leaving, so more possibly bad news. Growing weary of that. However, I am trying to remain hopeful and confident this isn't turning into a massive train wreck. I'm sure it's not, just will take time to get everything shook out. I agree with many that Bobcat football is strong, deep, and headed in the right direction. Thanks again guys!

I’m genuinely curious. Do you expect all of the coaches to stay forever? That’s very unrealistic. And I’ll warn you, Udy won’t be the last to leave before the new season. That’s good news! We have really good coaches and players, and we’ll have more next year too.

I’ll remind you that everybody, myself included, was hugely disappointed when Choate left. And what happened? MSU got an even better coaching staff. The program has grown and will continue to do so. Coaches and players leaving for better jobs is a sign of progress.

No, I really don't. I do wonder sometimes how some programs do manage to keep coaches long term, but I think at this level it is highly unlikely that coaches stay more than 4-5 years. Doesn't mean I have to like it. And you're right, Choate leaving really sucked at the time, but Vigen has been really good. And I know that having a program that wins, develops players, and has a good coaching staff that other programs want is a really thing. It's just hard sometimes in the moment when those losses happen.

Which programs are keeping coaches for a long time? I can think of two, SDSU where Stigs is showing he was an outlier, and UM. I’d much rather have coaches who move upward than have Hauck and co. That’s my two cents.

Valid point. And I think long term coaches exist at higher level schools, mostly because they can pay more. Though I don't watch much FBS ball, for the record.

Or lower levels, Van Deist(sp?) at Carrol comes to mind. Maybe more guys that know their limitations or are not as driven to go bigger and better all the time. We seem to be right in that middle ground...

[MSU01]

Or lower levels, Van Deist(sp?) at Carrol comes to mind. Maybe more guys that know their limitations or are not as driven to go bigger and better all the time. We seem to be right in that middle ground...

You can't expect it to happen, but it's always great when schools can hire those magical coaches who are great at their jobs AND are willing to stick around for decades without looking to move on to something bigger and more lucrative financially. MSU is fortunate to have one of those coaches right now, although she coaches women's basketball instead of the sport this forum is more concerned with.

[nanacat]

Thanks again for good responses to my OP. Without requoting, as I've read through the rational responses, a couple thoughts came to mind.

Last year I think 5 players left, at least that's what I recall - the 3 big boys and a couple players buried in the depth chart. Obviously the loss of the big boys generated much discussion but like has been said, the Cats did just fine, even better than a year ago with those players. And as a couple posters have stated, of the 14 players that have left this year, only a handful are really going to be "losses." But losing so many within 3 days, when other programs have lost little to none, causes an initial shock and emotional response, combined with the disappointment of not adding any new players.

Regarding the loss of coaches, I am perfectly aware that happens and it's rare to have a coach stay more than 5 years. In some cases, long term coaches are a benefit, in some a detriment. I was worried when rumors started about Vigen leaving and was very happy to hear he was staying. I liken that a bit to Cruzado retiring. She's done an AMAZING job and as much as I understand she had every right to retire, there is a natural concern that all she's accomplished won't be continued by her successor. That's a doomsday perspective and unfair to pre-judge her replacement. But it's natural to feel insecure. That insecurity happened after Choate left and now, very few feel like Choate leaving was bad. Hardly any felt Housewright or WMG leaving was bad because the bad outweighed the good. So yes, patience and concern are very necessary. But insecurity, fear, and concern are very natural reactions as well.

So many here have been through the highs and lows, many years of lows, of Bobcat football. Some of us came into Fandom during the higher times so that's the expectation because that's what we've become used to, and that's OK. This forum represents a pretty small percentage of Bobcat fans, though I would say we are the more passionate, "rabid" fans, haha. What's happening with the losses since the NC is likely unknown by the majority of the average Bobcat fan, and that's probably just fine. Next season the home games will sell out, Bobcat football clothing will still be sold in droves, and the excitement for the new stars on the field will be electric, of that I am certain!

[MSU01]

Thanks again for good responses to my OP. Without requoting, as I've read through the rational responses, a couple thoughts came to mind.

Last year I think 5 players left, at least that's what I recall - the 3 big boys and a couple players buried in the depth chart. Obviously the loss of the big boys generated much discussion but like has been said, the Cats did just fine, even better than a year ago with those players. And as a couple posters have stated, of the 14 players that have left this year, only a handful are really going to be "losses." But losing so many within 3 days, when other programs have lost little to none, causes an initial shock and emotional response, combined with the disappointment of not adding any new players.

Aside from NDSU, pretty much every FCS team has lost as much or more talent that MSU has. For them it just happened a lot earlier than it did for us, and we probably weren't paying too much attention as we were attending playoff games in Bobcat Stadium every weekend.

[catzz]

Thanks again for good responses to my OP. Without requoting, as I've read through the rational responses, a couple thoughts came to mind.

Last year I think 5 players left, at least that's what I recall - the 3 big boys and a couple players buried in the depth chart. Obviously the loss of the big boys generated much discussion but like has been said, the Cats did just fine, even better than a year ago with those players. And as a couple posters have stated, of the 14 players that have left this year, only a handful are really going to be "losses." But losing so many within 3 days, when other programs have lost little to none, causes an initial shock and emotional response, combined with the disappointment of not adding any new players.

Aside from NDSU, pretty much every FCS team has lost as much or more talent that MSU has. For them it just happened a lot earlier than it did for us, and we probably weren't paying too much attention as we were attending playoff games in Bobcat Stadium every weekend.

And/Or, we had no ability to retain some players..

[MSU01]

Thanks again for good responses to my OP. Without requoting, as I've read through the rational responses, a couple thoughts came to mind.

Last year I think 5 players left, at least that's what I recall - the 3 big boys and a couple players buried in the depth chart. Obviously the loss of the big boys generated much discussion but like has been said, the Cats did just fine, even better than a year ago with those players. And as a couple posters have stated, of the 14 players that have left this year, only a handful are really going to be "losses." But losing so many within 3 days, when other programs have lost little to none, causes an initial shock and emotional response, combined with the disappointment of not adding any new players.

Aside from NDSU, pretty much every FCS team has lost as much or more talent that MSU has. For them it just happened a lot earlier than it did for us, and we probably weren't paying too much attention as we were attending playoff games in Bobcat Stadium every weekend.

And/Or, we had no ability to retain some players..

Maybe so. I'd guess that at least two (Moore and Humphrey) were gone regardless given the offers they've had and in Moore's case the opportunity to play much closer to home.

[catzz]

Thanks again for good responses to my OP. Without requoting, as I've read through the rational responses, a couple thoughts came to mind.

Last year I think 5 players left, at least that's what I recall - the 3 big boys and a couple players buried in the depth chart. Obviously the loss of the big boys generated much discussion but like has been said, the Cats did just fine, even better than a year ago with those players. And as a couple posters have stated, of the 14 players that have left this year, only a handful are really going to be "losses." But losing so many within 3 days, when other programs have lost little to none, causes an initial shock and emotional response, combined with the disappointment of not adding any new players.

Aside from NDSU, pretty much every FCS team has lost as much or more talent that MSU has. For them it just happened a lot earlier than it did for us, and we probably weren't paying too much attention as we were attending playoff games in Bobcat Stadium every weekend.

And/Or, we had no ability to retain some players..

Maybe so. I'd guess that at least two (Moore and Humphrey) were gone regardless given the offers they've had and in Moore's case the opportunity to play much closer to home.

100 percent! Expected! I appreciate that aspect. But there are many others that weren’t expected and could have been prevented.