aeroxx
New Member
There is no recipe to follow to produce success:
4 star recruits + Tradition-based Coaching (like a Michigan or Alabama coaching system)+ big stadium =/= top 20 football.
Football, as an organized human activity, is a Complex Dynamic system. As such, process matters at least as much as inputs. The word "process" is being thrown around like new age dogma, but I am talking about concrete components of an organization.
The system is complex and does not fit into a simple heuristic such as throwing money at the problem to hire a big name coach like Nick Saban. (In fact, Saban admitted the limitations of his power in his interview on 60 minutes). A great coach is a necessary but not sufficient part of the system. This system includes, but is not limited to practice, coaching, learning, and adapting to changing circumstances. It is not generalizable, but is unique to the circumstances and people involved. This is why it almost never works to try to import a past successful program to a new, unsuccessful context.
Some of our coaches, like our fans, do not understand this distinction. They assume that winning football is only about one aspect of the system: if only we had 4 star recruits, or only if we had executed 100% effectively on the field, or if only we had a better stadium, etc.
Coach Bienemy could not be any more wrong when he says, “the key to success is executing and imposing your will on your opponent.” This is only true if one is already better coached, better trained, utilizing a better strategy, and are athletic than one’s opponent. All of which might have been true in Bienemy’s playing days, but do not apply to the current circumstances.
Therefore any assessment of Coach Embree has to examine the entire system. The conclusions are not promising, but neither are they indicative of impending failure, if significant changes are made in a number of facets of the program.
Whether the football program is going to be successful turns on whether Coach Embree and the administration can evaluate themselves objectively and adapt to the current and upcoming demands.
If CU is going to restore its tradition as a football powerhouse, then its support base (fans) need to think about the program as a complete system too. Otherwise, short-sighted demands such as firing everyone, or refusing to attend games, will undo some of the progress which has been made and will produce the very thing people don't want--a doormat football program.
4 star recruits + Tradition-based Coaching (like a Michigan or Alabama coaching system)+ big stadium =/= top 20 football.
Football, as an organized human activity, is a Complex Dynamic system. As such, process matters at least as much as inputs. The word "process" is being thrown around like new age dogma, but I am talking about concrete components of an organization.
The system is complex and does not fit into a simple heuristic such as throwing money at the problem to hire a big name coach like Nick Saban. (In fact, Saban admitted the limitations of his power in his interview on 60 minutes). A great coach is a necessary but not sufficient part of the system. This system includes, but is not limited to practice, coaching, learning, and adapting to changing circumstances. It is not generalizable, but is unique to the circumstances and people involved. This is why it almost never works to try to import a past successful program to a new, unsuccessful context.
Some of our coaches, like our fans, do not understand this distinction. They assume that winning football is only about one aspect of the system: if only we had 4 star recruits, or only if we had executed 100% effectively on the field, or if only we had a better stadium, etc.
Coach Bienemy could not be any more wrong when he says, “the key to success is executing and imposing your will on your opponent.” This is only true if one is already better coached, better trained, utilizing a better strategy, and are athletic than one’s opponent. All of which might have been true in Bienemy’s playing days, but do not apply to the current circumstances.
Therefore any assessment of Coach Embree has to examine the entire system. The conclusions are not promising, but neither are they indicative of impending failure, if significant changes are made in a number of facets of the program.
Whether the football program is going to be successful turns on whether Coach Embree and the administration can evaluate themselves objectively and adapt to the current and upcoming demands.
If CU is going to restore its tradition as a football powerhouse, then its support base (fans) need to think about the program as a complete system too. Otherwise, short-sighted demands such as firing everyone, or refusing to attend games, will undo some of the progress which has been made and will produce the very thing people don't want--a doormat football program.
