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Restrained Exuberance
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The problem with starting anew with a new head coach is that it gives fans a case of collective amnesia.
Had Mike MacIntyre been retained, we would have spent the entire 2018-19 off-season burdened with the yoke of a seven-game losing streak. There would have been constant reminders that CU had missed out on a bowl bid – again – going a collective 0-10 over the past two seasons with a bowl invitation on the line.
This just in … the players who won only five games in 2017 and 2018, are, for the most part, the players who will take the field in 2019, and will do so with a more difficult schedule in 2019 (New Hampshire will be replaced by Air Force in the non-conference schedule; Oregon State and Cal replaced by Oregon and Stanford in Pac-12 play).
Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about the hiring of Mel Tucker, and the quotable quotes he has given in his first few days as CU’s new head coach are inspiring.
The thing is … we’ve heard them before.
“We want to have a team that changes the way people think,” Tucker said at his introductory press conference. “When it’s all said and done, when they leave the field, we want them to think ‘I never want to play that team again.’ That’s the type of the team we had here in the early 90’s. This is a no excuse program as of right now.”
Remember Dan Hawkins, and his “Ten wins. No excuses” campaign?
Yeah. So do I.
“I met with the players this morning,” Tucker said. “We had a really good conversation. I had them to myself. Sometimes you just know, and I know the young men in that room are hungry. They want to win. They want to compete for championships. They want to be relevant. I promised them if that they follow a process and buy in and they do the things we’re going to ask them to do, we will achieve at a high level and they will reach their full potential and compete for championships.”
Remember “Return to Dominance”?
Hell, I still have my “RTD” key chain from the 1999 season, the year Gary Barnett returned to Boulder.
Did you read all of the glowing quotes about Mel Tucker, from the likes of Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, and Jim Tressel? (If not, you can find them here). Great stuff.
Problem is, there are not too far removed from the quotes we heard about Mike MacIntyre from the likes of Bill Parcells, Eli Manning and David Cutcliffe when MacIntyre was hired (If you want to check them out, they are still there on the CU website as part of the Game Notes for the Cal game – page 32).
Bring in a new coach … lather, rinse, repeat the promises.
I’m not saying that this only happens in Boulder. It happens all across America, every off-season. Schools fire coaches, and the new coach promises better days to come.
Okay, enough of being a Debbie Downer.
There are several notes on Mel Tucker’s resume which do have me excited about the future.
— The Saban Factor —
Mel Tucker coached at Michigan State, LSU, and Alabama — all under Nick Saban, one of the most successful coaches of all time. Rick George couldn’t help but notice.
“Nick Saban hired him three times,” said George. “There’s probably a reason for that, because (Tucker) is one of the best in the business… That speaks volumes.”
Added Tucker: “(Saban) is a mentor to me. He’s been like a father-figure to me in the world of football. He gave me my first opportunity to coach in 1997 at Michigan State, and I’m forever indebted to him.”
Saban returned the compliment. “I’ve known Mel for well over 20 years and he is one of the brightest coaches in our profession,” said Saban. “I think he will do an outstanding job as the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes. They are getting a guy with a great personality, who knows college football, works hard each and every day, and does it with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and positive energy.”
— The Process —
Saban – Part II. If you follow football, you have heard about Nick Saban and his “process”. It’s the process which has made Alabama the year-in, year-out favorite to win the national championship.
Remember the 2007 Independence Bowl? A 6-6 Alabama team squared off against a 6-6 Colorado team. It was Dan Hawkins’ second year at Colorado; Nick Saban’s first year at Alabama.
Alabama won that night, 30-24 … and we all know the direction the two teams took after that season.
“You will hear me use that word, process, quite a bit,” Tucker said. “Everyone wants to win, but how do you win? There is a process of winning. If you do things the right way each and every day and the standards and expectations are high and the environments are right, then you can achieve success. But there is a process. We will work that process day in and day out. All of the great coaches I have been around have had a plan. They have had a process that they implemented and haven’t wavered, and have gotten great results.”
— Recruit. Recruit. Recruit. —
Slogans will only get you so far. At some point, it comes down to the Jimmy’s and the Joe’s.
“He’s a great recruiter. He’s recruited nationally,” George said. “He’s brought in some of the great players to the schools he’s been at. He’s a proven recruiter, and I’m excited about what he will bring and add to the tradition of the Colorado Buffaloes.”
“You want guys who can win one-on-one,” said Tucker. ” They can win their box in whatever position that is. The evaluation process is critical. It takes talent to evaluate talent. We first have to identify the players, evaluate them, and once we decide that those are guys who can be difference makers and help us reach our goals, it’s all about marketing at that point. We know what we’re looking for. We know what it takes to compete and win. It’s not always about talent; it’s about talent and character. We know what we’re looking for and we’re going to go get it.”
— Expectations —
“He’s been a part of two national championships and that is where I aspire this program to be,” George said. “Those are the expectations that we have for this program. It is about winning championships and he has experienced success at the highest level. That is a level we want to be at here at the University of Colorado.”
“The expectations are high,” Tucker said. “You heard it from Rick (George); we’re here to win championships. That’s O.K with me … I’ve never been in a game — as a player or coach — where we weren’t expected to win. Ever. There’s one thing that I can tell you — there’s no one on this planet that can put more pressure on me than I can put on myself. The expectations that I have for this program are extremely high. We’re going to start working today to get this thing going in the direction it needs to go.”
For a program that is 0-13 all-time against USC, it’s refreshing to hear its head coach say he’s never been in a game where he didn’t expect to win.
Let’s hope he’s able to maintain that philosophy through his first year in Boulder.
— Mac II … a different Mac II –
Mike MacIntyre was supposed to be Mac II, the reincarnation of Bill McCartney at Colorado.
Instead, the MacIntyre era will be remembered more like the Dan Hawkins era – one good season, but ultimately, disappointment.
Mel Tucker comes to Colorado without a huge national following.
He will not be perceived as a “splash hire”. Most Buff fans – including this one – had never heard of Mel Tucker until recently.
A relatively unknown defensive coordinator from a Power Five conference team back east.
The same way Bill McCartney, defensive coordinator under Bo Schembechler at Michigan, could have been described when he came to Boulder in 1982.
Let’s hope so …
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—–
Stuart
Continue reading...
Restrained Exuberance
—
The problem with starting anew with a new head coach is that it gives fans a case of collective amnesia.
Had Mike MacIntyre been retained, we would have spent the entire 2018-19 off-season burdened with the yoke of a seven-game losing streak. There would have been constant reminders that CU had missed out on a bowl bid – again – going a collective 0-10 over the past two seasons with a bowl invitation on the line.
This just in … the players who won only five games in 2017 and 2018, are, for the most part, the players who will take the field in 2019, and will do so with a more difficult schedule in 2019 (New Hampshire will be replaced by Air Force in the non-conference schedule; Oregon State and Cal replaced by Oregon and Stanford in Pac-12 play).
Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about the hiring of Mel Tucker, and the quotable quotes he has given in his first few days as CU’s new head coach are inspiring.
The thing is … we’ve heard them before.
“We want to have a team that changes the way people think,” Tucker said at his introductory press conference. “When it’s all said and done, when they leave the field, we want them to think ‘I never want to play that team again.’ That’s the type of the team we had here in the early 90’s. This is a no excuse program as of right now.”
Remember Dan Hawkins, and his “Ten wins. No excuses” campaign?
Yeah. So do I.
“I met with the players this morning,” Tucker said. “We had a really good conversation. I had them to myself. Sometimes you just know, and I know the young men in that room are hungry. They want to win. They want to compete for championships. They want to be relevant. I promised them if that they follow a process and buy in and they do the things we’re going to ask them to do, we will achieve at a high level and they will reach their full potential and compete for championships.”
Remember “Return to Dominance”?
Hell, I still have my “RTD” key chain from the 1999 season, the year Gary Barnett returned to Boulder.
Did you read all of the glowing quotes about Mel Tucker, from the likes of Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, and Jim Tressel? (If not, you can find them here). Great stuff.
Problem is, there are not too far removed from the quotes we heard about Mike MacIntyre from the likes of Bill Parcells, Eli Manning and David Cutcliffe when MacIntyre was hired (If you want to check them out, they are still there on the CU website as part of the Game Notes for the Cal game – page 32).
Bring in a new coach … lather, rinse, repeat the promises.
I’m not saying that this only happens in Boulder. It happens all across America, every off-season. Schools fire coaches, and the new coach promises better days to come.
Okay, enough of being a Debbie Downer.
There are several notes on Mel Tucker’s resume which do have me excited about the future.
— The Saban Factor —
Mel Tucker coached at Michigan State, LSU, and Alabama — all under Nick Saban, one of the most successful coaches of all time. Rick George couldn’t help but notice.
“Nick Saban hired him three times,” said George. “There’s probably a reason for that, because (Tucker) is one of the best in the business… That speaks volumes.”
Added Tucker: “(Saban) is a mentor to me. He’s been like a father-figure to me in the world of football. He gave me my first opportunity to coach in 1997 at Michigan State, and I’m forever indebted to him.”
Saban returned the compliment. “I’ve known Mel for well over 20 years and he is one of the brightest coaches in our profession,” said Saban. “I think he will do an outstanding job as the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes. They are getting a guy with a great personality, who knows college football, works hard each and every day, and does it with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and positive energy.”
— The Process —
Saban – Part II. If you follow football, you have heard about Nick Saban and his “process”. It’s the process which has made Alabama the year-in, year-out favorite to win the national championship.
Remember the 2007 Independence Bowl? A 6-6 Alabama team squared off against a 6-6 Colorado team. It was Dan Hawkins’ second year at Colorado; Nick Saban’s first year at Alabama.
Alabama won that night, 30-24 … and we all know the direction the two teams took after that season.
“You will hear me use that word, process, quite a bit,” Tucker said. “Everyone wants to win, but how do you win? There is a process of winning. If you do things the right way each and every day and the standards and expectations are high and the environments are right, then you can achieve success. But there is a process. We will work that process day in and day out. All of the great coaches I have been around have had a plan. They have had a process that they implemented and haven’t wavered, and have gotten great results.”
— Recruit. Recruit. Recruit. —
Slogans will only get you so far. At some point, it comes down to the Jimmy’s and the Joe’s.
“He’s a great recruiter. He’s recruited nationally,” George said. “He’s brought in some of the great players to the schools he’s been at. He’s a proven recruiter, and I’m excited about what he will bring and add to the tradition of the Colorado Buffaloes.”
“You want guys who can win one-on-one,” said Tucker. ” They can win their box in whatever position that is. The evaluation process is critical. It takes talent to evaluate talent. We first have to identify the players, evaluate them, and once we decide that those are guys who can be difference makers and help us reach our goals, it’s all about marketing at that point. We know what we’re looking for. We know what it takes to compete and win. It’s not always about talent; it’s about talent and character. We know what we’re looking for and we’re going to go get it.”
— Expectations —
“He’s been a part of two national championships and that is where I aspire this program to be,” George said. “Those are the expectations that we have for this program. It is about winning championships and he has experienced success at the highest level. That is a level we want to be at here at the University of Colorado.”
“The expectations are high,” Tucker said. “You heard it from Rick (George); we’re here to win championships. That’s O.K with me … I’ve never been in a game — as a player or coach — where we weren’t expected to win. Ever. There’s one thing that I can tell you — there’s no one on this planet that can put more pressure on me than I can put on myself. The expectations that I have for this program are extremely high. We’re going to start working today to get this thing going in the direction it needs to go.”
For a program that is 0-13 all-time against USC, it’s refreshing to hear its head coach say he’s never been in a game where he didn’t expect to win.
Let’s hope he’s able to maintain that philosophy through his first year in Boulder.
— Mac II … a different Mac II –
Mike MacIntyre was supposed to be Mac II, the reincarnation of Bill McCartney at Colorado.
Instead, the MacIntyre era will be remembered more like the Dan Hawkins era – one good season, but ultimately, disappointment.
Mel Tucker comes to Colorado without a huge national following.
He will not be perceived as a “splash hire”. Most Buff fans – including this one – had never heard of Mel Tucker until recently.
A relatively unknown defensive coordinator from a Power Five conference team back east.
The same way Bill McCartney, defensive coordinator under Bo Schembechler at Michigan, could have been described when he came to Boulder in 1982.
Let’s hope so …
–
—–
Stuart
Continue reading...