Not about the need to get "real Buffs" in to fix CU football. That was wrong-headed.
But going from the "real Buffs" assumption, he had an absolutely correct read on the coaching prospects.
Short of somehow pulling an inside straight and landing Les Miles, no one was capable of turning this around quickly and no one was qualified to run the show just yet.
Mac said that he needed to be the HC. He could weather the storm of losing for a couple years while putting the right organizational structure in place. He could use that time to mentor Embree and get him better prepared to become a head football coach.
Mac saw that this was probably 2 years of losing football and then an opportunity to progress a bit to mediocrity and a bowl game by year 3 or year 4. If done right, he thought he could get it to that point and stock the cupboard with decent talent and an "identity" of schemes. By that point, someone like Embree would be ready to step in and run with it.
That was the wrong plan. Mac may not have been able to do any better on the recruiting front than we've seen and Embree simply doesn't seem to have it. But Mac did read the situation correctly and see the only path where the "real Buffs" plan had a chance of succeeding.
Mac may have been away from this too long, may not get all that has changed in the past 18 years, may not be as much at 72 as he was at 54... but he is capable of looking at a football organization and knowing what kind of rebuild it is looking at. He really wanted Embree to be successful and I think in his heart he knows that Embree was put in a position he wasn't ready for and is just hoping that if he pulls out all stops that he can give Embree cover to learn on the job and not go down as a complete failure.
Sadly, it has become clear. This job is beyond Embree. There will be no turn around until changes are made. CU needs to stop thinking nostalgia is a path to the future.
But going from the "real Buffs" assumption, he had an absolutely correct read on the coaching prospects.
Short of somehow pulling an inside straight and landing Les Miles, no one was capable of turning this around quickly and no one was qualified to run the show just yet.
Mac said that he needed to be the HC. He could weather the storm of losing for a couple years while putting the right organizational structure in place. He could use that time to mentor Embree and get him better prepared to become a head football coach.
Mac saw that this was probably 2 years of losing football and then an opportunity to progress a bit to mediocrity and a bowl game by year 3 or year 4. If done right, he thought he could get it to that point and stock the cupboard with decent talent and an "identity" of schemes. By that point, someone like Embree would be ready to step in and run with it.
That was the wrong plan. Mac may not have been able to do any better on the recruiting front than we've seen and Embree simply doesn't seem to have it. But Mac did read the situation correctly and see the only path where the "real Buffs" plan had a chance of succeeding.
Mac may have been away from this too long, may not get all that has changed in the past 18 years, may not be as much at 72 as he was at 54... but he is capable of looking at a football organization and knowing what kind of rebuild it is looking at. He really wanted Embree to be successful and I think in his heart he knows that Embree was put in a position he wasn't ready for and is just hoping that if he pulls out all stops that he can give Embree cover to learn on the job and not go down as a complete failure.
Sadly, it has become clear. This job is beyond Embree. There will be no turn around until changes are made. CU needs to stop thinking nostalgia is a path to the future.
