McCarney still coaching, but not for long…

[kuney1]

I too doubt Mac will be fired at the end of the season, in fact I think it's a big distraction to the players and coaches about all this internet speculation.

[HandSanitizer]

I think its the way we lose big games. We usually get pounded against anyone in the top ten. Another thing that drives me crazy is the fact that Colorado and Kansas State have been top ten teams the last decade and now they are bad. The north is weak and we still can't win it. Another thing that I want people to realize is that going to houston, shreveport etc...is really like going to the NIT in basketball.
I love Coach Mac, but something needs to change. I don't want him gone, but I want him to open up the offense and have a "little creativity". We need to do what Iowa has done and start with getting good special teams and offensive lines. A good offensive line makes average players look great. (AKA Brad Banks). They way we play right now is going to make for a long season. I hope we look back and laugh at how wrong we were.

[Cyphor]

After witnessing the level of play this year, does anyone honestly believe that Iowa State is going to win the Big XII north? Frankly I can't see were there next victory is going to come from. I think we've got a shot at Colorado and maybe Kansas, however, the level of play exhibited thus far has been terrible. This team still hasn't figured out that football has two halves. Do you think a slow start like last night is going to get a W next week, or a no show second half like UNLV is going to overpower Missouri?

Sure this team has potential, it's obvious watching guys like Meyer or Bowen, but when will the potential start paying off? Thus far there has been no evidence that this team has gotten any better since the start of the season. After last night I think you could make a case that this team is getting worse.

So whose fault is it, I don't know! I love football but can't claim to be an expert. The only thing I can recognize is a team that is flat out bad, and this ISU team is bad. Unfortunately I could easily see ISU going into a 2003 nosedive.

The most maddening thing is we should be good. And I'm mad, it's probably clouding my judgment, and churning out all sorts of stupid ideas, but hey this is Cyclone Fanatic, and I'm pretty crazy about the Clones.

There is no evidence that D-Mac is going to get us over the hump. We've all witnessed him fail multiple times, and he’s doing it again this year.

There is no question the guy breaths cardinal and gold, and that’s why we love him. That's why it's so hard to ask for a change, but I think the time has come. It really saddens me to think of Dan being outside of the cyclone family, or wearing other team’s colors, the guy has given his heart and soul to this program. However, I think Jeremy is right. Dan raised the expectations around here, but has yet to live up to them. We've really leveled out since our breakthrough in 2000. If we want to move on from our current position can we really wait another five plus years for the big win? And if we wait that long how long will it be again for another one? If we’re content with 7-5, or 6-6 we should be content with D-Mac, however, if we want more he's just not going to get it done for us.

[EggMcClone]

I've backed Mac for a long time but it's getting so frustrating when we see the same problems season after season. When are they going to change?

There's still a lot of season left to play but ISU has missed some golden opportunities the last few years. I think it's at the point where 7-5 seasons won't bring in the fans or the donations needed to make the necessary improvements to truly go to the next level consistantly. It's hard for me to think about firing Mac but I'm beginning to move in that direction.

[Wesley]

McC probaby needs to reinvent himself. Either become an aggressive defense coach or a pass first team. Hios act from 1998b is going by the bioards with today's schemes.

For the immediate future, against Nebraska we ned to surprise them. Bret needs to look left and then turn back to throw right. Bret needs to throw deeper against the weak defenders. Five yard routes will be soaked up bvy Nebraska. Cut back running works against their overly aggressive defense. Their defense did not look so hot as Cornish bounced to the putside. Kansas ran 95 plays to 65 for Ne.

[CloneFan65]

It's too early in the season to start thinking about a coaching change, but IF we change coaches at the end of the season, who will we bring in? I would love to see Pollard bring in a big name coach, and that will cost money. Maybe some of these unhappy donors will open up their wallets for a big time recruiter, because that's the only way I see this program moving to the next level.

[Cydkar]

While I can't totally disagree with Jeremy's opinion, I honestly think he's making some things up to support his stance. I don't know a lot of big donors but the few I know are extrremely frustrated but nowhere near what Jeremy is suggesting. Why lie? I'll probably be banned but calling it as I see it. If wrong I will apologize profusely.

[cycloneworld]

I'm with the others that talking about this is fricking ridiculous right now...Let the f'ing season play out! No one, especially Jeremy the owner of the site, has answered this question:

What if we go 6-1 in our last 7 and win the North? What if we go 5-2 in our last 7 (finish 8-4) and win the North??? Someone who wants Mac gone now just answer the question...please.

[Cyclonepride]

I quit reading other message boards because I was tired of all the whining. When I came over here, it was mostly positive stuff. Maybe because it was the offseason? I'm not sure. I just really hope that none of our players, or especially recruits read these boards. If I were a kid looking at ISU, and I read all this crap on the message boards, I would probably look elsewhere.

[Wesley]

Keep Mac if we go to a better bowl than Shreveport. He had a tough schedule in his own conference. He had to play away at Texas and Oklahoma. And UNI at home.

[jdoggivjc]

As much as I love Mac, maybe we should at least put him on the hot seat. It seemed to work 1998-2000, when he got the program turned. In '98 (the first year of the hot seat), he beat Iowa pretty soundly. In 1999, with a young team, he had his team a couple of plays from a bowl game. Then he finally turned it in 2000.

Maybe at least putting Mac on the hot seat for the rest of the season will force his hand. He'll have to let it all hang out. He'll have to open up the playbook and run plays he hasn't run in several years (what happened to that wide receiver pitch-reverse that lane danielson took to the house so many times?). It'll cause him to be more aggessive on defense. Bottom line, it'll be more likely that we go on that 6-1 or 5-2 run that'll save Mac's job.

However, to put things in perspective, us Cyclone fans could get tired of 9-win seasons and Jan 1 bowl games. Don't believe me? I was talking to one of my Iowa grad fans during the Iowa-OSU game last nite. When it was pretty clear OSU had sealed the game, he said in a depressed voice, "Oh, well, looks like another typical Iowa season. 9 wins but losing to both Ohio St. and Michigan." I asked him what exactly was wrong with 9 win seasons and New Years Day bowl games. He said not much, but it would be nice if Ferentz would take the next step. I then told him about the situation Mac was facing right now and if he'd rather have 9-win seasons and new years day bowls or the 6-7 win seasons and mediocre bowls we keep getting every season. He was pretty much silent for the rest of the nite.

[burtonjk]

Who's got dibs on www.firecoachmac.com. . .kidding kidding

I'm actually in Mac's corner but my confidence is faltering a little bit. More because we have a strong president and strong AD and that combo goes a long way towards getting a good coach than a lot of other factors (sans money of course).

But we have a team that is one big game, yes I said one game, from getting its mojo and getting all that talent rolling. Hopefully that game comes soon. Please Please Please let it come verses the cornholers please.

[jdoggivjc]

I'm actually finding something humorous. Remember back to 2001 when we all looked at the fireronzook.com site and were sick with fear that Florida was gonna hire Mac away from us? what the heck happened?

In a hindsight is 20/20 type of thing, does anyone now think that that could have been the best thing that would have happened to us? McCarney freshly turning the program around, lots of media attention, bright future. I'm thinking we probably could have pulled a top coach easier back then than i think we'll be able to now. donors who want Mac gone, open up your wallets. It's gonna cost A LOT to pull in that type of coach now.

[Todd Blythe]

we just have to forget about the past and think about starting our season now we have nebraska next and they arent looking as good as they are suppose to be and we really have a chance to win and should win.....GO CLONES!

[slipnslide_70]

the coaching staff is way way too cautious. never can finish the big games when needed. they hold back and hope the other team makes a mistake instead of taking it to a team when they are up on top in a game