If I hear on the radio, one more time

**Clonefan94** · 11-09-2006, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by cyclonekj

He has made some hard decisions. Decisions that would only have been more difficult if he had been here longer. I think they have been right, even though they were not easy.

I couldn't agree more. People may want to label JP as trigger happy, but, how would you like to be dropped into this situation? You want to generate money to improve facilities and make a name for yourself and the school. As soon as you are hired, your Football coach drops the ball again and loses out on the Big XII Championship. Then, your BBall coach is being reported for shady dealings with a basketball scheduler. And to top it all off, your coach that dropped the ball last year is now looking down the barrel of his second 0-fer in the Big XII in 4 years. All while you are talking about taking the Next Step in ISU Athletics.

That is a tough situation people. You have to have a my way or the highway mentality when it comes to building a program. Like people have said, He's really putting the whole of ISU athletics on his shoulders. Right now, there is no one to blame but JP. On the other hand, if things go as we hope and JP is planning for, It could be a bright future for us.

Then again, I'm not sure he would have been happy just stepping into a job that was all peaches and cream. Mr. Pollard seems to like things to be moving in a positive direction. He doesn't seem to want to settle for mediocraty. It seems in his world, if your not getting better, your not on his plan.

**jdoggivjc** · 11-09-2006, 03:53 PM

Originally Posted by darts180

I am finding this amusing that we are all waxing rhapsoic about the 12 years that Dan was here. I suppose that it is only natural that people only remember the good times, and forget all of the bad. It's like breaking up with someone you have dated a long time, initially your memory is pretty selective.

Hopefully this group will pull it together, and at least try the last two games, Dan does deserve that. However, if we lose out, the HC record for 12 years will be 30 games under .500, how could that ever be acceptable. The fact of the matter is that he didn't win enough, only 47 wins over Division 1 teams. His teams were poor fundementally, and he stated that he left fundementals up to the high school coaches. What kind a statement is that for a Division 1 coach to make??? An unacceptable one that's what it is.

But while I agree there is a certain amount of sadness that is associated with Dan leaving due to the commitment that he made, and was made to him by the university, let's not forget the product that we have seen on the field this season. We are realistically 3-4 plays from being winless, and after 12 years, that cannot happen.

A lot has been made of the last time that we went winless in the conference, we came back with a strong season in 2004. But how bad was the Big 12 North that year, let alone last year, and we got to play the bad half of the South. It seems that Dan has been the beneficiary of the decline of every program in the North, whereas Earle, and Johnny built the program up to a level to be competitive, the league came back to Dan, and he still couldn't win the division.

Even at risk of "having my teeth punched down my throat," as one of the posters on this site so bravely threatened, I will be at JTS next Saturday, and even though the game may not be good, hopefully there will be a celebratory mood in the stadium for the end of an era.

you know, I'm not even sure why I read your posts anymore. CAN YOU JUST SHOW SOME FREAKIN' CLASS JUST ONCE, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT YOU'VE GOT YOUR WISH AND HE'S GONE? (oh, yeah, that's right, he resigned, he wasn't fired, so i guess you really didn't get your wish)

This is a time to be sad that mac's going away. We all know it's time to move on, we've all just decided to share our memories and focus on the positives.

but no, you have to try to spoil our joyful memories by once again reminding us that mac doesn't have the great numbers. we all know you hate the guy. we're all tired of hearing it.

you know what? he's gone, why don't you go rejoice in that with a private message board that says "MAC HATERS POST HERE!"

his entire 12 years were all about class, and he showed even more last night by resigning instead of waiting to get fired. no amount of negative numbers you can ever take away the class that he's got. something i'm sure you don't even know how to define.

**Chris** · 11-09-2006, 04:06 PM

Mac was one of the "good guys" that I think we all wanted to see suceed greatly in terms of won/loss record, it just didn't happen. There are a lot of coaches out there that don't seem to be that great of a person or are a little wierd (thinking T. Tech - interesting guy...) that do suceed in spite of themselves. With a few more wins or titles Mac might have had a lifetime pass, but the "next level" requirements need more than what the program has been producing.

**CYdTracked** · 11-09-2006, 04:06 PM

Here is an email I got from one of my friends today that I just feel the urge to share with you all. We have some friends in our group that were glad to see Dan gone and I think this email basically sums up how narrow-minded and the short-term memory some of our ISU fans may have. I'm not sure I could have written this better myself. And it's even more strange that a lot of non-ISU fans think we are crazy for letting Dan go which just goes to show how some ISU fans might be over-reacting to where our FB program is at when even non-ISU fans are shocked that we would force Mac out.

How quickly people forget. You all forget what it was like before Dan. You forget all the good times and how much fun you had. Phoenix, Shreveport, Houston. You forget how exciting it was to climb to # 9 in the country. You forget how good it felt to be in the chase for the North title. All because of Dan. I'm well aware there have been some down times as I've been there for most all of them. But to say your happy to see him go because it was a long game last week (side note: this was in referrence to an earlier comment made about having to sit through the game last weekend) is very short sited. To say Dan hasn't brought respect to ISU is an asinine statement. Consistency? As much as I hope ISU wins 9 games every year, the reality of it is consistency like that is unlikely at Iowa State. You're gonna have to deal with sprinkled in down years. Two years ago Dan was the Big 12 coach of the year. The last two years we were playing for the north title. Last year people. In 2003 ISU was 2-10. The next year north co-champs. One down year doesn't guarantee the next. Prior to 2000, does anyone know how many years it had been since Iowa State went to a bowl? 22. Twenty-two years! And Iowa State had never won a bowl before Dan. I'm ashamed that anyone would be happy to see him go. This quote from ESPN sums it up the best.

McCarney will be remembered for putting Iowa State football on the map. He won six of the last nine meetings with in-state rivals Iowa and brought respect to what used to be one of the nation's worst programs in a major conference.
But this season, he failed to live up to expectations that didn't exist before his arrival.

**cyclonewino** · 11-09-2006, 07:14 PM

One thought that occurs to me is the Troy Davis effect. That is TD's performance generated national exposure for ISU EVERY week for 2 years. That was a great opportunity and Mac did a good job of using that opportunity and recruited the players that took ISU to the 9-3 record. Without that national exposure Mac has not done nearly as well and one wonders if the "good times" would have happened under Mac without TD.

**darts180** · 11-09-2006, 07:42 PM

Originally Posted by jdoggivjc

you know, I'm not even sure why I read your posts anymore. CAN YOU JUST SHOW SOME FREAKIN' CLASS JUST ONCE, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT YOU'VE GOT YOUR WISH AND HE'S GONE? (oh, yeah, that's right, he resigned, he wasn't fired, so i guess you really didn't get your wish)

This is a time to be sad that mac's going away. We all know it's time to move on, we've all just decided to share our memories and focus on the positives.

but no, you have to try to spoil our joyful memories by once again reminding us that mac doesn't have the great numbers. we all know you hate the guy. we're all tired of hearing it.

you know what? he's gone, why don't you go rejoice in that with a private message board that says "MAC HATERS POST HERE!"

his entire 12 years were all about class, and he showed even more last night by resigning instead of waiting to get fired. no amount of negative numbers you can ever take away the class that he's got. something i'm sure you don't even know how to define.

See this is what is amazing about your posts, I never said one negative thing about Dan as a human being. I did point out, at one time, that he had a restraining order that advised years of abuse with his first wife. However, I stated admiration for stopping drinking, and rehabilitating himself as a husband, and a father.

I try to take the time and offer that it is a sad time, but change is not a bad thing, especially when we are struggling, and multiple opportunities for a true breakthrough slipped through his fingers.

Please don't think for ONE minute that I wanted Mac to fail, I am first and foremost an Iowa State fan, but there was a pattern that had been established of not getting it done.

**alaskaguy** · 11-09-2006, 07:52 PM

For some reason I remember both Johnny Majors and Earl Bruce having what I would consider a level of succes on par with MAC. I also don't feel all that sorry for someone that has been compensated to the degree that MAC has, and that gets paid for the next four years after being dismissed.

**darts180** · 11-09-2006, 07:56 PM

Originally Posted by alaskaguy

For some reason I remember both Johnny Majors and Earl Bruce having what I would consider a level of succes on par with MAC. I also don't feel all that sorry for someone that has been compensated to the degree that MAC has, and that gets paid for the next four years after being dismissed.

I know, I remember that also, however, in defense of the people on the board who wore black to work today, there are a lot of young people on this site, not really old enough to remember Earle kicking Nebraska's *** 37-28, then winning in Lincoln the next year (BTW God bless the soul of Dexter Green, truly a GREAT Cyclone)

**zdorr40** · 11-09-2006, 08:12 PM

Originally Posted by darts180

I know, I remember that also, however, in defense of the people on the board who wore black to work today, there are a lot of young people on this site, not really old enough to remember Earle kicking Nebraska's *** 37-28, then winning in Lincoln the next year (BTW God bless the soul of Dexter Green, truly a GREAT Cyclone)

My dad tells me about that all the time. This leads into another question for you guys old enough to remember those days.

When Earle went to OSU, 1) just how good of shape was the ISU program in, 2) what did Donnie Duncan do to screw it up, 2b) how did it go down the toilet so far so fast?

From what my dad tells me, there were some really good days in the late 70s and then it just completely and instantly went to total sh it.

**darts180** · 11-09-2006, 08:48 PM

Earle had the program in good enough shape that he redshirted his entire freshman class in 78. Duncan was a flashy hire at the time as OU's offensive coordinator, he had a good rep. Injuries got his first team, and they went 3-8.

Granted I was pretty young at the time, but his teams always peaked early in the season, and fell apart at the end. Again I don't think that he was able to keep up the quality of recruiting that Earle had established. I never got the sense that he had the stomach to do what it took to be a D1 fb coach.

He was here a brief time, and I think that in the end he is a better administrator than a coach.

As an aside, I read a private comment from someone who is very much in the Mac camp. Just because we are trying to cannonize Mac, doesn't mean that his past didn't happen. Please grow up.

**Wesley** · 11-09-2006, 11:53 PM

I feel bad that Dan's latest assistants could not hold the team together. I get the feeling that Dan had to do most of the recruiting himself by outreach the radio programs, going to speak at little luncheons, etc. Did Dan have anyone who could recruit on his staff at the end?