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“Way Too Early” … to Lose Faith
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About 15 minutes after the final Associated Press and USA Today coaches polls were released, the 2017 “Way Too Early” preseason polls emerged.
Colorado fared well in the final 2016 polls, coming in 17th in the AP poll; 15th in the USA Today coaches poll.
In the “Way Too Early” 2017 preseason prognostications, however, it’s been a mixed bag.
In The Sporting News, Bill Bender has the Buffs as the No. 22 team in the nation …
22. Colorado Buffaloes … Mike MacIntyre made the Buffaloes one of the best stories of the 2016 season, but the season-ending losses to Washington and Oklahoma State showed there’s still a long way to go. Can Colorado do it again?
At CBS Sports, Dennis Dodd as the Buffs as the No. 25 team in 2017 …
25. Colorado … National coach of the year Mike MacIntrye loses quarterback Sefo Liufau, but essentially the rest of the offense is back. The Buffs aren’t going anywhere in the Pac-12.
Perhaps the highest ranking for the Buffs comes from Alex Martin Smith at SEC Country, who listed CU as 2017’s No. 18 team overall …
18. Colorado … Departing senior quarterback Sefo Liufau did an excellent job this season, but redshirt freshman Steven Montez was solid enough (1,078 yards, 9 touchdowns and 5 interceptions) to give Buffs fans hope for another run at the Pac-12 title. He’ll return to a loaded offense that will attempt to offset an inexperienced “D.”
Of course, there were many publications which did not list Colorado in their “Way Too Early” 2017 preseason Top 25. To add insult to injury, some of these prognosticators listed UCLA or Oregon – both 4-8 this past season – as Top 25 contenders, but not the 10-4 Buffs.
Such is the fate of a team which has not been in a preseason poll since 2002. It’s not what you have accomplished in the minds of some of these pundits, it’s “what have you done for me lately?”.
That same mindset seems to have overcome some in the Buff Nation as the fan base anxiously awaits the announcement of CU’s next defensive coordinator. Buff fans have had to sit idly by as other teams, including other teams in the Pac-12, have hired their new coordinators (or, in the case of California, their new head coach).
Potential candidates have come and gone, with much hand-wringing and dire predictions (I had to smirk at how much the message boards disliked front-runner Peter Sirmon from Mississippi State, right up until the time Sirmon took the job at Louisville. Sirmon immediately thereafter became the greatest defensive mind this side of Nick Saban, and CU was in dire straits for missing out on this great hire).
Athletic director Rick George and head coach Mike MacIntyre are being accused of suffering from a lack of vision, a sense of urgency, and/or an unwillingness to pay top dollar for a top coordinator … or some combination of all three.
I would argue, however, that it is “Way Too Early” to lose faith in the CU athletic hierarchy, and “Way Too Early” to press the panic button over a lack of a defensive coordinator.
After all, the two most recent coordinator hires worked out pretty well. Darrin Chiaverini, who arrived last January, and Jim Leavitt, who didn’t arrive until after Signing Day, 2015, proved to be savvy choices.
While we wait – patiently or impatiently – for news of the next defensive coordinator, try to keep in mind …
— It’s “Way Too Early” to forget that the majority of players – and coaches, for that matter – who forged a 10-4 record in 2016 return for 2017.
— It’s “Way Too Early” to forget that the 2016 team, while humbled in its last two games, lost only to teams which finished ranked above them in the final poll. The Buffs lost to No. 3 USC, No. 4 Washington, No. 10 Michigan and No. 11 Oklahoma State. The Buffs defeated two other teams which finished nationally ranked – No. 12 Stanford and No. 23 Utah – and, against teams which did not finish in the rankings, the Buffs went a perfect 8-0.
— It’s “Way Too Early” to project that the lack of a defensive coordinator (and safeties coach) will hurt Colorado in the final recruiting rankings. Colorado presently stands at No. 22 in both the Rivals and Scout team rankings, but will likely fall out of the Top 25 by Signing Day, February 1st.
And this would be true even if Jim Leavitt were swilling Pepsi’s by the carton in the Champions Center as we speak.
The reality is that Colorado filled in much of its recruiting Class early, and, as four- and five-star undecided recruits declare their intentions, other schools will fill out their Classes and rise above CU in the national rankings. It’s simple math, and it has nothing to do with CU’s coaching staff vacancies.
— It’s “Way Too Early” to assume that there will be mass defections from the Recruiting Class of 2017 if CU doesn’t get its act together and name a new defensive coordinator immediately. There has been only one defection since Jim Leavitt left, and that was by an offensive lineman, Xavier Newman of DeSoto, Texas … who had previously committed to Texas before de-committing and committing to Colorado.
Other players who are mentioned most often as possible defections – wide receiver K.D. Nixon and offensive lineman Grant Polley – play on the offensive side of the ball, not the defense. Naysayers are quick to blame the CU coaching staff (or lack thereof) for defections, while failing to note that CU just happens to be well-stocked at both wide receiver and along the offensive line.
— It’s “Way Too Early” to forget that, when hiring the next defensive coordinator, it’s about hiring “Mr. Right”, not “Mr. Right Now”. In response to a question about the firing of Cal head coach Sonny Dykes, ESPN’s Ted Miller had this to say:
Dykes is a good football coach, but his desire to become a Power 5 head coach when he was at Louisiana Tech perhaps blinded him to a simple truth: The most important thing for a good head coach to do is hire a good staff. Otherwise, he turns into a mediocre or even bad coach. Dykes didn’t hire well on defense, and that became his downfall — both in terms of staying at Cal and getting another job where he’d be happier.
It’s much more important for Mike MacIntyre to find the “right fit” for CU’s next defensive coordinator than it is is find someone who appeases the masses and their clamoring for an immediate hire. It’s important for MacIntyre and Rick George to pay a competitive salary to the incoming coaches, while maintaining balance within the existing staff salary structure … and some sense of balance in this latest collegiate arms race (once again, with the deep pockets of Oregon at the center of the problem).
I’ll leave you with a few “Way Too Early” predictions of my own:
— Colorado will finish on Signing Day with its highest-ranked Class in years. This is not a bold prediction – CU’s Recruiting Classes under Mike MacIntyre to date have been ranked (by Rivals): 66th; 64th; 72nd; and 66th. Still, despite landing a top 30 Class, hand-wringers will complain that, had CU had its defensive coordinator in place earlier, the Class ranking would have been higher;
— After the CU Spring Game, the naysayers will have a field day. If the offense dominates, it will be because the Buffs lost eight senior starters on defense, and the new defensive coordinator is no good … or … If the defense dominates, it will be because offensive co-coordinator Brian Lindgren has bound and gagged Darrin Chiaverini, and tied his fellow co-coordinator to a column in the dark recesses of the parking garage underneath the indoor practice facility.
While it’s “Way Too Early” to fret about how many wins the 2017 team will produce, it is never too late to celebrate where the program is now. Less than three months ago, we were delirious over CU’s 10-5 win over Stanford. Not just because it was CU’s first win over the Cardinal as a member of the Pac-12 (which it was), not just because the win gave the Buffs road victories over the only two teams, Oregon and Stanford, which had won Pac-12 titles (which it did) …
But because the win over Stanford gave CU six victories, making the Buffs frickin’ bowl-eligible for the first time since 2007.
How soon our priorities change.
From being excited just to be a part of the national conversation to be being upset that the Buffs didn’t finish in the Top Ten in the nation.
It’s “Way Too Early” to forget how awful the CU football program was for the past decade … or to lose faith in the administration which brought about #TheRise.
—–
Stuart
Continue reading...
“Way Too Early” … to Lose Faith
—
About 15 minutes after the final Associated Press and USA Today coaches polls were released, the 2017 “Way Too Early” preseason polls emerged.
Colorado fared well in the final 2016 polls, coming in 17th in the AP poll; 15th in the USA Today coaches poll.
In the “Way Too Early” 2017 preseason prognostications, however, it’s been a mixed bag.
In The Sporting News, Bill Bender has the Buffs as the No. 22 team in the nation …
22. Colorado Buffaloes … Mike MacIntyre made the Buffaloes one of the best stories of the 2016 season, but the season-ending losses to Washington and Oklahoma State showed there’s still a long way to go. Can Colorado do it again?
At CBS Sports, Dennis Dodd as the Buffs as the No. 25 team in 2017 …
25. Colorado … National coach of the year Mike MacIntrye loses quarterback Sefo Liufau, but essentially the rest of the offense is back. The Buffs aren’t going anywhere in the Pac-12.
Perhaps the highest ranking for the Buffs comes from Alex Martin Smith at SEC Country, who listed CU as 2017’s No. 18 team overall …
18. Colorado … Departing senior quarterback Sefo Liufau did an excellent job this season, but redshirt freshman Steven Montez was solid enough (1,078 yards, 9 touchdowns and 5 interceptions) to give Buffs fans hope for another run at the Pac-12 title. He’ll return to a loaded offense that will attempt to offset an inexperienced “D.”
Of course, there were many publications which did not list Colorado in their “Way Too Early” 2017 preseason Top 25. To add insult to injury, some of these prognosticators listed UCLA or Oregon – both 4-8 this past season – as Top 25 contenders, but not the 10-4 Buffs.
Such is the fate of a team which has not been in a preseason poll since 2002. It’s not what you have accomplished in the minds of some of these pundits, it’s “what have you done for me lately?”.
That same mindset seems to have overcome some in the Buff Nation as the fan base anxiously awaits the announcement of CU’s next defensive coordinator. Buff fans have had to sit idly by as other teams, including other teams in the Pac-12, have hired their new coordinators (or, in the case of California, their new head coach).
Potential candidates have come and gone, with much hand-wringing and dire predictions (I had to smirk at how much the message boards disliked front-runner Peter Sirmon from Mississippi State, right up until the time Sirmon took the job at Louisville. Sirmon immediately thereafter became the greatest defensive mind this side of Nick Saban, and CU was in dire straits for missing out on this great hire).
Athletic director Rick George and head coach Mike MacIntyre are being accused of suffering from a lack of vision, a sense of urgency, and/or an unwillingness to pay top dollar for a top coordinator … or some combination of all three.
I would argue, however, that it is “Way Too Early” to lose faith in the CU athletic hierarchy, and “Way Too Early” to press the panic button over a lack of a defensive coordinator.
After all, the two most recent coordinator hires worked out pretty well. Darrin Chiaverini, who arrived last January, and Jim Leavitt, who didn’t arrive until after Signing Day, 2015, proved to be savvy choices.
While we wait – patiently or impatiently – for news of the next defensive coordinator, try to keep in mind …
— It’s “Way Too Early” to forget that the majority of players – and coaches, for that matter – who forged a 10-4 record in 2016 return for 2017.
— It’s “Way Too Early” to forget that the 2016 team, while humbled in its last two games, lost only to teams which finished ranked above them in the final poll. The Buffs lost to No. 3 USC, No. 4 Washington, No. 10 Michigan and No. 11 Oklahoma State. The Buffs defeated two other teams which finished nationally ranked – No. 12 Stanford and No. 23 Utah – and, against teams which did not finish in the rankings, the Buffs went a perfect 8-0.
— It’s “Way Too Early” to project that the lack of a defensive coordinator (and safeties coach) will hurt Colorado in the final recruiting rankings. Colorado presently stands at No. 22 in both the Rivals and Scout team rankings, but will likely fall out of the Top 25 by Signing Day, February 1st.
And this would be true even if Jim Leavitt were swilling Pepsi’s by the carton in the Champions Center as we speak.
The reality is that Colorado filled in much of its recruiting Class early, and, as four- and five-star undecided recruits declare their intentions, other schools will fill out their Classes and rise above CU in the national rankings. It’s simple math, and it has nothing to do with CU’s coaching staff vacancies.
— It’s “Way Too Early” to assume that there will be mass defections from the Recruiting Class of 2017 if CU doesn’t get its act together and name a new defensive coordinator immediately. There has been only one defection since Jim Leavitt left, and that was by an offensive lineman, Xavier Newman of DeSoto, Texas … who had previously committed to Texas before de-committing and committing to Colorado.
Other players who are mentioned most often as possible defections – wide receiver K.D. Nixon and offensive lineman Grant Polley – play on the offensive side of the ball, not the defense. Naysayers are quick to blame the CU coaching staff (or lack thereof) for defections, while failing to note that CU just happens to be well-stocked at both wide receiver and along the offensive line.
— It’s “Way Too Early” to forget that, when hiring the next defensive coordinator, it’s about hiring “Mr. Right”, not “Mr. Right Now”. In response to a question about the firing of Cal head coach Sonny Dykes, ESPN’s Ted Miller had this to say:
Dykes is a good football coach, but his desire to become a Power 5 head coach when he was at Louisiana Tech perhaps blinded him to a simple truth: The most important thing for a good head coach to do is hire a good staff. Otherwise, he turns into a mediocre or even bad coach. Dykes didn’t hire well on defense, and that became his downfall — both in terms of staying at Cal and getting another job where he’d be happier.
It’s much more important for Mike MacIntyre to find the “right fit” for CU’s next defensive coordinator than it is is find someone who appeases the masses and their clamoring for an immediate hire. It’s important for MacIntyre and Rick George to pay a competitive salary to the incoming coaches, while maintaining balance within the existing staff salary structure … and some sense of balance in this latest collegiate arms race (once again, with the deep pockets of Oregon at the center of the problem).
I’ll leave you with a few “Way Too Early” predictions of my own:
— Colorado will finish on Signing Day with its highest-ranked Class in years. This is not a bold prediction – CU’s Recruiting Classes under Mike MacIntyre to date have been ranked (by Rivals): 66th; 64th; 72nd; and 66th. Still, despite landing a top 30 Class, hand-wringers will complain that, had CU had its defensive coordinator in place earlier, the Class ranking would have been higher;
— After the CU Spring Game, the naysayers will have a field day. If the offense dominates, it will be because the Buffs lost eight senior starters on defense, and the new defensive coordinator is no good … or … If the defense dominates, it will be because offensive co-coordinator Brian Lindgren has bound and gagged Darrin Chiaverini, and tied his fellow co-coordinator to a column in the dark recesses of the parking garage underneath the indoor practice facility.
While it’s “Way Too Early” to fret about how many wins the 2017 team will produce, it is never too late to celebrate where the program is now. Less than three months ago, we were delirious over CU’s 10-5 win over Stanford. Not just because it was CU’s first win over the Cardinal as a member of the Pac-12 (which it was), not just because the win gave the Buffs road victories over the only two teams, Oregon and Stanford, which had won Pac-12 titles (which it did) …
But because the win over Stanford gave CU six victories, making the Buffs frickin’ bowl-eligible for the first time since 2007.
How soon our priorities change.
From being excited just to be a part of the national conversation to be being upset that the Buffs didn’t finish in the Top Ten in the nation.
It’s “Way Too Early” to forget how awful the CU football program was for the past decade … or to lose faith in the administration which brought about #TheRise.
—–
Stuart
Continue reading...