ineptimusprime wrote: ↑

November 18th, 2021, 10:13 pm

The upshot to Blake leaving this year as opposed to him inevitably leaving after year three would be the huuuuuuuge buyout we’d get. Could probably even buy some new uniforms with it.

Even if it means getting less money for a buyout after year three, I'll take the tradeoff of a better foundation for the next coach. Take how there was a good foundation for Wells when he took over to replace GA (part of the reason why some people turned their nose at what he accomplished those years when he was struggling in years 3 and 4) and it would have similarly been easy for a coach to come in and win right away losing GA a year earlier. But in an alternate universe where something happens after the 09 season with Whit at Utah, and we lose GA to them after his first year, it would have been more starting over for whoever we hired after that.

Saw Blake at the USU volleyball game tonight with his wife and girls. Fun to see them coming out for that. Also as a side-note, I’d never been to a volleyball game but tonight was a lot of fun! Helps that it was a big win to move into a tie for 1st place in the conference

ViAggie wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 3:39 pm

swordsman1989 wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 11:37 am

Sl7vk wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 10:54 am

I'll take this situation any day and twice on Sunday compared to what CSU is dealing with in "the dud."

They are trying to find the money to buy out that contract, and we would be looking at a buyout.

To some other points, a contract extension with a stiffer buyout will be in order here quickly.

Worst case scenario is he starts interviewing elsewhere before the end of the season and forgets who's paying his bills like Wells did in 2018. The almost loss at CSU and then the loss at BSU would have been avoided if Wells was focused on finishing the year.

Same thing happened with John L. Smith back in 1997. We lost the last game of the season, at home to North Texas, and an outright conference title, because he already had one foot out the door to Louisville. Even though he had already taken the job at Louisville, he was allowed to "coach" (if you can call what he did "coaching") the team for its bowl game vs. Cincinnati, and the team showed up hung over and grossly unprepared.

And our backup QB showing up to the game with a broken arm after getting into a bar fight in DT Boise.

Brian Benza.

aggies22 wrote: ↑

November 19th, 2021, 3:16 pm

ViAggie wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 3:39 pm

swordsman1989 wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 11:37 am

Sl7vk wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 10:54 am

I'll take this situation any day and twice on Sunday compared to what CSU is dealing with in "the dud."

They are trying to find the money to buy out that contract, and we would be looking at a buyout.

To some other points, a contract extension with a stiffer buyout will be in order here quickly.

Worst case scenario is he starts interviewing elsewhere before the end of the season and forgets who's paying his bills like Wells did in 2018. The almost loss at CSU and then the loss at BSU would have been avoided if Wells was focused on finishing the year.

Same thing happened with John L. Smith back in 1997. We lost the last game of the season, at home to North Texas, and an outright conference title, because he already had one foot out the door to Louisville. Even though he had already taken the job at Louisville, he was allowed to "coach" (if you can call what he did "coaching") the team for its bowl game vs. Cincinnati, and the team showed up hung over and grossly unprepared.

And our backup QB showing up to the game with a broken arm after getting into a bar fight in DT Boise.

Brian Benza.

The last decent QB to come out of Carpenteria HS

ViAggie wrote: ↑

November 19th, 2021, 3:24 pm

aggies22 wrote: ↑

November 19th, 2021, 3:16 pm

ViAggie wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 3:39 pm

swordsman1989 wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 11:37 am

Sl7vk wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 10:54 am

I'll take this situation any day and twice on Sunday compared to what CSU is dealing with in "the dud."

They are trying to find the money to buy out that contract, and we would be looking at a buyout.

To some other points, a contract extension with a stiffer buyout will be in order here quickly.

Worst case scenario is he starts interviewing elsewhere before the end of the season and forgets who's paying his bills like Wells did in 2018. The almost loss at CSU and then the loss at BSU would have been avoided if Wells was focused on finishing the year.

Same thing happened with John L. Smith back in 1997. We lost the last game of the season, at home to North Texas, and an outright conference title, because he already had one foot out the door to Louisville. Even though he had already taken the job at Louisville, he was allowed to "coach" (if you can call what he did "coaching") the team for its bowl game vs. Cincinnati, and the team showed up hung over and grossly unprepared.

And our backup QB showing up to the game with a broken arm after getting into a bar fight in DT Boise.

Brian Benza.

The last decent QB to come out of Carpenteria HS

I've NEVER met anyone from California that knew where that even is.

aggies22 wrote: ↑

November 19th, 2021, 3:57 pm

ViAggie wrote: ↑

November 19th, 2021, 3:24 pm

aggies22 wrote: ↑

November 19th, 2021, 3:16 pm

ViAggie wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 3:39 pm

swordsman1989 wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 11:37 am

Sl7vk wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 10:54 am

I'll take this situation any day and twice on Sunday compared to what CSU is dealing with in "the dud."

They are trying to find the money to buy out that contract, and we would be looking at a buyout.

To some other points, a contract extension with a stiffer buyout will be in order here quickly.

Worst case scenario is he starts interviewing elsewhere before the end of the season and forgets who's paying his bills like Wells did in 2018. The almost loss at CSU and then the loss at BSU would have been avoided if Wells was focused on finishing the year.

Same thing happened with John L. Smith back in 1997. We lost the last game of the season, at home to North Texas, and an outright conference title, because he already had one foot out the door to Louisville. Even though he had already taken the job at Louisville, he was allowed to "coach" (if you can call what he did "coaching") the team for its bowl game vs. Cincinnati, and the team showed up hung over and grossly unprepared.

And our backup QB showing up to the game with a broken arm after getting into a bar fight in DT Boise.

Brian Benza.

The last decent QB to come out of Carpenteria HS

I've NEVER met anyone from California that knew where that even is.

I went camping on the beach in Carpinteria once when I was growing up. Nice little beach town.

aggies22 wrote: ↑

November 19th, 2021, 3:57 pm

ViAggie wrote: ↑

November 19th, 2021, 3:24 pm

aggies22 wrote: ↑

November 19th, 2021, 3:16 pm

ViAggie wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 3:39 pm

swordsman1989 wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 11:37 am

Sl7vk wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 10:54 am

I'll take this situation any day and twice on Sunday compared to what CSU is dealing with in "the dud."

They are trying to find the money to buy out that contract, and we would be looking at a buyout.

To some other points, a contract extension with a stiffer buyout will be in order here quickly.

Worst case scenario is he starts interviewing elsewhere before the end of the season and forgets who's paying his bills like Wells did in 2018. The almost loss at CSU and then the loss at BSU would have been avoided if Wells was focused on finishing the year.

Same thing happened with John L. Smith back in 1997. We lost the last game of the season, at home to North Texas, and an outright conference title, because he already had one foot out the door to Louisville. Even though he had already taken the job at Louisville, he was allowed to "coach" (if you can call what he did "coaching") the team for its bowl game vs. Cincinnati, and the team showed up hung over and grossly unprepared.

And our backup QB showing up to the game with a broken arm after getting into a bar fight in DT Boise.

Brian Benza.

The last decent QB to come out of Carpenteria HS

I've NEVER met anyone from California that knew where that even is.

I guess I make three. I think most people in SoCal know where it is. Everyone I know, anyway.

aggieguy13 wrote:

aggies22 wrote: ↑

November 19th, 2021, 3:57 pm

ViAggie wrote: ↑

November 19th, 2021, 3:24 pm

aggies22 wrote: ↑

November 19th, 2021, 3:16 pm

ViAggie wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 3:39 pm

swordsman1989 wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 11:37 am

Sl7vk wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 10:54 am

I'll take this situation any day and twice on Sunday compared to what CSU is dealing with in "the dud."

They are trying to find the money to buy out that contract, and we would be looking at a buyout.

To some other points, a contract extension with a stiffer buyout will be in order here quickly.

Worst case scenario is he starts interviewing elsewhere before the end of the season and forgets who's paying his bills like Wells did in 2018. The almost loss at CSU and then the loss at BSU would have been avoided if Wells was focused on finishing the year.

Same thing happened with John L. Smith back in 1997. We lost the last game of the season, at home to North Texas, and an outright conference title, because he already had one foot out the door to Louisville. Even though he had already taken the job at Louisville, he was allowed to "coach" (if you can call what he did "coaching") the team for its bowl game vs. Cincinnati, and the team showed up hung over and grossly unprepared.

And our backup QB showing up to the game with a broken arm after getting into a bar fight in DT Boise.

Brian Benza.

The last decent QB to come out of Carpenteria HS

I've NEVER met anyone from California that knew where that even is.

I went camping on the beach in Carpinteria once when I was growing up. Nice little beach town.

I have been camping many times at the state beach in Carp. And I’ve lived in Utah most of my life. My Buddy from Cali goes almost every year with his extended family.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

blueblood wrote: ↑

November 19th, 2021, 7:06 pm

aggieguy13 wrote:

aggies22 wrote: ↑

November 19th, 2021, 3:57 pm

ViAggie wrote: ↑

November 19th, 2021, 3:24 pm

aggies22 wrote: ↑

November 19th, 2021, 3:16 pm

ViAggie wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 3:39 pm

swordsman1989 wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 11:37 am

Sl7vk wrote: ↑

November 15th, 2021, 10:54 am

I'll take this situation any day and twice on Sunday compared to what CSU is dealing with in "the dud."

They are trying to find the money to buy out that contract, and we would be looking at a buyout.

To some other points, a contract extension with a stiffer buyout will be in order here quickly.

Worst case scenario is he starts interviewing elsewhere before the end of the season and forgets who's paying his bills like Wells did in 2018. The almost loss at CSU and then the loss at BSU would have been avoided if Wells was focused on finishing the year.

Same thing happened with John L. Smith back in 1997. We lost the last game of the season, at home to North Texas, and an outright conference title, because he already had one foot out the door to Louisville. Even though he had already taken the job at Louisville, he was allowed to "coach" (if you can call what he did "coaching") the team for its bowl game vs. Cincinnati, and the team showed up hung over and grossly unprepared.

And our backup QB showing up to the game with a broken arm after getting into a bar fight in DT Boise.

Brian Benza.

The last decent QB to come out of Carpenteria HS

I've NEVER met anyone from California that knew where that even is.

I went camping on the beach in Carpinteria once when I was growing up. Nice little beach town.

I have been camping many times at the state beach in Carp. And I’ve lived in Utah most of my life. My Buddy from Cali goes almost every year with his extended family.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great place! Camped there every Memorial weekend growing up. Highly recommend it if you have the opportunity. Wonder if that Frosty’s Freeze is operating.

Back on topic, we should be safe now!

GameFAQSAggie wrote: ↑

November 20th, 2021, 8:36 pm

Back on topic, we should be safe now!

Silver linings.

Yes

Unless he’s already pulled a Wells and is in talks with someone.
Doubt that though.

He was asked in presser today by Ajay if he’s been contacted about other job openings and he said it’s been quiet and hasn’t heard anything.

Elkaggie wrote: ↑

November 22nd, 2021, 6:52 pm

He was asked in presser today by Ajay if he’s been contacted about other job openings and he said it’s been quiet and hasn’t heard anything.

Like he would say anything if he was secretly in talks. We'll know when all the P5 jobs are filled.

Rumor has it that Dave Aranda is looking quite seriously at the Washington and USC jobs. Hang on, let me check where Blake played college football.

Oh.

There’s going to be so many p5 jobs open. If we make the mwc title game I feel the odds are extremely small we keep him.

If we were to actually win the mwc I think the odds we keep him are virtually 0.

Elkaggie wrote: ↑

November 22nd, 2021, 6:52 pm

He was asked in presser today by Ajay if he’s been contacted about other job openings and he said it’s been quiet and hasn’t heard anything.

Great job by ajay to ask that. But Blake can answer that question truthfully as his agent would be doing the talks currently. And I don’t believe for one second that it is quiet. Even if he doesn’t get hired away there are still discussions.

YoungBloodAggie wrote: ↑

November 22nd, 2021, 9:38 pm

Rumor has it that Dave Aranda is looking quite seriously at the Washington and USC jobs. Hang on, let me check where Blake played college football.

Oh.

Interesting. I thought he was a Sam Houston guy because he has mentioned them a few times. Looks like he transferred from Baylor. But I’m sure that would be an appealing job for him.

YoungBloodAggie wrote: ↑

November 22nd, 2021, 9:38 pm

Rumor has it that Dave Aranda is looking quite seriously at the Washington and USC jobs. Hang on, let me check where Blake played college football.

Oh.

Wait a second. One of the soon to be top programs in the soon to be big 12 is looking at jobs in the pac12. Can’t be.

Don’t sleep on this rumor… Blake is a Baptist, played at Baylor and speaking from experience… being a Protestant in Cache Valley isn’t that much fun. Knowing him, he would love a faith-based job with influence.

I should maybe update that there has been more noise than I expected about Sitake coming to UW. My guess is that Aranda would be one of the top picks, along with Bob Stoops, so if he wants the job here, it's likely his. USC would probably be more tempting tho. Much easier to win there, and much, much less scrutiny from the Compliance Office.

At this point in time I’m just planning on him leaving. This way I’m not so upset when it happens and then if it doesn’t I’m happy. Just feels like it’s trending more and more that he’s gone. Hope like crazy it doesn’t happen.

ManitobaAggie wrote: ↑

November 22nd, 2021, 10:25 pm

Don’t sleep on this rumor… Blake is a Baptist, played at Baylor and speaking from experience… being a Protestant in Cache Valley isn’t that much fun. Knowing him he would love a faith-based job with influence.

The more realistic thing to hope for is Baylor being interested in someone else. Like Billy Napier or Jeff Traylor or Oklahoma's defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, or promoting Jeff Grimes. Or successfully fighting to keep Aranda.

To be honest it would be a kick in the nuts if he leaves, but we shall see what happens. He has made a big impact so far and we are in a better position now versus last year. Just enjoying the ride so far.

Elkaggie wrote: ↑

November 22nd, 2021, 10:30 pm

At this point in time I’m just planning on him leaving. This way I’m not so upset when it happens and then if it doesn’t I’m happy. Just feels like it’s trending more and more that he’s gone. Hope like crazy it doesn’t happen.

That is how I feel as well. It just seems like Leaving after 1 year would be pretty poor in my mind.

Aggie84025 wrote: ↑

November 22nd, 2021, 10:34 pm

Elkaggie wrote: ↑

November 22nd, 2021, 10:30 pm

At this point in time I’m just planning on him leaving. This way I’m not so upset when it happens and then if it doesn’t I’m happy. Just feels like it’s trending more and more that he’s gone. Hope like crazy it doesn’t happen.

That is how I feel as well. It just seems like Leaving after 1 year would be pretty poor in my mind.

This. Can we not expect to keep a good coach 2 or 3 seasons even now.

But Florida fires a winning coach despite a down era in his tenure. If we did that to Wells during his 3-9 season, we don't get his later 2018 season. There is no patience in the world anymore I guess. And that trickles down to us even having this conversation.

Aggie84025 wrote: ↑

November 22nd, 2021, 10:34 pm

Elkaggie wrote: ↑

November 22nd, 2021, 10:30 pm

At this point in time I’m just planning on him leaving. This way I’m not so upset when it happens and then if it doesn’t I’m happy. Just feels like it’s trending more and more that he’s gone. Hope like crazy it doesn’t happen.

That is how I feel as well. It just seems like Leaving after 1 year would be pretty poor in my mind.

I agree, it doesn't seem like something he would do but perhaps he's as phony as the rest of them. If he leaves I don't think it leaves our program in a better place because he would not have been here long enough to establish anything. Recruits that committed to him and his staff would look elsewhere, we would be back to square one in so many areas with nothing but a wake of coaches that have left or were fired over the past 3 years. Any shred of consistency or stability that this staff would have built would be gone in an instant.

Changing staffs every 2-3 years is not a recipe for success at this level.

Aglicious wrote: ↑

November 22nd, 2021, 10:50 pm

Aggie84025 wrote: ↑

November 22nd, 2021, 10:34 pm

Elkaggie wrote: ↑

November 22nd, 2021, 10:30 pm

At this point in time I’m just planning on him leaving. This way I’m not so upset when it happens and then if it doesn’t I’m happy. Just feels like it’s trending more and more that he’s gone. Hope like crazy it doesn’t happen.

That is how I feel as well. It just seems like Leaving after 1 year would be pretty poor in my mind.

I agree, it doesn't seem like something he would do but perhaps he's as phony as the rest of them. If he leaves I don't think it leaves our program in a better place because he would not have been here long enough to establish anything. Recruits that committed to him and his staff would look elsewhere, we would be back to square one in so many areas with nothing but a wake of coaches that have left or were fired over the past 3 years. Any shred of consistency or stability that this staff would have built would be gone in an instant.

Changing staffs every 2-3 years is not a recipe for success at this level.

Those are valid points. I am all for coaches having success and taking opportunities to better themselves, but leaving after 1 year is phony in my mind. Blake doesn't seem like that guy but a 15 million dollar contract would be very very tempting.

I put zero energy into falling in love with coaches. They can say and act however they want. But at the end of the day, it means nothing.... Money wins out always. Even if these coaches stop to see the success of coaches after they leave, it doesn't matter. I just hope for success for USU sports.

A couple things to consider, and this may be wishful thinking:

(1) taking a coach with a one season proof of concept at a G5 school is going to be tough sell for a school the caliber of Baylor with the other options available, IMO;
(2) the amount of Anderson’s buyout after only one year is going to be a tough pill to swallow.

I don’t think he’s going anywhere this offseason, but if he were to, the silver lining is we’ll get a nice little golden parachute for our trouble.

If I recall correctly, most USU contracts that I’ve read seem to be set up buyout-wise for the coach to leave (if having success) or for the school to fire the Coach (if not having success) after or around year 3.

There is a lot of pieces moving and shoes still dropping. If a school likes what he did at Arkansas State, likes what he did here, a buyout wont matter. I'm very happy that Mack Brown recently stated he isn't retiring. However, I can see a school like Virginia Tech or Baylor taking Blake. There is just too much desperation. They're firing coaches that will have teams make bowls from schools that aren't top of the pack type schools. Mullen nearly wins the SEC last year and is now fired.

The good news is that there is a lot of moving around. The bad news is that there is a lot of moving around.

I hope he stays. I think USU and Blake are both good for each other. But if he does go, good luck to him, I'll move on just a quickly. It's never about a coach or a player.

Anyway, what I struggle with is that he's been a successful coach, but not a world beater, He never achieved double digit wins in the SBC and is 2-4 in bowl games. He's been great at USU, but schools are firing winning coaches with similar records because it's not good enough. It's of course possible with places like MSU paying Tucker $95m for one season of winning, I just think it's improbable, but weirder stuff has happened.

Maybe Blake is like his mentor, who he calls his "football dad", Rocky Long, and will find a comfortable spot in the MWC and be here for awhile. I know, wishful thinking, the money has changed the game. But a guy can hope.

It was mentioned somewhere on the board, but the quiet social media for the last couple days, especially with two new commitments, has been.....different than what we've seen in the recent past. Honestly kind of strange given the amount of hype they tend to push. Maybe it's an in-season thing and the coaches are distracted with more important things, but what about the social media folks?

This will be my contribution to the Aggies conspiracy theory/internet detective world for the day. Happy sleuthing to everyone else.

Where there's smoke....

Whatever happens, happens. We can't control other's decisions. We don't have that kind of money in our program. This is the world we have always been in.