the thought that we’d somehow be upset if DeBoer was winning on the field but bringing in a top 10-12 class instead of 1-3 class is incredulous
We're just trying to understand...is your insinuation that Bama fans will be unhappy with championships if they don't come along with a top-ranked recruiting class?
For reference, everything north of the Ohio River and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills is definitively "yankee" latitudes and longitudes on those planes are grey areas that require detailed analyses to be certain of classification.
No. It's that your sudden radical acceptance of less than cutting edge recruiting seems odd after 20 years of frenetic 5* hoarding. You all of a sudden believe you can recruit a rung or two lower and still win all those SEC championships? Is DeBoer that much better of a coach than Nick Saban? Or is the SEC just that much easier than the Pac 12?
Think this is where the disconnect is happening...we aren't actually expecting DeBoer to do what Nick did. It's insane to have that as the baseline expectation. Far more likely that with time, resources, and results, he can get much better at recruiting than what was seen at Washington. There's obviously risk he doesn't, but that's part and parcel with bringing in a new guy, especially one from outside the footprint of the South.
Yeah, we'll see I guess. Getting better at recruiting would necessitate him wanting to get better at recruiting, and I think that's the issue. But my hunch is this isn't meant to be a long term thing. DeBoer needs some special athletes to make his offense shine for another year or two before he jumps the NFL, and AL needs a chunk of time to move past Saban's shadow before they can start thinking about trying to find their next era-defining coach.
If it leads to a title, I'm all for the second part. Ideal candidate for that would be Schumann if he gets some seasoning outside of Kirby's apron.
I feel like tmb's Bama posters are way more rational than Bama fans out in the wild and calling into KJOX multiple times per day. The game day reactions should be top fucking shelf content
Not the first? Guy had a top 5 team and a Heisman front runner for nearly the entire year. He translated that into a class that's bad even by Washington standards. He didn't get a single player from his own state's top 20. And that was against Pac 12. Outside of Oregon, I'm not sure any Pac 12 programs are even actively recruiting student athletes. So how is this supposed to go in the SEC? Alabama will no doubt be able to smear gobs of lipstick on a pig and put together something resembling a good class by most peoples' standards, but he's not going to win anyone Kirby Smart also wants. If DeBoer starts showing some interest in recruiting, it'll be the first time. It's such a big question mark that I have to think Byrne sees this as a two year thing, tops.
We’re basically asking him to be Kiffin without the sideshow antics. No one expects him to be Saban and be the greatest coach and recruiter of all time. Yes, he’ll need some help recruiting in the south. We know that. Presumably he knows that too. I bet they discussed it in detail even.
Opposing fans already saying the new Bama coach is going to leave very soon has me feeling nostalgic. Hope this one leaves as quick as the last one.
Several IRL Bammers in my group chat were legitimately upset that Dabo's name wasn't mentioned in the frontrunners. Currently reevaluating my social circle.
Want to see the language of his contract. Should tell us a lot about whether there's any validity to the theory.
Have we discussed how weird of a fit Milroe is in his offense? I suppose he could totally change it but that would take away what makes him desirable in the first place
Most of us believe there will be a serious and legitimate competition in the spring for the job. Ty Simpson didn’t transfer and Sayin was an EE. Milroe will have to show that he can grow or he’ll lose that spot.
All the negative talk about DeBoer’s recruiting is overblown, imo. Some people act like he’s going to recruit at the same Washington level indefinitely which makes zero sense.
Yes, but I mean it’s also a legitimate concern. No one is saying he can’t do it, but he’s going into a recruiting meat grinder place with a fan base and region that very much cares about recruiting. He’s leaving a place that didn’t. He’s never been on a high level recruiting staff or program in his career.
This. Will he have recruiting support and a gravitas at Alabama he’s never had before? Yes. Recruiting is just one of those things that some people have inherently or they have to work for it. My uncle is good friends with the Harbaughs and he was telling me at Thanksgiving how much Jim is challenged by it. It’s the grind of all the prep, coaching a game, doing all the media stuff after and then having to then go grab dinner with recruits after all that which seems to wear on people.
Mike Shula put together top 10 classes at Alabama. It took Les Miles 8 years to fuck up what Saban built in 5 years. And in the process of fucking it up he won a title and played for another one. I think we are going to be ok with talent.
It’s a legitimate concern for literally every single coach except a very limited few. And no surprise, those guys are already at elite jobs. And of all the skills of quality coach, recruiting is the one that allows for the most help from others. So hiring a top-level football coach should always be the number one priority. DeBoer has won at every level he’s been at even with less-talented rosters. Plus, his coaches and players have said they really enjoy coaching/playing for him. So he seems to have a personality that is suited for an elite job. Add all that to the fact that now he’ll have some of the best in the business helping him with the talent acquisition part, and it makes the concerns just seem like nitpicking.
To be fair this is a completely different era than that with regard to the way talent can both be acquired and leave programs.
He's 49 years old and he's never done it at even close to that level before. The concern seems pretty reasonable.