I mentioned this in another thread months ago but i think it bears repeating. Like many MHT posters I am a season ticket holder. I also attend one to two away games and have for over 25 years.
When you attend away games and socialize with other MU fans you are usually hanging out with parents of players. The dynamic has always been the same. When you talk about the program with the parent of an underclassman who plays regularly, the coaching staff is great and our best days are right around the corner. When you talk to the parents of an upperclassman who is not on the depth chart, the staff is lousy and doesnât know how to coach.
Theese perceptions were consistent through multiple coaching staffs regardless of whether we were 6-2 or 2-6. It was absolutely comic and something I had grown to accept. Then came Chuck Martinâs staff. I now regularly hear from upperclassmenâs parents whoose son canât find the field with a compass still speaking highly about the way the staff is looking out for their son.
A couple of years ago I was speaking to an alum who had a current senior as an intern. The young man was not anywhere near the two deep and just the day before Coach Martin had personally called the alum to follow up on his players progress.
I am not convinced the program is achieving beyond reasonable expectations over Chuckâs tenure. I am convinced he is making young menâs lives better far more than most coaches. That should count for something particularly at Miami!
On my flight to Detroit I ended up with a different seat than I had picked. When I sat down, the gentleman next to me said, âgoing to the game? You should know youâre sitting next to a Toledo grad.â Well, turns out he was burying the lede. He also was the athletic director at Grand Valley State who hired Brian Kelly and Coach Martin. He shared some great stories and had so many positive things to say about Martin.
Some posters on this board mightâve even watched this guy play at Millett. He said he remembers playing there when they needed to beat Miami and Central to win the MAC. They beat Miami in OT but ended up losing to Central after 5 OTs. Said it was one of the loudest places he played. Athletics is a small world.
Whether by design or necessity one of the great things given Coach Martin at Miami was TIME. So many programs would have wanted things turned around in 1 or 2 years. The time to put together a program and do things the right way pays offâŚbut itâs a longer term investment and most canât be that patient.
I think Chuck should put a Nick Saban like clause into an extension, something like he has to be in the top three of MAC coaches. And Sayler then puts in a very high buyout on the other side
Iâm not saying Chuck would get hired away by A&M, but what the Jimbo thing showed me is the P5 doesnât care about a couple million here or there.
The high buyout injects some cash into the cofffers, when it happens. Otherwise Chuck has a career in Oxford like Solich had in Athens
And for those who donât want to spend the moneyâŚ.look at the clowns at other G5 schools that are getting paid 40% more than Chuck. Miami either needs to spend the best to be the best (at our level) or needs to drop down because we canât truly afford D1 athletics any more