Then the question becomes Who do you get for a head coach and or an OC if you’re not paying even 50% of Power Conference coordinators money?
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If we keep turning in continuous 6-6, 7-5 and very infrequent 8-4 records without the occasional 9-3 or 10-2 record, while playing a lower level FCS team on one of our three Saturday home games every season, we better get used playing in front of an average of about 3,500 tepid fans in a 24,000 seat stadium every Saturday and being the last team picked for any bowl appearances…
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I don’t like how we did this year, but I’m actually way more proud of how hard the team fought. Those who run a business know it’s never all up all the time. Some years suck. Others are gravy. And some are a mix. This year was a mix for MU. Hell, we beat a Big Ten team! Almost won today. We’re not terrible. But, how do we become great?
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I think Miami can attract as good of a candidate as any in the league. IMO we’re a top 3-4 MAC job and we should be able to pay like it (800k/annually with a good support staff budget)
We’re actually getting a good deal with Chuck currently as I think he’s paid in the bottom half.
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Yes, and we’re getting bottom half results.
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Nobody needs to qualify with you and your bad opinions. This is beyond crazy, Miami is the UM/OSU of the MAC and these 6/7 seasons are below Miami. Is there a Ballcoach1 on the Michigan or OSU board saying that 6-7 or 7-6 and a bowl win is OK!??? Id love to see it!
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I am too weary and discouraged to want to pile on today…the team fought hard today and we certainly could have won today despite our pretty woeful offense.
At the same time, I am not in the camp that a school the caliber of Miami with our facilities and history needs to accept the ongoing mediocrity of a Chuck Martin reign. In a conference as bad as the MAC, going 6-6 every year on average just doesn’t cut it. Next year 8 wins minimum or “cut bait.”
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This particular thread isn’t about the kids, who played their hearts out today, but a head coach and offensive staff that does not give them the best chance to win
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Never said that Junior.
this this this
Koehler gotta go. Give us a shot with this defense and a functional offense, and let’s see what happens. If that doesn’t change things…then we reevaluate.
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“Should of Would of Could of” …Not a plan.
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Nor is “Let’s see what happens next season.”
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This is a good take as are many others on here.
I am not happy with the mediocre results but there are a lot of factors in play here.
The financial situation of the athletic department. We can ill afford a buyout and the next coach would undoubtedly cost more not to mention the coaching staff.
The transfer portal has changed the game. A change in staffs could result in a wholesale loss of current talent and commits. We all want better results. We have a better chance of that next year with Chuck than starting over. Look at the roster. This was a young team by and large.
I have always been impressed by the way Chuck’s teams play despite adversity. The 0-6 start followed by the 6-0 finis the prime example. It is not easy to keep young kids motivated and moving forward in that situation. We have generally played better at the end of the season than at the beginning. You can also look at how we finished in the Ball State game as well as yesterday. That intangible says something about Chuck that is special.
Perhaps it is time to reevaluate Koehler just as Chuck must have done with his defensive assistants last year. I know they have been together a long time but in 9 years things can get stale.
I hope Chuck can reevaluate his own in-game coaching.Too often he plays not to lose rather than playing to win. There was a perfect example of that yesterday after the turnover. He was playing to work down the clock rather than being focused on a touchdown that would have sealed the win with 3 or 4 minutes to go.
Sayler has enough problems right now that he doesn’t need to add a football coaching staff to the mix.
Next year might be a different story.
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We’re not competing with the P5 money. We never will be able to and shouldn’t be. But we should be trying to make a commitment to being competitive with other G5 salaries. Keep in mind that $800-900 in Oxford is like 2.4 million in California and a few other places. There are two avenues as I see it. One is finding a Frank Solich. We don’t have that now, by the way. The other is our traditional Cradle of Coaches model of repeatedly giving aggressive younger up and comers the job and help them be highly successful for 3-4 years before moving up to a P5 job.
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I dont need to see any more with Koehler. He has been the main offensive play caller for than a year now and has a variety of playmakers skills to use
I am not saying he has to be fired - i would just try someone else at play calling. Its possible that his hands are tied by Coach Martin since we try to win 17-14- but in 2021 we should have been passing 50 times a game
But I think overall Coach Martin has done a B level job. Thats a good job. Not great. I agree 2021 we lost way too many close games. 2022 they were pretty split
As to the overall 6-6- Next years minimum out of conference should be 2-2. So we really should get to 8 wins assuming we dont lose much more in the portal
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Actually, we finished 6-7. Not 6-6. I count the bowl game win or lose. So below .500. Again.
That being said we aren’t changing HC now. That is unrealistic. We do not have the money. Period. CM’s buyout is 750K, and I doubt seriously anyone on this board is going to pony that up. So talk of replacing CM now is a waste of energy.
Other changes can and should be made. And demanded by Sayler. #1-change the OC. If he has a buyout, it won’t be much. #2-have a long talk with CM about expectations for this coming year. And that doesn’t mean simply winning games against teams with below .500 records. #3-discuss personnel and philosophy on the field. I’m not saying DS should dictate who plays QB, DE, or any other position, but a discussion needs to be had as to where we stand at each position and how to improve it either by HS recruiting, getting players through the portal, and perhaps a heart to heart about where certain players might benefit the team (and themselves) including position changes.
If you want fans in the seats, students in the sits, then there has to be a product they want to see. I will be honest, watching Miami’s offense this year was just boring. Not only was it bad, but it was boring. And predictable. Kids aren’t going to want to watch that. Or losing. And we need to be realistic about a couple of other things. Miami students have never been great supporters of athletics, except maybe hockey. I have been following this program since the early 1980s and that hasn’t changed. But when we have won, students have come in greater numbers. Not load the seats numbers, but at least better. We have to win the games that matter-OU, UC, (even if just occasionally), and a few others. Remember, most of our students grew up cheering for OSU, Michigan etc. That won’t change. But give them a reason to want to cheer for Miami. And I hate to break it to many on this board, but most of today’s students don’t know about or give a damn about Miami’s history, bowl wins in the 1970s or the Cradle of Coaches. What matters is the here and now. And the here and now has been largely devoid of wins, success and excitement. I am not letting the students off the hook. Their support of Miami athletics really for the most part sucks. But lets at least give them a reason to want to come out. Beyond mere school pride and spirit.
So those are my thoughts. As for the game yesterday, as with most of the year, I thought the defense was outstanding. Not having Saunders hurt. But they still played well enough to win. We are definitely going to miss the leadership of Ryan McWood, both on and off the field. Class act.
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Is it too much to expect to go undefeated in the MAC?
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Uptown Oxford is a big competitor for student’s attention,too.
And scheduling, like Homecoming on “fall break” was genius unless you’re trying to slow down football attendance( and Uptown was dead too).
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Martin won a MAC championship in 2019 and was one play away from another appearance in 2021. Who knows what happens if that two pointer gets converted at the end of the Kent State game. Koehler on the other hand… that offense was tough to watch at times this year. The WMU game ruined my week.
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The team represented the university beautifully yesterday. I was proud to be a Miami alum. The players obviously like Coach Martin and play hard for him. He took over a program that was likely the worst in the country and built it into one of the top programs in the MAC, bringing in exciting talent year after year.
Also, as has been noted elsewhere, Coach Martin seems to have the ability to navigate the portal and current college football landscape…and that is very important.
I sometimes wonder why I continue to visit this board. The excessive negativity depresses me far more than yesterday’s tough loss.
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