Nice post, ralster!
When the word came down that we hired Charlie, I did not get excited like my Jayhawk friends did. I was skeptical because I just thought Charlie was using KU to get somewhere else. He still may be doing that, I don’t know. But I know he has had to endure some horrible moments in Jayhawk football history and he still keeps going. From what I’ve seen, he is working hard at what it will take to bring KU football up. It’s all about taking incremental steps. Fortunately, the game of football is so vast, with large teams, plentiful offensive and defensive schemes… kicking… special teams… there are so many areas where a team can focus and find ways to improve, and Charlie keeps working on the details.
I’ve watched every Jayhawk game this year except last weekend because I had to work. I DVR’d the game and my DVR went on the fritz so that is the only reason I missed the game. I’ve also gone to some home games this year, too. We’ve been a competitive team all year, just had some bad breaks and then the team would usually lose motivation towards the end of the game.
Now I’m on board with Charlie. As long as he shows us he is putting out the effort, I’m in with him.
We’ll never get a quick fix by changing coaches. I’m doubtful we will find someone of Charlie’s caliber to replace him. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t support a change if it starts looking like Charlie isn’t into KU football enough. But as of now, I don’t see that.
I definitely question some of his calls this year, but I always question some calls by every coach, including Bill Self!
Realistically, it is going to take a while to build KU football. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and if you look at what Charlie has to face, his task might be tougher than just building a city. A big part of the picture is to land better recruits… a tough task when selling KU football, and to be honest, selling the B12.
