Completely disagree with this thread. We're absolutely a destination location because we have money and facilities and the ability to pack a 100k person stadium. Suggesting that program culture holds us back is incorrect. Culture is defined by the coach, not the school. The fact that we haven't had a championship in football is simple: it's really, really hard to find that coach. Look at every championship coach in the past 3 decades and you'll find someone who:
1. Can recruit elite level players consistently, leading to a team with a good combination of disciplined, bought in seniors/juniors and supremely talented freshman.
2. Has the ability to consistently identify and attract strong coordinators and position coaches that work within the overall system, and
3. Throughout the season has a decent amount of luck staying injury free.
There's nothing about A&M that precludes us from having that coach. Honestly, Jimbo is pretty close. Unfortunately, he failed at #2. Shore up our oline and our dbs this year (get them to average) and we're 7-1 or 8-0 and in the top 5. However, Addazio sucks terribly and has every single year he's been here, and yet we haven't moved on. That failing defines his tenure here. And as a result, Jimbo ain't the guy.
You could argue that what holds us back is our inability to identify the right coach, but I don't buy that. Yes, we totally blew it with our extension of Jimbo's contract, but that's not proof we can't find the right coach. There's just not many right guys at any given time, and in the year you need to hire them, that coach might not be available. However, world class facilities and willingness to pay top dollar are far more than this "school culture," which some of you think is the root cause.
Keep trying to hire what seems to be the best available coach in the market - Jimbo, Schlossnagle, Williams, and eventually you'll hire the right guy. It's just success requires being in top 1% and the advantages we do have are shared by a number of other top programs.
