BQ_90 said:
The Jimbo effect, our fanbase thinks we can just hire anyone now. Not realizing how that was basically the exception to every rule.
Our fan base has a couple of proclivities that pull in different directions. Some fans feel the best response is to just change coaches. Others are satisfied with post-season invites that are consistent. Still others think Aggies all need to support the school regardless of success (the two percenter and highway six memes.) In football there are MANY Aggies that truly view game day as a grand social opportunity to continue relationships at Kyle Field and strongly prioritize that over anything else.
I think each notion has meaning and adds variety and value. But I also believe focusing on any one as a key strategy has limitations.
The notion that Gary has struggled with recruiting certainly is one of those notions. We have rare scintillating players. And when we do have them they often come with other situational challenges. We certainly can ask if there is a path to more consistency in dominating other teams with UConn as a baseline for that question. It's just difficult to answer without some trend to compare to. The best comparison we have is how deep we go in the NCAAT.
Blair isn't Geno and really isn't Kim or Tara or Dawn or Muffett. They all have more final four appearances and at least one championship. He's more similar to Sherri Coale in post-season record though she lacks a NC but has more final four trips and a NC appearance as well prior to performance falling off after 2012-2013.
The question is whether that can be further improved or not and what is lost by rescuing for that. My argument is that he rebuilt it from scratch here and then scored a national championship and eight S16 or deeper runs including the last three trips. This is his most consistent period and it's a very strange rule to seek a change unless there is a plan to make a significant hire. Including the financial backing from donations.
I'm guessing today's basketball fans with money are mostly in favor of a change but not one that embarrasses Blair and only for a real improvement. He has emphasized delegating more to his assistants during games and you can see that. So we know he won't do this forever. But I also think financially this might not be the easiest year to make a change. Particularly if baseball and softball get changes this year (Childress is also in his last year and Jo's runs through 2022 after a 5-year extension in 2017.) All three have a similar resume in the SEC. Each has one Elite Eight/CWS and at least one additional S16/super regional. All have made the post-season each year except last year due to covid. They're all three pluggers (referring to the cartoon strip meme.)
I doubt all three are retained and I doubt all three are fired. I think Blair has made by far the best case over the last four campaigns for continuation with repeated S16 runs. But I also don't think he has provided the marquee-level runs of the other coaches I mentioned. But other than Staley none of them are even potential replacements. I also see Gary adding a unique character to the game that is in essence Southern and gentlemanly without being either racial or aristocratic. That he chose in Oak Cliff to become the girl's coach as white flight took place is actually a remarkable story that exemplifies a gentleness that is hard to cast aside.
I think he should be continued for five more years based on the repeated S16s plus the one he missed out on due to covid (if not deeper.) That probably should not be announced as his planned trip into the sunset though he might not choose to go past that. And he should be given every resource including access to a private jet for recruiting if needed to compete for his best five years. Hold nothing back and see how far he goes.
