Les Miles Done For?

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NorthCyd

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On the one hand I remember some really good players during that time when ISU was so very terrible. But on the other hand I remember this scene from Moneyball:



Commit to Kansas Football = no confidence

But the point of that scene and movie in general is those guys don't focus on what's actually important to winning.
 

20eyes

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Thing is, KU might be one of the few places they could get away with that. Basketball will always be king in Lawrence.

I hope they can and do get away with it. If they ever figured out they could get as good as UNC in football they might actually beat us.
 

NorthCyd

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I've seen those takes and don't disagree. But I feel that scene is pointing out that this group of scouts have wildly different and completely contradictory analysis of the same player, and the girlfriend angle is supposed to demonstrate the absurdity of some of that analysis.

I've read that both the book and movie took a lot of liberties with the actual facts so who knows if a conversation like that actually took place. I know that the starting pitching staff, which was barely discussed in the movie, was amazing for that team and a big reason for their success.
 

ribsnwhiskey

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Is this what we were like in the early 90s? They’ve been so bad for so long I’m not sure if they can recover, at least not quickly.

1994-98 was a bad period, with 0, 3, 2, 1 and 3 wins. That was Walden last year and Mac's first 4. Bad but nothing like Kansas the last 10+ years.

Also, I don't see how this issue is a fire-able offense. An undisclosed settlement based on him "hitting on an intern". Sure, he's a slimeball, but we already knew that and KU hired him anyway.
 

alarson

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I never understood the Les hiring. It was Charlie Weis 2.0. They need a young coach given at least 6 years to turn it around. This isn’t a typical rebuild.

Actually kind of question their firing of Beaty. Sure, he wasnt winning after 4 years, but as you say its a longer project than that. When they fired Beaty they were actually kind of starting to be competitive in some big 12 games.
 

Cyched

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Actually kind of question their firing of Beaty. Sure, he wasnt winning after 4 years, but as you say its a longer project than that. When they fired Beaty they were actually kind of starting to be competitive in some big 12 games.

They were pretty terrible with Gill, but even then I'm not sure it's wise to fire a coach after two years.
 

motorcy90

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Kansas football in a nutshell from someone that posted on there:

"Does anyone else read this and say, who cares?
And does KU football have any fans that will be outraged about this? There is no force or mob to cause any outrage, it’s KU football. There is nothing to tear down or cause a PR nightmare on.
"
I liked this one on the 1st page..
Annotation (1).png

KU football has momentum? 3 wins each for '18 and '19 and winless for '20.. that's not momentum lol
 

Cyinthenorth

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They were pretty terrible with Gill, but even then I'm not sure it's wise to fire a coach after two years.
I remember that. I think there may have been a little bit of luster from the Mangino glory days at the time of Gill's tenure. Fans actually had a little bit of expectation built up. He probably got an unfair shake.
 

Sigmapolis

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I've seen those takes and don't disagree. But I feel that scene is pointing out that this group of scouts have wildly different and completely contradictory analysis of the same player, and the girlfriend angle is supposed to demonstrate the absurdity of some of that analysis.

Your first paragraph is a good point, but all it does is point out another weakness of the scene. The "ugly girlfriend" thing is funny, but how representative is it of how professional baseball scouts judge prospects and potential signings? Is it a scarecrow? Yes, good baseball people can disagree about a player in good faith and for a good set of reasons, but how often were those reasons so silly, particularly when the demonstrated track record of the A's front office staff was so obviously strong?

When the lead scout senses Brad Pitt is mad and decides to get a little more serious, he says, "Look, we’re gonna find 25 guys, put ‘em through player development, teach ‘em how to play Oakland A's baseball." That is exactly what they did to put together such a good roster in the first place. They scouted and developed well. Why is Brad Pitt so mad the plan is to do it again when it handed him Hudson, Mulder, and Zito?

I've read that both the book and movie took a lot of liberties with the actual facts so who knows if a conversation like that actually took place. I know that the starting pitching staff, which was barely discussed in the movie, was amazing for that team and a big reason for their success.

This site here --

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1045951-25-most-impressive-starting-rotations-in-mlb-history#:~:text=1.,1998 Atlanta Braves&text=And, finally, the greatest pitching,with 16 or more wins.

...has the 2002 A's with the 22nd best pitching staff of all-time.

1614281474136.png

That defined the team's success, not the few buy-low position players they found on the scrap heap to fill out the lineup.

For context, that article puts the 1998 Braves as #1 all-time, which with a rotation of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Denny Neagle, Kevin Millwood, and John Smoltz. That is almost a self-evident choice.
 

Drew0311

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I always want to see a program that is just horrible, spend like 20 million a year and hire Nick Saban just to see if he could turn it around. Not Kansas but some program that is just terrible. Best coach ever vs Worst program ever and see if they can make it work in football.
 

CycloneVet

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I graduated in 94. ISU was bad, real bad. Getting blown out by Nebby and others regularly. But still would scrape 3 or 4 wins, and an upset here or there. And people would show up, at least for a while.

KU right now is another circle of hell lower. They can see Brutus, Cassius and Judas from where they are.

Chomp Chomp
 

20eyes

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I remember that. I think there may have been a little bit of luster from the Mangino glory days at the time of Gill's tenure. Fans actually had a little bit of expectation built up. He probably got an unfair shake.
I also remember (won't be able to find it exactly) Gill talking sh*t about ISU (he played at UNL), so while I agree it was unfair it didn't bother me one bit.
 
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cycloner29

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1994-98 was a bad period, with 0, 3, 2, 1 and 3 wins. That was Walden last year and Mac's first 4. Bad but nothing like Kansas the last 10+ years.

Also, I don't see how this issue is a fire-able offense. An undisclosed settlement based on him "hitting on an intern". Sure, he's a slimeball, but we already knew that and KU hired him anyway.

Don't forget about the Criner days too. During those times from the 80's -early 90's you didn't need a ticket to get into a game. You just had to pass a breathalyzer to make sure you were drunk enough to get in. A couple games I woke up in the stands at half time and were down like 35-0. That's how bad it was.
 

VeloClone

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But the point of that scene and movie in general is those guys don't focus on what's actually important to winning.
Yes, I know that and fully expected that would be the first take when I posted. However, the sentiment of where is the guy's head who settles on an ugly girlfriend enters my mind when I see a 4 star guy commit to Kansas. Not a guy who grew up in Lawrence, the KC area or even Kansas as a whole but a guy from Florida, Texas or California who has innumerable good offers. What is going on there?
 

VeloClone

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Don't forget about the Criner days too. During those times from the 80's -early 90's you didn't need a ticket to get into a game. You just had to pass a breathalyzer to make sure you were drunk enough to get in. A couple games I woke up in the stands at half time and were down like 35-0. That's how bad it was.
That's dumb. You didn't need a breathalyzer. They knew that anybody who was dumb enough to want to go into those games was clearly impaired.