maybe. but even then, the fans would have demanded an actual search before getting to him as the hire. and really and truly, even with O being who he is, i could stomach this better had our AD actually attempted to find a coach rather than immediately settling for an in house hire with a sketchy past. i still wouldn’t have liked it, but the shit sandwich would have at least had ketchup or something on it.
I was kinda one of those people. I was highly concerned after Tennessee and he continued to make dog food out of what Saban left him. I don't think I was calling for his head for a year or two. But he proved me wrong and I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt after 2011, but I was back off the bus probably 2 or 3 years after. I don't even think Shane was calling for his head after the NC; it seems like we turned around the same time. I guess I could do a search, and I am somewhat interested, but don't really want to take the time. I think there is validity to your complaints about O, I share some of your concerns. Just not ready to act. If more people were blindly following Eaux I might be more critical; guess the climate here kind of effects my voice. I heard that ESPN was browbeating LSU fans about calling for Eaux's head; my reaction was - "Y'all are acting like there is no validity to the complaints." Contrarian like that.
I can see the merit of the Eaux hire; there is merit to it. Did Alleva contact mid major guys? I've never seen that he didn't vet several alternate candidates. This may not have been the last minute knee-jerk y'all are characterizing; he may have already had his short list done - Herman, Fisher, Eaux, etc is plausible in my mind.
I have friends who seriously thought we were gonna make a title run this year. I have no idea what people are thinking. All the losses to the NFL alone should have made people doubt whether or not this was "the year." I thought 9-3 going into the season. I'm thinking I was a little generous, but one thing, LSU isn't alone. There is a whole lotta "meh" in the SEC this year. Bama is Bama. Georgia looks pretty good. Thought Miss St was good, but maybe we're just bad. Coaching in the SEC is as bad as I can ever remember it being. Butch Jones, Ed Orgeron, Kevin Sumlin, Bret Bielema???
According to reports (that actually quote Alleva). He knew early on that Jimbo was going to be expensive and chose not to actively pursue that one. It was O and Herman with a really strong lean toward O until the Florida loss. When Herman wanted to at least hear the Texas offer, Joe hung up and immediately hired O. no other candidates were interviewed. I find it difficult to believe that through the vetting process (if there was one), that not a single other coach in America was interested and worthy of at least an interview.
You can't trust what is fed to the media - "O was our top choice and he's the only one I talked to." A statement like that doesn't necessarily mean what it sounds like, most likely with a ton of ellipses and paraphrases that don't translate to verbal communication. I seem to remember hearing about contact with many potential coaches.
I was hoping for a NC this year but I'm not totally down on Eaux given the turn of the worm. I expected more of Aranda and Canada and our depth.
