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Random observations from a Monday nite in The ‘Boro

BlueAlpha

Blue Raider Fan
Aug 24, 2015
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So, us & some of our friends from ATL were coming to Nashville this week for the Elton John concert.
When I saw the baseball fish fry was Monday nite my wife & I decided to come a day early. Had never been plus with a new Coach thought the crowd would be good. The Grove is a great place to host an event.
Pretty good turnout overall. My wife & I are mid 60’s but other than the players, we were some of the younger people there. We notice that too at the basketball games we come up to. They had live music, but that was a stretch. Given all the talent in the area was disappointing to have to listen to that. Coach spoke for awhile, did a decent job but certainly not as eloquent as Nic.
They had complimentary beer & wine. Inexplicably, no craft beer from either local brewery. Dr. McPhee was there, more on that later.
The Falcons were on MNF so headed to our favorite bar & grill, Sam’s. Like to support them as much as possible since they give BRAA members 15% off. Had forgot CRS has his coaches show there. Sat near some old friends of ours from long ago. I might have seen 8 people tops there in Blue to watch the show. I asked him if this was a normal turnout and he said no. But, it has gotten smaller each week. It was really quite sad. Chip had a guy from ODU on the phone recapping last weeks game. CRS could not have looked more disinterested. At one point he had his head resting on his arm & hand. Then he actually put his head down on the table. I am NOT making this up.
When the show was over he quickly spoke to a couple people and walked out the door.
Our friend from long ago wondered why the baseball fish fry was the same nite as the football coaches show? The fish fry could have been on any nite, why have it compete with each other? We seem to do that a lot.
I was one of the first to suggest this might be CRS last year and initially it was met with a great deal of skepticism. Mainly due to his contract. I don’t know him personally but he doesn’t give off the vibe that he would stick around for the $$$. He just doesn’t come off that way. I think the 2-3 body bag games & lack of bodies in the stands has taken its toll. I think there is a great deal of respect among him, the AD & Prez and I just don’t see him sticking around for the $$$. And last night I saw nothing to indicate he is now in this for the long haul. If he’s still here on National Signing Day I will be the first to admit I was wrong.
Lastly, there seems to be a genuine disdain for our Prez. Don’t know him neither but I do know whenever we come up for an event or games, he usually is there. We lived in the ‘Boro from ‘74-‘87. Most of the time our Prez was Sam Ingram. He had 0% interest in athletics. All he cared about was cutting expenses. I have no idea whether Dr. McPhee is the right person or not. I do know it can, and has been, MUCH WORSE. I agree he should have moved on from CM a long time ago but that’s a topic for another day. I saw on GoBlueRaiders.com last year that he flew down to Montgomery Al last year to award diplomas to the football guys who were gonna miss graduation on Saturday due to the bowl game. That’s cosmetic, I get that, but the next person might not have the same attitude toward athletics as our current one does. Be careful what one wishes for.
 
If what you say is true, I really hope we elevate Shafer to HC.

I have mixed feelings about Stock. Things I will miss about him: Extremely high character, graduates his players, represents the university well, his players typically stay out of trouble, we are never cellar dwellars of the conference, and are a threat to win any week we play when playing non-top 25 opponents.

Things I dislike: Lack of emotion/fire (which changed this season some), lack of having the best team in his conference going on 13 years, unwillingness to fire certain assistants who are CLEARLY not pulling their weight, poor recruiting classes despite being billed as a top 25 recruiting coach in the country when he got the job, slow starting teams (we are never good in week 1, ever), extremely poor results against regional rivals (Troy, WKU, Vanderbilt...Memphis was a wash)
 
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Everybody knows I've been saying he's considering retirement since the season started. I've heard this same stuff from players and such, that he's really tired and not all that hyped to be there. I don't know what will pan out. Wiley had a good theory about Brent being brought into the coaching fold and Stock hanging around for that. His energy level is so low, I wouldn't know what another couple years would even be like. He just seems flat wore out and worn down. It's a dead energy for sure.
 
Everybody knows I've been saying he's considering retirement since the season started. I've heard this same stuff from players and such, that he's really tired and not all that hyped to be there. I don't know what will pan out. Wiley had a good theory about Brent being brought into the coaching fold and Stock hanging around for that. His energy level is so low, I wouldn't know what another couple years would even be like. He just seems flat wore out and worn down. It's a dead energy for sure.

That's what I see too. That's why I was concerned he may be going through some health issues. He's a good man. We have been fortunate to have him. But it's also been eternally frustrating the lack of passion he has and to do what it really takes to make this type of program relevant. For a guy that has allegedly always had a knack for recruiting he sure does do a poor job of selling his program to the masses and "recruiting" the community.
 
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That's what I see too. That's why I was concerned he may be going through some health issues. He's a good man. We have been fortunate to have him. But it's also been eternally frustrating the lack of passion he has and to do what it really takes to make this type of program relevant. For a guy that has allegedly always had a knack for recruiting he sure does do a poor job of selling his program to the masses and "recruiting" the community.

Stock was exactly the coach we needed when he got here - someone to stabilize the program. And he did exactly what we needed him to do.

But he's not the guy to go from stable program to championship program.

If we're in the coaching market, I want a guy hungry for a P5 job as soon as possible, not a guy who's been there done that and is looking for a steady paycheck until retirement.

I get what several of you are all saying about Stock hanging it up - but i'll believe it when I see it. Competitive coaches do not just walk away from 1 of only 130 jobs in the world, especially if there's nothing outside going on (i.e. health issues (i sincerely hope not).
 
BA's observation is down right depressing.

That lack of energy has translated to tarps and empty seats in the stands. CRS potential is bowl eligibility and that's it. That cycle is just not going to do it with our level of competition and lack of an identity. Interestingly enough, there was a thread on the Marshall board regarding CRS that had one or two of their posters defending him without question. I guess some looking at our program looks at our bowl participation and thinks, they have it good. What they don't know are the poor coached games and losses that typically came after an upset or crucial win.

It's time Rick.
 
He might not see all of that money if things don't change for the better. The Athletic Dept. is not seeing money come into the program. The attendance is an issue and is part of his contract.
 
He might not see all of that money if things don't change for the better. The Athletic Dept. is not seeing money come into the program. The attendance is an issue and is part of his contract.

When did attendance become part of his contract?
 
What was reported last I read is that he got a bonus based on a certain number of attendance. He's also supposed to help generate donations from the community in his job description. If the attendance and donations continue to plummet, it will matter in him staying here. Regardless of all of that. If he looks tired now, what will he look like 2 years from now? I don't know. I doubt many of us will still be on here by then.
 
So, us & some of our friends from ATL were coming to Nashville this week for the Elton John concert.
When I saw the baseball fish fry was Monday nite my wife & I decided to come a day early. Had never been plus with a new Coach thought the crowd would be good. The Grove is a great place to host an event.
Pretty good turnout overall. My wife & I are mid 60’s but other than the players, we were some of the younger people there. We notice that too at the basketball games we come up to. They had live music, but that was a stretch. Given all the talent in the area was disappointing to have to listen to that. Coach spoke for awhile, did a decent job but certainly not as eloquent as Nic.
They had complimentary beer & wine. Inexplicably, no craft beer from either local brewery. Dr. McPhee was there, more on that later.
The Falcons were on MNF so headed to our favorite bar & grill, Sam’s. Like to support them as much as possible since they give BRAA members 15% off. Had forgot CRS has his coaches show there. Sat near some old friends of ours from long ago. I might have seen 8 people tops there in Blue to watch the show. I asked him if this was a normal turnout and he said no. But, it has gotten smaller each week. It was really quite sad. Chip had a guy from ODU on the phone recapping last weeks game. CRS could not have looked more disinterested. At one point he had his head resting on his arm & hand. Then he actually put his head down on the table. I am NOT making this up.
When the show was over he quickly spoke to a couple people and walked out the door.
Our friend from long ago wondered why the baseball fish fry was the same nite as the football coaches show? The fish fry could have been on any nite, why have it compete with each other? We seem to do that a lot.
I was one of the first to suggest this might be CRS last year and initially it was met with a great deal of skepticism. Mainly due to his contract. I don’t know him personally but he doesn’t give off the vibe that he would stick around for the $$$. He just doesn’t come off that way. I think the 2-3 body bag games & lack of bodies in the stands has taken its toll. I think there is a great deal of respect among him, the AD & Prez and I just don’t see him sticking around for the $$$. And last night I saw nothing to indicate he is now in this for the long haul. If he’s still here on National Signing Day I will be the first to admit I was wrong.
Lastly, there seems to be a genuine disdain for our Prez. Don’t know him neither but I do know whenever we come up for an event or games, he usually is there. We lived in the ‘Boro from ‘74-‘87. Most of the time our Prez was Sam Ingram. He had 0% interest in athletics. All he cared about was cutting expenses. I have no idea whether Dr. McPhee is the right person or not. I do know it can, and has been, MUCH WORSE. I agree he should have moved on from CM a long time ago but that’s a topic for another day. I saw on GoBlueRaiders.com last year that he flew down to Montgomery Al last year to award diplomas to the football guys who were gonna miss graduation on Saturday due to the bowl game. That’s cosmetic, I get that, but the next person might not have the same attitude toward athletics as our current one does. Be careful what one wishes for.
Another possibly related side note is that for a lot of "mid-career alumni" who no longer live in Rutherford County and work in Nashville, it's not really worth the traffic battles to get to the Boro mid-week for a lot of events like that...
 
Too much money on the table to walk away, but they can always negotiate a buyout.

Stock reminds me of Jeff Fisher. Good when they first started but then never really improved and just was happy with mediocrity. Shielding assistants that’s need to be replaced. Year after year of the same thing. Some glimmer of hope but it quickly vanishes.
 
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