Was Blake the worst coach in Big 12 history?

[Blitzkrieg]

Not Big 8, or even swc, but since the formation of the twelve. I can't name one worse.

[Outopia]

He did do less with more than just about anyone of them so far, but the league is only ten years old. We will have more of a perspective in ten to twenty years. He sure made Gomer Jones look great by comparison.

[Mad Dog Madsen]

Yes.

[XingTheRubicon]

Until a coach goes .300 at a top 10 program AND rides some sort of live animal mascot into a sea of fans resulting in multiple compound fractures and a frenzied evacuation.....then no.


John Blake is the human form of Cop Rock.

[NormanPride]

Have any other coaches used twister mats? Have any other D-1 coaches used twister mats? For ****'s sake, John. And he thinks he didn't get enough of a chance.

[trey]

Worst coach in coaching history

[r5TPsooner]

Me thinketh that this needs to be a pole.

[badger]

Nominations for "Worse than Blake in Big 12" award...

1- Guy Morriss.
Why: 18–40 with Baylor in five seasons before getting fired and 7–33 in the conference. Of his five seasons, he was last in the Big 12 Southfour of those years, tied for last once and second-to-last once (thank you, OSU). All coaches, when given five years, should show progress. Their most progressive year was still a losing one. The most progress shown was a win over Colorado, a win over Texas A&M, a win over OSU, and a first-ever Big 12 win on the road against Iowa State, but not all those wins were in the same year.

2- Dennis "Fran face" Franchione
Why: How does Baylor become your new rival? Oh, right, by being a 25-point favorite and No. 16 in the country but losing in overtime on a two-point conversion call. Fran endeared himself for actually beating Texas twice, but in his five years at A&M, led them to an embarrassing 77-0 loss to OU (Boomer!) and annual embarrassments against another new-but-shouldn't-be rival Tech. Fran had everything - Texas recruiting, a solid program and solid fan support... oh, and a huge contract. Expectations were high for this rebuild-then-leave guy. He failed. Horribly. Oh, and he walked out on the guy that hired him as his last act as Texas A&M coach.

3- Gary Barnett
Why: In seven years with Colorado, he embarrassed them far more than honored them. Highlights include two bowl wins, a conference championship over Texas in 2001 and an overall record of 49-39. Lowlights include picking on a girl, recruiting by prostitution and drugs, 70-3 most-embarrassing-loss-in-conference-championship-ever to Texas, and being an absolute disgrace. Colorado wisely bought him out and sent him away in favor of far more entertaining and character guy Dan Hawkins.

4- Bill Callahan
Why: Didn't I see the Michigan insanity play in the Alamo Bowl? Didn't I see his 27-22 record in four seasons? No, I just noticed that pesky 15-17 record and all the embarrassments along the way. Think Boo Blake had a lot to work with in regards to a storied program like Oklahoma? Remember, our last title was in 85 and we had a few probation years to overcome (bless King's heart). Callyburger had the most dominant program of the late 90s that was only a few years removed from the National Championship game. He lost all hope of reclaiming Nebraska's glory by being the biggest arsehole out there. He alienated alumni and fans alike and embarrassed everyone through the infamous "throat slash" gesture and "effin hillbilly" remark. If he won, that might be forgiveable, but he didn't and they fired him. Nebraska glory streaks that came to an end under Cally include AP poll rankings (the only season they were ranked by the end was after the Meatchicken game, where they ended No. 24), having no losing seasons in 45 years (they ended 5-7 in 2007) and the most points ever given up by the "Blackshirt" defense - to Kansas. KANSAS! Freakin' Kansas, on Nov. 3, 2007, scored 76 on Nebbish.

As bad as Blake was, I nominate these four ahead of him. Before you all tell me why I'm wrong, let me remind you that I've only been here since 2001, so there are probably worse candidates out there before my time. However, during my era, these were the four "biggest losers" for obvious reasons. While Morriss might have had a bad program to start with and the other guys actually won a little here and there, I think you have to actually discuss these four before throwing Blake under the twister mat.

[r5TPsooner]

I disagree with Guy Morriss. He never had a chance at Baylor. They made him promises and never kept them.

Actually, no HC has a chance at Baylor.

[badger]

I disagree with Guy Morriss. He never had a chance at Baylor. They made him promises and never kept them.

Actually, no HC has a chance at Baylor.

True. Ok, let's eliminate Morriss. Was Blake as bad as embarrassing Dennis "I'll e-mail you team secrets if you pay be $1,200" Franchione? How about Gary "I'm above the rules because I win and you're a girl" Barnett? We all hate Callahan, he is definitely worse.

[r5TPsooner]

Blake was REALLY bad but Callahan, Fran, and Barnett all belong up there as well. Barnett probably gets a pass because he did get CU to the Big XII title game a few times even though the Big XII North was pathetic.

However, those other guys could actually coach a tad bit... Blake, not so much.

[stoopified]

DUH

[royalfan5]

Anybody who can win at Northwestern can't be a terrible coach. A jackass, sure, but Barnett could coach a little.

[OklahomaRed]

Blake, just because it's a "good" thing when other Big 12 schools hire losers. It's a bad thing when O.U. does. :)

[soonervegas]

He is the worst, by far. Unless you include basketball and then it gets interesting. Tony Barone anyone?

[NormanPride]

Sorry, baj. None of those come even close to the coaching ineptitude that was Boo Blake. Twister mats, WRs as QBs. Three different QBs in one drive (with no injuries). Defensive players in the wrong positions. Poor conditioning. No gameplans.

The only coach that even approaches this is Callahan. He was an abysmal failure and an epic jackass, but Boo stole our recruiting info upon getting fired and has since tried his very best to claim responsibility for our success after his demise.

[soonerfan28]

Steele.

[Jason White's Third Knee]

I disagree with Guy Morriss. He never had a chance at Baylor. They made him promises and never kept them.

Actually, no HC has a chance at Baylor.


Kevin Steele was worse than Morriss. Steele was a joke and a beneficiary of a temper tantrum induced attck by Kevin Greene. No one knew who the hell Kevin Steele was before that.

[Jason White's Third Knee]

Steele.




Oh, sure.





Beat me to the punch.

[Animal Mother]

The Mistake Named Blake. I didn't know I could feel as bad as I did after the TCU game in 1996. If my nephew hadn't been with me, I might have driven my truck into the side of the stadium at 120 mph just to feel better.

[rainiersooner]

He did do less with more than just about anyone of them so far.

By that standard, doesn't Mack Brown deserve an honorable mention? Based upon recruiting rankings...he certainly seems to do less with more.

Although, to be fair...he still doesn't suck like Blake.

[badger]

I think you're all looking at this in a biased, OU fan way, NTTAWWT.

Looking at it from the outside, I still think Barnett, Franny and Cally rival Blake.

So, let us do this on factual information rather than fanatical emotions, shall we?

John Blake
Record: 12-22 in three abysmal seasons
Off field issues: Player arrests, recruiting file swiping, lack of discipline.
Intangibles: Drags a storied six-time championship program down just a little bit further than it already was at that point. Sooner season tickets become cheap and readily available to everyone! Will be remembered as the guy who could recruit but not coach.

Gary Barnett
Record: 49-39
Off field issues: Where to begin... Katie the Kicker is "not only a girl, but also a bad kicker." Then, there was that recruiting by sex parties scandal. Then, there was that player food payment problem. Left in disgrace, despite "Coach of the Year" honors and one conference championship.
Intangibles: Colorado was a championship program with absolutely no fan or student interest (marshmallows, anyone?). Despite all of Barnett's success on the field, he'll be remembered for his awful performance off-field.

Dennis Fran Fran
Record: 32–28 (19-21 in conference)
Off field issues: Came to A&M as someone known for leaving programs out to dry after milking them for publicity and money's sake. Hated by many as a self-promoter not being held accountable. Had a lot of support from his team, who stood for him in a "not gonna quit" presser shortly before being forced to quit for selling team secrets via e-mail for $1,200.
Intangibles: Fran face. Had a program that thinks higher of itself than it should, but don't we all? Has a great recruiting area that should be doing better than it is, but had some awful losses, including infamous 77-0 that he told the media he cried after (wouldn't you?) Will be remembered for his unusual expressions in the Big 12... outside the Big 12, will still be hated by Bama and TCU for abandonment.

Bill Callahan (saving the best for last)
Record: 27-22 (15-17 in conference)
Off field issues: Shunned Nebraska diety Tom Osborne after a game in last season (inconveniently before Osborne became the new athletic director), called Oklahomans "effin hillbillies" and throat-slashed a ref. Teamed with Pederson to alienate any and all alumni and former players through attitude and "invisible moat" security practices at Nebraska.
Intangibles: Dragged a storied Nebraska through the mud, despite both of his successors Frank Solich and Ozzy himself, taking Big Red to the championship game. A program only a few seasons removed from the title game and less than a decade removed from "best in college history" status suddenly deteriorated to (deep breath)first losing season since 1961, first time since 1958 that Nebraska had lost 5 consecutive games, the most points ever scored against the Cornhuskers in their 117-year football history (76 by KU, beating his own record set in 2004 by Tech, which was 70). Oh, and they're no longer steaking the AP poll on a weekly basis and they barely missed their first shutout in years by kicking a FU field goal (thank you, orange pelters) against OU in 2004. Callahan will be remembered as what happens to storied programs when you reject alumni and alienate fans, what happens when you settle for your second (fourth!) choice, what happens when you allow a cocky AD to conduct his own army-of-one coaching search committee... and it serves as a lesson to all current successful programs of important it is to enjoy the glory years. After all, your Callahan may be just around the corner.

Give it up, guys. Callahan was as bad as Blake.

[SoonerMom2]

Callahan was worse then Blake because he will ill mannered on top of running Nebraska into the ground. Blake followed the joke of Captain Kangaroo so he did not take over a program that was on the rise or was near the top. I have a special place for John Blake because of his coaching our family has five season tickets. There is a silver lining in every black cloud. Then we got Bob Stoops who saw the talent and knew he would be successful and now we are back where we belong -- at or near the top every year! The Blake legacy is that he recruited talent but didn't know where to use them but Bob Stoops did.

John Blake was a nice guy but too inexperienced to be the head coach at OU after the mess Captain Kangaroo left behind. Then the AD Owens and Switzer (call it a hunch) helped pick his coaches who some were inept to be kind.

Why didn't anyone name the Captain who along with his wife who were an embarrassment to OU. He is my #1 embarrassing coach in the Big 12!

[Rhino]

It's hard to beat Blake in terms of win/loss %, general ineptitude and doing less with more.

Kevin Steele and Dave Roberts, although they had nothing to work with at Baylor, probably both come closest. They were horrendous. Roberts beat Texas once, but he also said that his team was "as bad a football team as there is right now in America" - ugh. Steele was just a collossal blunder - he only won one conference game. Guy Morriss was a better coach than his record indicates. His teams won seven conference games in five years - at BAYLOR! That in itself deserves some sort of award.

Terry Allen was pretty bad at Kansas, as was Dan McCarney at Iowa State. McCarney always seemed like his team was about to break over the hump - just never did.

Chizik and Hawkins haven't had much time yet to prove if they're good or bad. Reedy and Mason were both middle of the road guys that only coached one season after the formation of the Big XII.

Franchione, Callahan and Barnett were still better-than-average coaches, regardless of their media debacles.

1. Blake
-------------
30. Steele
31. Roberts
-------------
50. Morriss
51. Allen
52. McCarney


NU - Osbourne (24-2) .923
OU - Stoops (97-22) .815
UT - Brown (103-25) .805
NU - Solich (58-19) .753
KSU - Snyder (90-35) .720
CU - Neuheisel (28-14) .667
TTU - Leach (65-37) .637
ATM - Slocum (55-32) .632
TTU - Dykes (28-20) .583
OSU - Miles (28-21) .571
MU - Pinkel (49-37) .570
CU - Barnett (49-39) .557
NU - Callahan (27-22) .551
ATM - Franchione (32-28) .533
KU - Mangino (37-36) .507

OSU - Simmons (23-23) .500
UT - Mackovic (12-12) .500

OSU - Gundy (18-19) .486
KSU - Prince (12-13) .480
MU - Smith (27-30) .474
ISU - McCarney (53-77) .408
KU - Allen (20-33) .377
KU - Mason (4-7) .364
BU - Reedy (4-7) .364
OU - Blake (12-22) .353
CU - Hawkins (8-17) .320
BU - Morriss (18-40) .310
ISU - Chizik (3-9) .250
BU - Steele (9-36) .200
BU - Roberts (4-18) .182

---

NU - Pelini (1-0) 1.000
ATM - Sherman (0-0) .000
BU - Briles (0-0) .000

[soonerinabilene]

NU - Solich (58-19) .753

Getting fired with this record and coming out of a nc game still amazes me.

[royalfan5]

Getting fired with this record and coming out of a nc game still amazes me.

There was some off the field stuff their that got kept pretty tightly under wraps that contributed. Remember Frank's arrest in Ohio for being passed out in a vehicle going the wrong way on a one way.

[soonerinabilene]

There was some off the field stuff their that got kept pretty tightly under wraps that contributed. Remember Frank's arrest in Ohio for being passed out in a vehicle going the wrong way on a one way.

Yeah, but still, they put up with Callahan for 4 years.

[oudivesherpa]

Worst coach and best recruiter in Big XII History. It's like a guy at a single bar who ends up with all the hot chicks, but when they go home with him, they find he is like Rock Hudson and all he wants to do is tease their hair.

It left the fans feeling the same way, we'd get all the hot players but all Blake did was tease us because he could not do anything with them.

Coaching Impotencey left us with a score of limp seasons.

[royalfan5]

Yeah, but still, they put up with Callahan for 4 years.

Callahan didn't have any off the field issues. I'm pretty sure he was still on the field for the Hillbillies comment.

[Blitzkrieg]

Callahan HIRED blake, that might make even "more supider" as my kid would say.

[SteelClip49]

Why didn't anyone name the Captain who along with his wife who were an embarrassment to OU. He is my #1 embarrassing coach in the Big 12!


Bourbon was 1995. Big XII began in 1996.

[Flagstaffsooner]

Jeezus, Smellslikebourbon.

[Mad Dog Madsen]

By that standard, doesn't Mack Brown deserve an honorable mention? Based upon recruiting rankings...he certainly seems to do less with more.

Although, to be fair...he still doesn't suck like Blake.

I hate Mack but the whorns were an OK team the 2005 season.

[soonerinabilene]

Callahan didn't have any off the field issues. I'm pretty sure he was still on the field for the Hillbillies comment.

Yeah, but he was still an assclown for 4 years, and never came close to the success of Solich. Ive just always thought they got impatient with Solich, and then tried too hard to not lose with Bill. But, Im not privy to the off the field problems Solich may have had.

[badger]

Callahan didn't have any off the field issues. I'm pretty sure he was still on the field for the Hillbillies comment.

Would having a player punch an opposing fan after a game or having a player intentionally knock a Ruf-Nek into a brick wall undefended count as off-field, or do you have to off-off-field in order for it to be off-field?

And don't tell me that player was acquitted - everyone who saw it would agree that it was intentional.

As for Frank that Solich, he was fired by Pederson, enough said. Pederson was convinced that coaches would jump on top of each other clamoring to get into the NU head coaching spot. Perhaps if Solich had more of the contract honored, this would be the case... however, Pederson in his incompetence failed to realize that...

1- You don't fire a winning coach a few years removed from the title game unless something is wrong off-field.
See: Miami

2- You don't get top coaching applicants after firing a winning coach a few years into the contract.
See: Notre Dame

3- You can't recruit without an established coach, especially in a non-recruiting hotbed state, despite recent trips to the, say, Rose Bowl.
See: Washington State

4- You can alienate an entire fanbase with the wrong coach, regardless of how storied a program is.
See: Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Florida, many others

5- Your job security depends on the success of your football program, so get out before you get fired.
See: Notre Dame

6- Constantly firing coaches for sub-par but semi-successful seasons will not get you back in the championship game, even with all the money in the world.
See: Alabama, Notre Dame

For all other examples on how to lose bowl games over and over while having mediocre seasons, see Notre Dame.

[poke4christ]

I'd say the closest one is Gary Barnett. I hated Callahan, but I wouldn't throw him that far under the bus. Really, I guess I just have to agree. However, if the same Blake directly took over a top 10 OU team like they are now, I think the results would have been different than the way he took over a already bad OU team.

Really, this makes you think how amazing it was what stoops did (and how short a time he did it in). Yeah he had the players, but they were used to loosing. That is a hard thing to erase.

[royalfan5]

Would having a player punch an opposing fan after a game or having a player intentionally knock a Ruf-Nek into a brick wall undefended count as off-field, or do you have to off-off-field in order for it to be off-field?

And don't tell me that player was acquitted - everyone who saw it would agree that it was intentional.

As for Frank that Solich, he was fired by Pederson, enough said. Pederson was convinced that coaches would jump on top of each other clamoring to get into the NU head coaching spot. Perhaps if Solich had more of the contract honored, this would be the case... however, Pederson in his incompetence failed to realize that...

1- You don't fire a winning coach a few years removed from the title game unless something is wrong off-field.
See: Miami

2- You don't get top coaching applicants after firing a winning coach a few years into the contract.
See: Notre Dame

3- You can't recruit without an established coach, especially in a non-recruiting hotbed state, despite recent trips to the, say, Rose Bowl.
See: Washington State

4- You can alienate an entire fanbase with the wrong coach, regardless of how storied a program is.
See: Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Florida, many others

5- Your job security depends on the success of your football program, so get out before you get fired.
See: Notre Dame

6- Constantly firing coaches for sub-par but semi-successful seasons will not get you back in the championship game, even with all the money in the world.
See: Alabama, Notre Dame

For all other examples on how to lose bowl games over and over while having mediocre seasons, see Notre Dame.
The fan getting punched was under Solich. Did Callahan order the player to run into the ruf-nek? Off-field incidents were down quite a bit from the Solich years as well. One could argue that Callahan did a good job getting the trouble makers out of the NU program.

[poke4christ]

Callahan HIRED blake, that might make even "more supider" as my kid would say.

That may have been one of his smarter descisions. Blakes strength is recruiting. He's one of those coaches that you like to have around in the off-season, but don't want to give a ton of game responsibility to. During Callahan's tenure, I think he was always in the top 25 in recruiting. His problem was that he never really learned that College players weren't pro players.

[badger]

He's one of those coaches that you like to have around in the off-season, but don't want to give a ton of game responsibility to.

*cough* MACK! *cough*

[SicEmBaylor]

He absolutely was not.

Kevin Steele was the worst coach in Big XII history.

[SicEmBaylor]

Nominations for "Worse than Blake in Big 12" award...

1- Guy Morriss.
Why: 18–40 with Baylor in five seasons before getting fired and 7–33 in the conference. Of his five seasons, he was last in the Big 12 Southfour of those years, tied for last once and second-to-last once (thank you, OSU). All coaches, when given five years, should show progress. Their most progressive year was still a losing one. The most progress shown was a win over Colorado, a win over Texas A&M, a win over OSU, and a first-ever Big 12 win on the road against Iowa State, but not all those wins were in the same year.

2- Dennis "Fran face" Franchione
Why: How does Baylor become your new rival? Oh, right, by being a 25-point favorite and No. 16 in the country but losing in overtime on a two-point conversion call. Fran endeared himself for actually beating Texas twice, but in his five years at A&M, led them to an embarrassing 77-0 loss to OU (Boomer!) and annual embarrassments against another new-but-shouldn't-be rival Tech. Fran had everything - Texas recruiting, a solid program and solid fan support... oh, and a huge contract. Expectations were high for this rebuild-then-leave guy. He failed. Horribly. Oh, and he walked out on the guy that hired him as his last act as Texas A&M coach.

3- Gary Barnett
Why: In seven years with Colorado, he embarrassed them far more than honored them. Highlights include two bowl wins, a conference championship over Texas in 2001 and an overall record of 49-39. Lowlights include picking on a girl, recruiting by prostitution and drugs, 70-3 most-embarrassing-loss-in-conference-championship-ever to Texas, and being an absolute disgrace. Colorado wisely bought him out and sent him away in favor of far more entertaining and character guy Dan Hawkins.

4- Bill Callahan
Why: Didn't I see the Michigan insanity play in the Alamo Bowl? Didn't I see his 27-22 record in four seasons? No, I just noticed that pesky 15-17 record and all the embarrassments along the way. Think Boo Blake had a lot to work with in regards to a storied program like Oklahoma? Remember, our last title was in 85 and we had a few probation years to overcome (bless King's heart). Callyburger had the most dominant program of the late 90s that was only a few years removed from the National Championship game. He lost all hope of reclaiming Nebraska's glory by being the biggest arsehole out there. He alienated alumni and fans alike and embarrassed everyone through the infamous "throat slash" gesture and "effin hillbilly" remark. If he won, that might be forgiveable, but he didn't and they fired him. Nebraska glory streaks that came to an end under Cally include AP poll rankings (the only season they were ranked by the end was after the Meatchicken game, where they ended No. 24), having no losing seasons in 45 years (they ended 5-7 in 2007) and the most points ever given up by the "Blackshirt" defense - to Kansas. KANSAS! Freakin' Kansas, on Nov. 3, 2007, scored 76 on Nebbish.

As bad as Blake was, I nominate these four ahead of him. Before you all tell me why I'm wrong, let me remind you that I've only been here since 2001, so there are probably worse candidates out there before my time. However, during my era, these were the four "biggest losers" for obvious reasons. While Morriss might have had a bad program to start with and the other guys actually won a little here and there, I think you have to actually discuss these four before throwing Blake under the twister mat.

Guy Morriss wasn't even the worst in Baylor history much less Big XII history. There were a lot of things that just didn't go his way and some decisions on his part that never worked out, but the guy wasn't a horrible coach he was, perhaps, a horrible manager.

[SicEmBaylor]

Kevin Steele was worse than Morriss. Steele was a joke and a beneficiary of a temper tantrum induced attck by Kevin Greene. No one knew who the hell Kevin Steele was before that.

Absolutely, 100%, correct.

[rainiersooner]

*cough* MACK! *cough*

See, that's what I'm saying! He can't really work his way into the list because of the MNC, not to mention numerous top 15 finishes. But, the criteria for this question matters. If it's W/L record, fine; if it's rankings, fine; but who else has done less with more? Not Guy Morris, not Barnett...frankly not even Callahan, because he had trouble recruiting the type of players he wanted for his west coast offense...the only other coach who did less with more was Blake.

[badger]

See, that's what I'm saying! He can't really work his way into the list because of the MNC, not to mention numerous top 15 finishes. But, the criteria for this question matters. If it's W/L record, fine; if it's rankings, fine; but who else has done less with more? Not Guy Morris, not Barnett...frankly not even Callahan, because he had trouble recruiting the type of players he wanted for his west coast offense...the only other coach who did less with more was Blake.

Any coach, even me, would succeed in that situation. You have the well oiled (Read: FUNDED BY THEIR MILLIONS OF ALUMNI) athletic department that pours money in every direction. You have the largest and best recruiting base in the country for football. You have the tradition and the name to sell anyone on the team. You have it all. All you need to do is hand the ball to Forest Gump (Vince Young) and yell at him to RUN, FOREST (VINCE) RUN! Then, tell him when to stop so that he can start all over again.

The fact that he loses to A&M twice in the past two years, fails to contend for titles year in and out and that the best recruits in Texas, growing up Texas fans that dream of playing for Texas do not want to play for Texas but would rather jump the border to play for Stoops... what does that say?

It's not Stoops necessarily, it's Mack. However, you have to note that hardly any other U-Texas coach, given the exact same stacked deck in their favor in every way possible has also failed to win the championship every year. They only have four, despite all they have going for them. Therefore, you can't fault Mack for only getting one.

Stoops only has one now too, we can't forget. Yes, he has so many Big 12 trophies that the newest one is holding M&M's, but right now, we're 1-1 in the arms race.

Mack is not the worst coach in the Big 12. Callahan is... and I know that you all disagree with me, so feel free to start playing the "You're a girl" card :D

[NormanPride]

You're a girl.

[NYC Poke]

I we scored on our first 6 possessions. It was 38-0 at the half. Their only scores came in the last 5 minutes or so. We gained over 500 yards of offense against them. In Lincoln.

'Nuff said. It's Callahan.

[NormanPride]

Man, that's a ringing endorsement of your team there, poke. "We scored a ****load, so they must suck!"

[NYC Poke]

Heh. To be fair, our offense did pretty well last season (the OU game being a notable exception), but c'mon. Nebraska used to be one of the best defensive teams year in and year out. Even if Callahan couldn't get the right personnel to make his offense work, that's no excuse for lousy defense. Seriously, had that not been our first win in Lincoln in about 40 years, I would have felt sorry for their fans.

[SoonerDood]

Overheard on the Baylor sideline against OU in 2001:
"Guys let's run this play because coach doesn't know what the **** he's doing."

[Civicus_Sooner]

Gundy has to be in this conversation somewhere.

[rainiersooner]

Gundy has to be in this conversation somewhere.

If coaching is about X's,O's, and leadership, as opposed to petulant temper tantrums masking as inspirational last stands...then YES SIR I AGREE WITH YOU!

[Jacie]

Gundy has to be in this conversation somewhere.

You took the words out of my post.

[badger]

Gundy has to be in this conversation somewhere.

Hmm... raises an interesting point...

Are coaches worse for what happens on the field solely, or are expectations factored into coaches suckitude.

For example...

Gundy led OSU to 18–19 over three seasons. However, this includes two bowl victories and winning seasons the past two years. This is comparable to the success that his predecessor had during his time at OSU, with crappy starts and later bowl victories.

However, Callahan had a better record during his first three years at Nebraska, 22-15 (27-22 overall). Callahan led Nebraska to a No. 24 ranking one year following an Alamo Bowl victory.

Which coach is worse - Gundy at OSU, or Cally at NU?

We all know the answer, I'm just throwing out a rhetorical here :D

[NYC Poke]

I'm not taking the bait and I'll be painfully blunt. Gundy took over a program that was, well, average and to date continues to be, well, average. Callahan took over one of the most storied programs in college football and had losing seasons in 2 of the 4 he was there.

QED.

[Civicus_Sooner]

Gundy took over a program that was at it's peak, sans a couple of seasons in the 80's (still didn't beat OU) and has done clearly worse than his predecessor.

Dude has a losing record and gets a raise and extension? He must have false teeth. ;)

He may not be worse than Calanburger but he's gotta be around the bottom of the barrel of Big XII coaches.

[Outopia]

Heh. To be fair, our offense did pretty well last season (the OU game being a notable exception), but c'mon.

I'd say you had some other notable exceptions at GA, Troy, and most of the second halves against Texas, Texas A&M, and Kansas. But, maybe I'm just splitting hairs (Gawd, that is a lot of hair though).

[SicEmBaylor]

Overheard on the Baylor sideline against OU in 2001:
"Guys let's run this play because coach doesn't know what the **** he's doing."

Did that really happen? It doesn't surprise me in the least bit.
The only problem with that is that I'm guessing it would have been Cicero making the call and his decision making ability was hardly any better than Steele's.

[AllAboutThe'O']

He absolutely was not.

Kevin Steele was the worst coach in Big XII history.

Kevin Steele was/is so bad, that when he was coaching at Florida State, they didn't even name him the "coach-in-waiting" once Bobby Bowden retired; instead, they gave it to a guy that had been on the FSU staff only one season. And now Steele is an assistant under Saban at Alabama, and quite frankly, the two of them deserve one another.

[OUstud]

Yes, Blake was the absolute worst. To review:

KU, 1996. I think OU outgained them by a lot but gave up several non-offensive TDs and got flagged numerous times (that's a theme)

Nebraska, 1996. 73-21. Yes, NU was great, but come on.

KU, 1997. FG for overtime, it's good, wait, too many men on the field, retry, blocked, drink, cry.

A&M, 1997. The worst night in OU football history.

OSU, 1998. 19 penalties.

Every time the 96 Texas game comes on ESPN Classic, I am stunned at our offensive attack: huddle, sprint to the line, snap it as fast as possible.

Quietly, however, I think Ron Prince is making his way onto this list. Outside of a surprise bowl trip his first season (which included a 1 point win over Illinois State) and random outbursts vs. Texas, they've been amazingly inconsistent. One week they're crushing UT, the next giving up 73 to Nebraska. They've lost to Baylor and almost lost to Illinois State under him. He's already hit the panic button (19 JCs?!?), and call it a hunch, but I bet he is fired after this year.

[soonerfan28]

It has to be Kevin Steele. From 1999 - 2002 he went 9-36. He started the trainwreck that we call Baylor football.

[soonerfan28]

I think Baylor screwed Guy Morriss. They promised him upgrades then sent him packing when he couldn't produce with less talent. Not counting Gettis.

[Jdog]

By far John Blake was the worst coach ever to field a team at the Division 1 level. He was a train wreck as a coach.

A win lose record @ a program like Oklahoma his can't be compared to one at Baylor.

For goodness sakes, Coaches had to use twister mats so player would know if they were going in for the next series - I remember one time we had 14 players line up on Defense.

A 10 yard deep wishbone? what was with that?

An offense that would change after every failed game.

QBs would change after every failed game.

An offensive coordinator who said he had lead the EC Tigers (in ADA) to their first Bowl win - even though he was their 4th team QB - and didn't play in the game.

In my many many years of follow OU football, the Blake years were the most embarrassing. Not even Homer J. was this bad Truly they were beyond embarrassing - it was above the scale of the 60's and 70's Saints -beyond the term "a Train wreck", beyond Keystone cops, Wiley coyote, "Idiocrity" the movie, and beyond the term they sucked.

But it was the perfect time to get in on season tickets though
- kind of like trading stock for the first time right after a depression.

[badger]

For the record, the Troy game was the funniest thing I've ever seen on Friday night television. It was like ESPN brought TGIF back for it's sister station ABC. Thank you, ESPN, for showing Friday night comedies are alive and well and that it isn't the death slot some networks have made it.

Oh, and Cally is worst.

[HateTheWhorns]

By far John Blake was the worst coach ever to field a team at the Division 1 level. He was a train wreck as a coach.

A win lose record @ a program like Oklahoma his can't be compared to one at Baylor.

For goodness sakes, Coaches had to use twister mats so player would know if they were going in for the next series - I remember one time we had 14 players line up on Defense.

A 10 yard deep wishbone? what was with that?

An offense that would change after every failed game.

QBs would change after every failed game.

An offensive coordinator who said he had lead the EC Tigers (in ADA) to their first Bowl win - even though he was their 4th team QB - and didn't play in the game.

In my many many years of follow OU football, the Blake years were the most embarrassing. Not even Homer J. was this bad Truly they were beyond embarrassing - it was above the scale of the 60's and 70's Saints -beyond the term "a Train wreck", beyond Keystone cops, Wiley coyote, "Idiocrity" the movie, and beyond the term they sucked.

But it was the perfect time to get in on season tickets though
- kind of like trading stock for the first time right after a depression.



Ditto to everything you just said. I started watching college football in 1969 and have never seen a team that was as poorly coached than the three that JB put out there in the late 1990s. His schemes were some of the most ill-conceived that I have ever witnessed and it was an embarrassment to the university and our conference. He has to go down as one of the most incompetent head coaches EVAR! The day OU announced his hiring, it was difficult for me to get excited since I knew he was the source of several player issues with the Cowboys and they were excited to get rid of him. I never saw his hiring as the solution for returning OU to its glory years, but rationalized it in my mind by believing that he would be successful in upgrading the talent pool and lay some groundwork for the next head coach. It played out pretty much like I expected (except for the embarrassment he brought to the college football scene). :O

[SoonerDood]

Did that really happen? It doesn't surprise me in the least bit.
The only problem with that is that I'm guessing it would have been Cicero making the call and his decision making ability was hardly any better than Steele's.

yeah I think it was Cicero. And no, he wasn't any better.

[NYC Poke]

For the record, the Troy game was the funniest thing I've ever seen on Friday night television. It was like ESPN brought TGIF back for it's sister station ABC. Thank you, ESPN, for showing Friday night comedies are alive and well and that it isn't the death slot some networks have made it.

Oh, and Cally is worst.


Thankfully, I missed it.

[Scott D]

Kevin Steele was the worst coach in the Big-12 era. Blake is just the worst coach in Oklahoma history.

[SicEmBaylor]

I think Baylor screwed Guy Morriss. They promised him upgrades then sent him packing when he couldn't produce with less talent. Not counting Gettis.

That was definitely part of it. Another aspect is the fact that Baylor is very very split between two distinct factions and one faction always had it out for him and tried to undermine him whenever possible.

All of that doesn't change the fact that he simply wasn't able to get it down on the field though. I blame the fact that he switched offenses which made him start at square 1 instead of building what he had achieved in the 5 win season. It was a gamble on his part, but it just didn't work out. Also, this last season he and the staff seemed to be on cruise control.

[NormanPride]

I had forgotten that Steele was so bad... I can't help but think that if Blake had his team they wouldn't have won a game, though.

[Scott D]

yeah but Baylor won't hire Singletary, no way they'd hire Blake :D

[NormanPride]

heh

[royalfan5]

One thing in Callahan's defense vs. Blake. At least Callahan had a plan and stuck to it. Was it a good plan? Not in the least, but it at least it was plan and that is more than you can say for Blake.

[TopDawg]

One thing in Callahan's defense vs. Blake. At least Callahan had a plan and stuck to it. Was it a good plan? Not in the least, but it at least it was plan and that is more than you can say for Blake.

Blake's plan was: keep 'em* guessing. Was it a good one? Nope. Did he stick to it? Yep.

Seriously, though, I don't agree that Callahan's dedication to his bad plan is any more commendable than Blake's willingness to change his.



"em" can be defined as either our opponents' players or our players.

[TopDawg]

It has to be Kevin Steele. From 1999 - 2002 he went 9-36. He started the trainwreck that we call Baylor football.

I disagree. It was Roberts. Has anybody mentioned him yet?

Blake took a program that was outscored 145-40 in the 5 games before he arrived (in other words, the program wasn't up to OU's standards when he arrived...it's not like he took it there) and, although it wasn't pretty, improved his record each year he was here.

Roberts inherited the worst Baylor team in about 20 years and made them...worse. They went from 4-7 the year before he got there to 2-9 in each of his two years. He set the stage for Steele's badness. He may've been a more likeable guy than Steele, but he must've been bad. I mean, the fact that the guy only lasted two years AT BAYLOR leads me to think he was bad. Real bad. Worse-than-Blake kinda bad.

[Blitzkrieg]

I take exception to anyone that says Blake was a great recruiter. OU football was the draw, not Bleak. He'll you could put Robert Allen in charge of Ou football and he'd land some players. Blake got Dillard to NU? BFD, that guy would have washed out at OU long ago, or be buried soo deep no one would know. Marlon Lucky? He was promised a starting job at NU while the impelmeneted the Raider Offense.

Blake couldnt land a top 10 recruiting class in Norman, and that is not that hard to do on occasion at least. This is another internet urban legend that will nbever die, but it's not true.

[Seamus]

It has to be Kevin Steele. From 1999 - 2002 he went 9-36. He started the trainwreck that we call Baylor football.

That train left the station before Steele got there. Blake is a buffoon and a pariah, and he wears the Fecal Crown as worst ever.

[Kray]

Re - Gundy. He must be ranked in one of the low spots in the conference now (somewhere south of 9), but he doesn't belong on a list of the worst coaches in conference history. I'd go with the criteria of a coach who has done the least with the most. That's not Gundy. OSU is getting more, but when he took over they didn't have the facilities that are being built now. Lester won there, a little, but it's not as if he left Gundy a Cadillac. He left him a Chevy, and it's remained a Chevy, but it's not running as well as it was.

The list has to be topped with Blake and Callahan, with Fran not too far behind. If you come to OU, Texas A&M or Nebraska and cannot win, you cannot win anywhere. Those guys, in some order, are 1, 2, and 3. I guess the order doesn't really matter very much.

You could argue that Mack had a lot of mediocrity to go with the best resources in the conference, perhaps the country, but it's hard to really put him in any serious list of the worst in conference history. If not for OU, he'd probably have more than one NC. :)

Although Morriss may have been awful, Stoops would never win the South, much less a national title, at Baylor.

To turn the question around, who's the coach who has done the most with the least?

Miles? Pinkel? Mangino? Perhaps Leach?

[tulsaoilerfan]

If he isn't, he's in the top 2 at worst. :)

[goingoneight]

You guys should really be nice... John wasn't yet a man as he wasn't 40 during his tenure at OU. I'm sure he could definitely take a team to the heights of the Independence Bowl now.

[SoonerAtKU]

No offense, Badger, but you've named 3 coaches that have winning records at those schools. They may not have lived up to expectations, and they may have caused more problems than they solved, but my lord. Blake did all of those things, AND finished with a shameful record well below 50%.

[badger]

Kray, to answer your question, it is without question that the coach who did the most with the least in Big 12 history is (we still hate him for 2003's pounding on Jason White) Kansas State's Bill Snyder. Notice how as soon as he leaves, KSU is once again what you use to wipe before you flush :D

KSU was once the whipping boy of the Big 8 and then Snyder came in with the best assistants ever (including Stoops) and turned things around. KSU was screwed out of BCS bowls they rightfully deserved (although some will argue that his non-conference schedules were too easy) because they did not have the name recognition - yet. It took a guaranteed BCS berth to get them into a BCS bowl... and we can forget how that happened, thank you very much. It was undoubtedly the greatest turnaround in college football history and if Mr. Hawaii can do that at SMU, then perhaps we'll have some discussion.

Mangino had a so-so football program with a great athletic department, so he had more to work with. Snyder had nothing to work with - anyone who's visited Kansas State's football stadium will know that it is so bad you leave with splinters in your butt - but he made it work and turned KSU into a winner.

Oh, and I am trying to debate, SoonerAtKU (why are you a Sooner at KU?). Everyone is writing Blake off as the worst and I am trying to leave open the possibility that it isn't so. I am leaving the possibility open because I don't want you all blinded by Sooner hate that Blake drove the program further into the ground (and then yes, took the recruiting records).

I am leaving it open for debate because the program had already been driven into the ground by Blake's predecessor. The program was already losing, the recruiting was already bad, the program was already not bowl-bound and the ticket sales were already down. However, the three that I mentioned did not have dire conditions on their hands upon arrival.

Now, because I'm asking all of you to let me debate through the benefit of the doubt, I am going to give you, SoonerAtKU (really, you should transfer to OU tomorrow - in-state tuition is by far cheaper than out-of-state to Kansas), the benefit of the doubt. Let's say it's all about the wins and the losses. Let's say that Coach A that coaches a team to a 10-3 record is greater than a coach that coaches to a 9-4 or a 8-5 record. You either win or you lose and if you don't win, you're not as good as the team that won.

Ladies and gentlemen... the only undefeated team left, BYU is the 1984 national champion!

...and Alabama really did win 12 football national championships for each of their undefeated seasons!

... oh, and the 2006 national champion was undoubtedly undefeated Boise State.

Finally, USC and Auburn must share 2004, because they are both undefeated. Who cares who they played, who cares how some of their players cheated, it's all about the win-loss record, people. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS ALL AROUND! :D

Just having fun, but hope you see my point ;)

[RacerX]

John Blake

Terrible coach and delusional jackass.

[tulsaoilerfan]

John Blake

Terrible coach and delusional jackass.

Well in all fairness he did improve his record every year he was here; even Bob can't say that. :D

[RacerX]

It was interesting how the records got better but the football didn't.

[TopDawg]

It's Roberts from Baylor.

You people don't even remember him, that's how bad he was.

[Jason White's Third Knee]

There was some off the field stuff their that got kept pretty tightly under wraps that contributed. Remember Frank's arrest in Ohio for being passed out in a vehicle going the wrong way on a one way.


Pretty sure he was vendicated of any wrong doing though. Besides, who hasn't passed out in a vehicle going the wrong way on a one way?

Didn't he go 9-3 the year he got fired? I get it... but I don't get it.

[poke4christ]

Pretty sure he was vendicated of any wrong doing though. Besides, who hasn't passed out in a vehicle going the wrong way on a one way?

Didn't he go 9-3 the year he got fired? I get it... but I don't get it.

The Nebraska AD really let things get personal and in the way of buisness. I'm conviced that's why Solich was fired. Also, Bo should have been the head coach at that time. Instead, they thought they could hire anyone because they were nebraska. Even UNC got turned down by Williams the first time around. Big names don't mean big hires. Luckily, Osbourne has gotten in there and I believe that the ship is being righted. I look for Nebraska to be back to the big time in 3 years or less. Of course, keep in mind that my dad graduated from NU and I grew up a nebraska fan. Now they are my #2.

[soonerfan28]

The Nebraska AD really let things get personal and in the way of buisness. I'm conviced that's why Solich was fired. Also, Bo should have been the head coach at that time. Instead, they thought they could hire anyone because they were nebraska. Even UNC got turned down by Williams the first time around. Big names don't mean big hires. Luckily, Osbourne has gotten in there and I believe that the ship is being righted. I look for Nebraska to be back to the big time in 3 years or less. Of course, keep in mind that my dad graduated from NU and I grew up a nebraska fan. Now they are my #2.

I can see them being back in the next couple of years. I really believe that they will give Mizzou all they can handle this year. It would not shock me if they win that game. I always like to see great programs make a comeback.

[poke4christ]

I can see them being back in the next couple of years. I really believe that they will give Mizzou all they can handle this year. It would not shock me if they win that game. I always like to see great programs make a comeback.

What I'd really like to see is for them to make a comeback and for the Big 12 to be reworked so OU and NU play every year. Probably won't happen though.

[Kray]

What I'd really like to see is for them to make a comeback and for the Big 12 to be reworked so OU and NU play every year. Probably won't happen though.

Could always schedule non-conference home & homes for the years when we don't play. I read somewhere that OSU and KSU discussed doing that to add a quality non-conference game to their schedules, and I love the idea of OU-Nebraska doing that even more.

[badger]

Some conferences allow for round robin schedules that have preferred opponents each year. This is why Wisconsin plays Minnesota every year, Ohio State meets Michigan every year and such.

As such, eventually Texas' whining will win out in the fact that the second-best team in the conference does not play in the conference championship game when the best team of the conference is in the same division. Thus, we can keep the championship game, but have a round robin, perhaps?

This will also allow for some lesser conference schools to establish better rivalries. Sure, OU will get choice rivalries with the likes of Texas, Nebraska and even the lowly pokelies, but Tech can have a new rivalry with OSU, plus Kansas State. Iowa State can duke it out with Baylor to see who is the team that more "on the rise" from the very bottom.

[royalfan5]

Pretty sure he was vendicated of any wrong doing though. Besides, who hasn't passed out in a vehicle going the wrong way on a one way?

Didn't he go 9-3 the year he got fired? I get it... but I don't get it.

If by vindicated you mean, plead guilty, and then later tried to claim he was drugged. Sure.

[Scott D]

you know you drugged him rf5....on pederson's payroll back then.

[royalfan5]

you know you drugged him rf5....on pederson's payroll back then.
Sorry, I am allergic to Ohio. Gives me the hives. That one was all Veritas's doing.

[NYC Poke]

badger, hard to disagree with your "more with less" analysis elevation of Snyder. However, he built the foundation for the faoundation for the program while it was Big 8. It's a little iffy because they really came into their own during Big XII time. This is not to take anything away from Snyder. I think he deserves a place in the Pantheon of Great College Coaches.

In fact, I think he laid the blueprint of how to bring a program from nowhere to prominence, since copied by Rutgers, USF, UCF, Fresno State (those helped by fertile grounds, to be sure), Boise State, Hawaii under June Jones, and others. Give some second chances to those overlooked and/or shunned by others, get some numerical wins over easier competition, and then hope for a big win or two against name competition to qualify you as legit.

Breaking that mould, I believe, would be Leach and Mangino. Leach installed his offense at OU, success. He plugs it in at TTU, success. Mangino didn't have the eye-popping numbers that the puncher's-chance offense got for Leach right away, but he achieved a BCS victory more quickly than Leach, and built bottom-up. His athletic department may have been better, but it had noticeably ignored football. They were a historical Homecoming school.

They both sought the same kind of recruits and made the most of those recruits. Now it's paying off for both of them with quality recruits.

For Big XII era, I think the "more with less" title is a toss-up between Leach and Mangino. I think Stoops deserves to be in that conversation before Pinkel, btw.

[KingBarry]

I we scored on our first 6 possessions. It was 38-0 at the half. Their only scores came in the last 5 minutes or so. We gained over 500 yards of offense against them. In Lincoln.

'Nuff said. It's Callahan.

:eek: Hard to argue with that statistic.

[KingBarry]

Ditto to everything you just said. I started watching college football in 1969 and have never seen a team that was as poorly coached than the three that JB put out there in the late 1990s. His schemes were some of the most ill-conceived that I have ever witnessed and it was an embarrassment to the university and our conference. He has to go down as one of the most incompetent head coaches EVAR! The day OU announced his hiring, it was difficult for me to get excited since I knew he was the source of several player issues with the Cowboys and they were excited to get rid of him. I never saw his hiring as the solution for returning OU to its glory years, but rationalized it in my mind by believing that he would be successful in upgrading the talent pool and lay some groundwork for the next head coach. It played out pretty much like I expected (except for the embarrassment he brought to the college football scene). :O

That's a really interesting viewpoint, and a good methodology for comparing the performance of different coaches at vastly different programs.

You say you never saw a team as poorly coached as John Blake's three. Let me attempt to correct you. I'll bet last year's North Texas team was as badly coached. I'll bet an Arkie State, or some small conf bottom feeder -- with a tiny budget, an over worked and outmatched coaching staff, and darn few resources -- could put such a badly organized team on the field year and year out.

But for a top-of-the-line blueblood college football program royale like Oklahoma (or Callahan's Nebraska) to do it, is over the edge extreme.

Maybe Blake is the worst ever. I think I'm still leaning toward Steele, though. Over his head at Baylor. Baylor!

[KingBarry]

Re - Gundy. He must be ranked in one of the low spots in the conference now (somewhere south of 9), but he doesn't belong on a list of the worst coaches in conference history. I'd go with the criteria of a coach who has done the least with the most. That's not Gundy. OSU is getting more, but when he took over they didn't have the facilities that are being built now. Lester won there, a little, but it's not as if he left Gundy a Cadillac. He left him a Chevy, and it's remained a Chevy, but it's not running as well as it was.

The list has to be topped with Blake and Callahan, with Fran not too far behind. If you come to OU, Texas A&M or Nebraska and cannot win, you cannot win anywhere. Those guys, in some order, are 1, 2, and 3. I guess the order doesn't really matter very much.

You could argue that Mack had a lot of mediocrity to go with the best resources in the conference, perhaps the country, but it's hard to really put him in any serious list of the worst in conference history. If not for OU, he'd probably have more than one NC. :)

Although Morriss may have been awful, Stoops would never win the South, much less a national title, at Baylor.

To turn the question around, who's the coach who has done the most with the least?

Miles? Pinkel? Mangino? Perhaps Leach?

Right now, Mangino gets the nod. But Leach has taken Tech to the 7-8 win plateau consistently, and if Mangino does not keep the "Hawks at an 8 win average consistently in coming seasons, Lach would edge him out. My 2 cents.

[KingBarry]

Could always schedule non-conference home & homes for the years when we don't play. I read somewhere that OSU and KSU discussed doing that to add a quality non-conference game to their schedules, and I love the idea of OU-Nebraska doing that even more.

KEY POINT IN THE ABOVE QUOTE: "OSU and KSU discussed doing that to add a quality non-conference game to their schedules...."

SO those two schools suck so bad that they each view each other as a "quality" opponent?

Really, OSU's little better than Tulsa, and while I like to play TU, no Sooner has ever claimed them to be a quality rival.

[KingBarry]

badger, hard to disagree with your "more with less" analysis elevation of Snyder. However, he built the foundation for the faoundation for the program while it was Big 8. It's a little iffy because they really came into their own during Big XII time. This is not to take anything away from Snyder. I think he deserves a place in the Pantheon of Great College Coaches.

In fact, I think he laid the blueprint of how to bring a program from nowhere to prominence, since copied by Rutgers, USF, UCF, Fresno State (those helped by fertile grounds, to be sure), Boise State, Hawaii under June Jones, and others. Give some second chances to those overlooked and/or shunned by others, get some numerical wins over easier competition, and then hope for a big win or two against name competition to qualify you as legit.

Breaking that mould, I believe, would be Leach and Mangino. Leach installed his offense at OU, success. He plugs it in at TTU, success. Mangino didn't have the eye-popping numbers that the puncher's-chance offense got for Leach right away, but he achieved a BCS victory more quickly than Leach, and built bottom-up. His athletic department may have been better, but it had noticeably ignored football. They were a historical Homecoming school.

They both sought the same kind of recruits and made the most of those recruits. Now it's paying off for both of them with quality recruits.

For Big XII era, I think the "more with less" title is a toss-up between Leach and Mangino. I think Stoops deserves to be in that conversation before Pinkel, btw.

A thought on Mangino. Does it occur to anybody else that the Sooner Offenses since Big Mark left have just lost a little crispness? A little sparkle?

I can't put my finger on it, and I'm not saying the O has performed badly, I always seemed to perceive a tight, disciplined style of play in the Mangino years, that I didn't see again until I started watching the '07 Jayhawks on TV.

I wished that was what I was still seeing from our guys, frankly.

[KingBarry]

sorry about all the consecutive posts. i'll try to refrain from simply replying to every interesting post in the thread in the future.

i'm so ashamed.

[badger]

quadruple bypass post alert! :mad::mad::mad:

;)

You know, you can quote more than one person in the same post... however, your post count is a little low, so I understand wanting to get the numbers up :D

[Salt City Sooner]

:eek: Hard to argue with that statistic.A couple of pretty good arguments (one for Blake, one for Fran) :

1. OU's 1996 home schedule:

Game 1 was a 20-7 loss to a TCU team that finished 4-7.

Game 2 was a 31-24 loss to Tulsa, who would also go on to finish 4-7. As a side note, TU was playing their BACKUP quarterback.

Game 3 was a 52-24 loss to KU, who would go on to finish with that same 4-7 record. This game featured a 100 yard kickoff return by KU, a 67 yard return of a blocked FG for a KU TD, & a 94 yard punt return for another KU score. OU lost by 4 TD's despite outgaining KU 538-368. OU also had 16 penalties.

Game 4: Does the score 73-21 ring a bell? The Huskers scored 38 points off Sooner turnovers, as well as hanging 56 on OU in the 2nd half.

Game 5: lost to Texas Tech 22-12.

There you have it. In the entire '96 season, OU did not win one single game in Norman, & only one of the games was lost by less than double digits.



#2. The Fran argument is a little bit more short & to the point, but still pretty convincing:

Dennis Francione lost a game on his home field, to a John Blake-led OU team, while having LaDanian Tomlinson in his backfield.

[MyT Oklahoma]

This was one of the funniest threads I ever read until I remembered that we all had to actually live through it (the Blake years). That did indeed suck!
_________________________________________
"This is the voice of The Sooner Football Network."

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

The Nebraska AD really let things get personal and in the way of buisness. I'm conviced that's why Solich was fired. Also, Bo should have been the head coach at that time. Instead, they thought they could hire anyone because they were nebraska. Even UNC got turned down by Williams the first time around. Big names don't mean big hires. Luckily, Osbourne has gotten in there and I believe that the ship is being righted. I look for Nebraska to be back to the big time in 3 years or less. Of course, keep in mind that my dad graduated from NU and I grew up a nebraska fan. Now they are my #2.I think Bo will have a rougher time turning it around than you think. The emergence of KU and Mizzou will make it harder for nebs than their fans hope.(IMHO)

[StoopTroup]

Blake the worst?

Not Close.

Howard teh Duck didn't get a chance to bury us as deep as he could have.