...here's how a "chat" on Monday morning would go-
"Dave, I don't want to dance around the elephant in the room, but I want to start out by saying, when our starting QB is in there, we're quite dangerous as an offensive threat, and credit for finding that talent and putting it on the field belongs with you. There's no disputing that. Greg's done a great job of putting together a good playbook befitting your vision and system. Special teams too, something I know you take great pride in, seem to have come on strong so far this season. Two bowl games in three years is absolutely nothing to sneeze at, considering you've seen two starting QB's with no more than three years under their belts combined! I'd be dishonest if I said that, at the end of last season, you weren't meeting or exceeding, not just my, but tens of thousands of expectations, in where our team was at. It's that simple- we'll come back to that part about expectations and over-achieving.
"That being said, I know I speak for a hell of a lot of people when I say that Wyoming's students, alumni, and fans, the city of Laramie, and the state of Wyoming expect to get an entire team, not just a great quarterback, a good o-line, and some solid receivers. We are paying you to be the Head Coach for a complete football team. To be fair to those talents we have on offense, we need to see a serious run threat, someone other than our quarterback, to really open this offense up and make us a truly dangerous team, worthy of our FBS status, if not worthy of our BCS competition. If there's something you don't have, that I can help provide, to develop that aspect, to find that talent, my door's always open, my phone's always on me. I will do everything I can- if you need someone to take a Friday and fly to Podunk County in American Samoa to look at a prospect, and all I've got is golf with the Governor, I will apologize to the Governor later from a Samoan high school stadium. I can't express our commitment to the vision of Wyoming fans enough. Whatever you need from me.
"Here's what I need from you- I need to know if you are honestly confident in your ability to put together a defense capable of playing football at the FBS level. I need to know because for three seasons, I've seen defense under you play not to lose. I've watched them pull wins out of their collective ass right up until yesterday when I saw a defense incapable of playing at the FCS level . If what we saw on Saturday is what we can look forward to in the future of this program, I'd like to know that we can compete at least at the FCS level so if I have to make the announcement that we are re-joining the Big Sky Conference next season as the FCS program with the highest paid coach and largest capacity stadium in the division I'll know that we might be able to compete with North Dakota State and Eastern Washington, because the good folks of Wyoming will not tolerate termination of their football program. Of course, that part about being the highest paid head coach might not last too long, as our football revenues would probably drop to a fraction of what they are, and the Cowboy Joe Club will be able to hold meetings of the full membership at Bud's Bar, but I'd rather not have to face all that while updating my own resume and contacting executive recruiters. So, I'd much rather know your honest feelings on your ability in fielding an FBS defense that can compete with the conference, if not anyone we schedule. Whatever your answer- I have full faith in your self-assessment, and you will have my full, unswerving support as we look forward to seeing what you can do with defensive production.
"That's really the extent of the elephant in the room, Dave. But, there's one more thing I need to get off of my chest, and in all fairness, you need to be aware of going forward- I will be joining you in the locker room at halftime. I want those players and your staff to see me there, and to all know this team is more than a roster and a sport staff. I'm going to ask some old familiar faces to join us, too- Paul Roach, Joe Tiller, Randy Welniak, Jay Novacek... I want them all to see the faces of tradition and the possible- living evidence of what this program can accomplish. I don't want this to come as a surprise, and we'll only speak to the players at your behest. The confidentiality of the locker room door will still carry all the sacro-sanctity of the confessional seal. I want to look these boys in the eyes and let them see my passion and belief in what they're capable of, as well as my faith in you as their leader and coach. If this is going to be a problem for you, I'll need to know so we can begin to make some other coaching arrangements as this plan is non-negotiable and effective next Saturday. I'm not the type of guy who just surprises someone with the level of responsibility your job brings, but I have to exercise a certain amount of executive privilege here, and I want to make sure these guys understand the commitment they've made to us, we to them, and the level of excellence that commitment demands.
"I think that's about it, Dave. I don't want this to be some sort of long, drawn-out rant or half-assed "Kumbaya" session- I just want you to know the lay of the land so you can be sure and confident of where you are on the map. I don't want you to be confused or uncertain- you have much bigger things to deal with.
"As far as that question- no need to answer right now, or this afternoon, or even tomorrow morning- just let me know before Saturday what your thoughts are on getting the defense to the level we require. Take your time, talk to whomever you need to, and know that, whatever your answer, I'm behind you one hundred and ten percent in whatever it's going to take to get that defensive production needle moving in the direction we need. As I said before, in so many ways you've exceeded a lot of expectations, but it's often the case that shortcomings are masked by early over-achievement. This door is always open, hell, my front door at the house is always open, I really shouldn't have to tell you that. My phone's always on and always on me, and, you still have my faith in your word as to your confidence and ability, no matter what. Thanks for taking the time to sit down with me, let me know if there's anything at all I can do or any questions I can answer."
"Dave, I don't want to dance around the elephant in the room, but I want to start out by saying, when our starting QB is in there, we're quite dangerous as an offensive threat, and credit for finding that talent and putting it on the field belongs with you. There's no disputing that. Greg's done a great job of putting together a good playbook befitting your vision and system. Special teams too, something I know you take great pride in, seem to have come on strong so far this season. Two bowl games in three years is absolutely nothing to sneeze at, considering you've seen two starting QB's with no more than three years under their belts combined! I'd be dishonest if I said that, at the end of last season, you weren't meeting or exceeding, not just my, but tens of thousands of expectations, in where our team was at. It's that simple- we'll come back to that part about expectations and over-achieving.
"That being said, I know I speak for a hell of a lot of people when I say that Wyoming's students, alumni, and fans, the city of Laramie, and the state of Wyoming expect to get an entire team, not just a great quarterback, a good o-line, and some solid receivers. We are paying you to be the Head Coach for a complete football team. To be fair to those talents we have on offense, we need to see a serious run threat, someone other than our quarterback, to really open this offense up and make us a truly dangerous team, worthy of our FBS status, if not worthy of our BCS competition. If there's something you don't have, that I can help provide, to develop that aspect, to find that talent, my door's always open, my phone's always on me. I will do everything I can- if you need someone to take a Friday and fly to Podunk County in American Samoa to look at a prospect, and all I've got is golf with the Governor, I will apologize to the Governor later from a Samoan high school stadium. I can't express our commitment to the vision of Wyoming fans enough. Whatever you need from me.
"Here's what I need from you- I need to know if you are honestly confident in your ability to put together a defense capable of playing football at the FBS level. I need to know because for three seasons, I've seen defense under you play not to lose. I've watched them pull wins out of their collective ass right up until yesterday when I saw a defense incapable of playing at the FCS level . If what we saw on Saturday is what we can look forward to in the future of this program, I'd like to know that we can compete at least at the FCS level so if I have to make the announcement that we are re-joining the Big Sky Conference next season as the FCS program with the highest paid coach and largest capacity stadium in the division I'll know that we might be able to compete with North Dakota State and Eastern Washington, because the good folks of Wyoming will not tolerate termination of their football program. Of course, that part about being the highest paid head coach might not last too long, as our football revenues would probably drop to a fraction of what they are, and the Cowboy Joe Club will be able to hold meetings of the full membership at Bud's Bar, but I'd rather not have to face all that while updating my own resume and contacting executive recruiters. So, I'd much rather know your honest feelings on your ability in fielding an FBS defense that can compete with the conference, if not anyone we schedule. Whatever your answer- I have full faith in your self-assessment, and you will have my full, unswerving support as we look forward to seeing what you can do with defensive production.
"That's really the extent of the elephant in the room, Dave. But, there's one more thing I need to get off of my chest, and in all fairness, you need to be aware of going forward- I will be joining you in the locker room at halftime. I want those players and your staff to see me there, and to all know this team is more than a roster and a sport staff. I'm going to ask some old familiar faces to join us, too- Paul Roach, Joe Tiller, Randy Welniak, Jay Novacek... I want them all to see the faces of tradition and the possible- living evidence of what this program can accomplish. I don't want this to come as a surprise, and we'll only speak to the players at your behest. The confidentiality of the locker room door will still carry all the sacro-sanctity of the confessional seal. I want to look these boys in the eyes and let them see my passion and belief in what they're capable of, as well as my faith in you as their leader and coach. If this is going to be a problem for you, I'll need to know so we can begin to make some other coaching arrangements as this plan is non-negotiable and effective next Saturday. I'm not the type of guy who just surprises someone with the level of responsibility your job brings, but I have to exercise a certain amount of executive privilege here, and I want to make sure these guys understand the commitment they've made to us, we to them, and the level of excellence that commitment demands.
"I think that's about it, Dave. I don't want this to be some sort of long, drawn-out rant or half-assed "Kumbaya" session- I just want you to know the lay of the land so you can be sure and confident of where you are on the map. I don't want you to be confused or uncertain- you have much bigger things to deal with.
"As far as that question- no need to answer right now, or this afternoon, or even tomorrow morning- just let me know before Saturday what your thoughts are on getting the defense to the level we require. Take your time, talk to whomever you need to, and know that, whatever your answer, I'm behind you one hundred and ten percent in whatever it's going to take to get that defensive production needle moving in the direction we need. As I said before, in so many ways you've exceeded a lot of expectations, but it's often the case that shortcomings are masked by early over-achievement. This door is always open, hell, my front door at the house is always open, I really shouldn't have to tell you that. My phone's always on and always on me, and, you still have my faith in your word as to your confidence and ability, no matter what. Thanks for taking the time to sit down with me, let me know if there's anything at all I can do or any questions I can answer."
