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Sawvel - Further Thoughts

307bball said:
"belief" has no valance here. I see no evidence...and apparently neither do you. This is all in the realm of opinion without some evidence. You have a strong opinion informed by some correlated coincidences. I'll even go so far as to say you have been articulate and interesting in putting forth that opinion. I neither believe or disbelieve you. My interest has been in whether or not Sawvell is a good coach. In the many threads you have entered into that were about hopes and predictions for the Sawvell era, you have put forth some version of your opinion on the (supposed) nepotistic way he got his job. Beyond pointing out that we will likely never know if the way you describe it going down actually happened, I have pointed out that it won't matter at all in the face of the team's actual performance this season. The hire (and Burman I suppose) will be evaluated on wins/losses, post-season success (or lack thereof), and conference championship contention.
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We don't have the investigative journalistic juice to ever know the truth besides the version of the truth that comes from Burman.

In that sense, you're correct. Much like a bank robber is innocent if the only recollection of events is that of the bank robber's.

You are also correct that, because of the above, all that matters is wins and losses. At this point, I'm not anti PBJ because that's anti WYO.
 
OrediggerPoke said:
The question is how do we get out of this mess. Sawvel has multiple years of guaranteed salary and with a buyout that exceeded Bohl’s.

We already know what the Vic Koenning type hire can do to a program and fan support. To me and given where we are at in conference and team movement - we can’t afford to keep this staff more than this year. The other option is to fold the program.

The legislature is not going to solve this problem. The entire University is about to see cuts like it has never seen before.

Maury Brown and the McMurrays are no longer around to solve the problem. They will be forever remembered and thanked.

So where does the money come from? My idea - shut off the 1wyo NIL nonsense. The best players in the world aren’t saving the team with an incompetent staff. We will need to see a real money drive not to pay players but to pay for a new staff to restore what Bohl spent a decade building.
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Best case scenario is that the ASU game was a massive outlier and we get the ship turned around and get 8-9 wins this season. Likely? Not at all, but it’s still a possibility and the outcome I would be most pleased with.

2nd best case scenario would be an absolute abomination of a season. Somewhere between 0 and 2 wins. I am not sure how Sawvel would be able to justify that. Even in that case, he probably keeps his job for at least another year but if there was ever a scenario where we fire a coach after one year, surely that would be it.

Worst case scenario would be 4-5 wins. It’s below expectations, but would almost certainly guarantee Sawvel another year. The entire staff would probably stay unchanged. He could blame it on being a first year coach, injuries, bad luck, tough schedule, blah blah blah.
 
ragtimejoe1 said:
We don't have the investigative journalistic juice to ever know the truth besides the version of the truth that comes from Burman.

In that sense, you're correct. Much like a bank robber is innocent if the only recollection of events is that of the bank robber's.

You are also correct that, because of the above, all that matters is wins and losses. At this point, I'm not anti PBJ because that's anti WY
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Not like a bank robbery at all...in the case of a bank robbery, nobody is confused on whether a crime has actually been committed.

But, yes, if some enterprising investigative reporter wants to blow the lid off of PBJ-gate at the University of Wyoming...great.

You and I have different ways of getting there, but we both have expressed cautious (and at times in-cautious) pessimism about the post Bohl era. If Sawvell can deliver wins and elevate the program, then our comments predicting a regression in the program will look a bit like chicken little worrying about the sky falling. If the program does get worse (Saturday's game was a really bad omen), I hope it is your explanation that is the actual reason for the downfall because if I'm right ... That would mean that there really is nothing that Wyoming athletics can do that won't end up with UW athletics relegated to a low tier of competition that is outside of national relevance.

**edit** it's entirely possible (probable?) that neither of us are correct ...I just really hope I'm wrong.
 
ragtimejoe1 said:
Lol, you guys believe whatever you want. Maybe I'm on an island on this one, but, I find it very unlikely that coincidences like this happen.

Either way, PBJ is in the driver seat and I hope like hell he can get the train on the track.
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I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re right but most likely outcome is that Sawvel chose him because he’s worked with him and has a good personal relationship. We run into same issues when promoting and having to choose between two equal candidates. At the end of the day, sometimes it’s just “I like him more”
 
Either way, you are both right that I'll likely never be able to "prove" my theory as to why PBJ was put in place. We're here now so gotta ride the horse you got.

We'll find out what kind of coach he is over the next few weeks. Generally speaking the biggest team improvements happen in the first 3 to 4 games. Hopefully we at least see 3 things next game: few penalties, fill gaps against run game, and better execution of run blocking. I'm not sure the passing game is going to be an easy fix but those 3 things should be.

The university admin needs to be carefully watching including keeoing an eye out for new ADs. If this continues to go south by mid-October, it'll be time to consider a promotion of Burman to another University function and begin the search for his replacement.
 
McPeachy said:
This may come back and bite me in the ass, but I really like him as our HC at WYO. He is exactly what we needed (a players coach) after following 'ol Bohly.
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I have teeth marks. If we play the same way against Idaho this Saturday, I will be bleeding. If we continue for 3 weeks in a row, and lose to a shitty BwhyU team, my ass will be gone. From the stands.
 
Itsux2beaewe said:
As disappointed as I was Saturday the threat against Sawvel is total BS. I really wish law enforcement would arrest folks that do this. Totally uncalled for and needs to stop.
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What exactly was the threat? In the presser, I think he said he got an email saying "I should be shot"?

Obviously, that is overboard and is unacceptable. Our society has come to let a lot of socially unacceptable behavior slide for the past 4-5 years. There are so many things that people would have gotten their ass beat for just a decade ago, that are now just going without even so much as a confrontation. So assholes get the message that their asshole ways must not be too bad since nobody is confronting them or telling them differently.
 
ragtimejoe1 said:
Should be shot isn't exactly a threat. Inappropriate to be sure but doesn't cross the threat threshold, imo.

I'm surprised he even brought it up.
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Those were my thoughts as well. Definitely isn't a direct threat regardless of it being a very distasteful thing to say.

I also noticed that his direct email is no longer listed on the Wyoming Athletics website, but all of the other coaches emails are still there. It looks like if you want to email Sawvel, you have to send it to an assistant who screens the emails first. Hopefully, the assistant is forwarding appropriate emails onto Sawvel and he is actually reading them.

I always appreciated the fact that UW listed direct email information for their coaches on the website. These are highly compensated state employees that the residents of Wyoming should be able to contact easily. Of course, this is becoming less common as the system gets abused more and more.
 
It's odd that 2 of the better fcs programs are coached by former WYO coordinators.
Almost like maybe we should have done something different there.
Timing? Maybe they were offense so that wouldn't work.
 
ragtimejoe1 said:
It's odd that 2 of the better fcs programs are coached by former WYO coordinators.
Almost like maybe we should have done something different there.
Timing? Maybe they were offense so that wouldn't work.
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My guess is that Craig Bohl and his approach of fundamentals and discipline is well suited to winning at the game of football. This extends to his "coaching tree". The problem is, while it is a good way to win on the gridiron, it doesn't really factor in on the PR side of being successful in the higher levels of college football. There was a "type" of player that came to Wyoming to play for Craig Bohl and his coaches...they worked hard and did not have a problem being "coached up". Outside of those players, Bohl and his staffs did not have broad appeal with recruits. Not only that, but the Bohl style of coach is not really a media darling...even in the cozy Wyoming media market he was never all that endearing to fans. I think it is not a surprise that Bohl and his coordinators that left for FCS positions have been very successful at that level. The FCS is much less affected by the $$ and what recruits perception of the programs is. Look at Wyoming's game vs Texas last year. Great game plan, played very disciplined...probably Bohl out-coached Sark...but Sark had far, far, far more talent. that does not happen at the FCS.
 
Interesting. Maybe, and we still need to see how this season goes. I'm still with 1 game does not make a season.

However, I think the clues point to something a bit more nefarious. It could be argued that Polasek would be much more a continuity hire than PBJ.
 
Subcanis said:
I’m not. While the email is completely disgusting, the only reason to bring that up anywhere but to law enforcement is to garner some sympathy and deflect some of the much deserved heat he’s facing. He’s seeking pity.
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Possibly... or by bringing it up he's publicly stating "this is not ok".

Like with a child or an animal, ignoring inappropriate behavior allows the behavior to continue.
 
ragtimejoe1 said:
Interesting. Maybe, and we still need to see how this season goes. I'm still with 1 game does not make a season.

However, I think the clues point to something a bit more nefarious. It could be argued that Polasek would be much more a continuity hire than PBJ.
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Yeah..I was mostly commenting about how raw x's and O's ability to coach football goes a lot farther at the FCS level.
 
WestWYOPoke said:
Possibly... or by bringing it up he's publicly stating "this is not ok".

Like with a child or an animal, ignoring inappropriate behavior allows the behavior to continue.
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Give me a break. No one, not even the idiot who sent the email, thinks that behavior is acceptable. And this is the probably the result of online gambling. Never underestimate the anger of someone who lost a bet.
 
McPeachy said:
I have teeth marks. If we play the same way against Idaho this Saturday, I will be bleeding. If we continue for 3 weeks in a row, and lose to a shitty BwhyU team, my ass will be gone. From the stands.
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I am bleeding. Can't get it to stop. All comes down to this next Saturday...
 
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