Time to clean house

[TheRealUW]

I was just listening to the Roaring repeater podcast. Cody Tucker does nothing but make excuses for Jay Sawvel. Injuries, Bohl leaving the cupboard bare due to NIL, and just plain old bad luck. Plus, the players love him!
With great attendance this year and a Wyoming press crew that has their lips firmly planted on Sawvel's behind, there is absolutely no pressure on the school to get rid of coach dumbfk. Nothing will be done until attendance plummets.

Do football ticket sales make up a substantial portion of the UW athletics budget? How does the amount they bring in through football ticket sales compare to CJC/NIL donations?

Personally, I would think the donors would have a lot to say in the matter, and we really don’t know what they have been telling Burman.

Maybe I am just living in dreamland and it is already set in stone that Sawvel will be back next year. All I know is that UW football will lose one pretty hardcore fan until Sawvel is out.

 

[johnywyo]

Maybe in the conspiracy theory comes the affirmation of CB as the greatest 20th century treasure to ever coach the B&G sidelines. The ineptitude of sf brains Sawvel brings back the memory of Craig running the clock down when there is still gas in the tank for another couple plays to maybe get another score. But no, those are now days deeply desired by us fans, of teams the legend had once commanded to yet another.500 season. Maybe a statue will be erected at the new West entrance one day to fondly remember Craig’s great prowess. We can still recall the days of a Potato or Arizona bowl and a marginal victory over a Toledo or Central Mich or even better Arkansas St. Days of past accomplishments Wyo nation delights.

Bottom Line : if Burman remains this is our legacy.

 

[Bear Claw]

I was just listening to the Roaring repeater podcast. Cody Tucker does nothing but make excuses for Jay Sawvel. Injuries, Bohl leaving the cupboard bare due to NIL, and just plain old bad luck. Plus, the players love him!
With great attendance this year and a Wyoming press crew that has their lips firmly planted on Sawvel's behind, there is absolutely no pressure on the school to get rid of coach dumbfk. Nothing will be done until attendance plummets.

I will not be attending any UW football games or donate money to the cause until Sawvel and Co. are relieved of their duties. I went to two games this season (Idaho and BYU) and saw enough to know coaching staff had no clue what they are doing.

 

[bladerunnr]

Maybe in the conspiracy theory comes the affirmation of CB as the greatest 20th century treasure to ever coach the B&G sidelines. The ineptitude of sf brains Sawvel brings back the memory of Craig running the clock down when there is still gas in the tank for another couple plays to maybe get another score. But no, those are now days deeply desired by us fans, of teams the legend had once commanded to yet another.500 season. Maybe a statue will be erected at the new West entrance one day to fondly remember Craig’s great prowess. We can still recall the days of a Potato or Arizona bowl and a marginal victory over a Toledo or Central Mich or even better Arkansas St. Days of past accomplishments Wyo nation delights.

Bottom Line : if Burman remains this is our legacy.

Perfectly stated. You'd think Craig Bohl was the second coming of Bob Devaney. In reality, he was a slightly above average coach who benefitted from a weak conference and a period of time when csewe was absolutely awful. Winning the border war and a potato bowl here and there was nice because there was hope it would materialize into something better. It never did. An offensive philosophy of not turning the ball over and shortening the game works against bad teams but very rarely against teams that can score.

 

[PorkerPoke]

Maybe in the conspiracy theory comes the affirmation of CB as the greatest 20th century treasure to ever coach the B&G sidelines. The ineptitude of sf brains Sawvel brings back the memory of Craig running the clock down when there is still gas in the tank for another couple plays to maybe get another score. But no, those are now days deeply desired by us fans, of teams the legend had once commanded to yet another.500 season. Maybe a statue will be erected at the new West entrance one day to fondly remember Craig’s great prowess. We can still recall the days of a Potato or Arizona bowl and a marginal victory over a Toledo or Central Mich or even better Arkansas St. Days of past accomplishments Wyo nation delights.

Bottom Line : if Burman remains this is our legacy.

Perfectly stated. You'd think Craig Bohl was the second coming of Bob Devaney. In reality, he was a slightly above average coach who benefitted from a weak conference and a period of time when csewe was absolutely awful. Winning the border war and a potato bowl here and there was nice because there was hope it would materialize into something better. It never did. An offensive philosophy of not turning the ball over and shortening the game works against bad teams but very rarely against teams that can score.

Truthful sarcasm. There have not been that many runs of success. For the biggest majority of the current Wyoming fan base you will have experienced one or both of the best streaks of success since the great years. Only the elderly population was around for the historic great years. I’ve broken down the years that each living generation has endured or enjoyed:

1949-1969 21 consecutive .500+ seasons
1970-1985 12 LOSING seasons out of 16
1986-1999 11 seasons .500+ out of 14
2000-2015 12 LOSING seasons out of 16
2016-2023 7 .500 or better (8)
2024 is a season as painful as any in the last 55 years

29 of the 55 seasons since the 21 year (1949-1969) run have been losers.

Of the 26 seasons at .500+ since 1970:

Bohl owns 7
Tiller owns 4
Roach owns 3
Dimel owns 3

The other 9 are owned by Christensen, Glenn, Erickson, Dye, Kincaid, Lewis and Akers.

So yes - anyone under 40 would feel Bohl was spectacular and worthy of a statue. It took Roach, Tiller and Dimel 13 seasons combined to get 10.

Wyoming fans over 40 have endured numerous painful seasons just like 2024.

 

[Bear Claw]

Those Roach/Tiller years were special.

 

[bladerunnr]

Roach and Tiller had to deal with BYU and Utah. Dimel got the benefit of a split conference. Bohl never had to play TCU, BYU, or Utah in conference. And, he never had to coach against Sonny Lubick. Frankly, the conference has never been weaker than it is right now.

 

[Bear Claw]

Roach and Tiller had to deal with BYU and Utah. Dimel got the benefit of a split conference. Bohl never had to play TCU, BYU, or Utah in conference. And, he never had to coach against Sonny Lubick. Frankly, the conference has never been weaker than it is right now.

Good points. Boise State has been the only dominant team in the MWC.

 

[ragtimejoe1]

Bohl was good to establish a culture and provide a footing.

A competent AD should have built on that for the next step. For me personally, all the good Bohl did is unraveled in the complete destruction of a program for the promotion he likely orchestrated.

 

[BackHarlowRoad]

Interesting. Wasn’t for money then. He could have made 5x more money at UW.

It's interesting how we all forget how we treated Vigen during his time here. We treated him like garbage, why would he ever want to come back?

 

[307bball]

Bohl was good to establish a culture and provide a footing.

A competent AD should have built on that for the next step. For me personally, all the good Bohl did is unraveled in the complete destruction of a program for the promotion he likely orchestrated.

Even if Bohl did everything he could to ensure his son would get a coordinator position (and why would he not)...The blame for this season lies with Burman in the big picture and with Sawvell in the short term.

If Bohl had warned Burman that his son was a terrible D coordinator and Burman had hired somebody else...he still tends to hire bad coaches.

Bohl is a good coach ... if a bit old school...but he's not some mastermind that orchestrated something untoward.

 

[ragtimejoe1]

Accepting of mediocrity. If you don't get it by now, you never will.

 

[307bball]

Accepting of mediocrity. If you don't get it by now, you never will.

The group in charge is incapable of excellence...If you remove whatever gland from Burman that "accepts mediocrity" he is still a bad AD. Two things can be true. Now...I don't think "accepting mediocrity" describes Burman at all. By all accounts he works very hard and does everything in his power to excel....the problem is that he has shown himself to be a bad judge of coaching ability. He seems limited by his abilities. Do you see some latent talent within him that is being held back because he is accepting the UW athletic outcomes during his career? I sure don't.

 

[ragtimejoe1]

The group in charge is incapable of excellence...If you remove whatever gland from Burman that "accepts mediocrity" he is still a bad AD. Two things can be true. Now...I don't think "accepting mediocrity" describes Burman at all. By all accounts he works very hard and does everything in his power to excel....the problem is that he has shown himself to be a bad judge of coaching ability. He seems limited by his abilities. Do you see some latent talent within him that is being held back because he is accepting the UW athletic outcomes during his career? I sure don't.

It's a culture not an individual. One symptom of the culture is allowing his limited abilities to run the show for nearly 2 decades. Another is allowing unilateral coaching selection decisions that on the surface appear influenced by nepotism. A culture that doesn't demand excellence by rejecting the incompetence we witnessed this season.

It goes on and on. The culture of accepting mediocrity is on full display. Like I said, if you don't get it by now, you never will.

 

[TheRealUW]

He hasn’t made a statement because the idea of firing a coach after his rookie season hasn’t even crossed his mind. Perhaps some assistants are gently nudged to go elsewhere but nothing big will happen. If it does, it’ll be more surprising than Wyoming coaches making QB changes when it’s obvious.

It appears your were correct.

Hell, the players even gave Sawvel a water bath after the Washington State win. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy the players were able to end the season on a win, but dousing the head coach in water and jumping around like maniacs after a 3-9 season and a 10th place finish in a mediocre MWC is a tad much.

For a long time, I've been mostly indifferent to Burman as AD at UW. Not anymore. I will be making my displeasure with Burman and Sawvel known to the UW higher ups. They both need to go.

 

[sandiegopoke]

Hell, the players even gave Sawvel a water bath after the Washington State win. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy the players were able to end the season on a win, but dousing the head coach in water and jumping around like maniacs after a 3-9 season and a 10th place finish in a mediocre MWC is a tad much.

Call me excitable, but any time a 2-9 team beats and 8-3 team, I think they deserve to celebrate.

 

[LanderPoke]

It's interesting how we all forget how we treated Vigen during his time here. We treated him like garbage, why would he ever want to come back?

 

[bladerunnr]

Call me excitable, but any time a 2-9 team beats and 8-3 team, I think they deserve to celebrate.

Meh. WSU lost it's last 3 games - to Oregon st., NM, and us. I feel they fell apart more than we excelled. Just keep in mind we scored 1 td per game our last 3 games. That's pretty pathetic stuff.

 

[307bball]

It's a culture not an individual. One symptom of the culture is allowing his limited abilities to run the show for nearly 2 decades. Another is allowing unilateral coaching selection decisions that on the surface appear influenced by nepotism. A culture that doesn't demand excellence by rejecting the incompetence we witnessed this season.

It goes on and on. The culture of accepting mediocrity is on full display. Like I said, if you don't get it by now, you never will.

Burman's job is safe because a small group of people don't know what to do...that's not a culture. Who makes the call on Burman? some culture? or is it the UW president and BOT?

The "accepting mediocrity" canard is so nebulous it's completely unhelpful as a criticism. At it's best, it's an incredibly low resolution explanation of why they are bad but says nothing about the actual failings. In the case of Tom Burman, the reasons that he has been allowed to remain in charge of a declining athletic department are complex and varied beyond just saying the parties involved "accept mediocrity". You seem to be contending that the reason he is still employed is a that there is a culture that you describe that he is benefitting from. How can this possibly satisfy you? Can't you see that these people don't have better ideas or plans? They don't have the horsepower. If they just start acting differently tomorrow it's for sure going to go poorly. Not because they "accept mediocrity"...but because they are not fit for purpose.

If house gets cleaned tomorrow and everybody is replaced with people who, by your metric, don't "accept mediocrity but are not materially any better at their jobs...nothing will change.

 

[ragtimejoe1]

Burman's job is safe because a small group of people don't know what to do...that's not a culture. Who makes the call on Burman? some culture? or is it the UW president and BOT?

The "accepting mediocrity" canard is so nebulous it's completely unhelpful as a criticism. At it's best, it's an incredibly low resolution explanation of why they are bad but says nothing about the actual failings. In the case of Tom Burman, the reasons that he has been allowed to remain in charge of a declining athletic department are complex and varied beyond just saying the parties involved "accept mediocrity". You seem to be contending that the reason he is still employed is a that there is a culture that you describe that he is benefitting from. How can this possibly satisfy you? Can't you see that these people don't have better ideas or plans? They don't have the horsepower. If they just start acting differently tomorrow it's for sure going to go poorly. Not because they "accept mediocrity"...but because they are not fit for purpose.

If house gets cleaned tomorrow and everybody is replaced with people who, by your metric, don't "accept mediocrity but are not materially any better at their jobs...nothing will change.

Have you ever run or managed a business. Cultures are real and exist. When a particular culture exists, new hires typically regress or improve based on that culture.

It's not a cheap excuse. Sometimes something gets so ingrained in a system, it becomes constant. You can start at the fan/alumni level. Maybe we don't demand enough or donate enough as a whole. Then go to the athletic department. Maybe an excuse is more convenient than a mirror. Then the university level. Maybe the excuse is more convenient than another worry. Then the legislative level. Maybe focusing on other boogeyman is more important especially when constituents aren't complaining (back to fans and alumni).

If there was a culture of excellence Burman would have been reassigned a while ago. Bohl's seat might have been warm some years rather than saying the mediocre years were better than we had before so don't complain. PBJ likely wouldn't have been hired and most certainly been fired. The culture allows this...from fans to legislators.