Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
A little bit, but only in the sense that I thought it was premature. And when it looked like we were hiring Skip Holz I was friggen livid.
But I do think he was the wrong coach stylistically. Both in terms of his approach to roster construction and his handling of media/fans/recruits. I think Odom has no real ceiling to speak of whereas Drink has some fundamental strengths that can REALLY make him a heck of an asset.
In the end, the HC will always make a difference in gathering resources. That's the public face of your program - you can't expect him to be a glowering old gym rat and get the boosters enthusiastic. Even Saban is actually charismatic as hell.
We moved to the SEC and got more resources than we would've in the B12, yes. But everything is relative - the guys we're competing against are getting that same amount. Now how do we get beyond that? Well, that's a slow burn and it's one I think Drink is making substantial strides in.
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It's weird in that I think you can view Odom and Cuonzo to be the same kind of hire.
Odom was hired because I don't think boosters really wanted to spend $ to hire a coach and the messy situation he inherited. Ultimately, I think he reached his ceiling at Mizzou. I do think he should have been given 1 more season to show what we could do with his own guys in a full 4 years of recruiting, but the result would've likely been the same.
Cuonzo inherited an absolute dumpster fire from Anderson. He probably had a bit more upside than Odom, but largely brought in due to his STL recruiting ties and showing some possibility at being a second-weekend team. He never reached that ceiling and never really delivered on his recruiting ability aside from year 1 (which I'd argue was probably his best year coaching-wise).
Drink has potential to be more than Odom and is showing adjustments and changes, but he has to eventually deliver wins.
Dennis Gates is going to be a fantastic hire long-term due to his recruiting abilities and what he did year 1 was nothing short of phenomenal.