FIRE BROCK SPACK

[CaliRdBrd]

Coach Spack's best window for a move to FBS was probably after the National Championship appearance. I don't see any Power 5 school looking to hire him now. I don't think it matters anyway, I don't think he wants to leave ISU. He has been in that job a long time and I think he is happy as the Redbird's Head Coach.

Why would he leave, there is very little pressure to win.
You just have to be 6-5 and all the fans will tell how great 6-5 is ‘cause we play in the mighty Valley.

 

[CaliRdBrd]

This makes a lot of sense. Spack was against playing in spring 2021 and was apparently talked into it. We were not only at a disadvantage compared to most MVFC teams given facilities. But it just didn't make a lot of sense given we would have to bounce right back for fall season.

But then in our opener against MoST, the frickin league gave Petrino a pass on playing. It made no sense that the league gave in to Petrino. Their weather had been much better than ours. They even had access to a real indoor facility with a football surface to prepare for season - we did not have that and our weather was notably worse. Now picture Spack thinking, I let you talk me into agreeing to play, and you let Petrino out of playing that opener ??

We were already hurt by pandemic P5 transfers plus graduation more than most, with no real indoor facility to prepare properly. Then some injuries started piling up. And Spack is thinking I didn't even want to play this spring, and you let Petrino off the hook in our opener .. they should have been better prepared for the opener than us. I'm guessing MoST had some injuries or wasn't ready .. and Patty V let him off the hook. And now Spack is thinking were not only losing games, but Im hurting my program's chances for the real season comin in Fall 2021 with more injuries.

So Spack looked bad for canceling the spring season. Though I couldn't really blame him for canceling the asterisk spring season.

But youre right ... that the entire thing hurt our program more than most. I said before, I give Spack a mulligan for the entire 2021 (spring and fall) ... that was all just a perfect storm hit to our program.

No offense, but this is a loser mentality.

 

[fourthandshort]

No offense, but this is a loser mentality.

If you say so.

But always love when some leads with, no offense but .. then proceeds to offend.

FYI, Im all good with my views on this topic.

 

[MadBird]

I apologize for posting my "news" on this thread, waking it up from its slumber, altho a new thread I'm pretty sure would have turned into the same old blah, blah, blah too.

 

[topiarydan]

Spack in my opinion is a great coach. He put us back on map and we've just gotten some great local high school commits. We'll be back in playoffs next year

 

[CaliRdBrd]

Spack in my opinion is a great coach. He put us back on map and we've just gotten some great local high school commits. We'll be back in playoffs next year

Hmm. I may take that bet.

 

[TBS_20]

again, a runner up in the second division in 2015 does not make up for the past 7 years of mediocrity.

 

[Virginia Redbird]

Why would he leave, there is very little pressure to win.
You just have to be 6-5 and all the fans will tell how great 6-5 is ‘cause we play in the mighty Valley.

With a new AD, I don't know how much if any, pressure there is on Spack. I don't see many people saying 6-5 is great. I think based on what he has done and the comments he has made that Spack is very happy in Normal. If he was the type of coach always looking for the next step up he would have been long gone by now. There are good and bad to that attitude. We will find out probably next year if the same results happen. Navy just dumped their longtime coach after another losing season and loss to Army. He had been winning for a long time but had one winning season in the last five. I think they gave him time to correct things and eventually made the change when wins did not come. How much time do you give? That is up to the AD.

 

[fourthandshort]

Why would he leave, there is very little pressure to win.
You just have to be 6-5 and all the fans will tell how great 6-5 is ‘cause we play in the mighty Valley.

Maybe we should move to the OVC or Patriot conferences, so we can win 8+ games every year. Then get destroyed in the playoffs because we don't have a clue what it's like to play against 4 or 5 playoff level teams year in and year out, 2 or 3 of which will usually be top 8 or 4.

p.s. literally no one has said how "great" 6-5 is .. no one. So you made that up.

 

[CaliRdBrd]

Maybe we should move to the OVC or Patriot conferences, so we can win 8+ games every year. Then get destroyed in the playoffs because we don't have a clue what it's like to play against 4 or 5 playoff level teams year in and year out, 2 or 3 of which will usually be top 8 or 4.

p.s. literally no one has said how "great" 6-5 is .. no one. So you made that up.

Not saying move to another conference, just saying that 6-5 shouldn’t be considered a success just because we play in the Valley (and yea, some do say that).

 

[CaliRdBrd]

With a new AD, I don't know how much if any, pressure there is on Spack. I don't see many people saying 6-5 is great. I think based on what he has done and the comments he has made that Spack is very happy in Normal. If he was the type of coach always looking for the next step up he would have been long gone by now. There are good and bad to that attitude. We will find out probably next year if the same results happen. Navy just dumped their longtime coach after another losing season and loss to Army. He had been winning for a long time but had one winning season in the last five. I think they gave him time to correct things and eventually made the change when wins did not come. How much time do you give? That is up to the AD.

That’s a great question. I think Spack is under contract until 202(?) so I doubt anything happens before then. That said, a little pressure on him to step it up a notch wouldn’t be a bad thing.

 

[fourthandshort]

Not saying move to another conference, just saying that 6-5 shouldn’t be considered a success just because we play in the Valley (and yea, some do say that).

I think what you are hearing are not so much opinions about 6-5 being "great" or acceptable results .. but much more so about 7-4 level teams, and then once in a while about 6-5 teams. So youre partly creating a strawman argument.

This year several of us said 7-4 YSU should have gotten a bid. And while I also said, 6-5 UNI was better than several 8-3 (several Colonial) and 7-4 (EKU) at large bids. I also said, I partly get why 6-5 is a hard bid to support, especially in whatlooked like a down year for MVFC. But I also said, 2019 looked like a down year for MVFC ... until we got into playoffs and dominated as a conference.

Back to 2022, I was sure we deserved a 4th bid BEFORE playoffs started. And I also pointed out there is no way Colonial deserved 5 bids. Then we saw the Colonial and EKU sh-t the bed, and I did say .. well, 6-5 UNI would have done better than most of those 8-3 and 7-4 teams. Most got blown out by good teams. EKU got beat by a bad autobid, Gardner Webb, who got smoked by a Colonial team (W&M), who then got smoked 48 by a real playoff team.

All that said, even the FCS selection committee has occasionally acknowledge the superiority of the MVFC by giving at large bids to 6-5 Valley teams ... and they've done reasonably well usually .. beating or nearly beating 9-2 level teams from lesser conferences ... which is the main point I have been making for years.

So when some here disparage posters who argue 7-4 Valley teams deserve playoff bids most of the time, the naysayers are selectfully choosing to ignore facts. There is strong historical basis for most 7-4 MVFC teams getting bids and our collective playoff record strongly makes this case. And same for the three times we got 6-5 teams. There's no arguing those facts and that no other conference comes close, except Big Sky the last 3-4 years.

So if your going to argue your points, let's not build strawman arguments about 6-5 teams, and then ignorie supporting facts .. the MVFC's 7-4 and 6-5 playoff teams have faired well in playoffs and way outperformed the other top conferences over the last decade. And let's not act lke SOS isn't relevant to this argument .. of course it is completely relevant in picking playoff teams and assessing whether 7-4 in MVFC is as good or better than 8-3 and sometimes 9-2 in lesser conferences .. our playoff record over 10+ years proves this to be true a lot of the time.

 

[Virginia Redbird]

That’s a great question. I think Spack is under contract until 202(?) so I doubt anything happens before then. That said, a little pressure on him to step it up a notch wouldn’t be a bad thing.

I commented earlier in this thread that I do not expect Spack to be let go now since I don't expect ISU to eat his contract. Just simply business and money. Maybe that changes as he gets closer to the end of his contract if more mediocre seasons keep coming.

I have seen some efforts that to me give some optimism. The all black uniforms did not translate to wins on the field but I liked the effort to drum up some interest in ISU sports, including the football team. I never thought I would see alternate uniforms/helmets for an ISU team and then came the red helmets (REDbird Helmet Project). The long awaited and needed indoor practice facility is being constructed as we hold this discussion. All these are good recruiting tools as well.

There have been a lot of excuses over the past few years. No support from the athletic department, no effective marketing of ISU sports, no indoor facility putting the football program at a disadvantage with other MVFC programs. It seems to me the new AD is working on these concerns and the excuses will begin to fade.. Someone posted they thought Coach Spack's contract was through 2025. I don't know for certain myself. As more investment is made I would think more productivity by the program would be expected. I think the former AD was settled in and very complacent. Status quo and that was good enough. The current AD seems to me to be more energetic and is trying to instill that energy into the athletic department. I would think the comment would be I have given you the tools you said you needed, I need to see results.

 

[RedbirdFanatic32]

I feel like if he continues to go 6-5 and missing the playoffs, they might just not renew his contract. I think its a dignified way to let him go, if that ends up happening. He was hired my freshman year and will always be the coach to me, but I know that's not good enough. I think its indisputable that he's a good coach. Even without 2015, didn't he get to the quarterfinals twice after that? So I'm holding onto the hope that he'll do it again and more consistently, but I get that there is plenty of reason to doubt that that'll happen.

 

[fourthandshort]

Not saying move to another conference, just saying that 6-5 shouldn’t be considered a success just because we play in the Valley (and yea, some do say that).

your building that strawman argument. Just because I (and some others, including the selection committee) say 6-5 is sometimes deserving of a playoff bid in the MVFC, doesn't mean I or others are happy with or thinkin 6-5 this year was great or even good enough.

I don't know anyone who said they are happy with 6-5 this season. Nor was I happy with 2016 season when we went 6-5, though I did believe we deserved a playoff bid in 2016, but not in 2022.

So again .. you are building strawman arguments. No one here is happy with 6-5 this season .. at all.

 

[cubird]

U of I DC to Purdue HC...

 

[MadBird]

U of I DC to Purdue HC...

And FWIW, he wasn't on the list of 10 in the article I posted above, altho I've seen Chandler listed here and there as one of the "next best candidates" for HC jobs. And PU swings from offensive oriented HC to defensive oriented HC.

 

[Redbird]

The measuring stick is making the playoffs. Every year we don't is bad. We have made the playoffs 1 time in the last six seasons. Forget about 6-5/7-4. You people are all arguing the wrong things. This program is stuck..stagnant. Things need to change and I will continue to ring that bell until they do. I don't want to hear about 2019 or how COVID set us back. Every single program in MVFC/FCS had to deal with COVID. Develop a QB, don't run a conservative offense (especially when we get a lead) and maybe we can make the playoffs again.

 

[fourthandshort]

The measuring stick is making the playoffs. Every year we don't is bad. We have made the playoffs 1 time in the last six seasons. Forget about 6-5/7-4. You people are all arguing the wrong things. This program is stuck..stagnant. Things need to change and I will continue to ring that bell until they do. I don't want to hear about 2019 or how COVID set us back. Every single program in MVFC/FCS had to deal with COVID. Develop a QB, don't run a conservative offense (especially when we get a lead) and maybe we can make the playoffs again.

Were not simply arguing about record. Were arguing about whether Spack should be fired. Record is part of that argument. Playoffs are part of the argument. Strength of schedule is part of the argument. Whether or not we can find a replacement better than Spack is for me the bottom line argument. Someone who can compete in the MVFC.

 

[isuquinndog]

Were not simply arguing about record. Were arguing about whether Spack should be fired. Record is part of that argument. Playoffs are part of the argument. Strength of schedule is part of the argument. Whether or not we can find a replacement better than Spack is for me the bottom line argument. Someone who can compete in the MVFC.

Also part of that is the overall view of the program. What kind of players are coming here? Are they graduating? Are they staying out of trouble and contributing to society?