The CheckerBoard

I could care less who the coach is as long as his name is not Petrino ! I trust that Hart will bring us the coach we need I just want a quality coach that believes in an aggressive , hard hitting , smash mouth defense after that I'm all good .

I'd be quite happy with any of Gundy, Fisher, Bielma, or Fedora. Maybe Strong, though he doesn's seem to like recruiting.

Just making the point that falling victim to the SEC Defense CircleJerk is succumbing to false logic, and is dangerous. I hope we get any of the above and get recruiting soon!

I agree 100%. I think we are definitely in the minority on this one. Gundy can flat out coach. I hope we get him. Also, people need to realize that these Big 12 coaches are building their teams to compete with the style of their conference. I can promise you these guys can adjust to the style needed. That's what good coaches do. See Les Miles and Kevin Sumlin.

How about we don't have the players to run his offense. That will take 3 years at .500 or less to build the depth of players with the skills he needs. I for one am not ready for three more rebuilding years.

I seemed to have recalled reading somewhere in the past week or so someone mentioning the reason Big 12 defenses are so week is because every school around there is pulling from one source - the state of Texas. So, therefore a lot of defenses are watered down because one state can only bring so much. That seems to make some sense to me.

I have a feeling Gundy could win here. I would think Hart would make sure he had the money to get a good DC.

I agree with this aspect, to some small extent...but I don't think our players on O are all that different than OSU recruits - there are more similarities than differences between the current Vol offense and OSU's version of the spread. It's more about blocking scheme and passing routes than players. If you put Hunter, CP, and Zach in the OSU offense, it'd work the same or better. We at UT don't have a Kendall Hunter/Tatum Bell type scatback, but those are findable.

That said, I am not advocating for Gundy entirely. Just pointing out that the logic used to poo-poo him by many on this board is off base. I'd be OK with several of the listed candidates.

[quote]They played Oregon, who is better than OSU, and beat them by a pretty sizable margin. You are completely and utterly delusional.[/quote]

We'll just have to agree to disagree. If the SEC played those offenses week in and week out, they'd not have the scary rep they have. Oregon in week 1, when LSU got them, was nothing compared to Oregon in week 10. And OSU would have had no trouble with Oregon in either week.

If you want to have a little experiment that parallels this, watch the upcoming Okla/Fla Sugar Bowl. I assume you will agree that Florida is a member of the "big time" SEC Defense CircleJerk club I refer to. Only two teams have scored 20 or more on Florida this year. I simply argue that's not because SEC defenses are so great (Alabama notwithstanding - theirs IS great) - its more that those defenses are good, while SEC offenses are archaic, behind the times, and plodding.

OU and OSU run basically the same stuff each year, though OU does it with better talent. Florida looks a lot like LSU of last year. Should be a good parallel to what would have happened last year.

My prediction - Oklahoma disposes of Florida by 10 - 14, and doesn't really seem worried about it. OU's defense will yield points, but Florida won't be able to keep up on offense. Something like 34-22 Okla in a game that probably could have gone either way but is artificially spread at the end.

I am absolutely a fan of Tennessee, I like South Carolina, and I am not here trolling. You locked in on the one throwaway comment in my post that offended your tender sensibilities about the SEC's defense myth and fired away at it. I'm just completely unsold on the SEC's defense myth, Alabama notwithstanding.

My post was really about why Gundy should not be dismissed out of hand because he's not in the typical SEC mold. You ignored 95% of my post entirely. I'm not trying to start a flame war, just offering a more objective opinion from the perspective of someone who watches a wider variety of CFB than the average SEC fan. Sorry if my karma ran over your dogma.

While I agree with with 95% of your post and have stated so your condescension is duly noted...our dogma NOTWITHSTANDING.

I dismissed the rest of your post because most of it is nonsense. Gundy is Texas #1 choice? Really? No Texas fan believes that, and I know a number of them. You make the typical argument that SEC defenses are overrated because they primarily face SEC offenses, when in fact the "good" defenses in the SEC every year typically perform well no matter who they face.

It's not your point that Gundy isn't a terrible choice that makes me question your allegiance, it's everything around it. You sound like the typical B12 fan who cannot stand the fact the SEC dominates college football with a primarily defensive brand of football.

That's what I have been seeing as well. In fact, on this very board, there have been reports (not by the proprietors) that some boosters like Petrino very well, and furthermore, for a while many people here and TOS were basically saying Gruden, Petrino, or bust.

...'Gruden, Petrino or bust' comment in the context of this site and TOS is factually incorrect. However, it was stated that a 'couple' of boosters would support his hire is correct. However, 'some boosters' does not accurately convey that the majority did not want him. IMO it's misleading. The word 'many' is what I call a weasel word when you don't have facts to back you up.