Purdue Football Coaching Dilemma

So yesterday proved to be an interesting day, and one where a college athletic director has repeatedly made errors in judgement.

 

First a Tom Kubat report in the Journal and Courier

 

(http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080106/SPORTS020101/801060352/1046/SPORTS020101) 

 

 that Paul Chryst at Wisconsion had been offered the Purdue head coaching job in a succession plan, then the interview with Purdue athletic director Morgan Burke who stated that Joe Tiller will be the head coach of the Purdue Boilermakers next year, followed by a Wisconsin Journal newspaper report that Paul Chryst had indeed been contacted etc.

 

So here’s where Morgan Burke messed up.  Plain and simple…Complete honesty.  To the public, media, your fans and supporters.  If something gets leaked to the media you’re better to be proactive and be honest….He should have made a statement like:  ”Joe Tiller is planned to be the 2008 coach of the Boilermakers, however, we are exploring current succession plans and have contacted several candidates for future head coach options.”  Where do these guys get their media training?  With such a high profile program and issue, I would have hoped that they would have already had crisis talking points in place, and media training in the past.

 

Here’s the other error…Rumors that Joe Tiller didn’t know anything about the plans that they were talking to other coaches, and now may not coach in 2008.

 

The next several days will be interesting.  It will be interesting to hear the quotes that the Purdue program puts out there, and how Purdue media approaches things.  

 

One thing that continues to get me, is how the goldandblack.com repeatedly has lost stories to Tom Kubat of the Journal and Courier.  My belief is that the publication is biased and while not run by the school, is afraid of the school and what honest, unbiased reporting would bring on this issue.  

 

Okay so bad judgement continues.  I like everyone else right now want a coaching change, but approaching all of this BEFORE national letter of intent signing day is ridiculous.  With the fear of coaching changes, and the recruiting assistant coaches possibly gone, it will be difficult to keep many of these recruits, leaving Purdue with several more years of just plain bad football.  

 

 

Joe Tiller on his way out?

Okay, I love PURDUE FOOTBALL!  But, I am now one of the negative people I said I would never be.  I want a change in this program.  Now on the day of the Motor City Bowl, I’m anxious to see a win, and I want a win for the great seniors on this team like Dan Bick, but I also want Tiller out.  I want an energy like none we’ve seen recently going into Spring Training and Fall 2008.

 

 

So what will happen today.   With 30,000 Central Michigan fans and 7,000 Purdue fans, I believe this could easily be a toss up.

 

 

While I want a win for our seniors, I also don’t want to listen to people saying…”See, We’re just as good as we were earlier in the season…Tiller has done so much great….”  If you’re one of those people after today’s game, just stay away.

 

 

From my earlier blog, in case you’re wondering, I am not attending.  It just was not justified in my mind for this trip.

 

 

In all honesty, I’m in a ticket dilemma for 2008.  I may purchase tickets and just not attend in all honesty.  As a season ticket holder for 9 years, I don’t think I want to think about not being supportive as a season ticket holder, but who knows.

 

 

I encourage you to read Tom Kubat’s latest blog:  A Must Win? 

http://blogs.jconline.com/tkubat/ The GoldandBlack.com message boards largely appear to point to insider knowledge that Joe Tiller is here for 2008 and gone for 2009.  I think if he’s around for 2008 they risk a decrease in season tickets, and definitely enthusiasm from the players to the fans. 

Purdue Motor City Bowl Game: To Attend or Not To Attend

So since the Purdue Bowl Game was announced to be the Motor City Bowl against Central Michigan, my mind has been trying to make the determination to make the trip, or just stay home.  For starters, this game is a rematch of a game prior in the season when the Purdue Boilermakers beat  Central Michigan.  So haven’t I already seen this already! Second, I live less than 6 hours from Detroit.   That said, it is Detroit.  A town that in warm weather isn’t my favorite city to visit. Third, the second half of this season has been lackluster, so do I want to begin to prepare my mind for a more positive season in 2008 already and skip the game? Do I want to continue to see the players play another game in 2008?  Sure I do, but my heart just isn’t in it right now. I e-mailed my spouse to see if they wanted to attend, and already had found a nice hotel reservation. The bowl tickets would tack on 2 more points to my John Purdue Club Points.  Yes I still care about having good tickets, I’m a fan in good times and bad. Our football friends are not attending, so it would be just us and the rest of the Purdue fan base.  So here is where I’m at.  To Attend or Not To Attend.  Still not sure.  

Purdue Football, Joe Tiller. Reminiscent of the ending Keady days.

Let me start by saying, I know that what I am posting here today is not much different than what many people are already talking about on various message boards. In the years that were the end of the Gene Keady reign for Purdue Basketball he had done great things, won a Big Ten Championship, and then the program tanked, from recruiting, to the actual games being played. I stopped watching the games because I became so disillusioned.  I vowed that once Keady was gone I would again be able to support the team. Fast forward a couple of years, and here we are with Coach Joe Tiller.  He has taken us to the Rose Bowl, had many years of bowl game appearances, and yet recruiting, and the games themselves are falling off. To lose like the team did on Saturday to the Indiana Hoosiers is in large part a tribute to the poor coaching.   Coach Tiller continually acts lazy to the media and the passion is gone.   From the time I began watching football I have been a loyal fan, through good times and bad, but I am finding myself with no desire to even watch the games again, with no desire to follow recruiting, and frustration with the team’s discipline. How can Selwyn Lymon again be arrested for operating while intoxicated, if there is any ounce of discipline?  If a player already had other charges pending, don’t you think you’d be watching him like a hawk.   So here I am, full of frustration, joining many fans of the Purdue Boilermaker Football team.   I don’t blame a bunch of 18-22 year olds for where the program is, I blame a bunch of coaches, who have been doing this for a long time who need to take into check discipline and desire, to make the program better than it is today, and not keep saying Tiller pulled us out of a bad situation….The ship is sinking. 

Uninspired. Unemotional. VERY FORGETTABLE.

Despite naysayers throughout the Fall 2007 Boilermaker Football season, I have tried to stay positive, support coach Tiller and the team, and be a fan who cheers despite what happens.

But today was a day I will try to forget very soon.  In the 9 years I have had season tickets for Purdue football this was one of the worst games I’ve even been present for.

Yes, the Purdue Boilermakers have lost bigger games, but never with the lack of emotion and excitement which was non existent on the field today.  A secondary that repeatedly allows the Michigan State offense to convert almost every third down, wide receivers who continually drop balls (what was with Dustin Keller not catching well at all), and a coaching team that doesn’t take any risks, makes for a terrible Saturday.

Where are the long passes (those that aren’t dropped), where are the continued chances to produce on 4th down, instead of a punt which goes nowhere?  Where are the trick plays that other teams can seem to pull off, but which Purdue never even tries?

Let us also mull over the poor officiating which dogged Purdue for another consecutive week.  There truly need to be some more calls evaluated by the NCAA similar to what occurred after Penn State.  There may be a few additional officials which could lose their jobs.

So the IU Hoosiers are what the Boilermakers face next Saturday.  It would be nice for regular Big10 conference play to end on a high note.  So let’s forget this day, and re energize for a great Boiler win next Saturday…And in the meantime begin to discuss great coaches to follow Coach Tiller (and no Brock Spack is not the answer). 

7-2! Way to Go Boilers!! Good Luck against Penn State!

A 7-2 start for the Purdue Boilermakers.  Despite the disappointment of many, this is where we figured to be at this point in the season.  And I as one fan am happy that we are where we are.

While this may not be a dream season, if we could find a way to knock off Penn State in Beaver stadium, it would be an unbelievable victory for the program and the 2007 season.

 I will not be at this Saturday’s Purdue vs. Penn State game, however I have been in attendance for the past two Purdue football games at Happy Valley, and just would like to commend the prior behavior and friendliness of the Penn State fans.  They are some of the best fans in the Big 10 that I have come across. 

 And let me address for a moment their team spirit.  The White Out that occurred for their game last night against Ohio State was amazing, and their atmosphere in the stadium unmatched.

 My fellow Purdue fans could learn a lot of lessons from the Penn State fans.  I was present for a very sedated Purdue crowd on Homecoming this Saturday against Northwestern.  Until the 4th Quarter when Neil Armstrong spoke to the crows before the song Shout! was played, the majority of the fans on my half of the stadium, under the press box, had not stood up for a total of 5 minutes.  The guy in front of me even got asked to sit down on a 3rd down play by some women behind me.  This is a football game for goodness sake!

 In my section, 127, the first  15 seats in the Rows 1-5 of the section were completely empty AGAIN with the exception of Sean Sester’s parents who were there.  Again, these are pass seats, and I can’t for the life of me figure out why the University would not want people to be seated that close to the field for the advantage of TV if not noise for the other team.  

Let’s go boilers for a great game against the Nittany Lions and a great remainder of the season!

A much better game played. Fans in my section are still awful.

This Saturday’s game, October 20th, Purdue vs. Iowa (31-6), was a much better played game by the Purdue Boilermakers football team. I was most impressed by the amount of Purdue receivers who had receptions and the depth of those receptions. Dorien Bryant had a much better game than in prior weeks.

Now for my rant of the week. My seats are in Section L, 127 at Ross-Ade Stadium. We are in a fairly low row. and the first 4 or 5 rows of that section to the left of me are pass seats. These are seats that are regularly sat in by Purdue player family members, or members of a Purdue athletic team who are being honored during a football game.

What these seats are, are seats for a bunch of people, who do not cheer for the team including the family members in many cases. These are people who often show up in 2nd or 3rd quarter and leave by the 4th. We’re talking rows 1-4 right by the team on the 10 yard line. This week, we even had the opportunity to sit by Iowa fans who were seated in these seats.

I think the University truly needs to assess the use of these seats. Typically when the other athletic teams sit in those seats, they sit on their rear ends, talking to one another, with no clue about the game.

Now for those in the seats behind me. These are fans who like myself are John Purdue Club members, who with the exception of the seats directly in the 2 rows behind me, and the seats around us, remain seated the entire game. Now I could totally understand if you were physically unable to stand for a long period of time. But you cannot tell me that these people who are younger than I am cannot stand, let alone yell for the Boilermakers.

All of these are fans, who when the song Shout! comes on before the 4th quarter, get off their feet for the first time in almost the entire game (when they prior stood up for the wave). I am all for the atmosphere at the game, but that atmosphere includes supporting and cheering your team, not just sitting on your butt for 3 hours on a Saturday afternoon.

Does anyone else feel the same way?

MOVING ON – A NEW START for PURDUE vs. IOWA 10/20/2007

After two disappointing weeks, the Purdue Boilermaker football team needs to move on.  These were two big games that before the season, many would have counted as losses, and yet when they truly are, people act as if the team has completely fallen apart.

That said, I am disappointed with one thing consistently with this 2007 Boilermaker team and that is the FUMBLES.  It is quickly getting to the point that whenever Kory Sheets has the football I worry if he is going to fumble it, and with good cause for concern.  This has plagued him throughout this season. 

I just read an article on www.goldandblack.com from coach Bill Legg, where he admits that the offense has been bad the last two games.  However, he offers no suggestions as to what will make them better. 

For the Ohio State game, the Offense lost that game.  For Michigan, it was a bit of both, but regardless, the Purdue offense is showing signs of a questionable remainder of the season.  I do not place the blame on Curtis Painter.  Several wide receivers with less than stellar recent games need to step up.  In addition, the offensive line needs some work. 

 So with the Iowa game on the Horizon the Purdue Boilermaker Football team needs to move on from the last two weeks.  They need to put these behind them and shine against Iowa.

 With a loss against Iowa, doubt will become reality.  I may begin rethinking whether my post prior to this one will need editing.

Firing Coach Tiller Not the Answer

Firing Coach Joe Tiller is not the answer despite what many say. Now if we end up the season 5-5, then I may have issues. Right now there are so many naysayers on the message boards of www.goldandblackillustrated.com who say he should be gone. But we are just 5-1 with a bright season ahead of us.

Now if you are University of Louisville and just lost another game when they were rated so high initially this year and talking National Championship, then you may begin to rant about the needs for a different coach.

Until then, be supportive of the Boilermakers, don’t just call for the coach’s head, when we have some twenty somethings out there on the field who didn’t have such a great game – Catch the ball Dorien Bryant….(Saturday was not his best game!).

Random Game Thoughts following Purdue vs. Ohio State 10/6/2007

 

Purdue Fans in our section 

I love Purdue games, and the atmosphere Saturday night was exciting…for a while.  Once Purdue got down just one and then two touch downs, the fans in our section were completely unexciting.

This is typically how the fans in our section act however Saturday it was even worse.  There is nothing more aggravating, than when Ohio State is on the 10 yard line right in front of our seats at 3rd and whatever, and John Purdue Club members are just sitting like they are at a funeral.

In this situation, the fans should be up and yelling, especially if the team is down a few touchdowns.  We are surrounded by members of the “Team Behind the Team”, the John Purdue Club, but in my mind these people do not even deserve to have their tickets.

Purdue Defense

The Purdue defense Saturday night, showed life.  There were several major defensive plays which I was excited to be present for.  Not to mention, that a fantastic OSU team scored only 23 points.  On the opposite hand, the Purdue offense could not get anything going. 

Now while many in our section were extremely negative about the Purdue team in the 4th quarter, I was just happy to have scored against what could possibly be the best team in the nation.  Now that Purdue has been beat by OSU, it would make me happy for the Big Ten to see them win the national championship.

Boiler Blackout!

Fans are finally beginning to catch on to the Boiler Blackout for the games, that being said, if you are blacking out the stadium, why not have the players wear black pants with their black jerseys for a true blackout.

On that same note, if you are a John Purdue Club season ticket holder DO NOT SELL your tickets to a fan of the opposing team.  Instead of a Boiler Blackout we were stuck with a black and red mess.

Just some random thoughts following this game.