tufan, (11/23/2009 7:31:26 AM)

Thank you seniors for your great contributions to the football program. You will always be remembered! Take heart TU fans. We only have nine years left with "10 year Todd" and his lousy coaching! Every loss over the last three seasons can be linked back to terrible decisions made by the head coach. His quarterbacks (Paul Smith & David Johnson) during his 1st two seasons were recruited by Coach K. He wasted a year of eligibility for Shavodrick Beaver by letting him play one play a game. Why not redshirt the young man? He has stuck with his "son" at quarterback all year. Defense wins championships & his defense has been awful except in 2005 when Coach K's team won the conference & Liberty Bowl championships. Unfortunately Auburn hired someone else instead of "10 year Todd" & we lost the best coach we had, Gus Malzahn. I will give Graham credit for recruiting some talented athletes that he has continually wasted. I hope the program can survive nine more years. Maybe Notre Dame will come calling...ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!!!!!!!

72raiderjay, (11/23/2009 8:12:46 AM)

TU misses Coach Malzahn dearly. Maybe they could get him back next year. I agree Beav should have redshirted if not given a chance to start and one play a game. Seems like a recruiting ploy or trap door. TU needs a QB coach bad. I think the other coach lured the talent. TU's coaching guru left the building for Auburn, but will Elvis return? Does he want to return is a better question?

GoldenDriller1, Out of Town (11/23/2009 8:58:23 AM)

Would Gus return? Only if Graham is released from the program. While we can hope for that to occur in the near term, the fact is that A.D. Cunningham is by nature a “wait & see” kind of guy and he will not make any changes at head coach. Example; TU Women’s Basketball Coach Swinson whose performance last year earned a receipt of a pink slip but was given another year. The Golden Hurricane is poised for at least three new head coaches over the next 2 years. Swinson will finally be moved out after this season, Wojcik will have a great season and depart for an opportunity at a higher level and finally by threat of “tar & feather” A.D. Cunningham will release Graham for what looks to be another disappointing 2010 season. In the meantime fans of the blue & gold will have to wait.

tufan, (11/23/2009 9:19:37 AM)

I'm not sure how Bubba will release Graham after next year if he has 8 years left on his contract. TU does not have the deep pockets that larger universities do to pay off his deal. Schools should never, ever give anyone a 10 year contract!! Do you actually think that if Graham continued to be successful he would stay at TU for 10 years? He would've left last year if Auburn would have hired him. He has no loyalty to Tulsa. Look what he did to Rice. That 10 year deal is great for him & bad for TU. Contracts only protect coaches, not the universities. Look at how many basketball coaches left Tulsa for greener pastures. It's all part of the game.

hawkdaddy, (11/23/2009 9:26:59 AM)

I am still amazed how quickly TU fans are jumping ship. One down year and you want to run a guy off who won has won over 20 games the past two years. And I thought OU fans were impatient. Remember who you are. It took Coach K four years to win as many games as Graham did in his first two. How quickly we forget that Graham was the D coordinator during coach K's tenure. It could be said that the reason Kragthorpe was not successful at Louisville is because he didn't have Graham with him.

I'm not a Graham apologist but I am realistic. Need only to look at OU and USC to see that every program goes through transition and suffer down years. I agree Malzhan is missed but he is not coming back. Another strong year and he'll likely land an SEC job. TU will win 10 games or more next year and the program will be back on track.

hawkdaddy, (11/23/2009 9:28:47 AM)

You're right about the contract tufan. TU should invest their money in the program and not the coaches who won't be here win or lose.

iflyfast, At an airport somewhere in the Tulsa area (11/23/2009 9:53:45 AM)

hawk...I am with you. I have not jumped ship, nor have I called for Graham's head. However, it is time he realizes his experiment on the offensive side of the ball has been a complete failure, and I think he is coming around. I noticed that he wasn't carrying play cards and wearing red and yellow wristbands. This seemed to suggest he was going to be less involved with the offense and more involved with the defense. This has been one thing TU fans have wanted for the vast majority of the season. Now, if Graham has gone back to the defense, all he needs to do now is get rid of Patterson (something I have said for three years) and either become the DC or hire a new one and go find a new secondary coach.

BloodyHarry, (11/23/2009 10:04:29 AM)

(just so you guys see this, I am posting here to. This is in response to all your comments prior)
If I see one more comment knocking on GJ I am going to flip. You guys who say "he doesn't progess through reads." or "why doesn't he get out of the pocket" are more idiotic than you claim Todd Graham to be, and either don't watch the games, or know nothing about football. The O-line play is not good, that's why we can't run the ball either, which is also why we can't run the ball. It makes it difficult to progress through reads when you don't have time, and have to scramble around out of the pocket which he does regularly. The problem with that is, on plays not designed to roll the pocket it cuts off half of your routes to throw to, which you all would know if you knew anything about football. You don't want to throw back side when you roll out, it's bad. Likewise the routes run don't really progress the way good plays should, that is a coaching mistake. Play design isn't diverse enough to beat good coverage. If you don't have deep middle and short routes to spread zone coverage it is hard to pick it apart. GJ Kinne is the asnwer, I believe Todd Graham is still a good coach though somewhat emotional, I even believe maybe Herb Hand might be okay, play calling got better late in the season. They just need to expand the passing route diversity, come up with different blocking schemes and game plan better. Oh and btw Trimble would not be a good answer to our problems since in College all teams can recruit unlike highschool.

Guillermo, (11/23/2009 11:43:15 AM)

People are funny, it is all about the here and now.

People are to slow to remember that we have come a long way and Graham is a fighter and scrappy guy and will get things turned around.

The thrill of victory the agony of defeat.

Be patient, be understanding, football is a tuff game, just look at the shape of the ball and that tells you how odd the game can flow.

We will be all right........you have got to believe and keep supporting the team.

Look at ND, Michigan, OU, Colorado, it is a tuff game to figure.

tufan, (11/23/2009 12:04:55 PM)

I am not jumping ship. I've had season tickets as long as or longer than most & have a right to call it as I see it. I sat through 12 years of losing. Coach K saved this program, not "10 year Todd". Yes, I expect to win now. Whose job is it to make sure you have a good offensive line year to year? Recruit good offensive linemen!! Graham was a defensive coordinator. As I said, we have had one decent defense (2005) in the last seven years. His defensive scheme is always porous at best. In '07 & '08 we were able to out score most teams. We weren't able to do that this year & lost every close game because the defense couldn't stop anyone!! There is no pressure on opposing quarterbacks & a terrible secondary on the backside. I'll be a TU supporter 'til I die & we shouldn't be where we are now. CUSA is not the Big 12 or SEC & we should be competing every year for at least a division title. If you want to accept mediocrity then you got it!

Former gcane, Raleigh (11/23/2009 1:22:09 PM)

A tough year for TU. I felt coming into the season that they would be a better team than the current record indicates. However, a couple of key injuries, missed opportunities, and turnovers and we have a 4-7 record. I feel the biggest problem, more than Gus leaving (while it hurt), has been TU's inability to run the football due to a young and inexperienced o-line. You have to remember that TU averaged 268 rushing yards per game in 2008 (5th in the country). In 2009 TU is averaging 151 with Kinne being the leading rusher. As far as eveyone bashing Kinne, I feel the guy is going to be a superstar. He has run for his life all season, and yet he is still the 24th most efficient passer in the country. Keep in mind this was his first season of college football and had not taken a game snap since 2006 in high school.

tufan, (11/23/2009 2:19:57 PM)

To Shadow-He won 10 games in '07 because of Paul Smith & Gus & 11 games in '08 because of Dave Johnson & Gus (also a great O-line). As soon as he lost two of the better QBs in TU history, a solid offensive coordinator who built the offense around his talent, & the great line, look at what a great coach he is. If he was a great coach he'd have had players ready to fill in those spots lost to graduation. I'm not convinced he is even an average coach. He knows how to yell & scream at the players. Guess that makes him great.

hawkdaddy, (11/23/2009 2:51:29 PM)

I believe TU is recruiting the talent they need. I don't think they had the same starting five on the o-line in any game this year. Throw in injuries and having to play true freshman, you will have o-line problems. Give that group a year and you will see a huge difference. While I have been critical of Kinne in the past, it's clear the kid is a competitor and has a shot to be good but needs a coach to help him develop. Change-up in staff or the hire of someone new. Need an actual QB coach because that is the most important position on the team.

iflyfast, At an airport somewhere in the Tulsa area (11/23/2009 2:55:32 PM)

Hawk, they have a QB coach in Blakenship, but if there is someone out there that is better, grab them up as well.

New DC and secondary coach should be the #1 item on the "Staff To-Do List" for Graham.

hawkdaddy, (11/23/2009 3:00:18 PM)

tufan, since you aren't giving him any credit for winning at TU, I'm guessing you won't give him credit for the bowl season at Rice as well as for the players Rice won with last year. Doesn't seem like you are being very objective. This is one bad year. Graham is a proven winner. Graham brought in much of the talent that made TU successful the past two years whether you want to accept that or not. The QBs and Malzhan were a big part of the success but you need only to look up the road in Norman to see what an inexperienced QB and O-line will do to a team.

hawkdaddy, (11/23/2009 3:02:53 PM)

Coach B was who I was referring to, but I would be okay with somebody outside the system as long as they knew what they were doing. I was floored last winter, when Gus left, to learn that Graham was coaching QBs and not Blakenship. Hopefully he corrects that mistake.

72raiderjay, (11/24/2009 9:25:39 AM)

Finally we are talking about a QB coach. I agree Coach Blankenship would be good for TU.

iflyfast, At an airport somewhere in the Tulsa area (11/24/2009 11:50:24 AM)

OK, now that we all agree on the QB coach, lets move onto the DC and secondary coach problem that has plagued TU since 2005.