Reality-Somewhere In The Middle

[Weezer]

Hoping a coach fails to prove you're right is pitiful. If you're a Vol fan, you want to see CBJ succeed. We can't afford to keep going backwards. Whether you think he's the right man for the job or not, you should give him a chance and hope you're wrong.

Blindly following CBJ to the point of making excuses is also pitiful. When he succeeds, he deserves credit. When he fails, he deserves criticism. Success doesn't excuse failure. For example, the success of '98 bought Fulmer more time than it should have. Credit him when he earns it, criticize him when he deserves it. No coach is greater than the team.

Yesterday was not a success. I'm happy for the players we got and hope they are successful. But we needed more numbers to fill depth. I am not for taking bodies just to have bodies, but we needed more contributors and we didn't get them. One of the biggest criticisms the last few years has been lack of depth. Yesterday didn't help that.

And lest we forget, we were told to expect big things on NSD. Failure to deliver is just cause for criticism in my mind.

I look forward to the coming season and have hope CBJ will coach our players up. If he can bring out their potential, then he'll deserve massive amounts of credit. More important than wins to me is progress. If we can progress, success will come.

Reality is the middle ground. Stop living at either extreme. Stop seeing black and white. Reality exists in color.

Side tangent just to address something that bothers me. Some people want to defend CBJ's salary. In today's world, all college football coaches make more than they deserve. I don't care how much time they spend working, how tireless their efforts are, how little they see their family. They are all overpaid. Why do I say this? It's simple, these men who are paid to coach football, paid to follow a passion inside them, they make more than this country's service men and women who put their lives on the line each and every day. Coaches can make a weekend trip home, troops in Afghanistan don't have that luxury. Neither do our sailors aboard ship. Coaches don't have to face being shot and killed everyday(just when they're in Memphis, sorry, couldn't resist that one). My point, as already stated, is all coaches make more than they deserve. Maybe CBJ's pay is fair in relation to what other coaches make, but no coaches pay is fair when it far exceeds what our fighting men and women are paid while they risk their lives day in and day out. Sorry, just a little rant I had to get off my chest.

 

[MockingVol]

"Little" rant??

 

[VolNExile]

Many of us would be in trouble if we were paid what we deserve.

What (should) set pay levels is the availability of our competitors, people who have the same skills and knowledge that we have. That's called letting the marketplace set our salaries, as opposed to what ought to be. And even then, it doesn't always go right. There aren't a ton of people willing and able to coach NCAA football, so their salaries tend to be right on up there.

Otherwise, +1 to your post. I've decided that I'm too old to blindly buy into anything. But at the same time, I'm sick and tired of the whinings of those who refuse to get optimistic about anything at all. Yay for the middle ground!

 

[cwbytruckers]

Taking a crap while reading this thread. I need to wipe my screen more than my a$$.

 

[CJBlaze]

Awesome post weezer!

 

[Aday25]

Certainly this signing class will will have little or no influence on the outcome of this season. So we're talking about depth/future. Certainly a top 10 recruiting class would have helped our cause tremendously, however it is not the instant fix that'll turn the program around in year 1. Also evaluating the "success" of a class isn't only judging the day after NSD but four years from now and seeing how this class pans out. So all I see here is failure in perception...we shouldnt jump to conclusions in terms of what this staff is capable as of yet. I'm waiting to see this coaching staff on gamedays before building opinions...

 

[ATLVols]

Pay is fair. I understand there are more important jobs, but college football coaches oversee a multi-million dollar industry and a sport that Vols fans follow by the hour. Not many coaches out there percentage wise. If you are successful as a coach that puts you in a smaller percentage of Americans. Supply and demand.

 

[92volalum]

Hoping a coach fails to prove you're right is pitiful. If you're a Vol fan, you want to see CBJ succeed. We can't afford to keep going backwards. Whether you think he's the right man for the job or not, you should give him a chance and hope you're wrong.

Blindly following CBJ to the point of making excuses is also pitiful. When he succeeds, he deserves credit. When he fails, he deserves criticism. Success doesn't excuse failure. For example, the success of '98 bought Fulmer more time than it should have. Credit him when he earns it, criticize him when he deserves it. No coach is greater than the team.

Yesterday was not a success. I'm happy for the players we got and hope they are successful. But we needed more numbers to fill depth. I am not for taking bodies just to have bodies, but we needed more contributors and we didn't get them. One of the biggest criticisms the last few years has been lack of depth. Yesterday didn't help that.

And lest we forget, we were told to expect big things on NSD. Failure to deliver is just cause for criticism in my mind.

I look forward to the coming season and have hope CBJ will coach our players up. If he can bring out their potential, then he'll deserve massive amounts of credit. More important than wins to me is progress. If we can progress, success will come.

Reality is the middle ground. Stop living at either extreme. Stop seeing black and white. Reality exists in color.

Side tangent just to address something that bothers me. Some people want to defend CBJ's salary. In today's world, all college football coaches make more than they deserve. I don't care how much time they spend working, how tireless their efforts are, how little they see their family. They are all overpaid. Why do I say this? It's simple, these men who are paid to coach football, paid to follow a passion inside them, they make more than this country's service men and women who put their lives on the line each and every day. Coaches can make a weekend trip home, troops in Afghanistan don't have that luxury. Neither do our sailors aboard ship. Coaches don't have to face being shot and killed everyday(just when they're in Memphis, sorry, couldn't resist that one). My point, as already stated, is all coaches make more than they deserve. Maybe CBJ's pay is fair in relation to what other coaches make, but no coaches pay is fair when it far exceeds what our fighting men and women are paid while they risk their lives day in and day out. Sorry, just a little rant I had to get off my chest.

So very true...........

 

[s1216]

If people would stick to discussing real topics and not post rants judging others optimism or pessimism then things would probably take care of themselves.

 

[Bluetic]

Hoping a coach fails to prove you're right is pitiful. If you're a Vol fan, you want to see CBJ succeed. We can't afford to keep going backwards. Whether you think he's the right man for the job or not, you should give him a chance and hope you're wrong.

Blindly following CBJ to the point of making excuses is also pitiful. When he succeeds, he deserves credit. When he fails, he deserves criticism. Success doesn't excuse failure. For example, the success of '98 bought Fulmer more time than it should have. Credit him when he earns it, criticize him when he deserves it. No coach is greater than the team.

Yesterday was not a success. I'm happy for the players we got and hope they are successful. But we needed more numbers to fill depth. I am not for taking bodies just to have bodies, but we needed more contributors and we didn't get them. One of the biggest criticisms the last few years has been lack of depth. Yesterday didn't help that.

And lest we forget, we were told to expect big things on NSD. Failure to deliver is just cause for criticism in my mind.

I look forward to the coming season and have hope CBJ will coach our players up. If he can bring out their potential, then he'll deserve massive amounts of credit. More important than wins to me is progress. If we can progress, success will come.

Reality is the middle ground. Stop living at either extreme. Stop seeing black and white. Reality exists in color.

Side tangent just to address something that bothers me. Some people want to defend CBJ's salary. In today's world, all college football coaches make more than they deserve. I don't care how much time they spend working, how tireless their efforts are, how little they see their family. They are all overpaid. Why do I say this? It's simple, these men who are paid to coach football, paid to follow a passion inside them, they make more than this country's service men and women who put their lives on the line each and every day. Coaches can make a weekend trip home, troops in Afghanistan don't have that luxury. Neither do our sailors aboard ship. Coaches don't have to face being shot and killed everyday(just when they're in Memphis, sorry, couldn't resist that one). My point, as already stated, is all coaches make more than they deserve. Maybe CBJ's pay is fair in relation to what other coaches make, but no coaches pay is fair when it far exceeds what our fighting men and women are paid while they risk their lives day in and day out. Sorry, just a little rant I had to get off my chest.

+1, but some folks need a little more confidence in the market before they invest...and after Kiff and Dools (and Grude too), they have a point. Its all good, GBO!

 

[SaintLouisVol]

. . . In today's world, all college football coaches make more than they deserve. I don't care how much time they spend working, how tireless their efforts are, how little they see their family. They are all overpaid. Why do I say this? It's simple, these men who are paid to coach football, paid to follow a passion inside them, they make more than this country's service men and women who put their lives on the line each and every day. Coaches can make a weekend trip home, troops in Afghanistan don't have that luxury. Neither do our sailors aboard ship. Coaches don't have to face being shot and killed everyday(just when they're in Memphis, sorry, couldn't resist that one). My point, as already stated, is all coaches make more than they deserve. Maybe CBJ's pay is fair in relation to what other coaches make, but no coaches pay is fair when it far exceeds what our fighting men and women are paid while they risk their lives day in and day out. Sorry, just a little rant I had to get off my chest.

There is a part of me that has to agree with you, but generally speaking, these sort of rants never hold water for me. People are not paid based on their contribution to society. This is America not the former Soviet Union. People are paid based on the market of the industry that they are in.

Football coaches make a ton of money because there is a ton of money in football, and the more you win, the more money is there. There are very few people out there capable of coaching at the top levels. So, those in need of that service compete for them. You see the same thing in many other aspects of a free market.

If you really want to see service men and women get paid more, start televising fire fights and hire a marketing firm to develop it into a national craze. Make war a money machine and those the best at war will start getting paid.

 

[utkell65]

If you really want to see service men and women get paid more, start televising fire fights and hire a marketing firm to develop it into a national craze. Make war a money machine and those the best at war will start getting paid.

Not sure where you've been, but there is no bigger money making industry (both legal and illegal) than those that make money on war.

 

[OWB]

Hoping a coach fails to prove you're right is pitiful.

I don't remember seeing anyone claiming that they hope CBJ fails. People are frustrated. Some approach it with a positive attitude and others with a negative one. In the end, we all want the same thing. At this point, I don't think anyone is hoping Jones fails.

 

[1967]

Your post made some valid points but lacked the true VOL spirit of a loyal fan, and overall was much more disappointing to me than the class that we signed. If nothing else, any article about this recruiting class would have to mention A+ for the effort put forth by our new coach and his staff. Also a required fact to mention is that he entered the recruiting game when it was already in the stretch run and that he had to recruit mainly players that were already committed to other schools. To come out of this salvaging a class rated as high as a top 20 class was IMO remarkable. I agree with you that it would be more desirable to have signed more good players for much-needed depth purposes. But every school would say that same thing. How good is Number 20 - much better than our final ranking --- so there is your progress!! If we got Bell the class would have been #15 and his own Dad says we would have Bell if CBJ had been coach thru whole recruiting process. So the question is should the Recruiting Period leave a TRUE VOL FAN optimistic for the future? In my opinion YES! Every day I read something else that would make me re-enlist in CBJ's army. I am an old coach myself and am so proud of the innovative ideas that keep coming from our head coach. I knew he was a good onfield coach already, but only recently saw how good a recruiter we have and it is important that he is leading edge with the new social media. ... and the great new ideas keep coming - YES I WILL BE RIGHT THERE IN NEYLAND STADIUM WITH MY FIST RAISED WHEN WE GET A THIRD DOWN STOP!! GBO!

 

[Vol865]

Hoping a coach fails to prove you're right is pitiful. If you're a Vol fan, you want to see CBJ succeed. We can't afford to keep going backwards. Whether you think he's the right man for the job or not, you should give him a chance and hope you're wrong.

Blindly following CBJ to the point of making excuses is also pitiful. When he succeeds, he deserves credit. When he fails, he deserves criticism. Success doesn't excuse failure. For example, the success of '98 bought Fulmer more time than it should have. Credit him when he earns it, criticize him when he deserves it. No coach is greater than the team.

Yesterday was not a success. I'm happy for the players we got and hope they are successful. But we needed more numbers to fill depth. I am not for taking bodies just to have bodies, but we needed more contributors and we didn't get them. One of the biggest criticisms the last few years has been lack of depth. Yesterday didn't help that.

And lest we forget, we were told to expect big things on NSD. Failure to deliver is just cause for criticism in my mind.

I look forward to the coming season and have hope CBJ will coach our players up. If he can bring out their potential, then he'll deserve massive amounts of credit. More important than wins to me is progress. If we can progress, success will come.

Reality is the middle ground. Stop living at either extreme. Stop seeing black and white. Reality exists in color.

Side tangent just to address something that bothers me. Some people want to defend CBJ's salary. In today's world, all college football coaches make more than they deserve. I don't care how much time they spend working, how tireless their efforts are, how little they see their family. They are all overpaid. Why do I say this? It's simple, these men who are paid to coach football, paid to follow a passion inside them, they make more than this country's service men and women who put their lives on the line each and every day. Coaches can make a weekend trip home, troops in Afghanistan don't have that luxury. Neither do our sailors aboard ship. Coaches don't have to face being shot and killed everyday(just when they're in Memphis, sorry, couldn't resist that one). My point, as already stated, is all coaches make more than they deserve. Maybe CBJ's pay is fair in relation to what other coaches make, but no coaches pay is fair when it far exceeds what our fighting men and women are paid while they risk their lives day in and day out. Sorry, just a little rant I had to get off my chest.

I think coaches earn their salary for the most part with all the hours and time away from their family, but the military members have it a lot worse and I get that. With that said, just because they make more than our service men and women doesn't mean they don't deserve their salary, I just think that our service men and women are severely underpaid and honestly think this should be more directed at congress men and womens salaries opposed to a FB coach because they decide for their selves how much they deserve then turn around and say military members and police don't deserve a raise
Posted via VolNation Mobile

 

[WoodsmanVol]

Staring at Sports Illustrated online, I saw the future unfold before me. A November 2013 issue appeared. It had a picture of a cracked bell and sported the title: Bell's bell rung, asks for transfer. A subtitle below that said: Leaving OSU's caste system for Tennessee's earn your playing time program. I shook my head and blinked. The issue slowly faded and I muttered, "What the heck was that!?"

 

[Weezer]

Your post made some valid points but lacked the true VOL spirit of a loyal fan, and overall was much more disappointing to me than the class that we signed. If nothing else, any article about this recruiting class would have to mention A+ for the effort put forth by our new coach and his staff. Also a required fact to mention is that he entered the recruiting game when it was already in the stretch run and that he had to recruit mainly players that were already committed to other schools. To come out of this salvaging a class rated as high as a top 20 class was IMO remarkable. I agree with you that it would be more desirable to have signed more good players for much-needed depth purposes. But every school would say that same thing. How good is Number 20 - much better than our final ranking --- so there is your progress!! If we got Bell the class would have been #15 and his own Dad says we would have Bell if CBJ had been coach thru whole recruiting process. So the question is should the Recruiting Period leave a TRUE VOL FAN optimistic for the future? In my opinion YES! Every day I read something else that would make me re-enlist in CBJ's army. I am an old coach myself and am so proud of the innovative ideas that keep coming from our head coach. I knew he was a good onfield coach already, but only recently saw how good a recruiter we have and it is important that he is leading edge with the new social media. ... and the great new ideas keep coming - YES I WILL BE RIGHT THERE IN NEYLAND STADIUM WITH MY FIST RAISED WHEN WE GET A THIRD DOWN STOP!! GBO!

People who throw around the "true Vol Fan" mantra are normally the blind followers to whom I refer. You've established you're a Butch Jones fan. Are you a Vol fan? Butch Jones < the team. I've grown tired of people who equate the coach with the team. Was Dooley UT football? Was Lane Kiffin? My loyalty is to the Volunteers, not CBJ. I hope he succeeds greatly, but a "true fan" doesn't let a bad coach drive his favorite team further into ruin without saying something. If CBJ fails, I won't be making excuses for him. Seems like you will. Guess that's the "true" Volunteer spirit.