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Let the excuses begin

Big West for basketball wouldn't be a bad option, although I'm sure we can muscle the MWC to keep us in without football anyways.
WAC doesn't require... yet. I bet they do in 10 years. They have 8 teams in fb I believe...
 
If San Jose State, Fresno and Reno can get some success in football UNLV can as well. Problem is inept administration hiring inept people creating inept results. Look at the coaches nothing against them but there was no way. Menzies, Otzelberger, coming from high school Sanchez, Hauck, Arroyo an assistant was going to be successful here. Rice was most exciting hire but in the end he never coached a day in his life and it showed. Hire a Big 5 conference former coach. The former UCLA coach was interested but we got Arroyo. Former coaches wanted the MBB job we got Kevin Kruger. When you have a woke school you get woke results on sunday mornings!
Well, you did have Hauck, here, whom you didn't support. His MT team (FCS) just beat University of Washington (Pac-12). Mebbe you don't know what a good coach is.
 
Well, you did have Hauck, here, whom you didn't support. His MT team (FCS) just beat University of Washington (Pac-12). Mebbe you don't know what a good coach is.
I supported Hauck when he was here. Was he my pick nope I actually thought Sanford should have been given another year. Who were the candidates that year I wanted either Jun Jones or Dirk Koetter. We ended up with Hauck outside of one bowl did not do anything here. We we refuse to hire a bigtime former coach I really don’t know maybe because TKM is a dumb ass. Good for him beating Washington but Montana beat them not UNLV. He also had big losses at home vs Southern Utah and NAU. So mebbe your just sucking on Hauck a little too much after his win vs WA.
 
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Hauck sucked here, PERIOD!
I supported Hauck when he was here. Was he my pick nope I actually thought Sanford should have been given another year. Who were the candidates that year I wanted either Jun Jones or Dirk Koetter. We ended up with Hauck outside of one bowl did not do anything here. We we refuse to hire a bigtime former coach I really don’t know maybe because TKM is a dumb ass. Good for him beating Washington but Montana beat them not UNLV. He also had big losses at home vs Southern Utah and NAU. So mebbe your just sucking on Hauck a little too much after his win vs WA.
Franchione was a candidate and wanted the job! He won at UNM and TCU both were in the MWC, so he had been a winner in our conference.
 
This is how close we are. Post Hauck coaching hire. Kalani Sitake is an Asst. Coach at Utah and was a finalist for the job. We ended up with Sanchez. Yes we ended up with a high school coach. Station money or not. Look at the job Sitake is doing at at BYU now. Inept admins creat Inept hires causes inept results. UNLV does this over and over and over and over basketball and Football.
 
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This is how close we are. Post Hauck coaching hire. Kalani Sitake is an Asst. Coach at Utah and was a finalist for the job. We ended up with Sanchez. Yes we ended up with a high school coach. Station money or not. Look at the job Sitake is doing at at BYU now. Inept admins creat Inept hires causes inept results. UNLV does this over and over and over and over basketball and Football.

There's a lot of hindsight because we know the results.

Sanford's resume was pretty strong.

Hauck's was solid and it looked like UNLV might have grabbed a guy on the rise.

Sanchez.....I hated the hire...But UNLV was in no position to turn down the money he brought with him. Hell, his first three years had a good trajectory...Years 4 and 5 things got stagnant. He hitched his wagon to Armani and could never fix the defense.

Arroyo...Who knows. Based on the candidates that I believe were truly contacted, he was my least favorite.

Recruiting has picked up. Will take another class and another year to manifest on the field. Is he the guy to get it done though? Don't know.

He'll get all of this year. And likely next. It will take a big 3rd year for him to see a fourth.
 
There's a lot of hindsight because we know the results.

Sanford's resume was pretty strong.

Hauck's was solid and it looked like UNLV might have grabbed a guy on the rise.

Sanchez.....I hated the hire...But UNLV was in no position to turn down the money he brought with him. Hell, his first three years had a good trajectory...Years 4 and 5 things got stagnant. He hitched his wagon to Armani and could never fix the defense.

Arroyo...Who knows. Based on the candidates that I believe were truly contacted, he was my least favorite.

Recruiting has picked up. Will take another class and another year to manifest on the field. Is he the guy to get it done though? Don't know.

He'll get all of this year. And likely next. It will take a big 3rd year for him to see a fourth.

We turned down Dirk Koetter over an extra $250k/year and ended up with Hauck. It was a terrible move at the time. No hindsight needed on that one.
 
We turned down Dirk Koetter over an extra $250k/year and ended up with Hauck. It was a terrible move at the time. No hindsight needed on that one.

Who was fronting the 250k?

I mean if the money was there sure make the move.

For the last 10-15 years we've gone round and round about money and boosters and secret boosters and whatever.. Only real money we've seen was for The Mendenhall Center and new football facility. Beyond that nothing.

The money just hasn't been there.

Even with the Fertitta's fronting huge money, getting the remaining funding for the football facility was rumored to be a slog.

I'd have been ecstatic with Koetter. Did great at Boise. Was just over .500 at ASU. Had NFL pedigree..

Again, Hauck's resume was plenty good to get the job here.

The other issues around Dirk were there wouldn't have been enough money to hire his staff or who he wanted.

There was some concern he would be one and done here and still had eyes on an NFL gig.

How true..Don't know..
 
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Again, Hauck's resume was plenty good to get the job here.
I have to disagree there. Hauck was a terrible hire from day 1. He took over a Montana program that was great for a decade before him. Everyone outside of UNLV thought he was going to be no better than the Montana coach before him (Joe Glenn) who went to Wyoming and couldn’t cut it in the MWC. Or the Montana coach before that (Mick Dennehy) who couldn’t win anything at Utah State. Being able to win at a place like Montana means little when talking about building an FBS program. Every other MWC program was laughing at the Hauck hire but we all bought Livengood’s BS.
 
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I have to disagree there. Hauck was a terrible hire from day 1. He took over a Montana program that was great for a decade before him. Everyone outside of UNLV thought he was going to be no better than the Montana coach before him (Joe Glenn) who went to Wyoming and couldn’t cut it in the MWC. Or the Montana coach before that (Mick Dennehy) who couldn’t win anything at Utah State. Being able to win at a place like Montana means little when talking about building an FBS program. Every other MWC program was laughing at the Hauck hire but we all bought Livengood’s BS.

I go back to.

1) Who could UNLV realistically afford? We've heard for years about all this phantom money to make these amazing hires.

2) Hauck was on some radars for other Division one jobs.

All these names get thrown around as having interest in the job. June Jones, Fassel etc. Sure they may have inquired, doesn't mean their interest level was all that high.

Hauck was a bad fit here in Vegas.

80-19 is 80-19. He won a lot of games.

Until recently, UNLV has never invested anything into football. Expecting anybody to turn it around quickly seems wishful.
 
Well since we aren’t dropping the football team this year or firing the coach, starting Brumfield against ASU is a decent next option. If Brumfield had started against EWU the Rebels would probably be 1-0 and this thread would have a completely different vibe. Go Rebs!
 
Well since we aren’t dropping the football team this year or firing the coach, starting Brumfield against ASU is a decent next option. If Brumfield had started against EWU the Rebels would probably be 1-0 and this thread would have a completely different vibe. Go Rebs!

From what I understand and with what Arroyo said.

Brumfield had missed significant reps leading up to game giving Rogers the start.

I would agree with people that Arroyo may have been slow in pulling the trigger and making the switch.
 
Brumfield should be starting this week or Arroyo needs to explain why not!
 
From what I understand and with what Arroyo said.

Brumfield had missed significant reps leading up to game giving Rogers the start.

I would agree with people that Arroyo may have been slow in pulling the trigger and making the switch.
We don’t see practices, no the ins or outs. Starting Rogers - going to give the strong benefit of the doubt to Arroyo with this one. Rogers earned it through Spring ball and summer.

Yeah, wish he could have pulled the plug more quickly, probably the difference between a W and L. That said, you’re juggling, playing with confidences … instead of pinning it as the wrong move, I’d just say his gut was a little off … which happens all the time in sports. It’s not a sin. It’s one of those things that just didn’t go your way.

But seeing how the team reacted overall and the much better production, easy call to make the starter switch.

But, you know … I mean, the reverse can happen next game … we aren’t talking about clear cut favorites, no brainers here. It was one game.

And what happens when Tate is ready if a Brumfield is playing really well … or even relatively well … it can come down to that gut feel again and you may be right, may be wrong.
 
We don’t see practices, no the ins or outs. Starting Rogers - going to give the strong benefit of the doubt to Arroyo with this one. Rogers earned it through Spring ball and summer.

Yeah, wish he could have pulled the plug more quickly, probably the difference between a W and L. That said, you’re juggling, playing with confidences … instead of pinning it as the wrong move, I’d just say his gut was a little off … which happens all the time in sports. It’s not a sin. It’s one of those things that just didn’t go your way.

But seeing how the team reacted overall and the much better production, easy call to make the starter switch.

But, you know … I mean, the reverse can happen next game … we aren’t talking about clear cut favorites, no brainers here. It was one game.

And what happens when Tate is ready if a Brumfield is playing really well … or even relatively well … it can come down to that gut feel again and you may be right, may be wrong.

It reminded me of a game a few years ago vs SDSU.

Sneed got his second or third career start I think. Was coming off the Hawaii or Fresno game maybe. Anyway Cotton called a super conservative game. Defense was actually playing really well that day. My guess was, Cotton kept hoping Lex would break one.

Similiar to this...Rebs were in the game. Arroyo kept waiting for it to click for Rogers. First drive after halftime we get a delay of game and a false start. Arroyo said those weren't on Justin and didn't want to yank him right then. Bad call? Maybe,, but I get the thought behind it.

If Brumfield is playing well you stick with him. If not, you go to Martell.

Don't have the stats in front of me, but Brumfield was 5-12 and there were at least 4 if not 5 drops. He managed the offense well. Put the ball on target and on time. Showed a strong arm. Used his legs pretty well. Maybe they have something there..
 
We don’t see practices, no the ins or outs. Starting Rogers - going to give the strong benefit of the doubt to Arroyo with this one. Rogers earned it through Spring ball and summer.

Yeah, wish he could have pulled the plug more quickly, probably the difference between a W and L. That said, you’re juggling, playing with confidences … instead of pinning it as the wrong move, I’d just say his gut was a little off … which happens all the time in sports. It’s not a sin. It’s one of those things that just didn’t go your way.

But seeing how the team reacted overall and the much better production, easy call to make the starter switch.

But, you know … I mean, the reverse can happen next game … we aren’t talking about clear cut favorites, no brainers here. It was one game.

And what happens when Tate is ready if a Brumfield is playing really well … or even relatively well … it can come down to that gut feel again and you may be right, may be wrong.
I sure hope this does not happen going forward.. because if so, we are in for another long year, of bad football.
 
I guess I'm not sure what people are really expecting out of this team this year. The over/under for wins had been rock solid at 1.5, with the under being a -300. You've got a team that's clearly in development and while recruiting has been pretty solid the past 2 years, it's very rare to see real impact from freshmen and sophomores when you're dealing with most players outside the top 100.

In preseason, I figured pretty early even with the absolute lack of coverage on the site (and barely anything from the Sun), that the ceiling for this team was probably 3-4 wins, with 1-2 wins being a much more realistic outcome given the schedule and the question marks that are still glaringly unanswered with scheme and roster.

You hired a big time recruiter with no head coaching experience and were having to remake the defense especially which had just been brutal under Sanchez, but you're also looking to tweak the offense as well. There are going to be growing pains, especially given the context of where the program is and what it is.

Right now, I'm happy enough that the kids play hard and don't quit, and I'm not antsy about trying to hire another coach given our track record. Football takes more patience and overcoming a terribly history and identity is much harder then just starting a new program from scratch. The defense clearly looks to be improved over last year's continuation of Tony Sanchez Doesn't Coach Defense show.

That's what I'm looking for this year. Improvement over last year, caring about win/loss this year is just another way to hurt yourself with Rebel athletics. I've been doing this dance long enough now that I'm almost to the point where I don't have any expectation.
 
I'm not enough of an expert to tell by watching if players are playing hard or playing hard enough. I determine effort by wins/ losses against the caliber of team.

I expected them to beat an FCS team that they paid $350,000 to play. There is no excuse for losing that game. We have higher ranked recruiting, 20 more scholarship players, better facilities, playing at home. On the other hand I wouldn't expect us to beat Alabama or Georgia.

I don't expect them to beat ASU, but I do expect them to do better than SUU did . I'll compare team stats to get that determination.
 
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I'm not enough of an expert to tell by watching if players are playing hard or playing hard enough. I determine effort by wins/ losses against the caliber of team.
I think I've seen enough football at this point and I can tell when a team packs it in. We've had enough UNLV teams do that over the last couple of decades I've watched them. I don't think it takes an expert.

I expected them to beat an FCS team that they paid $350,000 to play. There is no excuse for losing that game. We have higher ranked recruiting, 20 more scholarship players, better facilities, playing at home. On the other hand I wouldn't expect us to beat Alabama or Georgia.

I don't think that's an invalid perspective, but I don't fully agree because EWU isn't just a normal FCS team, they were a top 10 FCS playoff team who were returning 21 starters including the runner up for the Walter Payton award and one of the preseason favorites (FCS Heisman) in Barriere. To those starters they added a couple of FBS players. You can have 20 fewer roster spots, but when 21 of the other teams 65 has a ton more experience it makes a difference.

It think it was one of our better chances for a win--but this wasn't Howard coming in as 40 point underdogs or Prairie View A&M. I had it marked as a W until I watched EWU film, and then I knew it was going to be a dogfight. And in a dogfight sometimes experience matters more than talent.
 
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In context of defensive improvement, EWU had 371 passing yards & 471 total yards with 35 points.
The lowest total point allowed in 2020 was 34 points but the high is 45.
In 2020 the team allowed 38 points per game, which were the most since 2014.
The next 6 games will be the biggest gauge of current progress.
 
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I think I've seen enough football at this point and I can tell when a team packs it in. We've had enough UNLV teams do that over the last couple of decades I've watched them. I don't think it takes an expert.



I don't think that's an invalid perspective, but I don't fully agree because EWU isn't just a normal FCS team, they were a top 10 FCS playoff team who were returning 21 starters including the runner up for the Walter Payton award and one of the preseason favorites (FCS Heisman) in Barriere. To those starters they added a couple of FBS players. You can have 20 fewer roster spots, but when 21 of the other teams 65 has a ton more experience it makes a difference.

It think it was one of our better chances for a win--but this wasn't Howard coming in as 40 point underdogs or Prairie View A&M. I had it marked as a W until I watched EWU film, and then I knew it was going to be a dogfight. And in a dogfight sometimes experience matters more than talent.
All sounds reasonable. As for me, I'm more critical than most.
 
All sounds reasonable. As for me, I'm more critical than most.
You've just established a metric by which you judge things, I don't know that it makes you more critical, just more results oriented. And there's not a damn thing wrong with it, it just is an express lane to misery if you bleed Scarlet and Gray.

Personally, I try to add context to results. I don't really accept moral victories, but I do watch a ton of tape and look for improvements and development, because I know based on only results there's almost no point in watching the team this year. There literally are no gimmes on our schedule this year EWU and UTSA were two squads that classically on paper you'd want to pencil in as Ws, but both those teams are pretty solid despite the names feeling like they should be Ws. @UTSA and at home to UState are probably our best chances left for wins, and neither of those will be a gimme either.

This still isn't a good football team, but if I can see some development and things heading in the right direction I can handle a few absolutely shit years before I start squawking about coaching changes. It's tough to win here. Only Tony Knapp and Harvey Hyde have careers over .500 with UNLV (and technically Hyde had to vacate 11 wins which puts him well under .500). It's been 40 years since Tony Knapp left the program. I guess when I'm doing the calculus of a successful season I always keep that context in the back of my mind. Doesn't mean I think we're good or I'm making excuses. But if it were easy to win at UNLV someone would have done it.
 
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I can handle a few absolutely shit years before I start squawking about coaching changes. It's tough to win here. Only Tony Knapp and Harvey Hyde have careers over .500 with UNLV (and technically Hyde had to vacate 11 wins which puts him well under .500). It's been 40 years since Tony Knapp left the program. I guess when I'm doing the calculus of a successful season I always keep that context in the back of my mind. Doesn't mean I think we're good or I'm making excuses. But if it were easy to win at UNLV someone would have done it.
I'm in this boat too. If you want to fire the coach, then you need to consider the last 30 years and whether you think the next coaching hire will go any differently. I think it's safe to assume that it will go the same way. So let Arroyo carry on, play out most, if not all, of his contract, and see what happens. If he ends up 0-60, then I guess he's ruined his own career and UNLV's saved money not having to buy him out. Hell, he might even quit on his own before that. In a situation like UNLV's I prefer to enjoy the small moments scattered here and there rather than try to fight the tide that is UNLV's decades-long dumpster fire of a football program.
 
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