That was the message in Venables' second post. I'd imagine we'll never know the full story, but he's definitely taking responsibility. The change in tone internally before any public announcement is the weird part, to me. I guess that's the point, though, if they were trying to get their position straight before any news leaked.
We will never know for sure, but that sounds as plausible as anything else.
Ikard is unobjectionable for me, and I do trust that he wouldn't lie about what he was hearing from staff and players. If he's quiet about something, there's a reason. Once he decides to definitively go on record, he's never been called out as being untruthful.
Per Ikard, he was hearing exactly that Saturday into Sunday. Big team meeting, players are generally on board with a discussion and small leave of absence with an eye toward moving past it together. Then by Sunday evening, something in there changed. He doesn't know if it was Admin-driven, or if players spoke up that weren't comfortable doing it in a large session, or if Gundy and Venables had another discussion, but something changed.
Had to be that, and players had to be upset about it. If it was a mistake and nobody was angry, this likely comes down to an apology. Some fans are in denial and hoping something changes, but with Venables' statement, it's hard to see a way this isn't the end.
I should fucking hope so. I've got a buddy who's pretty advanced in the ag industry (KSU grad) and he says it's a cult all the way up. Apparently if you want to get in on the high level meetings, you'd better have someone on your team who can tap their idiotic ring on the table when the rest of them do it, or you're SOL.
It works until it doesn't. He's selling nothing but potential right now, with no negatives other than the uncertainty that comes with any coaching change. If he can keep it up and maintain that scarcity by demonstrating value, it's great. If there's any decline in that value, it becomes a joke among those who actually matter in the process.
Jury is out on how well Venables handles setbacks, agreed 100%. Also don't have any arguments about Lebby. There's got to be someone who knows offense that wasn't complicit in sexual assault coverups AND wasn't previously banned from the OU sidelines.
I think the Nova Scotia Crystal place on the Harbor in Halifax closed down, but if it has somehow magically reopened, visit there. It was the only place in Canada doing actual hand-blown crystal work. I had a great meal at the Bicycle Thief a little farther south along the water. The views coming down the hill are incredible.