Jacking off to my Sark performance fantasy

[Wulaw Horn 18974]

This thread is created by popular demand (OK- maybe CTJ isn’t all that popular here with everyone but whatever) to explore arguments that maybe 7 win Steve or Steve sarkolosingham isn’t as bad as everyone thinks, and that he might even be about to lead us into a golden age of Texas football. 

Case to follow in about 8 or 10 subsequent posts so this post doesn’t become TL/DR. 

Note- anyone that knows me knows I’m a really authentic guy. I share what’s going on and am willing to open myself up to ridicule (running an rv into a low bridge, says hi) if it’s going to be a cautionary tale or entertain others around me.
 

I KNOW, without a doubt, that making this case is going to open me up to more potential for ridicule or being pointed at and laughed at than anyone posting anything on here has since it was posted that we would stomp a mud hole in Stanford’s ass or that an Alabama team on the verge of winning a national title was going to gargle balls. Such is the nature of having a take about an event that hasn’t yet happened yet. 

[TKthunder2 4980]

[n64ra 1076]

Just posting this to get us closer to that 8th or 10th post containing the case.

[Fire Jack Chevigny 938]

[Wulaw Horn 18974]

Argument #1- Sark the player:

Steven Sarkisian was a marginally talented player that had an incredibly successful college career.  The man had not enough talent to even get a sniff at an NFL career, yet his senior year at BYU he became the first player to ever lead a team to 14 wins in a school year, going 14-1.  He torched aggy with 536 yards in the season opener and ended with vanquishing the purple wizard in a gritty comeback win in the Cotton Bowl.  He even appeared on the cover of TV Guide!  That, my friends, is even better than being on the cover of SI.  

How did he do it?  By maximizing all his meager God given abilities.  Most superstars suck as coaches b/c they don't understand why mere mortals can't just do what they did. Not our Sark!  He learned how to squeeze every drop of performance out of his talent, brought a hard edge to BYU, and his still beloved in mormon land even though he is not an LDS cat.  Those guys saw what he was about and invited him into their hearts and revere him as a hero. That doesn't happen without grit, guile, and moxie.  He proved, even as a young pup, that he is a leader of men. And he can relate to every athlete on the team, from the coverboy getting the media love (he can tell Bijan all about his TV guide covershoot- after explaining what TV guide is to Bijan of course) to the guy who is not insanely talented trying to figure out how to navigate a college career.  Clearly, this counts for something. 

[Thiefery 4965]

winner in my book 

[UTEE97 3429]

I think it will come down to the collective mindset of the team that just got too comfortable with losing without feeling angry. Hopefully, the roster turnover will help cleanse some of that losing mentality. We also brought in fresh talent in many positions of need (except perhaps Edge). Just getting rid of Casey is probably worth at least 1-2 more wins. He was just plain awful at times, and Card obviously was no better. Also, I believe the defense will be vastly improved. So, having a better offense and better defense and losing a bunch of lazy players who checked out long time ago should translate to few more wins in my book. I see us losing to one of OU/ OSU and perhaps one of BU/KSU. That would be a great turnaround, but I also see us potentially making a run for the Big 12 championship if we are able to develop good team chemistry. 

Edited August 25, 2022 by UTEE97

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

9 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Argument #1- Sark the player:

Are you starting out with your shittiest argument?

Fuck, man.

[Wulaw Horn 18974]

Sark the offensive mastermind:

Steve Sarkisian was a wonderkid throughout his meteoric rise through the coaching ranks as an assistant.  He coached and developed QB's at USC when they were in dynasty mode- leading his charges to accolades like the Heisman, and high draft pick status.  NFL legend Al Davis was so impressed he made Sark a QB coach while still in his 20's, and later, almost hired him to be the youngest head coach in NFL history before he pulled his name out of contention for the job and went back to USC to be the OC there for Pete Carrol.

Although the AL Davis part is obviously tongue in cheek, really successful head coaches in PC at USC and Nick Saban at Alabama have hired him multiple times and trusted him with their offense.  Every coach can make a bad hire, but there is no way that great coaches like those two would go back to the well and hire a guy that they know sucks.  He's impressed with his play calling, scheme, work effort, and his results at the college level when coordinating an offense have been great. This guy knows how to scheme and play call an offense at the college level better than almost every other human being that's ever held that job.  He's elite of elite at this- and that doesn't go away at all.  If he's given the Jimmy's and Joe's he's got the X's and O's to make it happen.  And he's proven that at multiple different stops multiple different times.  I have to admit, I was not at all happy about the Sark hire.  I wanted Urban badly. I was very bummed when we didn't get them. Then, I watched the master class Sark put on in the CFP and was really really really impressed, and willing to consider the fact that this hire might be really good and work out well for us.  

[Wulaw Horn 18974]

2 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Are you starting out with your shittiest argument?

Fuck, man.

Lets start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.  When you read you begin with A, B, C, when you sing you begin with Doe Rae Me, when you Sark you begin with BYU.  

[Shaggyhorn 641]

Lets start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.  When you read you begin with A, B, C, when you sing you begin with Doe Rae Me, when you Sark you begin with BYU.  

[bschoolprof 6232]

[ermahgerdhorn 178]

7 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Are you starting out with your shittiest argument?

Fuck, man.

Honestly based on his USC days I could get behind a "Sark THE PLAYA" argument.  

[Butch Had Not 2940]

I'm a Sark guy. I laughed and ridiculed his USC demise in real time but when Saban hired him for a second time,  I was all aboard.  He had something as a coach. Maybe it's all as an OC. But he's a guy that is easy to like and root for when he's on your side. 

My pie in the sky dream here is that we can run the team like the baker/Murray OU teams and score a shit ton until we figure out the defense. 

[Zeus 5947]

In

Just wish he would stop squatting the whole game

 

[Butch Had Not 2940]

2 minutes ago, Zeus said:

In

Just wish he would stop squatting the whole game

 

Does he have his entire arm tatted up? Never seen him with short sleeve. 

[WBT 20415]

Not that I didn't believe you but there it is

[Wulaw Horn 18974]

Sark- decent track record at turning around a dumpster fire in Washington:

Sark is being given shit by our fan base and called 7 win Steve for his work with the Washington Huskies in his first job, but is this an epithet he should have to live down, or a building block to show he might be the right guy.  

About the Washington team he took over:  Ty Willingham was God awful there.  He was there for 4 years to clean up an mess and instead of doing that with any semblance of competence he went 11-37, with the arrow pointed directly into the ground.  Sark took over a program in as bad possible shape as any in the country.  He then went 34-29.  He won 5, 7,7, 7 and 8 games there.  He took over a dumpster fire, created a first round QB out of thin air (the shitty Jake Locker) and restored the talent level to such a point that the guy taking over for him had the foundation in place to win a conference title and earn a playoff berth pretty quickly.  He did yeomans work in resurrecting the program from the dead, and was rewarded with the job at SC.  People use this as a data point for failure but this looks like a guy who pointed the team into a much better direction and started building a program.  That's a good thing.  Reminds me a lot of Mack Brown at North Carolina, only he left in year 5 when the program was poised to get better while Mack stuck around and reaped the 10 win season reward for the building being put into it. I'd say, he took over a house on fire, put it out, cleaned the kitchen up and at least bought and assembled all the ingredients to build a cake, even if he didn't stick around long enough to mix the ingredients up and then put it in the oven to bake. 

Edited August 25, 2022 by Wulaw Horn

[Wulaw Horn 18974]

11 minutes ago, bschoolprof said:

Nobody is making you read any of this!

[LTtxfan 48962]

In on page 1

You do you Wulaw Horn...  

[TreatyOak 16149]

[Helobious 9480]

I don’t know that I’ve ever been less confident in sark than I have after reading this thread. Please stop giving your “arguments” Wulaw. Killing my hope.

[Had Enough 2056]

I think it will come down to the collective mindset of the team that just got too comfortable with losing without feeling angry. Hopefully, the roster turnover will help cleanse some of that losing mentality. We also brought in fresh talent in many positions of need (except perhaps Edge). Just getting rid of Casey is probably worth at least 1-2 more wins. He was just plain awful at times, and Card obviously was no better. Also, I believe the defense will be vastly improved. So, having a better offense and better defense and losing a bunch of lazy players who checked out long time ago should translate to few more wins in my book. I see us losing to one of OU/ OSU and perhaps one of BU/KSU. That would be a great turnaround, but I also see us potentially making a run for the Big 12 championship if we are able to develop good team chemistry. 

Who were the lazy playerS?

[Neonmoon 38127]

What will happen to the Sark debate if the Colt Scenario happens?

ie, someone important gets injured, the teams performance tanks, and Surly is left to debate the "what if" tangents for the rest of time?

[UTEE97 3429]

3 minutes ago, Had Enough said:

Who were the lazy playerS?

Everyone we lost in the portal was either lazy, coasting, or untalented. Laziest of the bunch was BJ Foster imo. Josh Moore, Tyler Owens, Chris Adimora, Ayodele, Casey - they all were addition by subtraction. 

[Wulaw Horn 18974]

Sark at USC- was it really all that bad or just completely and totally explainable? 

Lots of people are going to point to Sark's tenure at USC as in some way disappointing or as proof that he can't be a head coach.  What I'm here to say is "Not so fast my friend."

Lets get the elephant in the room out of the way first- Sark might have occasionally had a little too much to drink.  Here is what I will say about that:  Who amongst this group of degenerates hasn't gotten drunker than Cooter Brown and made an ass of themselves at the Xmas party?  Right?  That's what I thought.  That's a lot like Sark falling off the stage at an alumni speaking event after engaging in a little drunken rambling.  If we couldn't nonsensically communicate with each other after having too much to drink this board would have 60% less posts and be 75% less interesting?  Who here hasn't showed up to the office hung over from the night before?  Possibly even drunk?  Possibly even deciding that the only cure for what ails them is a little hair of the dog?   Yeah- that's right.  Sark's epic receipt with eleventy hundred tequila shots?  Do we really believe that's not what client dinner looks like at the average Surly Barristers firm?  Of course it is.  But, he learned some stuff through all this.  It is known that what doesn't kill us will  make us stronger.  That's the binary we are dealing with here.  Death or personal growth.  Sark ain't dead so I guess we know that means he grew from the experience.  

 

On a serious note- up to this point in time Sark has lived a charmed life.  Beloved TV guide coverboy QB for BYU.  Huge early success at the QB coach and coordinator level.  National Championship rings.  Big contracts.  Successful turn around of the program in Washington.  Being given the biggest job (at the time) in all of college football.  Nobody has ever told him no. Things have always worked out for him. He is in the process of creating one of the biggest ego's imaginable.  And it all comes crashing down.  Disgrace.  National punch line.  Divorce.  Doesn't get to live in the same house with his kid.  Professional failure. Personal failure. Seriously, that's some really heavy shit.  And he had to walk through that and come out on the other side.  We have incredible story after incredible story on the Alcoholic and divorce thread about guys picking up the shattered pieces of their lives and building something new and beautiful.  Almost always the story is the same.  Success. Ego. Humility. Rebuild.  Looks like this has been Sarks path.  

From a football standpoint it probably ought to be pointed out that Sark took over a team that had 46 dudes on scholarship, was on probation, and capped at 65 scholarships.  Also, they had clearly come off their peak, Lane Kiffin was fired mid season for a reason, the cookie monster was given reigns to the program for 3 months before Sark took over so you know nothing sensible for long term stability was being done, and Sark went 9-4 in year 1 before getting himself fired in year 2.  USC wasn't the USC that Sark left anymore (thanks VY for breaking that dynasty), but it was recent enough in time to that the fan base was not willing to settle for anything other than ultimate success. Like us- circa 2014 or so when Mack won 8 games and was given the boot (he should have been- but it's obviously gotten worse since then). 

Takeaway from this- Sark embarrassed himself on a personal level and seems to have learned from it.  There's some stuff that shouldn't be talked about on the board about his personal life now.  IYKYN.  He clearly appears to be a better dude that people want to root for.  He doesn't seem to have some of the demons that once troubled him.  He doesn't seem like a dry drunk to me.  I don't know him personally, but I also don't know anyone that's interacted with him in the past 6 or 8 years that doesn't like him and wish him well.  From a football perspective USC wasn't in a great spot, he didn't make it better but also nobody has come in afterwards and had more success than him.  Not like he was the thumb that stuck out for his incompetence, he looks like all the other guys there.  

[Domedriver 655]

I are in supports of this threads!🤘

[Wulaw Horn 18974]

19 minutes ago, Helobious said:

I don’t know that I’ve ever been less confident in sark than I have after reading this thread. Please stop giving your “arguments” Wulaw. Killing my hope.

Feel free to not read. You are basically wrong about everything so if you are saying stop it clearly means all gas and no brakes is the way to go. 

Edited August 25, 2022 by Wulaw Horn

[Zeus 5947]

24 minutes ago, TreatyOak said:

 

[Had Enough 2056]

Everyone we lost in the portal was either lazy, coasting, or untalented. Laziest of the bunch was BJ Foster imo. Josh Moore, Tyler Owens, Chris Adimora, Ayodele, Casey - they all were addition by subtraction. 

Ok. The first name would probably always be Foster but am curious as to others. Moore obviously. It is interesting how the view on Thompson has seemingly changed from end of season to now.

[gmr548 16491]

On 1/2/2021 at 10:54 AM, gmr548 said:

The only reason not to hate it is knowing that Herman has to go.

You can’t hide that it’s an extremely questionable hire at absolute best.

^ you repped me for this post on January 2, 2021.

To now be writing what you did to open this thread, given Sark's body of work so far, is, uh... Well, it's something.

[UTEE97 3429]

2 minutes ago, Had Enough said:

Ok. The first name would probably always be Foster but am curious as to others. Moore obviously. It is interesting how the view on Thompson has seemingly changed from end of season to now.

The whole team quit during the second half of the season with perhaps a few exceptions. Some were obvious and others were just going through the motions, but I do believe the players we lost were just taking up roster spots without contributing meaningfully to the team. 

[DFW Horn 6118]

It goes without saying, (much like this thread) but 7-win Steve sucks shit through a straw if he can't win big at UT in the NIL era.

[Sgt Hulk 13645]

Fuck it. I’m in for 9 wins 

[Wulaw Horn 18974]

Sark in year 1 at Texas- the pantry was pretty empty.

Y'all know about Texas.  We don't have to relitigate what happened last season. But just know this- we had Casey Thompson as our QB, not a single player got drafted, our WR room was the worst I've ever seen (outside of X- who wouldn't be here if Sark didn't go get him) our OL was abysmal, did I mention not a single player got drafted?  And still, there are no obvious draft candidates on Defense, which is the part of the team that has the most older players.  It was bad.  Really bad.  But I still saw really good game plans that schemed deep shots that our incompetent QB just derped.  IF you couldn't see that Sark dialed up the Touchdown play brilliantly many a time last year and players didn't execute you know less about football than I do.  I don't know much about football. A guy that knows football knows 7 different ways to get a RB isolated on a LB in space. I know none of them.  I do know when I see someone else has set that up though. And Sark did that kind of stuff really well.  Lots of people bitch about no adjustments at half time and blowing games. It sucked.  What I would argue, in the defense of Sark is that the lack of adjustments were a fact because of the lack of talent.  Sark drew up looks and schemes and called plays that were well designed for pretty shitty players.  Once he ran out of scheme based trickery, the other coach saw what happened he ended up getting shut down.  

I have a bitch with only 2 game plans and it was the same failure against the drop 8 of Arkansas and ISU. Sark didn't have anything lined up for that.  Was it personal limitations?  Scheme stuborness?  I don't know, but he needs to get a white board answer for that for sure. 

5-7 isn't our standard, but we played a lot of close games, won almost none of them, and had just shit at the OL, QB, WR (outside of X) and most of the defense, along with some bad luck and bad coaching.  We didn't get a normal spring/summer to install.  That can't be helpful in starting a new regime.  But you could see some stuff that shows he is a really good offensive mind.

[Wulaw Horn 18974]

8 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

^ you repped me for this post on January 2, 2021.

To now be writing what you did to open this thread, given Sark's body of work so far, is, uh... Well, it's something.

It's almost like I wrote these actual sentences in this stream of posts in the last 30 minutes.:

 I have to admit, I was not at all happy about the Sark hire.  I wanted Urban badly. I was very bummed when we didn't get them. 

[DigglerontheHoof 21053]

[NoRagrets 1125]

He needs five seasons.  He’s an offensive mastermind and great recruiter. Make a change at DC, but let’s let Sark build a program.

I was surprised at the Sark hire given that, by most accounts, Herman was fired more for his off the field issues than on the field results. 

[NWAustinDude 2252]

Finally, a new preseason thread to read

 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

7 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Sark in year 1 at Texas- the pantry was pretty empty.

Y'all know about Texas.  We don't have to relitigate what happened last season. But just know this- we had Casey Thompson as our QB, not a single player got drafted, our WR room was the worst I've ever seen (outside of X- who wouldn't be here if Sark didn't go get him) our OL was abysmal, did I mention not a single player got drafted?  And still, there are no obvious draft candidates on Defense, which is the part of the team that has the most older players.  It was bad.  Really bad.  But I still saw really good game plans that schemed deep shots that our incompetent QB just derped.  IF you couldn't see that Sark dialed up the Touchdown play brilliantly many a time last year and players didn't execute you know less about football than I do.  I don't know much about football. A guy that knows football knows 7 different ways to get a RB isolated on a LB in space. I know none of them.  I do know when I see someone else has set that up though. And Sark did that kind of stuff really well.  Lots of people bitch about no adjustments at half time and blowing games. It sucked.  What I would argue, in the defense of Sark is that the lack of adjustments were a fact because of the lack of talent.  Sark drew up looks and schemes and called plays that were well designed for pretty shitty players.  Once he ran out of scheme based trickery, the other coach saw what happened he ended up getting shut down.  

I have a bitch with only 2 game plans and it was the same failure against the drop 8 of Arkansas and ISU. Sark didn't have anything lined up for that.  Was it personal limitations?  Scheme stuborness?  I don't know, but he needs to get a white board answer for that for sure. 

5-7 isn't our standard, but we played a lot of close games, won almost none of them, and had just shit at the OL, QB, WR (outside of X) and most of the defense, along with some bad luck and bad coaching.  We didn't get a normal spring/summer to install.  That can't be helpful in starting a new regime.  But you could see some stuff that shows he is a really good offensive mind.

Each time you roll out a new argument a pumper on the other thread changes his tune to “we’re fucked, aren’t we?”

[Wulaw Horn 18974]

Lessens learned- aka- nailing the offseason

I was pretty bummed out about the trajectory of the program after the first year.  It wasn't great, even if some of it was explainable.  But, here is what I said after losing to Kansas that Sark had to do to get me onboard:

1) Get some level of heart for the final game of the year (Check- we beat KSU and Roshan established himself as the alpha on the team in leadership)

2) Get Quinn Ewers, a generational type talent to come here (check)

3) Fix the WR room through the portal (check- Neyor and the guy from ISU- not Sark's fault Neyor got hurt)

4) Finish strong in recruiting including nailing the OL (check and check.  Thanks Pancake factory- thank you #3 class)

5) Do something about the defense on the headset (hello Gary Patterson)

6) Fill in weak parts of the staff (great hires at RB and WR rooms)

7) Change the mood in the lockerroom and around the team through positive losses and bringing in good dudes (Get in that motherfucker- check- guys that have come in from other programs also seem good- our hobbit LB and our gimpy ISU receiver seem to know what they are about- and of course- the mullet man). 

8 ) not fuck up fall camp and the QB decision.  (check- the fact that he made Ketch look like a fool is just Chef's kiss).

This offseason was a very clear success.  Other than not getting an edge guy that's good (and that's going to haunt- I just know it), Sark has gone down the checklist and made every room on the team better. Most through portals, but the OL class we just recruited has the talent to be legendary. We are upgraded across the board everywhere in talent, while not seeing a single guy leave that we wish didn't (other than maybe Dicker).  

[orange dream 1241]

Love the thread.  Whether we agree or not, I don't really see the choice any of us have but to hope that this stuff is true and that somehow Sark can put it together. 

 

“Hope is the most powerful force in the universe. With hope you can inspire nations to greatness. With hope you can raise up the downtrodden. With hope you can ease the pain of unbearable loss. Sometimes all it takes is one person to make a difference.”

— William H. McRaven

[Wulaw Horn 18974]

2 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Each time you roll out a new argument a pumper on the other thread changes his tune to “we’re fucked, aren’t we?”

Cool.   A catch all place was wanted, this is it.  It might go very badly.  

[LTtxfan 48962]

15 minutes ago, Sgt Hulk said:

Fuck it. I’m in for 9 wins 

 

At least get to  8-4 World 

 

 

 

4 minutes ago, orange dream said:

Love the thread.  Whether we agree or not, I don't really see the choice any of us have but to hope that this stuff is true and that somehow Sark can put it together. 

 

“Hope is the most powerful force in the universe. With hope you can inspire nations to greatness. With hope you can raise up the downtrodden. With hope you can ease the pain of unbearable loss. Sometimes all it takes is one person to make a difference.”

— William H. McRaven

Username ✔

 

 

Edited August 25, 2022 by LTtxfan

[UT_OB1 2200]

1 hour ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Sark the offensive mastermind:

Steve Sarkisian was a wonderkid throughout his meteoric rise through the coaching ranks as an assistant.  

[Wulaw Horn 18974]

Talent acquisition: The Most important part of College football

Since he has shown up on campus Sark nabbed X from the transfer pool, nabbed Ewers from the transfer pool, locked down the great Eli Mannings nephew, had the best OL class we've ever recruited, nailed the top RB in the country, and has started to keep Bama and OSU out of the state with guys that previously had gotten away from us, while going and snagging the best player in Florida, Louisiana, Hawaii, and maybe soon to be Utah.  We were a top 5 class last year and built from the inside out instead of relying upon overrated skill position guys.  Most everyone we signed had really good offer lists, most of the guys we have in this years class could pick up the phone in a heartbeat and get a spot on most top 10 teams in CFB, and we are set up to make a run at 5 or 7 other studs if this season goes well.  The name of the game in college football is building a roster with real talent, and we are in the process of doing that.  Is it all Sark?  No- NIL is huge and will need to continue to be huge.  But somebody has to be the face of this talent acquisition, that's Sark right now, and he's doing a really good job of it.  That, more than anything, is what gives me some confidence that he's going to get this thing turned around.  The talent acquisition looks really really good right now- from high school and in the portal.  Hang your hopes mostly on that. 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

7 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Talent acquisition: The Most important part of College football

Since he has shown up on campus Sark nabbed X from the transfer pool, nabbed Ewers from the transfer pool, locked down the great Eli Mannings nephew, had the best OL class we've ever recruited, nailed the top RB in the country, and has started to keep Bama and OSU out of the state with guys that previously had gotten away from us, while going and snagging the best player in Florida, Louisiana, Hawaii, and maybe soon to be Utah.  We were a top 5 class last year and built from the inside out instead of relying upon overrated skill position guys.  Most everyone we signed had really good offer lists, most of the guys we have in this years class could pick up the phone in a heartbeat and get a spot on most top 10 teams in CFB, and we are set up to make a run at 5 or 7 other studs if this season goes well.  The name of the game in college football is building a roster with real talent, and we are in the process of doing that.  Is it all Sark?  No- NIL is huge and will need to continue to be huge.  But somebody has to be the face of this talent acquisition, that's Sark right now, and he's doing a really good job of it.  That, more than anything, is what gives me some confidence that he's going to get this thing turned around.  The talent acquisition looks really really good right now- from high school and in the portal.  Hang your hopes mostly on that. 

what are we set up to do if the season doesn't go well?

[Wulaw Horn 18974]

Conclusion- what do you need to do at Texas to win big?

 Mack Brown said (or maybe it was DKR) the biggest job as the head coach is to get all the BB's back in the box. Sark is doing that to my way of thinking.  People like him.  He didn't go out of his way to be aloof and unpersonable (Mackovic and Herman). He's not clearly in over his head as a tactician (David M., and Charlie Strong).  The President supports him.  The AD is doing a good job raising money for him and giving him what he needs. The boosters and town are helping him.  This program is a giant. It's got all sorts of wonderful advantages you can point to that can help it succeed and thrive. We are at worst a top 10 overall program in the history of college football.  But, it has problems with inertia and it can be a real bitch to get moving, out of its own way, and have everyone rowing the same time on the oars.  I think Sark has buy in from who he needs buy in from.  He's got people in his corner.  He's been marked by PC, Saban and the Manning clan as a guy that can be trusted to run shit for them on the offensive side of the ball and career development. He's had success as a player/leader.  He knows what good looks like.  He's had some success in taking a program from wretched to above average, he's learned some things in his personal life.  He's succeeded and been brought low and matured and grown up.  Now he's in his late 40's/early 50's where a decent man processes through his experiences, folds in the wisdom he's learned along the way, and still has the vitality of a man young enough to take that all together and get the job done.  Sark and his experiences, while not resounding successes at every stage of his career is the man in time to restore the talent of this program, get everyone pulling in the right direction to do the hardest part which is break out of the initial inertia and lethargy killing the program, and has the tactical chops to keep it going once it gets in the right direction.

We are on the cusp of a golden age of Texas football and people are going to start seeing it this year when we win 9 or 10 games (counting possible big 12 title game and bowl game in this number), finish the year with a team that would throttle the team that began the year, ink another top 5 class, fill some needs in the portal and come into 2023 with the mindset of show me a loss.  

Thus ends my optimists case for Sark at UT.  

Note- I'm not saying it must go down this way or that the people who are negative are wrong. If he shits the bed again this year then he needs to be fired.  But, I think his personality, tactical chops, nailing of the offseason and talent acquisition should give him enough rope that we have an open mind this season and root for/hope for the best.  

Flame away. Call me an idiot. Tell me I can't drive an RV.  Or that I'm fat or ugly or whatever it is that will make you happy now.  If it goes bad I will ask Immamac if I can start the Fire Sark thread.  If I do have that honor (I doubt I will) my post would be titled "Fire Sark" and the inside of the post would be:   CTJ was right. I'm an idiot for ever having any hope it could work out. It's time. Boy did we fuck this up yet again.  There won't need to be a case made. It will be obvious to almost everyone.    

[PTINS 3442]

I wanted to start this thread, but Wulaw beat me to it. Thanks, sir!

I am a big Sark fan. Primarily, because he faced his demons head on and made the best of a second chance.

I like what he has to say, and the way he says it. I've heard nothing but praise for him from former players, coaches, and parents. He was high performing college QB, knows the position first hand, and is able to relate to players in a way that few do. He will attract talent.

Imo, the biggest mistake Sark made is seeing the talent he inherited and comparing that to other places.

I saw as many wtf moments by Texas last year as I have seen in the past 50 years.  That was the worst excuse for a "Texas Team" that I have ever seen.

• How many "pick 6's" did we have? Don't answer that, please! I saw them all. The Okla State one vaporized the emotion on the field and in the stands. We were a rudderless boat spinning around in circles. Were was the leadership on the field?
• How many "ole" blocks by the OL that resulted in QB pressures and sacks?
• How many times did Bijan get hit in the backfield?
• How many defenders had the ball carrier run right by him without even touching him?
• 100% of this happened on the playing field, not the sidelines.
• 100% by the players, 0% coaching.

Yes, we had talent, but attitude & performance was for shit. He got rid of the bad apples.

"I think it will come down to the collective mindset of the team that just got too comfortable with losing without feeling angry." - UTEE97

It starts w/ the culture. We've turned the corner, but are we there? I think so.

Can Sark get the most out of the players we have? Not sure. The offense will perform.  Too many good players not too.

The defense DL is the big question.  Is the DL coached to just occupy space? Coburn, Ojomo, Broughton, Collins were all highly recruited. I'm wondering why? Do these gentle giants even have a killer instinct? I'm glad they're good people that will graduate, but they need to play up to their expectations. Whether the expectations are higher than the potential is the question. I'm hopeful PK, Bo and Patterson will get the most out of them, I just hope it's enough. 

Please pass the Kool-Aid.

  

 

[Wulaw Horn 18974]

5 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

what are we set up to do if the season doesn't go well?

Lose most of the top end talent in our class and circle the drain.  It's at the very tail end of my "in conclusion" post.