Buehrle>Wood

Rice's student section might be the best in the state.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 7, 2014 -> 02:21 PM) Not really. I think the basketball program has a higher expectation and chance at sustained success. The football program is just dead to the world. Of course illini basketball has higher expectations. We're talking about Illini football fans though. Half of them defend Ron freaking Zook, generally regarded as an awful coach by the rest of the sane world, like he's their own first born. Hell this whole discussion started because illinois fans think they might have a shot at a guy from one of the worst programs in the country and whose resume includes a 10-19 mark as a head coach. How is that having too high of expectations?

I think he's confusing basketball and football fans.

Compared to Memphis? FIU is not much a step backwards. Yes to Illinois they both are. That's what happens when you get fired.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 7, 2014 -> 12:54 PM) What are Ron Turner and Ron Zook doing now? Ron Turner is still head coaching in Division 1 and Zook is coaching in the nfl. Not bad considering they were football brain dead.

Yeah. It's a gigantic step up.

Yeah. He needs to win a bit this year to fully prove himself but I'm on board. Hopefully he still has some major ties to Texas.

I think I'mjumping on the Justin Fuente bandwagon for Illinois.

I'm more worried about some school like West Virginia than Florida or Michigan. Projecting the fired coaches: Kansas, Michigan, West Virginia, Iowa State, Hawaii, Idaho (how did anyone anyone give Paul Petrino a HC job), UNLV. Don't see anyone else really that close. Maybe a surprise or 2. Maybe Colorado opens up. Gonna be interesting how the food chain ends up. Harbaugh going from nfl to Michigan is the best case scenario. Not sure who Florida goes after. West Virginia and Illinois would be in for similar candidates with them being the better job. Coacheshotseat.com lists Saban as having the hottest seat. Okay.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Oct 6, 2014 -> 10:45 AM) Talk about blasts from the past As if he doesn't have an alt on here right now.... But yeah that's why message boards with strict molding never last. When you ban half your userbase, there's no one left to post.

Boegarts, Bradley Jr, Allen Craig, Betts, Swihart, Ranaudo, Owens and Joe Kelly.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 6, 2014 -> 08:44 AM) OK. I am also going to try and make a run at Kate Upton this offseason as well. Wish me luck. At least Kate Upton should actually be on the market after those mistress pics. Sale not so much.

Big Game James

Only bad thing is they will totally get Gardenhire now

Okay Showalter

Hmmm feel like he got pulled a little early

QUOTE (gatnom @ Oct 4, 2014 -> 11:43 PM) Who do you like? Not going to shoot down your candidates, just genuinely curious. This would be my mostly realistic list. I realize some guys get better offers/don't come here but it only takes one: 1. Greg Schiano 2. Pat Narduzzi 3. Dino Babers (like him more than a lot of people I realize) 4. Jeremy Pruitt 5. Chad Morris 6. Bud Foster 7. Craig Bohl 8. Pete Lembo 9. Tim Deruyter

QUOTE (gatnom @ Oct 4, 2014 -> 01:35 PM) Wishful thinking, but if they can find a way to throw enough money at Chuck Martin to fix this dumpster fire I'd be ecstatic. Chuck Martin I'm sure would take the Illini job in a heart beat. He should also be about 10th on our list.

QUOTE (fathom @ Oct 4, 2014 -> 05:20 PM) Some great refs in the Stanford game as well...not If you're Stanford why would you ever agree to go back to South Bend.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Oct 2, 2014 -> 10:33 PM) Tom Gordon was one of my favorite pitchers. He's the nicest guy in the world. I was sure to disclose that I was curious about him specifically, no need to get salty. My bad, my post was not directed at you.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 2, 2014 -> 03:43 PM) There are actually a lot of guys I have issues with on that list. How many of those guys were one year wonders? How many were successful before getting with Cooper? Why can't Cooper fix guys and keep them fixed? How many of those guys were going to be good no matter who was pitching coach? How many of them are just not very good to begin with? It's pretty subjective in that manner. Like I said, I'm not trying to say Cooper is a bad pitching coach. I like him and like what he does, but so much of the coaching game is having good players. It's amazing we got one year out of a lot of those guys. That's the whole point.

Haha love how you nitpicked one guy

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 2, 2014 -> 11:38 AM) Ignoring everything else, who are the guys (plural) that the Sox signed to minor league contracts and turned them into Cy Young pitchers? I can think of Loaiza, and that was one, isolated incident who never had another season like that again. My problem with giving Cooper a pass and chastizing all of the hitting coaches is that I don't see much of a difference. Who are the pitchers that Cooper has helped recuperate? Please note that, based on your criteria (ie Konerko), I can exclude anyone who has had success before or after Cooper too. I really like Cooper, I felt that Walker should have been let go when he was, I had no problem with Manto being let go, and I still really like Steverson, but what are we basing that off? Esteban Loaiza Damaso Marte Neil Cotts Helped Save Tom Gordon's career Cliff Politte Jose Contreras Bobby Jenks Dustin Hermanson Matt Thornton Gavin Floyd DJ Carrasco Chris Sale Jose Quintana Jesse Crain Dylan f***ing Axelrod listing him just brcause Hector Santiago Phil Humber Nate Jones Scott Carroll, Axelrod territory Hector Noesi I'm sure there's more. All these guys pretty much killed their expectations here or performed at an extremely high level. And I'm sure I've missed quite a bit. I'm sure you can also find reasons not to list them. Regardless his work with Quintana, Contreras, and Thornton alone outweighs anything Walking has done. The rest is a bonus.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 2, 2014 -> 10:54 AM) Paul Konerko, Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye, Joe Crede, Alex Rios...there are a ton of players that would say that Walker helped them turn their careers around, Joe Crede especially. Prior to 2006, he was a .250 hitter who hit 20 home runs and would always pop out to 2B from pulling off the ball. He worked his ass off that offseason with Walker in staying on the ball better and he had an absolutely phenomenal year until the back injury that ruined his career creeped in. Yeah it pretty much comes down to Joe Crede being the only guy in 9 years that Greg Walker can show off and a little Jermaine Dye. Thome was literally a hall of famer. Paul Konerko was a beast before Walker got here and oddly enough had his worst full season ever in Walker's first year here. No idea why Alex Rios is even considered. Hes like the posterboy for Walker's suckage. He was way better before Walker got to him and mostly better after too. He was pretty much dismal under Walker. Dye was an all star caliber player before he came here but managed to improve with age. I have no problem crediting Walker here. Now compare that to Don Cooper who has put guys signed to minor league contracts into Cy Young conversations.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 2, 2014 -> 09:16 AM) I don't mean to speak for Dick Allen here, but I think his big thing is this: if Greg Walker or Jeff Manto get blamed or fired because the offense underperforms, regardless of the talent on hand, why is Don Cooper continually given a free pass and not criticized when the pitching staff in recent years has been mediocre to dreadful, regardless of talent on hand? So many times, it matters not who coaches but insteaad who your players are. Um that's the whole point. Greg Walker has failed absolutely miserably with his biggest projects throughout his career here. He's never had a guy outperform expectations like ever. Meanwhile we spend next to nothing on the pitching staff and Cooper succeeds often with waiver wire scrubs and such and has our Gordon Beckham of pitching actually performing like the all world talent he's supposed to be.