I can't remember being completely disinterested in a season, 9+ months before it even starts.
I think he still has a job for 3 reasons:
1.) No 'permanent' President at the university at the moment. Interim Pres (and by extension Swann) likely don't have the horsepower to make any long term changes.
2.) Dr. Perv at the med campus was a PR disaster, and is going to cost the school a fortune. Helton isn't likely to attract the NCAA's bloodhounds any time soon, so at least there's no scandal there.
3.) Who is going to replace him?
In general terms, I'm all good with keeping a coach after 1 bad season....particularly when he was 21-6 in the previous two, including a Pac12 title and a Rose Bowl win. I don't want a revolving door of coaches, so I'm good with giving coaches a mulligan.
That being said....
I don't think Helton is as good of a coach as the 21-6 indicates. I think Darnold's heroics bagged him far more wins than he 'deserved.' And it's not just the 5-7 record this year. It's the way the team played that is hard to swallow. Totally undisciplined, and soft as butter. Every game was the same: score 2 or 3 times early and look decent for a quarter or so, and then bend over, grab the ankles, and hang on for dear life while the opponent ripped off as many points as they wanted. That's all coaching.....or lack thereof.
It'll be interesting to see what the crowds look like next year. The renovated Coliseum debuts, including a bunch of new suites (that people paid between $1m and $8m for)....and this is the product they're being offered?
Weird that a FSU fan would try to spin this as a bad thing for A&M
That ain't what I saw, b. He was chasing Craig the entire time. He got him away from the sideline and was heading back. Kragthorpe came up behind him and bumped him. He then pushed Kragthorpe away. At no point did Kragthorpe buckle over or get hit out of nowhere.
He also got sucker punched by an LSU player and Faulk didn't really do shit to him if you watch the video. He never even buckled and gave one back.
I am relaying what happened last year with the same guy as he went after an FSU staffer. But do you think this is this a good look either way for A&M? A coach running over like that to talk shit and get in the face of the opposing team? And the nephew of the head coach getting into it with them as well?
Eh - you were a wee babe when Paul Hackett was coach, but the pattern was very similar - jump out to a lead early, on the backs of the speedsters USC always seems to have at the skill positions, then watch that lead erode, fade, and turn into a deficit as inferior coaching and lack of adjustments take hold.
It was like giving an addict $5000 to turn his life around where at first he gets and apartment and a bus pass, applies for jerbs, and looks like he's gonna be okay. Then, after not finding any jerbs, gets discouraged and buys a six-pack to chill out, which morphs into trying to score smack with his old dealer who has now jacked up prices. Pretty soon he's deeply in deficit again and smoking pole to get his fix.
But really - I fully expect nothing better than a 7-5 record next year, and that's probably wildly optimistic. I predict we will lose to the rivals, as well as Stanford, UW, and Oregon. The rest of the schedule is a toss up, as Cal has broken whatever mystique we once held over them, the Arizonas are going to be tough (for us) and Utah and Colorado likewise. Furthermore, we face Fresno in the first game. They're going to be coming off a strong season and have always been a tough out for USC for various reasons.
So, next year at best will be highly mediocre, but it could also be a 3-win unmitigated disaster, with attendance figures in the 40-45k range.
Oh, I remember the Hackett years. But I don't recall those teams having this same level of talent (at least on paper) on the roster. SC is never hurting; the program somewhat recruits itself. But it feels like Helton has more to work with than even Hackett did. I don't know......maybe I'm just "mis-remembering" 20 years later.
lol what? That is nice spin. The video shows him pushing Kragthorpe in the chest after Craig had already left. And then continues to get into the faces of everybody there. Now can that be interpreted as a punch by a guy with a pacemaker? Maybe, could he be embelishing the force? Maybe. But Cole Fisher is a hothead as witnessed last year when he went at it with an FSU staffer twice before a game. He went after people employed by his uncle. The guy doesn't make good decisions.
At best you have him trying to get a coach on the A&M staff from getting into a fight after the game. And then himself getting into a fight. At worst the guy with a history if fighting on the field with non-players backing up his coach and then getting into it with Kevin Faulk and apparently a safety for LSU. Who punched him in the head and settled him down.
Neither outcome looks good for A&M imo.
Its fairly clear the dude doesnt make good decisions if hes gonna throw floppy hands at Kevin Faulk's head. The only thing I havent seen is the actual video of Faulk getting into it with Fisher and what Faulk actually did, outside of 1-2 still photographs.
Kragthorpe looks the absolute worst in all of this which is absolutely amazing considering theres a video of Fisher throwing floppy hands at Faulk AND an LSU player punching Fisher in the face. The video is clear as day he went out after Craig and got right up on Fisher's ass. You can't pull that kind of shit and then run off to the media and claim you were trying to be about sportsmanship and got sucker punched in the chest.
Fisher probably didn't need to shove Kragthorpe away, but we have 0 idea what Kragthorpe was yelling at Craig (or Fisher) and Kragthorpe has already proven you can't believe a word he says about the incident. I personally would probably want to get the guy off me.