Now that the regular season is officially in the books, it’s the appropriate time to discuss any potential coaching changes.
My vote: keep Koetter.
Yes, I’m aware of his record against ranked teams. Yes, I watched the Oregon/Oregon State/Cal/insert-other-blowout-loss-here game. Yes, I know he hasn’t won much in the state of California. Yes, I know that he has his QBs walk to the sidelines to get each offensive playcall. Yes, I know that the media hates him, and that all but a handful of fans like him. Yes, I know that he’s worn a visor on occasion.
No, I’m not satisfied with what he’s brought to Arizona State football. I don’t think he was quite ready for the task at hand. But, he’s made improvements, and there’s light at the end of the tunnel in three cores areas where he’s been criticized:
- Rushing: Finally, we have a running game. Not just a run of the mill running game, but one of the better rushing attacks in the conference. We have big backs that can grind it out. And we did it with some young guys.
- Defense: It took a year of the worst defensive play in the country to right the ship, but Bill Miller seems to have done it. While the offense struggled, the defense—yes, the defense!—kept us in games. And it did so with a bunch of young players. Good things are on the horizon.
- Recruiting: We’ve been getting most of the top talent from here in the state, but have been making some nice inroads into other places. Two of our biggest contributors, Torain and Tryon, were solid JC transfers. And landing a major running back from Texas in Nance is making a statement.
ASU does not have the legacy of winning that most of our fans belive we do. Sure, we’ve had our good years, and had a nice run during the Kush era. But since he left the program, we’ve had only 8 seasons with 7 or more wins. And four of them have come under Koetter. We’ve gone to bowl games 4 of the last 5 years.
It’s slow, but it’s progress.
The biggest problem I see with dumping Koetter right now is the uncertainty in who would replace him. Bringing in a new coach is always a gamble. There just aren’t many sure-fire candidates out there. Koetter may not be the right guy to bring us to the next level, but he’s also someone who won’t drag the program into the ground. To me, it makes sense to keep him around unless, or until, we find someone who is a perfect fit.
Otherwise, we’re likely to have thrown away the investment we spent on Koetter, and may find ourselves in another round of mediocrity—or worse.
Leave a Reply