On that first point, yeah I wasn't saying you thought Richt is some great coach. I was just dismissing the idea that a cane fan is talking about DM when they have arguably the most egregious underachiever of the modern era. And while it's fashionable to point out this is his 2nd year and just imagine how great he'll be when he gets all his players, we heard all of that in 2002, and in the 13 seasons that followed, he never exceeded or even matched that year's success.
I agree wholeheartedly on the second bold point. He didn't seem to go that direction at all in his opening remarks. It's overlooked that the modification of our offense was after week 5 or 6 of his first year here. We ended 2005 on a tear and looked completely different on offense, despite having the same cast of players. He has already created energy because he actually is highly regarded nationally. Did you see Auburn's opening TD Saturday? That was invented in 2006 by Mullen and Tebow, as was the step-forward-then-back-and throw(self play action) that you see from Cam Newton, Prescott and others in the NFL. Recruiting is already picking up and I expect it to continue.
To the last point, I know we're just going to have differing opinions which is fine. But I don't know how it feels exactly. I didn't like WM at all, but many of the ones complaining here were thrilled at his hiring and switching our offense away from the Mullen/Meyer styles, which led us to where we are today. So I think initial feelings are somewhat meaningless. I felt great with UM, felt a bit uneasy with JM, and don't really remember Spurrier. But I feel like while it's not the sexy name, we didn't get it wrong either.
A simple way of looking at it is that after CK and Frost, who weren't coming, the step down was to guys like Mullen, Strong, Norvell and Taggart. For all the talk about his SEC record, consider that he faced the eventual NC winner in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, and possibly this year. He faced the national runner up in 2011, 2013, 2016 and possibly this year. Take each one of those guys and put them as a first time HC at Msu over the past 9 years. Do you think any of those names do better or even the same as he did? In my eyes, it's no, with Norvell being inconclusive. That makes me feel like we got the best option at that point.
Any way, we're beyond that and I see you're on board. Let's hope for the best. Go Gators.