There are liars among us. There are those who stated they were glad Mullen and his lazy approach to everything not game day was gone. They exclaimed that they knew we were broken to the point that a complete overhaul was past due and would be welcome. They agreed it would not be immediate, that it would take time to be done the right way. They knew there were going to be losses, but that was the price to be paid in order for the climb back from the depths to begin.
Then we lost to UK and they turned into the mob again and forgot all about it taking time to get factors in place to be better competitive. They blasted Napier and made ridiculous claims about how talented the roster he inherited was, that he was in over his head, “Sunbelt Billy” didn’t deserve to be HBC at our prestigious program. They couldn’t tell you who they really wanted with any consensus, only that they didn’t want what we had.
Now, after Napier and the staff held together a solid class that addressed many positional needs, it still wasn’t good enough. Even though there’s still recruiting left to be done and players to be sought through the portal, many have already cashed their chips. A transfer QB named Mertz, who hasn’t been anointed with a starting position, was the last straw.
There’s a lot of chest thumping and “I told you so’s” being hurled as many seek to separate themselves from the rebuild. “We deserve better because we’ve had better!” Maybe, but a decade plus of rot and coattail riding isn’t going to magically turn around overnight. There’s a reason we’ve got Billy Napier and it’s not all due to Scott Stricklin’s supposed incompetence and impulsivity. There are a handful of top tier coaches that are not here, primarily because we’re in the toughest conference in college football and we’re competing regionally with the two top programs in college football for the best players and against three other strong programs in the state. You’ve got to work hard as hell just to keep your head above water, much less win consistently. You can’t always buy what you want or even what you think you need.
There’s more to it than what you, me, and everyone else thinks we ought to have or deserve. A bad season isn’t mediocrity; a bad decade is. I’m telling you that this signing class (thus far) is a step forward. Billy’s not without fault and there’s not a guarantee, but he’s heading in that direction and comparatively speaking, that’s what’s needed right now.
