Not exactly. What got us here is a clueless AD who hung on too long because he couldn't see through the mess that was right in front of him. We had a legit shot at Franklin in 2013, and opted instead to "give it one more year". Can't even count how many times people asked "he won 11 games last year, what's wrong with giving it one more season?". Well, now you see what so many of us were afraid of.
But my question of who do we get wasn't a statement, nor was it rhetorical. I'm ok with the idea of lining up names for what looks like the inevitable. But I don't see anyone that's a slam dunk right now. I've seen you throw out Fedora, Petrino, etc. But we'd be in full meltdown mode if were in UL or UNC's shoes the past few days. Those guys, imo, are proven to be good but not great. I don't see that as something to get excited about.
Like you, I'm also ok with giving Mac another year, especially with a kid like Franks, because I still think he was handed an absolutely putrid hand. While he has to own much of the issues, based on wins and losses, we're still probably way ahead of where we thought we'd be. And as has been mentioned, the whole "it's been 6+ years" mindset is dangerous. Making an ill-advised move now because we're pissed about the last one, won't solve anything. I'm not hopeful about 2017, but he's done enough to get 3 years.
I don't know what you mean by "what so many of us were afraid of" as if I was on the Chimp train. I was screaming about OL recruiting while most of you called me insane and calling for us to move on from Chimp when it became obvious in 2012 that he was clueless about offense and what it takes to win.
By this is the mindset, I mean we have to pick our target, the way Alabama and Michigan did and make it happen no matter what. Not just looking at the Sunbelt and WAC and picking the best out of the cheap options while declaring everyone else "unavailable".
I'm not in love with either Fedora or Petrino, or really anyone else, by any means. I do like what I see from Petrino's offense, at times, always have been, but he's always been inconsistent on offense and terrible on defense. I'd also prefer not having a scumbag as a coach. Fedora I just like, that's all. He was the bright spot on a bad staff. And he is a proven recruiter, not some hayseed that no one in the state even knows, including the HS coaches. Doc Holliday used to say that we recruit the coaches as hard as the kids.
None are even close to the homerrun hire we need. However, I'm not an AD with the connections that a good AD should have capable of assessing which of the guys we might target may consider an offer for reasons that may not be public.
Unfortunately, I don't see any homerrun hires out there and when one pops up, there will be much competition. This year Herman was far from a homerrun hire with several stupid losses to far less talented teams yet several teams were bidding for him regardless.
Honestly, I'm numb now. Just don't care. Ten years of decay (at least, it's really been a 25 year decay with respect to facilities) makes us unattractive even if we were willing to swing for the fences next time.
I don't even see a way out of this mess.