FlourBear;841965298 said:
Some people on here have been comparing Tedford to Gilbertson and Holmoe. Based on historical accomplishments, this is not appropriate - his hypothetical "firing" should be compared to that of Pappy Waldorf, Mike White, or Bruce Snyder.
I recall White was coming off a winning season but there were ethereal "ethical" issues surrounding his program that caused us to panic and get rid of him. There have been similar struggles involving law/ethics/rules/etc recently with the tree sitters preventing the facilities from being built. Also our great teams early in Tedford's era hit a wall because usc's unethical teams were allowed to run amuck for far too long without repercussions. And now that usc is out of the picture, we are unable to capitalize because we do not have the personell (tree sitters and legalities harmed recruiting) - our team has gaping holes at certain positions. In terms of "rules", we've had a large number of penalties (especially in the new Memorial) recently - the scorecard says 120 yds last game but it was more like 200+ considering some of the plays that were called back.
I recall Snyder was ran out of town because his teams were considered undisciplined and had too many penalties. The 1991 big game especially when we had 7 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties by the 3rd quarter against an extremely talented Furd team that had a future NFL hall of famer and several future NFL pro-bowlers. Also Snyder's inability to beat supposedly mediocre Furd teams was a concern. And to those of you on this forum with especially fragile egos who want to continue to pretend "it was all Bockrath's fault", I suggest you read Bear Backer Dave Newhouse's article "No Excuses for Cal's Boorish Behavior" (12/5/91) which captures the Cal fanbase's sentiments at the time:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19911205&id=VJczAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HTIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=2078,4378210
Waldorf's firing was a bit before my time. Anyone care to enlighten? All I know is it involved the 49ers, which conjures up Aaron Rodger's early departure because (according to him) he always dreamed of playing for the 49ers and they promised they would draft him (which turned out to be untrue). I think we all know what would've been in 2005 had Rodgers not been deceived.
Tedford has been a historic coach here so it will be a mistake to make knee-jerk decisions about him. Just like it was a mistake to listen to the 2 Furd homers announce the Nevada game to open the new Memorial Stadium. Just like it will be a mistake to listen to the announcers in our final game talk about how Mike Riley and Tedford were both on the mystical top ten "hot-seat" to start the season and how they've gone different directions. Tedford has been a far more historically significant coach for us than Riley was at OSU, and I am still not convinced how anyone can come up with a "hot seat" before a season even starts. Based on topics in this post alone (ethics, performance against one's rival, penalties, possible early departure for the NFL, etc), you could make an argument that just about every college coach in the nation is on a "hot seat" for one reason or another.
Good post but comparing Tedford to White or Snyder isn't fair to JT.
White ran an "outlaw" program and he finally got caught because of the thugs he recruited. He was totally unconcerned with "student" performance. Just one example, Chuck Muncie was great on the field but AWOL as a student. The White legacy is one of shame.
Tedford's legacy is noteable. He did turn the program around dramatically, both on the field and in the classroom. The facilities he fought to improve are in place and a monument to his perseverence.
But, he's obviously worn-out, tired, appearing disinterested, remote, out-of-touch. He needs to leave for the sake of himself and the football program. He's peaked and is now in decline, as is the program.
<edit> Read your link ... omg ... the comparisons to Paterno and James are ironic. We know now that Paterno and James both ran out-of-control programs but "fans" were ecstatic because their teams were winning on the field. Paterno got fired when he was unmasked; James quit in a huff, ran away crying when his misdeeds were uncovered leaving UW in total disarray.
[U]I'd rather see Cal struggle with integrity than to see another "win no matter what" type coach get hired.[/U] I don't think anyone sane would accuse Tedford of a lack of integrity. He's a class act. His effectiveness as a coach is rapidly declining but he can hold his head high for the way he's conducting himself. Kudos to Tedford for being a responsible, ethical man, not just a football coach.