Been thinking a lot about what has occurred over the last few years and I keep scratching my head. Here are some unordered thoughts about the current state of affairs at Clemson. For most this is a too long didn't read kind of post and I get that. Curious to hear what others think.
- Would you ever bet against Dabo? I personally would not. That man has overcome unbelievable amounts of adversity and has proven to be successful in anything he puts his mind do. While I say that, I also think that it is very hard to watch things that I perceive to be problems that he is not addressing.
- When Dabo first took over as HC, we got more productivity out of less talent, which I think is a measurement of good coaching, recruiting and development. Now it appears our roster is annually top 5 in talent, yet we appear to get less productivity out of those players. What is causing this? Evaluation misses, poor development, poor scheme/play calling, complacency?
- When Dabo was coming into his own, he was thirsty for knowledge. I recall him taking his staff to Texas, Ok St., and other schools to "talk shop" and learn how other coaches are scheming people open. I vividly remember Dabo talking to Gundy about Dez Bryant because we had Sammy Watkins that we wanted to use in a similar manner. Did we stop doing this all together? Our identity, especially on offense has been stale since Chad Morris left.
- Similar to above, we brought in coaches like Chad Morris and Brent Venables from other programs/walks of life that have greatly benefited the program. This appears to be missing and we all have beaten the "group think" theory to death on this board.
- Pure speculation here but does Dabo have anyone in the program that is willing/able to say "No" or challenge a decision he makes? It is hard to argue with the results Dabo has produced but not having anyone in the room to disagree with an approach is a recipe for decline/disaster. If this is the case, does Dabo have it in him to change that part of his program?
- If things get worse, does Dabo have the willingness and ability to re-invent his approach? There are many areas we all talk about that he could use like outside hires and the transfer portal. Could you foresee him firing a couple of "his guys" like Grisham, Spiller, Streeter, etc. if warranted and clearly bringing the team down?
- Would Dabo rather re-invent himself elsewhere than Clemson? How much does the fanbase get to him? Does he think we are unappreciative and spoiled, or does he consider some criticism as fair? Would he rather fire some of his friends or just move on to the next program likely in the SEC that would welcome him with open arms and checkbooks?
- For Clemson, I think Dabo is the best coach in the country we can expect to get and its not even close. Look out over the college football landscape and tell me who would want to come coach at Clemson in 2023 or beyond. We have a small alumni base compared to most elite programs, we are in a bad conference with a bad tv deal, you have to live in the shadow of the best to do it at Clemson, and expectations are generally higher than they should be on an annual basis
- Are we all over-reaction to one or possibly two misses at QB? DJU was most certainly what held us back in 2021 and after a few resurgent games in 2022, he appears to be the biggest hindrance this year. I think it's too quick to judge Cade, but the fact that DJU's poor play the last few weeks has not immediately put Cade out on the field, makes me think the coaches know that even a bad night with DJ is better than Cade.
- The last two seasons have not been fun to watch. Yes we are winning a lot of games, but I can count on one had how many of those games were objectively fun to watch (this season it was NC State and BC). This is mostly due to offensive underperformance. That fun offense that Chad Morris brought has diminished over time, even when DW4 and TL16 were at the helm play calling and play design seemed to get worse. It feels to me that as we got better talent, we dumbed down the offense because it didn't need to be complex. Now with less talent at WR and QB, we need to be more creative to score points.
- Finally, we as a fan base are spoiled rotten by our recent success and even a humble fan loses sight of that frequently. Dabo has done some amazing things here, which we can point out as the fact that 10 win seasons and top 15 rankings feel like "the end of the ride" to us. Again, I wouldn't bet against him turning things around.
- I will love Clemson football and go back for games regardless of our record. Clemson is a special place for my family and friends and the product on the field will never change that.
