Friday October 17, 2008
Friday E-Mail Bag
Friday E-Mail Bag
Each Friday I publish your comments and answer your questions. To submit a comment or questions please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com.
Mickey,
I am ALL IN! I will be there Saturday at 9:45 for the Tiger Walk and I don’t plan on leaving the game with a voice. With that said, what are Dabo’s chances of keeping the job? What would you do if you were Terry Don? Thanks.
GO TIGERS!
Kimberly
Kimberly,
Sounds great about tomorrow. I think all should try to make it to the Tiger Walk because that may be a special event. I think Dabo has a chance to win the job. He is a fighter and a survivor. Terry Don and the administration like Dabo and respect him.
I think Terry Don should proceed over the next few weeks as if Dabo will not win the job and prepare to make a hire. He should gather all of the background information he can on as many candidates as he can. Then after the season he should interview the top candidates. I would also consider Dabo’s complete body of work and give him a formal interview then hire the person who Terry Don thinks is best suited for the job. I would also make sure that Terry Don is the only person making the choice. I would tell the president and the board that this is my deal ask that they let me make the hire.
Mickey-
For the first time in years, something about Clemson football has fired my heart and nearly brought tears to my eyes. I live in Idaho now, with none of my immediate family still living near the Clemson area. My last visit to Death Valley was the first Bowden Bowl, and cost me nearly $2000 for my wife and I to come to the game. My last Clemson game was when the Tigers came to the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise -- and I loved that game as much as when my Dad (a Penn St. Alumn) took me to see the Tigers beat up on Joe Paterno's boys in the Citrus bowl when I was still a student. I don't get to watch the Tigers much on TV, can't get them on the radio, and now have to pay $10 a month to listen to them over the internet. Even living in Idaho, not getting to see or hear the Tigers, having to pay to listen to the Tigers over the internet even though I was an IPTAY donor; I'd kept my IPTAY membership until I lost faith in Bowden's ability to field a team that played with "fire and ferocity" ~5 years ago. Over the past few years, I'd lost much of my sense of unity with Clemson -- due to my distance and disappointment in many of the directions the University leadership has taken.
That all began to change as I've learned more about Dabo, and as I've listened to him speak. Everything he's said and what I've read about what he's done has rekindled my love for CU and charged me up like I haven't felt since Danny Ford used to lead the Tigers down the Hill and I was yelling my head off from the student section. I can't be there on game day to wear orange and yell my head off again; but I'll be doing it right here in Idaho -- listening to the game on the internet and dressing up my two little girls in bright orange. We're "all in" once again.
God bless you. God bless Ryan. God bless Dabo. God bless the players and their families. And, most importantly, may God bless Clemson.
Best Rgds,
Craig
Craig,
Welcome back. It feels good to have Clemson united again. I hope you will be proud of the effort Saturday.
Hi Mickey,
Is the band going to be involved in the Tiger Walk? It seems they should be. The tradition of the drum line announcing warriors going into battle, etc.
I am not or ever was a band guy, it just seems that would be a good way to wake the crowd up.
Thanks for continuing the great work with the blog.
Best,
sykesarch
Sykesarch,
The band has their long standing tradition of their march coming from campus. I am not sure if they will be involved with the Tiger Walk though. I am happy that people are getting the message because this event could be huge.
Mickey
I share these comments with you but I direct them at some fans. I'd like to
get your thoughts as well.
If there's anyone endlessly talking about who the next coach will be and
they didn't listen to all of Dabo's press conference Monday night then they
need to stop and listen.
Before hearing Dabo I was skeptical of having one of Tommy's guys possibly
be our next coach. "How different could he be" I asked myself. Then I
recalled several jobs I've held in which I thought about how things would be
different if I were the boss. Haven't we all felt - at some time or
another - that we had a better plan than mgt?
After hearing Dabo I realized just how different he is from Tommy. Just
because he admires Tommy and enjoyed working with him doesn't mean he's
anything like him when it comes to running a football program. I don't
know if he's THE man for Clemson's future but give him a fair unbiased
chance!
For all the so-called fans who chit and chat their lives away about which
coach should come to Clemson, please shut up and support Dabo and the
Tigers for a few weeks. Players and recruits do actually waste their time
reading these senseless postings. Translated, those that write/talk like
this only hurt the program and our efforts in the future no matter who the
next coach is. Enjoy the conjecture game after the season - it will be
more fun then and relevant too.
C'mon folks, we got what we wanted when Tommy departed. Can't we show some
civility now and truly get behind the team and the coaches that remain?
Bobby
Bobby,
I agree that Dabo’s press conference was special. I think we should give Dabo every chance to win the job with our full support. If they have to go in another direction after the season then lets cross that bridge when we get there. Until then lets get 100% behind these players and this staff.
Mickey,
In order to succeed, Dabo needs the full support from all of the coaches on the staff. Do you think Dabo has the support he needs from the other coaches? Has there been any talk of dissention among the staff? I know that there are several coaches, especially on the defensive side of the ball, that have more experience than Coach Swinney, so my only concern is that you may have egos hinder a unified staff. Do you think this is a real concern?
Thanks for your reply.
Jeremy
Jeremy,
I think there might have been some apprehension at first but I think the staff is ALL IN! However, it would not surprise me if we saw more staff changes after the season.
Mickey,
I feel the need to write you to share my thoughts on what happened yesterday. I'm, like what seems to be the majority of IPTAY Donors, excited with the move that Terry Don Phillips made yesterday, but I feel as if I must clarify my "happiness". I am not happy that Tommy Bowden was fired, but rather I am happy that the administration made a statement yesterday that they are serious about winning championships. I was afraid that the administration was content with the current state of the program, but the move they made yesterday made me confident that my voice is being heard and that we are serious about fulfilling President Barker's goals. Unfortunately, that meant that Tommy Bowden had to step down.
There is one thing I don’t understand though; why the venom for Bowden from some fans? Trust me, I am no Coach Bowden lover, but I recognize that Tommy Bowden has done a ton for the Clemson program and the community. Without Tommy we'd still be staring at a puny West End zone. Without Bowden, I doubt our recruiting would be at its current level. Without Bowden, many young men wouldn’t have degrees from our fine institution……..
It is true that Tommy didn’t get us to the mountain top, but he certainly led this program to the precipice of greatness, and that HAS to be remembered and acknowledged. The next head coach is going to inherit a sleeping giant, but we need to remember that it was Tommy Bowden that fed, nurtured, and grew that giant ……unfortunately he couldn’t wake it up.
I may not be a Coach Bowden fan, but I am certainly a Tommy Bowden fan. With every ounce of my being, I wish him and his family the best of luck.
Go Tigers!!
Richard
Richard,
Very well said. I agree. Tommy Bowden is a class act and I think will be remembered fondly by Clemson fans. I look forward to Coach Bowden being inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame.
Mickey,
This will be short and sweet. I read all the articles yesterday and heard all the conferences and got caught up in all the hype. When Dabo came out and spoke, I heard something that I hadn't heard in a long time at Clemson...a Football coach. Not a manager, not an administrator, not a "mad scientist", but a football coach. I only heard the audio from the press conferences, but you could almost since a renewed confidence in the program as soon as he started speaking and telling everyone how it was going to be now. Mickey, I can hear the roar again in the valley, I can hear the "ohhhhs, coming from the time of kick off, I can hear tiger nation being hopeful once again, Tiger pride, it might not look like wins, but it is going to be hard nosed football at full speed. Finally some intensity, some emotion, some FIRE!
"Lets go 6-0 Dabo"
Michael
Michael,
I knew Dabo could excite the Clemson Nation but I did not know he could do it this quick. In the face of adversity Dabo has led and I think he has done more to unite Clemson than anyone in years. Great e-mail.
Mickey,
This has been bugging me and since you seem to have the real scoop on everything……
Do you think Dabo really let Spence go or do you think Dabo was told to let Spence goby TDP?
Joel
Joel,
I think this was Dabo’s move. I think Dabo wanted to take the offense in a new direction and trusted his judgment and Napier’s judgment.
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