GrandpaHawk
Well-Known Member
Doesn't matter why,when or where as long as we keep putting a good football team on the field.Go Hawks
Well, well WHAR the whiners?
- Thread starter HawgEyeState
- Start date
racerhawk
Well-Known Member
83Hawk
Banned
Kirk has acknowledged the displeasure of the fan base, so anyone who thinks this did not play a part in the changes he's made is just wrong. Not saying it played a big part.....but you better believe he was aware how upset the fans were with the program, and with him.
Personally, and as others have said, I think Kirk saw how bad the program was becoming and how disgruntled the fans were getting. He also realized (and has acknowledged) he was not giving the team the attention he should be. I think he knew he was on cruise control.
So...he decided to re-dedicate himself to his job. I give him all the credit in the world for that. He could have continued on cruise control, but he has too much pride, and cares too much.
Do I think he reads message boards? No.
Do I think he and Barta had off-season discussions about the state of the football program? You bet! If there weren't, then Barta wasn't doing his job.
Personally, and as others have said, I think Kirk saw how bad the program was becoming and how disgruntled the fans were getting. He also realized (and has acknowledged) he was not giving the team the attention he should be. I think he knew he was on cruise control.
So...he decided to re-dedicate himself to his job. I give him all the credit in the world for that. He could have continued on cruise control, but he has too much pride, and cares too much.
Do I think he reads message boards? No.
Do I think he and Barta had off-season discussions about the state of the football program? You bet! If there weren't, then Barta wasn't doing his job.
ArvadaHawk
Well-Known Member
And I will ask again, what took kfootball so long? Why did 2014 trip his trigger? Why not at any other point in the 34-30 we experienced the previous 5 seasons? Let's not forget that in 2010, our team was loaded with NFL'ers and kfootball coached them to 7-5 regular season. It really doesn't matter "where/which medium" news comes from, but kfootball and Barta heard all of 2014 season and believed the fans were going to walk out in 2015. The fans forced an uncomfortable realization upon the Iowa program, and they made changes, in part, because of it.
I'm sure Kirk has known for years that fans rip on him for being overly conservative. He clearly hasn't cared enough to change. But suddenly fan outrage gets so bad that announcers start talking about it and his name starts coming up on hot seat lists and he suddenly decides to show aggression? That's either a strange coincidence or he was actually influenced by the fans.
Like someone said earier, if it was just a few over the top fans, it would have been no big deal. But it was 90% of the fans that were all screaming the same thing. When that happens, things almost have to change because there is a reason for it. Kinda like the qb situation. People always say the backup qb is the best player and site examples of people wanting Rudock over Vandy and JC over Tate. But those examples were a few people who are always unhappy. The ones like Stanzi over JC and CJ over Rudock are the ones that should that matter because it's such a huge majority. When such a huge majority of the fan base has an issue with what you're doing, you would be a fool not to at least look into it (which is what he did). And if the fans are that unhappy and you have no idea because you don't read message boards, you need to find someone in your life who does (or at least Barta needs to find someone who does and relay it to Kirk).
Of course they're not going to search message boards and find a post that says "I think we need to do more of those trick plays!" and decide to run 5 trick plays the next game. But that's way different than taking into consideration with an open mind what 90% of the fan base is saying. And that's all people are saying in this thread is that Kirk looked into the mirror because 90% of fans were saying the same thing.
Like someone said earier, if it was just a few over the top fans, it would have been no big deal. But it was 90% of the fans that were all screaming the same thing. When that happens, things almost have to change because there is a reason for it. Kinda like the qb situation. People always say the backup qb is the best player and site examples of people wanting Rudock over Vandy and JC over Tate. But those examples were a few people who are always unhappy. The ones like Stanzi over JC and CJ over Rudock are the ones that should that matter because it's such a huge majority. When such a huge majority of the fan base has an issue with what you're doing, you would be a fool not to at least look into it (which is what he did). And if the fans are that unhappy and you have no idea because you don't read message boards, you need to find someone in your life who does (or at least Barta needs to find someone who does and relay it to Kirk).
Of course they're not going to search message boards and find a post that says "I think we need to do more of those trick plays!" and decide to run 5 trick plays the next game. But that's way different than taking into consideration with an open mind what 90% of the fan base is saying. And that's all people are saying in this thread is that Kirk looked into the mirror because 90% of fans were saying the same thing.
2010 was 10 times worse than 2014 and deseved way more "looking into the mirror". But no changes were made. There was no called press conference to talk to the fans. Why is that? Because fans were still riding a high from '09 and their pitchforks were still buried in the closet.
RocknRollface
Well-Known Member
everybody has meetings with other staffs frequently if not yearly.
The changes this year have been a fundamental shift in KF philosophy that is
not comparable to anything we've seen before.
The entire rest of the football world tries to score at the end of halfs. Do you think he just learned that in some meeting last season?
No, he's just always viewed it as too risky.
The point is not that he's doing specific things to make fans happy it's that he is aware that he needs to take more risk because he was feeling pressure.
He should have been able to evaluate years ago that playing not to lose was not working. He never had to seriously consider change before because of the contract.
After 16 years it was Nebraska and Tennessee that were the straw that broke the camel's back.
Hey Dean, curse you and your vague references of cool things to come! Now I'm all fired up and I don't even have a clue why or when I'll find out.
M
mysteron
Guest
I have to strongly agree with this poster. In what other sport does it make sense to put forth an effort to NOT SCORE? For the first 16 years Kirk too often left points on the field. This year Kirk has made it painfully clear that going for it is new to him. As has been pointed out in this thread by others, the choices he made right before half-time with Iowa State were those of someone learning the ropes when it comes to calculating risk. I applaud the new Kirk. But the season isn't even half over so declaring that he has made a permanent change is premature to say the least. I hope for his sake and ours that he has.
Last edited by a moderator:
deanvogs
Well-Known Member
RocknRollface
Well-Known Member
And after a series of visits with other coaches and close evaluation he decided the team should start trying oddly timed fake punts.
Those fake punts were just a natural strategic progression for an extremely conservative coach in year 17.
ArvadaHawk
Well-Known Member
2010 should have been a legit shot at a NC. I remember saying in 2009 that Iowa was playing that season to see how good they could be in 2010, because almost everyone from 2009 would return in 2010. AND...again, our 2 deeps were loaded with NFL'ers, including at qb. I get pizzed everytime I think about 2010. What a gigantic "that's football" failure of a season.
JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
Or perhaps they have been proven right and validated? Without the noise, without the big drop in tix sales, without the dissent...is there any impetus for change?
Either way, neither side 'deserves' anything other than rooting on the team...playing I told you so's or 'where are the whiners' isn't going to do a damn thing other than create vitriol here, and we're full up on that
Agreed that neither side deserves anything. People on here aren't asking for a pat on the back when they say they played a small part in forcing necessary changes. They're simply defending themselves for being called whiners.
