One of my major issues with Butch in the beginning was bringing his MAC coaching friends and trying to win big in the SEC. Big difference in the MAC and Big East trying to win in the SEC. To Butch's credit he's figured out his A$$ is on the line and adjusted. Unless our WRs as a group improve a lot this season the WR coach needs to be the next one on the chopping block.
When Butch made the disastrous decision to give Nate Peterman his first start on the road in the '13 UF game, I came to realization that he was going to have to learn how to be a successful coach at this level. I believe he learned a lot in that game. And I
hope he learned a lot in last season's games against OU and UF.
In Butch, we clearly have a great recruiter. And I think we have an excellent X's and O's guy. But in retrospect, he had some things to learn about SEC football. Giving a QB his first ever start at Ball State is a far cry from throwing him into the fire at the Swamp. And at this level, when you have someone down for the count late in the game, you'd better keep playing to win- because a team with greater talent that is playing with nothing to lose is more than capable of coming back to win when their out-manned opponent is just trying to milk the clock.
When hiring a new coach, you always hope they won't require any OJT. But sometimes they do. And if you have the patience to wait them out, it can be worth it. Our trajectory has been pointing up for all three years of Butch's tenure. And as long as that continues, I see no reason why his job should be in jeopardy. Maybe it's taken a little longer than we had hoped (though that probably wasn't realistic), but as long as we keep improving, that's all we can ask for.
