I think Currie really torpedoed our chances of landing a top 5 class by A. taking so long to fire Butch, and B. the whole clownshow that came afterwards. I feel reasonably certain that we'd still have Mays, Martinez, Harris, and maybe others if this had been handled better at the admin level. So a top 20-ish class this year will have to be considered a big success.
Next year, I expect an elite class. Even in its incomplete state, this is already a staff full of superstar recruiters (and probably more on the way), they'll have a full year to build those relationships, and the early signing period will be less of an unknown. Let's see what they can do.
I'm on record as saying that pretty much every first year coach struggles in his first year of recruiting, and that it's a hit you have to take, and that it shouldn't be a big driver of the exact day you fire the coach. What's far more important is getting the right new coach.
Having said that, let me make it clear that I am
not defending Currie.