re: The "Dark Ages" of LSU Football

Poor Cholly, he never had a chance against the Bear. Alabama would run out on the field, same place as today, and eventually the Bear would come slithering out. He would stride slowly to the goal post where LSU ran under, lean against one of the post, cross his legs, and just watch as his team went thru their pre game routine. He never said boo to anyone unless one of the opposing coaches would come up to shake his hand or say hi. He knew LSU was about to get their asses handed to them. His hound tooth hat was always pulled slightly down over his forehead as not to allow anyone to see him completely. He was a legend. Bottom line, Cholly was a damn good coach, just could not get to the Bear.

LSU has been declining for 9 years now, like clock work."

Better check your clock. 4 ten win seasons, An SEC title, and a NC are not a decline.

Firing Mack was step one of heading to the Dark Ages. People wanted him to be successful, instead of going 8-3 every year... only to find out going 8-3 every year IS being successful. LSU could have improved after firing Mack and hiring Rein... but that plane crash changed everything and lead to the series of substitute teachers running the program in to the ground.

But Hallman is a special level of terrible.

The problem at LSU was LSU plain and simple...

you had a group of older alumina who had friends and these groups wanted more control.

Bob was a step in the right direction, but he had stepped on to many of the "good ole boys" piece of the pie.

Bill was never going to stay at LSU in any way even if he got the AD job, be would bolt to any opening in Florida in a heartbeat.

"Bo" was a heartbreak at the time to lose an up and coming young coach. Stovall was a God sent to have in the wings to take over on short notice.

Joe Dean loved LSU and no one would talk up LSU at any event he appeared at, but love for and the doing the real work to improve the athletic department are two horses of a different color. Joe was entrenched and friends with far to many of the good ole boys network. Everyone was wanting a piece of the pie and cuts were made and it cost LSU more than a few million a year to low ball hires.

The cause of the nightmare in LSU football has more to due with the talent level in state being way down for near 5 years due to prop 48.

Curly Hallman? Where did that come from.....I think our board was asleep at the wheel with that hire and Hallman was far to busy with off field actives to worry to much with running the team and program. But Dean and the board saw and heard this first hand, we the fans got it second hand from those in the football office; was anything ever done? Hallman let a who's who of college football slip out of this state to schools like San Diego St (that powerhouse of college football).

There should be a book on this, but one can never name all the names and can only hint at what went on in those times.

Mike gets to much blame for a coach that loved his team and family and was trying to help. The power that be at the time get to little blame, but there is enough blame to go that all should step back and thank God we are not in those times today.

Bargain hires. Joe didn't get that spending a few extra hundred thousand (at that time anyway) would be worth the money

You referenced my other post, but did you not read the whole thing???

NEVER TO BE SPOKEN OF AGAIN!

Just messin with ya, but shocked to see this thread and 3 pages. Haven't read them yet... this should be a blast to relive.

edited to correct phone typos

quote:

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We are 14 years into the Golden Age of LSU football and have the most accomplished coach (in game,

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IN GAME.

I think the treatment of Mac at the end of his tenure was surely disrespectful, but had Rein actually coached here there's a good chance we would not view Mac's departure as "step one". we'll just never know, but there's not question he was better prepared to be a successful HC (even at his relatively young age) than Stovall or Archer was. Consider that he was only 34 when he died. He could potentially still be coaching today.

In the depths of the Hallman era, SI ran a story that did a bit of a root cause analysis on how things got that bad at LSU.
- Rein's unfortunate death
- Small-time thinking
- political infighting
- bad (or just not the best) coaching hires in Stovall/Arnsparger/Archer progression

I would also add that we didn't really deal w/ the changing recruiting landscape (prop 48, etc) at the time.

ETA: Had LSU hired Pat Sullivan instead of Dinardo to replace Curly, is there a chance the program is run down even further to a point that it's a job Saban doesn't want?

DiNardo's last 2 years were HORRIBLE. 2-9 in 1999? Probably the worst year in LSU football history.

Dr. Emmert started us in the right direction. He had the vision. He hired Saban and agreed to pay the $$$.