CougarCorner

Even if some of you people here think it's still too soon to even talk about firing Bronco, you don't hold him to a high enough standard. His 70% winning percentage (primarily beating up on lesser teams) and running a clean program (hopefully anyway) is all you ask. Talk about low, loser expectations. Heck, these aren't even the expectations Bronco has set for himself. No matter how much he wants to talk about Top 25 standings....4 years ago now. Even if you don't actually pull the trigger, nobody can argue that losing four times in a row to the Utes isn't reason enough for him to be on the hot seat.

Who cares about wining percentage when you haven't between anybody of importance?

Someone please tell me what Bronco has really done since he started coaching with his own recruits?!

Bronco does not likes the fans and seems to choose actions to directly spite them. He is extremely loyal to specific players and coaches, and in essence, has hitched his fate to their performance.

I don't like Bronco ball. His style is boring, is not working and has demoted BYU arguably to third place in the state. He doesn't seem to be getting the best out of his players and 4-6 years of under-performing is enough. Crazy that people want to require several more years to evaluate performance with years of under-performance and bad decisions. Most of his flaws are easily recognized by the casual football fan yet Bronco can't seem to fix or improve on them. Yet we want to give him more time?!

Bronco is a great DC and GA and I do agree we have been a great OC away from really making some noise. But Bronco hasn't put one in place, went with an inexperienced OC when a change was made and then went back to a previous OC. Bronco is not a good HC, especially when you include game time adjustments, clock management, etc.

My vote is to replace him (and hence Anae) as soon as there is a suitable replacement. OR the athletic director can take a larger role, require the firing of Anae and bring in an OC who could get the job done.

I've always been a Bronco supporter. I wanted him as HC when Crowton's was fired and I cheered when Kwitt turned down the job. This was primarily because I wanted to see his discipline and aggressive style throughout the entire team and not just on the defense. This seemed to be playing out reasonably well with steady progression being made the first few years with Beck and Hall at the helm. But there were still some problems of course -- no coach or staff is perfect. But some of those problems became like a pebble in my shoe, and over time the small problem-pebble became very annoying and then painful.

The first problem that Bronco demonstrated that really tested my support of him was his blatant disrespect toward the fans. He clearly did not like the fans at first (and to me it seems like he still doesn't but he has been coached in what to say to at least sometimes appear to appreciate the fan base). Now, I'm not saying that coaches need to be all gushy toward the fans. But they need to recognize that the game is played for the fans. Period. It is for the fans. But Bronco seems that he would be in heaven if he could coach his team in private and play in private while he builds the character of the team. And then broadcast the games to all non-members worldwide with scriptures on the back of the jerseys.

I would give Bronco a pass on his interaction with the fans since he was a new HC under a lot of pressure to revive a once-great program. But he never matured in this area....even bringing up booing episodes from several years ago. And it's the HC job to recognize weaknesses and make them strengths. In this area he has failed. Now that wouldn't be reason to fire someone at all of course. BUT what it does is pushes a lot of fans to a position where they just want Bronco to win but they don't like him personally, just like Bronco only wants fans to show up and cheer no matter what but he doesn't like them all that much. Compare Bronco to Crowton, and its night and day. Crowton LOVED the fans. He was constantly thanking them and talking in a way that just made me like him. So I really was pulling for him to win, not just because I wanted the team to win but also because I wanted him to win and keep his job. With Bronco I don't give a crap about his job. Just win. Or go away. It's all about wins.


Another problem for Bronco has been his (and his OC's) horrendous inability to make in-game adjustments. Yes, I know people will point out a few games where Bronco shifted strategy and BYU won. But that is by far the exception. This deficiency is so problematic that if BYU falls behind in any game against any opponent I just sit back and wait for the game to end because I know it'll be a loss since whatever the other team has done to get ahead will continue to work all game. This kind of problem is understandable for a new coach. But it MUST be overcome over time. He has had enough time.


And then there is the whole loyalty-to-a-fault issue. I don't have the stomach to beat this dead horse. But come on BM. It's just a football game. You don't have to prove your lifelong loyalty to someone who has shown that he has 'grit'. BM is the most stubborn man I've ever seen in this regard. He is in love with grit. Sure I understand how satisfying it is to a HC to have certain players that just give it their all on every play. And I get it that he would want to start the guy with grit over a guy who loafs in practice and/or games. But THAT is where the true coaching comes in. It's BMs job to teach these kids how to play football as well as possible. And that includes having grit. And BM needs to teach the most talented players how to live and play with that kind of winning attitude in order for BYU to have a chance at something great. It's like a professor who says he only gives out a couple A's and everyone else gets low grades. That to me is a sign of a crappy teacher since a good teacher should in theory create a class full of A students. Bronco is the teacher that gives out a couple A's and just sticks w those guys no matter what. That's never gonna work with the sub-standard talent that our gritty players have had so far.


There are a few other issues that are disappointing, not because they exist but because BM either doesn't think they are a problem or he has failed at correcting them. Things like clock management. And end of game play selection. Coaches should be getting better at that stuff. Not remaining stagnant their entire career.


Anyway. I'm struggling to support BM these days. All he wants from me is to cheer loudly and give him a standing ovation at every game and never question his authority, knowledge or decisions. In return all I want now from him is for his team to win. That's it. No excuses. No more time to work things out. And it's not happening.


But who do we replace him with??????????
There isn't a great realistic candidate out there.
What I would really love is for Bronco to do some introspection and recognize his deficiencies and fix them. He has some awesome strengths that I don't want the program to lose -- and we will lose those strengths if BM leaves. So I wish that somehow he would stop being so freaking stubborn and what seems like proud or arrogant at times and listen to the criticism out there and correct some things that'll quickly make him a better coach.

I want to support Bronco. I really do. Just please Bronco, treat fans with respect and lose your love affair with grit and learn how to adjust on the fly (requires a lot of humility because you have to admit your prepared plan was flawed) and them fix all the other smaller issues. Then we can win!

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The best way I can sum it up, and I've said this before, is that Bronco is not a gamer. Part of being a gamer, and Cougy_Monster touched on it, is the ability to make in-game adjustments. Bronco's philosophy, both before and during games, seems to be a one-size fits all. The team has an identity, and a plan, and they're going to stick to it no matter what. Anae seems to have the same philosophy running the offense. If something isn't working, these two won't try something else. They'll just keep doing it over and over until it does work.

Another part of being a gamer is hating to lose. You'd think every coach would have this but you can tell which ones truly HATE to lose and those that, while they certainly don't want to lose, and don't like losing, aren't all that broken up about it if they do lose. Bronco falls into the latter category. Say what you want about Whittingham (I hate his guts and hope he rots in hell) but he would never allow his team to lose 4 times in a row to their arch rival. He'd move heaven and earth before letting that happen.

It's weird to say this, but I'm indifferent about Bronco. Right now, he's a known commodity--BYU will get between 6 and 10 wins a year with Bronco, beating all the teams they should, upsetting someone every once in a while, and struggling against the tough-defense-playing teams that take BYU seriously (e.g., Utah, TCU). We know his flaws--stubborn about not making customized game plans and in-game adjustments, overly-loyal to his favored gritty players, and almost smug when it comes to the fans.

What worries me is BYU getting rid of Bronco because he can't beat Utah will be like when Michigan forced Lloyd Carr into retirement because he couldn't beat OSU. While OSU has stayed strong despite a scandal and coaching change, Michigan has struggled since their botched coaching changes. I still think it's unbelievable that neither Les Miles nor Jim Harbaugh were given the opportunity to coach the Maize and Blue.

Mingjai wrote:It's weird to say this, but I'm indifferent about Bronco. Right now, he's a known commodity--BYU will get between 6 and 10 wins a year with Bronco, beating all the teams they should, upsetting someone every once in a while, and struggling against the tough-defense-playing teams that take BYU seriously (e.g., Utah, TCU). We know his flaws--stubborn about not making customized game plans and in-game adjustments, overly-loyal to his favored gritty players, and almost smug when it comes to the fans.

What worries me is BYU getting rid of Bronco because he can't beat Utah will be like when Michigan forced Lloyd Carr into retirement because he couldn't beat OSU. While OSU has stayed strong despite a scandal and coaching change, Michigan has struggled since their botched coaching changes. I still think it's unbelievable that neither Les Miles nor Jim Harbaugh were given the opportunity to coach the Maize and Blue.

Ugh....I agree.

I was attending Michigan when Carr was let go. The team completely fell from grace, just like BYU after Lavell left. That's one example of why an AD must have a set plan for HC replacement that is a better option than the one leaving.

But, I will say this: Michigan fans were clinically unhinged at being owned by OSU year after year when historically it had been the other way around (sound familiar). So that game became Michigan's regular season bowl game and defined their season in a bad way. So I totally get why Carr was let go -- because such strong emotions override reason and logic.

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Lane Kiffen is available. Crowton usually is. Tommy Hudspeth - wait - he was before LaVell - probably done coaching.

That is all BYU has really ever had - LaVell and Bronco.

You would think we would appreciate them.

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I'm going to comment on just one of your points here.

It seems a little disingenuous to say that Bronco has always hated the fans, and now that this year in which he is making a very concerted effort to be friendly and show appreciation to the fans that it seems contrived or coached. Even if it really is coached, who cares? It shows he sees the need to do it and is accepting the coaching.

In regards to the fans, Bronco is now literally damned if he does or doesn't.

Other than Bronco and Lavell, what other BYU coach never had a losing season? Bronco is passionate about winning. He knows what BYU is and isn't. We will never be Alabama or Oregon. We don't have Phil Knight or T Boone Pickens to bankroll our program. Blue chip athletes who will live by the honor code are rare. We can't get the kind of depth that other schools can. I think that Bronco does the best he can with what he has.

BYU will always be David going up against Goliath. Bronco does make a few game decisions that I bet he wishes could take back, but so does every other football coach.

Since Bronco took over

1. BYU has won 71% of their games. 16th best in the country in that span.

2. BYU has won 50% of their games vs. teams that are .500 or better. 20th best in the country.

3. BYU has won 6 bowl games. Tied for best in the country.

4. BYU has finished ranked 5 times. Tied for 18th best in the country.

5. BYU has never had a losing season.

I don't have a yewt-centric view of the world so while I hate losing to Utah 4 years in a row the overall big picture more than makes up for it. Bronco can stay as long as he wants if he keeps doing the things up above. If he has 2 losing seasons in a row it may be time for change.