BUBBFAN said:
Then, what you are saying is Dave was just a really bad hire. This I agree with.
Nope. but that's funny.
Dave was a *developmental* hire. The assumption was it wouldn't take long for him to get the hang of things, but then again, the effects of COVID on '20 & '21 weren't even remotely being contemplated (how could they have been?).
'21 was ahead-of-schedule success that felt natural to fans because in our fan hive-mind, '19 portended a sure return to the promise of the peak [redacted] years, and '21 felt like a continuation of that after the weird bump of '20 and COVID's first wave.
But in hindsight, '19 was a pretty special season but not necessarily indicative that a special program was being built - '21 happened and reinforced that ultimately unjustified perception.
BUT! '21 also proved that Dave's program can develop players (the best of Rhule's remaining bunch had as much time with Dave as the had with Rhule) and coach them in big moments. So yeah i'm disappointed as hell at the last 10 games minus UCF - some far more than others.
But no, I don't think Dave was a bad hire. He was a sky-high ceiling hire (esp. in Culture Fit) but with risk, and some of that risk has been realized, certainly.