AXED! I have always felt that college coaches ought to have 4 years to prove their mettle, because they then get an entire class through the system. If you can’t prove that you can recruit, or if there is some indication that you can’t develop talent (like when coaching in a historically moribund program, like Minnesota) then that should merit your termination.
Danny Hope is the exception. He has done a pretty good job recruiting through the years. There is even a 4 star recruit waiting to join the roster at quarterback next year named Danny Etling. A top recruit named Kyle Shortridge has decommitted because of Hope’s departure. The man can recruit. Kawaan Short will be drafted this year in the first round. Ryan Kerrigan and Mike Neal were drafted in the first two rounds under his purview. The man can develop talent.
What he can’t do, however, is coach. His strategy has been astonishingly bad, from his three quarterback rotation when there was one QB (Robert Marve) that was clearly better than others. Defensive scheming, offensive play calling and other game mismanagement were what did Hope in.
It’s not often that a college coach is dropped any more simply because of their wholesale inability to lead his team through a game. Danny Hope is that rare exception who never got better at strategizing. I hope that the appeal of quarterback cradle draws a talented coach, and that Purdue remains appealing to prospective students.
The fact is, players are expected to grow in their 4 years at a school. Coaches probably should too.
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