(06-28-2017 07:46 AM)GullLake Wrote: (06-28-2017 06:55 AM)uclabruin Wrote: I have checked in now and then and again PJ appears to be recruiting very well at Minnesota, but he is also SELLING EVERYTHING very well over there, like he did here. That was his real skill. By now, we would have videos of the team racing mountain bikes, running at south haven, a scholarship dropping out of the sky. I do not expect Lester to do that, because it is not in his DNA, nor was it in any of the prior WMU coaches, who all had strengths and weaknesses, like most human beings. Fleck pushed the envelope when it came to risk taking with a program. It paid off for one glorious year and that should be embraced as part of history now. Can't take the MAC championship off the wall at Waldo stadium. Recruiting? I don't know, he sold it to me that he was pretty damn good at it and the results speak for themselves. But as a true salesman (always a little slime on the very best in any field, ALWAYS), then PJ was head and shoulders above any previous coach.
Good post.
They don't put "#1 MAC Recruiting Class" in big letters, permanently in the stadium and don't hang any banners in University Arena.
However, "MAC Champion 2016" is now etched forever at Waldo.
It is what is accomplished - objectively on the field - with recruits that counts, not simply bringing in a class that is subjectively rated/ranked by 3rd party observers with limited knowledge of the game and program.
That said, I could not be more pleased with Coach Lester. He may or may not be recruiting as well as Fleck - who did win the first MAC Championship at WMU since 1988 and beat CMU three straight - but that comparison is nothing more than conjecture at this point. Let's see what happens on the field and give Lester our continued support.
I honestly think Fleck was a bit undervalued as a game coach. He was wise enough to defer to his coordinators mostly, but did tend to have the brass to follow through with a philosophy of aggressiveness and unpredictability on the field. He went for it on fourth down frequently, and kept the opposition from being able to predict what we were doing enough to give us and edge.
Fleck was the opposite of "old school", which is good because old school collective football wisdom is usually stupid (same in baseball: the sacrifice bunt is statistically one of the stupidest strategies possible).
I get folks hating Fleck for poaching recruits after he left, or because you dont like his personality, but the guy obviously has what it takes to be a successful college football coach. He can recruit with the best, he brings excitement to the program, gets the players to buy into what he is preaching, and wins on game day. His kids did well in the classroom, and to a large degree stayed out of trouble.
I was a supporter of what he was doing from the beginning, because to me he was saying and doing the things that I thought would lead to success. The high energy, workaholic, "new-school" guys, who are good with the media, the public, and young people in general, tend to be able to recruit. And the guys who throw the old school coaches handbook in the garbage on game day, and play aggressive on both sides of the ball, do well too. A balanced offense is what you want, but balance should come from throwing on downs when the defense is playing for the run, and running on downs when the defense is playing for the pass; thus pitching the "old-school" play calling manual. I hope Lester manifests these philosophies.
Fleck is not a guy I will root for again. But I am not going to pretend he wast good when he was here. He had it going on, and most of us enjoyed it tremendously. Now is Lester's time. He has everything he could ask for in terms of tools for success; including an experienced group of very talented players. The defense is almost all back; and they were fantastic, with another years worth of experience and strength building. A lot of players are back on offense, and he is an offensive guy; with an offensive coordinator who I think we are very fortunate to have. I wish we had more experience at QB and receiver, but I don't think we are short on talent at either of those positions. If Lester is going to be successful, this year should be a banner season for him. That could lead to even more recruiting success.
I have always really liked Lester. He is already a WMU legend in my book; but if he can keep the engine going and have a few great seasons, I will love the guy. He wasn't my choice for the job, but I cant think of a guy I would rather have become a WMU coaching legend.