It always amazes me the optimism that surrounds a team when a new coach takes over.
Just look at NMSU. This program has not been good and struggled mightily during the Hal Mumme ere. DeWayne Walker is here and the entire attitude has shifted going into the new year.
First off, a new coach brings a breath of fresh air and a new perspective. What will he bring? A bowl bid? There is a newfound excitement.
It takes a special type of coach to turn around the situation that NMSU finds itself in. Is Walker the right man? Time will tell. Judging from the comments by Aggie fans, many believe, or at least are praying, that he is.
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7 comments:
When Hal Dumme came here, his offense and his "program changes" at UK and SELU were his major selling points.
What Dr. Boston forgot and also most of us; was the fact that the "spread" offense was in it's infancy when he was at UK and most D-Coordintors did not know how to stop it in 1997.
Fast forward to 2005. Mumme arrives lauding his "Air Fart" offense. Well, most of 119 D1 schools are running versions of the spread and DC's have caught up and know how to prepare and stop it.
Yes, he came in with lots of fan fare but, his offense was wildly erratic, he thought he could win w/o playing defense and alienated the community.
Thus, sending him to Abilene, TX where he should have been in the first place.
One of the most popular/ succesfull coaches we've ever had was Tony Samuels. He was good with the kids, with the community
and believed in defense and ball control that kept us in ball games. Was, it pretty? No, but it gave us a fighting chance every time.
Unfortunately, NMSU promised him more than they could deliver and left him hi & dry.
Coach Walker is a LOT like Tony Sam's. Fundamentaly sound, good ball control and believes defense wins champioships.
Is he the man? I think so and I like his philosophy/ building blocks but, more importantly, NMSU is giving him the tools to be succesfull.
I think we have a winner in our hands!
Jefe
El Jefe,
I agree with you. I wish we had given Tony Samuel (without the S) a chance to run the program for at least a year under Dr. Boston. The financial support was increased significantly for Mummme. TSam worked with what little support he had and did 'relatively' well. I wish we gave him a chance to be successful with the increased financial support. But we didn't and that was a mistake that I'm sure Dr. Boston will agree with after 4 years of cellar-dwelling. However, 4 years later, we have a coach in the same mold as TSam. Things look very promising. We may not win much this year, but I think we'll see significant changes in on-field discipline and ESPECIALLY with the coaching strategy and calls. No longer will we have red-headed step child Matt Mumme pulling plays outta his arse and acting like he was the greatest thing to happen to Las Cruces since green chile, but now we'll have real football minds and some real strategy behind the calls.
Go get'em Ags!
I'm hesitant to say this, but I'm gonna enjoy having Coach Walker here while he's here.
Jefe is spot on. I was left scratching my head when Coach Samuel was let go if in favor of Dumme. Espcially after the 0 for season his first year here.
But all that's in the past. Like the post says, hope springs eternal. Good luck to coach Walk and his staff and the entire football team.
While I liked Tony, the notion that his teams played good defense is wrong...also discipline was a problem both on and off the field. Penalties, turnovers, and the APR he saddled NMSU with were very bad. All that said, I do agree that he should have been given another year.
A coach can work wonders, but that is the exception, rather than the rule. Tony Samuel had his strong points and his weaknesses, as did Hal Mumme.
At this point, what we have been able to see from coach Walker has been mostly positive. He has recruited well so far. Will he be able to continue that once the UCLA connection fades? He appears to have the team oriented to a go getter type of play, and will almost certainly take fewer chances than Mumme.
I believe Mumme sometimes became blind to the goal of winning games and got sidetracked into focusing more on completions and yards and buildings some players' stats. IT is OK to do that, but not to the detriment of the team.
We have a lot to look forward to in the coming season, and hopefully for several seasons. I am one who will be interested in seeing how much the coaching staff change can do to wake up Aggie football.
I talked to several players at the spring game. The difference between Mumme and Walker is hugh! They talked about not having a script for practices under Mumme and just goofing around for alot of practices! Walker is all business and expects excellence. They feel they are finally on a real D1 team. They have bought into the vision!
Yes, Tony Sam's put us in an APR mess.
However, NMSU gave him so little support that he take risks on questionable kids.
The man was only trying to do his job...win games and yes, we paid for it.
Dumme inherited an APR mess and did a good job of straightening it out. However, he ran us like a D3 school and wasn't a good "X & O" guy, or a disciplinarian.
Heck, Matt Mumme would be playing cell phone games during offensive meeting.
Coach Walk seems to have it together and although he doesn't have his type of players, he will make sure they leave it all on the field.
It won't be a winning year but, the effort will certainly be there and we question the heart!
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