Confessions of a CBB supporter

[Qui Gon Jinn]

I was cautiously optimistic when he was hired.  I listened to the tings he said he was coming here to do.  5 years later, he hasn't done any of them.  Not even close.  I think he's a good guy and I think he and his wife have been great AR fans since they have been here.  But its not happening on the field and that's ultimately what he's paid for.

[The NewEra]

The truth of the matter is this.

A coach can be a wonderful human being. He can say and do all the right things. He can make sure that his players go to class, stay out of trouble, and graduate. If his team doesn't win enough football games, none of that will save him from being run off.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, a coach can be a surly bastard who keeps fans and boosters at arm's length. His players can stay in a fair amount of trouble and graduate at a pitiful rate. He can skirt the line between running a clean and a dirty program. If he wins enough football games, none of that matters.

And that is the truth of it.

As ugly as this scenario is, it's an absolute fact!

[Little Lady Back]

I was cautiously optimistic when he was hired.  I listened to the tings he said he was coming here to do.  5 years later, he hasn't done any of them.  Not even close.  I think he's a good guy and I think he and his wife have been great AR fans since they have been here.  But its not happening on the field and that's ultimately what he's paid for.

Pretty much sums up how I feel.

[HeathWimp]

You are right. I’m not sure we can get anyone who was as successful as the coach Long fired. But it irritates me to think  we would to continue to pay a guy over $4 million a year to fail. Plus, one who runs his loud, arrogant  mouth.

The big mouth bothers me a lot too.  But it seems like he has dialed that back since getting his teeth kicked in so much the last few years....or has he been shooting it off again recently?

[RebHog]

I can smell crap from a mile away and right now it really stinks.

That would be cause you have your head up BB's ass and he just farted

[Porkette]

I was always pretty much just "wait and see" on CBB until the end of last season when I was completely done with him. Like all coaches, he needed to be given a chance and time to build, and we gave him those things. Unfortunately, it hasn't worked out. Hopefully we can part amicably. It's no fun when things turn ugly.

But my opinion of him has nothing to do with him being a "good man" off the field because I have no idea whether he is or not. Most of us here don't know him. His reputation at Wiscy was actually that of a partier and womanizer (but to be fair that was before he got married). I hated the way he came here and ran his mouth constantly when he still hadn't won a conference game. He seems to care about his players, but players do still get in trouble (see last year's embarrassing bowl debacle). I do want our coaches to be good men, but you never really know. Ultimately, it doesn't matter in this case because he hasn't been successful at what we hired him to do, win football games.

[Potosihog]

I've always thought the things that you said, but I realized that he was batshart crazy when he kicked the kid off th team for not going to a lab that the professor told the class was not mandatory.  That is just the chickenshart kind of stuff that turns a leader into a joke.

I think Bielema for the appearance of being laid back has a lot of martinet in him and when you do that, you one hundred percent have to live it.  If you kick a kid off the team for not making a class like that, you had better never miss a meeting.  If you discipline kids harshly for being late, you had better be the first one in the room every single time and so on and so forth. 

And if you preach and preach about doing things right on and off the field YOU HAD BETTER darned WELL NEVER BE SEEN OUT ON THE TOWN EVEN SLIGHTLY TIPSY.

Is that what happened to Jo Jo?

[hawginbigd1]

I like coach B. I love what he preaches. I love the uncommon mantra that most have come to loathe. At this point though, I admit I've come to the realization that it's not real. I believe our program is floundering becuase the players no longer believe in Bret Bielema. I've been very critical of people who comment on the coach's weight. Some of the comments have been petty and childish. That said, I've come the the conclusion that the players don't believe in him because he doesn't practice what he preaches. He preaches how being uncommon off the field will show dividends on the field. And honestly I believe it DOES if the players buy into it. But when the coach punishes people for being a minute late to a workout, while he falls asleep in the film room, it rings hollow.

When he preaches doing the right thing on and off the field, watching what you eat, and working out while over eating and drinking on Dickson, it's hard to follow a leader like that. When a coach that acts like a disciplinarian is not disciplined in his own life, it's hard to buy in. The reason we have collapsed when the going got tough is becuase we have a rudderless ship. They don't look to him as a leader becuase he doesn't always act like one.  Leaders don't just preach it, they LIVE it. Until CBB becomes uncommon, his players will not follow him. They simply don't believe in him.

I can understand your premise but I don't buy it!
If what he ran in the 40 or how many 40's he drinks had any impact on what transpired between the white lines I could buy it.

If what you do is based on what the "boss" does you are a weak minded individual who might be able to achieve mediocrity!
Is he on his way to being fired, if this continues yes, but his appearance and how many drinks he has should be 0 parts of the reason IMO.

[hoghearted]

I was always pretty much just "wait and see" on CBB until the end of last season when I was completely done with him. Like all coaches, he needed to be given a chance and time to build, and we gave him those things. Unfortunately, it hasn't worked out. Hopefully we can part amicably. It's no fun when things turn ugly.

But my opinion of him has nothing to do with him being a "good man" off the field because I have no idea whether he is or not. Most of us here don't know him. His reputation at Wiscy was actually that of a partier and womanizer (but to be fair that was before he got married). I hated the way he came here and ran his mouth constantly when he still hadn't won a conference game. He seems to care about his players, but players do still get in trouble (see last year's embarrassing bowl debacle). I do want our coaches to be good men, but you never really know. Ultimately, it doesn't matter in this case because he hasn't been successful at what we hired him to do, win football games.

[PorkRinds]

I can understand your premise but I don't buy it!
If what he ran in the 40 or how many 40's he drinks had any impact on what transpired between the white lines I could buy it.

If what you do is based on what the "boss" does you are a weak minded individual who might be able to achieve mediocrity!
Is he on his way to being fired, if this continues yes, but his appearance and how many drinks he has should be 0 parts of the reason IMO.

That was only about half of my point. The overall point is that they do not believe in him. If you think not believing in the boss doesn't negatively impact any and all organizations there's not much left to argue.

[PorkRinds]

They don't believe in him because he's a pathetic fraud, but you'll still find something to argue.

You and CBB have a couple things in common it seems.

[HogRealism]

I like coach B. I love what he preaches. I love the uncommon mantra that most have come to loathe. At this point though, I admit I've come to the realization that it's not real. I believe our program is floundering becuase the players no longer believe in Bret Bielema. I've been very critical of people who comment on the coach's weight. Some of the comments have been petty and childish. That said, I've come the the conclusion that the players don't believe in him because he doesn't practice what he preaches. He preaches how being uncommon off the field will show dividends on the field. And honestly I believe it DOES if the players buy into it. But when the coach punishes people for being a minute late to a workout, while he falls asleep in the film room, it rings hollow.

When he preaches doing the right thing on and off the field, watching what you eat, and working out while over eating and drinking on Dickson, it's hard to follow a leader like that. When a coach that acts like a disciplinarian is not disciplined in his own life, it's hard to buy in. The reason we have collapsed when the going got tough is becuase we have a rudderless ship. They don't look to him as a leader becuase he doesn't always act like one.  Leaders don't just preach it, they LIVE it. Until CBB becomes uncommon, his players will not follow him. They simply don't believe in him.

Great post...when you peel everything away at the end of the day ...you can't give what you don't have. This is a very undisciplined team and its reflective of leadership.

[Jek Tono Porkins]

I like his philosophy, but he has failed to implement it. I have no confidence in someone who preaches building an overpowering offensive line only to have possibly the worst O-line in of all the P5 schools in year 4 & 5. He has utterly failed at accomplishing the one thing he has preached he would achieve. He needs to move on.

Yeah, that's what did it for me. He talked all that darn about us being Offensive Line U and the offensive line sits at the front of the bus and so on. Look at the offensive line now.

[HognotinMemphis]

I like coach B. I love what he preaches. I love the uncommon mantra that most have come to loathe. At this point though, I admit I've come to the realization that it's not real. I believe our program is floundering becuase the players no longer believe in Bret Bielema. I've been very critical of people who comment on the coach's weight. Some of the comments have been petty and childish. That said, I've come the the conclusion that the players don't believe in him because he doesn't practice what he preaches. He preaches how being uncommon off the field will show dividends on the field. And honestly I believe it DOES if the players buy into it. But when the coach punishes people for being a minute late to a workout, while he falls asleep in the film room, it rings hollow.

When he preaches doing the right thing on and off the field, watching what you eat, and working out while over eating and drinking on Dickson, it's hard to follow a leader like that. When a coach that acts like a disciplinarian is not disciplined in his own life, it's hard to buy in. The reason we have collapsed when the going got tough is becuase we have a rudderless ship. They don't look to him as a leader becuase he doesn't always act like one.  Leaders don't just preach it, they LIVE it. Until CBB becomes uncommon, his players will not follow him. They simply don't believe in him.

stop posting. no one cares about your thoughts on Bielema.

[PorkRinds]

stop posting. no one cares about your thoughts on Bielema.

Are you upset, snowflake?

[farmhawg]

[RebHog]

stop posting. no one cares about your thoughts on Bielema.

Hmm I thought it wasn't a bad post for someone who has come full circle there are still a few who are following him over the cliff.

[TNRazorbacker]

I like the guy too. Heck he fits right in here, looks and acts like every other obese redneck.  I know many that are damn good people- and fun to be around. To the OPs point not necessarily good coaching stock for D1 football though.

[Pork Twain]

Run along and play sweetie, the grown ups are talking.

Was there a point to this post?