Welcome to the Friday Feedback, pretty good at what it does, flanked by loyal compatriots but out of the game for a little bit. You could also call it the second choice to coach Baylor this season.

In reality, there was just a small pool of candidates to coach the Bears, and figure those in that pool would probably be wary. Mack Brown wasn’t going to be the hire, because there’s a chance he’d want to be the full-time guy or that others might. It absolutely could not have been defensive coordinator Phil Bennett. Nobody — Dino Babers, Phil Montgomery, etc. — was going to leave a full-time head coaching job in late May and go to Baylor, where no one knows what’s yet unwritten.

So in Jim Grobe the Bears get an excellent hand, a steady and steadying personality who is quite liked by his peers. His first coaching staff at Ohio University wasn’t much unlike his final staff at Wake Forest. People left, but it was rare, and it was always for a better opportunity. People weren’t in a rush to leave Grobe’s side, because he was a good man and a good coach, and that industry isn’t replete with one or the other, never mind both.

In a public relations sense, this is a shrewd move for Baylor, which desperately needs empathizers even as it refuses to let recruits out of letters of intent. People are not going to, and ought not, root for Baylor right now, though a lot of the bad seeds are gone, but the players free of guilt? They are now cast as characters in need of fans and friends, and Grobe is the sort of guy who brings people to that side of the crowd. You might root for the plucky coach who’s clearly doing this as a selfless one-year deal to help who he can help, and you might hope the kids get something better than what’s likely coming their way.

In a football sense, this is harsh. Grobe is a 2016 option, and he’s not a needle-mover the school has to hire in 2017 to again deploy the massive momentum Baylor had going before all of this. But how many players know that? Probably all of them, and most of them know they’re going to be on the team in 2017 and Grobe will not. For a program losing recruits now and sure to find difficulty attracting players during this round of recruiting, that’s dangerous. Players — kids — can push limits and test boundaries, tune out messages and speakers and wait for the calendar to turn, and, honestly, there’s probably not much Grobe can do about that because he has to restore install a culture there that must last far beyond his days, however long or brief they are.

Also, are we sure Grobe was/is good? I know, I know … Wake Forest won an ACC title! (Remarkably, Wake was 6-0 on the road that season.) But, man, that was a weak ACC, the Demon Deacons were 2-3 and outscored 98-66 against ranked teams and the ACC title game remains one of the top exhibits for those who do not like title games. (It also set up WVU v. Georgia Tech in that season’s Gator Bowl.)

Grobe then followed that special 11-3 season with 9-4 and 8-5 records and then five straight losing seasons at a combined 12 games below .500 in ACC play.

Now, out of coaching for two seasons, he’s in charge of what had been one of the country’s top ascending programs. This is a different cat and a different hat, and there’s, like, no precedent to suggest this will work. But Baylor might not be interested in wins and losses as much as direction, and that in itself might be a victory for a place that’s proved it will not be defined or damned by football.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, be careful how you make your point.

Mr Burns said:

Is he saying that eight and pho should be the yearly expectation? That’s mediocrity. They need to challenge for a title here and there.

Are we making pho puns now? I’m all for that. (I resisted the urge there, on principle.)

Mack said:

It will be interesting to see if Baylor does the “hire a ‘good guy’ for a couple of years to get everyone off our back, then fire him and hire the winner.” That’s usually the tactic teams use in college football.

To his credit, Mackstrodamus said this before Grobe was hired. We owe him that.

Clarence Oveur said:

7-8 wins is going to be the norm for WVU in this conference. It was the norm for Nehlen during the 90s when the Big East wasn’t weakened by defections.

That being said, WVU should realistically compete for a conference title every 4-5 years. And by compete I mean finish in the top 3 of the conference. You could argue (quite ably, in my opinion) that we were competing for a title in 2014 until Clint went down. Is that as good as it’s gonna get? Maybe.

Fortunately the conference hierarchy remains wide open in terms of on-field success. There’s plenty of parity in the Big 12 and WVU has a window to make a run. Just how big that window is? That’s up for debate.

Such a weird conversation. You’re right about what had been the norm, but with all the money and other resources, but mostly money, put into football, you’d naturally reason the old norm cannot be the modern norm. A counterpoint would say the Big 12 is not the Big East, so the old norm could stand today, but people forget the Big East — and WVU’s schedule — was tough at that time. Honestly, seven- and eight-win seasons probably can’t sustain a coach right now. Iowa State and Kansas are, let’s say, in transition. Kansas State is a year or two away from a similar spot. Baylor is unsteady. That’s two teams WVU has been above and two teams it needs to get and then stay above. Then it’s just about beating one or two of the remaining four teams to get into that title chase, and then making that happen consistently. But the window is open.

Mack said:

I said last year several times that it was the first time that I thought WVU got “program wins” in the Big 12. In other words, it won games just because its average players were better than the average players on the other teams. I thought this signified a huge step up (though I’m not sure that it continues for a second straight year). Last year, WVU lacked stars. Will Grier appears to be a possible star. Kevin White’s brother appears to be a possible star. 

…but that Kansas State loss. Oof. I wouldn’t disagree, though.

philip said:

re the question:

i never had the illusion, in whatever league/matchup we were in, that we would dominate. there are only so many powerhouses that have a history and/or deep pockets to be perennial contenders — and the flagship university of a small, rural state with neither of those advantages simply can’t be included among them.

i’ve just wanted us to be in the mix, with the chance that, every few years, we’ll have a team with the chemistry/alchemy that will finally break through. i don’t think this is settling for mediocrity; i think it’s knowing what’s in our bank account and adjusting expectations accordingly.

we’ve made strides — and i think the breakthrough is within reach. it’s just that now where progress was measured in miles, and then feet, it’s become inches, each time cutting that distance in half and half and half.

it’s tantalizing and maddening, but i’m going to have to believe that we’re getting close enough that we can maybe leap over that half of a half of a half and into the promised land. then we can write our own history.

Alchemy! You’ve hit on something. I actually think a lot of the difference of opinion among fans, and not just here, arises when they’re traveling the same route and reach that intersection where folks have to make a decision about expectations, and many just can’t discern between realism and, as you say, settling for mediocrity.

smeer said:

nature abhors a vacuum. Baylor’s fall is an opening in the top tier . . . for WVU? WVU did this once before when VT and Miami jumped ship. And Grier is coming in 2017. As the sharks circle to claim Baylor’s recruits, who will benefit most? I doubt WVU makes much waves with kids who picked BU for its coach, geography and “solid Christian moral ethic.”

It’s there for someone. But someone in 2016 could be Texas, too. And Baylor, if wired properly, has oodles of talent. If Grobe does some CEO stuff and eagle eyes the program, the incumbent staffers have plenty of incentive to take care of their business this season. But so, so much of that depends on the players.

Joe Dryler said:

This is pretty devastating for the Big 12 and by association WVU, no? So much of a Power 5 team is now tied to the strength of the conference. Imagine the Big 12 last couple of years with a mediocre Baylor. Not all that great. How many future big games (or GameDays) will go away as a result of this (much deserved) purging? Really, it seems clear that Baylor will, at best, trend sharply down next couple of years. I don’t see how that doesn’t drag the Big 12 down significantly as well.

It is and it isn’t. The league’s rep and competitiveness could take a hit, but WVU could take Baylor’s place in the hierarchy, if only for a year. The domino effect you describe, who knows, but you still have two marquee programs and a solid second cut with teams that will be (Oklahoma State) and can be (WVU, Texas Tech and Kansas State because of Bill Snyder) very good.

abpriddy said:

Not sure how Briles thinks any of that staff is gonna be around, let alone all of them. Given the findings that assistant coaches went directly to victims to intercede and deter them from filing charges, how in the world can a single one of them remain on staff? I’m thinking the lawyers are just going through the contracts and it’s simply a logistical impossibility to fire everyone at once without time to prep.

Recruiting.

Dann White said:

I knew deep down inside that you could not put faith in a man who has a history of hanging out in The Brass Rail. To be honest though, for that very reason I expected his downfall would come on the wings of a gambling/point-shaving scandal. Shame on you, Art Briles.
Really! This is the 21st Century, does anyone else in the world still believe that athletes have a right to force coeds to relieve their sexual tension, likely brought on by the use of anabolic steroids and human growth hormones. In order to “juice” successfully, one has to ingest testosterone at a level equal to normal levels in several adult males. Coupled with the “out to kill” philosophy encouraged in some football camps, this is a tragedy in the making.
Despite their obvious guilt in the incidents, these student athletes are also victims, they are victims of the permissiveness that led them to believe these types of crimes are OK when committed by a football hero. (key words: crimes, are, committed, by, football, hero)
I like WVU’s style more and more as time and news articles go by. Shoplifting chips, or a fistfight on Sunnyside are issues we can live with and usually correct. The big exception: Branco Busick, linebacker turned desperado, whose twisted fate has found him out, stole his dreams and eventually will if it hasn’t already, filled him with regret.
I daresay drug screening might have exposed Branko’s need for everyone else’s cash and valuables. Lord knows, I hope this youngster has turned the corner and found some success, but don’t we have to admit that Dana, and his assistants have shown themselves to be either good judges of character or very lucky.
Gosh, I love football! And so do you, but only a fool thinks that their depth chart trumps the rules that prevent us from killing, robbing, and raping, even when its done with discrimination. Good luck to Baylor and their regents, these attitudes didn’t begin and end in the HC, AD, and Prez’s offices, more heads will likely roll out of the way of their Christian Mission,

Dann

Da(m)nn! Also, Busick was a good kid who took a bad turn and proved himself the proper way during the legal process. Today, he’s a pretty good MMA fighter, which he told me long ago he’d one day get into.

Mack said:

It’s been over 30 years since any program got the death penalty. I think people can stop bringing it up as a possible sanction at this point.

I just don’t know how the NCAA can get involved here. I suspect it will not. I do hope the Big 12 retrieves its head and pressures the school to release the recruits from their NLIs though.

netbros said:

It’s also be 30 years since the last time Mack smiled, but we still have hope.

Do we, though?

Karl said:

Football-wise, this is a tough situation for Baylor. I’ve never met a Baylor fan, but I can imagine their expectations are now really high given how far Briles raised the bar wins-wise. Program builders like that don’t grow on trees. It’s got to be a bit like we felt after losing Rich Rod, where there’s a yearning to find a really good successor right away to keep the momentum going before they fall back to being a so-so program. For that reason, I can’t see them seriously pursuing Holgorsen, unless he has a huge season. He’s a .500 coach on the warm seat — you’ve got to shoot higher. Unfortunately for them, more established coaches aren’t going to want to go near this mess, especially once the NCAA hits it with whatever sanctions. Baylor is bound for a step back.

I’m inclined to agree, but Briles did a lot of the heavy lifting. New stadium. Street cred. Recruiting prowess. Flashy uniforms. There’s a good infrastructure in place if the right guy succeeds him. He won’t be Briles, who wasn’t a very dynamic personality, by the way, but he’ll have less ground to make up as he begins.

MontanaEer said:

I imagine UT, OU, TCU and Houston and A&M are secretly enjoying this. Baylor will become Baylor again (As mentioned above, what quality coach will want to go near there?), and those QBs, WRs, and RBs will look elsewhere, but not too far elsewhere.

Bingo.

smeer said:

is this a bug Mike C? CGM blog has no way to navigate to older/newer comments? (except to click on an older comment on light menu (CGM prolly never had a blog post run beyond 20 posts – Mike is breaking things )

I’ll add it to the list. Still waiting on a fix for the mobile issues.

smeer said:

So Miki didn’t win, place or show? the gods were did not look kindly on someone who dunks pepperoni rolls in strawberry Crystal Light.

Didn’t participate. No explanation. So no more mentions.

Dann said:

I realize that Mike is at least 50% Italian, but c’mon guys; how many people know three people that are getting married on three consecutive weekends, and right around Memorial Day too.
Sounds funny to me Caz. At any rate, enjoy the break, be sure and make it back for summer camp, and tweet us if you here of any breaking news out the Arhletic Department.

I’m in Coopersown for connubiality.

Mack said:

Ken Starr’s explanation/defense that I read turned my brain into a pretze

It got worse…

An answer Ken #Starr gave to one of our questions prompted quite a response from a PR specialist with him #Baylor https://t.co/0wSAsXFnBI

— KWTX News 10 (@kwtx) June 3, 2016

Rugger said:

Is Texas really against expansion or are they trying to save The LongWhorn Network?

Would new members get a full share in year one or would it be phased-in as it was for us and TCU?

This thread of comments went there. We had tranya takes!

CC Team said:

Hmmmm…. Long term limp locations may not be good but I am satisfied for now with no expansion. There are no good candidates and future changes to conference alignment are, for now, a distant threat. Watchful waiting is a good strategy. I would have liked for TX to say it differently. A little more humility and room for future shifting of positions would have been better. The Mayfield rule regarding walk on transfers should be changed.

Uh,  hmmmm, indeed.

I love you, Doug! said:

CC, keep your “limp locations” to yourself, whether short- or long-term!

Yah.

CC Team said:

Damn spell check. Meant implications in the first line.

Suuuuure you did.

Mack said:

I’ve stopped caring and though I see many people on here commenting, I see none of them basing any of their opinions on logic or facts.

The CBS link says that the Big 12 “could” earn an additional $1 billion by expanding to four teams… and it would earn an additional $500 million by expanding to two teams. That settles it. Expand by adding 40 teams and rake in an additional $10 billion. Nowhere in the CBS story is there the slightest hint of factual information regarding WHY or HOW the Big 12 will make an additional billion dollars. From my reading of it, it’s possible that the sole reason that it would make more money is by simply reopening the negotiations (i.e., bringing in new teams wouldn’t increase the value . . . it’s simply that the Big 12 would make more money by negotiating its contract now rather than four years (or whatever) ago). If that’s the case, then the Big 12 should just threaten to expand if ESPN/Fox won’t renegotiate its contract, and then negotiate a deal for more money and keep the league at 10 teams.

Texas isn’t giving up the money it’s making. WVU wouldn’t. No one would. To call Texas names because it’s not giving up the insane money it is making so WVU can feel like it is in a more stable conference is just ignorant.

The idea that the Big 12 has a 62% chance of making the playoffs with 10 teams and a 75% chance of making the playoffs with 12 teams just sounds like the dumbest, illogical, made up out of nowhere stat that I’ve ever heard.

Again, I don’t think Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel is the greatest college football mind in the world… but he was right on the money that the Big 12 should be fighting to expand the playoffs to eight teams and get an automatic spot in the playoffs. If it does that, that’s the end of the conference expansion talk.

Appropriately skeptical. I can’t find two or four teams that, in the mind of a consumer, justifies a half-billion or billion-dollar swell. It’s a great line to float around at the end of the meetings, though. All of that said, there’s technology out there we’re not even considering. It’s silly to think we’re dealing with cable companies for our television packages in the future. Apple, Google, Netflix, Amazon and the like are advancing far too fast to stay out of the game (and overpay to get in it). Authentication apps — difficult to explain, fun to research — are the way of the future, and once leagues master the monetization, the problem is solved.

SheikYbuti said:

Here’s an idea: Kick out Tejas and invite 7 new teams. At least we’d be proactive.

More and more, I don’t think Texas is the bad guy. Bold? Sure. Wrong? I don’t think so. But certainly the signs are there that the Longhorns are, at least, looking out for No. 1.

SheikYbuti said:

A better question would be “What are the political reasons that TCU and Texas Tech insist on voting as a bloc with Texas?”

It’s the best question, and we’ll never, ever get an answer. So, let’s introduce out own: Power. The bloc is a blockade that keeps Houston or SMU from getting in or Baylor or Oklahoma from getting votes they want, so on and so forth. In that light, presuming Texas helped TCU with an invitation, TCU will remain beholden, because it wants a seat at the table at the expense of others. I welcome all of your answers. 

CC Team said:

I would be interested in knowing the split on the Mayfield walk on core. Did the TX schools vote in a block there?

Hmm, let’s see. The first vote was 5-5 to keep the rule in place. The amended vote, which solves the problem, was 7-3. Wonder what happened there…

Clarence Oveur said:

Hey, Bowlsby, baby I got your money
Don’t you worry

I said, hey!

SheikYbuti said:

For me, the endgame is anything that gets WVU reunited with its regional rivals when the era of 16-team super-conferences eventually becomes reality. The Big XII’s demise is the most likely catalyst for that, so I’d favor a course that is most likely to break up the conference in five or ten years, affording us the opportunity to continue to improve our athletic program such that it and our school is viewed as an indispensable asset (much like Oklahoma is now). In the short-term, we should favor whatever course brings in the most money for our coffers, so long as it doesn’t negatively affect our long-term goal.

I think that’s extremely smart, realistic and probably even inevitable.

Clarence Oveur said:

I’m with Sheik 110%.

The ACC has a hard-on for academics and for whatever reason doesn’t want anything to do with WVU, but it would make the most sense geographically and competitively.

Perhaps UNC’s transgressions will make the conference think twice about the facade of the righteous institution at the top of the hill (I doubt it, but one can dream).

WVU has allies within the ACC and has former ACC bigwigs on its payroll. It’s been a valuable member-in-transition for the Big 12. I’m not sure how much that past with the ACC will matter when the time comes to build the best Super League. WVU won’t be a top pick, but WVU would be a very strong, say, No. 12-15 in a 16-team league.

Wayne said:

I would be very concerned if the Big 12 broke up. The Big 10 is a non-starter for academics and the Pac 12 for geography. The ACC has rejected us innumerable times since they split from the Southern Conference in 1953. They have 14 members and probably go to 16 only with ND and dream of Texas or take U Conn before us for 16. There seems to be a solid group of “no” votes among the ACC “bluebloods” for WVU and I don’t see that changing. That leaves the SEC and while that’s a good cultural fit I have trouble picturing them inviting WVU. I don’t know that we bring enough to the table.

Today, this is perfectly acceptable. In the future, it assumes Georgia Tech or Notre Dame don’t go to the Big Ten or Clemson or Florida State don’t go to the SEC. Something like that. If this unfolds as many of us envision, I suspect the leagues don’t remain the same and it’s not as simple as the Big 12 folding and the 10 teams scrambling to find spots in open leagues while others in the American, Mountain West, Conference USA, etc., do the same.

Mr M said:

Does the hiring of Steve Uryasz aka Clint Howard mean the end of Keli Cunningham at WVU?

I think it means Shane Lyons finally has his guy. I always thought it was odd he took his first AD job and didn’t bring in someone he knew and trusted to be his deputy. I think Ms. Cunningham was that person, but she’s also otherwise occupied with compliance. Imagine a head coach coming in and not hiring anyone.

Arthur Briles said:

Don’t worry about me folks, you can catch me wearing a too-tight spandex shirt at Books-A-Million while signing copies of my new book, “No Longer Waiting For the Fall.”

Enjoy the weekend.