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Post by longsuffering on Dec 20, 2023 19:36:50 GMT -5
Have to be honest. Curran reminded me a lot of a young Tom Gilmore in that presser. I had the same thought. They both look like they were sent over from Central Casting to play a head football coach. Let's hope he has some of Chesney's organization, leadership and PR skills, as well as TG's toughness. And none of TG's late game decision making.
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Post by rgs318 on Dec 20, 2023 20:11:09 GMT -5
...and better retention than TG of assistant coaches. FCTG always loved HC. It appears that In that way they are also alike.
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ignatius
Crusader Century Club
Posts: 122
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Post by ignatius on Dec 20, 2023 20:18:26 GMT -5
He specifically mentioned that he had virtually zero turnover on his staff over the past several years. I think that is encouraging and speaks to the culture that he’s promising to deliver.
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Post by midwestsader05 on Dec 20, 2023 20:25:04 GMT -5
As someone that played for and knew TG well, one of his unfortunate personality traits was a lack of self awareness. I’m hoping Dan is very different in that respect. Early indications from coaching industry peers would suggest Dan is much less self absorbed. TG was never very well thought of across the industry. Many peers thought he was arrogant and projected to always be the smartest guy in the room. And in case you’re wondering, he and I got along very well and kept in touch for many years. It’s not personal at all.
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Sertorius
Climbing Mt. St. James
Haters everywhere I go
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Post by Sertorius on Dec 21, 2023 16:09:23 GMT -5
Hard to quantify/describe the 2023 season.....it certainly wasn't a "failure"....sharing a 5th straight PL title, nearly beating BC etc is hardly failing. I suppose "disappointingly frustrating" is the best descriptor....not making the playoffs, not winning either FBS game, beating ourselves at Polar Park etc. We all probably collectively "read our own headlines" i.e. preseason Top 5 etc and anything much short of another undefeated season and deep playoff run would be deemed a failure by some. If any one of those 4 losses goes the other way, we are either outright PL champs or in the playoffs. Very frustrating.....a feeling Curran can hopefully use to motivate the guys in 2024. It was the close but no cigar of seasons. If this season was bad we are truly blessed tbh
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Post by jkh67 on Dec 22, 2023 16:51:22 GMT -5
Id consider 7-8 wins next season a good season, and not necessarily a failure if we don't hit it. A lot will depend on the OL, in my opinion, but the offense as a whole is going to have to adjust from losing such an established identity. I do think this season was a failure though. No way we should have lost 4 games this year, and we wasted some of our all time greats final seasons. In two years time or so, I'd probably consider a 7 win season for HCDC a failure (or at least disappointment) Let's not get ahead of our skis here guys. I too am disappointed with the results this year, but we lost to two FBS teams by a total of 6 points. And, I must say, the BC game was one of the most incredible experiences at an HC athletic event in recent memory. To me it was somewhat of a moral victory. We were the better team....obviously. It just didn't go our way. We went to the national quarterfinals last year and we've seen some of the most impressive individual performances in HC history. Think about where we were 10 years ago. I wish the results were better this season, but given what they were I still had an awesome time watching those guys play. Onward and upward. I'm confident Curran can deliver what Chesney could not. Go HC! I didn't see the BC game, but I was at Army. We trounced them in every offensive category, but the most important one -- the final score. (I thought Chesney was extraordinarily mellow and accepting of defeat in his post game interview on the field. Made me wonder if his sights were already set elsewhere. And here we are!)
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Post by jkh67 on Dec 22, 2023 17:14:37 GMT -5
So 7-4 is acceptable? That was not good Enough this year. And it won’t be next year. Either you are a contender or a pretender. We are not pretenders....This is a pivotal time....We are either SDS or Sacred Heart....Lets decide what we are The reality is that the FCS has been historically dominated for the most part by big western and southern state universities that are very different in numerous ways from many eastern FCS schools. Especially small ones with serious academic profiles like HC. We're not like the South Dakota States of the world and never will be. And, like it or not, we are pretenders until we show we're not by winning the title. It may be that we got as close as we ever will in that SDS quarter-final game where we were extremely competitive for three quarters. Unfortunately, the game has four quarters and we couldn't sustain over that final 15 minutes. (Reminded me a bit of games against Syracuse back in the '60s. We'd play 'em tough for a half or so and then they'd blow the doors off.) Don't get me wrong. No one would like to see HC climb to the top of the gridiron mountain more than me. I just don't think it's going to happen without the school making a bunch of changes which it would rightly find to be unacceptable. Even then, it would likely be a bridge too far.
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Post by hc87 on Dec 22, 2023 17:15:52 GMT -5
Let's not get ahead of our skis here guys. I too am disappointed with the results this year, but we lost to two FBS teams by a total of 6 points. And, I must say, the BC game was one of the most incredible experiences at an HC athletic event in recent memory. To me it was somewhat of a moral victory. We were the better team....obviously. It just didn't go our way. We went to the national quarterfinals last year and we've seen some of the most impressive individual performances in HC history. Think about where we were 10 years ago. I wish the results were better this season, but given what they were I still had an awesome time watching those guys play. Onward and upward. I'm confident Curran can deliver what Chesney could not. Go HC! I didn't see the BC game, but I was at Army. We trounced them in every offensive category, but the most important one -- the final score. (I thought Chesney was extraordinarily mellow and accepting of defeat in his post game interview on the field. Made me wonder if his sights were already set elsewhere. And here we are!) Being the masochist that I am, I watched the Army replay today (sick on the couch....I almost always get sick during school vacations but that's a different story for another time) and I had sort of the same impression jkh67. Not that he took the loss (or losing at the time) lightly but he didn't seem that torn up. I think he was frustrated in how Sluka was playing to a degree i.e. trying to do too much (which I think he did as well....but live&die with Matt) ....but he was able to contain that frustration/emotion from appearances. Such a frustrating loss, I would have lost it but Ray-Bans is a bettah man than me in that regard. One positive from watching this again was seeing how well the D played overall without Dobbs playing (I had forgotten he didn't play at Army). I think we should be fairly stout on that side of the ball in 2024.
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Post by rgs318 on Dec 22, 2023 17:17:42 GMT -5
Quite possibly., jkh67...but still fun to see just how close HC can get to that peak!
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Post by sader1970 on Dec 22, 2023 18:54:41 GMT -5
Since we are rehashing the Army game. We didn't especially lose due to Sluka but the game was lost by our blocked punt that was returned for a TD. We lost by 3 and that play was good for 7 Army points. I do think that BC goes out of his way NOT to single out an individual player or squad (in this case, special teams). We were playing an FBS team and underdogs, I think he was correct it not getting publicly upset but can almost guarantee you that he was extremely disappointed.
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Post by 78purple on Dec 22, 2023 20:26:30 GMT -5
Since we are rehashing the Army game. We didn't especially lose due to Sluka but the game was lost by our blocked punt that was returned for a TD. We lost by 3 and that play was good for 7 Army points. I do think that BC goes out of his way NOT to single out an individual player or squad (in this case, special teams). We were playing an FBS team and underdogs, I think he was correct it not getting publicly upset but can almost guarantee you that he was extremely disappointed. I can confirm the fact that, away from the cameras, he was crushed.....I didn't sense he was already looking elsewhere
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Post by timholycross on Dec 23, 2023 9:58:01 GMT -5
Since we are rehashing the Army game. We didn't especially lose due to Sluka but the game was lost by our blocked punt that was returned for a TD. We lost by 3 and that play was good for 7 Army points. I do think that BC goes out of his way NOT to single out an individual player or squad (in this case, special teams). We were playing an FBS team and underdogs, I think he was correct it not getting publicly upset but can almost guarantee you that he was extremely disappointed. Losing Haskins on, of all things, a PAT attempt; hurt HC in many areas.
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hc69
Crusader Century Club
Posts: 219
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Post by hc69 on Dec 23, 2023 13:59:43 GMT -5
As someone that played for and knew TG well, one of his unfortunate personality traits was a lack of self awareness. I’m hoping Dan is very different in that respect. Early indications from coaching industry peers would suggest Dan is much less self absorbed. TG was never very well thought of across the industry. Many peers thought he was arrogant and projected to always be the smartest guy in the room. And in case you’re wondering, he and I got along very well and kept in touch for many years. It’s not personal at all. He was serious to a fault and had almost no sense of humor. At the end of the year he did individual exit interviews with the seniors. At the end of the interview he asked each one if he had any other comments A player midwest and I know well said to TG, "the head coach is a f__king a__hole." TG started writing on his pad "the head coach is a f__king a__hole." The player told him it was a joke.
He also had a temper. I'm sure midwest remembers the home game where TG and one of his coaches got into a prolonged shouting match on the sideline. Those of us seated behind the team bench had a ringside seat. It's seemed like every third word or so was a word the variations of which can be a noun, verb, adjective, and adverb and they used them all. He ended up firing the coach on the spot, which was later rescinded. One of my many memories from those days.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Dec 23, 2023 14:09:37 GMT -5
I had a friend who was on the UPenn team with TG. He told about being out in a bar one evening with a bunch of players and one of the players started misbehaving, I guess embarrassing the team and school. My friend said he looked and saw the largest fist he had ever seen come flying and Gilmore laid the miscreant out flat.
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Post by sader1970 on Dec 23, 2023 14:38:59 GMT -5
I have my own recollections of Tom Gilmore and have posted them previously and won’t bother doing so again. I’ve known him since his earliest days at Holy Cross and still keep in touch with him.
As for lack of self-awareness, that’s not the guy I know. I also know him as having a self-deprecating sense of humor , loyal and honest. I was neither one of his players nor one of his assistants and recognize that people can have different perspectives of the same person based on the relationship they have with the person.
I have also heard from some of his former players who told me that he taught them more about life than just football but that others weren’t as open to those lessons. The term “tough love” was probably not used but my interpretation of what was said.
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Post by inhocsigno on Dec 23, 2023 14:57:23 GMT -5
I think each group of players, whether under Carter, Duffner, Allen, Gilmore or Chesney, will have a sense of loyalty to their head guy. I know little about Vaas, but he is the only coach that appears to have a little less loyalty from his guys, from what i heard.
I have nothing negative to say about Gilmore. He worked hard for HC. He was always good to me and other Dan Allen-era players. I will say that he didn't do as well as Chesney at connecting the past with the present. Chesney was excellent at making the extra effort to go out and meet with former players and alums generally. Gilmore was more of a football only grinder. I think this aligns with most of our feelings that Chesney was an excellent "salesman" for the program. I see Curran as a middle-ground between the 2.
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Dec 23, 2023 21:32:51 GMT -5
As someone that played for and knew TG well, one of his unfortunate personality traits was a lack of self awareness. I’m hoping Dan is very different in that respect. Early indications from coaching industry peers would suggest Dan is much less self absorbed. TG was never very well thought of across the industry. Many peers thought he was arrogant and projected to always be the smartest guy in the room. And in case you’re wondering, he and I got along very well and kept in touch for many years. It’s not personal at all. He was serious to a fault and had almost no sense of humor. At the end of the year he did individual exit interviews with the seniors. At the end of the interview he asked each one if he had any other comments A player midwest and I know well said to TG, "the head coach is a f__king a__hole." TG started writing on his pad "the head coach is a f__king a__hole." The player told him it was a joke.
He also had a temper. I'm sure midwest remembers the home game where TG and one of his coaches got into a prolonged shouting match on the sideline. Those of us seated behind the team bench had a ringside seat. It's seemed like every third word or so was a word the variations of which can be a noun, verb, adjective, and adverb and they used them all. He ended up firing the coach on the spot, which was later rescinded. One of my many memories from those days. Doesn’t really sound like a funny joke. Gilmore, though he had his faults, did a really nice job turning the program around and making it very respectable in his early years. He may have hurt feelings along the way.
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hc69
Crusader Century Club
Posts: 219
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Post by hc69 on Dec 23, 2023 22:26:27 GMT -5
The point, of course, is that if you don't understand that the player is joking in that situation you lack a sense of humor yourself.
Gilmore inherited a tough situation. We had just unceremoniously dumped Dan Allen who clearly was seriously ill and would soon die. Many of the players, as well as many others of us, thought that was not the college's proudest moment. It could have been handled much better. Gilmore did make the program respectable but his first couple of years were tough, partially due to his personalty. It is simply unprofessional and unacceptable to get into a shouting match on the sideline with one of your coaches and fire f-bombs all over the place. There weren't all that many of us there and most of us heard that exchange. Midwest isn't the only player of that era to have stayed in contact with Gilmore and have a good personal relationship with him. What Gilmore was in his first couple of years isn't representative of his body of work.
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Post by midwestsader05 on Dec 23, 2023 22:26:44 GMT -5
Tom had 7 consecutive winning seasons from 2005-2011. He could have easily had 3 consecutive PL championships from ‘07-09 instead of just ‘09. As was typical per many games during the 2000’s, one crucial series and some questionable in game decisions in the Fordham 2007 game (lost by 3) and Colgate 2008 (lost by 1) cost those teams what would’ve been a helluva 3 year run.
He was a good coach those first 8 years, coincidentally or not you can put a pin in the point in time when the wheels started to come off and that was after his debacle Yale interview circa 2010/2011.
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Post by sader1970 on Dec 23, 2023 22:38:18 GMT -5
Let’s get this thread back on track and discuss or add anything about Dan Curran rather than either Tom Gilmore or Bob Chesney.
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Post by midwestsader05 on Dec 23, 2023 22:42:35 GMT -5
Then I’ll reiterate what I said before when the comparison first came up. I don’t think a young TG = DC. Granted I haven’t spent time with DC yet but TG is very unique in many respects…both good and not so good. Would be a stretch for anyone to compare to him frankly.
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Post by 78purple on Dec 23, 2023 22:44:36 GMT -5
Then I’ll reiterate what I said before when the comparison first came up. I don’t think a young TG = DC. Absolutely agree with that statement
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Post by sader1970 on Dec 24, 2023 5:11:47 GMT -5
Then I’ll reiterate what I said before when the comparison first came up. I don’t think a young TG = DC. Granted I haven’t spent time with DC yet but TG is very unique in many respects…both good and not so good. Would be a stretch for anyone to compare to him frankly. In my effort to get this back on track, I know TG well and have spent time with DC. They are both unique individuals and no need to compare the two or either of them with BC, who I’ve also known.
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Post by bfoley82 on Dec 24, 2023 10:01:03 GMT -5
We are not pretenders....This is a pivotal time....We are either SDS or Sacred Heart....Lets decide what we are The reality is that the FCS has been historically dominated for the most part by big western and southern state universities that are very different in numerous ways from many eastern FCS schools. Especially small ones with serious academic profiles like HC. We're not like the South Dakota States of the world and never will be. And, like it or not, we are pretenders until we show we're not by winning the title. It may be that we got as close as we ever will in that SDS quarter-final game where we were extremely competitive for three quarters. Unfortunately, the game has four quarters and we couldn't sustain over that final 15 minutes. (Reminded me a bit of games against Syracuse back in the '60s. We'd play 'em tough for a half or so and then they'd blow the doors off.) Don't get me wrong. No one would like to see HC climb to the top of the gridiron mountain more than me. I just don't think it's going to happen without the school making a bunch of changes which it would rightly find to be unacceptable. Even then, it would likely be a bridge too far. Wofford has ten NCAA appearances since 2003 coming out of the SoCon and they have roughly half the student population of HC. They are also a private liberal arts college
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