Bring Back Troy

[Phantom Hornet]

Wood giving off strong Vivek Ranadive vibes....

 

[BuckeyeHornetFan]

I always chuckle when I read comments about how Dr. Wood should be fired and lol when I see comments about how he's going over the head of the athletic director.

And some of us chuckle when you post rebuttal stuff such as this. Are you a mouthpiece for the university and Wood or an invested and concerned fan like the rest of us? It gets confusing sometimes.

I’m not sure who has stated that Wood should be fired, because that’s likely not realistic. He’s not particularly good at the job (more specifically the athletics part of it), as the results thus far confirm, but his removal is a pipe dream for the time being due to politics.

I’m also fairly confident that a fair share of the student body would also argue that he’s not particularly good at other aspects of the job, too, but I disgress.

Yes, Dr. Wood is going over the head of the athletic director because he out ranks him. Being the boss comes with certain authorities and overruling the decision/desires of the underlings is one of them. It's really that simple.

This is a rather silly take. Why hire, pay, and retain an AD position if the President is going to do the job himself? Shouldn’t the guy have enough responsibility already?

The amount of time he invests in performing the tasks of those beneath him suggests that he really doesn’t do much of anything else.

It’s one thing to be in the loop and involved in decision making of various departments under his watch, and even to rarely pull rank when necessary, but an altogether different thing to be involved at the level that he involves himself. He’s not a Billionaire owner of a professional sports franchise.

And even in those instances, the very best and most successful Billionaire owners hire people with a lot more expertise in the field (than them) then trust those people to run the operations. They are typically only involved with the financial and budgeting aspects of the decisions their AD or GM seek approval to make.

As @Green Laser alluded, how many university presidents are following the same blueprint i.e. overriding their AD/GM’s and involving themselves in nearly every process to the same degree? How many University Presidents speak and behave as Wood does?

You’re positioning as if what he’s doing is common place. It isn’t.

If Wood doesn’t trust Mark Orr’s expertise and/or ability to perform the tasks within the purview of his job title then he should cut ties with him and hire someone else OR just cut the position altogether, save the university some money, and perform the job duties himself — in an official capacity.

There’s no need for subterfuge or maintaining the false appearance that Mark Orr is in charge of these decisions.

Edit: For those clamoring hard for Troy, if you didn't take the 2 minutes to send in an email to the admin and/or aren't buying tickets to games then please let the board know so we can discount your complaints and criticisms about how this coaching hire plays out. Thanks in advance.

What do you mean “we” can discount? You mean you. Nobody is bound by the subjective rules you’ve set forth.

I’ve bought tickets and attended many games over the decades and in recent years. But if others haven’t — so what?

If they invest themselves in any way, shape, or form as a fan — whether that be watching on TV, buying merchandise, or whatever — they have just as much right as you and I do to vent, complain, and criticize.

As for your lame email requirement — it is and was a complete waste of time. Nobody involved in the decision making process was ever going to pay it any mind. You of all people should understand that.

Any voice that Wood deems valuable enough to consider — if Wood is listening to anyone at all — has already been considered. At most that short list would be comprised of select alumni and deep pocketed donors — the latter of which is in short supply at Sac State. Hence why this university and its football program has been mired in the same situation for seemingly ever.

 

[SDHornet]

No doubt Wood has the power and final say what goes on in athletics and elsewhere on campus. Question is: How many university presidents insist on overriding the athletic director on hiring decisions. What is Wood's background in athletics it certainly doesn't compare with Orr's. If Wood wants us to buy tickets and support the program he needs to give us the coach that has the best chance to be successful not one of his experiments

Fair points. Regarding Dr. Wood's involvement, I'll just say look at the recent LSU handling of their situation and lack of involvement of their AD in landing Kiffin. Yes I get that LSU is a top coaching spot in all of college football but I doubt the AD holds the leash on any of the top programs in college football. Having admin "go over the head" of the AD wrt a head coaching hire isn't something unprecedented.

Troy proved and disproved a lot during his tenure wrt the narratives floating around Hornet football. One of the biggest that was disproven was the "win and they'll show up" narrative. The 2025 season just averaged 15,468 per game in a 7 win, no home Causeway, non-playoff season with a flashy head coach hire coupled with a Presidential hype machine and post-game concerts. In 2022 Troy pulled 15,502 per game with undoubtedly the best team and season performance in Hornet D1 history with a packed out Causeway to bolster the average attendance.

The table below shows the 2022 and 2025 attendance head to head. I didn't include the laughable playoff attendance in the 2022 average stated above for obvious reasons^. These numbers are even more damning when you take into consideration that the 2022 season culminated in our BSC threepeat and the 2025 season was on the heels of an abysmal 3 win 2024 campaign. The Montana numbers are interesting considering both were on ESPN 2 but only one of them was bolstered by Panda-gate.

Bottom line is miss me with the "Wood needs to consider what sells tickets" narrative because it doesn't favor the argument to hire Troy. Hate Dr. Wood all you want but his antics sells tickets, gets clicks and eyeballs, and gets headlines. I don't want Dr. Wood to go with a gimmick hire for the purposes of ticket sales and clicks but rather the proven candidate for competitive reasons.

Home Game	2022 Week - Opponent	2022 Attendance	2022 Week - Opponent	2025 Attendance
1	Week 1 - Utah Tech	10,257	Week 3 - Mercyhurst	12,231
2	Week 6 - Northern Colorado	11,013	Week 4 - Central Arkansas	13,253
3	Week 8 - Montana	15,927	Week 5 - Cal Poly	15,016
4	Week 9 - Idaho*	17,241	Week 8 - Northern Colorado*	20,022
5	Week 12 - Causeway	23,073	Week 9 - Montana	16,816
6	Playoffs Round 2 - Richmond	9,136	Week 12 - Idaho	15,467
7	Quarterfinals - Incarnate Word	13,722

*Homecoming

^IMO our poor playoff attendance shows the lack of interest in FCS from regional college football fans and is a big driver for the "FBS or bust" push from Dr. Wood. The FCS truly is considered a "JV" league by college football fans in this region.

 

[SDHornet]

BHF, to put it succinctly, I'm an alum so I'll always have a vested interest in the well being of Sac State. And yes, it's put up or shut up time for Hornet fans that want to see Troy back as HC. If encouraging folks to send in an email in support of hiring Troy draws your ire then so be it.

 

[BuckeyeHornetFan]

Wood giving off strong Vivek Ranadive vibes....

Exactly right. Except that Vivek is an actual wealthy owner of a professional sports franchise. Wood is not thus has no excuse to be meddling as much as he does.

If Vivek was smart, he’d emulate what the owners of successful franchises do. And perhaps he’ll get there one day like Mark Cuban did before he sold the Mavs.

But, unlike Wood, Vivek’s desire to be involved in all aspects of the business can at least be understood and justified (even though he’s unqualified as a basketball mind). He owns the franchise. Wood does not own Sac State.

 

[Hornet25]

Former Stanford Coach a Candidate for the Sacramento State Job

While the College Football Playoffs are set to begin for the 12 teams selected, the offseason is in full effect for a majority of college football. In recent we

www.si.com

Only asking a question, so don't come for me. Are we sure that the reasons behind Taylor's firing isn't playing a legitimate factor in this? Or even the lawsuit against ESPN.

 

[BuckeyeHornetFan]

Former Stanford Coach a Candidate for the Sacramento State Job

While the College Football Playoffs are set to begin for the 12 teams selected, the offseason is in full effect for a majority of college football. In recent we

www.si.com

Only asking a question, so don't come for me. Are we sure that the reasons behind Taylor's firing isn't playing a legitimate factor in this? Or even the lawsuit against ESPN.

I don’t think there’s much doubt that they factor in — especially if needed to justify not hiring the most successful football HC this program has ever had.

 

[HornetFootballFan]

Proven head coach vs a long time position/assistant head coach with ties to the region. The gimmick hire shouldn't even be a consideration. I'm in the Taylor boat as well but I think deep down we know Dr. Wood is going to go with Carter due to the boxes he checks given the initiatives Carter took up per his bio. We'll see if this works out.

If Wood doesn’t hire Troy Taylor and chooses anybody else. If it turns into another 1 and done or total shit show of a season. I will have lost a ton of confidence in his decision making.
The only way he (WOOD) would be able to redeem himself to me if he gets us into FBS w New or Renovated Home side of Hornet Stadium.

My intuition though thinks somehow our downtown campus extension and the Skyriver development of a NEW Soccer stadium might be another conversation to explore if the Cal Expo deal falters? Maybe we get big FB upgrades to seating capacity etc in exchange for a 25 year lease? It would be then campus adjacent if it’s near the new campus? Speculating