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We Need Change (football)

B

BigJackFan

New member
I am an huge jacks fan, supporter, and alum. With that being said, I believe it's time for change. We need a fresh face and a new head football coach who can get it done. Plain and simple. NAU football needs a new direction. Please!!
 
BigJackFan -

Welcome. This place lacks a pulse more often than not but even a prickly topic such as calling for change at the top in football (Souer's ouster) will inject some passion and life here.

I don't live in Flagstaff. I don't interact with players, the boosters (other than at games here in Montana when I'm lucky enough to attend) or the Flagstaff community to get a vibe on the team. When I lived in Flagstaff, the average Joe-fan I met seemed happy enough with 6-5 seasons. The average Joe-fan I met in Flagstaff was often unaware that NAU had competitive football or basketball teams and would rather watch a Suns, ASU or U of A game instead of walking/driving 5-10 minutes to see a game live. That's another story so I digress.

I'll firmly sit on the fence and say that I am happy with what Souers has done and am not happy at the same time. Do I hear Jacks players names in the news when I read the AZ Daily Sun online...no....that's a good thing. When I was in Flagstaff there was an ongoing stink about players getting in trouble around town and remember a few incidents that turned out particularly unfortunate - rape and the like. Do I read articles about piss-poor graduation rates of NAU players. No, but I'll readily admit I've done no research on this subject. I saw the game in Missoula against the Griz this year and was at the team hotel the night before and chatted with a few players for about 5-10 minutes. Kudos to the fact that they were as pleasant and intelligent as any 18-23 year old kid should be. From all that I've seen his teams play hard and clean.

I've read a number of gripes about the staff not focusing enough recruiting effort on Arizona raised players. Do I wish more local Arizona kids could come in and compete at this level - yes. Do I know anything about recruiting - absolutely not. I will say that expecting the top 5-10% of the state's talent to go to NAU when ASU and U of A are in direct competition is unreasonable and unrealistic. The fact is these players are going to go to Tucson or Tempe. NAU has a ways to get to the level of tradition that a U of Montana, Appalachian State, Northern Iowa, etc. is currently at. It isn't impossible but it certainly isn't an easy endeavor.

Was this season frustrating - yes. But guess what, I'm a fan and an alumni and nothing more. I want nothing more than a Big Sky Conference championship to shut up the hordes of Montana Grizzly fans I'm drowning in but in the end it's just a game. Just sports. It's not life and death or the end of the world.

Souers had a very young team this year. One that started out smoking, with a favorable early schedule it seemed, then got steamrolled by two top-notch playoff teams two weeks in a row to never recover.

This all being said, my final verdict is give Coach Souers one more year. If improvement doesn't result then it's time to take another approach. I'm pleased with everything I see other than competition against top notch teams.

Hope to hear some other's two cents worth.

Discuss.....

MTJack

PS - By the way, there's this thing called basketball season going on. Some of you should look into it. I'd like to hear some insider info from those of you in Flagstaff. Listening to the occasional home game on the internet and following gametracker on espn.com just isn't cutting it for me.
 
I am firmly in the Souers has to go camp. With NAU's recruiting advantages in Phoenix and So Cal, NAU should be 1 or 2 and in the playoffs 3 of 4 years.

Souers has made the playoffs twice. 6-5 is not acceptable every year.
 
What team shows up next season....the one that started 6-1, albeit against lesser competition, or the one that finished 0-4 against the best the Big Sky Conference had to offer?

I think that will make or break Coach Souers' season, and possibly, continuing career at NAU.
 
mtjack said:
What team shows up next season....the one that started 6-1, albeit against lesser competition, or the one that finished 0-4 against the best the Big Sky Conference had to offer?

I think that will make or break Coach Souers' season, and possibly, continuing career at NAU.
Click to expand...

last season when we were 6-1, I knew we would end up at 6-5 again. Souers lacks the killer instinct, and can get past the big boys. And always loses at least one game a year to a far weaker team.
 
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