What happened to Louisville football?

[Wireman]

Just from watching parts of most of their games this season, my opinion is that the players quit about a month ago. I'm not sure what's going on behind the scenes to lead to that, but it's pretty obvious that the players are giving about 60% effort on the field. When a team goes through the motions at Clemson, they lose 77-16.

[UKMustangFan]

Mark Ennis tweeted out yesterday that a source inside the UofL athletic department said 20 players have requested transfer paperwork. Yikes.

[SLINK]

Agreed.

 

It's always been silly to me that you can't fire a coach "for cause" and the cause being not winning games. Coaches break contracts all the time, a school should be able to fire a guy without paying him if he's not winning football games.

 

I agree. Coaches are well paid and I don't think they should have buyouts if they are fired before their contract runs out.

[TheDeuce]

Mark Ennis tweeted out yesterday that a source inside the UofL athletic department said 20 players have requested transfer paperwork. Yikes.

 

Important to note that is only requesting the paperwork, not submitting it. It could turn into 20 transfers, or zero.

 

I think it's probably a mix of kids genuinely not wanting to play for this coaching staff, and then also a group that may have an idea Petrino is on the way out. Some players (I'd say most) commit to the coach and not the school, so that would make sense.

[UKMustangFan]

Important to note that is only requesting the paperwork, not submitting it. It could turn into 20 transfers, or zero.

 

I think it's probably a mix of kids genuinely not wanting to play for this coaching staff, and then also a group that may have an idea Petrino is on the way out. Some players (I'd say most) commit to the coach and not the school, so that would make sense.

 

I agree, 20 just seemed very high. It may be standard though, I don't know.

[TheDeuce]

I agree, 20 just seemed very high. It may be standard though, I don't know.

 

No, it's high.

 

It's pretty obvious there is a toxic situation in the football program right now. Jordan Travis and Russ Yeast couldn't even stick it out 3 more games. It's not like they are leaving campus right now either, as they have to finish the academic semester. They just didn't want to be with the football team.

[FootballBobcat]

Important to note that is only requesting the paperwork, not submitting it. It could turn into 20 transfers, or zero.

 

I think it's probably a mix of kids genuinely not wanting to play for this coaching staff, and then also a group that may have an idea Petrino is on the way out. Some players (I'd say most) commit to the coach and not the school, so that would make sense.

 

One point they made on the show was the norm is 4-5 kids request the paperwork per year and maybe 3-4 actually transfer. Twenty is very high in comparison.

I was wondering if one of the reasons for this early to see so many transfers is they want out of UL and be enrolled at another school in January to be in spring ball? What can UL do to convince them not to transfer? With 14 players running out of eligibility and 20 more are redshirt juniors and could be graduating, the numbers may not be good for spring ball/next season. As I have read we only have 10 recruits committed for next year.

[TheDeuce]

One point they made on the show was the norm is 4-5 kids request the paperwork per year and maybe 3-4 actually transfer. Twenty is very high in comparison.

I was wondering if one of the reasons for this early to see so many transfers is they want out of UL and be enrolled at another school in January to be in spring ball? What can UL do to convince them not to transfer? With 14 players running out of eligibility and 20 more are redshirt juniors and could be graduating, the numbers may not be good for spring ball/next season. As I have read we only have 10 recruits committed for next year.

 

Twenty is absolutely high, no doubt about it.

 

Even if they want to be at another school in the spring semester, they can't just quit, academically, and be eligible. So quitting at this point makes no sense.

 

As for what can be done to convince them, I'm not sure. It's a slippery slope. If kids don't want to play for Petrino, you could take the risk of talking to them or their parents and tell them a change is coming, but then that information no doubt gets leaked. I don't necessarily have a problem with that, but if Brohm is the guy, you'll put instant pressure on him if the news of Petrino being out becomes public. That may start the relationship with Brohm off on a less than desirable foot.

 

If there are kids that are leaving because they DO want to play for Petrino and know he's gone, there's nothing you'll be able to do to convince them to stay. Wish them well and move on.

[bugatti]

 

Coaches break contracts all the time, a school should be able to fire a guy without paying him if he's not winning football games.

I am in to writing contracts and the nuances that go into them. But I disagree with the bolded. A contract is a gamble on both ends. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Wins is nothing more than a desired outcome of a service (coaching) an institution is paying for.

 

I think this topic would make for an interesting side-debate, but I get nerdy with this type stuff, so it may not be of interest to many.

[FootballBobcat]

The only we can really do at this point is support the team the best we can. It may not always be easy but the team deserves it. We the fans should support the team through the best of times and the down times. If I was a recruit watching that is one thing I would take note of.

[Getslow]

The only we can really do at this point is support the team the best we can. It may not always be easy but the team deserves it. We the fans should support the team through the best of times and the down times. If I was a recruit watching that is one thing I would take note of.

 

It's hard taking a half-day to watch these guys. I'll be there on Saturday but I'm coming in from out of town to watch NC State hang 50 points on a defense that seems to have no interest in being on the field. I don't have any kids and work a job that grants me a lot of freedom with my schedule, which helps. It's a big ask for a lot of folks.

[TheDeuce]

It's hard taking a half-day to watch these guys. I'll be there on Saturday but I'm coming in from out of town to watch NC State hang 50 points on a defense that seems to have no interest in being on the field. I don't have any kids and work a pretty standard job, which helps. It's a big ask for a lot of folks.

 

Yeah, and I don't subscribe to the whole "we have to support them no matter what." No, we don't. If a team is putting forth terrible effort, I don't believe they deserve the support. It's one thing to give 100% and just get beat. It's a completely different thing to watch a team loaf all over the field, arm tackle, show zero emotion and then come at the fans on Twitter. You have to earn fans coming to the games, it's not just given.