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The Fans Speak
Before you Aggies start thinking about firing a coach with the winning
percentage R.C. has, you better look at what happened at THE University when
Fred was fired !!!! Aside from the "shock the nation tour" that ended in
Miami handing Texas the worst defeat in Cotton Bowl history, it has taken a
long time for Texas to put a team on the field the Horn fans can feel good
about. We finally have a defense that will keep us in games, and give us a
chance to win. Do you want a coach that will win big one year, and get kicked around the
next? Do you want a coach that can beat a top ranked Nebraska one game and
get blownout the next game ???? Do you want to lose 66-3 at your own stadium
???? Do you want to lose to Rice ???? Granted, the aggies haven't won a MNC under R.C.; and they have lost a
couple of blowout games, but they have a good defense that keeps them in the
top 25 ( usually in the top 15 ) year in and year out. All R.C. needs to do
is get a good offensive coordinator, recruit a QB, and let them do their
job. Firing R.C. would be a mistake. (Darrell Kahanek)
The Ags have not been a national contender since John David Crow. When
was that '44? Against UT you are 66-33-5 and have lost 3 of the last
4. Get a life, please! No other college has ever used their swords to
attack a cheerleader! You are #2 in NCAA infractions! Wow, what an ego
when you think you are a national contender. Accept your place in life
and please, please, keep RC.(Wayne Lawerence)
As a Longhorn fan, I certainly hope that R.C. says for many more
years. His artificially inflated record represents years of dominating old
SWC losers (including poor Texas teams). The formation of the Big XII began
Slocum's demise. Now he is forced to compete with good teams from week to
week. He will NEVER consistently win in the Big XII conference. The only
thing that has kept his job to date is his (rapidly diminishing) winning
record against UT (6-4). One footnote to Slocum's 6-4 record against the
Longhorns: Of R.C.'s six victories over the Horns, only ONE represents a
victory over a Texas team with a winning record (the Aggies 1994, 34-10 win)
where UT finished 8-4 and ranked 25th. Every time he faces a ranked
Longhorns team, he LOSES! I don't know what his bowl record is, but I know
it is below .500. All in all, he is a mediocre coach hiding behind an
artificial winning record. (Christopher Thomas)
Cannot begin to tell you how long I have thought the same thing.
I have wanted him out for 8 years now with no relief in sight.
Your web address is being passed on as I speak!(James Quinn)
The "Feel Good" Quote of the WeekThe combined winning percentage of the teams that Slocum beat is .433%
The average final ranking of each of those power houses averages to be
No.69. They all averaged a total of 4.8 wins per season.
Slocum has only beaten 2 teams that finished in the top 10 at the end of
the year (Stanford - No. 7, 1992 and Kansas State - No. 6 1998)
He beat 8 teams that finished the season in the top 25
22 of Slocum's 28 losses came to teams that finished in the top 25
The record against teams that finished out of the top 25 is 86-6-2 (.925)
Now, what matters more to 12th Man donors, beating Baylor or Florida
State? A JV assistant could beat the worst teams in the country with the talent
that Slocum has each year, but only the best coaches can take that
talent, convince them that they can win, and get up for Technology game
each year. I got off of the Slocum bandwagon 2 minutes before the Florida State game
last year when he said in a pre-game interview that "We do not expect to
win today, we just want to make a good showing in front of a national
audience." Do not expect to win? What kind of coach tells his team that?
Then after the game, when asked why he didn't throw the ball down the
field in the second half to loosen up the FSU defense, Slocum replied,
"We didn't want to pass the ball because they were expecting us to."
RC never takes the blame for his failures. He just fires coordinators.
Say goodbye to Kragthorpe after this year, by the way.
RC always manages to keep his job with one big win per year (usually by
beating Texas). Rumor was that last year he was a few inches from getting
fired. Too bad we lucked out in the big games.
Pretty soon I hope the alumni will get tired of having a coach who just
wants to prove his team can lead any team at halftime before packing it
in during the second half, saying, "That's ok, guys. We don't want to
win. Let's just make it close."(Andy Watson)
I say get rid of the AD because for some reason whovever that is, they are
afraid to step up to the plate and do it!!!!!
In fact, if we start a slogan to fire the AD, then maybe the presure will be
on and he will do something about RC.(Andy Byrd)
All you aggies are sorry and that will never change..live with it you
atttented the wrong university.
Have a nice day faggie and I look forward to making your Thanks Giving miserable!!!!!!!(W.B.Thompson)
I just looked at your site. I received the URL from a teasip here at work.
I'm an Aggie - Class of '98. Grant it, I only went to A&M for graduate
school, but I've followed A&M football since the old SWC days. While I am
in no way, shape, form, or fashion a R. C. backer, I don't think he is the
only problem. He is only one third of the problem. In addition to firing
R.C. (which is something that I think should have happened a long time ago),
we should be looking at firing the offensive coordinator and the athletic
coordinator if that's what it takes. There is no excuse that we are not in
the hunt for a national championship every year with the type of talent that
we recruit and sign. Just some food for thought. An no matter what our
record looks like, GIG 'EM AGGIES!!!!! WHOOP!!!!(Gershom Davis)
Slocum just doesn't get it!!!! How can he still be coach of the Ags after this
season?!?!?!?! He has put a voodoo spell on those in charge of firing him.
Coach RC "Can't Motivate Anyone" Slocum . . . be gone!! Of course, as a
UT faithful . . . we all hope he stays forever. Slocum embarrasses the State
of Texas!! He'll make a great Highway patrolman . . . "Hello, M'am, was there
any reason for you driving over the posted speed limit? I'm just in a hurry Officer
Slocum! Okay, I don't have a defense for that, M'am . . . drive on. Of course, I
don't have a defense for that or anything!!(John A. Field)
I believe your OL injury woes are a big part of the problem. One Aggie fan told me at the NU-Aggie game that you had several changes in your offensive line. There no way to develop a unit when that happens.
As far as big games, beating our Huskers last year, and defeating K State in the Big 12 championship was impressive. But I understand your frustration when you see your team play like it did last Saturday. Must be double frustrating to that great A&M defense not getting any help from the offense. You can only be on the field so long. Maybe you just need a new offensive coordinator and let your head coach only handle the defense. Good luck.(Nebraska Fan)
Just a few days ago, the Aggies were praising Slocum and had stories about how
proud they were about their big win at home. Now, you are trying to fire your biggest winner in history. I
have to admit your offense stinks. It is out of touch with the times. I had to laugh at this stuff because Aggies everywhere
gave Texas a hard time for firing coaches and made statements about our disloyalty. The truth is that nobody loves a
loser. Good Luck ! Losing is what A&M does best.(Larry Hillman)
The "I Was The Tuba Player" Quote of the WeekWhat the hell does a BQ kissing his date
have to do with R.C? When I was in school at A&M (the Jackie Sherrill
days), I was too busy working on classes, taking care of Reveille, building
bonfire and other "good Ag" stuff to sit around and be critical of the
coach. I am embarrassed that A&M has started enrolling students who care
more about wins and losses than they do loyalty. Have you ever played
football, or are you one of these computer geeks who sits on his ass
playing fantasy football? Get a life!!!(Robby McGovern)
Kicking Dante Hall off the team after exploding in the locker room in Lincoln.
At least he had the balls to stand up and say something about the "INEPT", as RC
calls it, offense of the Aggies. It is about time someone questioned our
offensive play calling. And if we fire another offense coordinator it will be
the final straw that breaks the camels back. We have to come to the realization
that the blame lies on the shoulders of the head coach (RC Slocum) not the
offensive coordinator.(RRPO)
The one sentence that troubles me in your "Fire RC Slocum" web page is where it states reestablishing Texas A&M as a national football power. I did a little research on Texas A&M football and found that Texas A&M has really never been a powerhouse except during the 30's which was so long ago that it doesn't really matter. There was only one year in that span that a national championship was won. (Isn't that back when there was only 6 man football?) For Texas A&M to "reestablish" itself as a national power, they would have to first win a national championship, or at least be consistenly ranked in the top 5 year in and year out like teams such as Nebraska, Penn State, Florida State or even UT (60's, 70's and early 80's). I cannot think of one coach available that has a history of being that type of coach or has the potential to be. The one problem that I have with Slocum is that he is trying so hard this season to establish a passing game. He has never been able to recruit skill position players (quarterbacks and wide receivers) to support a passing game. Where he is hurting himself this season is he is not using his strong talent of running backs and fullbacks enough to establish a very strong running game, which he as always had in the past, thus destroying his offense. I think RC Slocum is the best possible coach that A&M can get to "reestablish" itself. He just needs a clue on how to use his recruits. A&M will never have an effective passing game with RC, which is not that bad because there are many teams who have won national championships with just a running game (ex: Nebraska). I think aggies are shivering in their boots and overreacting because UT is actually "reestablishing" itself as a powerhouse like it's history shows, therefore aggies are jumping the gun and assuming it's RC Slocum who does not have what it takes to build a championship team. If RC Slocum is fired, Texas A&M will return to it's mediocrity of the past because there is nobody else out there that I believe can establish A&M as a consistent championship threat.(Pancho)
I think that RC still has a place in Aggie Football. He would make a great
Athletic Director or other figure head that has nothing to do with play
calling on the field. We need new blood. The Aggs need a new leader that
can recruit from out of state. Don't get me wrong, we have great players in
Texas High School Football. In fact some of them could out coach RC.
However we need to diversify the talent a bit. How can we sit back and let
TU have the best recruiting class in the nation. My theory in life is "You
can lead, follow, or simply get out of the way!" Its time for RC to get out
of the way and let someone else lead, so we can follow the Aggies to a
National Championship. Side note: Can someone please tell me who the idiot
was that resigned his contract? The crack pipe is definitely making its way
around the athletic offices. The time is now for someone to step up to the
plate and hire a winning coach not a wining coach.(Joal Harper)
You fail to give credit where credit is due. Slocum cleaned up a program
that needed cleaning up. Representation of our school is at least as
important as winning games.If all that matters to you is winning, so be it. For me, I would rather
have a "good" program that is run like a class act than a program that
contends for the national championship every year but breaks every NCAA
rule in the book and recruits undisciplined thugs that are kept out of
prison by alumni lawyers. (John Blanton)
RC will feel the heat and then make a big donation to the 12th Man Foundation. He did it in the past and will continue to do so when the going gets rough. Let's not deny the fact that by all indications RC is a good man. As far as we know, he does not cheat. He genuinely seems to enjoy A & M and all of the tradition. His current and former players offer words of praise as to what kind of man he is. Alas, times change and RC will not. He was a good bridge for bringing the Aggies back to respectability after the Jackie Sherrill fiasco, but it is now time for a change.
Keep RC somewhere in the system, he has earned that right.
Hire Gary Kubiak as the new coach. His tutelage under Dan Reeves and Mike Shanahan is worth its weight in gold. He too is deemed a good man by most accounts and would lead the Aggies out of the dark ages offensively, while still keeping the defensive edge other teams dread.
It is easy to kick RC right now. I have done it myself. Has A & M developed a better reputation on the field and off with Slocum at the helm? Absolutely. Please ask RC to retire. Take the high road and let the man leave with his dignity (as long as he leaves). Texas A & M takes care of its own. Don't stop now.(Mike Corwin)
I, for one, would love to have just one season when I don't have to
explain why I am for the Aggies when we fall apart game after game. My
hat's off to you for setting up a sight to finally voice what atleast
80% of Aggies think!(Kristina Crystal)
I'm an '84 graduate that sat through two miserable years with Tom Wilson and
then watched Jackie Sherrill build a program. For those who quote RC's
overall record and commend his work they need to be reminded of not only his
opponents, but what type of team he took over as a head coach. He didn't have to rebuild a program, he inherited the success, and his
record reflects such. A monkey could have coached winning seasons for a
couple of years considering where the program was positioned within the SWC.
Before RC's tenure as head coach, we were also winning big games. Our teams
had been successful in Cotton Bowl appearances against the likes of Auburn
with Heisman winner Bo Jackson and Lou Holtz/Notre Dame with Heisman winner
Tim Brown.Doesn't it seem funny that all those assistant coaches who either coached
for or with RC at ATM are at successful programs where they've had the
opportunities to play and win big games?Bob Toledo - Head Coach UCLA
Bob Davies - Head Coach Notre Dame
Phil Bennett - Defensive Coordinator Kansas State
Gary Kubiak - Denver Broncos (supposedly he left as QB coach because he
couldn't work with RC).I'm sure there is more ........................
My vote for the next head coach,
Toss between Gary Kubiak and Terry Bowden.(Kent James)
I'm not big on names, especially ones that start with R.C. I'm an Aggie
who likes to see A&M win. Period. If the Ags are winning, I'm a happy
person. But, enough is enough. When the Ags lost to O.U. and I
complained that our offense must have stayed in C.S. and was partying at
the Chicken, my fiance was a little upset. I'm not a 2%er, or whatever
many Ags call it, when someone states the truth about the lack of Aggie
offense. I just want to be on the winning side. It seems that we have
a lot of unused talent. I can't figure out how at the beginning of the
season, everyone was talking about all the great picks A&M got, and now
we're sucking it up. I know way too many t-sips to have our football
team looking the way it does. The jokes are all in fun, til the Ags
lose! PS- I totally agree about last year before Fl. State. I couldn't
believe a head football coach would go into a game saying "he didn't
expect to win". Maybe he ought to set higher expectations, because it
seems we're already meeting them now.(Stephanie Legion)
I agree with you totally. Let's try to get a coach that knows something
about how to play offense! I mean our defense kicks ass...no question...but
when they are on the field for the majority of the game...they are going to
get a little tired...tired of playing iron man football! So, again, to those smoking crack! Pull your head out! We need someone like
Gary Kubiak! (Gina Dainello)
The "Dumbest" Quote of the Week
I can't believe you actually created this page. The team already has
enought problems as is without people like you poking and proding trying to
make things worse than what they are. You should think next time before you
do something like this. I'm suprised you didn't suggest yourself as the
next head coach seeing as how you know so much about the game that you can
consider firing the winningest coach in school history. That's all I have
to say.(Jason Schmeisser)
Just wanted to add to your comments and I hope that this site gets more
attention. I hope you can find time to make it bigger.
1) You may not remember, but Conservative Ass Slocum killed the original
12th man in his first year as head coach. The original 12th Man kickoff
crew was constructed ENTIRELY of walk-ons. The whole kick-off crew were
insane members of the student body and they were awesome (ie Tim Brown
incident). They gave up a touchdown against tech one year (first time ever)
and Slocum liquidated them.
2) You mentioned Bob Toledo as offensive coordinator. He and Gary Kubiak
(professional OC now in NFL) and a plethora of other NFL positioned coaches
have been on RC's coaching staff. All of the offensive short comings were
blamed on this assortment of offensive coordinators. All of the runs up the
middle, all of the roll out passes, all were blamed on the OC. The only
constant during the year's of mixed OC's was Slocum. He is calling the
plays, he is the one blowing up this football team.
3) RC's Philosophy on throwing the ball: "When you throw the ball only
three things can happen, and two of them are bad."
4) Corey Pullig: Everyone complains about how horrible Corey was. Lets
look at his history through RC's program. In high school, Pullig
accomplished state records in throwing the ball. He was recruited by top
school's including Notre Dame in its heyday with Lou Holtz. Corey was
definitely one of the top recruited QBs when he chose to go to A&M. Four
years he STARTED. Four years of seasoning. Four years of coaching and
playing under pressure and Pullig made zero progress, ZERO. He was actually
worse his senior year vs his freshman year. WHY you may ask? Because a QB
at Texas A&M hands the ball off 90% of the time and the high majority pf
passing plays are roll out passes that force the QB to throw across his
body. Everybody booed Pullig. Joe Montana would suck in Slocum's system.
FIRE HIM!!!!(Gary Peterson)
Everyone needs to remember another thing...R.C. is not the one dropping
passes that hit 'em between the numbers. This goes back to the
fundamental days. Catch the ball THEN run with it. Don't play football
if you are afraid of getting hit hard, because it's going to happen.
Now, as far as what R.C. HAS done wrong...take Randy out after the 4th
INT, don't let there be a 5th. That is simply ridiculous. What would
it hurt to let the fish play a few downs and get some minutes under
their belt, afterall, they will be leading this team next year. Give
them a chance, Randy is obviously NOT the answer. As bad as I hate to
say it, Brent Musberger was right about the Nebraska game...we should
have thrown something besides a 40 yard pass when we needed yardage.
Throw it across the middle. If there is one thing we DO have it's
speed, let the WR's outrun the DB's on a post. The running game,
especially now with Hall's sudden "dismissal", and the long passing game
are not getting the job done. Remember the addage....if at first you
don't succeed, try, try again.....RC should use this, but replace the
"try again" with "something else besides a 40 fly pattern or a Toombs
run up the gut". Get some cahones RC. OU surprised the hell out of us
a few weeks ago with something our D hasn't seen. We need that, the
element of surprise is everything. We went through this same
predicament a few years ago and nothing happened, what makes you think
something will now, especially with R.C. having a newly extended
contract. We can't afford to pay TWO coaches what we are paying him
now. I say, get rid of the Offensive Coord. with some flash and some
balls (because frankly, he is just that--offensive)! Get a decent QB
and RB for next year and let's move on. As for you t-sip hippies, go fire your own coach, we can handle this
without you! And beleive me, it won't be long before he'll be getting
the same heat up his ass RC is getting now. Applewhite won't last
forever. SEE YOU NOVEMBER 26....(Mike Shaw)
Just wanted to say to all the people saying that any decent coach could win
with the talent that RC has had needs to realize that the reason that he has
had so much talent to coach in the first place is because of his own
recruiting.
Would not mind getting a new coach that can move the A&M offensive scheme
into a legitimate pro-style.
A Bowden or Kubiak would be a welcome addition. Just make sure you get a
top-notch guy like UT did before you run Slocum off. Yeah RC has the talent
to win. Why? Because RC went out and got the talent to win.(Joel Hardy)
As an rabid fan for as long as I can remember, I am saddened to see what
has happened to Aggie football over the last decade and then some.
R.C., while he may be a nice guy, and his time have more than come and
gone in Aggie lore. He has run the Southwest Conference offense until
it hurts to watch. Anyone can tell you what the plays are going to be
and frankly, what the defensive call is on the field. There have been
no changes in operations in the years he's been in charge. There is
more to football than the handoff and horribly run screen passes. We
get these highly recruited and fairly decent quarterbacks in this system
and ruin them. They are relegated to handing the ball off and then get
blamed when they can't make the big 3rd and 20 play. PLEASE! And our
poor guys up front are getting killed year after year. No respect, no
help, no coaching. And the defense is only slightly better off.
Let RC go, alums and send him back to where he came from. He's done
what he can--the first year--and it's been downhill ever since. Luck to
you RC--bring in Terry Bowden!(Melissa Jersild)
Great site, its good to see that everyone is realizing that this offense is not
the fault of the offensive coordinator, but that the problem lies with R.C. It
doesn't take a genius to figure out that when three different coordinators have
the same problems with different talent, the problem is elsewhere. When you can
take a qb that almost won the Tennessee starting job over Peyton Manning and
provide the team with a lackluster passing game, something is wrong. McCowen
also proved that he was a good qb last season. The rbs have continually stepped
up with stellar play. The O-line has been hit with troubled times, but the qbs
do get time to pass and the wrs are getting good. The problem rest with the
offensive scheme, and I belive R.C. should get the boot.(Neil Pruski, Class of '99)
I have no opinion on the future of R.C Slocum's job. I would just like to point out the irony of the criticism by the TU attendee W.B. Thompson higher up on this page. I believe I attended the right university because I know that Thanksgiving is one word and not two, like they must teach over at TU. I would also like to thank him for his accurate depiction of an ignorant TU student. There is no doubt in my mind that he is an English major at that.(Brandon Grimm)
The fact of the matter is, RC has totally lost it. It's always the offensive coordinator's fault ( so RC fires him ) and yet nothing ever changes. Let's be completely honest here- the offensive line stinks and the play calling is absolutely atrocious. Saturday looked like we wanted to see how far Randy could throw the ball. RC must go! Unfortunately, the only way that will happen is if Missouri beats us this week and Texas steamrolls us by about 30. Then we must go to the Toilet Bowl, I mean the Independence Bowl, and lose. If we beat Texas, we're stuck with him. I want Terry Bowden, he's available and if we don't grab him, Texas Tech will and then we'll be #3 in the state. The prevailing attitude among the athletic department that they "remember how it was around here in the 60's and 70's" is the only reason RC's still here. That kind of attitude will keep you a second rate team forever. He doesn't have to be fired, just forced into retirement or re-assigned (Texas still has David McWilliams on their payroll). As long as it gets him out of power, it's okay with me. (Justin Jones)
The "Pharmacy" Quote of the WeekI think Coach Slocum is doing an outstanding job. Who made you the Head Coach guru? I bet the next time a top 25 team needs a new head coach, they are gonna email jingram55@aol.com for his outstanding advice. Maybe we need to look at the way the whole university is run. I don't think it starts with the football coach. Winning the Big 12 is a great accomplishment! Coach Slocum will lead A&M as far as any coach could.(Kearns)
RC needs to be delt with now. At the current pace this team is only
going to be invited to the Toilet Bowl. Let's get a Coach who wants to
win, a coach who can get this offense going. That man is Gary Kubiak. He
said last year he wanted to coach A&M. Let's get rid of Slocum and get a
REAL coach.(Aaron B. Cook)
My concern is all this negative talk will affect recruiting but hopefully the players can be sold on Texas A&M and not so much on who the coach is (not likely). The comments above about Dante Hall standing up in the meeting over the weekend and saying 'enough is enough' is quite interesting and long overdue. However a sad way to end his career. I also am tired of the offensive coordinators getting the boot and being the fall guy. Your comments above about the scheme Oklahoma ran agnt. us were deadly accurate. Last week agnt. the cornholers McCown complained about their defense being in his face all the time (sounds like how the wrecking crew used to be) - I mean if that doesn't call for at least one freaking screen pass or dump off to the tight end I don't know what does. But yet neither play was ran even ONCE. While I'm criticizing the play calling - that PATHETIC defensive scheme we ran last year agnt. the longhorns in the last 2 minutes when we let 'the major' drive down the field with 1 timeout and never rushed more than 3-4 guys may have been the most despicable act of 'coaching' I have ever seen. To just let there and watch him pick us apart with the 'in your face' defense we have was appalling. Then this year at OU R.C. was quoted as saying well 'we didn't blitz very much b/c then our db's then are left in one on one coverage.' Ex-quese me but is that not at the core of how the wrecking crew defense works! Plus 3 of our 4 starting db's are SENIORS. What more do you want!? Well anyway needless that brilliant bit of coaching was once again a disaster. Also this stuff (not totally off base) about well 'we lost a lot of senior leadership off last year's squad' - hey R.C. your the freaking coach - your the LEADER!
Bottom line is even after a dream season in '98 I do feel a change is necessary after these 3 losses (2 of extreme embarrassment). It is one thing to lose to a below average Tech team in a close game but to just get bitch slapped 88-6 in our last 2 losses is unforgivable. My vote is for Kubiak (although he prob. would rather go to the NFL team in Houston). (Brian Baylis)
I am so glad to see that there is finally momentum to fix a problem that has existed for far too many years. RC is a champion, a champion of mediocrity. I am tired of hearing everyone praise RC and his record at Texas A & M. I support the Aggies and the University, but I do not support settling for such poor performance in coaching, recruiting, and management of a football team just because he has more marks in the win column than the loses. I am tired of hearing about all of the players that have wanted to attend A & M, who are now powerhouses at other schools. It is especially embarrassing to hear it broadcast on national television. But I suppose it is just as well because RC would have squashed their talent and spirit and turned them into mediocre players. For all those RC supporters with your "Me and My RC" bumper stickers, wake up and smell the coffee, and take a good look at his stellar record and ask yourself if this is really something to be proud of? Beating teams with losing records and an average ranking of 69 is not exactly bragging material. As I watched the Nebraska game I was consoled by the thought that maybe, just maybe, this will bring us one step closer to getting rid of RC. I would rather us lose big for a while if it meant the opportunity to gain big in the future and start to build a program that CAN be consistent and competitive in Top 10 football. Being an Aggie is not about supporting losers whose time has come. We are all asking RC to step down BECAUSE we support our team and our school and are tired of settling for mediocrity. Is mediocrity what A&M is about? I didn't think so. I am proud to be an Aggie but I have never been proud of RC. I will continue to support our team and the effort to improve it by ridding it of RC. Gig em ags!(JG '94)
Yo dude I grew up in a red neck town called Brownwood where everone loved
the Aggies, except for me; nope my family has many die hard Longhorn fans
and UT alumns in it and I am one of them. So I do enjoy how it is coming
back to haunt the Aggies, but most Aggies I talk to think Strokum is a
Jackass anyway. A few guys named Colby Freeman, and Jared Morris chose the
aggies over other schools and I told them that their program was not going
to improve any and was I right. I have always hated watching the boring
Aggie offense, and I think you are the only Aggie out there with big enough
balls to let people know how you feel. I have many friends that go there
that want Strokum fired, but they say that nobody will do it especially
since he just got a contract extension. I remember my freshmen year at
Texas when we went 4-7 and Makovic had just recieved a contract extension
the year before, but when you are consistently inconsistent at Texas you
will get fired. Strokum needs a pair of braces and I think no matter where
he coaches, he and Spyke Dykes need to play every year in the RED NECK
BOWL. Good luck on getting a new coach though I think the Aggies are
accustom to keeping dumb ass coaches way too long.
Hookem!!!!!!!!!!!(Nick Martin)
Dear Ags: Despite the advantages you have enjoyed for most of the Slocum era--the size and
loyalty of your alumni base, faculty/administration support and now Big XII membership with BCS
eligibility--your closest chance for a national championship since the Great Depression died on
the field at Rice Stadium 42 years ago. The problem goes deeper than RC, folks.
One factor in your problems in recent years is Wally's pre-conference scheduling stupidity. You
play a few national powers too early in the season--and often lose. You play--and sometimes lose
to--the Louisiana directionals and third-rate-states--almost completely avoiding the old jilted
SWC foes who really hate you--Rice, Houston, SMU and TCU. Not only do you have to play games
with opponents your players care less about, you deprive your loyal alums in Houston and
Dallas/Ft. Worth of their chance to see the team without the considerable trouble and expense of
a trip to Kyle (or Lake Charles, etc.). But the main thing you miss is the intensity and
learning value of facing an outmanned and safely beatable team like Rice or SMU that nonetheless
hates you and will fight like hell! Ask the yellowbellies in Austin if their narrow and
undeserved 18-13 escape against Rice this year didn't get their attention and help turn their
season. They'll tell you that it did. Rice wll stay on their schedule (most years) for many
years to come.
Sure--you'll hit a bump every 3 to 5 years playing Rice or SMU, etc. I recall your close calls
in the last two Rice games with seven point victories--and suffering a tie with SMU. It won't
happen often--and when it does, you likely would have lost to a directional that year anyway.
Most years it would help your team prepare better for those big games RC has rarely been able to
win.
Think about it--call Wally Groff and tell him to forget what the MOB did to the Corps during the
Vietnam War--or what the SMU cheerleaders did to provoke the sword incident. Tell him to
schedule the four jilted SWC brothers on a rotating basis--two each year--one in Houston--one in
DFW. It'll help our programs. It'll help your program, too.
By the way--one issue with your current program I've not seen addressed here is the difficult
racial one--an evident disconnect between the historically white conservative Aggie culture and
an increasingly and overwhelmingly African-American football team. From reading the press and
without any inside information, I can only surmise that RC has problems relating...or that he is
not effective enough in recruiting from your real base in small town/suburban Texas.
Good luck against the hated Longhorns... (John K. Spear, Rice '69/'71)
What exactly is your site supposed to accomplish? Unless things have changed recently, Head Coach is not an elected position. I was at the Nebraska game on Saturday. Sure, we were frustrated and upset by the outcome. But, to a man, we realized that when it comes to deciding who coaches our team, our hands are tied. Controls have been put into place to prevent the "big money Ags" from calling the shots. R.C. will remain the Head Coach at A&M until such time that the Board of Regents, the President of the University, and the Athletic Director ALL decide to make a change. Cry and whine all you want, all you're doing is hurting the school. If I were a senior in high school, would I want to come play for A&M and all of its cry-baby alumni? Heck no.
I appreciate your enthusiasm and devotion to A&M. Hopefully you (and the other R.C. bashers out there) haven't given up on the TEAM. It's one thing to give up on a coach, but when you give up on the TEAM, you're no better than our orange brethren down the road. If you have bailed on our team, maybe we should consider rewriting "The Spirit of Aggieland" to remove the words "true to each other, as Aggies can be."
Oh, and while we're spouting off statistics on R.C.'s coaching career, consider this: A&M is one of only TWO schools in the Big XII Conference that have beaten EVERY TEAM IN THE BIG XII at least once.(Chris Kraft '93)
Let me preface my comments by saying that I do not have a strong opinion
either way on the R.C. issue......and yes, SOMETHING needs to be done about
the offense!
If you are going to include stats on your site, please include them for both
sides. The following is from the Texas A&M writer for the Dallas Morning
News:
"Slocum is 16-17 against Top 25 teams. He's 4-10 against Top
10 teams. He's 2-6 in bowl games. Not real pretty. But, it's important
to remember that even in big games, the favored team usually wins. In
those 33 games against Top 25 schools, the Aggies were ranked lower
than their opponent (or not ranked at all) in 22 of them. But,
instead of being 11-22 against Top 25 teams, Slocum is 16-17."
Also, many of the comments on your site include something like "...with the
recruits that we get every year...". I believe that the primary recruiter
for a college football program is the head coach. As much as it might hurt
people, R.C. is responsible for those recruits coming to A&M. Please give
credit where credit is due.
Another question: Is it R.C. Slocum's fault that the SWC sucked? You people
act like it is his fault that he had to play shitty teams. What about all
the other coaches in the SWC that were in charge of recruiting and
coaching? Can anyone admit that he is better than all of them? Is it
R.C.'s fault that he had to play shitty UT teams? Why do those wins not
count?(Brad Herrmann '95)
I was about to apologize to R.C. for the comments that
I made in regards to his dismissal on the TEXAGS.com
bbs . . . Thank you for helping me see the error of my
ways.
I liked R.C. when he first started with the program .
. . he did a marvelous job of carrying on the winning
tradition that Sherrill started . . . until 1995
anyway . . . after that things have gone decisively
downhill. It's no longer an issue of not being able
to win the big game . . . it's about being able to win
games at all. His continued failure to adjust to the
other teams at half-time, to do whatever it takes to
win the game (fake punts and field goals, halfback
passes, etc.) and to properly develop the talent that
he has brought in from all over the country. Those
failures are already biting us in the ass and
eventually there gonna swallow us whole and we'll be
relegated to the relative obscurity of the late 70s .
. .
I will say this in favor of R.C. He has done a good
job of preparing the Aggies to play at the next level.
He just isn't capable of coaching at the next level .
. . but he should be retired gracefully, he's done a
good job of cleaning up a program that needed the
help, no thanks to the t-sips (and if you don't think
that some of the Aggies' trouble was contributable to
the whiny-ass longhorns, read "The Junction Boys").
Perhaps "promoting" R.C. to AD and finding another
coach (the Bowden at Clemson, Lou Holtz, Alan Weddell)
would be best for the program AND help recruiting . .
(Chris Dubbelde)
Anyone that feels RC is good for A&M football is inept on the topic of football
and should clam up. Stick to what you know, OK? This site is for those who want
him out today, and that means OUT of town on a friggin rail, even if it is with
7 million bucks in his pocket. It's a fair trade off.
Texas had Mackovich. Texas sucked. Replace Mackovich, Texas no longer will suck.
Slocum is our Mackovich. It's the Coach, stupid. And, whoever said we will take
Spike Dykes, please report to me for your ass kicking. Dykes and Slocum are the
same guy as Mackovich - all kinda slow dumb ex jocks that fell into a head
coaching job just by hanging around long enough. We need a strategist with a
high I.Q. that brings logic back into the game of football. R.C. should be
raising goats on a farm in Louisiana.
How many lead footed, panic ridden baseball players are we going to recruit for
QB anyway? Don't we have one waiting in the wings? What was RC's game plan for
'99? Uh, let's develope the passing game and let everything else go to shit?
Thanks RC for passing on Drew Brees and Michael Bishop, two Heisman Trophy
candidates. Are those actually see through shades you wear or just thick black
metal plates set in wire rims? Slocum has no nose for talent, especially with
our Assistant Coaches. If he surrounds himself with dopes, he thinks it will
take longer for everyone to notice he is the big cahoona dope.
Asking for a National Title once every 50 fargin' years is not too much. We are
not being too hard on the guy. In the private sector, he would be flippin
burgers right now, but our soft hearted former students and scholarly Board of
Regents are just happy to have a clean program. Ags, stop sending money to the
school. Maybe they will oust Slocum. In five years with a real coach, a national
title can be secured. We can get the money back for RC's Contract buy out just
from selling snot nosed teenagers A&M jerseys and caps. They sure as hell are'nt
buying them now. (Gerry Albanese '83).
What a superb web page. I too have been on the
bandwagon to fire that ass for many years, but now my friend,
when the tide is low, is the time to unveil our truest hopes and
dreams that R.C.'s reign (or should I say "shower") needs to
abruptly end.
Here goes...............
Why is college football so popular these days compared to the
NFL? I feel one of the most previlent reasons is the excitement it
brings. The young, agile athletes, the support and comradary of
the student body, and the UNPREDICTABILITY of strategy attract
the crowds. How many college quarterbacks have a list of
predetermined plays strapped to their wrists? None.............wait,
sorry............Randy does. Come on R.C., why don't we run plays
previlent to the game's scenario. Our offense's mentality is absurd
and before making it onto the field on Saturday, everyone of these
ridiculous ideas is given the "OK!" by that fool.
I've never once seen him show emotion during a game. He
looks more like a congressman out there. I know we've got
immense talent on our team, but he just doesn't have the intensity
to make our players want to perform.
I know, I know.........."but what about his winning record?"
Look at the teams we've played. I rest my case.
I'm sure a lot of folk out there agree that he should stay after
the two big wins last season and that his pay rise to $1,000,000 is
deserved, but before I close I'd just like to share my thoughts on
those two wins.
1) Nebraska---We played well, but had our DEFENSE not
recovered a fumble in the end zone..............we lose.
2)Kansas State---They had the lead, but for some strange reason
Bishop decides to run the ball up the middle at the end of the fourth
quarter. He fumbles, we recover, we score, we win in overtime.
(They should have never sent him up the middle with the ball. Bad
coaching on their part.)
I'm going to be unbiased here and say, "Take away's R.C.'s credit,
because we really shouldn't have won those games." I love the
Ags and they've got all of my support, I just tend to focus it away
from the guy with the headset.(Rob Clarke)
Well, after reading your site I figured I would put my two cents worth in. As a person who has followed Aggie football for the last ten or so years and has played under RC, I do have to share your feelings. Unfortunately, I believe that Slocum does not possess the ability to gain the respect of his players, year after year. During my tenure on the team, I noticed year in and out that for the most part players did not want to win games for their coach, as players for coaches such as Bobby Bowden do. Players generally do not believe in him. Don't get me wrong. I love Aggie football. I will always love Aggie football. It is a part of my life that I can never let go of. What most people do not understand when looking at a Slocum team is the interesting turn of events that happens every game. Without fail, RC will begin to dictate to his offensive coordinater what plays to run and how the offense shoud be handled. If you would refer to the first big 12 season. The aggie offense was at the top of the Big 12 going into the Colorado game. At that time, the game got tight and low and behold the offense began to get very conservative. Thus is the plight of an offensive coordinator in the Slocum camp. Examine coaches like Bob Toledo, Steve Emsminger, Mike Sherman, Steve Marshall, and now Kregthorpe. Bob Toledo is obviously an offensive mastermind as is Mike Sherman (Currently the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks under Mike Holmgren, Sherman left without coaching a down as offensive coordinator at A&M, good choice on his part). Steve Ensminger's track record was very impressive leading a Georgia team which included Garrison Hearst and Eric Zaier. I guess the point I am trying to make is that the offensive woes that Texas A&M is having is not due to the coordinator, but directly due to RC himself. RC's insistence on conservative play due to paranoia, causes his players not to make big plays and his coaches not to take risks. This must be stopped. As well, I believe that the Aggie's have begun to feel the !
talent squeeze due to the insistence by Slocum that the Aggies can effectively recruit enough talent from the states of Texas and Louisiana to field a superior team every year. He must get his head out of his rectum and realize that the Aggies have to recruit national talent to compete on a national level.
I honestly could go on and on about this, but I will leave it at this. Let the record speak for itself, and continue to watch RC blame all of the problems on anyone but himself. (I personally love it when he blames it on his players in public, I bet that gets them motivated!) Thanks!(Aggie2154)
I agree with all those in favor of getting rid of R.C. Slocum. Time and
time again A&M has fired offensive coordinators to try and remidee the
problem and it hasn't solved the problem. R.C. Slocum has the top
recruiting class and talent year in and year out and he cannot get it done.
I am not a TU fan but look what happened when they fired John Mackovic and
hired Mack Brown. They go from pathetic to a powerhouse. Hmmmm? I think
its time for a change in Aggie Football. (Quentin Shieldknight)
I'm not going to re-hash all of the reasons why RC should go. However I do
want to comment on some of the comments sent in by readers. First, Mike
Shaw says we should go out and get a good QB and RB to get the offense
going. Mike, if you were a good QB or RB would you want to come into this
black hole of an offense? Let's face the fact that a truly good QB is not
going to come here until we show some signs of life in the offense. I think
Kragthorpe can do the job if Slocum would loosen the reins. Of course,
that's Kragthorpe's fault for taking the job knowing that RC has never done
that with any OC in the past and probably wouldn't start with him. So let's
all get off Kragthorpe's back and keep our attention on the real problem
here. Second, to the many geniuses recommending Terry Bowden as our next
coach. Let's not forget that Bowden's one good season at Auburn was with an
inherited Pat Dye team. I have a good friend who is an Auburn alum from the
Bowden days. He relays all of the local trouble Bowden created at Auburn
(including some sexual improprieties- not that that's an area RC has not
touched on himself). In addition, Bowden was an absolutely horrible
recruiter. That situation is the last thing we need. He may have inherited
the name from his daddy, but that's where the similarities between Terry and
Bobby stop. As for Kubiak coming back to A&M...I will place another request
to end usage of the community crackpipe! Kubiak is a prime candidate for
one of the many NFL head coaching jobs sure to come open after this season.
Why would he pass that up to come back to A&M? Why don't we turn our
attention to someone like Mickey Andrews at FSU. Sure it would be a little
unsettling to hire a defensive-minded coach, but look at the success Bob
Stoops is having on the offensive side of the ball at OU. The head coach
doesn't have to be an offensive genius or even have much involvment in the
offense (are you listening, RC?). He simply has to be smart enough to bring
in an offensive guy to run the offense, then have enough confidence in him
to let him do his job. That's what Stoops has done, that's what Andrews
could do. Keep the faith for a brighter future Ags, but don't expect it to
happen in the near future. As long as puppet-boy Wally Groff is "in charge"
of the athletic department, no meaningful progress will be made.(Robert J. Allen '95)
I don't know what you think positive is going to come out of your
website, but you sure are causing a great deal of harm to the school you
love. First, no matter what you put on your website, it will have no
effect on RC's job status. Second, you can bank on every recruit we are
interested in seeing this board and hurting our chances with some of
them. Third, you will be labeled by the powers that be as a crack-pot
and never have any credibility with the people who run our program.
There are many more bad things but I'm sure you have heard them from
others. I do not agree with your point of view but I respect your point
of view. Also, I believe in free speech and believe you are entitled
to express your views the way you have. I also share your frustration
with how this and past seasons have gone. I also expect that we share a
strong love for A&M. Nevertheless, I do not understand how you believe
your webpage will help A&M or our athletic program in any way.(Kevin M. McDonald '89)
R.C. Slocum is a good coach. Don't get me wrong, but he couldn't coach a
junior high team to a district title. He might have won the Big 12
championship last year, but that was last year. He can not keep his team
in the top 15 if his life depended on it. Well Bobby Bowden is a real
coach. He has been in the top 10 for the past 12 years. Yes he has only
been to 1 championship, but he also one is on the best Nebraska class too
ever come thrown there. Bobby knows how to put together a team. Even
though that have some mishaps with drugs and stealing don't make them
"THUGS". I think that R.C. could take some tips from the Master of
winning. He has an amazing winning record, that R.C. could only dream of.
I don't think that the Aggies could beat A&M Consolidated. I think that
they need to fire him. Let Gary Kubiac come in and take over the program.
I think they should get rid of him after they get abused by the Longhorns
at College Station. UT will beat them again, this year. Personally I think
one of the Bowden sons should be the coach. But yet again I am a very big
Bowden supporter. FSU #1(Chris Haddox)
I totally agree with getting rid of Slocum asap. He's done enough damage to
A&M. As for the recruits, yes he has had some good recruits, but are we
forgetting what they said on TV against Nebraska? Both Applewhite and Drew
Brees (yes that's right, the Heismann hopeful) wanted to come to A&M and
were turned down. And how about Michael Bishop? Also turned down. Lucky for
them, because they would have been ruined anyway. How many quarterbacks has
A&M sent to the NFL since RCs been there? Then there's the comment from a
defensive back from Oklahoma "We learned their offense from watching tapes
in one practice." Doesn't take much. (Deana Totzke)
There seems to be frustration on both sides of the isle in this argument.
But since there are some individuals whom still are not converted to "Pepsi"
and "Coke" and still drink R.C., let me shed some additional light on the
issue. First, I don't see a single argument above which states that R.C.
is not appreciated for maintaining the quality of football which Jackie had
built. Whether or not he did it legally or illegally has no bearing on the
present nor the future of the program. R.C. brought moral respect back into
the program which Jackie clearly had begun to eliminate. We praise him for
such effort. Second, I don't see or know of a single individual who
believes that Slocum can't recruit top quality players. The only position
which has not been represented in the NFL is the wide receiver. To recruit
that type of talent deserves respect. However, talent does not a
championship make. Third, the individuals whom believe in the argument that
"complaining" is not productive obviously don't live in today's world. They
must be having too much of the "pipe" as one fellow Aggie creatively put it.
Call it "complaining" or call it "bringing to one's attention the poor
performance of individuals". It is just like the real world. You point out
poor performance and try to improve those areas which need improving.
Hopefully your parents pointed out your failures when you made them. Fifth,
the argument that the Alumni, School, and fans should accept a mediocre
program and be proud is absurd. To succeed in life we must continue to
strive for perfection. Do you think Aikman was pleased with his performance
when he became one of the best quarterbacks in college? Did he stop
continuing to improve and strive for perfection once entering the NFL? How
about Walter Payton? Was he willing to accept mediocrity? If those
individuals and the world begin to live their daily lives under the same
philosophy, God help us all. Finally, with all that said, the argument
presented at this site and with all other Aggies is that Slocum can't
produce the quality of football which can be produced via the A&M Football
program. He is neither a good motivator, nor does he have a good offensive
mind. His record clearly shows this, along with his performance this year.
He had 16 returning starters from last year. If that many did return then
couldn't you argue that our team should have improved over last year? Or
were all the individuals we lost just that good? Were they the reason we
won last year? Or, did every other team in the conference improve more than
the Aggies this year? I pray that my former school never begins to accept
mediocrity in all aspects including sports. Aggies should strive to be the
best in all things. Any Aggie which would not support nor promote
excellence should be careful referring to himself as an Aggie. Because I
for one would not be pleased to say to my future employer "I graduated from
A&M. It promotes mediocrity. Would you please hire me?" (Kevin Read, Class
of 93 & 97)
In regards to the comments about Corey Pullig playing under Slocum. I agree
entirely! There have been comments made about letting Drew Bries slip away
when he committed to A&M. Bries is a Hiesman trophy candidate because he's
playing for a coach and a program that nows how to exploit talent at QB.
Slocum has never been able to do that. Sure Purdue isn't a great team, but
having and letting someone of Bries talent do everything that he is capable
of is what has put them where they are. If Bries were playing at A&M he
would be just as inconsistant as Stewart or McCown. I think it's time to
replace R.C. Chokum with someone who knows something about winning the big
game. i.e. Kubiak. No other major football school (and let's not kid
ourselves, at A&M, football is the bread and butter for alumni and students)
would keep a coach around after losing so many big (and not so big) games.
I'll be at the game in Mizzou, and I know the Ags will put on a good show,
but what's it going to take for the school to realize that replacing RC is
necessary? (Jeremy Miller)
Well, where do I start...maybe at, "hey, pass me that crack pipe!" No, I guess not. We all know it's time for RC to resign. I can't believe we actually extended his contract! Folks, what we have here is, faiiiiiiiilure to communicate...I mean, win the big games. By the way, I loved that BITCH SLAPPED comment! It's so true. But seriously, emotion will get us nowhere, only cold hard facts will get RC out of here. The facts prove RC can neither win the big games, recruit Heisman quality QB's, or not get EMBARRASSED by unranked teams! I was at the OU game in '94 I believe it was, 44-14 was the score. Even the Oke City newspapers that day admitted they were outmatched talent-wise and were just looking for a good showing! We were out coached! Do we really think Nebraska has the talent advantage over us right now? Think about it. They have really good talent, but SO DO WE! We were OUT-COACHED! How long do we have to be out-coached by the likes of Spike Dykes and what ever Fifth-grader coaches Southwestern Louisiana State before we make a coaching change! (By the way, I was at that lovely game as well! And the SMU tie in the Alamodome!) RC is a great defensive coach. That is without question. I once worked with a guy who played LB in the late 80's. He played both for Jackie and RC. He said, and I quote, "Making RC the head coach was a shame, because he's the best Defensive Coordinator I ever saw!" I think this is evident in his approach to Offensive fundamentals. How many times have we lost a game do to fumbles? Does anyone remember the '92 Cotton Bowl? I do, I was there for that one too. The score was 10-2, total of 12 points, and 13 turnovers! There were more fumbles and picks than points scored! Come on! I knew we would lose it when Greg Hill fumbled out of the end zone at the 1 yard line! Fundamentals, RC!!! Several comments said it is not the Off Coord's fault, and I agree. How many have we gone through now, and what have we achieved? I must take this opportunity to apologize to Bob Toledo...Bob, I cussed you at the OU game in '94, and I'm sorry. I didn't know the kinds of crap you were putting up with under RC. We see now that you beat us in the big bowl game that you are a good coach and coordinator. I am sorry....Come on folks! When was the last time you saw Penn St, Nebraska, K-State, FSU, or Michigan get BITCH-SLAPPED on national TV? We saw the 'horns do it in the Cotton Bowl a while back and we still laugh! Is that what we want? Let's face it: A&M football in the last 10 years or so was Bucky Richardson, Dat Nguen, and a good defense! It's sure not the coach! Nowadays A&M football is about Shane Lechler, and thank God for him! Unfortunately, we will have to find another coach, and that might be hard. DO NOT FOOL YOURSELF! Gary Kubiak is not coming back! He will be the next NFL head coach. Terry Bowden is not the answer either...maybe his brother was. We will have to look to Marshall and their good coach, or maybe the Chicago Bears Off Coord, Gary Crowton, late of Louisiana Tech. But 'da Bears now have an OFFENSE, so he's probably on his way to a head coach's job...And to all the nay sayers who cry we're hurting A&M by doing this, ask yourself, if you were a recruit, would you want to come to a school who just got embarrassed on national TV, and rarely puts any offensive skill players in the NFL? Even our running backs bounce from team to team. Also, you've probably never been stuck in a military alert facility, with cable tv in several rooms, with 60 plus other guys who went to college, all of whom are delighted at watching us get beat 51-6, and delight even more in telling YOU about it for the next several days! Try that on for size compadre, and we'll see how long you want to keep good 'ol RC around! (RSB '91)
R.C. Slocum is one of the most overrated coaches of all time in college
football.
People who support him steadfastly always point to his "winning" record.
But as indicated on this site, the majority of these wins have come against
TCU, Rice, Baylor, SW Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, (insert another irrelevant
LA school here), and UH. So I ask, who have these 100 come against? The
answer is this--old, sorry ass SWC teams. Unfortunately for Slocum, the
"good ole days" of the SWC are gone for good!
The bottom line is this...Slocum is a coach completely devoid of any
offensive ingenuity or innovation. It is primarily because of this that A&M
has never had a consistent offense during his 12 years as coach. I can only
dream about what might have been if Jackie Sherill had not been run out of
College Station. I think that the Aggies would have won at least one
national championship by now, and maybe MORE, if he had stayed.
Another of Slocum's faults is that he insists on playing the same inept,
immobile, and unathletic type of guy at QB. Just look at the guys that have
started at QB for the Ags under Slocum: Lance Pavlas, Corey Pullig, Bucky
Richardson, Brandon Stewart,--and now--Randy Mc Cown. These guys COMBINED
would not add up to be as good as one Kevin Murray, who is by far the most
versatile QB A&M has ever had.
To win in college football today, you have got to have a "playmaker" at QB
who is both accurate when he throws and "fleet of foot" when he runs. Its
no accident that Georgia, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Penn
State, Kansas State, and Miami all have effective offenses. Just look at
the guys they play at QB, guys like Tee Martin (4.4 in the 40), Joe
Hamilton (4.5 in the 40), Michael Vick (4.4 in the 40), etc.; these guys
are super athletes and tremendous QB's.
Hell, not only are the Aggie QB's slow, fumble-prone, and clumsy...they also
can't freakin' throw!! So even if the Ags had a "decent" offensive scheme
(which they DO NOT), it wouldn't make a bit of difference.
You can't play a run-oriented offense with a slow QB, and you can't install
a pass- oriented offense with an inaccurate QB. I just cannot fathom how
Slocum can't see this for himself.
It's as if Slocum is crazy, senile, or just plain delirious!!
If this is the case, and it's beginning to look more and more likely, then
he must go for the sake of the school. (Mike James)
The problem isn't a new offensive coordinator, top QB, or inconsistent
talent. The Ags have found some of the best talent in Texas (therefore
the nation) and squandered the offensive capability of Branndon Stewart,
Randy McCown (the frail one), and many quality receivers. Slocum has
been through more assistant coaches than Liz Taylor has husbands. I
think it is time that we try to bring back Jackie-- a far more revered
man than R.C. in the annals of Aggie Football. If not that, I am sure
that Terry Bowden is going to feel the itch for coaching again. Let's
send R.C. to the swamps-- maybe Baton Rouge will call him soon.
(John Dayvid Cole)
Why does A&M consistantly get a top 10 recruiting class(usually top 5)
yet we rarely finish in the top 10? Coaching!!!! Year after year
"Slowcum" blames the offensive woes on the coordinators and drops the ax
on them. "Next year will be different with a new coordinator." Same
results every year. I am thankful that we changed up our offence this
year since we don't have a QB that can throw the ball. Does RC not see
how the offence is performing. Does he have no say in the scheme, after
all he is only the head coach. We will continue to get the defensive
recruites, but if we had a Kubiak or Bowden as head coach we would get
the offensive players as well. The only reason I am even attending the
tu game this year is to hopefully see RC's last home game. May heads
roll after the bowl.(Brandon Brocato '94)
I must say that your web page is pretty interesting. Though it doesn't seem that there have been that many emails sent yet, I can tell you first hand that there are tons o' students who feel the same. I have been following the Aggies religously for years, and I am one who has hoped for several years now for a head coaching change.
First of all, the Aggies will never have an effective offense as long as R.C.Slocum is here. Period. And it is NOT due to a lack of talented players. The Aggies are loaded with exceptional players year in and year out. We need to find a coach who will take advantage of all that talent.
Second, why is it that the Aggies never seem to come out fired up for a big game???? 99.9% of the time in big games, we come out totally flat. Hmmm, is R.C. giving an inspirational pre-game speech or reading them a bed time story?
Look at Florida State, Florida and (I hate to say it) the t-sips. They almost always come out of the locker room jumping around banging helmets, totally fired up, and they let that carry over onto the field from the first play.
Now, to his credit, I believe that R.C. has left a defensive legacy here at A&M. And it has been nice having winning teams for so many years. But as stated, the wins come easily against the patsies of the college football world, and that's where most of our wins have come from. Now that we are in a tougher league, the wins are not coming as easily or as frequently. A coaching change will probably mean a couple of rebuilding years to get a new scheme in place. That won't be any fun for the fans or players for a year or two, but I think we are going to have a lot of lean years to come if a coaching change is not made.
R.C. is a millionaire. He has already made more money than most of us will make in our whole lives. So I think maybe it's time for him to step down and go enjoy the golf course and take some leisurely cruises. Thank you for the winning years, R.C., but it is time to get someone in here to take advantage of our offensive talent, light a fire under this very proud football program and take the Texas A&M Aggies to the next level.
(To whoever created this page: I noticed that you didn't include your name...Please do not use my real name either and simply sign this email using my nickname, "SloPoke". Hey, thanks for the web page! I'm like you, and I am not trying to judge his character or any of his personal qualities. I respect what he has done, but we will never be true contenders until we get someone else in here. Thanks for having the guts to put this page out there!)
(Slopoke)
Just the fact that this discussion goes on year after year says something.
R.C. runs a conservative offense. Didn't he pass up on Applewhite? An
excellent QB may be the bigger issue. I can't remember the last time A&M
had a kick ass quarterback that was known for more then handing off. (Bill Rice)
If you haven't checked Ivan Meisel's Mailbag for this week on CNNSI.com, I
sent a question that wasn't even R.C. Bashing, but Ivan still tried to put
the hammer down. In my defense, I don't think R.C. developed Dat into a
great LB. I think a one-armed blind monkey could have taken Dat's talent
and turned him into a third round draft choice.
In addition, if we are consistently getting 10 wins a season, then why will
we, at best, only get 8 wins this year (and that is a stretch). Besides,
who cares how many wins we get if we don't get a National Championship? If
we are playing for anything less, we shouldn't be playing at all. We have
the longest drought out of all the winning programs out there. Look at the
teams that have won it recently: Florida St., Tennessee, Florida, Michigan,
Nebraska. What do these teams have that we don't? If the answer isn't
talent, alumni support, or facilities, then what is it? Maybe the coaching
staff or Athletic Director.
I love OLD ARMY, but until we put the crappy performances of the sixties and
seventies behind us and realize that we are a contending program, stop
awarding mediocrity, and not settle for 9-10 wins a season, we will never
get to put another year next to 1939 on Kyle Field. (David A. Byrd '99)
Congratulations on your website, I have been calling for Slocum's ouster
since early '93. He inherited a talent laden program that the great Jackie
Sherrill left him, and has done nothing with it. He dismantled the 12th man
and has run off Offensive coordinaters who know 10 times as much about
football than Slocum will ever know.
Bring Back St. Jackie!!!!!!!! (Dan Cahill '85)
R.C. seems to be content with mediocrity. His half-ass style would be
great for womens football programs around the country. He is the worst
coach in the history of college football. Don't be fooled by his
record. It may seem impressive, but it isn't. He has had an incredible
string of luck, and a fantastic pool of talent that has gotten by, not
by his coaching ability, but by their skill and determination to win.
He has been very successful in killing a good program, demoralizing good
players and firing good coaches. "The fault dear Brutus, is in
ourselves" The quote from Shakespeare seems right for this situation.
It is the schools fault for letting this fiasco continue to take place.
Despite my email to Dr. Bowen to get rid of r.c., not one has been
answered. I can't wait for some new blood, both in coaching and in
administration.
I find your site truly inspirational. Keep it up.
(Brett Agee '98)
I am going to forward this Website to so many people. And I've figured out
the perfect scenario to hopefully still fire R.C. and beat Texas because I
hate them so much. We need to lose really bad to Missouri, so bad that R.C.
either resigns or gets fired before the Texas game. Then the team is so
pumped it beats Texas really bad. T
The thing about R.C. is that he won't let his Off. Coord. call the plays,
he has to do it! We've had so much talent the past couple of years (besides
McCown), if he stays any longer he's going to ruin Ja'Mar and Joe Weber just
like he ruined Dante Hall and Tiki and Sirr and just about every back
recently. Not to mention Chris Cole, Chris Taylor, and Bethel Johnson.
Those three receivers would be the best in the country if they had a decent
QB and good play calling. Now Vance Smith is supposed to be pretty good,
and we need to get Terry Bowden in before R.C. calls 100 screen passes for
losses.
(Gabe Davis, '99)
After the Oklahoma and Nebraska games (?), I'm reminded of the Dixie Chicks' "Let Him Fly": "... you must always know how long to stay, and when to go ..."
I support your Web site 100 percent. I started A&M in 1981 when A&M football was pitiful (Gary Kubiak, however, was very good). I sense that it's heading back in that direction. Basically, it comes down to this: What's more important, loyalty to a decent (but that's it) head coach, or having a title-contending football team. It's up to the students and alumni; kind of like, if the people lead, the leaders will follow.
It's really too bad that Jackie Sherrill screwed up, because I believe he could have taken us to a national chamionship. I look for Mississippi State to do something big this year.
Gig 'em fellow surfers.
(Bobby Speake '84)
Okay, first, let me clarify a couple of things. I didn't read everyone's
comments above, but I certainly read many of them (especially the people I
knew). A few things to note: for the guy who thinks we don't have a wide
receiver in the NFL, let me direct your attention to Albert Connell of the
Washington Redskins, having a pro bowl caliber year opposite a pro bowl
caliber receiver. 2. Corey Pullig is the only 4 year starter for a Div. I -
A team never to see even a glimpse of an NFL clubhouse. 3. Slocum is a waste
of time as a head coach. There's a reason we "recruit good players" at
certain positions. If I were an RB, LB, FB, or a line man, I'd bust my hump
to get to A&M, but A&M is a QB and WR death camp. I remember screaming my
head off at Bob Toledo when I was at A&M for his poor play calling. Then I
saw this kid named McNown throw the ball at UCLA last year and I bought a
freakin' clue. Slocum is one of the greatest Defensive Coordinator's ever,
and that's what he needs to be. When our defense has a bad game (a la OU),
our offense has to compensate. That's what a balanced team does. And the A&M
offense can't. It can't come from behind. (Last year was our best chance.
Hell, if I throw darts at a bullseye 10 times, I'll hit a bull one out of
10.) But did you see what happened even last year? FSU - we quit trying to
win in the second half. "Just don't lose . . . great program . . . quality
players . . . beat the spread . . . SHMUCK!" Want an older example? FSU
again, Cotton Bowl, 1992. We lost 10-2. 2. That's 2 points we scored on a
Quentin Coryatt sack. If my defense holds an FSU team to 10 points in a bowl
game, dammit, screw respectability! I want to win. Want more, how about a
tie at the Alamodome to SMU in '94? How 'bout a narrow win against SMU the
year earlier (on an A. Connell last second catch). This shouldn't happen
EVER! I'd rather dare greatly and be obliterated than play that
conservative, save-my-job ball that Slocum plays. Recruiting don't mean crap
if you can't convert it, and for those of you naysayers worried about this
web-site ruining A&M recruiting -- HELLO! Have you been watching our
games???????? I have to say that our on-field performance will go a lot
further in hurting our recruiting than any of the techno-babble to which I
am currently contributing. When was the last time you heard a recruit say,
"Yeah, I was really impressed with the weight room . . . oh, and what former
students and critics had to say about the program on a very obscure web
site." Pleeeeeeease. This is simply a forum to affirm what many of my
friends have been thinking. On the other hand, however, it's time we all
realize that we should not let the reputation of our degrees be dictated by
the mediocrity of our football team. That, indeed is the ultimate blindness.
If that correlation were necessary, nobody would attend Rice!!! And as far
as building bonfire and being red-ass farmer hump 'em fight, it's just
college, man. That 2%er argument still works with roughly 2% of the former
student body.
(Ryan Melton '94)
I like a place where I can vent my frustation, instead of Websider where they delete your posts. I think Slocum should have been gone years ago. If I was on ATM team this guy would not motivate me to do anything. You know exactly what he is going to do at the end of the season if he last, he will fire his 6th offensive coordinator. The program will never be a top 5-10 program again with this guy at coach. I think the program should look at Tommy Bowden or Gary Kubiak to take over at coach, both of these guys are young and can relate to players better. What kid would not want to play for Kubiak, because he comes from the pros and knows what it takes to get a kid there. With the change in schedule next year this team will be lucky to win 6 games again. They have tough games next year versus Notre Dame, Kansas St, Colorado, Texas Tech, Texas. What would a Slocum led team win 1 or 2 of these games. To all those people out there that say this site is only hurting ATM, do you guys not think that losing to Tech, Oklahoma, and Nebraska did not hurt the program and will keep top recruits away. Slocum has already cost the school money this season, Oklahoma St game was supposed to be on TV, dropped after the pounding to Oklahoma and they might not even get a bowl game, more money. If the school wants to keep the seats filled then get a new coach. (TCo)
Great website. I'm sure your getting pub at texags.com. EVERYONE should
read the comments by "Aggie2154". The guy claims to be a former player
under Slocum. I dont know if its ture of not, but the guy sounds like he
knows of what he speaks. My position is one of mixed emotions. How can
you support the firing of the winningest coach in school history, regardless
of the competition. He is partly responsible for our continued increasing
expectations. Granted he rode the wave of success started by Sherrill, put
he also continued bringing in quality players. To that end he must be
appreciated. Now, what has he done with that talent. Not much IMHO. Count
how many "top-notch" qbs have started at A&M as great QBs and left as
bankers or used car salesmen. Slocum just doesnt have the guts to allow a
OC to do his job. The guy continues to meddle. Its obvious. Count how
many OC's have come and gone, yet RC never accepts blame for problems, its
always a chemistry problem, or a philosphy problem, or a personnel problem.
Never is it a problem with the head coach. I'm not saying he should have
quit, but simply to have admitted that he had been meddling, admit that he
needs stick to defense, admit his need to trust his OC, and then STOP
MEDDLING. I think he should be replaced, but done gracefully. As someone
has already mentioned, he should be "asked" to retire or accept another
position. At worst it would appear as his decision. He could be
celebrated for his accomplishments, and all of you have to admit there have
been some, honored at a home game, and move on with his dignity in tact.
But for the future of the program it IS time to move on.
(Steve Adams - '84)
Hey, you want to get RC out?? We, as a student body, have to pull
together. Instead of supporting the inept atheletic department by buying
maroon out shirts to pay RC's salary, I have a different idea--instead of
maroon out, we have attendence out. That's right, everytime RC gets his
ass whipped, nobody shows up at kyle. Remember, it's easier to turn off
the games on TV until we get a real coach. (Michael Nassif)
Everyone wants to fire R.C., yea that would be smart!!!! Maybe we
should fire him and get John Mackovic so t.u. could pay him to beat the
Aggs. How many mistakes are on their payroll now? Is that 5 or 6, it
is hard to keep track. It is very obvious that most of the comments on
this page come from folks that know very little about a football program
at any level. The head coach's primary responsibility is to recruit and
R.C. has done very well in the past. No one should be able to refute
that. Next it is to move the program in a positive direction year after
year to bring money to the school and the athletic program for all those
sports that don't make any money. He has done that and continues to do
that. Most all of the athletic facilities have been greatly updated in
the last 10 years since R.C. has been here. Next he is to mature boys
into men and lead them into the years after school is over. Most do not
go to the NFL but to the life that most all of us lead. He again has
been very successful. He has not tolerated boys that could not make the
transition to men and has let them go. Next he is to hire coordinators
to lead the team to success on the field. He has hired some good ones
and some bad ones but he always stands behind them until the end. You
have to respect that. Many of his coordinators have gone on to
successful careers. This should be looked on in a positive light, not
negative. I will be the first to say that the offense has sucked in the
last couple of years. I miss the old days of three yards and a cloud of
dusk, but the lack of winning the big game has caused R.C. to change the
focus to the passing game and it will take time to convince the
quarterbacks and receivers that the A&M program is going to pass the
ball so you need to come here to catch some passes and have a chance to
move on to the next level. The program is in transition right now and
it could use your support. I, for one, am proud of R.C. for doing what
he is doing and hope he stays for A&M second national championship,
whenever it does come. (Shaggy '89)
Now, here is the real story for anyone who will listen to reason. To really examine the A&M program, we have to go back about 30 years. It was about that time that A&M started becoming more of a mainstream university. Before that it was pretty much an all male military school without quite the prestige of the military academies.(sorry to the old aggs) Not many athletes would want to go to an all male school and then serve in the military afterwards. It was when A&M began having non-cadet students that A&M really started to be comparable to other universities in athletic areas. So really, A&M has only been competing for 30 years. With that background in mind, it takes a lot of time for any program to get to the level of consistent competition. Finally, the A&M faithful were tired of mediocrity, and in the 80's hired Sherril, who would win, no matter what. And he did. The program climbed to national awareness, but it got there on a bad note. Under NCAA pressure, Sherril left and RC inherited a program that had a good talent level and national awareness, but many problems. The first few years of RC's tenure were tough ones under NCAA sanctions. But he did quite well, considering. Of course the competition was weak. Then a few years later, another scandal broke out, the Greg Hill ordeal. This further limited A&M's level of competition by limiting the number of scholarships. This lack of talent led to the season of 96. But now, we have had a few years without any limitations. But for some reason this year is still bad. This is why: In the early 90's we had running backs like Darren Lewis (set SWC rushing record), Greg Hill (now starting for Detroit Lions), and Rodney Thomas (backing up Eddie George). This year we have Dante Hall (5'9'' 190lbs-great moves but easily tackled), Eric Bernard (two knee surgeries-has not played in two years), Joe Weber (true freshman), Tiki Hardeman (bull-no speed), Jamar Toombs ( see Tiki). Last year A&M started the same guys at offensive line for 14 games. This year it has been a different line up for each game. A&M had no offense last year either, but had great leaders on defense. As they say, offense sells tickets, defense wins championships. Randy is a decent quarterback when he has time. The receivers are top notch when Randy has time to hit them. That is where A&M stands this year. As for RC's record, consider this: he demolished a decent BYU team in 90; played a very tough game against Florida State in 92 when A&M had a freshman runningback,only a few plays determined the outcome of that game; played a great game against a very tough Notre Dame team in 93 which was decided on the last play of the game; played a great Notre Dame team in 94 which featured Jerome Bettis and Rick Mirer; beat higher ranked Michigan and Brian Griese in the Alamo bowl in 95; was narrowly defeated by #5 UCLA when A&M was ranked #19 in 98; lost by 10 to Ohio State team that was ranked #1 for much of the season in 99. RC won most of the games he was supposed to, and played much closer than expected in games he wasn't. My biggest complaint about RC is that he doesn't seem to be able to motivate guys to play beyond their abilities. If he does that, A&M wins all but one or two bowl games in the 90's. We shouldn't throw RC out at the first whim of inadequacy. He recruited the 5th best class in the nation last year. Lets give him 4 or 5 more years (unless he REALLY stinks it up the next 2 or 3) to see if he can do with great talent what the athletic department thinks he can do. (Brown '94)
Hey guy, love the site. I just wanted to add my two cents. First, give
R.C. credit for what he has done. He has cleaned up the school's
reputation and brought scores of the most talented athletes in the
nation (mostly from Texas) to our beloved Texas A&M. Unfortunately,
this ends the list of good things he's accomplished. Provided with
great talent, superior facilities, thousands of supportive alumni, and
the mighty 12th man, he does nothing but squander all of it on drubbings
of middle school teams (which account for 2/3 of his wins). For a
school that consistently has great recruiting classes and routinely
sends players to the NFL, it is pitiful that we are still looked upon as
a program that "can't win the big one". All of this is due to R.C.'s
inept management. Turning down 2 Heisman candidates and 1 Heisman
winner in the last 5 years (R. Williams, M. Bishop, D. Brees)??
Remarkable!! Taking one of the best quarterback prospects in the nation
(Branndon Stewart, you know, split time with P. Manning) and turning him
into a fumbling, bumbling, lush?? Disgusting!! (Of course, this is his
way with QB's, ex. Pavlas, Pullig, Stewart) Blaming subordinates for
his failures (especially on offense), when he has had some of the best
coaches in the nation on his staff (ex. Toledo, Sherman, Emsinger,
Kragthorpe, and Davies (defense). Pitiful!! Is there anyone in the
country who can't predict what A&M's next play from scrimmage will be??
Jeez, any short yardage position we get into, 75,000 people are yelling
"Toooombs" before the huddle is broken. The amazing thing is....THEY
ARE ALWAYS RIGHT!!!!!! Of course this works against overmatched teams
like Southern Miss. and La Tech, but Toombs didn't get too far against
Nebraska, did he?. R.C. is, and has always been, a pretty good
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR in a pair of shoes a little too big for him. I
hate to seem like I'm jumping on a bandwagon, but if Gary Kubiak has
expressed any interest in the coach's job at A&M, then President Bowen
and Wally Groff should fall to their knees and beg him to take their
million dollars a year. R.C. doesn't deserve to be mistreated, after
all, he has kept us up there where Jackie left us, but that's where he
has maxed out his potential. If Groff isn't doesn't wise up and
reassign him, how about canning Groff and making Slocum AD?? I won't
rehash all the superb arguments on "record against top 10","and "against
top 25", etc., but I have to say this: the aggie offense of late has
looked alot like the middle school team I played on (run up the middle,
toss sweep, throw the bomb). (By the way, we are always underdogs in
those games because R.C. has yet to show he can win any of them)
Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to this Thanksgiving. Look,
R.C. is a great guy, a top notch recruiter, and a pretty smart guy (he
DID turn two lucky wins into a hell of a contract extension, didn't he),
but I think we would all enjoy it if he watched the next game from "The
Zone" ($7 million will buy alot of beer and nachos) (Brandon Lewis)
I'm sorry, but there is no other option. FG (Field Goal) Slocum must go. And I don't mean a "here is a new cush position in the athletic department" type change. I want to see a "Jesus, take take your 7 mil, your just-want-to-compete attitude, your I'm running out of assistants to fire so I'll get rid of players excuses, stick it all up your ass, set it on fire, and walk uncomfortably out the door" kind of goodbye.
Yeah that was harsh. Hey that is how I feel!! I am so tired of driving out to Lubbock to hear that pop-gun of a cannon signal another Tech victory over A&M, and then watch Slocum point to the comments he made before the game explaining "See, I told you they were going to play us tough." I know this will piss off a lot of people, but I can already hear the "POOR AGGIE!" chants resounding from the hallowed halls of Kyle Field.
Hey, who gives a shit how well he recruits when he stifles their talent with such miserable offensive play calling. Its like being dealt a royal flush and then calling it an ace-high hand. Anyone who still actually believes he is some sort of a recruiting genius needs to wake up and realize Slocum does more harm than good. Nobody mentioned the fact that Zach Thomas (remember that interception touchdown in Lubbock) was told by FG Slocum that he was too small to be a good college player and would never make it in the NFL. You jackass!! He almost made rookie-of-the-year!!
Hey you redass dumbasses, this website can't hurt our program any more that Slocum has. If we keep going at the rate we are, it won't be long before Baylor will be able to bitchslap us as hard as OU did this season. FG Slocum began eroding the A&M program from the very beginning with his dismantling of the 12th-man tradition. Then there has been this self-imposed offensive handicap every damn season. How 'bout his off-the-field extramarital affairs? Outstanding representation of the principles we set for ourselves as Aggies.
Our victories last year, although exciting, were flukes. Yes, our boys played hard. Yes, I was proud of them. But we won by capitalizing on serious blunders made by our opponents, not any secret or astonishing offensive scheme that RC Choke-em dreamed up. This year has been an excellent representation of what we are capable of as long as Strokum is at the helm. We can either let him go down with the ship (that's us) or we mutiny and throw his ass overboard, bound and gagged.
If these comments make me a 2%'er then, "Hell yeah I'm a 2%'er and I'm proud of it." You want to know why? Everytime our boys take the field 98% of me truly wants us to win, but 2% can't enjoy the victories for the fact that it means Slocum might have saved his job with that one little victory. Case in point: Missouri. Just add it to that "winningest coach" bullshit I keep getting thrown in my face by every pimply-faced band queer who believes that loyalty will cure all evils.
I'm happy to see that there is finally a place for the realists to voice their opinions. Keep up the webpage and the good work. However this isn't enough. The only solution is to put the guns back into the former students' hands. If we want to regain control, we must put such a chokehold on the monetary donations that if Groff won't get some sack and do what we demand, somebody will.
(Sterling King)
In the words of the great Beavis, "Fire! Fire!" He's got his 7 year
contract, he's set for life, he'll just keep drinking beer and screwing
away seasons instead of doing his job. Beat the hell outta RC! WHOOP!!
(Schu '00)
I commend you for setting up the forum for a conversation that should have
started years ago. I can add that my biggest problem with R.C. is the
complete lack of intensity that this team possesses (or any of his teams).
I still hold on to the fading memory of that spirited group of Aggies who
played for Jackie. That team would do anything for Jackie and a win,
regardless of who we were playing. Remember when we never lost at home.
Remember when an out-manned and written-off football team rolled into the
Cotton Bowl only to destroy a Notre Dame team that would win a National
Title the following season. Sure, Jackie didn't produce a National
Championship, but he lead a team and inspired a team to overachieve. All
Slocum does is bore a team to death and underachieve. In response to those
who worry about recruiting, what do you think losses to Tech in 4 of the
last 5 years and to Texas in 3 of the last 4 does for in-state recruiting.
Also, why hasn't Slocum been able to recruit the players to implement his
"pro-style" offense. Run him out of town, please!! (Chad Duewall)
RC has done a lot for the program, especially cleaning it up and I commend
him for that. But, it's time to make a change if we are really serious
about big-time college football. If we are not then we'd all better get
used to 7-4, losing to the sips and losing our bowl game. I personally
would like to see Gary Kubiak come in here and get us a QB and an offensive
scheme. He won't be out there forever so if we're going to do it the time
is now. I have heard that in RC's new contract neither party can do
anything for the first 3 years. If that's true we've got at least 2 more
years of this. I was at the Missouri game and the 1st half was pathetic.
In the second half we opened up the offense and it looked like two different
teams. I really can't get my hopes up though, the sips have a much better
defense than Missouri. GIG'EM and BEAT THE HELL OUTTA tu.
(CRB '87)
Before deciding to fire R.C. I think everything should consider
something. Look how long it took t.u. to get to where they are now since
they fired Fred Akers. Look what happened to Miami when they changed
coaches from Dennis Erickson to a list of unsuccesfull coaches. Look at
Oklahoma, they used to be a powerhouse. Look where Notre Dame is heading
(down the tubes with Davie). I will admit R.C. is not a top-notch coach.
He is a top 25 coach though. If you want to get rid of him chances are
things will get worse before it gets better. We may hire an excellent
offensive minded head coach, but recruiting and defense will likely
suffer. There is only one thing worse than an R.C. coached offense, and
that is a defense under coaches like John Mackovic an offensively good
coach, but defensively it was sickening. Give the guy a break he beat
KState and Nebraska last year, and was competitive with FSU and Ohio
State. They were better teams they had more talent. As far as Corey Pulig
goes, look no further than t.u. with how bad Shea Morenz was, and you can
see that High School and College are two different leagues and just
because your good in HS does not gurantee success in college. If A&M will
go back to a strong running game and a dominant defense they will compete
with top 10 teams for years to come, and might win a National
Championship. (Jonathan Barfoot)
Keep up the good work!! If anything, you're giving all the fans a way to
vent. The chances are slim, but maybe all the fan grousing will help.
After all, even ESPN.com had a piece on all the "grass roots grumbling going
on in College Station". As for hurting the team, it's so obvious that by
trying to gid rid of Slocum you and everybody else griping are trying to
help the team. The Big XII is just too complicated a conference for Slocum
to deal with. He and Dykes need to hang up the coaching hats and "move up"
to some position where they can still recruit, but God help us keep them off
the field. (Nathan Miller)
RC has taken A&M as far as anyone could expect. Fire him and you can
kiss the next three years goodbye while a new coach "re-establishes" the
program. (Frank Kelly)
I just finished reading your website, and I love it. I just wanted to let you in on a couple of rediculous comments R.C made at the call in show at Wings N More on Thursday. One caller directly asked him about the downfall of the Aggies season this year. The caller said, "This year, after comming off of a great season last year everyone was talking about a Championship season, not only in the Big 12, but overall as well." "With the talent that stayed, and with the talent we aquired, why have we not played well." R.C said in response to his question, that those were all rumors, and that he never said anything about winning a championship. He said that it would be a struggle for A&M football to accomplish what it did last year. I am just wondering what his expectation were, if they weren't to win a championship. Oh I guess his goal of the season, with all of the talent a coach could ever wish for, was to be mediocre for yet, for another season. All R.C. does is set himself and himself up for excuses. I think R.C and the athletic director should both be organized in a much more suitable team and conference........maybe a team in the Sun Belt Conference, where mediocrity and poor performance is almost expected. Or R.C can stay here while Texas A&M University and their fans watch the football program dwindle. I CAN'T WAIT FOR BASEBALL SEASON! (Casey Proch)
I read through every "cut" in this website and found a lot of wisdom. The bottom line is Slocum needs to go and go now. I am so tired of the "winningest coach" excuse. Hell anybody could be a winningest coach if all you played was Southwest Louisiana and Missouri. I long for the days of Jackie Sherrill when one could CONSISTENTLY count on a win. Oh by the way, for all you "new ags" and T-Sips who support Slocum and consistently bash Sherrill, take a look at the SEC rankings right now. A&M should be so lucky as to have Mississippi State's record. The past withstanding, there is untold talent on the Aggie Team. The problem is there is NO talent at the helm. Slocum still believes College Football is a gentleman's sport and not a sporting business. Not a single person would argue he is an honorable, well meaning man with a strong sense of integrity and fairness. However, all that and $.75 will get you a cup of coffee...NOT an National Title. I remember when Slocum said he did not believe on running up a score (unlike Bowden and Florida State). I thought to myself, when performance and national ranking is evaluated at some point by score, why in hell would you voluntarily hamstring yourself? For a sense of fairness? Probably more for a lack of confidence. The comment of "not expecting to win" turned my stomach then, as it still does now. It is indicative of his mediocre attitude. No more said there. Loyalty is also a weak point for Slocum. Yeah, I know, loyalty is a good thing....Except when when loyalty means keeping a QB in the game who has been intercepted 4 times! Reality needs to outweigh loyalty. Hell, if Slocum had Applewhite and Simms; and Applewhite sucked; Slocum would still play Applewhite. Simms would rot on the bench or play the last 35 seconds of a 63 - 0 win against East No Name State! For God's sake Slocum play the talent if you have it. Develop it if you don't. Hey, to quote a DR classic, "dance with who brung ya" is fine; but if the player or Assistant consistently proves they can't perform; there is no shame in kicking them to the curb. For those who quote Aggie defensive prowess as a strength, I agree. However, you have to have balance. There is no way a defensive squad can play 65% of the time and still be effective in the 4th quarter. Being able to have a balanced offense who stays on the field more than 3 downs and a punt is crucial to success even if every drive does not result in a score. On a direct attack to a previous comment by John K. Spear; get a life! Yes, I respect Jackie Sherrill and fondly remember the SWC of '84 - '90. However, anybody who advocates putting Rice, TCU, Houston, and SMU back on the schedule as a means of improving your teams; to quote the author of this website; "put the crack pipe down and get into reality." History and nostalgia aside, there are better ways of obtaining a "wake-up call" than almost losing to perennially bad teams. Living in Austin, I laughed constantly at how the "sips" espoused improvement after games like Rutgers, Stanford, Rice, etc. Yes, the wake-up calls were out there for tu; but you know what? The team got better because of the coach and the motivation he instilled in the program. Slocum is incapable of that type of quality coaching. Well enough soap box for tonight. The bottom line is this Slocum is a "good" coach. "Good" don't take you to a National Title. "Good" don't get you the #1 recruiting class in the nation. It's time the Texas A&M system (AD, Former Students, Students, etc.) spoke out against mediocrity and called for the removal of Slocum. Hey let's do to Slocum what he does best in a game - 3 and Out! Emphasis on the Out! (Lew Rogers)
We park our cars in the same garage my friend. Even being a graduate of
The University of Texas I believe Slocum should go and we just happen to
have a coach sitting around doing nothing other than sucking up state
money. May I offer you fine aggies none other than John Mackovic so that
your team may experience the offense you so desperately desire, you will
however have to trade your defense in for one that couldn't stop a leaky
faucet. As for Brandon Grimm's disparaging remarks about my fellow horn
let me just say that after hearing your coach speak we sometimes feel
the rest of a&m university is equally as ignorent as he is and dumb
our language down to that level. (Paul DeRidder UT 94) HOOK EM!!
Let's face it. The ultimate prize in college football is a National
Championship. If you aren't putting a team on the field each year with the
intention of winning it all why do it at all. Second place sucks!
I'm tired of the roller coaster ride each year. A&M is typically ranked high
in preseason poles. We climb the poles a bit during the beginning of the
season because our non-conference schedule usually contains several
double-directional patsies. If we don't trip over ourselves against
South-West-Eastern Louisiana Vo-Tech we get into conference and manage to
play DOWN to the level of our weekly competition and end up losing a game we
had no business even leaving close.
I don't think its a matter of talent, even at the skilled positions. Each
year A&M typically pulls in a TOP 10 if not TOP 5 recruiting class -
nationally. And its not because Slocum is such a great recruiter, its
because A&M is a great school with a solid, nationally recognized football
program that despite its shortcomings has the potential to give these player
enough exposure to get them into the NFL. As someone else mentioned, A&M has
more than its fair share of players in the NFL. I would argue, that A&M has
more talent on the sidelines than TCU, SMU, Baylor, Kansas, etc. has
playing.
It comes down to MOTIVATION and a GAME PLAN. Both of these items are the
responsibility of Slocum. Some may argue that the game plan is the
responsibility of the OC and DC. WRONG!!!!! They work for Slocum. He has
veto power. If he doesn't think its his responsibility then he's just
stupid. And no one can argue that motivation is Slocum's responsibility. One
of the other e-mails mentioned Slocum's pre-FSU game comments from last
year. I had not heard that before. If he gave his team the, "we don't expect
to win" pre-game speech no wonder we are a second tier football program.
I don't think I ever got on the Slocum band wagon. As painful as this may be
to hear for some of you, we all owe Jackie Sherrill a thank you card for
getting this train moving (no matter how he did it). Slocum just happened to
take over after the train got up to speed. Give Slocum his due. He has
managed not to totally screw things up, but he has not gotten any more out
of his team and his players then they came with out of high school.
Assistant coaches can teach technique but it up to the Head Coach to make
this team and its players into a National Champion.
Unfortunately college football these days is BIG business. A winning program
brings in a lot of money for any university, big or small. The alumni take
pride in cutting that check each year so that they can say they "helped"
make their team a winner. Well this is one alumnus who wants to see more for
his money now. Finishing in the TOP 10 every once in awhile is fine and
dandy but I personally want to see more. I think the only way I see more is
a new Head Coach. Slocum has had plenty of "kisses at the pig". It's time to
give someone else a try.
The time to bring in a new Head Coach is before we lose eight straight (like
LSU). But the only way this is going to happen is if the alumni write or
call the Board of Regents and let them know that its getting a little harder
each week to cut that check. (Brian Hilberth)
I think as long as we hold on to Slocum we will be mediocre. We will never when the big game. This issue isn't about 2 percenting or selling out your fellow aggies. As nice of a guy as Slocum is, he's not getting the job done. Football coaches aren't coaches because their nice guys, they are there to coach football. We can't keep from firing someone because it would be mean. The goal here is winning football games, not being nice. This program is headed down the tubes and we will never see a national championship with someone who doesn't recruit good quarterbacks and loses by a combined score of 109-25 to tech, ou, and Nebraska. We have to do better than this if we over hope to see the BCS. (Brady '03).
Thank you for starting this site! I've been saying this for years. The
call for Slocum's "retirement" is long past due. He has been given MORE
than enough time to improve his tactics. He can't blame the talent pool.
He's just not able to consistently and creatively motivate and run a tight,
efficient team. It's embarrassing to start the season at 5th and now we're
barely in the top 25! I was nauseous watching the OU and Nebraska
slaughters. I am proud of the Aggies and will always support them, but I
fear what may happen on November 26 AT KYLE FIELD!!! Last year's game
against t.u. and Ricky Williams was atrocious enough. The predictability
of the plays combined with the mistakes that are made on the field every
week is mind-numbing. We're playing with the big boys now, Slocum.
Perhaps it's time to bring someone to College Station who knows how to
compete on their level. We're all sick of going to no-name bowl games (IF
we go at all!) that have no meaning. If the school expects to receive the
level of $upport from former students to which it has become accustomed,
changes will have to be made. It's sad that the win-loss ratio might
affect endowments, but it's reality. (Suzanne Hoechstetter, Class of '90)
Those who know me will laugh at me for writing this, but I have to respond to Pancho's statement that R.C. could never recruit quality quarterbacks and receivers. Give me a break!!! As a faithful Stephenville Yellow Jacket fan, I take offense to that and would give you a resounding horse laugh. I watched Branndon Stewart play football from eighth grade on and I will tell you right now, R.C. and whoever his piddly offensive cooridinators were at the time, THEY RUINED Branndon Stewart. In high school, Branndon had confidence and a coach that was confident in him. He wasn't afraid to run if they pass wasn't there. He was a play-maker. He went to Aggieland and lost all confidence. And I believe we have busdriver Slocum to thank for that. Then, the next year he recruited the best o-lineman and all-around athlete S'ville had to offer. He ended up screwing the lineman over (anyone heard of Curtis Lowery from Tech? Yea, he'll probably go pro next year) and then squandered all the talents Jason Bragg had to offer. I am sure none of you have heard of Jason, but he was an awesome receiver and running back when he participated in offense in high school. Of course, that was a dominating, passing like crazy offense. Dumb old R.C. didn't know what to do with him. He ended up playing tackling dummy for the most part, got a bunch of concussions and gave up on football. I hope the Ags get smart and fire stupid old R.C. Who cares about his won/loss record. We are playing Big XII football now, not sucky SWC football. FIRE R.C.!! (Sara Graham)
I have gotten tired of getting my hopes up every year only to be let down.
Year after year, we are told of how great a recruiting class we bring to our
beloved alma mater. First, let's get one thing straight, this is not
personnel, this is business. If we look back a couple of years at the
Longhorns, we find a direct parallel of our situation. Texas, coming off a
surprise Big 12 championship, settled into a mediocre, but decent season.
After losing to the Aggies the coach, John Macovich, was fired. Fast
forward to 1999, we are following the same trend. My only problem is that
we are going through this for the THIRD time in 10 years. How many times
are we going to go through this bell curve performance, only to fire some
talented coaches in the process. Toledo, Davies, Tuberville, Kubiak, and
even the prodigal Slocum, have moved to brighter futures. Eventually every
leader must accept responsibility for our eternal mediocrity. I can't
believe we haven't moved forward with Tommy Bowden in the free agent market.
(Kenneth McDaniel '94)
Before you start talking about firing Slocum, let's talk about my
University. Yes, I do remember a time, under Coach Teaff, that Baylor
(the team you continuous put down) was a winning team. Early 80's and
Early 90's, but now, we don't just suck, we are a complete
embarrassment. I tell you what, Slocum Hater, I will trade you. You
can have all THREE coaches we have in the last FOUR years. Winning
percentage you ask?? Combined 7 wins, only 3 Big 12 Games out of 44.
Quit your complaining, I would rather be 8-3 for the season and sell
out, losing to Ranked teams then to be 1-11 and lose to UNLV (is that a
football team? Losing with 3 seconds left on UNLV's 1 yard line, on a
fumble return for 99 yards.) Oh, let's not forget the Colorado crowd of
20,000..... And that was Alumni Weekend.......
Remember that stupid saying your parents always side, "The grass is
always greener on the other side.." Well, our grass has been dead for
over 8 years..... Give Baylor Slocum!!!!! (Jason Helm)
I played for RC from '93 to '97. The story has never changed with him, just
the situations. He will fire someone after this season and they will go on
to kick our ass in some future bowl. I think the current problems run much
deeper than just RC. My class and the many before me had some tuff son's of
bitches who regulated the team with and through the coaches help. After
this last class of players left the leadership role went from 5 to 6 guys
and feel into the lap of Randy. I came into town and spoke with friends who
still play and they agreed. There just isn't anyone setting people straight
during practice. When I first came to A&M there were at least 3 fights a
day in practice. No body hated anyone, it is just a way of checks and
balances. It keeps little shit heads egos in check. I know one such
player who would have been delt with long ago. I'm not saying a "back in my
day" speech or anything, but tell me what you see?
I was also very disappointed in the night life situation. I know when me
and fiancée came into town it was opening weekend for deer season, and we
just got ram-roded by Nebraska, but hell! I don't think that Ags understand
that the shit hole in Austin has the world famous six street and they have a
great coach and they are winning, and so on. We compete every time a
recruit or someone a recruit knows comes to town. I hate to say it, but
that means a lot to a player. A player told me that they couldn't even get
the recruits into the bars. I bet my left nut they party hard in Austin, I
know I sure did. You know, I don't mind people using my name, but I just don't want to sound
like a RC basher. He has done a lot for me and I like him and his family.
I am still very close to a lot of the other coaches as well. I just believe
that maybe something needs to be done. I'm not calling for his head by any
means.
You can use my name but try to write something in front of my letter saying
that I consider RC, Bill, Mike, and a few others very close friends. The
Aggies have to win. That is all there is to it. I think our program is at
a crossroad, and we can be number 1 or we can hover around the top 20 and
every now and then the top 10. (Brad Crowley)
My opinion on the coaching matter at Texas A&M is that of questions. I
would not recommend demoting Slocum to defensive coordiator or head
recruiter instead of head coach because he will somehow find a way to
call the offensive plays. Regardless that we beat TU last week, I as
many of my friends got tired of seeing "up the gut" runs over and over.
It is brainless to think that eventually Toombs will break a run for 8
yards. IF I got 30+ carries up the middle I would eventually break one.
I say get rid of Slocum, get back Toledo, and lets rock and roll. The
defense is superb, leave it alone, just get rid of Slocum. (Jared Sears)
With all due respect, A&M's problem is WAY deeper than Mr. R.C. Slocum. I'll bet half of A&M's woes can be traced to the irrational hatred you Aggies have for The University of Texas -- no matter what the situation, you Ags are obsessed with "beating the hell outta" Texas. Doubt me? Here's proof: At EVERY DAMN "midnight yell practice," no matter who you Ags are playing the following Saturday, you all scream in unison "Beat the hell outta t.u!" Does this really make sense if you're playing Nebraska? Focus, people! As if that's not enough, A&M's fight song, "The Aggie War Hymn," refers to the Texas Longhorns (or icons thereof) 10 times, if you include "Saw Varsity's Horns Off" -- which you must. Trouble is, the Aggies themselves are only referenced 8 times in the same text. A fight song that revolves around another school? Now that's just insane. (Nonbelievers, go to http://sports.tamu.edu/traditions/warhymn.html).
OK, so you're obsessed. But what does this have to do with R.C? It's called the Association of Former Students -- a.k.a. private endowments. Make no mistake, these people have a lot of influence over the school, the athletic department, and the football program. They were brainwashed BEFORE day one at Aggie Fish Camp, and have never quite recovered. They have a lot of money and a lot of input. And they don't care who they lose to, as long as they "beat the hell outta t.u." It doesn't matter whether it's R.C. in the captain's chair or someone else. Until you people can gain your own identity and quit trying to be the Anti-Longhorns, you will drive your coaches to do stupid things. (Rob Carty)
You are hillarious...I agree with everything you state on your site. Keep
up the good work and screw everybody else who gives you crap for being
honest. (Skip Cooley)
I agree with you about firing R.C. but our best bet for riding ourselves of
this menace is that he would be forced to resign and take a position within
the Athletic department (or maybe at LSU). The guy who said he would gladly
take R.C. at that Mickey Mouse school in Waco can have him but, we won't be
takingany of your coaches. Considering our best bet for a new coach would
be the wonderful and very talented Gary Kubiak I say let's take him. He has
said that he would love to coach at A&M. That is of course as long as he
has not been given an NFL head coaching job. I for years hoped that some
dumb-ass owner (maybe Jerry Jones) in the NFL would give RC a head coaching
job up there. I never cease to be amazed at how a coach who is getting paid
so much can be out coached in every game every year (well except maybe to
those horrible Bears). I guess that's the reason I have been saying for
years to can RC and get someone anyone new. (Charles Thomason)
When are you going to take this crap off the net? (Jim Richards)
While I am sick of the inept A&M offense under Slocum, I am only for a R.C.
firing under the right circumstance (i.e. the availability of Bob Stoops
and Tommy Bowden last year). But I couldn't help find this little segment
in the Dallas Morning News typical of Slocum's A&M tenure.
"B.J. Johnson has scholarship offers from 55 NCAA Division I schools. He's
narrowed the choices to Oklahoma, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech,
Texas, Tennessee, Florida State and UCLA.
And he's got at least one more high school game, Saturday in the state
Class 5A Division II semifinals, when South Grand Prairie plays Garland at
Texas Stadium.
Willis Johnson said he especially has enjoyed time spent with Tennessee
coach Phillip Fulmer and Texas' Mack Brown, each of whom have taken a lot
of personal time to recruit his son. He said he liked Texas A&M's R.C.
Slocum more than anyone. "He was great, but B.J. was just afraid they
weren't going to pass the ball there," the elder Johnson said."
Slocum is viewed, and rightfully so, as a prehistoric relic from the 70s
and high school talent has caught on. Slocum must be respected for
maintaining a certain level of national respect, but there are no signs of
progression. A&M must be ready to jump at the availability of the next
great coaching prospect. (Jason Jelen)
For all the Aggies that are still supporting RC Slocum I would like to bring up some issues. RC's motivational impact on our players. His ideal of motivating are Aggie football team is telling them before the Florida State game last year. "We don't expect to win we just want to have a good appearance on national TV." He's preparing are football team to only make good appearances. Which means his supporters should be satisfied with the Texas Tech game; as he probably was. He doesn't get excited about big games which is why the average winning percentage of teams that he has beat is .433%. These players need to be motivated which is a huge part of preparing for a big game. Last Friday you could feel the motivation the bonfire tragedy gave to the A&M football team. RC's effort of motivating are team to victory is only as high as the 43 percent winning average of the teams he's managed to beat in his career which takes little motivation to do. He just doesn't bring excitement to big games therefore are team isn't motivated to win them. The SW conference has provided RC Slocum with the credit that were giving him. Sooner or later your gonna have to face it, Slocum's going to lose his job. He just isn't the coach his numbers have influence his reputation of being. (I'm not saying you specifically as a Slocum supporter have been influence. Do not mistake me taking you as an idiot) Look at the teams that got him half his wins. Baylor 9, Rice 7, TCU 7, Houston 6, SMU 6, North Texas 4, Louisville 3, SW Louisiana 3, Louisiana Tech 2, Iowa state 2, Tulsa 2, that's 51 shoe-ins and half his wins. That's not counting the wins over Sam Houston St 1, Stamford 1, Middle Tenn. St 1, Kansas1, Hawaii 1, 5 more that makes 56 shoe-ins. Other easy wins are Oklahoma 4, Oklahoma State 3, Southern Miss 3. (that's 66 wins to not pat yourself on the back for) compared to other top five winning colleges this decade this is a very, very easy schedule. We had a 5-1 record against Texas Tech in the SW conference but after graduating to the big 12 we've only managed a 1-4 record against them. The big 12 is having the same effect on us against Texas. We have lost 3 of the last 5 games against them in the five years we've been in this conference. Slocum cannot maintain his grip on the big 12 Like he did in the SW conference. My point is the big 12 is gaining power and Slocum is slowly being left behind and he's dragging the Aggies with him. But you probably want more proof. RC's conference record before the big 12 conference opened was 911.6 and his post big 12 winning percentage is 732.1. Okay I'm doing this quickly so just an "estimate" I believe that it's a 25% decline in (conference) winning percentage in just six years. Doesn't that kind of decline in percentage of wins concern you? If it doesn't try to think about how strong the big 12 is getting. Every year the future of the big 12 is looking better and better. You may disagree with me on the issue of supporting RC Slocum but I believe that all Aggie fans can agree on the future of our conference. The proof is being played out on the field (SW conference 911.6 vs. big 12 conference 732.1) and is showing up in the numbers. But you still deny the fact that RC's greatness came in the weakest football conference in college football. He's not the football mind he's been giving credit for. The big 12 conference is burying us, and it hurts me to see fellow Aggie fans refuse to see it happening.
If we're not getting better we're only getting worse. If your satisfied with in-between than you truly are an RC supporter.
Wake-up! Even Dorothy convinced To-To thay weren't in Kansas anymore.(Fred Boyd)
..all those other great coaches A&M's had in the past? I was there during the Jackie Sherrill days. Loved all those National Championships he brought us, plus the sheer terror of a potential NCAA Death Penalty. Of course, firing a winning coach to bring in a "real winner" has a long, proud history in this state. Texas really, really improved their program when they got rid of Fred Akers. Baylor's still reaping the benefits of running off Grant Teaff. I'm sure Tech will have some thoughts for you on the matter in a few years. And I'm sure everyone will agree that Nebraska made a HUGE mistake by keeping Mr. Tom "0-for-the-80s-in-bowls" Osborne around as long as they did.
Get real guy. If you expect to have any credibility, you can't post all your "statistical proof" in a vacuum. If R.C.'s record is so godawful, then give us comparisons. He's .500 against ranked competition. That's not bad. Show us Bobby Bowden's career breakdowns. Jackie Sherrill's. Joe Paterno's. Mack Brown's. Let everyone compare and see for themselves. I have a sneaking suspicion you can't, because the truth will show that the majority of those coaches' wins have come against lesser competition, and their records vs. ranked opponents aren't much better than .500 either. Prove me wrong.
I remember growing up when A&M was a laughing stock. Beating Rice was cause for celebration. A simple winning season came as a surprise. "Aggies Stole the Sugar" shirts were all the rage in'79 because we actually did the unthinkable and actually beat t.u. for once. You don't remember those days of riddicule. Heck, you weren't even alive then. You've only basked in the success of Jackie and R.C. You have no idea. R.C.'s done more good for this program than any coach since Homer Norton (and he got fired), so just be careful what you wish for.(Jayme Blaschke '92)
I lost most of my respect for R.C. Slocum last year with his comments prior
to the Big XII championship game versus Kansas State. They were similar to
what he said before the FSU game. The comments went something like this: ABC
Reporter: "So Coach Slocum, what did you tell your team to prepare them for
the game before they came out here onto the field today?" Slocum: " I just
told them to come out here and have fun..." HAVE FUN??!!?? Why would you
tell your team to have fun??? Since when does telling your team to "have
fun" motivate anyone?? I don't know if firing R.C. is the answer, but I
seriously question R.C.'s ability to bring a national championship to A&M
when he seems so timid not only with his motivational skills, but also in
his poor play selection. Plus he has shown an inability to take advantage of
a bumper crop of NFL caliber talent that comes into KYLE field year after
year.
Next year will definitely be a test for R.C. because he will have 3
excellent quarterbacks who should all be a major improvement over McKown.
No more excuses. The players are in place. R.C. needs to get it done.(Kevin Kelly)
I've been saying it for years -- RC must go. We always seem to play just
good enough to keep his job and I, and apparently a lot of others, are tired
of it. The biggest reason he never should have been hired in the first
place is simple... He was CONTENT to stay in a supporting role for what 18
years. Anyone with that type of complacency doesn't possess the drive,
determination and leadership it takes to win a National Championship and
never will have those qualities. Professional coaching is just that a
profession. You shouldn't get paid for a job you don't do. That alone
tells me that RC dosen't deserve the million a year he makes. He got that
by positioning himself against the "other top coaches in the field" meaning
the Bobby Bowdens, Lou Holtzes and Joe Paternos. RC has never been compared
to those top coaches and never will. That doesn't make him a bad person,
just not the right person to lead a potential top tier football program.
A&M has all the pieces of the puzzle necessary to win a national
championship -- alumni support, local support, student support, world class
facilities, money, talent pool and is in a respectable conference. The only
thing that can be missing is in the coaching -- he has no one to blame but
himself there. He would be fine in an organization that was not expecting
to contend but that isn't the case at A&M. We are expecting to be
competitive and he just isn't doing enough to make us competitive.(Jeff McDonald '95)
Fire R.C. why not get rid of the real problem Mr. "The best seats are in
the end zone" so my wealthy friends and I can drink and then go to our
seats on the 50 yard line. Or we need a bigger gym so our team will
play better. Wally Groff signs the contracts and supports the head
coach while he schedules teams they can beat and he can keep his job.
Jackie said that to be a national power we needed to play a big time
schedule and he was trying to build that schedule when we turned our
back on him. R.C. was one of his main recruiters but never did anything
wrong!!!!!!!!! Wally Groff says he has to schedule Sam Houston etc.
because no one else was available. Now we don't schedule Dalls or
Houston Schools because they would use it to recruit against us. I
guess we would play University of Dallas or perhaps TWU if we had to.
This is all B.S. and we all know it. Let R.C. resign to become A.D.,
tell Wally to find a job other than living off of A&M, and hire Bobby
Bowden off TV. This way R.C. could use his reputation to get us a real
schedule ( would want to try to keep any new coach from winning easily)
and get us back on track to being more than a bridesmaid in the
conference.(Kyle Norton '70)
Please keep this page up and going, it is really good. With the victory
over tu and the tragedy of the bonfire many people have backed off on their
criticism of RC. I hope that if next year starts out on a typical note the
pressure will build both on wally and rc and that we can finall get rid ofthem.
It is most unfortunante that rc has stayed as we are getting whipped in
recruiting and it appears that tu is the one school that is dominating the
Texas blue chipper panorama.
It is a wonderful thing that this page is up so that more of the word can get
out about how goofy rc, his hechmen, and the program are. Take care and warm
regards.(Ike Craig '91)
Man I sat there and wathed the Aggies run five plays all game long against
Penn State. I was rooting for them though. R.C. did improve his offense
from the traditional three plays of the rollout pass the dive and the trap.
He installed a draw and a drop back pass but I dont know if he realized
that he was playing a defense with three all americans. He is truly an
idiot. I attend The University of Texas and yes the Aggies did beat us but
since you guys are so keyed on beating Texas every year that game saved his
job. That means there will continue to be more embarassing losses next
year and years after that unless they fire RC(Really Conservative)
Slocum(Slow-cum). Good Luck on getting a new coach, and hopefully that
will eventually happen, by the way he was shutout twicew htis year lost
Tech, and got killed by O.U. 51-6. What does it take to get rid of the man.(Nick Martin)
Texas A&M worries too much about what UT is doing, Why?? I did not attend
either school however I like A&M and want whats best for the school. Aggies
if you are happy every year winning 8 or 9 games then RC Slocum is your man,
however if you want to be bigtime then a change in coaching must be done.
Look at the record this year, lets beatup on 4 or 5 loser schools and go
undefeated and then have trouble with Texas Tech? Wakeup before its too late!(T Crabb)
As a loyal Baylor fan, I propose you give RC a raise and a lifetime
contract until 2025. That way the rest of the state can perpetuate the
Aggie Joke. As long as you are trying to be a realist, I think it is
time for the Ags to reevaluate their traditions. To think that the
Bonfire should continue in its present form is insanity after losing the
lives of 12 precious young people. I think a scaled down version built
on a concrete structure that would serve as an eternal flame the rest of
the year, would be a more fitting tribute and a great tradition. The
same thinking that wants to continue the old way is the same thinking
that wants to keep RC. That's why ATM will never amount to anything in
football.(Tommy Brashier)
Great web page!
Our program is going down in flames!
We need immediate change.
By the way, there is a Fire Mack Brown site. Can you believe the horns want to get rid of him?
Coach Brown has,
1) Out recruited RC for the past three years.
2) Won more games against top 10 talent then RC.
3) A geniune trust by his players and recruits. We definitely need that.
4) A great reputation with other coaches. RC is a joke.
5) Assembled a great staff over there. Our staff SUCKS!
Maybe we can convince Coach Brown to come to us. Maybe just wishful thinking on my part.
Good Luck!(Walker Bradley)
To be honest with you I think last nights loss was all on the shoulders of Randy
McCown. RC didn't call that bad a game. The swinging gate was out of pure
desperation b/c Penn's defense was so dominant and Randy was so horrible we
couldn't get anything else done.
I agree with you though. Get RC out of there I just wanted to point out that
the loss wasn't so much his fault than Randy's. 5 yard outs on 3rd and 12 have
to end though! Hopefully Freeman will be the next Bucky Richardson.
The beginning of the end, besides the INT on the first offensive play for the
Ags, was the "roughing the passer" HORRIBLE call.Boo McCown, Yeah Freeman.
(Chad Haught '97)
R.C. manages to beat the University of Texas every 4 or 5 years! That's
just not enough -- especially since he embarrassed the whole State of
Texas with his 24 - 0 loss to the Nittany Lions in the Alamo Bowl.
Fire his redneck ass!(Darrell Hanshaw)
You need to go back to being a full time student and get off this "fire RC"
bandwagon just because you lost a game to Penn State. Believe me, there were
not many teams that could have beaten that PSU team Tuesday night.
No team wins them all. Neither D. Royal nor J. Paterno have a winning % above
80%. If you win 8-9 games a year, with an occasional 10-11 game year you
should be damn happy...because unless you want your team to be a zoo like
they have at Fla St that's about as good as its going to get for any team in
college football these days.(Steve Bliss)
Sorry to ruin everyone's life for at least the next 15 years, but RC Slocum
will be the head coach at Texas A&M as long as he wants to be. I have always
disliked everything about him, from his awesome gameday coaching to his
exciting comments about the players and program, to his excellent development
of quarterbacks who were studs in high school, and to his role as a family
man (playing hide the weasel with a coed = divorce). I am currently a fourth
year med student at texas tech University, and I had the great pleasure of
spending two of those years in that shithole called Lubbock. Lucky for me, I
have spent the last two years in Amarillo away from the dust, but you still
have to put up with the smell of ass when the wind shifts just right. It is
so nice to be in the Panhandle and have to listen to all the fools, aka tech
students, who could not get into A&M or tu brag about how they have beaten
A&M four out of the last five years. For some freak reason, they own us.
Was it Dykes? Please, the guy couldn't coach himself out of a paper bag.
Now they have Mike Leach, who wants to light it up through the air, and all
the fools are thinking they will win the Big 12 South. I seriously doubt it.
No Parade All-American wants to go to a school where they carry umbrellas so
that they don't get pelted with dust and hail during the next rainshower. I
was at that tech game in 1997 and I have never seen a coach screw his own
team as much as Slocum did that day. He started McCown (thank God, Zeus, or
whoever you want to thank that he is finally gone) for his first time and
left him in the whole first half despite two brilliant fumbles inside the
tech 30. Then, he finishes off the game by not using his timeouts
effectively during tech's drive for their game-winning FG and instead Stewart
(who played one of his best games ever that day) had to go 80 yards into a
30-mph wind with less than a minute left. We still had three timeouts, but
what we needed was the 2-3 minutes that ran off the clock during tech's
previous drive. Hey RC, the clock stops after a first down is made --
remember that. I went to the OSU game the next week when we beat them in OT
and the exact same scenario happened again, but this time he called the
timeouts and we got the ball back with enough time to score and tie the game.
Everybody stop and clap your hands, because he finally made a good coaching
decision on gameday. Anyway, while I am on a roll, tech has this statue of
this guy on a horse and supposedly the horse's ass is pointed toward College
Station. Who cares? For you red raiders out there, we don't care about
ya'll even though apparently your season revolves around the A&M and tu
games, but not the North Texas games. Please find a rivalry with someone who
cares, maybe West Texas A&M in Canyon. Now back to my boy RC. I am a true
Aggie, but for all you diehards who think that there is nothing wrong with
the program and who are satisfied with just beating the sips, you need to be
realistic. A&M will not seriously compete for a national championship as
long as Slocum is the head coach. The talent is there, the expansion of Kyle
Field will only help (I was at that sip game, and the noise and atmosphere
was unbelievable), and the location of College Station (driving distance for
players' families from Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio on gamedays)
is a plus for those players that want to stay close to home. Coaches? I
think we just found our weak link. For all you Aggies who went to school
there from the Jackie Sherrill days and before, it seems that the direction
of the program is where you want it to be. But during my four years, which
were the last four years of the SWC, A&M had a total of 6 losses during that
time. My expectations for the program: seriously compete for not only Big
12 championships every year, but also to be in the hunt for the national
championship. I would love to see Texas A&M University in that position.
Obstacles: Slocum is a great defensive coach who wants to be an offensive
coach and the result is ludicrous play-calling with the offensive coordinator
(although Kragthorpe is no prize) being second-guessed and decisions being
overridden by Slocum (just ask Bob Toledo about that second Notre Dame Cotton
Bowl where the play-calling was great for the first 3 quarters and then all
of a sudden, it became conservative for the fourth quarter to protect the
lead in a game that was definitely ours to win). Also, the sips are
definitely on the rise and OU is shaping up to be a real threat each year
with Stoops. I hope that Colby Freeman is for real and that the coaches
don't mess him up like they did Corey Pullig, who I saw play in high school
and this guy was a stud. Why is it that his best year was his freshman year
and his worst year was his senior year? I think coaching had a lot to do
with it. One more thing: when we have a second down and 1 yard to go, with
a backfield that includes Toombs, why is it that we run the ball straight up
the middle for a two yard gain and a first down when we can use that "free"
down to throw a bomb towards the endzone to possibly get a touchdown?
Brilliant coaching -- I counted at least 11 times during the year when that
situation presented itself and we never took advantage of it. Hopefully
everything will pan out next year since we have a favorable schedule at home
and only two tough games on the road (ND and tu). Beat the hell. (Doug
Crumpler '96)
I think that you are right about RC, but I feel offended by your remarks
about a "18 year old tuba player who got lucky"...I was one of the those
'tuba' players not too long ago.(MBO)
Fire RC NOW!!! I'm tired of being whipped on national tv (Florida State
last year, Penn State this year). We were humiliated at Oklahoma and
again against Nebraska. I can't believe he made that comment before the
FSU game. If he said it there - you know he told the team that also.
He should have been fired for that comment alone. RC has been riding
the success created by Jackie Sherrill for years now, but the program is
in a serious decline. Isn't it telling enough that the last three
Offensive Coordinators (Toledo, Emsinger, Sherman) were blamed and
fired for the poor offense but are now very successful elsewhere! RC
DOES NOT have the ability to lead or motivate as a head coach. I was at
A&M when Saint Jackie turned the program from a perennial loser into a
ASS KICKING team. I mentioned success after leaving A&M; look at Saint
Jackie's team now -- Mississippi State. They have become the newest
contender in the SEC. Mississippi State!@?#$#%@ And where did wefinish?
Slocum must go.(Tim Bellott '88)