First off, where do you get that “most people” predicted we’d win 7-8-9 games? We were a consensus pick to finish 2nd in the East with an average National rank of 15 (link below). We were 16th in the Preseason Coaches poll. That’s more like a 9 or 10 win prediction from most people. Despite this, with one of our weakest home schedules in recent memory, we finished with our worst home record in recent memory.

And yes, it was his 1st season. But unlike most first year coaches, Kirby inherited a program in very good shape. We had averaged 10 wins the 5 seasons before Kirby, and our last 5 recruiting classes had averaged in the top 10. Despite the false narrative, our talent was better than every team on our schedule save Ole Miss. Yet even with the talent we have, over the course of the season, we didn’t improve in any single area on the team, including game prep and game-time adjustments. And we could not find a game plan to minimize our weaknesses.

And speaking of false narratives, our OL disproved that myth as well. They manhandled tech all day, yet our offensive gameplan only generated 27 points. We ran the same couple of running plays, even after tech started crowding the line to stop it. Tech has had trouble stopping the screen all season, yet we only threw one screen pass all game - and even then, we audibled into it against a defense that’s typically effective against it. We never ran a trap, never ran a draw. Schematically, our offense was a complete joke.

This is exactly the kind of mess you usually get when you hire an inexperienced, unproven coach. No hire is guaranteed, but it’s a numbers game. You have a better chance of success with someone who’s done it before. And right now Kirby has no clue, which is why our program is a chinese fire drill. We deserve better, and we certainly could attract better. This "wait till next year" excuse making is exactly why we've underachieved as a program for so long.