Dabo went 9-5 and 6-7 his first two full seasons, Saban 6-7 his first year, Petersen 8-6 and 7-6 his first 2 years. Meyer inherited a 12-2 team that had won 6 Big10 championships in the last 10 years, must be the luckiest coach in history of college football. So to get to the playoffs are mostly built on recruiting and developing players, unless you are Meyer. Kirby is recruiting at the level it takes, just have to keep it up for 2-3 more years.