Carolina Week

by The 25314 on Dec 22, 2008 2:52 PM EST in HCBS

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy7ILTJILL0]

I agree with you Roy.

But in researching the game against the Tar Heels I stumbled upon some potentially terrifying similarities between UNC and WVU.

Following a 10-1 season in 1997, the school's 2nd consecutive 10 win season, UNC head football coach, Mack Brown, left Carolina to take the head coaching job at Texas, a move which still irks Carolina fans to this day.

UNC promoted career assistant Carl Torbush to be the new head coach (at least he was the defensive coordinator). Torbush immediately won the Gator Bowl, and UNC finished 11-1, only the third 11 win season in school history.

However, the next year his team opened with a loss to Miami of Ohio, and never really recovered, going 7-5. In 1999 and 2000, Torbush went 3-8 and 6-5, respectively, and was fired.

John Bunting was then hired, but was unable to achieve any sustained success and was fired after 2006. Having only won 8 games once since Mack Brown's departure, Carolina hired Butch Davis. After a 4-8 season last year, Davis finally has the Tar Heels headed in the right direction.

It's taken UNC 11 years and a big time coach to get back to the brink of national respectibility again.

I hope that this just remains a nice story and UNC history lesson for WVU fans rather than history repeating itself.

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OUCH! Thanks for the reality check.

I think we have better talent and recruits coming in than UNC did when Mack Brown left.

Also, I think Stew put together a better staff then they have ever had at UNC.

Nevertheless … it still makes you say ..

GULP??

by sg44gold on Dec 22, 2008 4:53 PM EST reply actions

I had not heard of this precedent for our situation before, although I had heard about the equally dismal Michigan State one. One or two instances like this are just anecdotal- I’d be interested if there was a way to find out all of the bowl-game related in-house promotions in the last 20 years and what the results were. Then compare that to another data set in which successful programs went and hired a coach from the outside. Not sure where one would find this data, though.

by oljb on Dec 22, 2008 5:34 PM EST reply actions

Not that it matters for the upcoming bowl game…but have you seen how many 4-star recruits that UNC has coming in next season. Then take a look at how many 4-stars we have coming in next season. UNC is definitely headed in the right direction.

by bulldog on Dec 22, 2008 8:30 PM EST reply actions

It may be just a coincidence….or not. Football has never quite been a priority in Chapel Hill. However, I’m sure it won’t be long before our fans will be compared to theirs (rarely show up, leave a half, etc.) by the “righteous”.

by BSLA80 on Dec 23, 2008 11:33 AM EST reply actions

i’m probably in the minority, but I don’t care about fans at all. I don’t care how our fans compare to other team’s fans, or how fans treat the team or how many fans we have or what they wear or how they cheer or how critical/positive they are. I don’t care to talk about fans or their behavior, ever.

I just want, need, WVU to win and preferably big. If WVU does that I don’t care if I’m the only fan in the stadium or if other team’s fans are mean to me, I’ll be happy.

I really don’t think fans are different from fan base to fan base. Some are nice, some are mean, some are loyal some aren’t. Fans are just people, and people are generally the same anywhere you go.

by The 25314 on Dec 23, 2008 11:44 AM EST reply actions

I have said it since day 1. Stewart was a larry Coker hire!! Miami still isn’t back Coker was the defensive coordinator and he was able to do well even win a national title with the returning talent, unlike Stew. So i guess Calling him StewBush is more accurate than Larry Coker II.

by Mweeps on Dec 23, 2008 11:50 AM EST reply actions

Larry Coker was the offensive coordinator. His record:

12-0
12-1
11-2
9-3
9-3
7-6

He won a national title and was robbed of a second. We would be lucky if Bill Stewart was a Larry Coker hire.

by The 25314 on Dec 23, 2008 1:50 PM EST reply actions

I agree that in any cross-section of the population, the fan base for any team will have a proportional share of all types of people . I’m merely commenting on previous comments by others, qualifying who is and who is not a fan, by virtue of one’s perspective on the team. I hope for a complete disemboweling of those tobacco road hayseeds. Like Roy said…I could give a sheet about UNC or their fans.

by BSLA80 on Dec 23, 2008 2:28 PM EST reply actions