I have to admit, I have read the message boards after reading this Daily Camera article and found a good chuckle. Kyle Ringo notes some quotes by athletic director Mike Bohn regarding the status of Dan Hawkins and how he feels about where the program is right now. Bohn took the politically correct approach, and rightfully so, when answering those questions. In a nut shell, Bohn says Hawkins is not on the hot seat and this is where he figured the program would be at this time. Some think "it is good that Bohn supports the coach" and some think "why would the goals of the program be 6 - 6, is that acceptable?" My main question is what do people want Bohn to say? Bohn and Hawkins are linked. If Hawkins fails, Bohn fails. If Hawkins wins, Bohn wins. If Bohn says "this season was unacceptable and Hawkins is on the hot seat," what would have happened to recruiting? I will tell you, 8 recruits would probably be the best case scenario with a possibility of more due to the class being littered with "non-Big 12 talent." Some wonder if Hawkins and Bohn feel the urgency of the fan base. Some wonder if the program is serious enough to be a contender again in college football.
...read the rest after the jump
Trust me, the pressure is there even if Bohn won't necessarily exude it in his quotes. Pressure makes you do things like say "10 wins, no excuses." Pressure makes you call out message boarders and call the people who partake in them "the scum of the earth." Pressure is there, don't worry. Bohn knows it, Hawkins knows and we all know it. Is it uncalled for? Heck no. I will be the first one to say that Hawkins better win a bunch next year and he better surround himself with the players and coaches to get it done because time is ticking. But Bohn handled it the right way and subtly made his points that the program is still failing short. Lets look at some of the quotes around the article:
"At the beginning of the year, we were optimistic for a bowl bid and recognized that if we were .500 and had a bowl bid, that would be a successful year," Bohn said. "So we fell one game short of that, which is short of our expectations, but the infrastructure of the program across the board, facilities, coaches, athletes, sports staff, all of those things have been enhanced dramatically over the past three years. So our expectations for next year will obviously exceed where we were this year."
"Short of expectations" is all you need to know between all the flowering in the comment. Vegas had the Buffs over/under on wins at 5.5 so technically, 6 wins would have been successful. Remember West Virginia, Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Colorado State, Nebraska, Florida State and Oklahoma State were all on the schedule this year. All of them are going to a bowl game this year. It was a hard schedule that is why Vegas had them at 5.5. Throw the injury bug/excuse and it is a tough year. Yes, the Buffs were short of expectations but don't get in a tizzy about the defined goal of the team. .500 won't be good enough next year, though, hence the quote: "So our expectations for next year will obviously exceed where we were this year."
Most Buffs fans won't want to hear this:
"We really are where we thought we would be, as much as it's tough to say that."
This is a tough one to defend but he was staying politically correct again. Which is the right thing to do for a ton of reasons. But the key to this statement is the fact that Bohn did say this:
"So our expectations for next year will obviously exceed where we were this year."
Expectations. Bohn knows, Hawkins knows, the assistant coaches know that next year is it. Next year at this time, the Barnett era will not be a valid excuse, injuries won't be a valid excuse and youth won't be a valid excuse. Hawkins set it all up last week: "10 wins, no excuses."
Coacheshotseat.com response to Bohn's comments:
"We were glad to see that Colorado AD Mike Bohn believes that his head football coach is not on the Hot Seat, but when a head coach at any school, especially the University of Colorado is 13-24 (.351) we have a news flash for AD Mike Bohn…"
"Dan Hawkins is on the HOT SEAT!"
Yes, they are right. He is on the hot seat. Dan Hawkins knows it and Mike Bohn knows it but let's see after this next year. All Buffs fans have conceded year four is it. Their will be a lot of anticipation for next year. I personally can't wait. We will see what everyone up in Boulder is made of. Now Dan Hawkins would help his standing if he would get some JUCO defensive lineman ASAP and a couple of wide receivers for next year! Go Buffs