Critiquing Tom O’Brien

NCS Football Tom O'Brien65

Taking stock of our football program, I thought I would take a different tack and list all of the things I wish we could change about Tom O’Brien. Here’s what I came up with:

1) I wish he was 10 years younger.

Seriously, this man is the best coach NC State has had since one James T. Valvano. Let’s just hope he’s exercising, eating right, and wants to coach until he’s 80.

About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

NCS Football Tom O'Brien

65 Responses to Critiquing Tom O’Brien

  1. Astral Rain 11/25/2008 at 3:56 AM #

    dbl post

  2. packplantpath 11/25/2008 at 8:10 AM #

    My perfect situation. TOB gets ready to retire at say….70.

    Takes over as AD and gets to pick his own replacement. Everything he has said makes me think he is one man who does not put up with mediocrity, and I believe that would carry over into a role as AD.

    Pipe dream, I know. And I’m sure it doesn’t resonate with those who wanted Amato as AD, but I though that would be horrible.

  3. SEAT.5.F.2 11/25/2008 at 8:26 AM #

    Noah,

    The best coach avail. only becomes viable if TOB elevates program to consistent contenders in the ACC. Heresey that we should not first hope that TOB coaches to Paterno/Bowden age, he’s the perfect balance of controlling from the top command and letting your field generals do their job’s, IMO.

    Also, Butch wants 150 M for Kennan but we should all pitch in another $15 bucks for the field upgrade and Indoor Field House that all the sports could use, football the priority. I still see football players and Track athletes running around the top of Reynolds. V would be wondering WTF about that.

  4. Greywolf 11/25/2008 at 12:40 PM #

    Tom Landry, Paul Brown already mentioned. Vince Lombardi? TOB does express upset at stupidity. Discipline, excellence, solid play are expected. Why should those be treated as cause for clebration? It’s like touchdown celebrations: toss the ball to the officials and act like it’s not the first one you’ve ever scored.

    choppack1
    Nov 24th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
    Having seen our last 2 football coaches flame out after respectable starts (both MOC and Amato had decent first 2 years) – I don’t dare declare a coach successful until he retires or is wrongly forced out by a short-sighted, cowardly and pig-headed administration.

    Chop, What you say is right on… and we are seeing examples of coaching up we haven’t seen before with the second half of the season being an upgrade over the first. Our OL was coached into the unit we see today. Our LB corp was oh so suspect at the beginning of the season. Robbie Leonard was a huge concern for many. Are our STARTING LBs a concern today? I suspect our depth is developing well also.

    What about our DB’s? Yes it was a problem when half the starters were out with injury. Players I would have sent down to the scout squad are starting to make plays.

    I was wrong about Bible and his play selection. I believe that next spring and fall we will see the “rest” of the spread put in.

    I wondered about TOB brashly asserting we were the best program in the state. With this guy, however, I’m learning to wait and see what he’s up to BEFORE I judge what he says or does. There’s a solid reason he made that proclamation.

    TOB said best “program” in North Carolina, not best team. Program is what TOB sells. Champions in the classroom, champions in the community and champions on the field. Sounds like a plan (program) to me.

    Improvement across the board with more to come. Bring it on Chief, bring it on.

  5. Greywolf 11/25/2008 at 12:50 PM #

    SEAT.5.F.2
    Nov 25th, 2008 at 8:26 am

    … we should all pitch in another $15 bucks for the field upgrade and Indoor Field House that all the sports could use, football the priority. I still see football players and Track athletes running around the top of Reynolds.

    Agreed 5.f.2, but that an upstat from running around the top of Frank Thompson Gym. 😉

    Facilities don’t make you a winner, but the lack of facilities (without an overriding factor like long-time tradition) can make building a winner more difficult. IMO The kind of facilities you speak of here are the kind that enable coaches to coach regardless of the outside conditions and has athletes WANT to be there.

  6. EverettBeez 11/25/2008 at 3:50 PM #

    Music City Bowl is Wed Dec 31st at 2:30. cst
    I’ve got to fly out of Atlanta on the morning of the 1st, so its a no go for me. I looked into it hoping Ole Miss would make it. Now, of course, if Ole Miss wins the Egg Bowl this weekend, we should be going to the Cotton. Which I also can’t go to.

    http://www.musiccitybowl.com/

    Charlotte Bowl is Sat Dec 27 at 1 pm est.

    http://meinekecarcarebowl.com/

    Tickets appear to be on sale for both of them.t

  7. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 11/25/2008 at 6:17 PM #

    TOB field at Carter-Finley Stadium?

    As most others I think TOB is a great fit and I too wish he was 10 years younger but I will hold off on any comparison to V. When State has a top 12 finish, wins the ACC and goes to a BCS I will be ready to say that O’Brien is in the same league as V.

    I will say he is clearly our best shot in football since Sheridan and the potential is there to build a solid program over the next 10 years. If that happens I hope State fans will be able to get past the Amato years and properly recognize his contributions to the program, flaws and all.

  8. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 11/25/2008 at 7:00 PM #

    Grey,

    Not that a new indoor facility wouldn’t be nice with all the budget cuts that are going to hit that $15 dollars may be better spent elsewhere at least for the near future.

    I may be old school but I like the idea that players may have to run around Reynolds. I think that allows a rare opportunity for current players to connect to the past. As a young kid, during games I ran around Reynolds dodging older fans. Did the same at Carter-Finley during halftime.

    I think Rocky 4 teaches a good lesson that modern technology doesn’t always beat having to rough it. State’s athletes have great facilities so a few laps around Reynold’s concourse isn’t all that bad.

  9. Greywolf 11/25/2008 at 9:16 PM #

    tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc,
    No doubt it would. My comment backs your contention more than opposes. “running around Reynolds” caught my eye and reminded me of old Frank Thompson Gym.

    TOB field at Carter-Finley Stadium, eh? We’d have to name it “TOB field at Carter-Finley Stadium naming rights donated by the Dale Family” or something like that. 😉 TOB has this up-grade on his wish list. We are one of only a handful of schools still playing on a crowned playing field.

    We might be able to get some $$ help from the Hurricanes for this. There is some talk about trying to host an outdoor “throwback” game for the Canes. A level field would be critical to this being even a possibility.

  10. highstick 11/25/2008 at 9:46 PM #

    Notice how the Carolina basketball team never “takes a knee”? They just keeping running, dunking, and laughing! Their fans are a bunch of wusses and fags!

  11. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 11/25/2008 at 9:52 PM #

    Grey,

    I saw after I posted my comment that you were commenting on another post.

    Once again though I’m a little old school and like State’s ‘crowned field for several reasons. I love the tradition and I like the fact that it (should) give State a home field advantage. Much like NC State has sucked in Bball after removing the rubber floor and there is no debating the Boston Celtics were hurt by losing the awful floor at the Garden. Don’t forget the Eagles getting rid of their field that could play better defense than the team.

    My biggest problem with State ‘leveling the field’ is that CF is built at the bottom of an old pond. As much faith as State fans should have in engineers, I’m not sure I buy that CF field can drain if it is flat. If they level the ‘crown’ I think the 50 and the rest of the center of the field will become a swamp during State’s tropical storm games.

  12. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 11/25/2008 at 10:26 PM #

    highstick,

    At the end of the State/UNC football game one of the announcers was trying to say State should just take a knee and not try and score and just give the ball back to Carolina at their goal.

    I was thinking that clearly the announcer has no idea of the history of the rivalry as they kept talking about throughout the game. He probably doesn’t remember the TA goal line stand, reversal, moving pictures v. photo finish games. Doesn’t remember UNC’s dunkfest against State in ’04 (?). Maybe he didn’t remember State beating ECU by a bunch in the ’92 Peach Bowl and not putting the game away.

    Thanks TOB for not taking a knee out of kindness to Butch Davis.

  13. redfred2 11/26/2008 at 12:07 AM #

    I’m happy with FB right now, but with all of this praise already being heaped on TOB, I still think I’ll wait until after Saturday’s game to jump on that bandwagon. This is one game that should give us a true measuring stick.

  14. cWOhLFrPAiCKs 11/26/2008 at 2:42 PM #

    “This is one game that should give us a true measuring stick.”

    Agreed.

  15. wolfonthehill 11/30/2008 at 9:31 PM #

    This is merely a test – ignore it please…

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