TOB talk & Zarzour pulls no punches

Earlier in the week SFN highlighted some uncorroborated ‘chatter’ going around the internet related to the job security of NC State Head Football Coach, Tom O’Brien. (Click here)

The last couple of days we’ve heard more and more speculation in Wolfpack circles that O’Brien may be given the opportunity to have another year(s) on the NC State sidelines provided he make significant changes across his entire coaching staff.

With that as the backdrop, I found the following comments from Taylor Zazour (included here) particularly interesting. The comments very accurately and succinctly summarize the state of affairs in the NC State football program…and may even accurately nail how things are going to unfold behind the scenes over the next few weeks.

Tom O’Brien is defenseless if someone were to ask him why his program has had one winning in season in five tries. I know he’s had injuries, and I know his best player left for Wisconsin, but NC State should have a lot more talent and win more games. His recruiting classes have been abysmal, he’s built little depth, and you never know what you’re going to get from one week to the next. Sure, he can rightfully boast about never losing to Carolina but how about doing something else?

If Athletic Director Debbie Yow does the right thing and asks O’Brien to fire some of his assitants he has no choice. They are antiquated (old), out of touch with their players, and unimaginative. If TOB refuses then Yow must ask him for his resignation. With North Carolina’s program in disarray, and Duke, Wake, and ECU all playing average to bad football the Wolfpack has no business treading in mediocrity. But that’s where they are and its all O’Brien’s fault.

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64 Responses to TOB talk & Zarzour pulls no punches

  1. Tuffy2 11/17/2011 at 3:42 PM #

    I didn’t even bother to read the“TOB talk & Zarzour pulls no punches” because there really isn’t any need to. All I did was read what my fellow Pack fans have wrote and I still see a few thinking that at the end of this season would be a bad time to fire the coach. Yes you do fire a coach if things are not working out. That is the same thing as he is not winning enough if that makes any sense.

    All i can say is when will some of you get it!

  2. Prowling Woofie 11/17/2011 at 3:42 PM #

    “If TOB can’t beat the two worst teams in the ACC then…”

    they’re not the two worst teams – WE’RE the worst !

  3. Wufpacker 11/17/2011 at 4:01 PM #

    If we lose to Clemson this weekend and then beat Maryland to finish 6-6, I don’t see a change being made.

    Now, considering three of those wins came against two I-AAs (yeah, I know they changed it to FCS) and a directional Michigan school, I am NOT saying I don’t want a change or that I don’t believe a change SHOULD be made. Just that I don’t think it would be.

    I’m not even convinced that dropping the last two will result in a change, but I would hope so.

  4. hoop 11/17/2011 at 4:03 PM #

    Believe it or not, BC, Maryland, and Duke are lower than us in the standings. But we can still make it down to tie Duke as the worst!

  5. Wufpacker 11/17/2011 at 4:13 PM #

    Almost forgot….

    Go Hokies!!! Beat that Tar Heel Ass!!!

  6. ppack3 11/17/2011 at 4:19 PM #

    “If TOB can’t beat the two worst teams in the ACC then…”

    TOB can beat one of them consistently…ourselves.

    If you’re honest with yourself, next year may be nominally better, with Glennon as a senior and Mustafa Greene back. But, the next year will be Tyler Brocius’ break-in year. The marginal recruiting classes will start to matriculate, and recruiting itself will be just as abysmal because there is still no measurable success. So, where’s the light at the end of the tunnel?

    Now, (and, I’m not predicting a victory) if we somehow find a way to beat Clemson, then that gives us some serious momentum against Maryland, at home.If we somehow, some way, win out with a Bowl win? There’s no way TOB goes anywhere. And, Wolfpack fans everywhere will be pulling their hair out and downing Prozac to try to stay calm.

  7. baxter 11/17/2011 at 4:20 PM #

    My issue, and I fear it will be shown this weekend, is we can’t compete with spread speed teams. So we are going to have a horrible time with FSU, Clemson, and Wake each year, and we clearly have an issue with BC and MD regardless.

    So when will this team be able to defend against the offense of half the division? I mean, clearly we can play the coastal’s pretty well since outside of GT no one runs the spread to any effect. Just seems to me like we are in the same boat as UGA all the years they got torched by Florida.

    When do you think we go 3-4 or 4-2-5 or 3-3-5 etc.?

  8. Wulfpack 11/17/2011 at 4:22 PM #

    Provided that Clemson has thoroughly owned us 7 years running – and couple that with the fact that this is the best Tiger team in years, well, let’s just say that Saturday won’t be pretty. We are going to get rolled ala FSU style. Which means the Maryland game becomes irrelevant. It just seems to me, as the ultimate caretaker of NCSU athletics, that DY is going to have to make up her mind on this in the next 2 weeks. I don’t think TOB has any intentions of shaking up the staff. So, it’s going to be up to her.

  9. Tuffy2 11/17/2011 at 4:27 PM #

    If I am honest with myself and I usually am, it would take all of that talent to offset the coaching mistakes to show a better record then this year. Hell, it took a HEISMAN CANDIDATE last year to do it.

  10. Pack Mentality 11/17/2011 at 4:36 PM #

    .

  11. Pack Mentality 11/17/2011 at 4:36 PM #

    “That which should be done eventually MUST be done immediately.”

    -Florida AD before firing Zook and hiring Meyer

  12. packbackr04 11/17/2011 at 4:53 PM #

    what respected assistant would take a job on TOB’s staff if he is forced to make changes. its a 1 yr job because he will prob get canned next yr even if he holds on this yr… so to me, changing assistants at this point in the game is pointless, like re-arranging deck chairs on the titanic.

    TOB has made his bed with his current assistants. if he had wanted to shake things up he would have done so by now. i think you saw the most drastic measures TOB was going to take with assistants when he moved the line coach and RB coached around. thats about as out of the box as it gets with TOB.

    im ready to move on

  13. TruthBKnown Returns 11/17/2011 at 5:21 PM #

    Clemson doesn’t have the defense that FSU has, so I don’t expect to get rolled FSU-style this weekend. Rolled yes, but not shut out. I think we’ll score some points, just not enough to match the 50+ that we’re going to give up.

    I’m all for firing TOB. I almost don’t even care what happens from here on out. I’ve seen enough already.

  14. tjfoose1 11/17/2011 at 5:34 PM #

    We can win Saturday.

    True, we can’t stop Clemson, but Clemson has proven quite capable of stopping themselves.

    We could get lucky and be on the field when that happens.

    When our chances for winning are based on that… well, not exactly strong commentary as to the effectiveness of the current coaching staff.

  15. oceanman 11/17/2011 at 5:41 PM #

    The mediocrity of the football program seems to be a reflection of NCSU athletic’s overall culture of mediocrity for the last 2 decades. Debbie Yow must engineer a change to the culture and mindset of fans, staff and athletes associated with NCSU athletics at every level and in every sport. She has a made good start. I went to State during the Lou Holtz and David Thompson years. We went to Reynolds or Carter Finley with the expectation of a Wolfpack victory. When we go now, we just hope they will win. TOB is a good coach and can probably build a good program at State if he can change the recruiting picture and ride the cultural changes Yow is making. Seems that coach Gottfried had a plan when he recruited asst coaches with ties to North Carolina. Chucky cheese had his ties to the Florida talent pool. What is TOB’s plan? Does anybody know? TOB’s first string players are as good as on any team but the depth chart from that point is just a wish list. The program must be built from the bottom up with good talent coming in every year. Also, what’s up with the injury thing. It is an annual chronic problem. Seems that the training and conditioning program deserves a review.

  16. packalum44 11/17/2011 at 5:45 PM #

    I just hope Debbie doesn’t expect people to attend the games next season if O’Brien sticks around. I live in NY and would gladly hop a flight to watch a top 25 team. Scratch that, a competitive team.

    I cancelled plans to attend UNC game this year because we were atrocious. Just because that game was an enigma makes me feel no worse about my decision. Screw mediocrity.

    If TOB sticks around it is all about $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. I get that. Just hope she gets it when there are thousands more empty seats next year and better believe there will be.

  17. pack76 11/17/2011 at 6:47 PM #

    mak4dpack, if they didn’t already know their jobs were in jeopardy, then that proves they need to go. TOB has told D.Yow that his staff would be his choice??? Deb. will not put up with that kind of arrogance. He’s gone!!!

  18. MISTA WOLF 11/17/2011 at 7:06 PM #

    We beat Clemson lost to Maryland. I guarandamntee it.

  19. MISTA WOLF 11/17/2011 at 7:08 PM #

    Lose*

  20. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 11/17/2011 at 7:19 PM #

    I have problems with Yow’s bball coaching search. She struck out with all the top choices, pitched Shaka and got told no. She then panicked and sent out a bizarre email freaking out the players and supporters. She got in a national fight with her former employee. Then announced she hired her life-long friend that had been out of coaching for two years.

    OK, I think State was lucky to get Gottfried but hardly a hire that looked good.

    With that said… Football is much different kind of coaching search and I’m think Yow’s business sense will produce good results from start to finish. She doesn’t have to find a “big name” to compete against two great programs down the road. She has a BCS school with an incredible fan base and top facilities.

    Yow may not be able to get a coach from a top 20 program but a Terry Bowden, with a 136–59–2 lifetime record, is very doable.

    Terry has a tie to State by taking Harrison Beck from State in his fist year as North Alabama’s coach and going 11-2, making it to the final four of the league’s playoff.

  21. TheCOWDOG 11/17/2011 at 7:21 PM #

    upheaval (ʌpˈhiːv ə l)

    — n
    1. a strong, sudden, or violent disturbance, as in politics, social conditions, etc
    2. geology: another word for uplift

    Pay particularly close attention to # 2 .

    Do your best to understand the meaning in edicts from above suggesting that you change your spots.

  22. drgreenhouse 11/17/2011 at 9:31 PM #

    Here’s the deal from where I see it:

    If (and this is a big if from the way that both teams have owned us in recent years) we finish with a win over Clemson and Maryland, O’Brien should get the chance to coach out the last year of his contract. We do not need to be shelling out big money for a buyout unless…

    A – We lose both games. To finish a season with a losing record that most people predicted 7 – 10 wins is unacceptable. 4 out of 5 losing records doesn’t justify holding on to a high-paying job in the competitive field of coaching.

    B – We somehow manage to beat Clemson and then lose to Maryland again. To knock off a top team and to lay an egg against a worse team shows poor coaching.

    If we lose to Clemson but beat Maryland, TOB probably sticks around for his final year only if he makes significant changes to his staff.

    The best scenario for the university is to move TOB into a job within the athletic department or with the ROTC or some other area. That way, we can let him announce a retirement from coaching and proceed on with good terms.

    Regardless of how TOB’s tenure has played out, I’m glad that we actually went after an experienced head coach, although it hasn’t played out exactly like we have hoped. I hope that we look for an experienced head coach this time, too.

  23. 61Packer 11/17/2011 at 9:45 PM #

    If beating Maryland is the yardstick for whether or not TOB goes, then our football program is mired deeper in mediocrity than Penn State’s football program is mired in controversy.

    This NCSU coaching delimma reminds me of a scene from one of Clint Eastwood’s spaghetti westerns; I believe it was 1967’s The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly (for us that equates to DY, TOB, and Wolfpack Football). Anyway, Eastwood was taking a bath when an outlaw burst in and pointed a gun at Clint, telling him that he was about to kill him, but Eastwood blasted him immediately with a gun he had underwater. As the outlaw fell to the floor, Eastwood said, “When you’ve got to shoot, SHOOT! Don’t talk!”

    I think the time to talk is over.

  24. mak4dpak 11/17/2011 at 10:15 PM #

    TOB contacted Lee Fowlup, expressing interest in the job, obviously knowing BC was getting tired of the same things we have come accustomed to in 5 years. DY be careful and intelligent in your replacement for TOB. It is past time to move to the next level, that TOB will never get us to.

  25. mak4dpak 11/17/2011 at 10:20 PM #

    ‘pack 76’, I wrote TOB earlier in the year when our demise began, and said while I respect him, I hope he is not going to allow his assistants to cost him his job, and that looks like where we are headed. I could live with TOB another year if Archer/Bible are gone, and we bring some young exciting and experienced assistants, who could possibly be our future HC, when TOB retires.

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