This drives me crazy!

[utep2step]

"The fact of the matter is they just don’t have enough talent to compete right now. Locksley and Jones have been inefficient for the past season and a half and while Hughes is a solid player at running back, there’s not much around him."

https://www.underdogdynasty.com/201...v-radio-butch-davis-james-morgan-kai-locksley

I most often like UD's prognostication but stuff like this has no basis in fact and UTEP has lost all creditbility. UTEP does have enough talent, it's the play calling and our two qb's are not consistent. The O line can open run lanes for Hughes but pass protection is lacking.

Let start turning this ship around Dimel!

 

[Roy_Bigwood_05]

"The fact of the matter is they just don’t have enough talent to compete right now. Locksley and Jones have been inefficient for the past season and a half and while Hughes is a solid player at running back, there’s not much around him."

https://www.underdogdynasty.com/201...v-radio-butch-davis-james-morgan-kai-locksley

I most often like UD's prognostication but stuff like this has no basis in fact and UTEP has lost all creditbility. UTEP does have enough talent, it's the play calling and our two qb's are not consistent. The O line can open run lanes for Hughes but pass protection is lacking.

Let start turning this ship around Dimel!

Where is this talent you speak of? There are ZERO playmakers out there, Wolf is above average so is Cooper, but that's about it.

They are actually spot on.

 

[Lil_Train]

Where is this talent you speak of? There are ZERO playmakers out there, Wolf is above average so is Cooper, but that's about it.

They are actually spot on.

Cooper is out for the season.

 

[utep2step]

Where is this talent you speak of? There are ZERO playmakers out there, Wolf is above average so is Cooper, but that's about it.

They are actually spot on.

The O line are for run blocking. Not for the RPO. They do a fairly good job for Hughes.

Jones has been inconsistent but the pocket breaks down way too fast.

Hughes.

We do have good WR's. We can't the ball to them.

Noticing a pattern here?

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

"The fact of the matter is they just don’t have enough talent to compete right now. Locksley and Jones have been inefficient for the past season and a half and while Hughes is a solid player at running back, there’s not much around him."

https://www.underdogdynasty.com/201...v-radio-butch-davis-james-morgan-kai-locksley

I most often like UD's prognostication but stuff like this has no basis in fact and UTEP has lost all creditbility. UTEP does have enough talent, it's the play calling and our two qb's are not consistent. The O line can open run lanes for Hughes but pass protection is lacking.

Let start turning this ship around Dimel!

Are there any player(s) you could put on Mike Price’s teams from 04-05?

 

[axingfools1]

If coach doesnt find a QB soon, his career at UTEP will be over before he can get it started with his own players. #1 priority!

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

If coach doesnt find a QB soon, his career at UTEP will be over before he can get it started with his own players. #1 priority!

That and if someone hand’s Senter a check for 3 million plus to buy him out.

 

[Roy_Bigwood_05]

Are there any player(s) you could put on Mike Price’s teams from 04-05?

***Nord's/Price's team

But man, this is a legit question though, I see you 8106.

 

[JCorona]

Is it common practice to add a performance clause in a contract? For example let’s say if he hasn’t won six games by year three, there’s a clause to fire him. I’m not saying win six games on year three but win six games by year three.

 

[Roy_Bigwood_05]

The O line are for run blocking. Not for the RPO. They do a fairly good job for Hughes.

Jones has been inconsistent but the pocket breaks down way too fast.

Hughes.

We do have good WR's. We can't the ball to them.

Noticing a pattern here?

I fully agree, UTEP's offensive line does not do well with whatever blocking scheme's Dimel is trying to establish, Hughes is good, wish we'd run more downhill with him, screw this zone blocking stuff.

Sucks waiting for year three to see actual results.

Go Miners tho....

 

[utep2step]

Are there any player(s) you could put on Mike Price’s teams from 04-05?

I wish.

Look, Nord made the Smurf Turf Bowl with Bailey and his recruits, especially on defense. After that tinkered with various offensive formations but could not find an offense that worked with Palmer. Nord was literally running three offenses with Palmer. Nothing was working.

In comes Price, bring the spread, works on Palmer's mechanic's, brings in beefy O lineman with wingspans longer than a buzzard, and shores up the D line with Nord players, transfers, JUCO's and brings a good defensive coordinator. Mineo, Rodriguez, Demps, Howard, Fenner et al on defense, were all Nord recruits who for some reason overachieved under Price but struggled under Nord.

Dimel has good players. Kugler had good players. Both had enough to compete with any mid major on any given day and yet both are not getting it done. It's the coaching, not the players.

Like I said, I often like and agree with UD info, but saying UTEP does not have enough players to compete is not accurate.

UD got this info from some one local and it's letting Dimel off the hook; buying him time, cooling the hot seat I don't know? I seriously, seriously doubt any personnel from UD flew to EP, took an Uber to UTEP practice and did any meaningful evaluation for a day or two along with face to face interviews. These sites are networked with others and base their info off a video or phone interview and do their write up off of that. It's normal S.O.P in college P5, FBS sports.

Finally, these players come from good programs, good coaches, good families and are good students. Kugler did one thing good and that is establish the intake of quality versus quantity and stars after their name. Dimel is doing the same thing. I just disagree with that premise UD laid out, that's all.

 

[UTEPy79]

It should be "Breach of Contract" since it's incumbent on the coach to Just Win!

 

[picks up]

Maybe Dimel has too much on his plate with being a head coach and trying to run the offense. If I were Canales I would quit

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

Is it common practice to add a performance clause in a contract? For example let’s say if he hasn’t won six games by year three, there’s a clause to fire him. I’m not saying win six games on year three but win six games by year three.

Ok... let’s be real here. UTEP has ABSOLUTELY NO leverage to add that into any contract. “Oh, you want to pay me 750,000 to coach a program that is perennially amongst the worst in America and on top of it you’re going to put a clause in where you can fire me after 36 months if I don’t win 6 games? F*ck you.” You’re only going to get coaches who either want a guaranteed 3 year check or ones who have no other reasonable offers, ie they suck.

Dimmel said he made sure they offered him the years he wanted, which I understand because this is not turned around overnight, and why would you risk your job when you are probably guaranteed you won’t live to see the fruits of your labor.

 

[JCorona]

You’re only going to get coaches who either want a guaranteed 3 year check or ones who have no other reasonable offers, ie they suck.

So basically the same thing we already get but with the difference if they can’t win 2 games a year it’s going to cost 3 million to get rid of them.

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

I really see nothing wrong with the write up. If you’re honest UTEP is getting killed. Yes, the play calling sucks but when your QBs can’t pass to save their lives and the defense is putting up about as much fight as a baby seal what else are you supposed to say? Canales can call all the passing plays he wants but they’re going to do absolutely no good when they can’t pass. And the defense is getting no push up front so they blitz, they’re gonna get killed through the air. They sit back and they can’t cover forever. This isn’t some sort of Might Ducks scenario where they just need a little better coaching and some new gear. They need to upgrade talent and it’s still a year or two off.

 

[utep2step]

Yes. But

I really see nothing wrong with the write up. If you’re honest UTEP is getting killed. Yes, the play calling sucks but when your QBs can’t pass to save their lives and the defense is putting up about as much fight as a baby seal what else are you supposed to say? Canales can call all the passing plays he wants but they’re going to do absolutely no good when they can’t pass. And the defense is getting no push up front so they blitz, they’re gonna get killed through the air. They sit back and they can’t cover forever. This isn’t some sort of Might Ducks scenario where they just need a little better coaching and some new gear. They need to upgrade talent and it’s still a year or two off.

I agree with you and bigwood. I am just of the strong opinion that UTEP does have the players, now. That is all.

 

[NYCMiner]

I fully agree, UTEP's offensive line does not do well with whatever blocking scheme's Dimel is trying to establish, Hughes is good, wish we'd run more downhill with him, screw this zone blocking stuff.

Sucks waiting for year three to see actual results.

Go Miners tho....

Dimel is too conservative to produce any results in year 3. More like year 4 or 5 at the rate he is going.

 

[kickballpro]

I like Goodwin alot. But Dimel is not going to play young guys, although this team is pretty young. Hes using the redshirts to develop players.

Biggest concerns are recruiting offensive and defensive lineman. I think the calvary is coming as far as skill guys.

 

[Roy_Bigwood_05]

Dimel is too conservative to produce any results in year 3. More like year 4 or 5 at the rate he is going.

great point. good thread guys.

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

Yes. But

I agree with you and bigwood. I am just of the strong opinion that UTEP does have the players, now. That is all.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. My only question to you is who on this team do you think could start on the 04-05 football teams that made a bowl game? Those teams are probably what the standard should be for UTEP football.

 

[UTEPDefense]

We had one offensive play maker coming into this season and he dislocated his toe before the season started.

Wolf(as he is today as a Soph), Cooper, and Hughes are all above average and could perform well if inserted into productive offenses, but none are going to be able to elevate the poor offense that we currently have and that has been proven by our results on the field.

 

[utep2step]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. My only question to you is who on this team do you think could start on the 04-05 football teams that made a bowl game? Those teams are probably what the standard should be for UTEP football.

Hughes
KL (at WR)
Gatewood
Ross
Tupou
Wolf
Cooper
DeHaro
Chukwukelu
Amaewhule
Trussell
Dawn
KJ
(Justin) Rogers
Fields
Wadley
Cowing (This kid is a stud. He has Higgins all over him)
(Brandon) Jones
Tialeva
Thompson
Viles

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

Brandon Jones would start over Jordan Palmer on those 04-05 teams? Stop....

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

I found the starting lineup for the 04 football team:

QB: Jordan Palmer
TB: Howard Jackson
TE: Jake Sears
LT: Josh House
LG: Jose Garcia
C: Bo Morris
RG: Ben Graniello
RT: Robert Espinoza
WR: Johnny Lee Higgins
WR: Chris Francies

LE: Alex Obomese
LT: Chris Mineo
RT: Zack West
RE: Ibok Ibok
MLB: Robert Rodriguez
SLB: Thomas Howard
WLB: Godwin Akinduro
LCB: Adrian Ward
RCB: Jahmal Fenner
FS: Quintin Demps
SS: Joe Feskoski

This team got ranked in the top 25 at one point and made a bowl game. Now I can’t speak for individual play along the O-Line but I know that they weren’t getting crushed every other play so I would never take anyone on today’s O-Line. I wouldn’t take any WR’s over Higgins, or even Francies who was as dependable as we’ve had. He had a catch in 30 plus consecutive games if I remember correctly. No one on this current team has that reliable a set of hands. Trussel is good, so I may give you that one. D-Line today? Trash... again, none of them start on that team. They get killed at the point of attack. Tuoupu is a MLB no way he beats out Rodriguez who was a WAC Defensive player of the year. The secondary had 2 NFL draft picks in Ward and Demps and as good as Hughes is, he’s not taking Howard Jackson’s spot. That guy went for over 1000 yards and was more electric than anyone on this team. And as for the QB position I wouldn’t take Kai/Jones as a 3rd stringer on those teams, they would be straight practice squad tackling dummies.

Now you can make the argument that some player on this team has potential or someone like Kai is exciting.. but nobody has proved it especially week in and week out.

Guys like Obomese, Akinduro, Jackson and Rodriguez were on NFL off season rosters from what I can remember. Francies, Higgins, Palmer, Demps and Howard were all NFL draft picks and played in the league. You can’t compare the quality of either roster. And don’t forget Tyler Ebell was redshirting and they had Marcus Thomas who was also a 5th round pick in the 08 draft.

You named 21 players you think would have started on that 04 team. You pretty much named almost all of the starters on offense and defense from a team that is 1-4 and abysmal on offense and defense. You my friend, are out of your mind.

 

[JCorona]

I like the direction 2step is going in. We like to comfort ourselves by believing we have D2 talent and it will take Dimel a quadrennial to replace them. I hope that’s the case. It’s different not seeing a coach take over the leftover players and transform them into a bowl team. It would be nice to start out bad and gradually get better instead of starting good and deteriorate as the years go by.

If our talent is indeed that bad then that means Dimel is an outstanding coach cuz he has kept us competitive in conference games. For the most part. Last year we played two of the top three teams in the West within a possession. This year USM is shaping out to be a contender to represent the west. We lost to them by 18. UNT is among the most talented in the conference and they lost to USM by the same margin. If our talent is as poor as we think it is then shouldn’t the final score reflect that? Shitty UTSA beat a top 30 fcs team by 28 points. Does that mean our talent isn’t d2, and it’s actually FCS top 25 caliber or is it FBS?

I don’t know but I like the idea of fans demanding wins and not giving into the hype of “we're not talented enough to win.”

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

I like the direction 2step is going in. We like to comfort ourselves by believing we have D2 talent and it will take Dimel a quadrennial to replace them. I hope that’s the case. It’s different not seeing a coach take over the leftover players and transform them into a bowl team. It would be nice to start out bad and gradually get better instead of starting good and deteriorate as the years go by.

If our talent is indeed that bad then that means Dimel is an outstanding coach cuz he has kept us competitive in conference games. For the most part. Last year we played two of the top three teams in the West within a possession. This year USM is shaping out to be a contender to represent the west. We lost to them by 18. UNT is among the most talented in the conference and they lost to USM by the same margin. If our talent is as poor as we think it is then shouldn’t the final score reflect that? Shitty UTSA beat a top 30 fcs team by 28 points. Does that mean our talent isn’t d2, and it’s actually FCS top 25 caliber or is it FBS?

I don’t know but I like the idea of fans demanding wins and not giving into the hype of “we're not talented enough to win.”

This whole is it talent/coaching argument can go both ways. The coaches aren’t out there throwing the ball at less than 50%. The coaches aren’t blowing pass protection, taking bad angles to the ball, getting no push up front on D, getting penalties. That’s all on the players.

But the coaches also brought in Kai and Brandon, and they won’t pick one or the other nor will they try option C at QB. They also insist on playing a 3-4 defense knowing that our D-Line isn’t good enough to plug holes/get a good push with fewer linemen. And I will say that the coaches have made very questionable calls all year. Their in game management has been lacking. I’ve always heard good coaches put players in a position where they can be successful. Is this coaching staff putting these players in the best position to be successful, or are they trying to shove square pegs into round holes? Or is the talent so lacking that they are forced to trim down the playbook and try not to blow the game?

 

[Cube Jack]

Ill always contend that if Nord did indeed win with "Bailey's players" he truly did something great since Bailey sure as heck never won with them.

 

[UTEPDefense]

Ill always contend that if Nord did indeed win with "Bailey's players" he truly did something great since Bailey sure as heck never won with them.

I will push back and defend Bailey. Here is the schedule that Charlie Bailey had to face during his final season here at UTEP: at Oregon, at Kansas State, at Arizona, at TCU, at Hawaii, at Fresno State, at Rice, and the home games were against Tulsa, SMU, New Mexico, NMSU, and San Jose State. Bailey only got 5 home games that final season and had to play 7 road games, including 3 money games at P5 opponents. All 12 games were against D1 teams, with no easy 1AA game to play.

Incredibly, Charlie Bailey won FIVE games against that ridiculously hard schedule and he just barely missed a 6 win season by losing in Overtime at Fresno State. We also only lost by 13 at Arizona that year and we only lost by 19 at Oregon that year. Honestly having 5 wins and 1 OT loss against that impossible schedule should rank his final team as one the greatest teams in UTEP history.

Bailey built this program into a tough and solid team by his final season and he left us in the strong position to have that great season the year after he left. Bailey inherited this program near the rock bottom but he left it in really great shape. Oh and Bailey did all of this before the Durham Center was built(he had to recruit to a Jr. High Weight Room under the bleachers in east side of the stadium), he had to recruit to poor dorm facilities(this was before Miner Village was built), and he also had to convince recruits to come play on an old Sun Bowl turf which at that time was harder than some parking lots.

 

[MineroFanatico]

Ok... let’s be real here. UTEP has ABSOLUTELY NO leverage to add that into any contract. “Oh, you want to pay me 750,000 to coach a program that is perennially amongst the worst in America and on top of it you’re going to put a clause in where you can fire me after 36 months if I don’t win 6 games? F*ck you.” You’re only going to get coaches who either want a guaranteed 3 year check or ones who have no other reasonable offers, ie they suck.

Dimmel said he made sure they offered him the years he wanted, which I understand because this is not turned around overnight, and why would you risk your job when you are probably guaranteed you won’t live to see the fruits of your labor.

Any coach that isn’t confident he can win 6 games in 3 years ain’t worth hiring. Just sayin’.

 

[MineroFanatico]

Dimel is too conservative to produce any results in year 3. More like year 4 or 5 at the rate he is going.

That’s giving Dimel too much credit. Time isn’t the issue with Dimel.

 

[nattybry]

I found the starting lineup for the 04 football team:

QB: Jordan Palmer
TB: Howard Jackson
TE: Jake Sears
LT: Josh House
LG: Jose Garcia
C: Bo Morris
RG: Ben Graniello
RT: Robert Espinoza
WR: Johnny Lee Higgins
WR: Chris Francies

LE: Alex Obomese
LT: Chris Mineo
RT: Zack West
RE: Ibok Ibok
MLB: Robert Rodriguez
SLB: Thomas Howard
WLB: Godwin Akinduro
LCB: Adrian Ward
RCB: Jahmal Fenner
FS: Quintin Demps
SS: Joe Feskoski

This team got ranked in the top 25 at one point and made a bowl game. Now I can’t speak for individual play along the O-Line but I know that they weren’t getting crushed every other play so I would never take anyone on today’s O-Line. I wouldn’t take any WR’s over Higgins, or even Francies who was as dependable as we’ve had. He had a catch in 30 plus consecutive games if I remember correctly. No one on this current team has that reliable a set of hands. Trussel is good, so I may give you that one. D-Line today? Trash... again, none of them start on that team. They get killed at the point of attack. Tuoupu is a MLB no way he beats out Rodriguez who was a WAC Defensive player of the year. The secondary had 2 NFL draft picks in Ward and Demps and as good as Hughes is, he’s not taking Howard Jackson’s spot. That guy went for over 1000 yards and was more electric than anyone on this team. And as for the QB position I wouldn’t take Kai/Jones as a 3rd stringer on those teams, they would be straight practice squad tackling dummies.

Now you can make the argument that some player on this team has potential or someone like Kai is exciting.. but nobody has proved it especially week in and week out.

Guys like Obomese, Akinduro, Jackson and Rodriguez were on NFL off season rosters from what I can remember. Francies, Higgins, Palmer, Demps and Howard were all NFL draft picks and played in the league. You can’t compare the quality of either roster. And don’t forget Tyler Ebell was redshirting and they had Marcus Thomas who was also a 5th round pick in the 08 draft.

You named 21 players you think would have started on that 04 team. You pretty much named almost all of the starters on offense and defense from a team that is 1-4 and abysmal on offense and defense. You my friend, are out of your mind.

That team would beat this team by 40 pts. We were hoping for maybe 3-5 wins with this schedule, but UTSA proved UTEP is farther back then we all could've imagined. 75% of this team is still Kuglers. I might not like Dimel and this horrid offense, but technically the judging can start on year 3 not so much this year. . We need to see progress and 4+ wins next year. This year is already a poop show.

 

[develman]

I still say CSK recruiting was god-awful.

 

[MinerManiac]

I will push back and defend Bailey. Here is the schedule that Charlie Bailey had to face during his final season here at UTEP: at Oregon, at Kansas State, at Arizona, at TCU, at Hawaii, at Fresno State, at Rice, and the home games were against Tulsa, SMU, New Mexico, NMSU, and San Jose State. Bailey only got 5 home games that final season and had to play 7 road games, including 3 money games at P5 opponents. All 12 games were against D1 teams, with no easy 1AA game to play.

Incredibly, Charlie Bailey won FIVE games against that ridiculously hard schedule and he just barely missed a 6 win season by losing in Overtime at Fresno State. We also only lost by 13 at Arizona that year and we only lost by 19 at Oregon that year. Honestly having 5 wins and 1 OT loss against that impossible schedule should rank his final team as one the greatest teams in UTEP history.

Bailey built this program into a tough and solid team by his final season and he left us in the strong position to have that great season the year after he left. Bailey inherited this program near the rock bottom but he left it in really great shape. Oh and Bailey did all of this before the Durham Center was built(he had to recruit to a Jr. High Weight Room under the bleachers in east side of the stadium), he had to recruit to poor dorm facilities(this was before Miner Village was built), and he also had to convince recruits to come play on an old Sun Bowl turf which at that time was harder than some parking lots.

To take that further, if the normally reliable Paul Smith doesn't fumble at the Fresno State goal line we win that game. And we started out that Arizona game great, with Rocky Perez moving the ball at will against the Wildcat defense. Unfortunately offensive coordinator Gary Nord liked to rotate his quarterbacks, Perez and Stuckey, every quarter. Stuckey started the second quarter, despite the fact that Perez was in a groove, the offense sputtered, and we lost the game. It's impossible to know whether or not we would have won that game if Perez had played the entire game, but we would have had a better chance.

I will always believe two things about the end of Bailey's tenure:
1. If we would have stuck with one quarterback, either Stuckey or Perez, the entire season we would have been bowl eligible, and
2. If Bailey would have coached that 2000 team he would have experienced the same success that Nord did that year.

Also, in hindsight it's obvious that Nord could recruit. So why was Price able to win with Nord's guys, when Nord couldn't? I believe that Nord lost the team. They just simply didn't listen to him or his staff any more. We were constantly reading eyewitness reports of players ignoring the coaches during practice, scrimmages, and games (though Stull, with his ironclad grip on the El Paso media, never allowed those stories to be printed in the paper or broadcast on the local news). The Price hire excited the players, and that initial group of players would have run through a wall for him.

One final note: one of the posts above says that Nord couldn't figure out how to use Palmer at quarterback. Palmer was just a freshman during Nord's final season. While Price and his staff should certainly get some credit for coaching up their players, they also benefited from a more experienced and mature Jordan Palmer.

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

To take that further, if the normally reliable Paul Smith doesn't fumble at the Fresno State goal line we win that game. And we started out that Arizona game great, with Rocky Perez moving the ball at will against the Wildcat defense. Unfortunately offensive coordinator Gary Nord liked to rotate his quarterbacks, Perez and Stuckey, every quarter. Stuckey started the second quarter, despite the fact that Perez was in a groove, the offense sputtered, and we lost the game. It's impossible to know whether or not we would have won that game if Perez had played the entire game, but we would have had a better chance.

I will always believe two things about the end of Bailey's tenure:
1. If we would have stuck with one quarterback, either Stuckey or Perez, the entire season we would have been bowl eligible, and
2. If Bailey would have coached that 2000 team he would have experienced the same success that Nord did that year.

Also, in hindsight it's obvious that Nord could recruit. So why was Price able to win with Nord's guys, when Nord couldn't? I believe that Nord lost the team. They just simply didn't listen to him or his staff any more. We were constantly reading eyewitness reports of players ignoring the coaches during practice, scrimmages, and games (though Stull, with his ironclad grip on the El Paso media, never allowed those stories to be printed in the paper or broadcast on the local news). The Price hire excited the players, and that initial group of players would have run through a wall for him.

One final note: one of the posts above says that Nord couldn't figure out how to use Palmer at quarterback. Palmer was just a freshman during Nord's final season. While Price and his staff should certainly get some credit for coaching up their players, they also benefited from a more experienced and mature Jordan Palmer.

I knew a player from that 03 team and I asked him about that Cal Poly game and he said at half time everyone was just yelling at each other, players and coaches so you may be right.

 

[Cube Jack]

You are what your record says you are. A grand total of 19 wins over 7 seasons? I say that equals failure. Toss in his time at Memphis (then called Memphis State) and we have an overall record of 31-73-2. That's abysmal.

All the ifs, woulda, coulda, shouldas don't matter. What we're left with is 7 consecutive losing seasons where the most wins was 5

 

[MinerManiac]

You are what your record says you are. A grand total of 19 wins over 7 seasons? I say that equals failure. Toss in his time at Memphis (then called Memphis State) and we have an overall record of 31-73-2. That's abysmal.

All the ifs, woulda, coulda, shouldas don't matter. What we're left with is 7 consecutive losing seasons where the most wins was 5

The thing is that his team was improving, and, as UTEPD pointed out, schedule does matter. If you were to time travel and bring that staff and team to UTEP today, they would easily have a winning record against this year's schedule, and everyone on this board would be singing their praises.

 

[Cube Jack]

The thing is that his team was improving, and, as UTEPD pointed out, schedule does matter. If you were to time travel and bring that staff and team to UTEP today, they would easily have a winning record against this year's schedule, and everyone on this board would be singing their praises.

I wouldn't be so sure. Coach Kugler was on that staff

 

[UTEPDefense]

I wouldn't be so sure. Coach Kugler was on that staff

This is a very uneducated comment. Kugler was a solid assistant coach, he just shouldn’t have been hired as a head coach. But he was the Assistant Head Coach for an undefeated Boise State team and he has also been hired as an assistant coach by 5 different NFL teams. That doesn’t happen unless you are quality. When Kugler was coaching under Bailey, UTEP had a legitimate NFL O-Line coach coaching our O-Line. Kugler leaving UTEP after the 2000 season also had some contribution to Nord’s immediate down turn.

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

The thing is that his team was improving, and, as UTEPD pointed out, schedule does matter. If you were to time travel and bring that staff and team to UTEP today, they would easily have a winning record against this year's schedule, and everyone on this board would be singing their praises.

His teams weren’t the best but they were able to keep games close. But it really tells you how far we’ve fallen when someone like Charlie Bailey is more respected in hindsight.