Assessing the Devastation of Husky Football

Fig Jam

Well…. if you are the University of Washington you can rest assured knowing that it actually cannot get any worse. You can’t be worse than the worst. Of every school in Division 1 this year, UW is the only one without a win. They will likely (very very likely) finish the season 0-12 after traveling to Cal in a few weeks and go down as one of the worst teams in division 1 history. At times like these, I feel like a little reflection is in order. What happened here? What’s going on moving forward?

Coaches:

This one is easy and the obvious starting point. The coaching staff at UW has been abysmal. They play not to lose (irony: all they do is coach losing football). Players are not developing and the schemes are not improving. Watching the Apple Cup yesterday was another example of coaches who are afraid to do anything. On 4th and short late in the game, only 36 yards from the endzone, the UW coaches chose to punt the football back to WSU, giving them a chance to drive the ball down the field for the game tying score. Had the coaches gone for it and the team picked up 3 yards, the game would have been over. Instead, UW gave the ball back to WSU. The defense promptly let a no-name, freshman wide receiver get behind them and WSU’s players made a play. It was a play they should never had a chance to make.

I know that the UW coaches have good intentions… and I know that they have tried this season to turn things around. However, a lot of them have been paid a lot of money and have not produced. With Tyrone Willingham out in front, they have shown little ability to adapt their formations or schemes and have just done the same thing over and over again, with predictable results. Their players don’t tackle well, don’t execute well, and aren’t being put in positions to be successful. I believe that in times of turmoil, players look to their coaches for direction and answers. The UW players aren’t getting that direction, or those answers from the coaches.

Of all the parties being examined in this piece, the coaching staff deserves the largest share of the blame for this mess. At the end of the day, this is their product.

The Administration:

UW President Mark Emmert and Athletic Director Scott Woodward need to share in this mess. Following last season a difficult decision was made by Emmert to keep Willingham. After months of being the “interim” AD, Woodward has spent this entire season on the job and has not handled himself great. From the sideline interview in the aftermath of the Arizona loss, to leaving Willingham in control after firing him, Woodward has misfired on most of his opportunities to turn things around. Now, in the process of interviewing for the new coach, Woodward is apparently looking at his friends, rather than finding the right fit for the University.

Emmert, for his part, came to UW and made a lot of statements about the importance of the football program, calling it the “front porch of the University.” For all the rhetoric, however, Emmert has overseen a disasterous period in UW football, failed to get the stadium renovation project moving, and has alienated a lot of alumni by increasing prices and tolerating Tyrone Willinghams penchant for shutting off the football program from the outside world. Now, reports on the Seattle Times Football blog today indicate that UW may be looking at Dennis Franchione as the next coach, who apparently has strong ties to Emmert. Let me just say, that if UW hires Dennis Franchione, I will be beyond dissapointed. I can’t think of a candidate (wait! except for Mike Haywood, Woodward’s buddy, the other guy they’ve interviewed) that I am less thrilled about than Dennis Franchione. He left Bama under terrible circumstances and got fired from A&M for making illicit money on the side.

The bottom line, in my opinion, is that Scott Woodward and Mark Emmert need to have a series of roundtable discussions with UW alumni and need to reconnect with the base of Husky nation because right now I think the fanbase feels a real disconnect from the football program. This is something that is not being fixed by this weird coaching search that these two are currently engaged in.

Players

While I hesitate to place too much blame on college kids, the fact of the matter is that the UW players have not carried their end of the bargain. The coaches can fall on the sword for lack of development, but stupid decisions out on the field (ie – the interception in the Notre Dame game) and the general lack of execution has to fall back on the team. I know that playing for UW has likely not been a lot of fun these past few seasons. The Seattle media has taken great joy in the downfall of the program, and dug up a lot of old dirt and black eyes that the current players had no part in. However, the fanbase, for the most part, has remained loyal. Until late in this season, the UW fans have come out and come out strong to support this team. They have suffered along with the players.

The players will have a new coach going into next season. The way the search is going, there’s not guarantee that this new coach will be generating a lot of positive momentum. It is on them to make sure that they are in shape and ready to go. If they aren’t, then the team will likely remain mired in the mud.

Fans

As much as it pains me to say it, the fans of UW need to share in some of the blame for this mess as wel. Myself included. Ironically, I think it is our understanding and patience that has come back to bite us in this instance. We have tolerated a product on the field that we should not have. We have shown up to Husky Stadium, paid the increased ticket prices, paid the increased parking prices, and for the most part, just accepted all this nonsense. If half of the nonsense that happened at UW happened at an SEC school, buildings would have burned. Now, part of me is glad that UW’s fanbase isn’t batshit crazy, but part of me feels terrible because we have basically done nothing while we have ben shut out of the program, asked to shell out more money, and accept a football team that is worse off today than it was 4 years ago.

To truly effect change, it has become obvious to me that the UW fanbase must play a larger role. We cannot take Mark Emmert’s word for it anymore and continue to show up. I believe that the dedication of fans have allowed the administration to deceive themselves into believing the strength of the program was not in danger. There seems to be the feeling on upper campus that there is a neverending supply of goodwill and capital from the fans that can be tapped, even during down seasons. I believe this creates a disincentive on behalf of the administration to truly effect change.

End Game

Well, at least it cannot really get worse. Short of the program disbanding you really can’t do worst than 0-12. Time will tell if change is really coming to Husky football, but based on the actions of the University over the last few years, I’m less and less sure that the correct decisions will be made.