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Just ask the fans and media By Malamute, 23 April 2004
For his Huskies to perform at an acceptable level next season will be a daunting challenge for head coach Keith Gilbertson, who is in the second year of a four-year contract that can be terminated after next season. We think that Gilbertson must improve on last season’s record (6-6) to ensure he finishes out his contract. Nevertheless, how did Gilbertson fair with fans and members of the media last season? To answer that question, we took a look at an Internet message board and then reviewed some of his quotes made to the media. How do fans feel about Keith Gilbertson as a head coach? After reading and digesting one lengthy thread, I believe most fans are split on this issue if I correctly interpreted some recent posts on an Internet message board. Most fans want Gilbertson to succeed this season, though some are disappointed that he was a default pick by former AD Barbara Hedges after she fired Rick Neuheisel. Comment: Hedges had little time to search for a coach outside the athletic department and Gilbertson, who had been an assistant to Neuheisel for four years, was highly qualified, having coached at Idaho and Cal. The notion of having head-coaching experience and the prospect of having continuity in the program ruled the roost in late summer 2003 when Gilbertson was hired as head coach. So, should head coach Keith Gilbertson be retained if he has a losing season in 2004? Some fans say that Gilbertson drove a 2003 Cadillac Deville into a carwash and it came out an Edsel. One of the favorites to win the conference championship, the Huskies finished 6-6 on the regular season and, thereafter, were snubbed by the bowls. The season included unexpected losses to Nevada and Arizona and a 54-7 trouncing at the hands of Cal, one that fans won’t likely forget. In that game, the Huskies’ defense gave up a school record 729 yards, and some fans think that players gave up on Gilby, as well as the game. Former Husky quarterback Hugh Millen wondered if players thought "Rick got screwed, (and) now they’re getting this program that is thrown upon them they didn’t sign up for." Comment: If Gilbertson fails to improve on his 6-6 record at the UW, he will be toast, at least with the fans. As one fan on the message board stated, "When Gilby gets the current players to be as enthusiastic about him as the former players, we will have breaking news." How did Gilbertson fair with the media last season? Here are some of Gilbertson’s quotes to the media, some of them coming after losses. My comments follow each quote. -- A priori, Keith Gilbertson doesn’t look too good on widescreen TV and, in his first outing at Columbus, his image suffered what appeared to be a formidable blow when he was caught chewing out hard-working, bad-luck Joe Toledo. And then his image took another hammering when the cameras caught him jawboning at a radio interviewer as they walked off the field during halftime at the Idaho game, just after Gilby had stiffed him with a “who made you the head coach?” in response to a question regarding the UW’s lack of discipline in the first half. Comment: The chewing out of Toledo looked bad. Most fans feel that the radio interviewer had it coming. -- After the Nevada game: “For three years in a row now, we've turned the ball over in October. We've been in the rain all week...I want to be mad at this (game) for a while” Comment: Yep, blame it on Neu — and the rain. Husky fans are still mad at this game. -- Commenting on the second half of the UCLA game. "I was shocked watching it...we never got it stopped...we never got going on offense. The wheels came off. The game was out of reach so fast--very frustrating." Comment: We all were shocked as the wheels came off. -- After the Cal game. “I told them (the players) I was damned embarrassed and I was real tired of it.” Comment: That’s right, go off in a corner and sulk, Gilby. You’re mad as hell and aren't going take it anymore. -- After the Stanford game, a win. “Don’t jinx me, man,” he said, covering his ears. “You’re going to be like Sports Illustrated or something.” Comment: You’re no SI cover boy, Gilby. “Football was invented by P.E. majors for P.E. majors.” Comment: Laminate that one for your wallets. -- On Tui Alailefaleula “He's been here for three years and you really haven't heard much of his name - other than that it fills up the entire back of his jersey.” Comment: That’s right; P.E. majors are not expected to be able to read his name, let alone pronounce it, just know that it fills up the entire back of his jersey. -- On the subject of an ailing redzone offense. "It seems like we get the football just outside the 10-yard line all the time." Comment: Well, pick up a first down and you'll have it inside the 1, with four downs to go. -- On the subject of winning: “There is no such thing as a bad win, it's like pizza." Comment: Thank, God, there aren’t any more ties in college football. -- After asking him whether the beds in the dorms at Evergreen State College were comfortable enough for his players. "They must be, you can't get them out of bed in the morning." Comment: The beds at Berkeley must have been too comfortable. -- On the subject of punishing all the players for one player’s laziness, he says: "When one person loafs, everybody works." Comment: You, too? --------- Caveat: Most of Gilby’s quotes were taken out of context, so take them with a grain of salt. Gilby's report card? Give him a C, like in a 6-6 season. -------------- In memory of Pat Tillman.
We should never take our basic freedoms
for granted. So many people in this world hate us for what we embrace:
capitalism, democracy, opportunity and the high-living standards, for which we,
as a nation of immigrants, have worked so hard to achieve. In the grand scheme
of things, it matters little
what financial remuneration Pat Tillman sacrificed, selflessly giving up a
career in the NFL to become an Army Ranger. In the cause of making this world a
safer place for all of us to live, patriots and heroes like Pat Tillman have
made the ultimate sacrifice -- have given it all up. God bless them all. Richard Linde (a.k.a., Malamute) can be reached at malamute@4malamute.com |
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Both QB Cody Pickett and his favorite receiver, Reggie Williams,
are gone. Grannies’ patchwork quilt has fewer patches and is a lot less
scrambled than the Huskies’ offensive line. The Huskies’ top recruit in 2004 may
opt for professional baseball, and a prized JC transfer, who is struggling in
the classroom, may not be available in the fall. Add four new assistant coaches
to the equation and you have a formula for a losing season.