Mercer

[Smurf]

And also, I would add Hatcher entered the year with the 2nd highest winning percentage since reinstating the program, had our best regular season in 25 years in 2017, had a Walter Payton winner, to name a few things. We have lost 3 games in overtime. The sky is not falling. I'm gonna get behind this team and see if we can pull these last 2 league games out.

Keeping things fair: A Walter Payton winner who Sullivan signed. 5 recruiting years later, we aren't exactly flush with all conference qbs.

I'm going to be at the game, lord willing. But, it is UTC and Hatcher doesn't exactly have a good record against them. Feasts on Wofford though, I'll give him that.

And he won just six games (again, that is his average) the year Hodges won the Walter Payton award on a roster that also had two other guys who are now on NFL rosters. I don't question that he didn't develop Hodges into the QB that he is now, but that is not the issue. His primary objective is to win football games and he certainly failed to meet that expectation last season.

The three OT losses fail to console me in the least. At the end of the day, the issue is did you win or did you lose and not how did you win or lose. We narrowly beat Wofford and beat the Citadel in OT. If OT losses are used to justify losses, are close margins also used to justify victories?

[big_dog1968]

And also, I would add Hatcher entered the year with the 2nd highest winning percentage since reinstating the program, had our best regular season in 25 years in 2017, had a Walter Payton winner, to name a few things. We have lost 3 games in overtime. The sky is not falling. I'm gonna get behind this team and see if we can pull these last 2 league games out.

Keeping things fair: A Walter Payton winner who Sullivan signed. 5 recruiting years later, we aren't exactly flush with all conference qbs.

I'm going to be at the game, lord willing. But, it is UTC and Hatcher doesn't exactly have a good record against them. Feasts on Wofford though, I'll give him that.

And he won just six games (again, that is his average) the year Hodges won the Walter Payton award on a roster that also had two other guys who are now on NFL rosters. I don't question that he didn't develop Hodges into the QB that he is now, but that is not the issue. His primary objective is to win football games and he certainly failed to meet that expectation last season.

The three OT losses fail to console me in the least. At the end of the day, the issue is did you win or did you lose and not how did you win or lose. We narrowly beat Wofford and beat the Citadel in OT. If OT losses are used to justify losses, are close margins also used to justify victories?

The issue with this team isn't offense, it's defense. I wouldn't want to throw the baby out with the bath water. We need to improve our defense. It's not our offense's fault either. I think the offense has recovered from what we lost reasonably well. I think we will be even better next year offensively with Oladokun having an even better grasp of what we do. Hatcher talked of simplifying the reads/progressions for him because that was giving him problems. That may be why he didn't win the start at first, because clearly the talent is evident.

Our defense needs a complete overhaul. Whether it's new talent it new coaching, something had to change.

[Smurf]

I think the big question is, is it possible to field a competitive hard nosed defense with the offensive style that we now employ? Will changing a defensive coordinator make much of a difference if the defense is inherently disadvantaged? I am not suggesting that we don't need to make a change at the DC position (I think we do), but I do also wonder how many quality candidates would be willing to accept the job as a DC here given our offensive style of play. SU DOG's posted comment about his conversation with a former Power 5 DC who wanted nothing to do with being a DC at an air raid school should not be overlooked.

[sudog03]

I've held my tongue for too long. Hatcher needs to leave. We need a change of culture at Samford, back to hard nose football. My first call is to Josh Niblett at Hoover.

Hatcher's last three season at his last three FCS schools:

2007 Georgia Southern 7–4
2008 Georgia Southern 6–5
2009 Georgia Southern 5–6

2012 Murray State 5–6
2013 Murray State 6–6
2014 Murray State 3–9

2017 Samford 8–4
2018 Samford 6–5
2019 Samford 4–5 (odds favor a 5-7 season)

Hatcher's been a FCS coach for 12 years at three difference FCS schools. He is 0-2 in the playoffs at those three schools and has a career FCS winning percentage of .539. This equates to a win total of around six per year. In those 12 years his highest win total was eight and his lowest was three. I think 12 years at three different schools gives us a good indication on what we should expect from Hatcher as a career head coach. A best case scenario is eight wins, a worst case scenario is three wins, and on average we can expect six wins a season from Hatcher (assuming a 5-7 2019 season, he will finish five years at SU averaging 6.4 wins a season). Expecting eight wins going forward is going to be a stretch as would assuming just three wins going forward would be a stretch. Assuming 6-5 a season is realistic. Historically a 6-5 record translates to a fourth place finish in the conference. Are you satisfied with a 6-5 record and a fourth place finish in the SoCon? Personally I am not and I think a school that preaches excellence and excels in many other areas should not be satisfied with that either. Sadly, I am afraid the administration is accepting of this, however. Hatcher is not a great coach and he is not a poor coach, but if you are willing to settle for mediocrity, he's certainly your guy.

As it stands today, using overall W-L in league games only, we are 3rd over that time frame. Let's see how we finish. Beat UTC, tired of losing to them.