It's NOT Alright. And Whose Hand is On the Rope?
By John P. Lopez, TexAgs.comOctober 18, 2009
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There was a game in Birmingham, Ala. in 1985 that often is forgotten in Aggie lore, mostly because few knew what was going on behind the scenes.
The Aggies had high hopes for the 1985 season. Jackie Sherrill had recruited and developed nice talent. The Aggies went into a game against the Alabama Crimson Tide with a number of storylines emerging -- from Jackie's return to Alabama, to quarterback Kevin Murray's rise, to the Aggies seemingly turning things around.
And then the Tide whipped the Aggies. Soundly. It was a 23-10 Alabama win that really wasn't that close.
In the waning moments of that loss at Legion Field, as I stood behind the Aggies bench, an offensive lineman patted a completely dejected Murray on the shoulder pads and said, "It's alright."
At that moment, Murray stood up and started screaming at the lineman and every player on the bench: "It's NOT alright. This is NOT alright."
It went on for several minutes. Murray grabbed a small piece of rope that he had tucked in the belt of his football pants.
The game already was lost, but Murray kept stalking up and down the sideline, showing his teammates the piece of rope and shouting, "Hold the rope. Hold the rope. This is NOT alright. We are NOT going to think this is alright."
After that night, the Aggies won 10-of-11 games, including a thrashing of Auburn in the Cotton Bowl.
The point is this: Anyone who shrugs off any aspect of Saturday night's 62-14 debacle in Manhattan, Kansas is a loser.
Let's just be honest. Losing programs -- and the Aggies are exactly that until further notice -- have loser players on the roster. This is no time to think there's anything left to build on. It's time to identify the losers and move in a different direction.
Whose hand is on the rope? And who's playing out the string?
Give me a walk-on willing to bleed for the program, over a senior who feels entitled. Give me a player whose will was galvanized by Saturday's humiliation, over someone who arrives to practice this week smiling, as if nothing happened.
There are good coaches and good leaders on this team. But if they do not step up this week and put a stake in the ground -- perhaps even publicly at media day, in order to raise the level of pressure and accountability throughout the roster -- then there likely will be another step backward before anymore forward.
Sometimes, there are moments when drastic changes need to happen. This is that time in Aggie Football history.
There was no silver lining in this loss. There was nothing to build on. This was not "just one of those days" for any coach or any player.
As Murray said with simple, forceful eloquence 24-years ago: This was NOT alright.
It begins with Sherman, of course. He should not over-react, like an irrational fan on a message board. But if he does not react at all, the message clearly would be one of indifference and apathy over a pitiful performance. Sherman has, in fact, made examples of lazy, entitled players in the past ... you DO remember Jorvorskie Lane and Michael Goodson, don't you?
Jerrod Johnson / TexAgs.com
But this team is looking to Sherman like it never has before. It is young and in transition, and it needs answers. It wants to know if there's a way out. Sherman's responsibility this week is to show the way in coaches meetings, practices, public commentary and roster moves, when it comes to those players who act and practice as if this was a simple glitch. It wasn't a glitch. It was a symptom.
It will take more than Sherman, too. Quarterback Jerrod Johnson has earned much credit for the leadership he showed in the off-season, getting players ready, holding them accountable and lifting this offense to great early-season heights. But now Johnson needs to do more. Interestingly, Johnson worked with Murray over the summer on technique and mechanics. Perhaps he should call Murray, or Murray should call him, to talk about ways to demand more from teammates. Jerrod needs to take his leadership to an even higher level.
Von Miller has the same responsibility on the defensive side of the ball. And every assistant coach in every meeting should have to answer why and how players were not ready for anything they saw Saturday night. Sometimes the last place coaches look is the mirror. This week, coaches meetings should be held in the weight room, where the walls are lined with mirrors.
We all know some of the biggest problems with this team are about much more than attitude or coaching. The offensive line is just not very good. The defense has severe deficiencies. Coaches can only do so much with talent that doesn't match up with others in the Big 12.
But so what? There IS talent on both sides of the ball. And that was Kansas State, not Texas.
Eventually, players are going to have to live up to their talent. If a 62-14 loss to a rebuilding team doesn't galvanize a player's will to show improvement and no longer accept embarrassments, then stick him on the bench and we'll talk again at spring training.
This was the lowest day, the worst effort and the most alarming moment in Mike Sherman's tenure. No one wants to say it or hear it, but the truth is there are losers in this program.
Now's the time to find them. Challenge them. And if the prevailing culture of acceptance does not change, then leave the losers on the tarmac at Easterwood on Friday. Frankly, would there be any better place to signal change than Lubbock?
Beating the grooving Red Raiders seems unlikely. In fact, fans would be crazy to bet on such a thing. But impossible? That's what losers think.
This team is drowning. While Kevin Murray's words are 24-years-old, they are echoing louder than ever at this crucial point in this program's history.
There are a lot of things going wrong. But only one question must be answered this week: Whose hand is on the rope?
There was a game in Birmingham, Ala. in 1985 that often is forgotten in Aggie lore, mostly because few knew what was going on behind the scenes.
The Aggies had high hopes for the 1985 season. Jackie Sherrill had recruited and developed nice talent. The Aggies went into a game against the Alabama Crimson Tide with a number of storylines emerging -- from Jackie's return to Alabama, to quarterback Kevin Murray's rise, to the Aggies seemingly turning things around.
And then the Tide whipped the Aggies. Soundly. It was a 23-10 Alabama win that really wasn't that close.
In the waning moments of that loss at Legion Field, as I stood behind the Aggies bench, an offensive lineman patted a completely dejected Murray on the shoulder pads and said, "It's alright."
At that moment, Murray stood up and started screaming at the lineman and every player on the bench: "It's NOT alright. This is NOT alright."
It went on for several minutes. Murray grabbed a small piece of rope that he had tucked in the belt of his football pants.
The game already was lost, but Murray kept stalking up and down the sideline, showing his teammates the piece of rope and shouting, "Hold the rope. Hold the rope. This is NOT alright. We are NOT going to think this is alright."
After that night, the Aggies won 10-of-11 games, including a thrashing of Auburn in the Cotton Bowl.
The point is this: Anyone who shrugs off any aspect of Saturday night's 62-14 debacle in Manhattan, Kansas is a loser.
Let's just be honest. Losing programs -- and the Aggies are exactly that until further notice -- have loser players on the roster. This is no time to think there's anything left to build on. It's time to identify the losers and move in a different direction.
Whose hand is on the rope? And who's playing out the string?
Give me a walk-on willing to bleed for the program, over a senior who feels entitled. Give me a player whose will was galvanized by Saturday's humiliation, over someone who arrives to practice this week smiling, as if nothing happened.
There are good coaches and good leaders on this team. But if they do not step up this week and put a stake in the ground -- perhaps even publicly at media day, in order to raise the level of pressure and accountability throughout the roster -- then there likely will be another step backward before anymore forward.
Sometimes, there are moments when drastic changes need to happen. This is that time in Aggie Football history.
There was no silver lining in this loss. There was nothing to build on. This was not "just one of those days" for any coach or any player.
As Murray said with simple, forceful eloquence 24-years ago: This was NOT alright.
It begins with Sherman, of course. He should not over-react, like an irrational fan on a message board. But if he does not react at all, the message clearly would be one of indifference and apathy over a pitiful performance. Sherman has, in fact, made examples of lazy, entitled players in the past ... you DO remember Jorvorskie Lane and Michael Goodson, don't you?
Jerrod Johnson / TexAgs.com
But this team is looking to Sherman like it never has before. It is young and in transition, and it needs answers. It wants to know if there's a way out. Sherman's responsibility this week is to show the way in coaches meetings, practices, public commentary and roster moves, when it comes to those players who act and practice as if this was a simple glitch. It wasn't a glitch. It was a symptom.
It will take more than Sherman, too. Quarterback Jerrod Johnson has earned much credit for the leadership he showed in the off-season, getting players ready, holding them accountable and lifting this offense to great early-season heights. But now Johnson needs to do more. Interestingly, Johnson worked with Murray over the summer on technique and mechanics. Perhaps he should call Murray, or Murray should call him, to talk about ways to demand more from teammates. Jerrod needs to take his leadership to an even higher level.
Von Miller has the same responsibility on the defensive side of the ball. And every assistant coach in every meeting should have to answer why and how players were not ready for anything they saw Saturday night. Sometimes the last place coaches look is the mirror. This week, coaches meetings should be held in the weight room, where the walls are lined with mirrors.
We all know some of the biggest problems with this team are about much more than attitude or coaching. The offensive line is just not very good. The defense has severe deficiencies. Coaches can only do so much with talent that doesn't match up with others in the Big 12.
But so what? There IS talent on both sides of the ball. And that was Kansas State, not Texas.
Eventually, players are going to have to live up to their talent. If a 62-14 loss to a rebuilding team doesn't galvanize a player's will to show improvement and no longer accept embarrassments, then stick him on the bench and we'll talk again at spring training.
This was the lowest day, the worst effort and the most alarming moment in Mike Sherman's tenure. No one wants to say it or hear it, but the truth is there are losers in this program.
Now's the time to find them. Challenge them. And if the prevailing culture of acceptance does not change, then leave the losers on the tarmac at Easterwood on Friday. Frankly, would there be any better place to signal change than Lubbock?
Beating the grooving Red Raiders seems unlikely. In fact, fans would be crazy to bet on such a thing. But impossible? That's what losers think.
This team is drowning. While Kevin Murray's words are 24-years-old, they are echoing louder than ever at this crucial point in this program's history.
There are a lot of things going wrong. But only one question must be answered this week: Whose hand is on the rope?