Opinion: Snyder's return a good thing
Michael Ashford
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Almost two months ago, after watching Texas Tech throttle Kansas State in Manhattan, I wrote in this space how it might take the second coming of Bill Snyder to undue the damage Ron Prince had done to the Wildcat football program.
Little did I know just how true those words would become.
On Monday, Snyder was introduced as the Kansas State head football coach for the second time, sending the Wildcat nation into a frenzy.
For many K-State fans, it was somewhat disheartening, as so many purple faithful had their hearts set on welcoming Texas Christian coach and K-State alum Gary Patterson back to Manhattan. He was the “home-run hire.”
But for many other K-State fans, seeing Snyder back in charge of the Kansas State football program was a calming wave of relief after three years of the failed Ron Prince Experiment.
Whether Patterson was genuinely interested in returning to his alma mater or not, we might never know. Both sides probably will insist publicly that they never had any interest in the other.
But that doesn’t matter now.
At the age of 69, Bill Snyder is the head coach at Kansas State for the second time, and as Kansas State president Jon Wefald said during Monday’s press conference, “there is little doubt” Snyder will get the Wildcat program headed back in the right direction.
Critics — and suddenly nervous KU fans — argue that K-State fans were too quick to abandon the Prince bandwagon, saying Prince wasn’t given enough time to get the program turned around. Those same critics point to Snyder’s last two seasons in which he went a combined 9-13 and ask, “What happens if Snyder isn’t winning conference championships within three years? Will K-State fire him, too?”
The answer: No.
The two situations are incomparable.
Under Ron Prince, K-State showed no progress. None. Yes, he had two big victories over Texas, but what did Kansas State gain from those wins? Not a thing. Instead, the Wildcats backslid in a big way, and outside of those two wins over the Longhorns, K-State fans were subjected to all of Prince’s bravado and pizzazz accompanied by aggravatingly inconsistent offensive performances and gut-wrenchingly atrocious defensive collapses.
KSU fans would have traded those wins over Texas for a .500 record against Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri, and instead, Prince went 0-fer in nine combined tries against those schools — K-State’s three biggest rivals.
In the initial stages of Snyder’s second stint as K-State’s head coach, K-State fans will look for signs that the team is improving, not regressing. That truly is the one thing K-State fans wanted to see out of Prince’s teams. Had that taken place, Prince would still have the big office inside the Vanier Football Complex.
To that end, there is little doubt that a rejuvenated Snyder and a newly assembled staff of able assistants will get the Wildcats back to being competitive.
As for the 2004 and 2005 seasons — the last two years under Snyder — it has been well-documented that his assistants at the time were not holding up their end of the bargain on the recruiting trail, and the talent in Manhattan had suffered a severe dropoff. Yet, in 17 years, Snyder never fired an assistant coach, so instead of making those necessary adjustments to his staff, he hastily stepped away from the program he molded from the ground up. Simply put, Snyder was loyal to a fault with his assistants.
On Monday, he even admitted his retirement was made in haste.
“The (decision) that I made three years ago wasn’t the best thought out,” he said. “I didn’t follow my protocol in doing that. I thought I was doing it for my family. They were happy with whatever I would do, but they were kind of saddened by it. It left an imprint on my heart.
“I made a quick decision.”
And as for the issue of age, well, the Bill Snyder that stood in front of the podium yesterday in Manhattan appeared to be every bit the steady, tight-lipped, in-control man he was in his first 17 seasons as K-State’s leader, except that he has now had what amounted to a three-year sabbatical to recharge his batteries for another run.
How long that run will be the second time around will be a topic of debate amongst K-State fans right up until Snyder retires for the second time (hopefully with a better succession plan in place).
And some Kansas State fans will have to temper their expectations somewhat, as many already have dreams of Snyder’s glory days when his squads were winning 11 games each season.
But again, Kansas State fans will accept some early struggles as Snyder tries once again to rebuild the Wildcat football program if it means the team is showing improvement.
However, Wildcat fans can rest easy knowing that the only man who has ever made K-State a relevant player on the college football landscape is back at the helm of the program he considers his own.
That alone should make the second coming of Bill Snyder every bit as enjoyable as the first.
averagejoe (anonymous) says...
"suddenly nervous KU fans"
LOL!!!!!!!
November 25, 2008 at 1:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
OutsiderJ (anonymous) says...
I don't see the greatness of this. Snyder could easily return because it is not the like the offers were pooring in from better programs. He'll never be a Mangino or a Stoops or a Pinkel. I think he will be lucky to compete at all.
November 25, 2008 at 3:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporiahelper (anonymous) says...
Mangino isnt even a good coach, okay he went to a big bowl game for one year? Wow. Snyder is probably one of the best coaches college football has even seen. Im not even a K-state fan and i can tell hes a good coach.
November 25, 2008 at 5:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporialifer (anonymous) says...
Anyone that has followed K-State football knows that, in his era, Snyder was a great coach - how anyone can deny that after seeing him turn around the K-State football program is beyond me. Is he too out of touch with the kids these days to be able to recruit and coach now? Only time will tell. People shouldn't expect a turn around next season though. Programs take time and when a University allows a coach to run a program into the ground, it takes even more time to turn it around. I wish him the best of luck in doing so.
Outsider - didn't Mangino and Stoops coach under Snyder.
November 26, 2008 at 10:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
OutsiderJ (anonymous) says...
I know Magino coached under Stoops, but am unsure about under Snyder.
Mangino is a great coach and even better recruiter. Coach of the year honors last year, not necessarily for his record, but for the complete turnaround of the entire program. Terry Allen was a heck of a nice guy, but couldn't compete in recruiting up to the Div. 1 standards. He does very well on the Div.2 and JuCo levels. I just never thought Snyder was very exciting as a coach, his fundamentals are great, but without a little flare I think K-State will remain a competitive middle talent team.
November 26, 2008 at 2:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
momus (anonymous) says...
Snyder gave Mangino his coaching start. Before K-State, he was manning a toll booth in PA. He left for OU when Stoops took the job, and checked out mentally (IMO) the week prior to KSU's big 12 Championship game vs. Texas A & M.
Assistant coaches are responsible for a lot of the recruiting in today's college football environment. As long as Coach Snyder surrounds himself with good assistants that can recruit (and he lets them recruit), and a transition plan is in place (an assistant head coach?) I think this is a good move.
As far as longevity and ability to relate to players, I'd take Bill Snyders remaining life span over Mark Mangino's any day. It's sad, but that guy is a heart attack waiting to happen. I doubt a an athlete who must work out every day to stay in top shape has a lot in common with Coach Mangino. Pinkel has impressed over the past few seasons, once he turned over the offense to an assistant and added Brad Smith as a QB. It sounds like his OC may be in line for a head coaching position, and MU looses a lot of skill players this year, so the North should be interesting in 2009.
November 26, 2008 at 5:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
whitt120 (anonymous) says...
I just wanted to add that alot of great coaches have coached under Snyder there was Venables,Mangino,Stoops,and also the coach at South Florida although the name doesn't come to mind right now but there you go and there are more I am sure of it Snyder is one of the greatest coaches ever in College Football History w/o a question. This is the best move for the alumni, the fans, and the program this will turn it around for sure.
November 28, 2008 at 1:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )