[Goose]

[quote author=Goose link=topic=16303.msg183148#msg183148 date=1482208884]
[quote author=needle link=topic=16303.msg183106#msg183106 date=1482195412]
Enjoying the discussion (if not the circumstance).

4. I conclude that the Sun Bowl does not matter much to the players. There are many factors that go into this decision, some perhaps unrevealed at this time  but I believe one of them is the relative importance of the game. With no player backlash that I see, I think it's obvious that the team does not see this as that big of a game.

I conclude that the players and coaches think they can and should win without CMac. If that were not true, we would be hearing about it. Maybe this is hubris that offends the woofing gods, but it sure seems that this is so.[/quote]

I don't think the team winning has anything to do with it. It's just disrespectful to the seniors especially the ones who are likely done playing football.
[/quote]

I think it is up to the players to decide if it is disrespectful or disappointing, not to us. I think there is an argument that to PLAY is equally if not more disrespectful. Once you have decided that you will not be back, taking playing time and practice reps from guys that will be back could be considered selfish. If everybody who played the position was hurt or just not adequate, things may be different, but that is not the case. Stanford is not being left in the lurch. Why not quit before the Rice game? Because in theory you have not decided you will not be back. If you have decided, you should tell the coach and let him decide if you should indeed continue to play. In this case, we don't know what the internal dynamics were. I assure you that if any significant number of players were not happy about the situation, it would have surfaced by now.
      Note that coaches who have accepted another job usually do not coach bowl games. This is considered normal. This situation is similar in my view.

[Goose]

[quote author=Goose link=topic=16303.msg183148#msg183148 date=1482208884]
[quote author=needle link=topic=16303.msg183106#msg183106 date=1482195412]
Enjoying the discussion (if not the circumstance).

4. I conclude that the Sun Bowl does not matter much to the players. There are many factors that go into this decision, some perhaps unrevealed at this time  but I believe one of them is the relative importance of the game. With no player backlash that I see, I think it's obvious that the team does not see this as that big of a game.

I conclude that the players and coaches think they can and should win without CMac. If that were not true, we would be hearing about it. Maybe this is hubris that offends the woofing gods, but it sure seems that this is so.[/quote]

I don't think the team winning has anything to do with it. It's just disrespectful to the seniors especially the ones who are likely done playing football.
[/quote]

I think it is up to the players to decide if it is disrespectful or disappointing, not to us. I think there is an argument that to PLAY is equally if not more disrespectful. Once you have decided that you will not be back, taking playing time and practice reps from guys that will be back could be considered selfish. If everybody who played the position was hurt or just not adequate, things may be different, but that is not the case. Stanford is not being left in the lurch. Why not quit before the Rice game? Because in theory you have not decided you will not be back. If you have decided, you should tell the coach and let him decide if you should indeed continue to play. In this case, we don't know what the internal dynamics were. I assure you that if any significant number of players were not happy about the situation, it would have surfaced by now.
      Note that coaches who have accepted another job usually do not coach bowl games. This is considered normal. This situation is similar in my view.