12-22-2022, 09:50 AM
Perhaps a semantic point, or at least eye of the beholder kind of thing, but I define relevance as being ranked in the AP top 25. You really don't matter in college football if you can't at least achieve that at some point in your season. I think that could be a multi-year process, if it ever occurs, and certainly wouldn't expect it before 2024.
What I'd like to see next year is just energy and optimism in the program and signs that a healthier culture is sprouting roots. If we start to see more joy from players and fans, key contributors deciding not to go to the NFL or transfer out, blue chip recruits buying what Taylor is selling, etc., that will give me cause for some optimism. It's not really about results that first year. Harbaugh's first team was frankly terrible and his second team merely got us to pre-2006 Teevens/Harris levels. But he was building and we had evidence it was taking root. That's what I want to see. Progress.
On the Haase point, the thing to keep an eye on is trajectory. Dispassionate analysis should have made it clear long ago that Haase wasn't improving the program. If Taylor takes the football program from #85 to #80 to #60 to #40 and it's still not "relevant" by my standards heading into 2026, I'll probably be fine giving him more time because there's evidence he's building. But if we hit any of those levels and plateau for several years, danger.
What I'd like to see next year is just energy and optimism in the program and signs that a healthier culture is sprouting roots. If we start to see more joy from players and fans, key contributors deciding not to go to the NFL or transfer out, blue chip recruits buying what Taylor is selling, etc., that will give me cause for some optimism. It's not really about results that first year. Harbaugh's first team was frankly terrible and his second team merely got us to pre-2006 Teevens/Harris levels. But he was building and we had evidence it was taking root. That's what I want to see. Progress.
On the Haase point, the thing to keep an eye on is trajectory. Dispassionate analysis should have made it clear long ago that Haase wasn't improving the program. If Taylor takes the football program from #85 to #80 to #60 to #40 and it's still not "relevant" by my standards heading into 2026, I'll probably be fine giving him more time because there's evidence he's building. But if we hit any of those levels and plateau for several years, danger.