Was OU a good job when Dave Bliss took over in 1975? Heck no...couldn't even make the Dance with the best player in school history at that time (Alvan Adams).
Was OU a good job in 1980 when Billy Tubbs took over? In spite of a Sweet 16 run a year earlier, the answer was still NO, especially with almost no returning talent.
Was OU a good job when Kelvin Sampson took over in 1994? Yes...Billy made it a good job, but OU had only made one NCAA Tournament in the past four seasons. There wasn't much talent, but one person to build around (Ryan Minor). Still, OU was down a bit.
Was OU a good job when Jeff Capel took over in 2006? Yes, since Kelvin built on the tradition Billy started. Still, Kelvin left us on probation, and there was no chance a young coach was going to keep the two studs Kelvin recruited. That dampened the fact Kelvin left us in better shape than any coach prior.
Was OU a good job when Lon Kruger took over in 2011? Not so sure. Another round of probation combined with back-to-back losing seasons and I'm guessing there weren't a ton of coaches interested in the job.
Is OU a good job now? Heck yes! It's the first time a head coach left OU after an NCAA Tournament victory. There isn't a ton of talent on the roster right now, but we had a better season than EVERY other OU coach mentioned above had in his last season.
Not one coach listed above left when the program was on a high note. Not one. Yet in every case, the newly hired coach led OU to no worse than the Sweet 16. Will the next coach do the same? Well, unless Joe C completely screws up the hire, I will say it is a near certainty based on the last 46 years of history.
Was OU a good job in 1980 when Billy Tubbs took over? In spite of a Sweet 16 run a year earlier, the answer was still NO, especially with almost no returning talent.
Was OU a good job when Kelvin Sampson took over in 1994? Yes...Billy made it a good job, but OU had only made one NCAA Tournament in the past four seasons. There wasn't much talent, but one person to build around (Ryan Minor). Still, OU was down a bit.
Was OU a good job when Jeff Capel took over in 2006? Yes, since Kelvin built on the tradition Billy started. Still, Kelvin left us on probation, and there was no chance a young coach was going to keep the two studs Kelvin recruited. That dampened the fact Kelvin left us in better shape than any coach prior.
Was OU a good job when Lon Kruger took over in 2011? Not so sure. Another round of probation combined with back-to-back losing seasons and I'm guessing there weren't a ton of coaches interested in the job.
Is OU a good job now? Heck yes! It's the first time a head coach left OU after an NCAA Tournament victory. There isn't a ton of talent on the roster right now, but we had a better season than EVERY other OU coach mentioned above had in his last season.
Not one coach listed above left when the program was on a high note. Not one. Yet in every case, the newly hired coach led OU to no worse than the Sweet 16. Will the next coach do the same? Well, unless Joe C completely screws up the hire, I will say it is a near certainty based on the last 46 years of history.
