Thread by @CougSutra

A few *deep thoughts* about @CoachDickert before Thursday’s press conference. THREAD-->

There are several concerns about Dickert that have been issued on the cybers. Many of them have merit and some of them can be allayed.

Concern #1. He doesn’t have experience. Well, that really isn’t a good concern. Dickert went 3-2 against good comp, losing a game we could have won against #12 in the current playoff rankings and losing another on the road to an Oregon team we don’t match up with. No bad L's.

On top of that, one could complain, here, about an in game coaching decision. But the bottom line is that the sample size was large enough that folks could have adjusted to any gimmicks he through out there. They couldn’t. The reason? The Cougs were a TOP25 team down the stretch.

Beyond that, he whooped on everyone else. And I don’t care what the Huskies record was. 40-13 is 40-13. And Arizona State? They’re still trying to find their backside. I think we left it somewhere close to El Paso.

Concern #2. He is too defensive minded. Really? I don’t know that there is such a thing. Our boys balled and if there’s an adjustment we can expect to see in the future? It's gonna be a HUGE commitment to improve the size of our interior DL. How is that a bad thing?

Moreover, I haven't seen a better coached secondary from us since the high point of Bill Doba. Those young men brought it.

Concern #3. Because he’s defensive minded, he’s going to want to play ground and pound. Really? What evidence is there to support that? Because we ran the ball 52% of the time? And why was that?

Seems to me he ran the pill because it worked. Did that come at the expense of the passing game? Ask Jayden De Laura. Sure seems like he played better than just about anyone in the conference during Dickert's tenure. Seemed like winning football to me.

Concern #4. He can’t recruit a staff. We’re gonna see about that one. Early indications seem to point toward us landing a pretty exciting OC, one with a more balanced approach to the Air Raid. That would seem to indicate a commitment to our identify as a QB-U

But that doesn't have to come at the expense of being able to win in November or being able to routinely counter the tendency for teams to rush 3 and drop 8. Ask the Huskies about that

For you young folks out there, Mike Price’s record in November was AWFUL for most years except three. The reason for the exceptional 3 seasons?: Michael Black, Dave Minnich, and Jermaine Green. If you want to win titles you run the damn ball.

Concern #5. He can’t recruit. Well, that’s the crystal ball, isn’t it? My view is that the young man onslaught we are going to see with this staff will lead to some surprises. The only other “Air Raid” (if we go there) in the conference will be USC.

And as folks try to get there, we will be an interesting counterpoint. That's just not a bad place to be if you're WSU...being the offensive counterpoint to the national darlings of the conference (which USC will be)

Beyond that, questions remain about how he’ll recruit the lines, but there are a lot of talented assistants that know the Air Raid and are a part of that pool. I think they'll figure it out. They know

And on defense, I think you have to bank on the fact that Dickert will be able to recruit the kind of guys he wants to coach, save maybe that all important interior of the D-Line. That will be a BIG hire for us (D-Line Coach). And hopefully, we can pay for that person.

Last—and I offer this with the utmost sincerity. The Leach era is not the norm for us. There are going to be down times and we are facing a rebuild. The key to weathering that "storm" is continuity and also having a guy who you can feel okay losing with.

Dickert isn’t a retread and save a job opening at the University of Wisconsin, he’s ours. I am perfectly comfortable going through some growing pains with a vibrant 38 year old relative to a 60 year old who’s risk of failure is equally as high to our guy

And we have OUR GUY. He fits the fabric of WSU and he’s going to be successful. Our goal is to compete for Championships and Top25 finishes every few years and to get a chance every 5-10 years of being in a NY6 type bowl.

@CoachDickert is gonna get us there. We’ll be tough, aggressive defensively, and fun to watch. Let’s go do this-- starting with a win in our bowl game.

Can’t wait for the presser on Thursday <end> #BigDickertEnergy #GoCougs