The House of Blue

Talk and hookers are cheap. Show me wins. Franklin appears to be a decent guy but he is where CJP was last year,show me something.

And a Top 25 nationally ranked recruiting class in year 1 with what appears to be a bordeline Top 15 class for his encore. As a UK fan, I simply must ask "Where do I sign up?".

Thoughts on the quote regarding "Coaches want to be where there are expectations to win." ???

I agree with this thought but no one can deny that he can sell product; honestly, he did pretty well in his first year by Vandy standards and is bringing in a very good class. I'm not saying this to you personally but it just seems some of our faithful look for reasons to down any program that seems to be on the upswing.

Franklin may fail and will more than likely move on if he proves to be as good a coach as he is at selling his program. This guy is kicking ass at this point.

After all was said and done which services ranked vandy as a top 25 class? Ps: one top 25 class doesn't make you a contender..

I don't understand isn't he recruiting better talent? That's what i hear about Joker. The same people bashing Franklin are the same ones praising Joker. The only exception is Franklin looked like a great coach and Vandy turned a lot of heads last year. His recruiting classes are ranked a lot higher also. He has brought excitement to a downtroddin football team while Joker has killed ours. Is it all Joker? I don't think so. This year will tell the tale.

There is no denying Franklin has some juice. He's incredibly impressive in a room. He has enthusiasm and motivational tactics galore. But he has been a coach for one year. A year he went 6-7. A year he won two SEC games. And he did it with a veteran team that was more talented than people realize. As Kentucky (circa 2008-2010) can attest, winning a game or two against good teams only does one thing: it puts you on their radar. And it's a heck of a lot more difficult to win games or sustain any success when those programs see you coming. Let's see what happens with James Franklin and Vanderbilt over the next 2-4 years.

Agree with that, but he took a Vandy team that was demolished in 2010 (especially in the SEC) and turned them into a SEC team that had four conference losses of less than five points. That's pretty impressive for a first year coach, particularly in our conference.

No reason to hate on the guy, he has done one hell of a job in his short tenure. We can play the "whatever" game all you want as much is still to be seen but no one can deny what he has done and is doing at this point.

Exactly.

Another thing, Minter: Please, feel free to sign up for Vandy or UofL at any time buddy. There is certainly room in both fanbases and its apparent that you are chomping at the bit. My only question is: What's the hold up? Your posts (for the most part) will certainly not be missed here, as it usually feels like I am reading a Tard fans' posts when I look at yours anyway. Sorry if it sounds harsh, but it's just reality.

Franklin has given Vandy a boost, there's no denying that, I just find it funny that everyone who is always on his and Charlie's nuts are the same people who are saying wins are all that matters when referring to Joker (Looking squarely at you Minter).

I think what a lot of people are missing is that Strong and Franklin have elevated their respective programs markedly (there really is no denying that, even if you want to) in a short period of time, at least with regard to that "coolness" factor which has fans and recruits talking. While the wins and losses haven't improved much, the competitiveness of the teams certainly has, and they are recruiting at a high level as compared to the classes they had signed in the past. The fans of those schools think "hey, this guy is keeping us in games with nobody, wait till he gets all of these recruits he's secured commitments from on campus and we'll be in business." Whether or not that happens remains to be seen: I suspect like many others that Vandy, while better than before, will still not be good enough to make any serious noise in the SEC, while loserville definitely has that opportunity by virtue of the high school schedule they play. All of this has happened to coincide with our program's (which had been on an significant upswing following probation) stagnation and even a slight step backwards. I don't think anyone is saying loserville or Vandy are better than us... yes, the tards beat us last year in a game we should have won, and Vandy absolutely kicked our ass... but relatively speaking we are still comparable as programs.

The concern I have (and I don't want to speak for Minter or anyone else) is that we were leaps and bounds ahead of both programs as recently as the beginning of last year, and now both are closing the gap quickly. Both have shown a commitment to football that we haven't, at least outwardly (i.e. building new facilities while our fan base is clamoring for them, etc.), and are out-recruiting us at the moment as judged by recruiting services, who are more often than not correct in their rankings. For the record, I agree that our last two classes are huge steps in the right direction.

All of this really combines to make a perfect storm. People don't want to see our program slip backwards (and don't say "do you know where we came from" because that has nothing to do with it... we need continued progress, not complacency with our rise from cellar-dweller to slightly above cellar-dwellar, which IS a legitimate accomplishment in the SEC, but we should not be satisfied with it), people do not want to see two of the schools that UK ABSOLUTELY MUST remain superior to surpass us, virtually assuring us low win totals each year, and certain segments of the fanbase were/are not happy with Joker as head coach and never will be, regardless of his performance, because he is not that sexy head coach hire that many feel we could've landed after Brooks... while two coaches who would fit that bill are having this success just up and down the road from us. Further, Joker has given those fans plenty of ammo in the past two years, and we all know that those types of people are not going to acknowledge the good, but rather focus on the bad, like the punt against Tennessee.

To suggest Franklin and Strong deserve no credit for their accomplishments is error in my opinion. However, I'm also confident that Joker is going to get this train rolling, and we will start to ascend again within the league. I think the next step is to keep winning all of our OOC games, including the tards, maintain our recent (last year notwithstanding) dominance over Vandy, and start to beat Mississippi State on a regular basis. If we can set the benchmark at 6 wins per season, I think we will still manage to sprinkle in an upset here and there of a UGA, UT, etc. If we do that, that's climbing the next rung... where 7 wins is expected, and not a great season. From there, we get to 8 wins as a benchmark season, and so on. Slowly but surely, I'm confident that Joker will get us where we all want to be... but if he flat-lines this year, he needs to go.

Also, I think the positive which is lost in all of this bickering is that as a fan base, we are starting to expect more success out of the program, which most certainly plays a role in the decisions made by the administration and will only help to secure a commitment to the program from the school, which should in turn help us to continue to climb the SEC ladder. That ended up being a lot longer than I had imagined, so I apologize in advance and don't blame anyone who doesn't have the time to read the whole post!

That Vandy team was also coached by a stand-up comedian and a coaching staff that had been handed their pink slip before the season ever started.

Do UK fans really expect a winner?

There always seems to be an excuse when the team losses. Too young. No experience .Injuries. We lost Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke. When some fans start trying to hold the staff accountable and want a winner there comes the famous, "LOD" tag.