It's time to call the election, to stop the fight, whatever analogy you want to use.
Saturday's 50-7 loss at Maryland marked, in effect, the end of Darrell Hazell at Purdue. I'll throw in the run-of-the-mill safeguard qualifier here that, yes, anything is possible, but there's a slim margin between "possible" and "overwhelmingly unlikely."
Whether it's formalized this Sunday, the Sunday after the IU game or any Sunday in between, it is clear now that this has run its course and that Hazell will not be Purdue's coach in 2017.
A good man, Hazell is, but the results are what they are and there is really no counter-argument at this point, nor is there any A.D. turnover- or buyout-driven cocoon protecting Purdue's coach.
After a flawed win against a pedestrian Nevada team last week, the trip to College Park represented the start of this coaching staff's uphill battle toward self-preservation.
It was a resounding failure against a Terp team that's improved and energized under a new staff, but likely to be proven pedestrian from here on out. Just as pedestrian as Cincinnati - who also blew out Purdue this season - will turn out to be.
This is Season 4, and Saturday looked like Season 1, if not worse. Come to think of it, some of the worst losses this program has incurred have come in Years 3 - think Minnesota and Illinois last year - and Year 4 of this endeavor, when the worm is supposed to be turning if not fully turned. "Worse" because they came when hope seemed to be percolating to some degree, only to be trampled.
When athletic directors have to make these hard decisions, it's about using results to foresee those to come. The season is young, yes, but what Mike Bobinski has seen this season in the context of what occurred in the years prior, hasn't exactly been a ringing endorsement for the years to come. More narrowly scoped, what was seen Saturday looked like a terrible harbinger of things to come this season.
The defense moved a step ahead last week, then a mile backward the following weekend. The offense cleaned up its turnover issue, but otherwise collapsed.
Yes, the offensive tackle position is a disaster for reasons outside any coach's control, unless you want to blame a head coach for the conduct issues of individuals, which I don't think is fair in isolated cases.
But what the offensive line situation has done is underscore the root cause of Purdue's current state: Talent. Translated: Recruiting.
Not to pick on Jalen Neal, but back in the winter, Purdue needed a junior college offensive tackle to come in mid-year. Needed one. As in, non-negotiable requirement.
It had two official visit weekends prior to the mid-year signing date to host such prospects. It used those two weekends to bring in one (unless I missed somebody, which I'm confident I didn't). And when Kendall Calhoun committed to Cincinnati instead, Purdue was left scrambling. It signed Neal after recruiting him for a matter of days and never seeing him in person. He could have been a Cyclops under that helmet for all Purdue knew. But Purdue signed him nonetheless, then got sucker-punched by the revelation that he wouldn't be eligible to come mid-year after all.
Had Purdue recruited that position from a larger pool and hosted Plans A through H during those two weekends, instead of just Plan A, then it might not have been in such a compromising position and it might not be so compromised right now that hobbled Matt McCann had to go back on the field in the second half just to give Purdue a chance.
That's just a small example of what's kept Purdue from fielding a team similarly talented to its peers. Purdue's ability to attract and keep talented players is one thing; this was an operational failure, and not the only one.
Has Hazell been as effective an in-game coach as Purdue fans would like? No.
But the real kicker is that Purdue hasn't been in positions all that often when it actually matters, because the talent gap is so pronounced more often than not against FBS competition. Saturday was one of those days. It's been years since Purdue could tackle.
It's no secret that there might not have been a coach on more tenuous footing coming into this season than Hazell.
The Maryland game on its own does not get him fired, but what it represents as a last stand dashed, I think, does, and should. No one should revel in this. These are real human beings who in most cases have done the best they can and again, Hazell is a good and respected man. But it is what is.
Bobinski and his superiors have a decision to make, the biggest piece of that decision seemingly already made for them by the results.
Do they move now? Or later?
In my opinion, there is really no game-changing advantage to making a move in-season, nor should anyone be thrilled about doing a well-liked and well-respected person like that.
But this is about hearts and minds, too, and Purdue fans need to be made aware that this new administration means business with this football mess. An in-season move might, if nothing else, make that statement.
Whether it's now or later, it's a foregone conclusion.
Saturday's 50-7 loss at Maryland marked, in effect, the end of Darrell Hazell at Purdue. I'll throw in the run-of-the-mill safeguard qualifier here that, yes, anything is possible, but there's a slim margin between "possible" and "overwhelmingly unlikely."
Whether it's formalized this Sunday, the Sunday after the IU game or any Sunday in between, it is clear now that this has run its course and that Hazell will not be Purdue's coach in 2017.
A good man, Hazell is, but the results are what they are and there is really no counter-argument at this point, nor is there any A.D. turnover- or buyout-driven cocoon protecting Purdue's coach.
After a flawed win against a pedestrian Nevada team last week, the trip to College Park represented the start of this coaching staff's uphill battle toward self-preservation.
It was a resounding failure against a Terp team that's improved and energized under a new staff, but likely to be proven pedestrian from here on out. Just as pedestrian as Cincinnati - who also blew out Purdue this season - will turn out to be.
This is Season 4, and Saturday looked like Season 1, if not worse. Come to think of it, some of the worst losses this program has incurred have come in Years 3 - think Minnesota and Illinois last year - and Year 4 of this endeavor, when the worm is supposed to be turning if not fully turned. "Worse" because they came when hope seemed to be percolating to some degree, only to be trampled.
When athletic directors have to make these hard decisions, it's about using results to foresee those to come. The season is young, yes, but what Mike Bobinski has seen this season in the context of what occurred in the years prior, hasn't exactly been a ringing endorsement for the years to come. More narrowly scoped, what was seen Saturday looked like a terrible harbinger of things to come this season.
The defense moved a step ahead last week, then a mile backward the following weekend. The offense cleaned up its turnover issue, but otherwise collapsed.
Yes, the offensive tackle position is a disaster for reasons outside any coach's control, unless you want to blame a head coach for the conduct issues of individuals, which I don't think is fair in isolated cases.
But what the offensive line situation has done is underscore the root cause of Purdue's current state: Talent. Translated: Recruiting.
Not to pick on Jalen Neal, but back in the winter, Purdue needed a junior college offensive tackle to come in mid-year. Needed one. As in, non-negotiable requirement.
It had two official visit weekends prior to the mid-year signing date to host such prospects. It used those two weekends to bring in one (unless I missed somebody, which I'm confident I didn't). And when Kendall Calhoun committed to Cincinnati instead, Purdue was left scrambling. It signed Neal after recruiting him for a matter of days and never seeing him in person. He could have been a Cyclops under that helmet for all Purdue knew. But Purdue signed him nonetheless, then got sucker-punched by the revelation that he wouldn't be eligible to come mid-year after all.
Had Purdue recruited that position from a larger pool and hosted Plans A through H during those two weekends, instead of just Plan A, then it might not have been in such a compromising position and it might not be so compromised right now that hobbled Matt McCann had to go back on the field in the second half just to give Purdue a chance.
That's just a small example of what's kept Purdue from fielding a team similarly talented to its peers. Purdue's ability to attract and keep talented players is one thing; this was an operational failure, and not the only one.
Has Hazell been as effective an in-game coach as Purdue fans would like? No.
But the real kicker is that Purdue hasn't been in positions all that often when it actually matters, because the talent gap is so pronounced more often than not against FBS competition. Saturday was one of those days. It's been years since Purdue could tackle.
It's no secret that there might not have been a coach on more tenuous footing coming into this season than Hazell.
The Maryland game on its own does not get him fired, but what it represents as a last stand dashed, I think, does, and should. No one should revel in this. These are real human beings who in most cases have done the best they can and again, Hazell is a good and respected man. But it is what is.
Bobinski and his superiors have a decision to make, the biggest piece of that decision seemingly already made for them by the results.
Do they move now? Or later?
In my opinion, there is really no game-changing advantage to making a move in-season, nor should anyone be thrilled about doing a well-liked and well-respected person like that.
But this is about hearts and minds, too, and Purdue fans need to be made aware that this new administration means business with this football mess. An in-season move might, if nothing else, make that statement.
Whether it's now or later, it's a foregone conclusion.
