Not my letter to Ward but here's my take:
P was not among my choices when we were discussing replacements for HRCE. While I liked Randy and the team was well prepared, it seemed as if were were hitting a plateau in terms of talent and preparation, and frankly good fortune that translated into an opportunity for us to find the next head coach to take us to the next level. Hearing the name PP come up and remembering his exit from Syracuse years earlier, I was surprised and frankly a little worried. By the time his local contacts finished lobbying it was a done deal.
I was prepared to support P and measure my criticism and did fairly well for the first year. His first presser alleviated some of my fears about age and energy. He was an experienced, accomplished local guy with national and professional contacts. Recruiting even started looking up. He mostly got a pass on the rigors of transitioning to a new system.
When year 2 began we seemed to have a lot to look forward to. A solid core of returning D and some returning and added skill guys on offense. Big questionmarks on the line that I kept harping on all summer. The o-line coach had work to do. But when this year began to resemble the same disorganized, unprepared and archaic model as last my hopes quickly evaporated. Criticism turned sharper, and while I tried to avoid calling for P's replacement until the end of the season, I had to fold to retain my own sanity.
What kills me is that everyone from the die-hard to the casual fan seems resigned to the futility of this experiment, yet the press and our AD continues to tow the line of a sinking ship. It's dragging everyone down and could damage the brand for decades! And everyone/anyone who thinks it's an article of faith to keep a guy for at least 2 years because he's won more than 2-3 games ignore both their eyes and the actions of other AD's around the country. Coaches have been let go in that time period or sooner. And the NC State's coach went 7-5 this year. Where is he now?
Wait and see isn't working. Even if it did we've already seen and it's pretty clear that waiting will only entrench our mediocrity in the eyes of fans, recruits, other schools and more importantly potential conference destinations. Our AD has only been here a short time and the prism of experience has been as a middling program with similar results. Over the last few decades we've experienced a steady upward trajectory in football as well as other sports and academically. It's what we believe in and who we are. Anything less than a commitment to those objective and competitive measures is just not acceptable in the long term or more importantly, at this crucial juncture.
