working for the athletics dept. i got a close hand look at o'cain's tenure at state and his staff. you couldn't find a nicer bunch of guys, and they were all damn good coaches. their knock was that they couldn't recruit, and couldn't motivate. everyone remember wolfman jack on the sidelines?

o'cain won some big ball games and turned around and lost to chumps. think fsu one week, baylor the next. in the end, his program was boring and inconsistent. as much as i hated to see a bunch of good men get fired, it needed to be done. i remember telling robbie caldwell how sorry i was that he was getting let go, and he told me that it was okay, it's the nature of the business.

when amato was hired, i was very excited. a state man, a firey leader, a person who was the right hand man of the winningest coach in 1-a football. life was breathed into a stale program, and the money came flowing in and so did the facilities. and so did the recruits (so we are told) working close to amato and his staff it was refreshing to know that they were quality men as well, unlike a certain basketball coach that you all know i can't stand.

but after saturday's debacle, i've had enough. what is getting good recruits worth if you can't coach or teach them anything? did anyone see blackman field that punt that was rolling away from him? smart teams don't do that, let alone twice. it is obvious to me that a change needs to be made again. after saturday, the excitement is officially over. if, somehow state can turn it around and win out then it's back on again, but i highly doubt that can happen.

this is not to take anything away from unc. but i.m.o. state should have buried unc and didn't. the facts are these (what i've learned from working there). when any state team sees those powder blue uniforms, their assholes get tight.

state needs to find a coach that can recruit, and coach. the support is there. the facilities are there. this program and unc's program should not settle for middle of the pack. their programs are worlds bigger and better than boston college but yet bc wins consistently.

i've been an amato apologist. not any more.