Defining Season!

[ZoomZoom]

Were you disappointed in Tony for turning down “better situations”? Tony wasn't making 2 million a year either. If mike has similar success to Napier and gets his pay around that, why would he leave his family and wife’s family who are 20 Minutes away? And the school he played for? What better situation could the guy be in? That’s a movie script

Football is a different beast than any other college sport. Win or else.

We already have three of our own as head coaches at UL. 4th, 5th and last this past season. That won't work with football.

[CrazyCajun]

Football is a different beast than any other college sport. Win or else.

We already have three of our own as head coaches at UL. 4th, 5th and last this past season. That won't work with football.

If he is in position to turn down “bigger and better opportunities” then I doubt thats how he is getting those opportunities, it means he is very successful. I mean would you have been disappointed if Billy turned down Florida to stay here?

[Cajunrunner]

I guess Joe Paterno missed that memo. So if Mike wouldn't have got promoted you think he was looking to leave?

Comparing a head coach at a program like Penn State is a bit different than a head football coach at UL.

I’d love for Dez to stay 20 years with just about every season ranging from 8-4 to 12-0. But man, he puts together back to back seasons of 10-2 or better, he’ll be having to turn stuff down.

[Big Poppa]

It's impacted recruiting. An outsider with P5 experience offers a larger pool of assistant coach candidates and gives credibility when recruiting.

I love CMD, but he will have an uphill climb hiring seasoned P5 assistant coaches and convincing recruits outside of Acadiana.

The word is Des was responsible for recruiting about 60% of the players when napier was here.

[cajun_lannister]

The word is Des was responsible for recruiting about 60% of the players when napier was here.

Tim leger ran the recruiting department under Napier , keeping him was the most import cog in this hire.

[Big Poppa]

In my view, this will be an extremely critical season for UL football for a number of reasons. Obviously, the coaching change leads the list. Having been given the job, Desormeaux deserves a chance to show what he can do. Like others here, I don't feel this hire was the best decision for our program, but that train has left the station. We'll see how it goes. The greater concern is how the other SBC teams are only getting better. Arkansas State and Coastal just had outstanding recruiting classes. I don't know how long he'll be there, but Butch Jones is turning that program around quickly. Of course, Coastal is always a problem for us, as is App State who continues to recruit well also. Add Marshall and Southern Miss to the equation and the SBC will be one tough conference to win going forward. We've all watched major programs like Florida State, USC, Texas and others struggle to rebuild after only 1 or 2 sub-par seasons, so it can just as easily happen to us. Regarding earlier comments about money and reinvestment in our stadium infrastructure. If I'm not mistaken, we received $3MM from Florida for the Napier buyout and are now saving between $1.25 MM and $1.5MM per year in the head coach's salary. (Napier was $2MM+ and Desormeaux is $775k) Sidenote...I don't want to believe this was a key driver in hiring Desormeaux, but it has crossed my mind. Nonetheless, in year one this means we should have around $4MM available to reinvest, so not sure what the problem is, at least from a financial perspective. I know there are many more moving parts in the budget but there should be money available. Just like most, if not all of you, I'm a huge Cajun fan and only want the best for this program. Even without the coaching change, it was going to be a very challenging next couple of years.
I hope Desormeaux is the right man to lead us through it. Geaux Cajuns!

The only thing that has me concerned is that word from within is that Des isn’t the disciplinarian that Napier was and runs a much loser ship. I just hope that doesn’t come back to bite him.

[CajunT]

The only thing that has me concerned is that word from within is that Des isn’t the disciplinarian that Napier was and runs a much loser ship. I just hope that doesn’t come back to bite him.

Highly doubt that there will be much difference in the disciplinary approach. Now Coach Des may have a slightly different way in which he approaches it, but that's not a concern for me. This isn't Billy Napier's program any longer, so change is inevitable. The results on the field is all that matters at this point, and we will see how he and his staff handle the adversity that comes at times during the season.

[moorecajun]

Joe Paterno is an example of someone looking at retirement and looking the other way.

I would be disappointed in any young coach not driven to seek bigger and better situations.

I agree with the drive for bigger and better, and I fully expect that can happen right here. We just haven't shown the ability to bring in the fan support needed. Yet.

[KajunKrazy]

Tim leger ran the recruiting department under Napier , keeping him was the most import cog in this hire.

Correct he is the recruiting coordinator. By that he keeps the board up dated and keeps people going in the right direction working together. Des was that guy sitting in living rooms talking to momma and the young man. He was Billy's right hand man on the road.

[KajunKrazy]

In my view, this will be an extremely critical season for UL football for a number of reasons. Obviously, the coaching change leads the list. Having been given the job, Desormeaux deserves a chance to show what he can do. Like others here, I don't feel this hire was the best decision for our program, but that train has left the station. We'll see how it goes. The greater concern is how the other SBC teams are only getting better. Arkansas State and Coastal just had outstanding recruiting classes. I don't know how long he'll be there, but Butch Jones is turning that program around quickly. Of course, Coastal is always a problem for us, as is App State who continues to recruit well also. Add Marshall and Southern Miss to the equation and the SBC will be one tough conference to win going forward. We've all watched major programs like Florida State, USC, Texas and others struggle to rebuild after only 1 or 2 sub-par seasons, so it can just as easily happen to us. Regarding earlier comments about money and reinvestment in our stadium infrastructure. If I'm not mistaken, we received $3MM from Florida for the Napier buyout and are now saving between $1.25 MM and $1.5MM per year in the head coach's salary. (Napier was $2MM+ and Desormeaux is $775k) Sidenote...I don't want to believe this was a key driver in hiring Desormeaux, but it has crossed my mind. Nonetheless, in year one this means we should have around $4MM available to reinvest, so not sure what the problem is, at least from a financial perspective. I know there are many more moving parts in the budget but there should be money available. Just like most, if not all of you, I'm a huge Cajun fan and only want the best for this program. Even without the coaching change, it was going to be a very challenging next couple of years.
I hope Desormeaux is the right man to lead us through it. Geaux Cajuns!

I had reservations when the hire was first made. But everything mike has done since hired has been A+ in my book. Recruiting appears to have not missed a beat. Now lets see how his off season and fall camp preparation brings the team into the season. Personally and this is just a hunch, I think in game management and play calling will improve.