woosterbear What I said was “I think he’ll keep UCA trending in the right direction MORE YEARS THAN NOT”. Meaning the majority of the years not all of them. Coach Brown is trending in the wrong direction right now but if you look at his entire 8 years at head coach, it isn’t as bleak as most make it out to be in my opinion. And for clarification, if we’re gonna compare Coach Brown to any other UCA head coach, it can only be Coach Conque. Because Campbell wasn’t here long enough to compare his body of work plus Campbell likely won half of his games with players recruited by Conque AND no other coach was a coach in the D1 era of UCA football. Just a few stats/metrics to consider between Brown and Conque (as D1 coaches):
*Brown has 3 of 8 seasons with overall losing record/Conque had 1 of 8 seasons with overall losing record
*Brown has 2 of 8 seasons with losing conference record/Conque had 0 of 8 seasons with losing conference record
*Brown has 1 playoff appearance in 8 seasons/Conque had 2 playoff appearances in 8 seasons
**And if you look at Coach Conque’s entire body of work (6 more seasons) you find 2 more seasons in the D2 era (2000-05) where he was sub .500 overall and in conference play but also 1 D2 playoff appearance**
I include all these stats/metrics to say this, Coach Brown isn’t that far off from what Coach Conque did. Especially if you take into account the total numbers of seasons Conque was at UCA that includes D2 and transition into D1. Coach Conque was my coach, so I know how hard we practiced/played and what was expected. I can also speak to how Conque treated players and let’s just say he could have improved greatly in that area. Conque did have a strict study hall program based on grades if my memory serves me well so I think he at least gave the appearance of caring about grades. But I would not go as far to say that he was a outstanding man (plus his own transgressions at UCA and I believe SFA would say otherwise any how). Now I don’t know Coach Brown personally but I too have heard from people I know that claim to know him that say he’s an outstanding man. And every interaction I’ve had with him and from what I can see from interviews and public speaking engagements, he also seems to be a good guy with the noblest intentions and purest positive desires for UCA football. I don’t question one bit that he bleeds purple. But where you see IT HASN’T WORKED OUT for me more it’s like IT’S STARTING TO LOOK LIKE IT’S NOT GOING TO WORK OUT SO YOU GOT ANOTHER SEASON TO PROVE PEOPLE WRONG AND START BACK TRENDING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
Lastly, I agree that the assertion in the previous post is a bad argument and appeal to authority. Glad you pointed that out for exactly what it is. If UCA football is going to thrive as we ALL want, saying that Coach Brown is the “obvious” right person for the job has to pass some kind of objective scrutiny measured by more than BECAUSE I SAID SO rhetoric. I don’t blame you for not wanting to be asked for any money next year. Especially as you see the Nathan Brown Experiment as a failure. But to explicitly answer your question about how many more losing seasons and missed playoffs before I will concede that it hasn’t worked, I say if Coach Brown doesn’t make the playoffs in the next two years or has a losing season consisting of 4 or less wins then let him go. And I say give two years because of all the changes with NIL and the transfer portal and UCA finally deciding to opt in. I’m not a monster. I can see that he along with every coach is trying to adjust. But that window of adjustment is closing fast in my opinion because other coaches are finding ways to win. And ultimately that is the single greatest factor (morally right or wrong) when it comes to the position of a D1 football head coach. As a co-worker said to me who isn’t team Coach Brown, “If Coach Brown wants to be more of a mentor and role model for young men then maybe he needs to step down as head coach and find another job at UCA or in the Conway community that allows him to do that”.
