Comments

Bad week to write this post Dan. The playcalling against Navy yesterday was unforgivable. It is obvious that Grobe and Lobo have no faith in their players to make plays. How many points and wins has Lobo’s playcalling cost the Deacs over the years?

Lobo should not survive this season.

Rob on 10/25/2009 (12:18 pm)

Lobo’s plays might work with a “little” more blocking . If the running game was anywhere close to previous seasons’ Wake would be leading the division easily . Riley has done a remarkable job under constant pressure . Lobo has called great games before , the Deacs need better execution .

keith on 10/23/2009 (7:17 pm)

Michael,
The one really active Wake message board I’ve seen is on Scout.com.
The address is:
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=192
If the link doesn’t work, just Google Wake Forest message board. Now don’t blame me if you waste as much time there as I have over the years, but I have to say it can be highly entertaining.

Dan on 10/21/2009 (2:50 pm)

WOW!  We lost a game and only scored 3 points.  I guess that has never happened before and obviously is solely the responsibility of the OC.  LOL!!!  I guess we all should step back and appreciate the fact that now as Wake fans we expect to win every game.  Grobe and his staff have built a winning culture at Wake and I for one find that to be remarkable.

John on 10/21/2009 (10:01 am)

Thanks for confronting this issue Dan. Couldn’t agree more. No staff makes the all the right decisions all the time. This is a good staff. I’ve never understood some of the fans who in one moment spout “In Grobe We Trust” and in the next breath say “Fire Lobo.” Some don’t get it that the staff is a package deal. If you have a problem with any of the staff members then you also have a problem with Coach Grobe who pilots the ship. With that said, I have great confidence in Coach Grobe and his entire staff. GO DEACS! BEAT NAVY!

Dean on 10/20/2009 (11:21 pm)

I played at Wake many years ago, but have stayed up to date regarding the game. Taking all aspects of Wake football, recruiting, game plans, etc., We couldn’t do any better . It is easy to “poor mouth ” coaches, but very difficult to coach young men. Most of the people with negative comments have never played at a University.Jim Grobe and his staff are outstanding,win or lose.cent 31

carl haggard on 10/20/2009 (3:36 pm)

Dan, I’m apparently completely out of the loop.  Could you tell me what these ‘message boards’ are so I have something more to read about WF sports during my lunch after I’ve read yours and Dinich’s blogs?

Michael on 10/20/2009 (2:17 pm)

I have suffered through the lows of Chuck Mills and Jim Caldwell, the average job of Al Groh and the highs of Cal Stoll and John Mackovic. I know all too well about Wake Forest football and in all my 53 years, I have never been so pleased with our football program than during the Jim Grobe era! It’s actually nice to be disappointed after a loss rather than saying “basketball’s not far away”! I have all the faith in Grobe and his staff, including Lobotzke. We haven’t come this far in 9 years without Lobo. One thing worries me though. If, as was said by the Clemson players, our O-linemen were tipping off plays, Grobe and Lobo should see to it that it doesn’t occur again. Tipping plays off is a sure sign of disaster on the field.

Ken Green on 10/20/2009 (1:31 pm)

Thanks for having some perspective and asking THE question. Many on the boards are engaged in what used to be semi-drunken babble at a bar after a few beers.  Unfortunately, this stuff is now in print. I am a Deacon from the late 60s, and nobody should be complaining. Just luxuriating.

Dave on 10/20/2009 (12:35 pm)

Grobe is fiercely loyal, probably to a fault.  Couple that with Grobe always says the right things to the media, such as how he takes the heat by stating that nothing is done without his approval.  By riding your blog you would like us to believe that Grobe on one hand does not micromanage his assistants and lets them do their jobs (anyone who has been around the program during Grobe’s tenure knows this to be true), but then have him state that nothing is done without his approval.  The two simply cannot be reconciled.

Changes are made all the time in coaching and are done so to improve the overall composition of the staff to provide a greater chance of attaining the ultimate goal - winning football games.  Grobe is certainly a man of character and principal and will not hang one of his loyal assistants out to dry or throw them to the wolves.  I cannot recall one time where Grobe publicly questioned one of his assistants.  Simply not his style.  But that does not mean that a coaching change to interject new ideas, talents, and creating a fresh start should not be considered.

In the real world people are held accountable for sub-par performance.  The same should be true for the assistant coaches of the Wake Forest football staff.

JB on 10/20/2009 (11:51 am)

Thank you, Dan. We appreciate your support! I can assure you there is no better HC to work for in college football. We are continually grateful to be associated with Jim Grobe for the past 20 years.  GO DEACS. BEAT NAVY!

Kristin Lobotzke on 10/20/2009 (11:37 am)

Dan,

Your question was: if a man is not capable of recruiting and retaining his staff—one of the most critical elements of the job —then do you want him as your coach?

My short answer to that question is no.  I don’t want a head coach who is incapable of recruiting and retaining a competent set of assistants.  Would I consider Jim Grobe to be a head coach that fits this description?  Absolutely not.  The vast majority of his assistants have been quite successful at Wake and in their subsequent positions.  That said, no one is perfect and it is certainly possible to make a mistake in hiring. 

This brings me to the context of your question, which is the criticism that has been heaped upon Steed Lobotzke.  I suppose you can count me among those who is critical, or at least concerned (it’s not personal - it’s really just in my nature to always point out what can be done better).  I make an effort to be measured in my criticism.  You will rarely see me criticize specific play calls because I simply do not understand all that goes into those decisions.  I mean, there could be a perfectly good reason to call two consecutive fullback dives in short yardage situations or to call for an off-tackle run from shotgun on 3rd and 6, or start off a game with an on-sides kick…

My criticism usually comes in the form of questions.  For instance, what was the game plan going into the NC State game that allowed us to gain only 30 yards on the ground?  When was the decision made to scrap that game plan and put the game on Riley’s shoulders?  Was that decision made simply because the NC State front seven was dominating our offensive line?  What will be done to make sure that we will run more effectively in games against better teams, when it will be more important for us to control the ball?  Like Clemson. 

And what about recruiting, a huge component of a college coach’s job description?  I am curious about what the offensive coordinator looks for in personnel, like offensive linemen.  Are there any changes to the recruiting focus based on the collective ineffectiveness of the current group over the last two years?  What are we doing in practice to improve the current performance?  I have dozens more questions like this, the answers to which would help me form my opinion about whether I think a change needs to be made. 

I am truly grateful for everything that Coach Grobe has done for the university and our football program.  And I have a distinct feeling that part of the reason why we still benefit from having him as our head coach (and why he turned down the Arkansas job) is because our community generally does not personally attack the coaching staff when things don’t go right on the field.  As such, you likely will never see me join the ranks of those yelling “Lobo must go”.  If it ever came to that, then I concede the point that you seem to imply, which is that I would be advocating for Coach Grobe to leave too. 

But questioning what is going on during recruiting, preparation, practice and game time, is simply inevitable given the success that the program has had.  Obviously Coach Grobe is asking himself all the questions that I posed, and more.  And because I think he is a good coach, I trust that he will continue to make sound personnel decisions.

DC on 10/20/2009 (9:22 am)

Dan, I am a long time follower of your blog and have greatly enjoyed your coverage as well as your writing style. I am a Wake Forest alumnus and have been a faithful fan (stayed until the end for Maryland in 2007 as well as Clemson in 2006) since I was four years old. In my twenty-one years of following the Deacs, I can remember getting excited during a 4-7 year but ever expecting another 1-11 season. The fact that last year’s 8 wins were a “let down” thrills me to no end. The way I see it, if Grobe wound up becoming a .500 coach here, I would award him a lifetime contract. Thank you for turning the critical light onto those looking for a scapegoat. It’s interesting that none of these self proclaimed fans offer any alternative, valid explanation or, perhaps the most telling of all, even their real names. In Grobe I Trust!

Patrick Crist '07 on 10/20/2009 (9:21 am)

Dan, it needed to be said.  Thanks for confronting this, from someone who cares a great deal about Wake Forest sports.

Frank

Frank Schneider on 10/20/2009 (8:52 am)

One can’t be a genius (see Wake, 2006) and a fool (see Wake message boards, c. 2009) all at once.  The answer, Dan, isn’t quite as simple as some believe it to be.  As Kent said earlier, recruiting on the lines has been subpar over the past couple of seasons - a clear dip from the Clabo - Vallos et al years, for example.  Football is a players game.  In 2006, we captured magic in a bottle, and everything clicked (including, improbably, a young QB named Skinner).  Last year, we didn’t have the WR talent of past years, and it hurt us.  This year, we have speed and skills at wideout, but we can’t protect Riley.  Last season, we had arguably our best defense in history.  This year, we have a lot of guys getting OJT on that side of the ball.

I lived through the Groh years as a student, and the Caldwell years as a young alum.  I’ll take Jim Grobe, Steed Lobotzke, and co. every day, and twice on Sundays, until my dying breath.  I believe this staff is as good a group as there is in the country of squeezing out of players all they can give.  That means, in some years, we’ll fight for 7 wins; in others, we’ll have a shot at 11.  Given what my alma mater stands for as an institution, that pleases me.

siff on 10/20/2009 (8:41 am)

Agreed—-absolutely on target. In Grobe we trust!

steve heiner on 10/20/2009 (8:14 am)

Great post, Dan.  In the internet age we now have 20 somethings who have played Madden video football for 15+ years.  They believe they are offensive experts based on that vast experience.  It is embarassing as a Wake alum to see a good man and good coach get trashed on the boards the way he does.

Dillon Fence on 10/19/2009 (10:28 pm)

If 20% of the message board posts about an OC or DC are positive, and 80% are vein-poppingly negative, that is a solid percentage and means the guy is doing an excellent job.

R&R on 10/19/2009 (9:09 pm)

I think a big concern many Wake fans have is Lobo is not only the offensive coordinator, but he also coaches the o linemen.  The o line has been a MAJOR issue for Wake the past few seasons. Is it too much on Lobo to both game plan an offense and coach up the o line? Maybe. Either way the o line play has not been good and Lobo is the one who coaches and recruits them.

JT on 10/19/2009 (7:58 pm)

Spot on Dan! I have been a big Deacon fan for 50 years. I log on to the message board regularly(without ever posting) and I am very disappointed with some of the negative posts by some of the so called loyal fans. I have enjoyed and endured the heartbreaking lows and exhilarating highs of Deacon athletics for a long time. Coach Grobe and his staff have done what few Wake football coaches have been able to do: win and create high expectations for the program. Be thankful and give your support in good times and bad!

Jim Smith on 10/19/2009 (7:34 pm)