Sark needs to go

[seahawksfan234]

I'm writing this and the Huskies are currently down 7-20 against UCLA.

There is absolutely no excuse for this or any of Sark's blowout losses on the road. I've supported the guy for a long time, he even had my support after losing to Stanford and Oregon but after that ASU beating I have really shifted my opinion.

This beating that we are currently taking by UCLA is just another one of Sark's (likely) blowout losses on the road against a good team.

Sark did a good job to get this team back on its feet but this school has way too many resources at its disposal to be playing this poorly on the road and against good teams on a regular basis. Sure we look like a great team against bad teams and average teams when we play in Seattle but there is no excuse for this.

Sark has had his time. He helped UW get back on its feet, but there is no excuse for this anymore. He has had more than enough time to build a program and has failed to build anything other than mediocrity. The coach on the other sidelines at UCLA (Mora) did what Sark should have been doing, you can even make the case that UW has more talent on paper than UCLA yet is getting beat badly.

It pains me to say it but this should be Sark's last season at the University of Washington. I thank him for what he has done but it has now become apparent to me that Sark is not going to be the coach that will bring the Huskies to national prominence

And now to put the icing on the irony cake, Myles Jack true freshman LB, a former Bellevue High School football player runs in for a touchdown against UW. His third rushing touchdown of the night.

UW is down 7-27 now, 12 mins left in the 2nd.

Sorry Sark but you have reached the end of the rope. I cannot defend this anymore.

 

[Ironbreaker]

I'm not sure how much better than Sark we can get.

 

[Ironbreaker]

I'm writing this and the Huskies are currently down 7-20 against UCLA.

Speaking of 7-20...

...who dropped to 7-20 on the road during Sarkisian's five seasons.

 

[Ironbreaker]

Speaking of 7-20...

...who dropped to 7-20 on the road during Sarkisian's five seasons.

...and one of those was our bowl win over the Huskers.

 

[RegentDenali]

Let's see how the last two games go.

If we beat OSU and WSU, we end up 8-4 on the season. It's going to be hard to call for his head if that happens.

And even if we end up 7-5 this year, I don't think UW will fire him.

While yes, my patience is about expired as well, I'm not sure blowing up our coaching staff is the right call at season end. A new coach would pretty much mean most of all the assistants, including Wilcox would be gone, unless he was made HC, and I'm not sure he's ready for that job.

And who would we replace Sark with? USC is warming up for an entire overhaul of it's coaching staff from top to bottom. They are going to open the checkbook and spare no expense with the HC and the crew of assistants. USC is talking about making this guy the highest paid in the NCAA. Every team in the PAC will have to watch their backs depending who comes in and who from the other coaching staffs he tries to swipe.

 

[WizardHawk]

I will say both yes and no.

Sark should take the full responsibility for his kids coming out and making so many stupid penalties. That is coaching and practice and has happened way too many times over his entire tenure.

I'm not sure you can blame Sark for both of the fumbles. ASJ's probably shouldn't have even been ruled a catch, but if you want to go with that how is it Sark's fault ASJ didn't pull that ball into his body fast enough to prevent that fumble? That was an unfortunate play, but hardly a coaching problem. Sankey doesn't fumble. He just doesn't. The play where he lost the ball he said he was trying to shift to make a guy miss and the ball may have come up high a little bit and the defender coming at him lowered his head and hit the ball with his helmet. That too was just unfortunate, but wasn't a coaching problem.

Even after spotting them 14 and bailing them out of 3rd and long plays over and over with penalties in the first quarter they came back to within 3 points. Had KP not gone down they very much might have pulled off that win and everyone else is singing a different song. Don't get me wrong. I liked what I saw from Miles, but he wasn't going down field the way Price was and Keith was playing very very well in that game.

So to me out of all of the things that went bad in that game only the penalties can really be pinned right on Sark and his staff and while that added to the loss, it wasn't the overall reason they lost.

 

[Ironbreaker]

Let's see how the last two games go.

If we beat OSU and WSU, we end up 8-4 on the season. It's going to be hard to call for his head if that happens.

And even if we end up 7-5 this year, I don't think UW will fire him.

I agree with 8 wins we keep him. Improvement is improvement. However if we end up with 7 or less, god forbid less, it's time to move on. If we don't, I'm going to be forced to believe the University has settled and become content with mediocrity.

And who would we replace Sark with?

I really don't know at this point either. Mora Jr has stated UW is his dream job, but we passed on him before if I'm not mistaken, and I don't think he'd give up what he has going at UCLA right now.

 

[WizardHawk]

I agree with 8 wins we keep him. Improvement is improvement. However if we end up with 7 or less, god forbid less, it's time to move on. If we don't, I'm going to be forced to believe the University has settled and become content with mediocrity.




I really don't know at this point either. Mora Jr has stated UW is his dream job, but we passed on him before if I'm not mistaken, and I don't think he'd give up what he has going at UCLA right now.

I don't know about that. He said he would have quit his job in the NFL at any time to come back here and nothing has changed. This is his Alma Mater and you know deep down he would love to return things to their glory days. What better way to honor James than to come here and rebuild his program and win championships? He has a great gig in UCLA, but this is home. Jame's daughter baby sat him when he was a kid. He has had ties with UW since he was in diapers. He played here and got his first coaching here under James. His best friend is Hugh Millen. He is wearing powder blue, but bleeds purple and gold.

You offer him the right money and the ability to pick his staff and he is here in a flash. 100% guarantee. He would love to show the school how much of a mistake they made in not even giving him a look when they took Sark. He would smile every day rubbing their noses in it. Bank on it.

 

[Ironbreaker]

He would love to show the school how much of a mistake they made in not even giving him a look when they took Sark. He would smile every day rubbing their noses in it. Bank on it.

I think he did that last night lol.

 

[WizardHawk]

I think he did that last night lol.

Hmm, I don't know about that. In a broader sense he has been since he went down there, but I didn't come away from that game saying Sark was out coached. I wouldn't even say UCLA was better prepared as they too had a lot of penalties and lead the Pac in that department which is what I am most critical of Sark for in that game. Neither one of them have instilled the type of discipline we were used to under James. He would NOT have put up with those stupid mistakes and those kids would pay for those mental lapses in practice and damn sure wouldn't be doing it again, more or less game after game after game.

 

[Ironbreaker]

Hmm, I don't know about that. In a broader sense he has been since he went down there, but I didn't come away from that game saying Sark was out coached. I wouldn't even say UCLA was better prepared as they too had a lot of penalties and lead the Pac in that department which is what I am most critical of Sark for in that game. Neither one of them have instilled the type of discipline we were used to under James. He would NOT have put up with those stupid mistakes and those kids would pay for those mental lapses in practice and damn sure wouldn't be doing it again, more or less game after game after game.

Well both teams have been penalty plagued all season. I knew going in there would be a lot of flags.


I do think Mora probably had a little take that! attitude going on in the back of his mind. Especially after reading your last post concerning him. I know I would.

 

[WizardHawk]

Sure he did, but he would still jump at the chance to come here and lead this program. I think it's a whole other debate as to whether or not he could take them back to dominance in the North, but he would drop everything to come here. UW passing him up for Sark didn't change a thing.

 

[seahawksfan234]

I don't know about that. He said he would have quit his job in the NFL at any time to come back here and nothing has changed.

Worth noting that not only that but he said he would take the UW job even if he was in a playoff run with the Falcons.

I agree that he would be willing to come here. I think deep down it bothered him how things ended with the Seahawks and he wants a chance to redeem himself in Seattle. I also agree that if Sark gets 8 wins, or even 7 he will likely be retained. I've just finally lost it with the poor play against good teams. I have just started to question if Sark is "the guy" who can take us to a 10+ win season. I'm just not sure if he can break that barrier and go from above average to great.

 

[WizardHawk]

I admit I supported Willingham way too long and often side with the coaches longer than I should. Having said that I ask several questions such as are we any better now than we were last year and the year before? Are we recruiting well enough to progress? And my answer to both of those is yes. We are still losing games to the same teams, but outside of the embarrassment at ASU they aren't blow outs where you felt you didn't even belong on the same field. They are more frustrating now because you feel you could/should have won those, but it is better than previous years.

I'm more happy to see Price go than I am looking to get rid of Sark.

 

[Ironbreaker]

What was the last milestone this program achieved under Sark?

I've been pondering on the matter a little bit more and for me, anything less than 8 wins OR 7 wins and a bowl VICTORY, and Sark can hit the road.

Look at USC. A team sanctioned all to hell, coaching changes left right and center and it's obvious the team is on the rise. Granted it is USC but still. We've been stagnant at UW. There are other programs out there as well progressing faster than UW.

Is the athletic department committed to bringing back a winning tradition to UW? I'm seriously not seeing it. We (so far) have beaten the teams we were supposed to beat this season. No road wins, no upsets to hang our hats on and say we are definately moving forward. Nothing. Just another season of mediocrity.

 

[Ironbreaker]

...1 road win. Forgot about the Illini.

 

[WizardHawk]

What was the last milestone this program achieved under Sark?

I've been pondering on the matter a little bit more and for me, anything less than 8 wins OR 7 wins and a bowl VICTORY, and Sark can hit the road.

Look at USC. A team sanctioned all to hell, coaching changes left right and center and it's obvious the team is on the rise. Granted it is USC but still. We've been stagnant at UW. There are other programs out there as well progressing faster than UW.

Is the athletic department committed to bringing back a winning tradition to UW? I'm seriously not seeing it. We (so far) have beaten the teams we were supposed to beat this season. No road wins, no upsets to hang our hats on and say we are definately moving forward. Nothing. Just another season of mediocrity.

I fully understand your points and agree with all of them. The problem is the school has a lot of things to consider and as I pointed out every recruiting class has been better than the previous one and next season ends up being the real 5th measure most HC's have because his first recruiting class was after the 0-12 season and they had no time to put it together so it was total garbage (68th in the nation).

No, the program hasn't taken any milestone steps forward this year. This is true. It is also true that they haven't taken any steps back and that is always a major consideration as well.

If not for a kicker getting injured or ASJ's drop, or a few other unlucky bounces UW probably beats Stanford on the road. Losing that game wasn't a result of any coaching problems AT ALL. Losing this last game was only on the coaches for the penalties which is an on going problem they can't keep having, but wasn't the reason they lost. Those turnovers were just bad breaks. Having KP go down injured was also a bad break considering how well he was playing.

We are ALL looking forward to the day where we don't see excuses for losses anymore and the team retakes their rightful place in the conference. I'm dead sure the athletic department feels it is still heading in that direction and removing Sark to start all over wouldn't be in their best interest.

Now we can speculate what a 6 or 7 win season next year would do and I would imagine there would be some consideration from Woodward and if Mora is still doing well or another major candidate emerges you might see a change, but I really don't see any chance it comes this year. He WILL be given the chance to prove it with the team he has assembled for next season that will feature fully matured players he picked.

 

[Ironbreaker]

Things to ponder

Good coaches aren't 3-25 when trailing at half, lets look at some more numbers:

Inability to Win on the Road
2009: 0-5 on the road
2010: 3-3 on the road
2011: 1-4 on the road
2012: 2-4 on the road
2013: 1-3 so far
Combined record: 7-19 on the road
Huge Blowout losses each year
2009 – 43-19 loss to Oregon
2009 – 48-21 loss to Oregon State
2010 – 56-21 loss to Nebraska
2010 – 44-14 loss to Arizona
2010 – 41-0 to Stanford
2010 – 53-16 loss to Oregon
2011 – 51-38 loss to Nebraska
2011 – 65-21 loss to Stanford
2011 – 40-17 loss to USC
2012 – 41-3 loss to LSU
2012 – 52-21 loss to Oregon
2012 – 52-17 loss to Arizona
2013 – 45-24 loss to Oregon
2013 – 53-24 loss to Arizona State
A 3 or more game losing streak in the pac-12 every year
2009 – 4 games ( ASU, Oregon, UCLA, Oregon State )
2010 – 3 games ( ASU, Stanford, Oregon )
2011 – 3 games ( Oregon, USC, Oregon State )
2012 – 3 games ( Oregon, USC, Arizona )
2013 – 3 games ( Stanford, Oregon, Arizona State )
Average and not improving pac-12 record every year
2009 – 4 wins, 5 losses
2010 – 5 wins, 4 losses
2011 – 5 wins, 4 losses
2012 – 5 wins, 4 losses
2013 – 3 wins, 4 losses so far
Record versus ranked opponents
2009 – 2-3
2010 – 3-4
2011 – 0-4
2012 – 2-4
2013 – 1-3
overall 8-18
Record versus the NW
1-2
2-1
1-2
1-2
0-1 so far
5-7 record overall
Record versus Oregon
0-5



by Steen @ UWdawgpound


Big debate over there on this matter. I'm still in Sarks corner for one more year but the chatter is definitely increasing.

http://www.sbnation.com/users/Steen

 

[TheDman875]

Romar's about to join him on the hot seat as well.....

 

[WizardHawk]

I agree that UW is not where we want it to be. It isn't where it should be and everyone knows that. Hell Oregon fans know that. The question is can Sark get them there and what are the signs that he can or can't. We cal all boil down the stats any way we want but again recruiting isn't just a part of college football coaching, it is everything and as long as that keeps going strong and his kids are playing for him no one will replace him.

Don James didn't have his first 10 win season until his 8th overall season of coaching. Same with Saban.

Great coaches aren't always great out of the gate and that is a fact.

To me the question is can he keep learning and growing as a coach and fix the problems that have yet plagued him since he started this venture? Namely, can he ever get his kids to play with the kind of focus and discipline needed to win 10+ games in a season? That he hasn't yet isn't alone an indication that he can't at some point turn the corner and take that next step.

When he will lose me is when his recruiting classes take a step back and he is losing this many games. That's when it is time to find someone else to take them to that next level.