What is Dickie Baddour thinking? He gave Coach Torbush three years to perform a miracle. How can you expect him to create "his team" when not all of the squad are his recruits? He's still playing with the deck that was shuffled by Mack Brown. A record of 17-18 is not that bad for a coach's first three seasons. While it could have been better, you must remember, three of those losses are Florida State, which is pretty much a given for every school in the ACC.
Let's examine his five losses this season. FSU - contender for the national championship. Georgia Tech - Peach Bowl-bound. Clemson - Gator Bowl-bound. N.C. State - Micron PC Bowl-bound. Virginia - Aloha Bowl-bound. The ACC is just damned tough this year. Deal with it, Dickie. Coach Torbush has set up what will be a good program for next year. Now some new coach will step in and take all the credit for what Carl built. (Bet this sounds familiar to Coach O'Cain.)
Baddour is the one at fault for any lackluster of the UNC program, not Torbush. All last season, Torbush was plagued with the rumors of his dismissal, even a print-up in The Associated Press. Where was Baddour then? His not squashing those rumors probably hindered Torbush's recruiting efforts.
Last season should not even be counted in the first place. Injuries were rampant and morale was less then great, simply because of all the whisperings that Torbush was being fired. If one looks at the 1998 and 2000 seasons, the only conference teams UNC didn't beat at least once were Virginia and FSU. That to me shows he's a pretty competent coach.
I think the administration should put Baddour under the same microscope; I bet they'll find him just as lacking. He fails to do his part to control (false) media rumors. Does Roy Williams ring a bell? He's failed to empower Torbush to create this great team that the fans demand, and now he's set the program back a few years, too, by firing Torbush.
I applaud Coach Torbush for refusing to step down, making Baddour do his own dirty work. So, barring any last-minute recanting of the firing, (I mean, hey, if Gore can renounce his concession, so can Baddour), I say UNC should start two searches, one for a coach, and one for a new director of athletics. I'm just glad I won't be here next season to see the aftermath of Baddour's unsportsmanlike conduct. (Where's the flag?)
Jason Rolan
Senior
Geography
