Why do people keep saying that Murph gets to go out on his own terms? He doesn't have the right to ride a program down just because he is too egotistical to adjust to the new coaching dynamics. It's not his program. It's a failure of GB's leadership to let this happen, yet here we are...
Softball 2025-expectations?
- Thread starter TideATL70
- Start date
Well 4 things….
1) He is one of the 2 most important coaches east of the Mississippi historically with Tim Walton being the 2nd. Because until both of them, softball was practically a California and west coast sport that absolutely no one cared about. So actually firing him is a very bad look.
2) It’s kind of hard to fire a guy that has made it to OKC 4 out of the last 5 years. Yes fans who know what potential was wasted understand that it’s not as great as it initially sounds, but there are still alot of fans who will cling to this fact and suggest we are still the program we were back in 2014.
3) Softball is not a money sport. There are very few people involved that are going to make an instant impact on a program and those who are already have a place right now. I think Oklahoma has a succession plan with Gasso’s son taking over because otherwise he may be the biggest name out there currently. My point is that the person replacing Murphy is a complete unknown and there aren’t endless amounts of great and for sure options.
4) Murph has built this program
Outstanding post, 81!
Just as FSU's football program wouldn't have reached the heights it did without Bowden, our softball program wouldn't be a top 5 (previously) or top 10 (now) program without Murphy.
Though as I think we agree, that doesn't mean Murphy gets to run the program into the dirt because he had a lot of good years. Bowden did that to FSU, and aside from the Winston years, they're still reeling from that.
Including 2 years as an assistant, Murphy is rounding into 30 years at UA softball. If the state retirement system works at his $500K+ salary level the same as it does at more normal comp, he's looking at about $300K a year for life. Money isn't the issue anymore.
With the privilege of calling your own shot comes the obligation to call it in a timely manner. Bowden severely tainted his legacy, eventually forcing FSU to fire him. I don't want it to get to that point. And I want us to give Murphy the full respect his 30 year history deserves.
But he has his own part to play in that.
My real worry is that Georgia and Arkansas are starting to spend insane amounts of money to upgrade their facilities and their staffs across many sports other than football and men’s baseball. Right now Alabama still has one of the best facilities in the nation for softball but at the rate that some of these other programs are spending many can make mammoth changes that used to take 10-15 years in just 2-3.
Additionally I’m worried that Alabama may be a beggar man program by the time that Murphy hangs it up, and I worry that too many subpar seasons will start to kill attendance in a way that resembles our baseball attendance. So hiring a big fish may be the most difficult thing Byrne is tasked to do.
Murphy is a great guy and a Hall of Fame coach but so was Chuck Noll, Tom Landry, and Bobby Bowden. None of them left a seamless transition to their successors.
Well, I'm certainly no insider, but my opinion is it's time to make the call. You can do it now, or take Murphy aside and tell him this year is it. He can either retire or be cut, his choice. Then spend this year finding a good fit for next year. We can't keep going down the tubes.
It's time. I take no joy in this. Murphy is a great guy. Even Bryant and Saban reached this point. It's not so much about chronological age as it is ability to adapt and then recruit to the new you.
From an article on a subject totally unrelated to sports, let alone softball: In the moment, the right time to check out often seems premature. It isn't. The odds heavily favor going out while it feels one rep too soon.
Late update: Tonight we lost to #9 FSU 5-2. We scored 2 in the bottom of the first, and never again. Left 8 runners on base to FSU's 4. Same song, 82nd verse -- we beat up on lesser teams. We falter badly against anybody who means anything.
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The Oklahoma series was something Murphy fought for 4 years to get in Tuscaloosa and fought Sankey for it 2 years ago when they decided to join the conference…. Now I wonder if we get run ruled 3 straight games in our own house after all that fighting to get that series here.
Florida and Oklahoma series are going to be rough unless something drastically changes.
We might. Taking 1 of 3 in either or both of those series would be a huge win.
Holy moly, how far fallen is that?
There was a time that we'd count 2 of 3 at home as given, a sweep as realistic, and losing a series as an aberration. That time is past.
In response to your comments below...
1) Well, I didnt know the historical significance of CPM and I sort of doubt most of the fans and most the recruits dont appreciate this. But coaching legacy doesnt have the same shelf life it used to. We were still grieving as a fanbase 1 year after Bryant retired then died. I havent seen anything near that with Saban's retirement. Times have changed. NIL changed things.
2) Despite recent success, if your program is fundamentally uncompetitive then it warrants correction. Murph doesnt own the program he can only ride it into the ground with permission from the AD.
3) If softball is not a money sport, then something is wrong. Are they just giving away the TV rights to ESPN? Softball is a much more entertaining product to watch on TV than baseball. Softball TV rights should be worth at least the value of the annual coaches payroll of the 16 SEC teams.
4) Again, Murph doesnt own the program. Sports is literally the only place where such talk is even allowed. In my line of work, the expectation is what are you going to do for me tomorrow.
1) Well, I didnt know the historical significance of CPM and I sort of doubt most of the fans and most the recruits dont appreciate this. But coaching legacy doesnt have the same shelf life it used to. We were still grieving as a fanbase 1 year after Bryant retired then died. I havent seen anything near that with Saban's retirement. Times have changed. NIL changed things.
2) Despite recent success, if your program is fundamentally uncompetitive then it warrants correction. Murph doesnt own the program he can only ride it into the ground with permission from the AD.
3) If softball is not a money sport, then something is wrong. Are they just giving away the TV rights to ESPN? Softball is a much more entertaining product to watch on TV than baseball. Softball TV rights should be worth at least the value of the annual coaches payroll of the 16 SEC teams.
4) Again, Murph doesnt own the program. Sports is literally the only place where such talk is even allowed. In my line of work, the expectation is what are you going to do for me tomorrow.
I don't either. I wish Murphy would be like Saban and adapt to a changing game. I watched the game on TV tonight and we started the game fine, but that looked to be against a down the line pitcher for FSU. When they put in one of their frontliners our bats went stone cold. Briski was doing well until they started figuring her out. Then when we took her out, our new pitcher is greeted with a 3 run bomb. It looks to me like we have to play spot on perfect against top competition or we just can't get a W. Our pitching staff is just okay this year, so we have to score runs. Sadly, that seems to be a major problem against good competition. I love the game, I love the team, but I hope we can figure things out.
The ladies hold on for a 2-1 win today to even the series at Texas A&M. Both teams scored 1 in the first, then we had a solo homer by the pitcher in the 4th to go up 2-1. Our pitching and defense were good today, but we still had a couple of innings where some strategic hitting would have helped. A win is a win.
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I know we want to win every game but with SEC Softball so much improved over the last decade I try to look at it like I do the Braves- win the series
And we don’t wanna lose the first two SEC series of the year. I think? Briski will be in the circle tomorrow and hope the defense and bats have her back and the ladies are flying back tomorrow with a series W
And we don’t wanna lose the first two SEC series of the year. I think? Briski will be in the circle tomorrow and hope the defense and bats have her back and the ladies are flying back tomorrow with a series W
Well, in today's game, it looked like we were down 6-1, but somehow scored 6 runs in the top of the 6th to take a 7-6 lead. But then we gave up 3 in the bottom of the 6th, and lost 9-7. 0-2 in SEC series so far. As was mentioned by Tide ATL, we don't usually lose when we score 7 runs.
I find it funny to switch from the men’s basketball forum to this. What people need to do is to take a look at the SEC participation in the Men’s Basketball Tournament. There were 14 teams in the field. If you’re keeping score at home, that means only two conference teams were left out of the field. The days of running roughshod over the field in all sports in this conference is OVER. The armchair gurus who’ve never coached a meaningful game in their entire life that come on here trying to make points that they have no clue about are hilarious. Murphy has signed 6 players who will be Freshmen in the fall of 2025. Three of those are ranked in the top 10 in the country. The pitcher is rated #1. Let’s fire Murphy and open it up to those six plus any other player on the roster to leave without any repercussions. Who in the hell are we going to get that’s better than Murphy? Maybe, if some of you get your wish, whomever that person is, should be in the World Series the next four years. If not, fire them as well.
I grew up around softball, with my mom playing. This sport is a little closer to home for me. I played baseball, so I follow the baseball program about equally to softball. I'm not a basketball guy, so these two have always been a little higher on the totem pole for me.
Seeing the drop off in softball is disheartening. Knowing of the "stuff" that probably caused this over the years is also disheartening.
I'd be very excited to see a better product put on the field, we've been surpassed by many many programs now. Feels like every year we're falling just a little further behind.
I mean, look at where we are just in the SEC now. We are behind Oklahoma, Texas, LSU, Florida, Texas A&M, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss.
We aren't even in the top half of the conference anymore.
On a tangent....I do wish ESPN's website had more on college baseball and softball other than just lumping into "College Sports" along with hockey, fencing, lacrosse etc.
Seeing the drop off in softball is disheartening. Knowing of the "stuff" that probably caused this over the years is also disheartening.
I'd be very excited to see a better product put on the field, we've been surpassed by many many programs now. Feels like every year we're falling just a little further behind.
I mean, look at where we are just in the SEC now. We are behind Oklahoma, Texas, LSU, Florida, Texas A&M, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss.
We aren't even in the top half of the conference anymore.
On a tangent....I do wish ESPN's website had more on college baseball and softball other than just lumping into "College Sports" along with hockey, fencing, lacrosse etc.
I appreciate your post Bamamc1-I think you really have to think about what other programs have done over the past 10-15 years to build strong programs ( not even counting adding 2 powers this year). I firmly stand on the side of Murph being able to decide when to step aside. Maybe there can be a succession plan with Braud?? In 3 years- Murph gets his 30 and Kayla gets more seasoned coaching.
To your post, I think about what KY hoops fans must think with the buildup of so many SEC programs- it used to be maybe a tenn or LSU or Bama might have a big year but now there are at least 8-10 programs with legitimate championship expectations
To your post, I think about what KY hoops fans must think with the buildup of so many SEC programs- it used to be maybe a tenn or LSU or Bama might have a big year but now there are at least 8-10 programs with legitimate championship expectations
This is a great post, and no, I don't know who, if it came to that, we would replace Murphy with. The man built the program, so I hope he can fix it. Maybe what we have coming in this fall will help that. All I know is that, for the last few years, we seem to be getting weaker while everyone else is getting stronger, and it's mainly on the offensive side. We just don't hit the ball well, and unless you have Montana Fouts out there every game, we need to score runs. We seem to doing a little better at the plate so far this year, so I'm willing to let it ride and see what happens. As you said, at this point, who could we get that would better than Murphy.
The problem is that Murphy has been coaching in the same time frame as Patty Gasso, Tim Walton, and Mike White. All 3 have altered their approach and built teams with a real chance to win a championship year in and year out. Murph has not adjusted and we have been on a slide for about 10 years in which we were waiting for a mediocre pitching stable before the dam finally broke.
I think it’s less about competition catching up and more allowing it to catch up. Like I said… Gasso, Walton, and White have been at this for the same amount of time as Murphy and haven’t seen as big of a drop off as Alabama has.
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