Ana Imel

So, Steve Logan of East Carolina is upset that Ana Imel (the man with no D) was fired:

You have a guy who comes in with marching orders to clean up the program," Logan said. "He lets 10 or 11 kids go his first year for various reasons, and he's redshirting his classes and had the table set, and someone gets stupid and fires him."

I tend to agree with Mark Vandermeer, who said yesterday on his talk show on AM 610 that there's no excuse for not winning ANY games at UH. You may have a rebuilding year from time to time (this year ought to be the exception, not signs of great "improvement" that Imel keeps talking about), but given the pitiful conference and the wealth of talent in this city (let alone state), you should not put up a goose egg. Dimel should probably have been let go last year, but Maggard was too new to pull the trigger. To suggest that Imel has been treated unfairly by administrators is over the top.

And here's a thought -- for the next coach, maybe, just maybe, we can hire a coach with a man's name? Kim and Ana just haven't been the answer. And get this:

"Louisville who?" Dimel said jokingly in reference to the atmosphere surrounding Saturday's game. "Sunday is when we usually watch film (of the next foe). I was too busy crying to worry about it (Sunday), so I came in earlier Monday morning."

I would also suggest, in addition to a coach with a man's name, somebody who doesn't cry quite so much.

I'm sure, of course, that Wizig is sad after his, umm, "friend" (for lack of a better word) was fired. I wonder if Wizig's snapped to the possibility of a 4-8 record yet? Probably too busy crying as well.

Here's a telling quote also:

Said Louisville coach John L. Smith, whose 7-4 Cardinals can win a share of the C-USA championship by beating the Cougars at Robertson Stadium on Saturday: "I feel bad for Dana. They're more talented than a lot of teams we've played this year."

Funny, but that's what a lot of coaches used to say about John Blake at Oklahoma after beating him. Ana Imel seems like a nice guy, but he didn't get it done with what he had, and even an opposing coach suggests that he had some talent to work with. I say it's time for the Tommy Kaiser era to get going.

[Posted at 09:55 CST on 11/26/02] [Link]