I'll reserve my judgment on Gould's performance wins/losses until after I see what Hawk does (with better resources). Whatever Gould and Watts did with the defense was pretty damn good over the years...offense no so much. I remember us holding the leading FCS rusher from NAU to some ungodly low number, and their team to almost nothing, and we still lost (more 3 and outs in a row than I've ever seen in a game). Foster's actual role this year was more of a mentor to the team in general, and specifically to Coach Gould, he did not design or call the defense. Foster is pure class, and i hope he stays around for as long as he wants. Best defensive outing by far was the NAU game. PSU (at PSU) a few years ago was pretty damn good too, we also lost.

Aggie57 is correct. Only a few low level assistants will be retained. DC Watts has already been hired. While, Fresno State's Board claims Watts has been hired as DC, that's not correct, he's a position coach. Good luck to him and Coach Gould as they take on a huge rebuilding project in Fresno. Coach Daft was not invited back, and has not yet found a new home. Hawkins will bring in his own guys because he has to politically...just as Tedford is doing in Fresno.

Pretty much SOP...not always a smart call, but politically, coaches feel like they need to bring in their guys. Frankly, while I'm excited about Hawkins and Blue, I find myself reflecting on all of my posts as hoping for the future. It's time to get this done.

I'll take 1.5M for the baseball team though!. Install the lights too! Attendance would skyrocket!

All I'm saying is give Hawk time to fix this mess...instant success is great, but I think patience will be needed. $5M goes a long way. Hope that's true and it goes directly to football!

Academics, violations of team rules, etc...I don't know why those players transferred. Players transfer all the time from the Oregon to Alabama.

I wonder this the alumni is good with being a respectable/competitive .500? If it happens next year, I'll be elated...in two years happy...but I think it will take 3 or more depending on our schedule and what we get done. I think Hawk can get us close to .500, maybe as soon as next year, with an offensive scheme change, but lots of people are working under the assumption we will be competing for championships in a few years. I don't see it absent massive and quick changes to the program, but I sure hope I'm wrong.

Foundation? I don't think it has been laid. Hawk has to say the right things to create a positive hype for fundraising and recruiting. If he was totally honest, he'd say, we are way behind in lots of places, but I'm going to change all that with Dr. Blue. The problem is they can't do it alone. Firing Gould was a tough one for me. I think he cost us a few games with coaching mistakes, and more sticking with Daft's impotent offense for so long. Despite the handicaps Gould faced in recruiting, I thought they did a pretty good job bringing in a few really good players (Luuga, Petit, Spencer, and more), but they need more studs. In the end, if Blue is going to go out and raise the millions we need to be great, he has to sell the program's success being on the horizon. Frankly, it was his only political move. He can go get money on Hawk's potential versus Gould's past record. Gould's promises of growth really just got stale, and left a bitter taste for a lot of us alumni. If Hawk can't win after 4 more years, who is going to even want football anymore besides purists like me? This is a huge time for Aggie Sports...no pressure Dr. Blue.

The assistants make less than $40K, and work 15 hour days during the season seven days a week. They work here so they can get the next job. We are very small time. It doesn't matter where they live, but they sure as hell can't afford a nice place in town or even most apartments. I can't speak to the ICA budget issues, but Blue is smart, he'll run a tight ship. The bottom line is we are a long way off...this process should have started when Biggs was still coach. We are years away from being a contender, so be patient with Hawk.

I totally agree with all you said. The cost will be massive, and we aren't competitive at this level. If we built a MWC level facility, we may be able to draw those recruits, but that's a huge undertaking. Let's win a few Big Sky's, fill Aggie Stadium for a few years, and then talk about the MWC. I do think our students would show up for week night games, especially if beer is sold and we are on TV.

Don't know, but cost of living in Davis is far more than most, if not all, other teams we play. My point is not really the salary rates, but the fact Gould's managment of funds has nothing to do with out lack of success. The student support has been awful (understandable with the record), and we have no corporate sponsors.

Noel Mazzone, former UCLA OC, made $250K base with $400K in other compensation, for a total of $700K with benefits in 2014. http://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/search/?q=INTERCOL%20ATH%20COACH%20AST%20EX

Sorry, but you the staffing costs are not the issue. Paying bargain basement prices for everything gets a basement team. Assistant slots are nowhere near $100,000 plus benefits at UCD. Per public records, Pat McCann (our WR coach) earned a salary of $39,833 in 2014 with a total compensation cost of $66K. Kevin Daft made $70,679 in 2014...total compensation cost was $100K (with benefits) as an OC. We pay our assistant coaches about what a Burger King Manager makes to work their butts off. I can't imagine why any major conference assistant coaches coming to Davis at our pay rates. Drastic pay cut, expensive town, and all the handicaps we know exist.

I've pointed out our many issues that were not addressed at all the past 10 years. I received a call from a coach a few summers ago asking me to raise/donate $5,000 to cover the cost of a software update for football's video software. They are not swimming in cash. Admissions, academic infrastructure, player and coaches facilities are far behind the rest of the league let alone most D-1's we are competing against (Reno, San Jose St., etc.). As I've said, a few wins may/should come from the change in our offense, maybe one more from the energy from a new staff and Hawk's better coaching skills, but a consistent championship level team will require a total remodel of what we do from who we get in to where they watch film. I was just there, and the Health Center offices are embarrassing, and make us look so small time to high school kids.

I know a freshman backup QB on that Colorado team well, and he loved Hawkins and that entire staff (and they hated the moron who came next). Hawk's son was a good QB on a mediocre team, and a watched more than a few games. He played really hard, and without him they win less games. The stuff about nepotism was totally unfounded from what I heard, and I would assume backup QB and his dad would be saying it if it had happened. Hawk's downfall and the speculation about nepotism flowed from them losing games...typical in all levels of sports I suppose. I have no problem with his son coming in an working a position coach, and it happens in a ton of programs. Lots of misinformation comes from unqualified sources about programs, and only I truly trust what I hear when it comes from multiple players and/or coaches within the team. The rest of the world just speculates. It's a non-issue unless his son was unqualified or doesn't work hard.

Lol, it won't be a secret for long. I hope I'm right!

There were some real deficiencies in his coaching game, but this all can't be blamed on Gould. I'm excited about Hawkins,he has my 100% support, but until we have a few back to back winning seasons, I'll reserve judgment. If we make the right changes in our entire sports program, we will see success. If not, we will have many years of these discussions.

He will hire an OC who will install whatever offense they plan on using for several years. You can't install a new offense every year, so I don't think he will consider who we have on the current roster as his guide. We do have to consider the athletes we land in recruiting, and to me that's a spread type offense that forces them to assign an LB or DB to cover the QB.

As long as we run up the middle on every first down, second down, and then throw on 3rd and long.

We need to give Hawkins the time to right this ship. Don't expect too much next year...if he blows us away, then great, if not, give him a break. I think a change in our offense will translate to a few (maybe 3) wins alone.

I don't think he will be the OC, but he may be a good QB coach. Played a high level, grad assistant at a high level, and with the right OC supervising him, it could be just fine. It's a non-issue until it's an issue.