I would give Ault one last shot.

[wolf_chatter]

You all know I don't think Ault is the coach to get us to the next level but the talk of firing him is useless at this time. He has been here for 25 years and isn't going to get fired during an above .500 season. But I would say that no big wins next year and no WAC title and another 0-3 start will be enough to send him on his way. I am just as sick as anyone about our FB teams performance in bowl games and against good teams. Ault has yet to win a single big game since his return and I don't see any reason to believe it will change next year. One more year of same old same old will be enough ammo for Groth to ask him
to retire. My guess is we lose 4-5 games again next year and he is gone.

[oldballcoach]

If you just like teasing yourself they have strip clubs for that.

[geezer1]

I think next year the numbers will be more like 9-4, or maybe even 10-3 (remember we're probably going to have a 13th game against a 1AA team). Cal and BYU will beat us, as will Boise in a very close game in Reno, but Nevada could win everything else. Once again, second in the WAC and a bowl game, prospects the rest of the WAC below us would love to have.

[oldballcoach]

I think next year the numbers will be more like 9-4, or maybe even 10-3 (remember we're probably going to have a 13th game against a 1AA team). Cal and BYU will beat us, as will Boise in a very close game in Reno, but Nevada could win everything else. Once again, second in the WAC and a bowl game, prospects the rest of the WAC below us would love to have.

Let's face it, the teams below us in the WAC largely make up the bottom 10% of division 1 football.

[geezer1]

But, they're still looking up at us.

[oldballcoach]

That is similar to bragging you finished 2nd in your remedial english class at UNLV. If Groth hadn't brought up the whole Nevada:The Next BCS Buster talk a few years back then I would be more content to just sit back and watch our non-serious football operation.

[NevadaConvert]

If we don't beat CAL, BYU, Boise or a BCS bowl opponent next year, then I think we need another coach. We wouldn't be getting up over the next hump.

Hell, I'd offer Akey a major raise and bring him over. I like coaches that the kids love to play for and get fired up naturally.

I also like S4E's idea about bringing DeRoyter back from Air Force as the DC for a year and then transition him to HC.

[CAHUSKY]

double post

[CAHUSKY]

If we don't beat CAL, BYU, Boise or a BCS bowl opponent next year, then I think we need another coach. We wouldn't be getting up over the next hump.

Hell, I'd offer Akey a major raise and bring him over. I like coaches that the kids love to play for and get fired up naturally.

I also like S4E's idea about bringing DeRoyter back from Air Force as the DC for a year and then transition him to HC.

So, if Nevada doesn't beat 2 probable top 20 teams (not to mention an unnamed BCS opponent) and win all their other games Ault should be fired? 10-3 and Ault should be fired? Wow.

[NevadaConvert]

So, if Nevada doesn't beat 2 probable top 20 teams (not to mention an unnamed BCS opponent) and win all their other games Ault should be fired? 10-3 and Ault should be fired? Wow.

I was implying that we win just one of those games. If we don't beat at least one of them, just one, I think we need to move on if we have a good option available. The team we have next year should be good enough to be flirting with the Top 25 sometime during the season. If we can't even get one big win, then I'm off the train. We might have a chance to play an average Pac-10 team in a bowl next year. That wouldn't be hard to do. Just 1......not much to ask.

[vegaspackfan]

I have been an Ault supporter for years. But, I am done. He deserves another year to try and beat a few teams with winning records and actually try to achieve something called defense. But, if that doesn't happen and he loses big games and the defense sucks again. And, he beats the bad teams and loses to the good ones good bye. I am thinking about football future not past and CA has been awesome in the past. He built this team and program. But, if Nevada is to get past this point it will be without CA. IMO of course.

[CAHUSKY]

I was implying that we win just one of those games. If we don't beat at least one of them, just one, I think we need to move on if we have a good option available. The team we have next year should be good enough to be flirting with the Top 25 sometime during the season. If we can't even get one big win, then I'm off the train. We might have a chance to play an average Pac-10 team in a bowl next year. That wouldn't be hard to do. Just 1......not much to ask.

Right, so if the Pack doesn't win one of those games they go 10-3. Tough to fire a coach after a 10-3 season. Wow.

[Posturedoc]

Right, so if the Pack doesn't win one of those games they go 10-3. Tough to fire a coach after a 10-3 season. Wow.

It won't happen if those are the circumstances at the end of next season. Many folks around here are still stewing in their bitterness over the SMU game. Can't say I blame them, but it has and will make for some extreme opinions until next season begins.

As for my own opinion, I don't know what to think anymore. Something is obviously amiss in the program, though I'm not sure it's Ault directly. Perhaps assistant coach or two needs to be let go, though I don't know which ones. The obvious target already removed himself and maybe that will be enough if the right DC is hired. What was clear to me during the ballgame was that the failures of the team were, on that day, systemwide, which could mean the problem is all Ault, but I think it's much more complicated that that. Anyway, I'm not going to bash my head against the wall trying to figure it out - I'd much rather just forget about it.

[NevadaConvert]

Right, so if the Pack doesn't win one of those games they go 10-3. Tough to fire a coach after a 10-3 season. Wow.

You still have it wrong.

CAL
BYU
Boise
Pac-10 Bowl Game

(13 game season with one FCS team, plus one bowl game......13 FBS games).

That's 4 opportunities to win one. If he were to get booted, the best he could possibly do is 9-4 against FBS teams.....but the reality is that we could lose one other game either in conference games or CSU and UNLV. It would likely be an 8-5 record vs. FBS.

That's just showing that we're not going up with a very talented team. He's got to start winning at least every once in a while against good teams.

Having said that, I'm not in favor of moving Ault to the side if we don't have a good plan as a replacement because it could end up getting even worse really fast.

The biggest problem I see with Ault is that he doesn't know how to motivate/inspire his players and that really, really shows on the road. You can't make a guy something he's not in terms of personality, and that's why I think we need a change if we've hit the ceiling.

[AJ fan]

Right, so if the Pack doesn't win one of those games they go 10-3. Tough to fire a coach after a 10-3 season. Wow.

Thanks again for the tickets!
To answer your question Yes!
I'm against firing CA but he should sack up and resign.
Chris Ault seems to have a special talent for bringing teams in unprepared and flat in big games.So if we lose 3 or 4 games and show up and actually give an effort fine. This year we no show for 3 games that is unacceptable.

[RenoGuy]

I'm in favor of letting CA decide when it's time to go. I'm guessing he might decide just that, but after next year when he'll have the best team he's had.

The arguement about what kind of replacement we might get if coach Ault were let go doesn't hold much water with me, though. I'm assuming he's going to retire in a few years anyway, unless he wants to be a Paterno or Bowden which I doubt. So I think we are going to face the fact that we need to find a new coach anyway in the next few years, regardless of what happens.

So why keep saying what other coach can we afford? We will have face that hurdle regardless...

[cfbgirl]

I have been an Ault supporter for years. But, I am done. He deserves another year to try and beat a few teams with winning records and actually try to achieve something called defense. But, if that doesn't happen and he loses big games and the defense sucks again. And, he beats the bad teams and loses to the good ones good bye. I am thinking about football future not past and CA has been awesome in the past. He built this team and program. But, if Nevada is to get past this point it will be without CA. IMO of course.

I don't get it... haven't we given him chance after chance, after chance? I agree that he won't be fired - Groth doesn't have the kahuna's to do it. However, it is time for him to resign (along with his coaching staff). What happened on Thursday night is just another example in a long list of Ault's poor ability to coach in the big games.

The fact of the matter is that the team was not prepared for the game. For gods sake, who in their right mind lets their players go to a water park two days before a bowl game? My son's little league coach wouldn't even let his players do that before one of their playoff games.

Ault: For the sake of the team, the program, and the Univeristy, please retire!

[NEVADAFan1997]

I think it is time for Ault to start preparing the program for post Ault. I have my differences with his style of coaching and have been a very harsh critic of his but there is no way you fire this man and quite honestly it wouldn't be good for the program. He needs to figure out his exit strategy, have someone waiting in the wings to take over the program and walk away gracefully. Can he do that in one season? I don't think so. The HC I was hoping to get to takeover the Ault era just took the job to the south . . . now we need to figureout who is out there that is willing to work within the system (I don't see us stealing a HC) for a year or two waiting for Ault to resign and would be willing to take a paltry compensation package when their time comes?

I still have hopes of beating at least Cal and BSU in Reno next year but Ault has yet to prove he can win the big game or coach up a team. If he doesn't do it next year my heart will be broken once again but my expectations will not have been dashed as with every passing year we are without a "big" win I accept what NEVADA football is under Ault: An underachieving team.

SMU loss was a bad loss (another humiliating loss on natinonal TV - what makes it worse is it was too a non-BCS 7-5 team) no doubt but when you lose as many key players as we did, our D coordinator takes a job prior to the game and you give a good coach like June Jones 3/4 weeks to prepare against a coach and team he's familiar with, bad things tend to happen.