Bunting Stuff

Another tough night for the Tarheels. So bad that it looks like they are getting worse.

…following a 23-0 loss to lowly Virginia, you’d have to say there is much more wrong about UNC’s performance on the field than there is right. I would challenge anyone who watched Thursday night’s game to find a bright spot in the Tar Heels’ play.

It was clear by mid-September that neither Virginia nor UNC would be going places this fall. But over the past two weeks, Virginia has gotten better and Carolina has gotten worse.

Before the shutout last night, the local media was talking about Bunting in the past-tense. After the game, 850TheBuzz had this perspective of some things.

I very much enjoyed this entry over on FansBlog.com that is focused on the N&O’s hypothetical list of potential candidates for the Carolina job.

Obviously someone at the N&O has a pretty high view of the UNC job. Too high, I’d say.

Of the names mentioned, SFN would personally fear Bobby Johnson and Paul Johnson more than would initially register with the average fan. What both of these Johnsons have done with the Vandy and Navy programs, respectfully, deserves a lot of credit. Bobby Johnson and Jim Grobe are probably two of the most under-appreciate coaches in America by the national media.

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General NCS Football

28 Responses to Bunting Stuff

  1. RAWFS 10/20/2006 at 10:01 AM #

    Bobby Johnson, please no.

    It would be painful to see Ricky Logo in a UNC shirt.

  2. BoKnowsNCS71 10/20/2006 at 10:02 AM #

    I watched the game. These guys are killing themselves. They made VA look like it is getting better.

    As ofr a Johnson in the future? I expect the Pack to have a “johnson” ready for them.

  3. RickJ 10/20/2006 at 10:10 AM #

    I would be interested in Statefans opinion about something regarding Bunting’s replacement. Currently, UNC-Chapel Hill does not have a single minority head coach in any sport. I don’t think they have ever had one. Do you think this might become an issue during the search?

    I’ve thought about this for a couple of reasons:

    Do you remember the flack Dick Sheridan took for not having any minority assistant coaches on his first staff?

    It may have been my paranoia but I felt like that we would have been excoriated on this issue if we had not hired Lowe. The criticism would have been for not interviewing and considering Whittenburg and the reason would have been along the lines of “NC State would never hire a minority coach in one of their major sports.�

  4. partialqualifier 10/20/2006 at 10:28 AM #

    First of all….UNC absolutely sucked. UVa is not a very good football team. Of course neither was South Florida. I dont know about you guys, but I think this is the worst UNC team since the end of the Dick Crummy days! They were much, much better the last 2 years than they are now! Wow!

    Now…as a loyal Pack fan I hate to see Bunting go, but he is a horrible football coach. I have never seen a team that NEVER does anything right…NEVER! The sad part is they are not getting better, and I am starting to think that the players no longer believe in the Coaches. As bad as I have thought the Pack has played at times, it is obvious that the players believe in Amato. This is clearly not the case in UNC. I am sure they will change coaches. I am also sure that Baddour is nearly as bad as Fowler. So…this could get interesting…LOL!

    One other thing…does anyone else seem to notice how quick the Media is to point out all the disciplinary actions that Bunting takes. They do so to make him seem as if he is such a “principled” guy. You know, sacraficing wins for discipline! The real question is why does he have to discipline so many kids. Yeah, it’s great that he kicks people off the team and sits them for flipping the bird to UVA fans…but it would be even greater if his players were more disciplined and didnt do all that stuff in the first place! That’s the real tragedy! I dunno…just thinking aloud!

  5. choppack1 10/20/2006 at 10:30 AM #

    I’d love to see media reaction if Bunting somehow remained as coach. Some folks would be “outed” for sure.

    I also love how the media handles our coaching “controversies.” In today’s Winston Salem paper, Bill Cole peppered his article w/ historical data on how long it’s been since UNC has been shut out – how long it’s been since they’ve been shut out in the ACC, how long it’s been since they were shut out, how long it’s been since they’ve been shut out on the road, how long it’s been since they’ve been shut out vs. UVa…The only point I could see was him trying to put into a historical perspective what a bad job Bunting is doing. (Never mind that he only had to go back 3 years to find the first shut out…)

    It’s funny, before the year began Amato had to endure all kind of hot seat talk. Very little followed Bunting around – even though – every one w/ half a mind knew that he couldn’t afford another 3-8 season. Amato, at least has a decent past performance to fall back on.

    It’s amazing how quietly the UNC media machine operates and how effective it is.

  6. primacyone 10/20/2006 at 10:36 AM #

    Interesting Indeed.

    Should be enticing to watch unfold.

    Jeff Gravely over at WRAL mentions on his blog that Dick Baddour’s contract ends in June of 07 and that could throw a major monkey wrench into the whole scenerio.

    That UNC media machine is effective.

  7. BoKnowsNCS71 10/20/2006 at 10:39 AM #

    Probably will if they take the “Committee” approach and the decision out of Baddour’s hands.

    I would plead ignorance to who’s anyone else who is a potential minority candidate other than Tyrone Willingham — from Kinston, NC. He’s changed jobs a lot but might want to come home.

    The tarhole program has been hemmoraghing so badly over there that (IMHO) they will have to seek and find a proven coach (and possibly his entire staff) who is willing to attempt to build a program. And that can take years.

    Another problem they have is that many good coaches have been locked into long term contracts after the musical chairs two years ago with all the talk about Myer, Petrino, et al.

    They will need lots of cash to buy out Bunting, Cignetti, and Harrison unless they kept them and brought in just a head coach (who agreed to that). Then the new guy is going to get paid a bundle. Then we are going to have to be price competitive also.

    The Boise State coach and staff might be a choice. They already play on a blue field so going to a lighter color might be palatable.

  8. duckmanjw 10/20/2006 at 10:40 AM #

    Baddour much like Fowlup got an extension earlier this year until the end of 08-09.

    Gravely’s facts were wrong.

  9. Texpack 10/20/2006 at 11:10 AM #

    Anybody remember the phrase “I’d rather have Jock Itch than Dick Crum?” My all time favorite reference to a Tar Heel coach.

  10. choppack1 10/20/2006 at 11:15 AM #

    “I would plead ignorance to who’s anyone else who is a potential minority candidate other than Tyrone Willingham — from Kinston, NC. He’s changed jobs a lot but might want to come home. ”

    I would be thrilled w/ them hiring Willingham.

  11. redfred2 10/20/2006 at 11:15 AM #

    ^choppack1

    “It’s funny, before the year began Amato had to endure all kind of hot seat talk.”

    That is what I have been saying all along. There is nothing more blatent to spotlight the media bias than the way they’ve treated this deal with Bunting. Amato was there through the whole off season, right through the recruiting period and everything, but it has taken one absolute embarrassment right after another to finally get them to budge on Bunting.

    It is sad.

    Unfortunately, this is an easy out for them after last night.

  12. Dexter 10/20/2006 at 11:24 AM #

    ^choppack1

    Last night during the game I was listening to a local sports station 930 AM. The has channel 12’s (in New Bern) sports director Brian North on as a guest. He stated that there WAS a bias against Amatoby the N&O and that the bias was obvious in the tone in which articles are written about Amato and Bunting… WOW a person in the media actually saying that!!!!!

  13. wolfonthehill 10/20/2006 at 11:32 AM #

    Don’t yell at me – but I actually felt bad for the unc-ch players last night. Not the fans, mind you, and not Bunting. But the players can’t be having ANY fun right now. Hopefully that continues through 11/18.

  14. Mike 10/20/2006 at 11:40 AM #

    The Tar Holes were pitiful last night, gotta love it! I was watching the game thinking, “Gee UVA is awful too, if they had any kind of team at all, the game would be 50-0.” Instead, they looked bad as well, just the ineptness of UNC was even worse. It is clear the team no longer believes in the staff, or themselves. And for those who say the talent is not there, again, UNC always has ranked recruiting classes, far ahead of ours. To someone’s point the other day, that the recruits jump up on the radar becasue UNC is recruiting them, there might be some merit to that, but for the most part, these are kids other big names are recruiting too. The players are just not being developed.

    Now for all you Tar Heel fans out there reading this, please understand your team is just one year away. You should see the recruits coming in next year, they are dynamite. Bunting is a super guy and he just needs a little more time. There is no one better out there you can get, so give him till next year. And next year, the 4 star recruits will still be young, so give him till the year after next, and he will have even more recruits coming in. Then the year after that, and the year after that. And so on and so on. You are close, so close, just one player away.

  15. BoKnowsNCS71 10/20/2006 at 12:00 PM #

    Mike — Sounds like the song from Annie.

    Tomorrow, tomorrow. O wait, I feel a song coming on……..(by JB wearing a red wig):

    The wins will come out
    Tomorrow
    Bet your bottom dollar
    That tomorrow
    There’ll be a win!

    Just thinkin’ about
    Tomorrow
    Clears away the cobwebs,
    And the sorrow
    ‘Til there’s none!

    When I’m stuck a day
    That’s gray,
    And lonely,
    I just stick out my chin
    And Grin,
    And Say,
    Oh

    The wins will come out
    Tomorrow
    So ya gotta hang on
    ‘Til tomorrow
    Come what may

    Tomorrow!
    Tomorrow!
    I love ya
    Tomorrow!

    You’re always
    A week
    A way!

    The sun’ll come out
    Tomorrow
    So ya gotta hang on
    ‘Til tomorrow
    Come what may

    Tomorrow!
    Tomorrow!
    I love ya
    Tomorrow!

    You’re always
    A year
    A way!

  16. redfred2 10/20/2006 at 12:03 PM #

    ^wolfonthehill

    I was the other way around, they were moving the ball early and every time they would do something foolish. The players let their ownselves down in the very short time I watched the game last night. I was feelin’ a little for Bunting.

  17. Mike 10/20/2006 at 12:03 PM #

    Good job Bo, you missed your calling. My tongue in cheek rant was said in hopes that somehow, someway, they will decide to keep JB. He is good for their program, dont let Baddour run him off.

  18. cfpack03 10/20/2006 at 12:14 PM #

    Yep, Bunting is a real class act, highly respected by all the coaches. I mean, come one UNC fans, you’re expectations are too high. How can you expect to compete with the other great programs in the ACC?

    …sound familiar?

  19. redfred2 10/20/2006 at 12:27 PM #

    ^cfpack03

    Huh, yep. Hit shore does.

  20. Micky McCarthy 10/20/2006 at 12:27 PM #

    Count me as worried that the UNC team, which has some talent (make no mistake about that) will get fired up and play WAYYYY over their heads against us in a “win one last one for Punting” inspired effort.

    However, if Amato manages to lose the UNC game as he is prone to do, he should be fired ON THE SPOT.

  21. CaptainCraptacular 10/20/2006 at 12:45 PM #

    Bunting looks like he’s been emasculated on the sideline. He’s on his own little island right now floating in the opposite direction as his team. I can’t imagine anything he says in the locker room or on the practice field has any conviction behind it.

    One game at a time folks. Time enough for worrying about Carolina’s motivation to win a last one for the bunting when the time comes. The only game that matters at the moment is Maryland.

  22. BoKnowsNCS71 10/20/2006 at 1:14 PM #

    Two things that I’ve come to realize:

    1. God is not a Tarheel (or he hates football).

    2. I’m starting to feel better about all the anxiety and embarassment I went through during the BB coach now that the T-holes are going through just about the same type of misery. The shoe is now on the other foot.

  23. IrishPackFan 10/20/2006 at 1:15 PM #

    My thoughts aren’t on who the Tarholes get to replace Bunting, but what it does to the recruiting class that he has been shoring up on. It was panning out to be a good class. Do any of you think that the Wolfpack would be able to capitalize on some of the “verbally commited” recruits going to UNC? Can we offer something that the UNC can’t if we continue down a winning path? I feel that our team is going to be scary next season with all of the young talent we have and with Bunting out; those recruits may want to find the nearest fire exit and head down the road to Raleigh. What do you think are the chances?

  24. redfred2 10/20/2006 at 1:25 PM #

    Micky McCarthy

    Also down the road, already good recruiting class over there and just waiting. Like Irishpackfan eluded to, but I don’t particularly care where they come from, CA and staff need to make a showing in these remaining games in order to stake a descent claim among these upcoming recruits.

  25. RAWFS 10/20/2006 at 2:01 PM #

    Bo now owes me a beer for getting that song stuck…in…..my…..head….must….stop…..hearing……it…..please!

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