There's a lot of "see I was right" online fans that took a stance against him from day 1 and would rather their avatar be correct than Pope succeed. Petulant, yes, but true. WHEN he succeeds, they'll just leave or change names, lol.
It will never end and I'm having fun and won't let them ruin it. Have sent countless of them to the Ignore button abyss.
They sure have come out in full force, eh ? lol
I'm not sure there's another coach in the country, except maybe Rick Pitino, that could have gotten the results within the circumstances that Coach Pope had to face this year. Even Pitino would have been hard pressed to get the results Pope already has achieved, especially when the conference play began. The injuries just destroyed any continuity for the team.
Predictions for the long term future :
It's going to be looked back, in the future, that Coach Pope managed an unmanageable situation very well this year. Next year, Coach Pope will put together a team that will be ranked in the top 10 to start the season. We're going to count ourselves very lucky, fortunate, and blessed, that we've got Coach Pope. And we are still not done with this year yet.
Barnes may retire after this season, and what will happen to Tennessee when that happens? He's not going to be there much longer. I don't see Beard staying at Ole Miss, he will end up on the sidelines with IU against us next year when we play them. What happens to Ole Miss if he leaves? Golden will have other very interested teams offering, surely. But I think he will stay at Florida. Perhaps other SEC coaches will leave the league.
The SEC will be strong once again, but nowhere near this level of overall top to bottom strength.
Just keep the faith, I say. Same as it ever was here. I've probably been the most positive supporter here on the board for Coach Pope. And I like everyone "keeping him on his toes" with the critique and critical thinking. He wouldn't want it any other way, himself ! That stands in stark contrast to the attitude and ego of what we had here before.
When you stop to consider what has happened around here for the past 5, 6 years, ask yourself this :
Would you want to go back ?
I know what my answer is to that. Regardless how this season ends. It's been an incredible season to follow Pope's patchwork rollercoaster cats ! The ride is not over yet. It'll be bittersweet to see it end.
Go Big Blue (Trust in Coach Pope!)