BC Football: Why A Midseason Change At Head Coach Might Make Sense

On Tuesday fellow BC blogger Bill at Eagle in Atlanta laid out a well thought out post laying out the rationale on why firing Addazio before the season ends wouldn’t make sense. While I certainly respect Bill’s opinion and he laid out some great ideas, here are some reasons why it would actually make sense.

If Boston College was to lose to Syracuse, and just for the sake of argument say they get blown out on Saturday, letting Addazio go might make all the sense in the world. We still have no idea what is going on with Brad Bates and his future with the school, but a season that spirals out of control would clearly point to a new football coach in 2017. Why bother letting him finish 2016?

ATL’s points definitely make sense, and could be how the administration views the situation, but let’s flip the coin and see the other side of this hypothetical decision:

1. Recruiting: ATL mentions that Addazio is still recruiting at a high level (I disagree, his class rankings have declined every year since he has been here). The worry is that if Addazio is gone before the season ends, this recruiting class will fall apart . This may be true, but you have to imagine that these recruits are savvy enough to read the writing on the walls. They are on Twitter, the message boards etc. reading about the state of the program, you have to imagine that they know a bad season could lead to a coaching change. What difference does it make if it’s now or in 6 weeks? Kids that are committed to Addazio and not Boston College are going to leave if he goes. This doesn’t matter when the change is made in my opinion.

2. The Message: Though ATL never talks about it specifically, the concern is there that if Addazio is let go in the middle of the season that could send the wrong message to the team. That could certainly be true, there definitely might be players who feel connected to the coach and will be hurt if he is fired. However, if BC goes out and continues to play like they did against Clemson and Virginia Tech, what message is that going to send the players? I have to imagine that getting thrashed week in and week out in front of a crowd that more than likely will be booing would be more harmful than letting go of a coach.

3. Who Makes The Decision: Of of ATL’s most valid points is that if Bates is not going to be here next year as well, it would not make sense for him to make such a program altering decision, and if Addazio is let go the message will end up making this a bigger mess. That may be true. But, one of the biggest gripes fans have with Boston College is their lack of commitment to building a winning program. What if the decision didn’t come from Bates, or it was demanded by the BOT of Father Leahy? Wouldn’t that send a clear message to donors, season ticket holders, recruits and players that what is going on is unacceptable and that BC is committed to creating a winning program? Probably. Now that being said, if that decision was made, I would expect that the next AD (if a change is made) would hire the new coach.

Again these are all hypothetical, we have no idea what Boston College is thinking at this point. But it has to be something to consider, especially if the ship continues to spin out of control. Changes may occur, they may not. Like ATL I just want to see BC win on Saturday against Syracuse. But I’m worried.