Where Do We Go From Here?

If there is one thing that can be said after seven years and 11 weeks of Steve Addazio at the helm of the Boston College football team, it is that there is no lack of information to make an informed decision about the program under Steve Addazio.

During the past seven years and eleven weeks, we got to know Addazio’s play calling tendencies, his approach to recruiting, and even his propensity for citing youth as a reason why the program isn’t where it needs to be.

And, of course, we have known nothing but seven win seasons for all but one, possibly now two seasons.

Under Steve Addazio, we have known high points, like the huge win against USC back in 2014, his bowl-eligibility clinching win against NC State and the first half of the 2018 season.

But we’ve also known the depths of the 2015 season. We’ve known the collapse in the second half of the 2018 season. And, of course, we’ve known the ups and downs of this year.

What has become abundantly clear is that there is a level of consistency for BC with Addazio at the helm, and what you see with BC has been what we have gotten from the team.

We’re going to have posts over the week about Steve Addazio, and whether or not he should be fired. We’re going to have one person argue the merits of retaining him, and of course we will have one person argue why it is time for BC to move on from him.

This piece is not one of those pieces. I don’t think my feelings on the matter are that big of a secret, but I am going to let me colleagues say their piece and allow all of you, the BCI community, to make a determination about who has the better argument, and what, moving forward, is the best path for BC to take.

What I will say is this: the decision that BC makes in regards to Steve Addazio goes far beyond an evaluation of his work, though that’s certainly a part of it. The decision that Martin Jarmond makes is going to be a reflection of what is acceptable at BC for a football coach moving forward. If he decides to move on, it’s a message that more is expected of the Boston College football coach than consistent seven win seasons and absolute struggles against the upper echelon of the conference. If Steve Addazio is the head coach next year against, it is an indication that the past seven years is all that should be expected of BC, that never being above .500 in conference play is not only acceptable, but all that should be expected of BC, and that we should not hold our football program to anything more than what has been on the field.

This is not merely a coaching decision: it’s a reflection not only of what the BC football program has become, but what it should be, because at this point there is nothing more that we can learn about Steve Addazio that will give us a more informed decision about his fitness to lead this program than what we already have.

We just have to decide if what we have is acceptable.