Army 34, Boston College 31: One Year Later, S.O.S.

This is what I wrote a year ago after Boston College's loss to Wake Forest to drop to 1-4. Emphasis added.

I've seen written a few times: "This is just Boston College football bedding back down to the level of competition seen at other academically elite Division I-A schools." So let me get this out of the way early ...

That is nonsense.

Boston College football is not some shell of a Division I-A football program at one of the nation's elite academic institutions. There is no comparison to Boston College's program to that of Duke, Northwestern, Rice, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Tulane or SMU, at least historically. BC is a proud football school, one that has the 35th highest winning percentage all-time (.587), fourth among private schools behind only Notre Dame, USC and Miami.

To see this program at 1-4 (0-2 ACC) is simply inexcusable. Things have to change on the Heights. This is easily the worst football team I have seen play since hitting the Heights as a freshman over 10 years ago, and maybe even much longer than that.

That said, it's not too late to right the ship here and see a return to a proud, Division I-A football program. Here are five humble suggestions on how to fix Boston College football.

1. Clean house with the coaching staff. The entire coaching staff has to go. I'm sure Spaz is a nice enough guy, but when you start throwing players under the bus in postgame press conferences, you've officially lost the benefit of the doubt with the fan base and the team. When the one thing that you excel at -- defense -- is getting lit up week after week, it's time for a change. The school, this proud football program and the players simply deserve better. Bring in a youthful, energetic head coach that understands what Boston College football is all about -- bruising offensive lines, solid defense and recruiting guys that want to play big time college football at one of the better schools in the country.

For all his faults and bitterness towards the end of his tenure, Tom O'Brien understood what BC football was all about. This is why I think he was able to maintain a level of consistency never seen before at BC, and why he is seemingly struggling at N.C. State (given the difference in sales pitch down in Raleigh ... you can't teach an old dog new tricks?).

We need to inject some youth into this coaching staff and hire a head coach that understands what Boston College football is about. This coaching staff has lost its way a bit and no member of the current staff should be hired to fill the role left by Spaz. It's time to rip the band-aid off and start fresh.

Exactly one year and five days later and this entire post still holds true. Well, that's not entirely true. Last year's team -- and last year's offensive line and entire defensive unit -- is WAY better than this year's. This isn't meant to call out the current players on this year's squad; merely to point out that the head football coach and the man who hired him have failed the players, the school, the fans and alumni of a once proud college football program.

Hopefully it's very clear to the next Boston College Athletic Director that action has to be taken. And soon. It may be a year (or four) too late, but if there's a positive to be taken away from this loss, it's that this point became crystal clear this afternoon on the banks of the Hudson River.