Lovie was hired at a very awkward time of year and he made some errors in his initial hires of assistants. I don't think he realized right away how the college recruiting process needs to be done/managed. These two things cost us that first season , on the field and off the field .
No one can understand how friggin' Iowa schools beat the crap out of us that bad , and it was/is embarrassing. Is this, his fourth season, the one where we stop being terrible 1/2 the time ? One has a hard time imagining him back if we don't go 6-6. I suppose a 5-7 team that is losing games by less than 10 points would be indicative of progress. Its obvious he and 3-4 coaches are finally connecting with some talented lads here in state or next door , and ones that are miles away. I like the direction the recruiting has taken. Its on par with Zooks first 2-3 years.
The first year or so, I just dont think Lovie fully appreciated the differences in the college football business vs the pro football business. You know, the game inside the game .