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Firing Coach Prince could have many unintended drawbacks

Published: Monday, November 3, 2008

Updated: Monday, November 3, 2008

Poll

Many fans have called for Ron Prince to be fired or step down as head coach. What do you think?

View results

    Losing to KU for the third straight year has left many fans, the editors of the Collegian included, with mixed feelings about Ron Prince’s future.
    Many feel that Prince should be fired immediately or at season’s end, but this has many drawbacks.
    If Prince gets fired, the school would be forced to buyout his contract for $1.2 million. It seems like the a small amount to pay for the hope of bringing in a new coach that could restore K-State’s football program to its glory days, but can the university really afford to pay this amount with the current economic crisis?
    A new coach would not immediately fix the football program either. It would take time to install a new system and bring in recruits.
    Also, there is another problem that comes along if Prince gets fired. Quarterback Josh Freeman would likely forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft. It is unlikely that he would want to learn a new offensive scheme for his last year. Freeman is the best quarterback K-State has had since Michael Bishop was here 10 years ago, and we may never see a player like him again for a while.
    Another possibility is that Wildcat fans grit their teeth and hope Prince can turn the football program around. This is not impossible for him to do, but he would have to get the right recruits and win games against Big 12 Schools.
    A third scenario is that Prince could just quit. The university wouldn’t have to pay him the buyout fee, but they would then have to hire a new coach and start from scratch.
    We here at the Collegian want to know what our readers think should happen. Go online and take our poll at www.kstatecollegian.com.

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45 comments

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Bob Warren
Thu Nov 6 2008 21:17
Freeman is a Jr. that plays like a Freshman.
Piff
Thu Nov 6 2008 15:58
To the loyal KU fan, mommy and daddy have dinner ready. Time to turn the computer off. Check the record over the last 20 years.
Your name
Thu Nov 6 2008 11:34
It's all the players?? I highly doubt that..i believe we have good players but the coaches are not putting them in the right places..we play like crap the first half of games and then half time rolls around and the coach makes no changes and we come out and play just as bad if not worse...i blame the coach and coaching staff..Thank god he will not be back next year!
Bruce
Wed Nov 5 2008 17:45
Hey, it was not Ron Prince on the field playing. It's ALL the players on the field to create the losses.
Chris
Wed Nov 5 2008 16:07
A lot of my money goes to KSU. Stop waisting it on his salary please.
Dean Class of '74
Wed Nov 5 2008 15:41
Mr.Freeman isn't a football player, he's an athlete. Todd Riesing and others like him at the collegiate level are football players and make things happen. Losing Freeman and Prince is a good thing, as the coaching top to bottom is terrible and Coffman can run the offense just fine obviously.
Rock Chalk
Wed Nov 5 2008 14:26
As a loyal KU fan, please sign Prince to a lifetime contract. Also, See if the NCAA will give Freeman 10 or so more years of eligibility. PLEASE!!!!!!
Gary Parker
Tue Nov 4 2008 19:11
I have watched K-State football for over 50 yrs. We had a great run with Bill Snyder. We started to slide during his last two years. The first Prince year was with Snyder players and we were pretty good. We have been definitely going down hill since. The recruitung is not good and the on field coaching is unbelievably bad. We never make adjustments or change our tactics. What happened to the defense that was number four in the nation a few years ago? I do not believe that a total lack of talent. Our coaching staff seems to not recognize or utilize the talent we have in the right positions. They also cannot motivate the players. The KU game is one of the most important of the year, whatever our record. We appeared to be flat and not motivated at all. Gary Parker Class of 1959
Damon in KC
Tue Nov 4 2008 14:40
As an alum and season ticket holder x3 from KC, I'm not going to spend valuable time and $ continuing to support this jackass' antics next fall. Get him out of here.
Brian
Tue Nov 4 2008 08:19
It's time for RP to step down. I believe he is a great guy but he is not a HEAD COACH. Play calling is bad and it doesn't look like the players want to play for him. To play in the big 12 you have to have heart and it looks like our wildcats have lost that. We need a coach that can get that back for our team. Thats not something you just have it is something that grows in a team as the team grows and our team is not growing. I have been a wildcat fan for a long time, in the thick and the thin a fan is there always please Ron step down.
Scowan
Tue Nov 4 2008 00:33
$1.2 million would ideally be paid by boosters. If the boosters want him out, the boosters will pay for him to leave. Boosters pay for renovations and they also finace awarded scholarships. The economic crisis has little effect on donations by individuals to a state funded organization that will be a tax write off in less than 2 months.
Come on Wefald, listen to your ticket holders!
Mon Nov 3 2008 22:17
When it comes to football, wouldn't all like to be "Partying Like It Was 1999 (11-1-0)", but not with "Ron" Prince! As we all know, that will NEVER happen as long as he is at the helm.
Paul Harris
Mon Nov 3 2008 18:31
Ron Prince is a good guy. But he has severed ties within the state of Kansas, especially in the Wichita area, obviously the most talent-rich area. He refuses to recruit Texas, the most talent-rich state. He has not shown any progress is unwilling to make any changes to the defense (see Tibs). I don't care if Freeman leaves. Really, I could care less. If it means I have to watch another year of crap on the field then why does it matter if Freems is here. Come home Gary and let us show you how real fans are. Thanks Ron for the bowl victory but let's just part ways.
Your name
Mon Nov 3 2008 18:21
OK, let's count the wins: ummmmmmm..... North Texas, a team considered one of the WORST in college football; Montana State, a team that could easily handle Fort Hays. OK, maybe not EASILY; there's LALA, a team that nearly whipped our butts' and then there's TA&M, who sucks. We start the year by NOT playing Fresno State because we are afraid to get beat. And we have a freakin' COUNTDOWN CLOCK for the KU game. How rediculous can this get. As a proud K-State grad from the days when 4 wins was a really good deal and Grogan was one of our few real ball players, I can tell you THIS SUCKS!!! How embarrassing for RP to whine in the post-game about it being "the most embarrasing loss" as a coach. Hey, coach, give us ALL a break and STEP DOWN!!!
Cindy
Mon Nov 3 2008 18:06
Freeman would not go to the draft. Are you kidding me? Freeman is average at best and poor compared to many of the other Big XII QB's.
Kstatemomswholovefootball
Mon Nov 3 2008 18:02
The sadest part in this whole mess is for us parents to understand there is a mess, & we go to the games, & cheer the team on through all the bad play calls made by coaches and THEN the student section LEAVES! Come on Students! ALL OF US AT THE GAME want to win, players included! Please look around the stadium. Stay for the whole game like us the parents do. Don't we need to support they guys on our team? It is not their fault that we have coaching problems is it? How would you feel if you were on the field & the whole student section left? Yes, you have spoken volumes by your leaving. NOW, that everyone has spoken we still have 2 home games to get through. PLEASE reconsider and DO NOT leave your section in the middle of the Nebraska and Iowa State games!
Please show everyone that K-State still has the best student body who supports their team no matter what. Maybe the players wont give up if all of the student section sticks behind them. Did you know we can hear your cheers clear over on the west side? Well, then the players can sure tell when you have left......
Your name
Mon Nov 3 2008 17:50
This would not be acceptable with any other rivalry in the nation. Imagine if Jim Tressel lost to Michigan like we did to KU for the past three years....UNACCEPTABLE
Faithfully Purple
Mon Nov 3 2008 17:32
It's all the little things that point to the fact that Prince Co. is not making any progress as a Div I head coach, lack of fundmental football skills, Bold and Stupid decisions such as the on-side kick against OU, or going for Fourth and Longs from your own 20s twice in Lawrence, to the entire offensive scheme that he has tried to force on a program that just will never recruit the proper talent to run it...the mirror between KSu and NU are more identical then most understand. NU saw through the smoke and has at least given their program a chance to rebuild. It is time for the Alumni, the fans, the Students, to demand the keys back to our stadium and give them to someone more trustworthy and capable of plugging the holes, before the ship rests on the ocean floor!
Your name
Mon Nov 3 2008 17:24
Prince has made K-State the laughing stock of College Football again. As a student its embarrassing to see our team as bad as they are. Prince needs to be done away with and lets get this football team back to where they belong, ON TOP! Wefald.....get out the checkbook, give Prince his buy and and get someone in here that doesn't have their head up their butt! Losing to KU once is horrible but three times in a row is not acceptable for K-State. PRINCE NEEDS TO GO!
Vegas
Mon Nov 3 2008 17:17
Freeman is going to leave regardless with first round $$$s waiting for him. And who cares if he does?!!? Bill used to have a new QB for us every other year that could win games without NFL talent and we need those same kind of players again!! Our whole offense is based "Pro Style" so Prince can get Freeman ready for the NFL, yet there's not one other player capable of running it.
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