HelenaHandBasket said:
People will hate this, but Eck inherited a team full of talent that was coached super poorly. I would argue without hesitation that it was a more talented overall roster than what the Griz had over that time period. Eck is a good coach.
Exactly. Idaho has always been talented.
If great coaches could always and easily turn struggling programs around in year one on coaching ability alone, then Beau Baldwin, who is clearly an outstanding coach, would've turned Cal poly around instead of leaving them spinning their wheels in mediocrity. The formula for turning a program around quickly almost always starts with having an under-utilized and poorly coached group of talented players. That's exactly what Eck and Troy Taylor had at their respective Big Sky schools.