OUR VIEW: Firing Brent Guy a step backward

Firing Brent Guy will likely prove to be another step backward for USU football, but nobody will know until November 2009 when the wins and losses of the next coach have been added up.

That’s a long time to find out if a correct decision was made.

Whatever the long-term results may be, the immediate results of the decision are clear.

First off, the Aggies are obligated to buy out the final year Guy’s $210,000-per-season contract.

Wait a minute. Wasn’t USU recently hit with a $6.5 million budget cut? Apparently this is not an issue with the USU athletic department. The next coach of the football team will cost twice as much because Guy will get every penny of that $210,000 next year for doing nothing.

“I think we have financial restraints whether we have a buyout or not,” said USU Director of Athletics Scott Barnes.

Perhaps Barnes will be able to justify his move with the recent launch of what he called the “football competitive excellence program.” A branch of the plan, he said, includes the “competitive excellence fund campaign.”

To look at the issue another way, maybe Barnes will be able to justify his move with the money USU will get if Boise State qualifies for a BCS bowl.

Secondly, Guy’s opponents claim four years was more than enough time for him to prove what he could do. These critics consistently ignore the uphill climb Guy had thrown at him from his first day in one of college football’s coaching graveyards.

Remember that he was the first Aggie coach to be in the Western Athletic Conference, and he did it with limited scholarships and some of the worst facilities in the United States.

It’s clear that changing the head coach every two to five years is not the answer. Mick Dennehy, Guy’s predecessor, was let go after his fifth season. Dave Arslanian, Dennehy’s predecessor, was only given two seasons.

Why not try something different – namely letting a coach prove himself to the end of his contract? Who’s to say next year wouldn’t be a breakthrough season for a Guy-led Aggie team? Much of the best talent on the field this season is young. To name a few, wide receiver Stanley Morrison and running back Robert Turbin are freshmen; standout quarterback Diondre Borel is a sophomore.

Those who know football and witnessed this year’s team on the field will be hard-pressed to prove that the product on and off the field isn’t better than it was four years ago when Guy started at USU.

But the decision has been made and there’s no turning back.

Let’s hope by next November the Aggies have six wins. Nothing less should be expected of a coach that is supposed to be better than Guy. If not, we all better get ready for another run through the dreadful hire-and-fire cycle.