Bumped. Warrants thoughtful discussion.  - BN Eds.

I have a confession -- I did not hear or see one down of this game? Why? Because there truly is a God in heaven who protected me from losing to UT while still a Texas resident and from having to experience this game while surrounded by Longhorn neighbors. I left Texas, for good, on Thursday. 

This morning, I thought we were going to win -- and, I thought I had very powerful game Karma -- I've spent the last two days driving Route 66 (aka 40) toward my new home in CA. Route 66. Come on, what could be more powerful?

But, alas, my good game Karma was not sufficient to overcome what appears to be another mediocre performance from an unprepared team.

How can I say that? I could be snide and say one does not have to watch every game to know that we will come out uninspired, unprepared and uncoached. But, actually, I've read the game threads, stories online and had a long, post-game talk with Nestor whose analysis I trust.

I think it may be time for CRN to step down -- mid-season, to see if an interim coach can salvage something of the practice time and games that are left. I am posting this to start a discussion of this topic.

I have to be honest. I was in the camp that thought CRN should have been fired last year -- especially after the sc game. I thought it would be good for us. And, for him; after the sc game he was a beaten man; it was painful to watch him address the crowd.

Then there was the Seto debacle.

And, now two losses against teams we could have beaten, and an uninspired victory over a team that should not have stayed close to us.

I had serious concerns about CRN after the Houston game and authored a Fan Post that was criticized for being premature. I hereby incorporate by reference herein that post as if set forth in full (a little talk for the lawyer BN'rs). 

I do not think it premature, now, to talk about CRN's immediate future with this team.

In fact, I want to take it a step further. I want to ask the questions: "Is it time to ask CRN to step down? Is it time to ask DG to replace him with an interim coach? Or, does CRN deserve the rest of the season to make things right -- after all, we can still have a '2 loss' season".

I do think this discussion is timely. To get it started, let me set out some of the things that have me leaning in favor of an interim replacement.

My sense is that CRN lost this team some time last year, lost much of his passion last year, and lost much of his fan base. I'm not sure what good is served by muddling through another season like the last one -- and, to me, that is clearly what we are doing.

Both the team and CRN seem absolutely lost. 

CRN is an honorable man. I’m sure he wants to fulfill the commitment he made to his school. But, I am also sure he cannot see a path to victory. Serving out his time may be the honorable thing to do. But, probably not the best thing to do for our program. Or, for himself. Proud people often need to be told "it's time". CRN, I think it's time.

My biggest concern is focused on the players. They are a very talented group. They are experienced. They are big and strong. All the things we wanted to happen with them since CRN took over the bare cupboard have happened. Yet, they do not seem to be getting better. And, they seem discouraged.

We have a strong player base, and we can thank CRN for that -- but I wonder if it wouldn't be in their best interests to give them a new coach, new hope and new inspiration.

It’s ironic.  I find CRN very inspirational. (Or at least I used to.) It is one of his qualities that I liked best. But, it does not show up in what the players do on the field, and that's what matters most.

I mean, with CRN in SO MUCH TROUBLE, with him on what is probably the hottest coaching seat in America, if the players were truly with him and truly inspired, one would expect them to go to war to save his job. They have not. And, that says a lot to me.

I am worried what will happen to them for the remainder of the season if the continue to be poorly prepared, coached and positioned in the remaining games.

I know that the problem is not solely with CRN -- that he joined a diseased culture and that it is somewhat unfair for him to take the hit, now, when it must be shared with DG.

And, I know that it is foolish to believe that DG will make a strong interim hire and then a strong hire at the end of the season.

But, we can only take one step at a time. In asking CRN to resign, we are simply putting DG on notice that he is next. That mediocrity will not be tolerated. That what we have now is not acceptable. Not for one more game. And, that we will do the clean sweep at the end of the season.

I'm not sure that changing the head coach will change much. But, it will send a statement that we know we can be better, that our standards are higher than this, and that we have had a large enough sample, over all of the years AND this season to know that we must make a change.

Are their good arguments for staying the course? If so, let's hear them.