Offense or lack of

I was comparing RM to the expectations of the program back then. Expectations were much higher, yet schools, boosters & fans were more patient than they are now. With RM’s results and a less patient environment like today’s, he’d be in trouble.

He would be fine coaching here now.

Scuba Steve,

Never compared the two. Read the previous posts. Different expectations then versus if he coached in today’s impatient environment. RM was s%#tty in the postseason and that’s no BS.



We have much lower expectations now. He would be fine here.



Childish personal attacks? You mean the kind that got you banned twice under previous user names? Got it.

I think you’re out of air….hopefully.

I think Ralph would be given a lot of grief if he was coaching now based on his results. In some significant ways the results of OSU basketball from '72 to '88 were very similar to OSU football from '02 to '13. RM got three (?) PAC titles but failed in post-season. Football only got close to PAC titles but won a lot of bowl games. Ralph was a chain-smoking s.o.b. and the football coach was a heck of a nice guy. No, there would have been some boosters in Dee Andros or Lynn Snyder's ear saying the hot young coach at Irvine or Tulsa or somewhere else would be the thing to do to get us to the "next level."

I’m not sure I understand your argument at all. I’m sure Miller received some “grief” during his coaching career, but I was replying to the earlier statement that he would have been fired today if he had the same record/tourney performance today that he had then. You then equate his performance to Riley’s second stint at OSU, which unless I missed it did not end in Riley being fired. Were there people giving Riley grief and happy when he left? Sure, but he was not fired at the end of that era, so how can that indicate Miller would have been. You then mention two ADs Miller worked as evidence of what? That they would have fired Miller? But they didn’t.

I don’t think anyone is saying Miller wasn’t an SOB or that he is nicer than Tinkle. Nor that Miller wouldn’t receive some “grief” for the team’s performance just as Wayne does now. Some people were calling for Tinkle’s firing after 2019-2020 season, and probably would have been more if not for the Covid ending to the season — but he was not fired. You can’t find a consecutive 6-year stretch in Miller’s time at OSU that he had a worse record than Wayne during his first 6 years. So if Tinkle wasn’t fired how can someone say Ralph would have been.

There are always problems when trying to compare players or coaches from different eras. Playing styles, coaching styles and rules change. Fan engagement and expectations change. But I feel confident in saying that if Wayne wasn’t fired during his first six years based on performance then neither would Ralph had been. Oh, and another thing that has changed, the number of teams in NCAA tournament and how chosen. I believe conference tournaments weren’t around when Ralph coached. So, last year’s magical run wouldn’t have even have been possible during Ralph’s era. That team would not have made NCAA tournament and, thus, no Elite Eight. I’m guessing that during Ralph’s tenure there were more than a few years when a team that finished 6th in a conference with a .500 record would not have made the NCAA tournament like Wayne’s second year team did. Does all that mean that me cheering last year’s team on through the TV didn’t happen? Heck no. Just further proof that a lot goes into comparing different eras.