After just two and a half seasons at Kansas State, Ron Prince left, was let go, fired... however you want to say it. It is a difficult situation to dissect, but my opinion, in any case, is that 2 and a half years anywhere is not enough time to evaluate a coach, though KState AD Bob Krause said he believes it is.
Let's be honest, Prince did not exactly inherit any of Bill Snyder's best football teams, and he certainly did not have the time to get "his" players or put his stamp on the program. I feel that expectations were too high surrounding the Wildcats. The rise of KU and Missouri over the past few seasons helped lead to Prince's demise. Nebraska went through the same situation when replacing Tom Osbourne, and are still not on track, even under Bo Pelini.
All this being said, Prince was clearly not the man for the job. He seemed at times overwhelmed, but what first-time head coach would not be in the Big 12???
I am writing this blog about five hours after we first broke the news here at 13 sports, so I am sure more details will come out, so keep that in mind, but I just do not understand how they can allow Prince to coach the rest of the season. It was clear in his teleconference, in which I participated, that he was not on board with the release, nor was it his choice. So why then, would the two sides agree to have him coach the rest of the year?
My last thought in this bit of ramblings is what next? Already people are speculating big name guys who lost their job like Tommy Bowden and Phillip Fulmer, and other big names guys with jobs like Bret Bielema of Wisconsin, to others like Dennis Francione who was at Texas A & M.
Then there is, of course those with K State ties under Snyder, which makes sense is he is still going to be in the building. Those include: Phil Bennett... Bennett was the Defensive coordinator for Bill Snyder from 1999-2001 and he's currently the head coach at SMU
- Jim Levitt... Levitt was the a defensive corrdinator for Snyder from 1990 to 1995 and is currently the head coach at South Florida - Brent Venables - Venables was at K-State from 1993 to 1998. He's currently an associate head coach defense at Oklahoma .
Not to mention Bill Snyder himself, who was not ruled out by Krause.
I know the Wildcat nation runs deep here so please do not hesitate to share your thoughts.