DiNardo disappoints

U football coach Gerry DiNardo came in the 2002 season with high hopes for his team. Wins, a post-season and a strong graduation record were what he promised to anyone who would listen.\nWell, I guess one out of three isn't bad. \nNo, I lied, it's horrible. Congratulations, your players are going to get their degrees. But what about the wins you promised? Cake wins against William & Mary and Central Michigan, and an upset of Wisconsin is hardly something to call home about. I mean, even Cam Cameron's team beat the Badgers.\nAnd a post-season? Ha. That one comes when you close your eyes at night, and hope your dream includes scenes from inside the Rose Bowl.\nBecause that's about as close to a bowl as DiNardo and his squad is going to get.\nSo what went wrong this year? Transitional seasons aren't always smooth, but in DiNardo's first season at LSU, he went 7-4-1. At Vanderbilt, he took a team that was 1-10, and helped them earn a 5-6 record.\nAt Vanderbilt no less! IU may not be known for its powerhouse football team, and yes, the Hoosiers lost a plethora of key players last year, but it doesn't matter. DiNardo was working in the Big Ten, and his team should have showed more improvement.\nSo where was the problem?\nPerhaps it was how DiNardo handled his adopted squad. Kid gloves were definitely not used with the team. DiNardo kicked players off the team, lost players to other schools and had kids just quit the team.\nIn his defense, DiNardo made it clear that second chances were not in his vocabulary, but when you take over a team that has been under a coach who was a rumored softy, you have to allow for a grace period. Even if DiNardo was used to taking over a coaching position, the IU players hadn't had to adjust to a new coach before.\nEspecially not one that appeared to make it a weekly goal to get one player off the team. Especially a scholarship player. What better way to enhance recruiting then to have a large number of scholarships waiting to be filled?\nWhich brings up another question: How far into the future was DiNardo looking when he took over? He got many of his recruits numerous playing time this year. Not only does DiNardo have all those open scholarships to offer his recruiting prospects, he can use the playing time of the true freshmen to lure them to the University.\nAn important rule in sports is never to look past the next opponent. Looking past any team is the ingredient for a loss.\nBut was DiNardo breaking this rule, looking ahead and seeing a team that consisted of his recruits, of his way of playing, of players that competed with the attitude he could drive into them from the beginning?\nOf players who bought into his coaching style without those nagging thoughts of where their head coached loyalties stood?\nMaybe DiNardo's overlooking of the present season wasn't entirely to blame, maybe it had to do with players finding themselves in new positions at any given moment.\nOr the yo-yoing of the quarterback. Hopefully behind close doors DiNardo sounded more confident than he did in press conferences with who was playing where and when, because it always seemed like even he didn't believe in what he was saying.\nOr maybe that it was just not the Hoosiers' year. Again.\nI wanted them to win this year, and for a couple hours into this season, I thought they could maybe even do it. \nBut that didn't happen. Neither did any of DiNardo's empty promises.\nSo to all you disheartened Hoosier fans, the only advice I can offer you comes from a saying by the old Brooklyn Dodgers fans.\n"Wait 'till next year"