Chicken or the egg? Coaches or the players?
As to 2008 - 2009, John Galloway, Joel White, Dan Hardy, et al, these were local boys, some with legacies to uphold and create for their own, there was a 'hunger'. This hunger needs to exist with the players, and manifest in the form of leadership in practice. Attention to detail. Unrelenting. This leads to game success.
Nice inroads to national recruiting with Pasqualoni's nephew (thank you Liam Banks), Salcido (thank you Powell bros), and the two other HS sophomore-to-be commits from FL way (thank you Powell bros). It's cool and all, but give me some 3-5 Canadian Box players any day.
You cannot absolve the coaching staff. As Bill Parcells says, the record does not lie. These quarterfinals losses, and tourney misses, do not lie. There was a bump when Rogers was given more control.
The AD needs to be sure the hunger and innovation is there with the coaches. The coaches need to be sure it is there with the players.