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[QUOTE="RF2044, post: 1504831, member: 40"]
Stop.  Marrone got a lot more out of GRob's recruits--with a depleted roster--than GRob ever did.  We were exponentially more competitive and better defensively Marrone's first year with most of the same principal players, and zero depth.  In and of itself, that says a lot about Marrone's coaching aptitude.

Was he perfect?  Far from it.  But Marrone had a lot of uphill battles to fight, given that he took over what was arguably the worst major conference team in college football, including the negative stigma on the recruiting trail.  He should be commended for what he accomplished here, picking the program off of the scrap heap, instead of being reviled for leaving under undesirable circumstances.

Now, there are also valid criticisms.  His game coaching was questionable at times, but it is also important to note that he'd never been a head coach--so a learning curve was to be expected.  That was partially offset by the staff being very good at game planning / strategy.  We had a lousy situation with facilities, and some of the depth issues were also Marrone's doing.  And there is NO QUESTION that his departure set the program back, that he didn't recruit very good offensive skilled players, and that the cupboard wasn't stocked for Shafer on offense.

But he changed the culture and did reasonably well.  Looking at his .500 record and concluding that he was mediocre overlooks significant context, IMO.  I don't get why some only point to the negative while simultaneously overlooking the positive impact he had.
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