Everytime I express my discontent with the current state of Purdue football, I'm reminded by some of the old guys around me that you simply have to respect all he's done for Purdue football.
I do.
Please don't get that wrong.
But, it's been time for him to go for a while now...and his chosen ending is wearing out all leniency that the fan base had. The high standards that Joe created have crept into the consciousness of the average Purdue fan...so what we're seeing and hearing is not acceptable.
This is what Coach Tiller said in the wake of this week's loss to aOSU:
"We live in a result-oriented society," Tiller said. "To me, the effort is more important than the results. My measuring stick is the type of effort we give. Where you're at is less significant. It's, how'd ya get there?"
That doesn't sound like an old football coach from Ohio talking...that sounds like a 40-something year old teacher from California. The transformation from cowboy to creampuff has been noteworthy. He talks about fishing more than football and his mind and attention has moved from West Lafayette to Wyoming. I don't blame him, but I am simply pissed that he's held the fanbase hostage instead of simply stepping down. Hope's recruiting efforts reflect that the transition is far from smooth and the results on the field show that Tiller really does think that results are not imperative.
Compare and contrast the above quote to this...another quote from the same man back in late November of 1996:
"We're not going to wait for four years to figure this out. If I would wait four more years, I would hardly have any hair left. We're here to win a championship. We've won in the past, and we will win again in the future."
And just the same, as Tiller's time at Purdue dwindles like the sunlight reflecting on a rolling stream in Wyoming in the late afternoon, Danny Hope should act, speak and coach in a way that shows he expects nothing less than championship-caliber football once again in West Lafayette. That's on of the things we can all take from Cowboy Joe Tiller as Purdue's football coach.