For reasons I can only speculate on the local hosts at 850 the Buzz and 620 the Bull are very careful about putting a coach on the hot seat, calling for their ouster or even taking a position that even hints at a coach's dismissal being imminent. During the last basketball season Herb Sendek enjoyed tremendous support from the talkers over there even though much of the NC State fan base was ready for a new coach despite Sendek's winning. So, if John Bunting had any comfort at all, he had it knowing that at least the local sports talk stations were not addressing his depature as it being a real possibility...until today when Adam Gold, reluctantly, indicated that Bunting's tenure was most likely at an end:
Meanwhile, a coach with integrity, like John Bunting, is preparing his team for a trip to Charlottesville where he will likely draw one game closer to his final game as head coach at his alma mater. I don’t applaud this likely development. I do admit that it’s probably the best thing for Coach Bunting and the University. But, I can’t help but wonder if Bunting had just allowed the players to run amok that he’d probably have a defensive front seven that could stop people.
That doesn’t really excuse him from this debacle of a football team, but it should serve as a reminder that you don’t always get rewarded for doing what’s right.
I would like to know where the progress is, however. What is, "doing well in some other areas of having retention in the program"?
There’s really no excuse for being completely non-competitive in 5 of your 6 games so far. I’ve ready way too many times about how this was supposed to be a turnaround year for the program as though Carolina was expected to win 7 or 8 times. Those people are crazy. If everything went well for the Tar Heels, i.e., the quarterbacks that hadn’t taken a snap in Chapel Hill playing for a new offensive coordinator excelled; the very thin and inexperienced offensive line played well in front of Ronnie McGill; and a defense with question marks at – conservatively – 6 positions as well as depth issues came through, then Carolina might be able to squeak out a 6 or 7 win season.
Those question marks turned up wrong answers and that’s where we are; staring at a 2-, or 3-win season heading into the 7th game of the year.
Whether Gold is just offering a straightforward personal opinion or operating with some insider knowledge is not really clear. It may be both but most likely the former. However, given that Gold is not given to extreme positions where coaching changes are concerned really makes this the most damning media indictment against Bunting to date with the exception of Caulton Tudor. In my opinion a coach who loses support at both the N&O and at 850/620 will have a very difficult time surviving.