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Gary Swenson

Nov 22, 2016
91
16
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If Valley is still Valley and they care about football, Gary has to be feeling the hot seat doesn't he?

2017: #1 Overall seed in the West. Upset in the first round at home.
2016: #1 Overall seed in the West after going 9-0. Upset by Centennial in the Quarterfinals.
2015: Go 7-2 after starting the year as the favorites in 4A. Lose District to Centennial at home.
2014: Blanked by Waukee in the Quarterfinals.

Are they god awful? No. Absolutely not. But you could make a serious argument that they have crumbled and not met the expectations of the program & community over the last three years. Centennial has now replaced them as Dowling's #1 opponent on the west side of 4A.
 
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Not just the west side of the state but the entire state. Valley beats Bett on the road, Bett. then runs the table on the east side and is picked as a dome team. Valley can't win against the 8 seed at home in the playoffs.
What the hell, State needs to send some DSM Schools east during the regular season and even this out a bit.
Also don't match the west vs west in the opening round at state...lets get best vs best in the finals.
 
Hot seat is an understatement. He should be feeling an inferno. With his record in the playoffs the last three years he should have been fired after the Centennial loss last year. The AD should have walked on to the field last Friday night and handed him a pink slip after the LC debacle.
He has had all state skill position athletes for the last 3-4 years and routinely comes up short. That is not due to a lack of talent but a lack of coaching. The man literally has no clue on how to use his talent to his advantage. LC was a good team but with the talent Valley had on both sides of the ball Valley should have won by 2 TDs. The game has long passed Swenson by. The lack of any imaginative play calling and development of his starting and second QB can strictly be attributed to him. Why? Cause he was the QB coach and OC. Let me add that the best QB Valley ran off had to go to Hoover just to have a chance to play. Look at the numbers Byron Jarrett put up. Valley had killer RBs and WRs but look at how Swenson utilized them. Valley is no longer a place where they expect kids to feel privileged to be in Swenson’s presence. He should do the honorable thing and resign along with the coaching staff during the team banquet.
 
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First, with respect to coach Swenson and the perceived lack of recent success at Valley, I'm quite certain most (if not all) schools in the state of Iowa would be more than satisfied with what he has done with their program. When you get into the playoffs anything can happen and just because you're ranked higher or "supposed" to win, there's an opponent who will have the final say in that.

Secondly, the Bett loss to Valley was the first game of the year and I would caution using the first...or frankly the first couple of games as a gauge to determine a teams true potential and development by playoff time.

Lastly, there is some merit to the point about how the state seems to bunch the west/DSM schools in one bracket and eastern half in the other. Obviously this is done due to travel concerns in the 1st/2nd rounds. And while this wouldn't pose much of a concern if there were parity throughout the state, recent history has proven otherwise. That being said, were it not for the recent "Dowling run", there are certainly teams coming from the eastern bracket which can (and do) compete with the DSM area schools.
 
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Get rid of the East/West split seed the teams 1-16 and Valley most likely makes it out of the 1st Round
 
If Valley is still Valley and they care about football, Gary has to be feeling the hot seat doesn't he?

2017: #1 Overall seed in the West. Upset in the first round at home.
2016: #1 Overall seed in the West after going 9-0. Upset by Centennial in the Quarterfinals.
2015: Go 7-2 after starting the year as the favorites in 4A. Lose District to Centennial at home.
2014: Blanked by Waukee in the Quarterfinals.

Are they god awful? No. Absolutely not. But you could make a serious argument that they have crumbled and not met the expectations of the program & community over the last three years. Centennial has now replaced them as Dowling's #1 opponent on the west side of 4A.
This is not college Football man! Hot seat really? its only high school football! No one and imean no one should be fired for losing in playoffs! COME ON MAN!!!!!!!!!
 
Hot seat is an understatement. He should be feeling an inferno. With his record in the playoffs the last three years he should have been fired after the Centennial loss last year. The AD should have walked on to the field last Friday night and handed him a pink slip after the LC debacle.
He has had all state skill position athletes for the last 3-4 years and routinely comes up short. That is not due to a lack of talent but a lack of coaching. The man literally has no clue on how to use his talent to his advantage. LC was a good team but with the talent Valley had on both sides of the ball Valley should have won by 2 TDs. The game has long passed Swenson by. The lack of any imaginative play calling and development of his starting and second QB can strictly be attributed to him. Why? Cause he was the QB coach and OC. Let me add that the best QB Valley ran off had to go to Hoover just to have a chance to play. Look at the numbers Byron Jarrett put up. Valley had killer RBs and WRs but look at how Swenson utilized them. Valley is no longer a place where they expect kids to feel privileged to be in Swenson’s presence. He should do the honorable thing and resign along with the coaching staff during the team banquet.

This is one of the most ridiculous posts I have ever seen. The fact that you are calling out a guy that has 6 State Titles under his belt (5 with Valley) is beyond stupid. The years that Valley ran the table, they had 4-5 offensive linemen that were just flat out better than they guys across from them game in and game out. That is not the case and hasn't been over the last 3-4 seasons if you watch the games. I agree, they had all the talent they needed to win a State Title this year, but talent doesn't win you football games. Execution and toughness win you football games. Also, how many dropped passes did Valley have in the playoff game or for the entire season for that matter? I noticed quite a few when I was at the games. So let's not jump to the conclusion that it is the QB or Swenson's fault.
 
So are you saying no matter what a coach needs to keep his job until his deathbed? I've been following this team for years and there have been dropped passes for years. Matter of fact during the last few playoffs passes were dropped along with interceptions thrown so that doesn't make any sense. Coaching strategy and the inability to make adjustments has been more of an issue than miscues. The biggest drop was allowing a QB to lose a season of experience as a sophomore just so he could play varsity as a TE. Now was that due to toughness or dropped passes? It is very clear that the LC game could have been won in regulation if not for some terrible coaching decisions. Like it or not that is what it came down to.
 
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I doubt Rose does anything, but looking at their sideline/stands, it makes some (not all) people wonder what's causing the low numbers. The numbers are probably going to drop again next year. The amount of underclassmen that has moved up to fill in the gaps is the most that's ever been.
You can say numbers are down everywhere, but it's not just "safety" reasons at Valley.
 
Yeah Bettendorf you face SC East, most likely the game could be played on a neutral field.


How does that reward the team that is the higher seed? I could see an 8-9 game at neutral site, but what it was 2 v 15?

I actually like your idea, but travel would make it very difficult.
 
Honestly if you're going to seed 1-16 then you are going to have to do away with districts, I mean I think everyone on here would have put Iowa City West as the #1 seed, and then Dowling as the #2 but they weren't a district champ so the state wouldn't put them there.
 
compare Valley now to the Lee Crawford era. Crawford was coach for 22 years (72-93) and had a 60% winning record. They were usually good but not great. Any prolongued success has been the result of Swenson so I don't think they'd go after him.

Also, Swenson is 65 and he's probably getting ready to give it up anyways. Kind of curious who would replace him if he retired. Maybe Joe Woodley?
 
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Honestly if you're going to seed 1-16 then you are going to have to do away with districts, I mean I think everyone on here would have put Iowa City West as the #1 seed, and then Dowling as the #2 but they weren't a district champ so the state wouldn't put them there.

I think the state would have Dowling 1st, Valley 2nd & IC West 3
 
Hot seat is an understatement. He should be feeling an inferno. With his record in the playoffs the last three years he should have been fired after the Centennial loss last year. The AD should have walked on to the field last Friday night and handed him a pink slip after the LC debacle.
He has had all state skill position athletes for the last 3-4 years and routinely comes up short. That is not due to a lack of talent but a lack of coaching. The man literally has no clue on how to use his talent to his advantage. LC was a good team but with the talent Valley had on both sides of the ball Valley should have won by 2 TDs. The game has long passed Swenson by. The lack of any imaginative play calling and development of his starting and second QB can strictly be attributed to him. Why? Cause he was the QB coach and OC. Let me add that the best QB Valley ran off had to go to Hoover just to have a chance to play. Look at the numbers Byron Jarrett put up. Valley had killer RBs and WRs but look at how Swenson utilized them. Valley is no longer a place where they expect kids to feel privileged to be in Swenson’s presence. He should do the honorable thing and resign along with the coaching staff during the team banquet.

Here is my 2 cents, take it for what's it's worth. I do believe due to enrollment that Valley should have more talent then a Lewis Central, not better talent just more talent. I'm not 100% certain but I can't recall any Valley player going both ways Friday Night ( excluding special teams). On the flip side, I know 3 players for sure ( Theobald, Duggan, & the wide receiver sorry forgot his name) played both sides of the ball with Theobald and the Wide-out playing almost every snap and there may have been more. Perhaps a coach should be expected to capitalize on the fatigue factor so I understand some of your frustration ( that being one possible example). Maybe numbers alone say Valley had a significant depth advantage and that along with good coaching should have been enough to win that game! I don't know the answer to that statement.

I would challenge your statement that Valley should have won the actual game by 14 points. Watching live I don't recall either team putting together long drives that stalled out, overall yardage would not indicate that was the case. I recall both teams scoring on what might be considered broken assignments or good luck plays, CBLC on an 80 yard run up the middle and Valley on a tipped TD Pass.
My gut tells me these teams we've very evenly matched, IMO if they played 10 times I could see it being a 5-5 split... is that bad coaching that should never ever happen with the size difference? I honestly don't know the answer, I've thought about it on and off and can't come to a conclusion.

I also agree with the earlier statement from another post that Mr. Swenson is a good coach. I bet if we asked around we would also learn that Mr Swenson is a good man that cares about his players and teaches them good life values. Perhaps he used this loss to teach them that sometimes life throws you a curve and you have to dust yourself off and get back up.
I get it, we all love to win and we all love winners and ending your season stinks. That said, Mr Swenson is a good coach and IMO has earned the right to coach as long as he wishes. I promise you there are a lot of X-Valley Football players that never played a down in college but have greatly benefited in real life from what they learned on the Valley practice field.

I really hope we don't get to the point where we hire and fire good coaches and better people based solely on wins and losses at the High School level.

DSM SPORTS FAN
 
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^good post. The truth is, "due to enrollment" Valley not only should have more talent than LC but everyone for that matter. Good grief they have close to 3000 students 9-12, that's about twice the amount of most 4A schools.
 
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I wasn't at the game but did listen to the final sequence on the radio. My observation having seen Valley play in person the last few years is simply this. I do believe there were some major coaching errors that cost Valley this game. Attempting to throw the ball on 3&6 or whatever it was with 16 seconds left and no timeouts from inside the 20 is ridiculous. You line up to kick the field goal so if you have a bad snap or something you can throw the ball away and live another down to kick for the win. Secondly you ran the ball on first down in OT to the 2 yard line, you're telling me you can't run the ball into the end zone with 3 downs, they got cute and lost the game.

Valley survives off of having superior athletes from a size and strength standpoint to 90% of the teams in Iowa. There are no great wrinkles or difficulty in scouting Valley especially offensively. Other 4A teams are matching their physicality so I don't think you can consider them the odds on favorites year in and year out. On paper they may seem to be but they haven't gotten the job done. Let's be honest Dowling has owned them for several years now, Ankeny Centennial has passed them by having one the last two. It's come to a point where they can't just out physical every team in the state any more. They'll always be good but i don't think we should be surprised by them losing early come playoff time.
 
Honestly if you're going to seed 1-16 then you are going to have to do away with districts, I mean I think everyone on here would have put Iowa City West as the #1 seed, and then Dowling as the #2 but they weren't a district champ so the state wouldn't put them there.

The #1 seed is already awarded by playing the 16th seed. If they are truly better than the #16 Seed, then what's the problem with that?

You have nice fields through out the State, Drake and Wartburg to name a couple. Im Sure there are more.

In 1999 Cedar Falls had to play at SC East over 5hr trip one way. Im also against the Semifinals being played in the dome.

The worse case for schools like SC East is if you have to travel to lets say Cedar Falls in the 1st Round, Quarterfinals and then win out. That is three trips to the UNI Dome, that would be the downside. Either way a team like CB Lewis Central if they win out, are making two trips to the dome.

There is no economics based on that alone.
 
If Valley is still Valley and they care about football, Gary has to be feeling the hot seat doesn't he?

2017: #1 Overall seed in the West. Upset in the first round at home.
2016: #1 Overall seed in the West after going 9-0. Upset by Centennial in the Quarterfinals.
2015: Go 7-2 after starting the year as the favorites in 4A. Lose District to Centennial at home.
2014: Blanked by Waukee in the Quarterfinals.

Are they god awful? No. Absolutely not. But you could make a serious argument that they have crumbled and not met the expectations of the program & community over the last three years. Centennial has now replaced them as Dowling's #1 opponent on the west side of 4A.

If Valley is still Valley and they care about football, Gary has to be feeling the hot seat doesn't he?

2017: #1 Overall seed in the West. Upset in the first round at home.
2016: #1 Overall seed in the West after going 9-0. Upset by Centennial in the Quarterfinals.
2015: Go 7-2 after starting the year as the favorites in 4A. Lose District to Centennial at home.
2014: Blanked by Waukee in the Quarterfinals.

Are they god awful? No. Absolutely not. But you could make a serious argument that they have crumbled and not met the expectations of the program & community over the last three years. Centennial has now replaced them as Dowling's #1 opponent on the west side of 4A.
Hot seat is an understatement. He should be feeling an inferno. With his record in the playoffs the last three years he should have been fired after the Centennial loss last year. The AD should have walked on to the field last Friday night and handed him a pink slip after the LC debacle.
He has had all state skill position athletes for the last 3-4 years and routinely comes up short. That is not due to a lack of talent but a lack of coaching. The man literally has no clue on how to use his talent to his advantage. LC was a good team but with the talent Valley had on both sides of the ball Valley should have won by 2 TDs. The game has long passed Swenson by. The lack of any imaginative play calling and development of his starting and second QB can strictly be attributed to him. Why? Cause he was the QB coach and OC. Let me add that the best QB Valley ran off had to go to Hoover just to have a chance to play. Look at the numbers Byron Jarrett put up. Valley had killer RBs and WRs but look at how Swenson utilized them. Valley is no longer a place where they expect kids to feel privileged to be in Swenson’s presence. He should do the honorable thing and resign along with the coaching staff during the team banquet.
Brownieyo - You obviously have no idea what it takes to be a high school football coach. Have some respect for a coach who has molded our sons and works his a** off for our kids. There is no one who cares more about the kids he coaches or works harder than coach Swenson. People like you shouldn't even have the right to consider himself a valley fan. Why don't you move to Hoover, shut your mouth and good riddance.
 
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This thread would be started by a Trump Supporter. You should be ashamed of yourself for criticizing an amazing football program and even better coach. Swenson came to Valley, took the program out of the dump and made it into what it is today. Swenson has proven himself as a winning coach year after year. He brings up athletes and turns them into men. Many of who go on to play in college and even the NFL. You have no idea what you are talking about or what it takes to be a football coach in one of the most competitive football conferences in the state of Iowa. We should be proud of our team, our coach, and our school. It's people like you (and brownieyo) who bring negative energy to this sport. We should lifting up our kids. Be a role model. If you aren't a high school football coach, then don't act like you know what it takes.
If Valley is still Valley and they care about football, Gary has to be feeling the hot seat doesn't he?

2017: #1 Overall seed in the West. Upset in the first round at home.
2016: #1 Overall seed in the West after going 9-0. Upset by Centennial in the Quarterfinals.
2015: Go 7-2 after starting the year as the favorites in 4A. Lose District to Centennial at home.
2014: Blanked by Waukee in the Quarterfinals.

Are they god awful? No. Absolutely not. But you could make a serious argument that they have crumbled and not met the expectations of the program & community over the last three years. Centennial has now replaced them as Dowling's #1 opponent on the west side of 4A.
wou
 
First off I stand strongly behind my opinion of Swenson and the current state of the program. The past 4-5 years speak for itself. Some of you who have this mythical opinion of Swenson’s impact on these kids need to first ask players what his so called impact is. Truth be told most of these players have no relationship with Swenson. He is not even in the school but I digress. I will not devolve this into some playground name calling of people who disagree with me because I don’t think this is the forum for that nonsense. However, I think a reasonable person can assume that if a topic is posted in here there is not going to be a monolithic think tank on the posted subject. Even if it pertains to Swenson.
 
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First off I stand strongly behind my opinion of Swenson and the current state of the program. The past 4-5 years speak for itself. Some of you who have this mythical opinion of Swenson’s impact on these kids need to first ask players what his so called impact is. Truth be told most of these players have no relationship with Swenson. He is not even in the school but I digress. I will not devolve this into some playground name calling of people who disagree with me because I don’t think this is the forum for that nonsense. However, I think a reasonable person can assume that if a topic is posted in here there is not going to be a monolithic think tank on the posted subject. Even if it pertains to Swenson.
Then you can stand ALONE! You shouldn't speak to the public if you don't know the facts. He is in the school everyday, working in the weight room, training the players, and he is there to counsel the players. I can speak to this from personal experience. My son was a player, and he and his fellow teammates would testify that Swenson changed their life and made them into better human beings. Not to mention they had the time of their lives playing football for him and the other Valley coaches, and playing for the upstanding program that they run. Maybe you have a personal vendetta against Swenson. Or maybe your son didn't thrive at Valley because he didn't have the work ethic that's expected of a Valley player and you're just bitter, or maybe you are just a negative human being in general. But you're opinion doesn't matter because true Valley fans stand behind Swenson and his amazing coaching staff. And you will see what happens next year. Go Tigers.
 
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Just because a coach isn't in the school doesn't mean he can't have an influence on the kids.
 
First off I stand strongly behind my opinion of Swenson and the current state of the program. The past 4-5 years speak for itself. Some of you who have this mythical opinion of Swenson’s impact on these kids need to first ask players what his so called impact is. Truth be told most of these players have no relationship with Swenson. He is not even in the school but I digress. I will not devolve this into some playground name calling of people who disagree with me because I don’t think this is the forum for that nonsense. However, I think a reasonable person can assume that if a topic is posted in here there is not going to be a monolithic think tank on the posted subject. Even if it pertains to Swenson.

The past 4 years, you do realize that Valley has been 38-8 right? Other than 1 obvious team, is anyone above that mark? 1 team has dominated 4A football in that time, and you are demanding someone be fired? If that's your reasoning, then all of the 4A coaches minus Tom Wilson should be on their way out! Fire all of them!
 
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The past 4 years, you do realize that Valley has been 38-8 right? Other than 1 obvious team, is anyone above that mark?
Bett is 41-6...with 2 of the 6 losses to Valley. I still maintain Swenson has done a remarkable job.
 
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Dowling 22 Valley 0. A team loaded with several D1 kids including one of the top QBs in the country can't score a point?
 
Maybe that's what happens when you try to accommodate 2-3 new players. Breaking up the Chemistry of the team you spent 3-4yrs building.

2 are on defense... only the QB is an “outsider” on offense and he isn’t the issue... the offensive line is atrocious. I’m not a valley person, just watched what happened with the QB under constant pressure in both games this year.
 
Dowling 22 Valley 0. A team loaded with several D1 kids including one of the top QBs in the country can't score a point?
Once again, you have proven your knowledge of football is not very good. It goes no further than what is happening up front on the line of scrimmage. Just like in 2017. Has your son Tariq earned his D1 offer yet? If Byron Jarrett would have thrown him the ball in high school, he would probably be at LSU now wouldn’t he?
 
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Oh I see what you were trying to do. LOL. Those kids have been long gone from that program. That can not be said for what we are still seeing on the field when it counts.
 
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