All these new coaches trying to build with fifty transfers reminds me of the difference between a salesman and a builder. We had a builder in Warren Powers. He took over a program that was nothing and built it with Missouri kids who bled black and gold, took us to bowl games and beat Notre Dame in the 1984 Liberty Bowl. That man knew how to develop a player over four years.
Now you’ve got these guys acting like general managers, shopping the portal like it’s a grocery list. They’re salesmen. They sell a kid on NIL and a starting spot, but there’s no foundation. What happens when that kid has a bad game or gets a better offer next year? He’s gone. Coach Powers built men. These portal kings are just renting mercenaries.
The proof is in the longevity. Look at the great ones, the ones we remember. Dan Devine built a dynasty here that lasted because it was built on rock. These flash-in-the-pan teams assembled in one offseason, like what Oklahoma State is doing, they’re built on sand. They’ll win a few games maybe, but they’ll never have the heart of a team that grew up together. That’s why the sport feels hollow now. It’s all transaction, no tradition.