By Catherine Laroche

It’s safe to say that Cardinal fans are more satisfied with the competitive results in U of L sports right now than they were around this time two months ago, when the football team was in the middle of a five-game losing streak to end the season 5-7.
Just when we thought that the misery was over, more and more disappointing headlines continue to pop up about U of L football. In less than a month, the Cards lost six members of their team:
* Dec. 22, Steve Kragthorpe announced the departure of one-year defensive coordinator Ron English, who accepted a head coach position at Eastern Michigan. English was the best thing to happen to Cardinal football last season as he dramatically improved the Cards on the defensive end.
* Jan. 6, special teams coordinator Mark Nelson resigned from his position with the Cards to pursue other opportunities.
* Jan. 7, redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Simms received his release from U of L. It’s still a mystery of where he will continue his collegiate playing career.
* Jan. 9, sophomore safety Latarrius Thomas announced his departure.
* Jan. 10, linebacker coach Bill Miller was named the co-defensive coordinator and linebacker coach at Kansas.
* Jan. 19, running back coach Tony Alford left U of L for the same position at Notre Dame. Alford’s biggest accomplishment while with the Cards was the on-field success of redshirt freshman Victor Anderson, who rushed for 1,047 yards with eight touchdowns.
Whether it is  better job or playing opportunities or people unhappy with the Cardinal football program, it’s just a little ridiculous to wake up every morning and read a headlig about the football team being another body short from where they were last.
Recently, Kragthorpe added Larry Slade, former Tennessee coach, and Brent Guy, former Utah State coach, as defensive assistants, while Jay Johnson was promoted from administrative assistant to an offensive assistant, in hopes of fulfilling the missing coaching links and cotinuing the rebuilding process.
I certainly hope the Cards are making a turn in the right direction to the BCS circle, but I must admit I am a little skeptical about the changes. How much of an upgrade did the football program really make from the departures?
We’re bringing in a defensive assistant from the Tennessee Volunteers, who have been closer to the top of the competitive ladder over the years. But let’s face it, the Vols finished last season with a 5-7 record that put them in second-to-last place in the eastern division of the SEC.  That’s not exactly a believable “I’m going to turn your program around” statistic.
And Guy left Utah State after a 3-9 record last season; in which, onle ywo of those losses were by less than 10 points.
Out of all the ways to improve the U of L football program, these are the best options out there?
If U of L wants to fill the new expansion seats or even the seats we already have, one of two things has to happen by early December 2009: 1) The Cards end the season with an impressive winning record or 2) Kragthorpe is the next to make a departure headline.