2009-10 College Football Coaching Hiring/Firing Thread

[Atocep]

He told his players before the game against Pitt he was staying. Not sure what he was supposed to say there going into the biggest game of the year. I really can't blame him for it.

Outside of that, he hasn't denied interest in the Notre Dame job.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Not sure what he was supposed to say there going into the biggest game of the year.

How about:

"Let's go out there and beat Pitt so I can get more money out of Notre Dame! Go team go!"

[mh2365]

As a huge Notre Dame fan and a season ticket holder for Louisville I am extremely happy with both hires.

[jbergey22]

I feel bad for Kelly. His career is soon from being halted similiar to Bob Davie, Ty Willingham, George O' Leary, perhaps Charlie Weis.

ND is a bad place to coach right now as it seems to stop all the momentum a coach built at his previous spot.

[Young Drachma]

So who will Cincy hire now to replace him?

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

I feel bad for Kelly. His career is soon from being halted similiar to Bob Davie, Ty Willingham, George O' Leary, perhaps Charlie Weis.

ND is a bad place to coach right now as it seems to stop all the momentum a coach built at his previous spot.

Don't, those buyouts are really nice. Plus, if he does falter at the Golden Dome, he'll get another chance to rebuild a BCS level program that's in the toilet again. I don't know what else he had to prove at Cincy and if he was gonna go, no way his star was going to be any brighter than it was now. And surely they were driving truckloads of money, he was the guy they isolated from the start and so...I dunno.

I think for all of those guys, same deal. Except Weis. He was an alum and wanted to prove he could do it. Gotta go when your name is hot.

[mh2365]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

I feel bad for Kelly. His career is soon from being halted similiar to Bob Davie, Ty Willingham, George O' Leary, perhaps Charlie Weis.

ND is a bad place to coach right now as it seems to stop all the momentum a coach built at his previous spot.

Well let's see Davie was a good coordinator and ND was his first head coaching job so not sure how his career is similar to Kelly's.

Willingham was a bad hire from day 1 ... he wasn't a good coach at Stanford, wasn't a good recruiter at Stanford. I think ND just wanted to say "hey look we hired a black guy". Hiring Edsall this year would have been like hiring Willingham. So I don't see the Kelly comparison there either.

O' Leary lied on his resume and was only a coach for two days ... he has bounced back okay so I don't see how Notre Dame had anything to do with his career.

Weis was a OC in the pros with no head coaching experience and he will go right back to being an OC in the pros so not sure how his career momentum was hurt, not to mention he is about $40 million dollars richer than he was before coming to Notre Dame. FWIW he had no problems recruiting at Notre Dame but he couldn't coach at the college level. Everything he did was like they do in the pro ... no tackling in practice, zone blocking ... none of that works in college.

For the first time in the last three hires Notre Dame got the hot coaching prospect. It is a great hire and Kelly will do just fine at Notre Dame. He went undefeated with a much less talented squad at Cincy against a pretty much similar schedule.

[Bearcat729]

It was never a surprise to me that Kelly left. Of course I hope that he never wins another game, but it's not a surprise. I love how he came in saying that he wanted to make UC not be a stepping stone and that's exactly what he used it for.

As for his replacement the Enquirer already has some ideas.

Possible coaching candidates to replace Brian Kelly at Cincinnati | cincinnati.com | Cincinnati.Com

Possible coaching candidates to replace Brian Kelly at Cincinnati

By Bill Koch • [email protected] • December 10, 2009

Who will replace Brian Kelly at UC? Here are four names the school might want to consider.

Skip Holtz: The East Carolina coach since 2005, Holtz just won his second-straight Conference USA championship.

After being linked last year with the Syracuse head coaching job, Holtz was quoted as saying “it would have to be a really special situation to get me out of here.”

East Carolina plays Arkansas in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Jan. 2.

Chris Petersen: After four seasons at Boise State, Petersen is now regarded as one of the best offensive coaches in the country. Fans will remember his team beating Oklahoma 43-42 in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.

Could playing in the Big East, with its BCS bowl tie-in, be attractive for Petersen? Maybe, then again, he’s about to play in his second Fiesta Bowl in four years: The Broncos play TCU on Jan. 4.

Butch Jones: Jones replaced Brian Kelly as the Chippewas’ head coach in 2007. He led Central Michigan to an 11-2 mark this season and Top 25 ranking, and his team will face Troy in the GMAC Bowl on Jan. 6 in Mobile, Ala.

Jeff Quinn: The long-time assistant to Kelly is UC’s offensive coordinator.

He’s spent 21 seasons with Kelly and knows the ins and outs of the Bearcats’ offense.

He’s a finalist for the Broyles Award.

Peterson is a pipe dream, but I would love to see him come in.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Bearcat729

Peterson is a pipe dream, but I would love to see him come in.

I wonder what these reporters are thinking when they put together these lists. There's basically no reason to think Peterson would jump to Cincinnati, so why bother listing him as a possible candidate?

I mean, I'm sure Cincinnati would love to have him, but as you acknowledge, it ain't gonna happen.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by mh2365

Well let's see Davie was a good coordinator and ND was his first head coaching job so not sure how his career is similar to Kelly's.

Willingham was a bad hire from day 1 ... he wasn't a good coach at Stanford, wasn't a good recruiter at Stanford. I think ND just wanted to say "hey look we hired a black guy". Hiring Edsall this year would have been like hiring Willingham. So I don't see the Kelly comparison there either.

O' Leary lied on his resume and was only a coach for two days ... he has bounced back okay so I don't see how Notre Dame had anything to do with his career.

Weis was a OC in the pros with no head coaching experience and he will go right back to being an OC in the pros so not sure how his career momentum was hurt, not to mention he is about $40 million dollars richer than he was before coming to Notre Dame. FWIW he had no problems recruiting at Notre Dame but he couldn't coach at the college level. Everything he did was like they do in the pro ... no tackling in practice, zone blocking ... none of that works in college.

For the first time in the last three hires Notre Dame got the hot coaching prospect. It is a great hire and Kelly will do just fine at Notre Dame. He went undefeated with a much less talented squad at Cincy against a pretty much similar schedule.

Momentum=going forward
Halt=not moving

My quote was referring to halting their momentum. If they are a taking a worse job after leaving ND its certainly not a foward move. You dont get the Notre Dame job by not being in contention for other high profile jobs meaning their momentum was high at one time.

I'll give you O'Leary because that wasnt NDs fault but at ND, expectations are too high for their program level right now.

They are no longer the premier program in the nation as they never change. They wont get in a conference and they wont lower their academic standards.

Its a job most coaches are destined to fail at and you can kind of see this with a lot of great college coaches turning them down.

IMO you dont leave a program you have built up unless you are putting yourself in a position to do well. I would have waited if I were Kelly for a better situation to open up. Penn St or Michigan are two off the top of my head.

Notre Dame still thinks they are the #1 program in the nation, what coach can live up to them expectations at a program that isnt the #1 program in the nation?

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Penn St or Michigan are two off the top of my head.

Neither were happening soon.

[MrBug708]

Orgeron back to USC?

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Orgeron back to USC?

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Momentum=going forward
Halt=not moving

My quote was referring to halting their momentum. If they are a taking a worse job after leaving ND its certainly not a foward move. You dont get the Notre Dame job by not being in contention for other high profile jobs meaning their momentum was high at one time.

I'll give you O'Leary because that wasnt NDs fault but at ND, expectations are too high for their program level right now.

They are no longer the premier program in the nation as they never change. They wont get in a conference and they wont lower their academic standards.

Its a job most coaches are destined to fail at and you can kind of see this with a lot of great college coaches turning them down.

IMO you dont leave a program you have built up unless you are putting yourself in a position to do well. I would have waited if I were Kelly for a better situation to open up. Penn St or Michigan are two off the top of my head.

Notre Dame still thinks they are the #1 program in the nation, what coach can live up to them expectations at a program that isnt the #1 program in the nation?

Kelly is losing enough next year that Cincy may finish with 7 or 8 wins. He'll never be hotter than right now. ND may not be what they once were, but prestige, money, alumni support, stadium, and television are way better than UC will ever be. The worst that will happen to Kelly is he'll fail and end up at a place like UC again.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

Coach O at USC is a scary thought. The guy can keep players motivated and recruit the hell out SoCal

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Kelly is losing enough next year that Cincy may finish with 7 or 8 wins. He'll never be hotter than right now. ND may not be what they once were, but prestige, money, alumni support, stadium, and television are way better than UC will ever be. The worst that will happen to Kelly is he'll fail and end up at a place like UC again.

+1

People don't realize that when you get the chance to take over a storied program and they come after you -- especially when you're a guy that was once coaching D2 in recent memory -- it's not something you sneeze at. You go while your name is hot, you take the checks and the pressure that comes with it. If you don't do well, you go back where you came from, but...those experiences makes you stronger.

When you're a graduate assistant making negative dollars to fetch papers and work as hard as a coach does, for the chance you'll go big time, the chance to coach at a school where football is king -- even if they're a bit delusional about their place in the modern football landscape -- is too much to pass up.

I don't blame him for going at all. He would've never had a chance like that again and there are/were far too many barriers at Cincinnati to believe that it's a place you can have long-term success. I mean, ask Louisville how fast it can come crashing down. Especially in a conference like the Big East where everyone is cannibalizing each other.

[Jon]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Penn St or Michigan are two off the top of my head.

Penn State is Greg Schiano's dream gig. That's partly why he turned down both Miami and the University of Michigan.

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Coach O at USC is a scary thought. The guy can keep players motivated and recruit the hell out SoCal

+infinity. I'm absolutely giddy at the thought of Coach O coming back, partly for the reason above and partly because it's a sign that Pete is possibly willing to work with good,experienced coaches again and might have recognised that his meddling since the Texas Rose Bowl just isn't working. I still think it's pretty unlikely for a number of reasons but if so, awesome news.

If Eddie O comes back, Te'o ends up here and half of the things I am hearing about the recruiting class are true I'm very encouraged about the direction we're going in after a very disappointing end to the season. Chances of all 3 coming true, almost none. But I can dream

Oh and Kelly to ND... ugh. They could really be dangerous now, he needs to recruit well between now and NSD but with all his ties in the area I think he's going to cleanup and actually get a better class than Charlie would have.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

This is secondhand info (that maybe Bishop or someone else w/ closer ties to ND may know), but I have heard that Notre Dame has a lot of strict conduct procedures in place (students must live in dorms for all 4-years, strict rules against drinking on campus, someone even said that you had to join AA if you are caught drinking underage, things like that) and that Coach Stoops had agreed on a contract figure with the school, but things fell apart because he wanted to be able to override Notre Dame's policies on disciplining his players and they would not agree to that. So, a lot of time we hear about coaches wanting Notre Dame to "loosen their standards," but that does not just apply to the academic side of things.

I wasn't a student, just visited friends a couple times, and ND does have some things but they don't match your list exactly from what I saw. I've heard they have to live in normal dorms for the first 2 years (Zbikowski was allegedly down the hall the first time I visited although I had no desire to find out), everyone has to take calculus as a freshman, they suspend students/players for the semester if they're caught with weed or arrested for underage drinking, and they have some regulations against being caught in an opposite sex dorm after hours. As to your specific list, my friends lived in off-campus apartments (along with many ND students) their last 2 years, and while there may be lip service paid to no drinking, it's not enforced in practice. In the dorms students (including underage ones) are actually allowed to drink with their doors open and the RA's won't/can't do anything as long as they keep it in their room. It was definitely surprising to see RA's stop by and just shoot the shit as kids were funneling 40's, especially as UMass had conditioned me to hide it at all costs. I also doubt the AA thing - I suspect it was like UMass where they had an alcohol class you had to take when you got caught, but it was certainly no AA, and all I learned was that carbonation makes the alcohol go to your brain faster and where the parties were that night.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

+1

People don't realize that when you get the chance to take over a storied program and they come after you -- especially when you're a guy that was once coaching D2 in recent memory -- it's not something you sneeze at. You go while your name is hot, you take the checks and the pressure that comes with it. If you don't do well, you go back where you came from, but...those experiences makes you stronger.

When you're a graduate assistant making negative dollars to fetch papers and work as hard as a coach does, for the chance you'll go big time, the chance to coach at a school where football is king -- even if they're a bit delusional about their place in the modern football landscape -- is too much to pass up.

I don't blame him for going at all. He would've never had a chance like that again and there are/were far too many barriers at Cincinnati to believe that it's a place you can have long-term success. I mean, ask Louisville how fast it can come crashing down. Especially in a conference like the Big East where everyone is cannibalizing each other.

+2

[RedKingGold]

Originally Posted by Jon

Penn State is Greg Schiano's dream gig.

Tom Bradley's basically in charge of the program now with Paterno just a figure head.

They'll keep Bradley/Jay Paterno as OC in place until they prove they can't do it consistently in the Big 10.

So, even when Joe Pa goes in about three years, expect at least another two with Bradley/Jay.

[Dr. Sak]

Lord help us if Jay is the coach.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

I don't blame him for going at all. He would've never had a chance like that again and there are/were far too many barriers at Cincinnati to believe that it's a place you can have long-term success. I mean, ask Louisville how fast it can come crashing down. Especially in a conference like the Big East where everyone is cannibalizing each other.

Louisville being a team that lost their coach and then went crashing down, remember.

I'm sure, though, to some coaches being thought of as a new Paterno or Bowden, leading nothing programs to continual national prominence for 30+ years has to be enticing.

[lynchjm24]

Originally Posted by Logan

I wish Edsall and Schiano could be combined.

Keep your Schiano out of my Edsall.

[molson]

I wonder how long Notre Dame gets to be considered a "storied" football program.

[Kodos]

I enjoy watching them continually suck.

[RedKingGold]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

Lord help us if Jay is the coach.

Bradley will be the coach/DC, and Jay will be in charge of the offense when Galen Hall retires.

That's why they brought Hall in, to tutor Jay.

I'm not in love with the plan, but it's basically been working so far.

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by molson

I wonder how long Notre Dame gets to be considered a "storied" football program.

It's been so long that the Bible is considering adding a New Testament to talk about the storied years of Notre Dame football.

[Jon]

Originally Posted by RedKingGold

Tom Bradley's basically in charge of the program now with Paterno just a figure head.

They'll keep Bradley/Jay Paterno as OC in place until they prove they can't do it consistently in the Big 10.

So, even when Joe Pa goes in about three years, expect at least another two with Bradley/Jay.

I'm okay with that--and I suspect Schiano knows that as well. He's got a great gig at RU--a new house in a nice neighborhood, 2.25 million per year (which is due to Miami and Michigan callling the last few years), his family is from Jersey, and he's viewed as a hero.

[Jon]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

It's been so long that the Bible is considering adding a New Testament to talk about the storied years of Notre Dame football.

Wouldn't it be Old Testament;

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Jon

I'm okay with that--and I suspect Schiano knows that as well. He's got a great gig at RU--a new house in a nice neighborhood, 2.25 million per year (which is due to Miami and Michigan callling the last few years), his family is from Jersey, and he's viewed as a hero.

Plus a a couple of great recruiting classes in a row and maybe the most pure talemt they have ever had.

[Lathum]

dola- These kids from Cincy need to grow the fuck up and realize in life when a better opportunity comes along where you can better yours and your families situation you take it, thats life, get over it.

[Chief Rum]

Just yesterday I heard a news report from Heaven that an angel had found a piece of toast shaped like Brady Quinn's head. It has all the Notre Dame faithful in Heaven in a tizzy.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Lathum

dola- These kids from Cincy need to grow the fuck up and realize in life when a better opportunity comes along where you can better yours and your families situation you take it, thats life, get over it.

But you have to balance that against the promises he made to players and the incessant talk of putting the team over individual concerns. I think Kelly made the right choice, but I also think his players have a right to feel betrayed.

[RedKingGold]

Originally Posted by Lathum

dola- These kids from Cincy need to grow the fuck up and realize in life when a better opportunity comes along where you can better yours and your families situation you take it, thats life, get over it.

Please. You bitch about stuff that doesn't remote effect your life as much as Kelly leaving does to Cincy's players potential careers. They're allowed a day or two to bitch about Kelly leaving, that doesn't mean they don't understand it's a business.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

But you have to balance that against the promises he made to players and the incessant talk of putting the team over individual concerns. I think Kelly made the right choice, but I also think his players have a right to feel betrayed.

The lesson learned for them here is that you pretty much have to be a damned fool to trust anybody and that goes double if there's money involved.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

The lesson learned for them here is that you pretty much have to be a damned fool to trust anybody and that goes double if there's money involved.

Amen!

[DeToxRox]

Take out Lou Holtz and all the cheating that went on at ND under his watch, and when exactly was the last time ND was any good?

Things that make you go hmmm.

[DeToxRox]

Here are the stats fyi:

Faust: 30-26-1
Davie: 35-25
Willingham: 21-15
Weis: 35-27

Even if you add Lou in there, since 1980 four other coaches have basically all been identical.

I am really curious to see if Kelly is able to break out of that.

[DeToxRox]

Triple dola:

As I said before, Kelly can work out huge for ND but there are some questions I have about him. One, he is like Weis in that he will put up points but will he stop people from scoring? The rumor is he might make Chuck Martin from Grand Valley State his DC which would be a very bad hire if you ask me. The guy has coached a power at GVSU but it's mainly because they get 4* type JUCO kids and other guys who didn't qualify places and just have way more talent then anyone they play.

Also, he has no ties anywhere but the midwest which is another issue with Kelly. ND is a school that must recruit nationally and I am not sure if Kelly is going to be able to do it.

I do see a significant drop in recruiting coming from Weis, though in fairness to Weis he was a very good recruiter.

The other issue is how Kelly will deal with being in the limelight and having every decision he makes scrutinized. He has never had that happen to him, and as RichRod has found out, it can be a big bitch to deal with it.

Kelly's personality can make him prone to blow ups so I think we may see one or two while he's at ND.

I think this is either a home run hire or a total bust. I am in the middle leaning towards home run hire, but I am not sure there is a middle ground. This will either make ND a power or send them back even further to the stone ages.

Either way it should be fun to watch.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Louisville being a team that lost their coach and then went crashing down, remember.

I'm sure, though, to some coaches being thought of as a new Paterno or Bowden, leading nothing programs to continual national prominence for 30+ years has to be enticing.

It's MUCH harder to do that now than it was 25-30 years ago. That's the problem. Too much money involved, too many variables. Sure, George Mason's coach will live there forever off that Final Four appearance. But there's a difference between being a passionate guy who is king of his hill and old enough not to want to go through the grind, rather than being a relatively young guy in an underfunded place that isn't someplace you've been for that long anyway, that you can see the internal politics conspiring to make things worse for you either presently or down the road.

Guys like Paterno and Bowden are old dudes who stuck around forever and turned themselves into larger than life institutions at their schools.

It's a lot harder to do that in today's higher ed landscape.

[ISiddiqui]

Hard, yes (Hell, there is reason there aren't more coaches like Paterno and Bowden), but possible. I think Chris Petersen at Boise sees things like what happened to his predessor when he left for "greener grass" and has decided he'd rather keep doing extremely well in a smaller pond and become a legend at Boise.

[Swaggs]

Frank Beamer has done it at Virginia Tech. They are recognized as a national power now, but before Beamer came along they were a pretty middling team. They were patient with him (he was a sub-.500 coach for his first 6-seasons), but then they got into the Big East and then the ACC and are in great shape for continued success after he retires.

[Swaggs]

Dola... Jim Leavitt at USF is a decent candidate to build that program from literally nothing to a power. He has already been there 14-years, has turned down other BCS jobs, and is still young enough to coach another 15 or so years. Of course, he might end up burning himself out or falling victim to unreasonable expectations before USF gets to where I think they can be.

[Young Drachma]

Say what you want about Kelly, this press conference makes it sound like this guy was made for this job. He might choke on it, but...it seems like, this was the sort of job he was born for.

[DeToxRox]

I have heard questions of this sites credibility so take it FWIW:

Kansas:
FootballCoachScoop has BREAKING NEWS and the FIRST TO REPORT that Stanford Head Coach Jim Harbaugh is negotiating a contract with Athletic
Director Lew Perkins to be the new Head Coach of the Kansas Jayhawks. Our sources tell us that Harabugh will be named the new Head Coach at KU
when the contract details are worked out and finalized this weekend. According to our source he will be paid between $2.5 Million and 2.75 Million.

[Galaril]

Actually, I stand corrected on Kelly's defensive prowees or lack of it. The first two years at Cincy Kelly had very good defenses #15 and #25 in the nation averaging 18.6 and 19.4 points which is not bad for college. I think last year (2009) was more of an aberration. He himself just about said the same thing about this years defense when interviewed at halftime of the Pitt game.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Galaril

Actually, I stand corrected on Kelly's defensive prowees or lack of it. The first two years at Cincy Kelly had very good defenses #15 and #25 in the nation averaging 18.6 and 19.4 points which is not bad for college. I think last year (2009) was more of an aberration. He himself just about said the same thing about this years defense when interviewed at halftime of the Pitt game.

He also didn't recruit any of those kids on D. He inherited quite a few returning starters. It's hard to say either way on his D.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

I have heard questions of this sites credibility so take it FWIW:

Kansas:
FootballCoachScoop has BREAKING NEWS and the FIRST TO REPORT that Stanford Head Coach Jim Harbaugh is negotiating a contract with Athletic
Director Lew Perkins to be the new Head Coach of the Kansas Jayhawks. Our sources tell us that Harabugh will be named the new Head Coach at KU
when the contract details are worked out and finalized this weekend. According to our source he will be paid between $2.5 Million and 2.75 Million.

Wouldn't you consider that a lateral move at best from Stanford? Granted he wouldn't be fettered by the academic standards Stanford has, but I think his long term goal is Michigan and if R-Rod has another poor season that would line up nicely for him.

[mh2365]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

IMO you dont leave a program you have built up unless you are putting yourself in a position to do well. I would have waited if I were Kelly for a better situation to open up. Penn St or Michigan are two off the top of my head.

after reading your comments here and on the OOTP you are one of those guys that just hates Notre Dame without any kind of logic for it so there is no point in debating anything with you.

My only question for you is that if it has been known for a long long time that Kelly wanted to be the head coach of Notre Dame (according to Chuck Martin he used to talk about it while at GVSU) then why would you think that Penn St. or Michigan would be a better situation for him? Those are better to begin with but specifically they aren't better for Kelly.