iou1's Dynasty (NCAA'09 / PS2)

[iou1]

Been lurking on the board for a while now and have authored a Dynasty or two on other sites. Thought I might as well give one a shot over here. I am a gaming dinosaur...'09 on a PS2...and my Dynasties are Coach Mode. Not sure if that thing flys over here or not, but let's see how she goes. Thanks in advance to anyone who might follow and for letting me hang out on the OS Boards.

iou1

[iou1]

“Coach Chaplin, let’s do our best to not waste everyone’s time. I made the calls I feel like I needed to make and every one of them came back positive. That is what put your name on our list. After meeting with you today, and I feel confident that I speak for Reverend Donohue as well, your name is at the TOP of our list.”

“Thank you, Vince. I appreciate the opportun……”

“However, you are certainly not the ONLY name on our list. Villanova University Football is preparing to enter into a new era…the question for you is this, Coach Chaplin, are you the one who will lead us there or not?”

“Look, Vince….everything about today has been top shelf. I love the campus, the facilities, the players…everything has been dang near perfect, but we are the middle of prepping for our Bowl Game with Wake. Can I have a couple of da…..”

“Certainly Coach, I understand that you and the team will be leaving Storrs later this week. I will expect to hear from you before you leave for Charlotte. Can I assume that this time frame works for you?”

“Absolutely. Thank you again for the opportunity, Vince. I will talk with you in a couple of days.”

[iou1]

“Skinner takes a knee…and that’ll wrap it for the Demon Deacons. Final Score from the 2007 Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, NC – Wake Forest 24, U-Conn 10. Stay tuned for the post game show sponsored by Meineke Car Care…”

I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my tired, blood-shot eyes…"Well Hell," I thought out loud. "So much for that game plan." I took a deep breath and one last long look through the pressbox glass at the Wake Forest celebration below before I started gathering up mythings.

“What the hell was that, Chap?!?! Thought we were supposed to be the better team??? Better record, better players, more experience….co-champions of our conference???”

I looked over at Coach Reynolds and just shrugged my shoulders…"That’s how they go sometimes, Kid. We had things rolling, got up 10-0 there in the 2^nd, and then the wheels came off… Funny thing about ole Mo, when she’s on your side everything goes great…but when she leaves and puts on a different jersey, she’s a bitch."

I liked Reynolds. Good kid. Still green, but full of piss and vinegar. Coached the hell out of our linebackers and had been in the booth with me for a couple of seasons now. I was sure that he had a bright future as a Coordinator…he didn't know it, but hopefully it was sooner than later...

“Yeah, I suppose so…but that sure as hell don’t make me feel any better! Guess the offseason had to get here sometime. See you in the office after the New Year, Chap?”

"Naw. I’m gonna do some traveling first. Be outta town for a week or so."

“Traveling? You? That don’t sound right. Where you headed?”

I chewed on my lip for a second and stared out the pressbox glass again. Not really looking at anything special…more searching for words than anything else. I knew that this conversation was going to have to take place sometime, but I sure as hell didn’t think that it was going to happen in the pressbox at Bank of America Stadium. I guess I always figured it would happen over beers, or across a desk from one another, or hell, maybe both. Either way, I don’t claim to know a lot in this life, but I know that band aids come off best all at once.

"Kid, I’m headed to Villanova."

[UK0wnag3]

Looking good so far mate. Personally, I'm not a fan of NCAA per se but I'm a sucker for a good narrative.

[iou1]

"Villanova?!?! As in, like, Pennsylvania??? What the hell is in Villanova? You got family there or somethin', Chap?"

“Family? No, I don’t have any family there. I’m from Iowa…just like you, Dumb-***. All my family is back there.”

"Then why the trip to 'Nova this time of year...God knows it ain't for the weather."

I looked at Reynolds…looked down at my shoes and figured what the hell, this conversation’s gonna have to happen sometime. Might as well be now.

“Kid, I’m gonna be the new head coach at Villanova University. Made the decision a few days ago and I get introduced on Monday.”

God, it felt good to hear those words out in the open for the first time!!!



"You're gonna what??? 'Nova??? I don't..."

“Will ya just shut up and listen for once!?! Villanova is moving up to FBS football..hell, the whole Colonial Athletic Association is. Replacing the Midwest Athletic Conference…”

"How? What? Why???"

“How the hell should I know???How the hell does anybody know how this crap happens behind closed doors? I still can’t tell you why in the hell, BC and Tech went to the ACC! All I knowis that this is a shot at a head job in the FBS…and the brass at ‘Nova have their sights set a helluva lot higher than winning MAC titles.”

So did I for that matter!!!

“C’mon, Chap…you’re already coaching at a school in a BCS Conference! Hell, we just tied for the Big East Title…”

“Lot a good that did us! Big East Co-Champs and all we get is a trip to the Car Care Bowl in Charlotte!”

“You are SO stupid to leave now…Edsall is gonna keep this ship upright and moving forward. We bring a lot back nextyear.”

“Edsall will jump ship first chance he gets…you really think his dream is to coach football at a school where Gino and women’s basketball are Priority 1? You really think I want to coach QBs in Storrs, Connecticut for the next 3,4,5 years? I want more than that. You should too!”

“Like what?!?!”

“Like doing a helluva lot more than just coaching linebackers at a women’s basketball school. You should be on the road recruiting…you should be game planning…you should be coordinating a defense! You should be coordinating MY defense!!!”

There, I said it. I have to admit that it didn’t sound like any job offer I’d ever heard before, but it was direct and to the point…guess that’s the only way I know. Understandably,Reynolds didn’t know what to say. So I told him to not say anything…told him to think on it for a few days and told him that I thought he was the right man for the job.

[iou1]

As mentioned in my earlier post. The Colonial Athletic Association is replacing the MAC in this dynasty. Temple will be the one holdover. Here is a look at the new CAA. Thanks for following. Feedback is always welcomed.

[iou1]

All things considered, the introductory press conference had been more of a formality than anything else. Local reporters, school administrators, members from 'Nova Nation. Couple of questions about my philosophy, my goals, my background...the usual stuff.

Had to tell everyone that I was still undecided about a DC but that I had a few names in mind and had some feelers out there. "Coach speak" for "I know exactly what I want to do, but it is none of your dang business until I say it is." Like I said, the usual stuff.

Truth be told, I hadn't heard back from Reynolds yet. Figured I'd give him another day to mull it over then call him up for the final word. Hoped like hell that he'd jump on baord, but change is a tough thing...especially something like what I was asking him to do. It was a bit of a leap of faith, and he wasn't ready for a DC job yet...but you gotta strike while the iron is hot. The brass at Nova gave my a 4 year contract, so we had some time to work out the kinks and get his feet firmly planted on the ground before they sent us packing.

Day 1 as the head man of the Wildcats would go down as a success...if I could just find my dang office. Really need to get settled over at the football coplex and start going over the roster and depth charts a little closer. I knew exactly where I wanted the program to GO...now I just needed to figure out where it WAS.

Note: Pic above is actually Andy Talley, current Nova coach.

[iou1]

The depth charts really paint the picture that I have been seeing in my mind for the last couple of weeks…and that is, “We have a 2 year window to set a foundation in place.”

On offense we only have 2 seniors penciled in as starters. Now, Givens has to be HUGE for us this season if we are going to go anywhere, but the rest of the guys are all juniors (3) and underclassmen (6). The major issue is that I don’t see any significant depth anywhere. Brantley is an OK 3^rd receiver and Finnerty could play Guard for us if he had to, but other than that…nothing.

Defensively we are a little older, but not by much. Frazier at DT is the only senior and we start a total of 5 juniors across the board. That leaves us with 5 underclassmen penciled in as Day 1 starters. Again, the biggest issue I see is depth. Adams is a good young DT and Crenshaw will see some PT at OLB. Other than that, the only place on the whole team that see significant depth is at Corner. M. Johnson and Hill are both solid #2’s with experience.