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Coaching changes

WoadBlue

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Aug 15, 2008
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Mid-season means some coaches are on Hot Seats, and some G5 HCs and P5 coordinators are sure to be potential replacements.

I doubt that any ACC team fires the coach this year. I think FSU can win 6 and that likely saves Taggart - unless FSU loses to both Miami and Florida in routs.

SEC coaching changes can impact the ACC. I think Vandy is certain to fire Mason. AD Malcom Turner is a UNC grad with no previous college athletic administration experience and no football experience. So who has any idea what he might do.

If Tennessee finishes with another losing record, Pruitt could get fired. Vols boosters are not patient.

The AAC is loaded with coaches who could be very hot to move to P5 jobs. Willie Fritz got Tulane to a bowl last year, which was a near miracle, and now Tulane is 5-1. Fritz, who was previously at Georgia Southern, has private school and southeastern experience - he might be ideal for Vandy.

Sonny Dykes has SMU sitting at a perfect 6-0. He did not fit in at Cal and the Pac - he belongs in the southwest or maybe the southeast.

Luke Fickell and Mike Norvell have Cincy and Memphis, respectively, both at 5-1. I would think that Big Ten ADs have a close eye on Fickell, and that especially SEC and Big 12 ADs have a close eye on Norvell.
 
SC has hired Cincy AD Mike Bohn as its AD. Meyer is a Cincy grad. And Meyer apparently worked to place long time Ohio St assistant Luke Fickell as Cincy HC, which means a lot of talking to Bohn.

At this point, would anyone bet against Meyer being the next SC HC?
 
SC has hired Cincy AD Mike Bohn as its AD. Meyer is a Cincy grad. And Meyer apparently worked to place long time Ohio St assistant Luke Fickell as Cincy HC, which means a lot of talking to Bohn.

At this point, would anyone bet against Meyer being the next SC HC?

I would be more surprised if Meyer is not at USC next year.
 
The Urban Liar 5 step coaching process.

1. Take a job
2. Win big with off field controversy mixed in
3. Retire due to "health issues"
4. Profess joy of retirement / spending time with family.
5. 1 yr later - bored with retirement- take new coaching job with powerhouse school. Kids and family on board with decision.
 
Urban Meyer could make USC even better than they were under Pete Carrol. I have no doubt they would use some of the same tactics too.
 
Urban Meyer could make USC even better than they were under Pete Carrol. I have no doubt they would use some of the same tactics too.

I'm hearing Notre Dame a lot recently but I still think its SC
 
Urban said years ago, before he took the Florida job, that ND was his dream job. And reportedly could have had the ND job when he chose UF. Kelly has done a good job at ND, but even though this day and time says reality is otherwise, the ND fan base thinks that national championships should be the standard. So they would buy out Kelly in a minute of Urban would take it. But USC would be the easier gig. Program is a shingle school that is underachieving. In a perfect recruiting location with tons of talent at their doorstep. Dont have some of the academic worries that ND may have. But no matter what Urban says, some of these coaches just cant resist the games and the bright lights. Many of them just cant live without it. Look at Mack. He surely doesnt need the money. But he couldnt resist a second act. I'd be shocked if Urban wasnt on the sideline in LA next year
 
I really don't think Mack's "second act" is about bright lights and money. I truly believe he wants to try to right a perceived wrong in the way he left UNC. (As I've said before, I think with a different AD he would have retired here.)
 
I really don't think Mack's "second act" is about bright lights and money. I truly believe he wants to try to right a perceived wrong in the way he left UNC. (As I've said before, I think with a different AD he would have retired here.)

Except there wasn’t a wrong to right. Texas is a bigger job for a college football coach and they were willing to write a bigger check. He didn’t do anything wrong by leaving.

I don’t think he feels guilty about leaving Carolina the first time. But I do think he loved his time in chapel hill and this was the only job he was willing to take. He’s got history here and knew he would be given the time he needs to rebuild.
 
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I thought so also but I guess the lopsided loss Miami was the last straw. Its not like the Canes are elite this year.
They looked awful against Miami. Jimbo left an absolute mess at FSU, but by the time you face your top league rival 2/3rds of the way through Year 2, if you haven't started showing progress, you deserve to get fired.

Which coaches will FSU target? I won't be shocked to learn they pulled the trigger in order to pursue their main target or two now.

Mike Norvell would have the kind of high flying offense Noles fans love.
 
from ESPN article: "Under the terms of Taggart's six-year, $30 million contract, FSU's athletic department will owe him 85% of his remaining compensation through Jan. 31, 2024, which is between $17 million and $18 million. The Seminoles also paid Oregon a $3 million buyout when it hired him away from the Ducks in December 2017, as well as the remaining $1.3 million buyout Oregon owed South Florida when it hired him in December 2016."

More of schools over-paying somebody who is not truly proven.

My thought is : why didn't FSU tell Taggart that if he were sincere in claiming that FSU were his dream job, he would demand considerably less money if he were fired for failing to win or getting on probation?
 
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More of schools over-paying somebody who is not truly proven.

I thought he was pretty good at USF. He didn't stay at Oregon long enough to really tell how well he could handle a power 5 job. Maybe he wasn't ready yet.
 
My guess is that a group of FSU boosters will choose the short list. The new AD Coburn is not a long time AD guy. He is a lawyer who worked in FL state government and then became chief of staff for the FSU President. He does not have deep ties to national coaching circles.

Who does a guy like that want? Somebody with FL ties? Taggart checked that box. Charlie Strong checks that box and is failing at USF. Somebody who has been an assistant at FSU? Mark Stoops might be the biggest name under that category. Would talk of Mark lead to an attempt to get Bob Stoops back to CFB?

Would Coburn prefer something brand new for FSU, hoping to strike gold as Baylor did with Matt Rhule? Matt Campbell of Iowa State surely would give a long hard look at taking the FSU job. PJ Fleck has been HC at 2 schools and worked a miracle at each. Minnesota has limitations that FSU does not. Would Fleck see FSU as the place where he could win big for a long time?
 
I just read that Matt Campbell's buyout is 19 million.

Does he want to stay in Ames for life?
 
If I'm not mistaken, he inherited some good recruiting classes, and has done well himself in recruiting. It seems like they should give him at least 3 full seasons; not half that. But obviously FSU is not as patient as UNC has been with bad coaching hires.
 
from ESPN article: "Under the terms of Taggart's six-year, $30 million contract, FSU's athletic department will owe him 85% of his remaining compensation through Jan. 31, 2024, which is between $17 million and $18 million. The Seminoles also paid Oregon a $3 million buyout when it hired him away from the Ducks in December 2017, as well as the remaining $1.3 million buyout Oregon owed South Florida when it hired him in December 2016."

More of schools over-paying somebody who is not truly proven.

My thought is : why didn't FSU tell Taggart that if he were sincere in claiming that FSU were his dream job, he would demand considerably less money if he were fired for failing to win or getting on probation?
Amateur athletics!
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I really don't think Mack's "second act" is about bright lights and money. I truly believe he wants to try to right a perceived wrong in the way he left UNC. (As I've said before, I think with a different AD he would have retired here.)

First off, I didnt say it was about the money. Said that pretty plainly in my post. By the "bright lights" I mean just coaching in a competitive setting. Lots of these guys just cant live without it.

And Mack didnt come back to right a wrong. Mack left for a shingle school that could win a national championship. At the time he left UNC he had the football program in probably the best shape it had been in. And even then, he was getting trucked by FSU. Didnt see that situation changing anytime soon. So if he wanted to really get in the mix to be in play for national championships he needed to make a move. Now if he would have taken the Virginia job? That would have been a slight. But not taking the Texas job
 
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I don’t thing Mack feels bad about leaving, he did what he had to do to win a championship. I do think he feels bad about how the program disintegrated when he left and wants to get it back on solid footing before he turns it over to the next coach.

BYW, I was a big Norvell proponent and believe he is one of the better young HC’s. He and Satterfield were my two choices to replace Fed. In the end, Mack was probably the right choice.
 
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Agree. And you always have those hot coaches at the non Power 5 level to choose from. The names change, but always there. Long term made sense for one of those younger guys, but Mack was the right choice. UNC football was awash with apathy. Needed someone to bring an energetic shotgun the arm to the fan base and bring them back into the fold. And nobody is better at bringing folks together and recruiting than Mack. The two things the program had to have.
 
I don’t thing Mack feels bad about leaving, he did what he had to do to win a championship.
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You could well be right. I base my conclusions on some things Mack said before he left.
 
dook game thanksgiving before mack left, kenan was half full and we were ranked.
from a football afterthought to football religion, big difference.
 
dook game thanksgiving before mack left, kenan was half full and we were ranked.
from a football afterthought to football religion, big difference.
UNC is not a school with a tradition of students returning for games on Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving. But if the Moo game is made permanent for that weekend, I think it will become one in which students of both schools want to be there.
 
UNC is not a school with a tradition of students returning for games on Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving. But if the Moo game is made permanent for that weekend, I think it will become one in which students of both schools want to be there.

Part of the mindset change at Carolina is to get the fans to continue to focus on football after basketball practice starts.

RE: coaching changes
Schools seem to be in a hurry to get their football programs "right", spending huge sums to lay a solid foundation for the next several years.
Carolina spent 12 Million to buy out Larry which is way out of character for our Athletic Department. Florida State is spending 50% more than UNC to get rid of Taggart (which is money desperately needed to update facilities and infrastructure).
Something is brewing........the next few years will be interesting.
 
Until the Heels won the basketball national championship in 1957, football was the "biggie" sport. That began the change. (I remember when the Carolina-Duke football rivalry was as big or bigger than the basketball rivalry is now.). Let's face it - human nature is to back a winner. Football hasn't been able to compete with national championships, consistent top ten rankings, conference titles, etc. that basketball has provided. For me, it's not either/or, it's both/and. I support both sports strongly. Some of our folks aren't there yet. Let's see what Mack and Co. can provide in the next few years. I am both hopeful and optimistic..
 
Until the Heels won the basketball national championship in 1957, football was the "biggie" sport. That began the change. (I remember when the Carolina-Duke football rivalry was as big or bigger than the basketball rivalry is now.). Let's face it - human nature is to back a winner. Football hasn't been able to compete with national championships, consistent top ten rankings, conference titles, etc. that basketball has provided. For me, it's not either/or, it's both/and. I support both sports strongly. Some of our folks aren't there yet. Let's see what Mack and Co. can provide in the next few years. I am both hopeful and optimistic..
Correct. They used to have to bring in temporary bleachers to handle the crowds at UNC-Dook football games. I think it was from Walker Percy (UNC grad novelist) that I learned there was a stretch of about 7 years in which the UNC-Dook game was among the 5 largest football crowds in the entire South.
 
Part of the mindset change at Carolina is to get the fans to continue to focus on football after basketball practice starts.

RE: coaching changes
Schools seem to be in a hurry to get their football programs "right", spending huge sums to lay a solid foundation for the next several years.
Carolina spent 12 Million to buy out Larry which is way out of character for our Athletic Department. Florida State is spending 50% more than UNC to get rid of Taggart (which is money desperately needed to update facilities and infrastructure).
Something is brewing........the next few years will be interesting.
A school like Iowa State, which has virtually no football history, has given guaranteed money to Matt Campbell that is significantly more than what Taggart is guaranteed.

It really is nuts.

I think people know that we are entering an age of closure, and they know they better be prepared when the hammer drops.
 
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