BCS Coaching Changes

[Gopher07]

Which school made the best hire in this cycle? I realize Stanford has yet to announce theirs, and I suppose UConn could back out from Whipple (it's not official yet) but for the purposes of this poll, just consider Stanford to be "Internal candidate X" and UConn to be Whipple.

Poll limitations forced me to leave off Stanford.

 

[JoeDirt]

I voted us, mostly for firing Brew. That might've been the best coach firing of the year. I also think Kill will be good and will "stroke the post" often.

 

[KrisHumphries]

Al Golden was the best hire of the offseason IMO. I think he will do big things in Miami

 

[MaxyJR1]

How many of these guys are bringing nearly an entire staff from a previous job? This gives Kill an edge early.

 

[positively4thstreet]

Somebody seriously thought Kevin Wilson was the best hire? Really?

 

[station19]

I know I'm going out on a limb here, but I think there may be some bias on this poll.

 

[Monty519]

I know I'm going out on a limb here, but I think there may be some bias on this poll.

Of course there is, and I'm adding to it LOL. But in all honesty, we went from a coach who literally had no head coaching background and proved to be in over his head, to a coach with a wealth of experience and a steady staff, and has a great record behind him. The contrast between the fired coach and the hired coach there does make it look like quite a nice hire.

Taking off my maroon and gold glasses, I'd probably lean toward Miami and Al Golden.

 

[highwayman]

I know I'm going out on a limb here, but I think there may be some bias on this poll.

I don't know about that, but if you go line bye line--who left and who's coming in--which schools made an upgrade? The Poll wasn't "best coach" - it was "best hire". Which school made the best upgrade? Think it was Minnesota.

 

[dpodoll68]

Somebody seriously thought Kevin Wilson was the best hire? Really?

It wasn't me, but I could easily make that argument. If Wilson can even get Indiana into bowls annually, that will have been a great hire for them. If they start contending for Big Ten titles, he'll be like a God amongst mere mortals. If Muschamp, Hoke, or Golden win conference titles, their fanbase will say, "Meh. Why didn't you win us a national title?"

 

[ruralgopher]

I don't know about that, but if you go line bye line--who left and who's coming in--which schools made an upgrade? The Poll wasn't "best coach" - it was "best hire". Which school made the best upgrade? Think it was Minnesota.

Even if the poll was 'best coach' one could easily vote for Kill over the rest, without bias.

 

[CentralGopher]

I voted for Floriday but seriously considered us first. I would put these two very close. An established winning head coach from a lower tier university vs. an unproven but highly thought of assistant from a top program. I would also put Michigan right up there.

 

[Rescooter]

I gave props for firing Brewster.

I'm a big Kill supporter, but the verdict is still out whether he can right this ship. If recruiting is any indication, this could truly be the "Kill Shot" we've been waiting for.

 

[GopherBeef]

It wasn't me, but I could easily make that argument. If Wilson can even get Indiana into bowls annually, that will have been a great hire for them. If they start contending for Big Ten titles, he'll be like a God amongst mere mortals. If Muschamp, Hoke, or Golden win conference titles, their fanbase will say, "Meh. Why didn't you win us a national title?"

If Wilson gets IU to a bowl, he'd probably be gone the next year to a bigger offer. If he gets them to contend for a conference title, he would be the "hottest" coach in the country, and again would likely be gone the next year. Although some of the coaches staying/going this year may contradict that.

I played homer and chose Kill, with Muschamp and Golden being next.

As for the most questionable (Mike Haywood not inlcuded!), I would choose Colorado and Jon Embree. Really, I think arguments could be made either way for all of the openings.

 

[Golden Elephant]

If you look at how prestigious the hire and resume of the incoming coach is versus the prestige and current personnel of the program, I think most of these are similar hires. I don't see any truly "Wow!" hires here. It's not like when Alabama paid big bucks to get Saban or Arkansas did the same for Petrino, where they got coaches who had won big at the BCS level before. All of these guys are unproven at the level they were hired for, with the exception of Edsall, who might be getting a minor promotion, but is still going from BCS school to BCS school.

So anyway, who's best? Who knows? I have a nomination for worst: Colorado hiring Shanahan's TE coach. Then again, their last hire did great at Boise, but failed with Colorado, so who knows?

 

[positively4thstreet]

It wasn't me, but I could easily make that argument. If Wilson can even get Indiana into bowls annually, that will have been a great hire for them. If they start contending for Big Ten titles, he'll be like a God amongst mere mortals. If Muschamp, Hoke, or Golden win conference titles, their fanbase will say, "Meh. Why didn't you win us a national title?"

Yes, but you could make that argument for literally anyone willing to take those reins.

I think Wilson is a good hire for them -- I'm just a little surprised someone actually voted that hire to be the best.

 

[mnboiler]

Florida, easy. There about 10 fan bases in the nation who wouldn't trade their HC for Muschamp.

 

[Seany]

I didn't realize that Kevin Wilson was 49 years old. For some reason I thought he was younger than that. I do agree though that if he were able to turn IU's fortunes around and actually get that sad-sack outfit to a bowl, he would probably begin to be approached by other schools. If he did have success, I wish he'd stay there for awhile though. I just feel badly for that program, I mean what a drag. That's a program that just seems to be mired in suck, from lousy facilities to a low budget to a lack of commitment by the administration to selling off home games and robbing the fans they do have by doing that.

Anyway, I voted for the Killah. To me he stacks up there with any of those guys, and he's our guy, so naturally I picked him!

 

[corcoran1]

Muschamp may be great at Florida, and he has evrything going for him, but as Texas showed this year, he aint perfect.

 

[46Gophers]

A winning coach, a coach of actions not words, a coach with a master plan, loyalty of his assistant coaches, and an end to the merri-go-round for coordinators.....just what the doctor ordered for the Gophers.

 

[BradDad]

Completely understand everyone who voted for the hiring of Coach Kill:

* Significant head coaching experience replacing "none before this job."
* Successful head coach at every level replacing "no experience before this job."
* In: a developed (and successful) identity on offense & defense Out: fumbling for an identity & never developing one.

But I voted "Florida."

Yes, in part because that's my alma mater (the U is a family allegiance).

But also because the bar for a "successful hire" is higher at Florida - UF is replacing Urban Meyer, not Tim Brewster.

Finding a coach who has a shot at being successful at UF (as UF defines "successful") was more difficult than finding one who will be an improvement over Brewster.

 

[Monty519]

I'd like to switch my vote to Florida cause of Al Golden hiring Jedd Fisch LOL

 

[Goldmember]

Al Golden was the best hire of the offseason IMO. I think he will do big things in Miami

This is the most interesting hire to me by far. I think it could be a brilliant hire for them, or it could end-up being a disaster.

On its face it makes sense: bring in prominent sitting HC from the Northeast and try to maximize the Hurricanes brand on the entire East Coast. The bar is set so low for Miami right now. If a guy can come in and win the ACC a couple times he will be considered a savior and he will be able to recruit the best among half of the country.

But it seems to me like there could be a chance Golden is in over his head. Temple was garbage in the Big East, but when they moved to the MAC I figured they would be competitive almost immediately. So in that sense, I don't think he's the known-quantity so many make him out to be.

 

[Gopher07]

Sounds like UConn isn't going with Whipple, they're hiring Paul Pasqualoni:

http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/01/cowboys-lose-another-defensive.html

 

[corcoran1]

Completely understand everyone who voted for the hiring of Coach Kill:

* Significant head coaching experience replacing "none before this job."
* Successful head coach at every level replacing "no experience before this job."
* In: a developed (and successful) identity on offense & defense Out: fumbling for an identity & never developing one.

But I voted "Florida."

Yes, in part because that's my alma mater (the U is a family allegiance).

But also because the bar for a "successful hire" is higher at Florida - UF is replacing Urban Meyer, not Tim Brewster.

Finding a coach who has a shot at being successful at UF (as UF defines "successful") was more difficult than finding one who will be an improvement over Brewster.

The only reason I don't disagree with this post totally is because FLA is in the SEC. Florida has more advantages than any other school that replaced a coach. Literally incredible advantages over any school in the SEC. (I also think it is a better school than most in the SEC, but I am not sure how that affects admissions for football players.)
I think there are several coaches on this list that would be very successful at Florida, the jobs they have taken are harder. The only program in the SEC with close to the same resources (read that talent base) and a really good coach is Alabama. LSU and Georgia have everything going for them except great coaches, it is an uphill fight for everyone else.