Go Gophers Rah
Section 238 Row 21
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Here are the coaching hires made in the past 5 years in the Big Ten (most recent first):
Purdue: Danny Hope (2009: 5-7) spent 1 year as "coach in waiting" prior to that was HC for Eastern Kentucky University.
Michigan: Rich Rodriquez (2008: 8-16) previously WVU Head Coach - who had sent his teams to 5 consecutive January bowls.
Minnesota: Tim Brewster (2007: 14-24) previously Denver Broncos Tight Ends Coach.
Indiana: Bill Lynch (2007: 14-23) previously Asst Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator for IU and the head coach of Ball State before that.
Michigan State: Mark Dantonio (2007: 22-16) previously head coach of Cincinnati for 3 years (took them to 2 bowls in that time); Ohio State's Defensive Coord prior to that.
Northwestern: Pat Fitzgerald (2006: 27-22) previously Northwestern LB coach and recruiting coordinator. Also an alumnus.
Illinois: Ron Zook (2005: 21-39) previously head coach for the University of Florida.
Here are their winning percentages:
Dantonio: .579
Fitzgerald: .449
Hope: .416
Lynch: .378
Brew: .368
Zook: .350
R Rod: .333
5 of those 7 had previous head coaching experience (only Fitzgerald and Brewster lacked this experience).
Who knows how Rich Rod will turn out. Lynch actually has a better record than Brewster (albeit with a weaker schedule), but IU's expectations are lower than ours. Zook is on thin ice.
I don't know if I have a point here, but if I do, I think its this... Maturi took a chance on an unproven guy. I disagreed with that philosophy at the time of the hire, but what the hell do I know. Many of the guys that I supported have turned out to be duds. If, at the end of 2010, we are looking for a new coach, I hope that we look for a proven commodity - much like our peers have done.
Purdue: Danny Hope (2009: 5-7) spent 1 year as "coach in waiting" prior to that was HC for Eastern Kentucky University.
Michigan: Rich Rodriquez (2008: 8-16) previously WVU Head Coach - who had sent his teams to 5 consecutive January bowls.
Minnesota: Tim Brewster (2007: 14-24) previously Denver Broncos Tight Ends Coach.
Indiana: Bill Lynch (2007: 14-23) previously Asst Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator for IU and the head coach of Ball State before that.
Michigan State: Mark Dantonio (2007: 22-16) previously head coach of Cincinnati for 3 years (took them to 2 bowls in that time); Ohio State's Defensive Coord prior to that.
Northwestern: Pat Fitzgerald (2006: 27-22) previously Northwestern LB coach and recruiting coordinator. Also an alumnus.
Illinois: Ron Zook (2005: 21-39) previously head coach for the University of Florida.
Here are their winning percentages:
Dantonio: .579
Fitzgerald: .449
Hope: .416
Lynch: .378
Brew: .368
Zook: .350
R Rod: .333
5 of those 7 had previous head coaching experience (only Fitzgerald and Brewster lacked this experience).
Who knows how Rich Rod will turn out. Lynch actually has a better record than Brewster (albeit with a weaker schedule), but IU's expectations are lower than ours. Zook is on thin ice.
I don't know if I have a point here, but if I do, I think its this... Maturi took a chance on an unproven guy. I disagreed with that philosophy at the time of the hire, but what the hell do I know. Many of the guys that I supported have turned out to be duds. If, at the end of 2010, we are looking for a new coach, I hope that we look for a proven commodity - much like our peers have done.
