Ciarrocca on PSU: “I really wanted to coach at a school where I felt like we had a legitimate chance to win a national championship"

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Trevor:

“The first thing that I was looking for was a head coach that I respected and that I thought could help me grow as a coach and that he had a great culture, a culture that I believed in,” Ciarrocca said at his first media availability as a Penn State employee. “Coach Franklin met that criteria.”

Penn State being a national contender every year was very attractive to Coach Ciarrocca when considering the job.

“I really wanted to coach at a school where I felt like we had a legitimate chance to win a national championship,” Ciarrocca said. “When I looked at Penn State, [Franklin] has done a great job of getting the team to that cusp where they’re going to be considered and talked about in August every year about the possibility of them being in the College Football Playoff.”

onwardstate.com

Getting To Know Penn State's New Offensive Coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca

Ciarrocca is a pass-heavy offensive coordinator who brings lots of experience to the Nittany Lions.
onwardstate.com onwardstate.com

Go Gophers!!
 



BleedGopher said:
per Trevor:

“The first thing that I was looking for was a head coach that I respected and that I thought could help me grow as a coach and that he had a great culture, a culture that I believed in,” Ciarrocca said at his first media availability as a Penn State employee. “Coach Franklin met that criteria.”

Penn State being a national contender every year was very attractive to Coach Ciarrocca when considering the job.

“I really wanted to coach at a school where I felt like we had a legitimate chance to win a national championship,” Ciarrocca said. “When I looked at Penn State, [Franklin] has done a great job of getting the team to that cusp where they’re going to be considered and talked about in August every year about the possibility of them being in the College Football Playoff.”

onwardstate.com

Getting To Know Penn State's New Offensive Coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca

Ciarrocca is a pass-heavy offensive coordinator who brings lots of experience to the Nittany Lions.
onwardstate.com onwardstate.com

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

Wow....some definite shots fired at Fleck by KC. Culture is such a huge buzz word for Fleck that I'm not sure how that portion of his interview can't be viewed as a direct shot. And then to say we don't have a legitimate shot to win a National Championship here also feels like a pretty low blow.

Have to think there is some definite bad blood there between Fleck and Ciarrocca for KC to make some very direct attacks like that. Fleck and Franklin have both talked about their friendship in the past, have to wonder if this will put a dent in that at all.
 

That seems like a rational judgement.
 


I think Coach C's words have to be taken in the context of past history. Penn St. has it - we haven't. That's not to say we couldn't over time and a consistent coaching staff, but most people see Minnesota as a coaching graveyard (everybody fired in the last 15 years) or a stopping off point on their way to something bigger. It's natural for people to want to work at what has historically been a strong contender. We have to grow into that yet, regardless of the 11-2 year.

That said - I also believe these comments were made from a person who felt like they were being pushed to the side to make room for possibly Coach Simon's moving up the food chain. Coach C left for a perceived better position, and Coach Simon moved up. Hopefully cooler heads take control....
 


First of all, Penn State has no more legitimate a chance to win a national championship than does Minnesota. And if history is so important - Penn State hasn't won a national title in 34 years. They have a massive following and a huge stadium that's generally full. Those are their differentiators. It has nothing to do with perceived or actual competitiveness.
 

Can't wait until PSU takes a step back this year with him at the helm calling plays. Don't know how well Clifford fits in that offensive style as he strikes me as a one read and run kind of guy for the most part where Ciarocca's offense fits a progression based QB. We will see.
 




What’s interesting to me is that I don’t think I’m in the minority in my thinking that Simon’s play calling was better than KC’s... I like the system we ran last year and I suspect KC deserves a fair amount of credit for that. However, these comments are head scratching to me, as KC has been propelled ahead significantly from his time working for PJ.
 

When I go to a new job I want to accent what is important to me and why I am there. Culture and winning is what Fleck has preached. Coach C is just saying culture and winning is why he is at Penn State. If he said "I didnt think Minnesota's culture and opportunity was a good fit so i am at Penn State" then we have something to talk about. He just said he like the culture and that every year they have the opportunity to be in the CFP. Just like Fleck says he looks forward to growth in the offense for this year. This is saying what you should with a new hire or a new position nothing more. Minnesotan hust assume people are passive aggressive.
 

PoockItInfor6 said:
What’s interesting to me is that I don’t think I’m in the minority in my thinking that Simon’s play calling was better than KC’s... I like the system we ran last year and I suspect KC deserves a fair amount of credit for that. However, these comments are head scratching to me, as KC has been propelled ahead significantly from his time working for PJ.
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Eh one game man.... I find it really hard to say "Simon’s play calling was better than KC’s" with a straight face with such a dramatic difference in sample rates between the two.
 



dpodoll68 said:
They have a massive following and a huge stadium that's generally full. Those are their differentiators. It has nothing to do with perceived or actual competitiveness.
Click to expand...
Right, same can be said for Tennessee and Texas A&M. Both near or over 100k capacity.
 

Coach gets new job. Sucks up to local media.

Fans are shocked and amazed.

Seriously - the dude almost left for another job a year ago. Got a salary bump and agreed to stay. lasted one year and then left for real. Conclusion - he did not want to be at MN long-term and was looking for something different/better.

And it is hard to parcel out how much credit any coach gets for a team's success. If you have the same plays, same play-caller, and the QB is Fred Farkle throwing to WR's Joe Blow and Elmer Fudd, maybe the offense doesn't look so good. is it the system, or the players? Chicken or egg?
 

I don’t think that KC was taking a shot at Fleck, in the cultural or developmental aspects.

I think he just lazily worded it, in that regard (of making it clear he wasn’t taking a shot at Fleck).

I think a more careful wording would’ve been something like: “The first thing that I was looking for was a head coach that I respected and that I thought could help me grow as a coach and that he had a great culture, a culture that I believed in .... just like the excellent job done by PJ Fleck in those two aspects at W Michigan and Minnesota.”
 

Since he already nearly went to West Virginia in a lateral move last year, taking the coordinator job at Penn State certainly seems like a continuation of a plan to bolt from Fleck's staff ASAP. These comments endorse that. Perhaps trying to get to NFL too. But yes, to throw in the comments about wanting a different culture (with "culturue" being the supreme Fleck buzzword) and wanting to be at a school that has a legitimate chance to win a NC, I'd say he managed to cover the trifecta of Fleck, University, and fan base.
 

Maybe I am overly positive, and often times critical of the media and what they release but when I read this as "If I am looking for a new job I want the head coach to be someone I respected and had a great culture... and has a chance to win a national title every year...."

I actually really enjoy my current job in my own personal life. I always tell family and friends that I am never against getting a new job but it would have to be the right situation - that doesn't mean I don't like the job I have now. I just took Coach C comments as I wouldn't take just any job.
 

Not a big deal. He took another gig, one 99% of people agree is an upgrade from his last one, and speaks highly of the program. He did his job well here and wanted to move on. More power to him.
 


Man, we Minnesotans sure like to take offense and feel slighted. I don't see this as a direct shot at PJ. KC wanted to move up to a helmet school. I take his comments as he sees PSU as a better fit than say a place like Miami.
 


MNVCGUY said:
Wow....some definite shots fired at Fleck by KC. Culture is such a huge buzz word for Fleck that I'm not sure how that portion of his interview can't be viewed as a direct shot. And then to say we don't have a legitimate shot to win a National Championship here also feels like a pretty low blow.

Have to think there is some definite bad blood there between Fleck and Ciarrocca for KC to make some very direct attacks like that. Fleck and Franklin have both talked about their friendship in the past, have to wonder if this will put a dent in that at all.
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I didn’t interpret anything he said as a shot to Fleck.
 

Well, shoot. This doesn't come close to getting me riled up.
We need a villain. Bret B. fit the bill perfectly. Chryst is milquetoast. Is Jeff Brohm at the top of our "we don't like him" list? No characters in the Big 10 other than PJ, and he is always respectful of opponents.
 


die hard gopher said:
I didn’t interpret anything he said as a shot to Fleck.
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To me when you say you are looking for a head coach you respect and a culture you believe in without saying anything positive about those aspects at the place you are leaving it comes across to me as saying you don't respect your old head coach or believe in their culture. And we know culture is something very important to Fleck.

And when you say you wanted to go to a place where they have a legit shot at winning the National Championship you are saying you didn't feel you had that where you were at.

There were also some things Fleck said after KC left that made it feel like there was some underlying tension between the two in regards to how things went down.

I could absolutely be wrong but that is how those comments came across to me when I read the piece. He easily could have just leaned on the dream job angle. He grew up in that area, it makes total sense that he would want to coach there if the opportunity presented itself.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Wow....some definite shots fired at Fleck by KC. Culture is such a huge buzz word for Fleck that I'm not sure how that portion of his interview can't be viewed as a direct shot. And then to say we don't have a legitimate shot to win a National Championship here also feels like a pretty low blow.

Have to think there is some definite bad blood there between Fleck and Ciarrocca for KC to make some very direct attacks like that. Fleck and Franklin have both talked about their friendship in the past, have to wonder if this will put a dent in that at all.
Click to expand...

I think you've pretty much nailed it. I don't think PJ and KC will be on each others Christmas card list anymore. Before the bowl game Fleck made a few public comments that made it appear he wasn't happy with the timing of KC's acceptance of the Penn State job. And now this from KC. This is a shot at a former friend if I have ever seen one. The evidence of bad blood between the two of them looks fairly compelling to me.
 

Did he forget to mention it was closer to home? I heard that was a big factor.
 


akgo4 said:
I think Coach C's words have to be taken in the context of past history. Penn St. has it - we haven't. That's not to say we couldn't over time and a consistent coaching staff, but most people see Minnesota as a coaching graveyard (everybody fired in the last 15 years) or a stopping off point on their way to something bigger. It's natural for people to want to work at what has historically been a strong contender. We have to grow into that yet, regardless of the 11-2 year.

That said - I also believe these comments were made from a person who felt like they were being pushed to the side to make room for possibly Coach Simon's moving up the food chain. Coach C left for a perceived better position, and Coach Simon moved up. Hopefully cooler heads take control....
Click to expand...
We haven't won a national championship? News to me. Now our neighbors to the east don't have anything.
 

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