How Barry Alvarez sold his vision in Madison.....

Donate To GopherHole
N

NewEngland_Gold

Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2009
Messages
616
Reaction score
0
Points
16
http://www.shamasportsheadliners.com/#Eric

Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez almost resurrected Badger football from the dead starting in 1990 when he was coach. Alvarez led the Badgers to three Rose Bowls wins and national prominence while changing fan apathy into passion. Alvarez, who was in Minneapolis last Saturday to watch Wisconsin win its sixth straight over the Gophers, was asked how he made the turn around in Madison.

“I had a good staff that could recruit,” Alvarez said. “We were able to get good players in there. I kept stability on my staff and my administration let me coach. Then it’s just hard work and being sound, and having a plan that could work.

“I devised a plan with the type of kids that we could recruit. Big linemen (and) physical type of play. We’re not going to go out and get great skill guys. We don’t have access to them.

“I figured out a way to win and sold everybody on it, and everybody bought in.”
 


Agree, Except Brewster has brought in high skill players as well. Stability and skilled Lineman are still a work in progress. I dont understand people who thought he could raise MN in just three years. The team was literally empty on the OLINE when he arrived and it is showing. Minnesota is not a college football state so it will take time, and he needs at least 2 more years to see if he can turn it around.
Now on the stability side of things, it has been awful, and that is his fault as well as things he cant control. I dont see fisch or Cosgrove/Lee leaving for a while so the outlook there is positive.
 

I think Brewster should get 5 years and even though I'm not sold on Cosgrove I think Fisch should stay for a while, I like Pro-Style Offenses because they are extremely difficult to stop when executed right with the right players.......
 

NewEngland_Gold said:
http://www.shamasportsheadliners.com/#Eric

Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez almost resurrected Badger football from the dead starting in 1990 when he was coach. Alvarez led the Badgers to three Rose Bowls wins and national prominence while changing fan apathy into passion. Alvarez, who was in Minneapolis last Saturday to watch Wisconsin win its sixth straight over the Gophers, was asked how he made the turn around in Madison.

“I had a good staff that could recruit,” Alvarez said. “We were able to get good players in there. I kept stability on my staff and my administration let me coach. Then it’s just hard work and being sound, and having a plan that could work.

“I devised a plan with the type of kids that we could recruit. Big linemen (and) physical type of play. We’re not going to go out and get great skill guys. We don’t have access to them.

“I figured out a way to win and sold everybody on it, and everybody bought in.”
Click to expand...



I'm not sure if this post is trying to say that Brewster is doing this wrong, or that we're on the right track and need a couple more years.
 


My take is that we are on the right track... assuming we keep on recruiting better athletes, we have stability in the coaching staff and Brew continues to grow as a HC of a major college football team. The guy is working at it so hard and with so much passion I can't help but want him to succeed.
 

Alvarez brought success to Madtown highlighted by 3 BT champs and Rose Bowl wins in 16 years. Yet his BT record was average winning 51% of the games. Mason had a good plan as well that only manifested itself on the offense side. Ferentz is in the same mold which has worked reasonably well down there too.

Brewster seems to know what he wants on D and ST's but he needs to get his house in order with the O. I am still surprised that he choose the spread right off the get go rather than staying with what the current roster was used to and then do a switch in year three. Weber and the whole offense was learning from scratch and it really showed as we were ill prepared to run Dunbars offense. We need stability with the coaching staff and, if the past trend continues, Brewster's rope will become very short.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
Brewster seems to know what he wants on D and ST's but he needs to get his house in order with the O. I am still surprised that he choose the spread right off the get go rather than staying with what the current roster was used to and then do a switch in year three. Weber and the whole offense was learning from scratch and it really showed as we were ill prepared to run Dunbars offense. We need stability with the coaching staff and, if the past trend continues, Brewster's rope will become very short.
Click to expand...



I was surprised about the quick jump to spread and then pro-style as well...I would imagine we'd have had much more success the last couple years if he had tried to ease us out of the old offensive scheme (especially given the issues we've had on the o-line). That said, I assume the quick switch helped sell the program to recruits like Gray who never would have considered Minnesota an option otherwise, so hopefully the complete tear-down will start paying some dividends in the next couple of seasons.
 

Wait a minute. The Badgers were not always vying for Big Ten Championships and packing the house? to hear the fans tell it........

Well, who can blame em cause winning breeds swagger.
 



RedPoo said:
I was surprised about the quick jump to spread and then pro-style as well...I would imagine we'd have had much more success the last couple years if he had tried to ease us out of the old offensive scheme (especially given the issues we've had on the o-line). That said, I assume the quick switch helped sell the program to recruits like Gray who never would have considered Minnesota an option otherwise, so hopefully the complete tear-down will start paying some dividends in the next couple of seasons.
Click to expand...

You guys are on at least five new coordinators under Brewster's watch. How many left on their own? Then there is the Spread experiment and its subsequent abandonment. He's like an old lady running around a casino trying slot machines because another machine in the same row just had a big payout. Personally, I hope he stays many years.
 

Just a "tip-of-the-hat" to Barry for recognizing recruiting as a key component of success: where to recruit, who to recruit and how to develop/utilize O/D/ST talent effectively once it arrived in Madison.
 





myleslong said:
I didn't know how many left on their own. The clue might have been the question mark.
Click to expand...

I wasn't even calling you an idiot based on your question.

I was calling you an idiot based on the quantity of time you spend trolling your rival's message board.
 

myleslong said:
You guys are on at least five new coordinators under Brewster's watch. How many left on their own? Then there is the Spread experiment and its subsequent abandonment. He's like an old lady running around a casino trying slot machines because another machine in the same row just had a big payout. Personally, I hope he stays many years.
Click to expand...

All but one, but thanks for playing.
 

dpodoll68 said:
I wasn't even calling you an idiot based on your question.

I was calling you an idiot based on the quantity of time you spend trolling your rival's message board.
Click to expand...

I had a contentious morning in court and I came here for the laughs, as well as the many quality posters this board possesses. The OSU board may have the highest % of nutjob posters, but several on here are closer to the edge. Again, I'm not trolling, but keep repeating that if it makes you feel better.
 

myleslong said:
I had a contentious morning in court and I came here for the laughs, as well as the many quality posters this board possesses. The OSU board may have the highest % of nutjob posters, but several on here are closer to the edge. Again, I'm not trolling, but keep repeating that if it makes you feel better.
Click to expand...

Still just one but ironically, Dunbar is still around and they're paying him; to do what I have no idea.
 

myleslong said:
Again, I'm not trolling, but keep repeating that if it makes you feel better.
Click to expand...

You are a fan of an opposing squad who has spent more than an inkling of time on your rival's message board.

If that's not trolling, I don't know what is.
 

Iceland12 said:
Still just one but ironically, Dunbar is still around and they're paying him; to do what I have no idea.
Click to expand...

Are you saying Dunbar is still on campus, or at least helping the team/school in some fashion? If so, someone please fill in the details.
 

I thought he gave out free shoe discounts?? Wait, that wasn't part of his vision... WTF :D
 

WAGopher said:
Are you saying Dunbar is still on campus, or at least helping the team/school in some fashion? If so, someone please fill in the details.
Click to expand...

Here: I have NO idea of the whereabouts of Mr. Dunbar. All I was going on is he wasn't technically fired and they're paying him but I'm pretty certain he isn't helping with the Offense! Sorry for the confusion.
 

dpodoll68 said:
You are a fan of an opposing squad who has spent more than an inkling of time on your rival's message board.

If that's not trolling, I don't know what is.
Click to expand...

Not to defend a sconnie fan but trolling is stating something that will incite a hostile response. Pantherhawk is a perfect example of a troll. UWole or whatever his exact moniker is has been on our board for ages and he never trolls. He is a nice element in the discourse of this board.

As for Myleslong, you came off as trolling because of the general hostile tone of your post. You started it out with "you guys" which automatically puts a division in the minds of people that read that. Then you went on to say that Brewster reminded you of an old lady in a casino, so one could only assume that your question about the number of coordinators that left on their own was also meant to be hostile, and therefore a troll.
 

DiehardGopher said:
Not to defend a sconnie fan but trolling is stating something that will incite a hostile response. Pantherhawk is a perfect example of a troll. UWole or whatever his exact moniker is has been on our board for ages and he never trolls. He is a nice element in the discourse of this board.

As for Myleslong, you came off as trolling because of the general hostile tone of your post. You started it out with "you guys" which automatically puts a division in the minds of people that read that. Then you went on to say that Brewster reminded you of an old lady in a casino, so one could only assume that your question about the number of coordinators that left on their own was also meant to be hostile, and therefore a troll.
Click to expand...

Point noted. I have sincerely tried to minimize my flaming on this site.
 

myleslong said:
Point noted. I have sincerely tried to minimize my flaming on this site.[/QUOTE]

Sorry, I/ we don't buy it. I'm not sure I have ever seen a post where you are not trying to ridicule someone or something. Flaming is your MO.
Click to expand...
 

ButchNashGuy said:
My take is that we are on the right track... assuming we keep on recruiting better athletesQUOTE]

We need football players and not just better athletes. It is great to get athletes, but if they are not football players and continuously have penalties and taunting fouls, we will not win.
Click to expand...
 

LloydChristmas said:
I thought he gave out free shoe discounts?? Wait, that wasn't part of his vision... WTF :D
Click to expand...

I played at a D3 school in Wisconsin and I got the same discounts at the "Shoe Box" as UW athletes, Barry wanted to fight the NCAA on this but the school didin't...I also know of "normal" students who got big discounts on shoes to so I think Wisconsin could say that it wasn't an extra benifit
 

pioneers3 said:
I played at a D3 school in Wisconsin and I got the same discounts at the "Shoe Box" as UW athletes, Barry wanted to fight the NCAA on this but the school didin't...I also know of "normal" students who got big discounts on shoes to so I think Wisconsin could say that it wasn't an extra benifit
Click to expand...

The discounts were one thing. The bigger problem was "credit" that wasn't sought to be repaid until NFL contracts were signed, if at all. Barry may have wanted to fight it, but there were problems with the Badgers defense, even beyond the "credit" issues.
 

NewEngland_Gold said:
http://www.shamasportsheadliners.com/#Eric

Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez almost resurrected Badger football from the dead starting in 1990 when he was coach. Alvarez led the Badgers to three Rose Bowls wins and national prominence while changing fan apathy into passion. Alvarez, who was in Minneapolis last Saturday to watch Wisconsin win its sixth straight over the Gophers, was asked how he made the turn around in Madison.
Click to expand...

As I have pointed out many times on this board, the "fan apathy" was only a function of the god-awful Don Morton years (I can link the attendance figures once again, if needed). It is hard to believe how quickly and how deeply he damaged what was a decent-to-occasionally-quite-good program. What IS true is that Barry raised the bar to heights we never dreamed of. When UW went to the Rose Bowl in 1994, most of us thought of it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Instead, we were back twice more in the next six years.

The younger Badger fans don't remember the days of the Copper Bowl/Garden State in good years, but we old farts do. I think the amazing thing is that Wisconsin fans kept their interest in the game during the Dark Time and were more than willing to come back for teams that showed effort and discipline. Minnesota has a tougher road because the Dump kept you from developing the generational love of college football as entertainment, not just something to watch when good. If Wisconsin regresses badly (I don't think Barry will let this happen), it will be interesting to see if the generation that never knew football mediocrity stays the course.
 

The Alvarez 51% winning percentage in Big Ten play is one of those "damm lie" statistical oddities. I look at it this way, during his first year the cupboard was bare. Wisconsin had not been to a bowl game for about 5 years. The Morton era saw the talent level drop to an all time low. I mean we were competing with MAC schools for recruits- and coming in second. Troy Vincent was the only guy on the roster who was a big time player. UW went 1 and 10 and 0 and 8 in the conference. Second and third years, I know we were were 5 and 6 both years. But in conference the record was 2 and 5.

I just think in fairness the Alvarez record should be evaluated beginning with the 4th year. Not sure what that comes out as a percentage of wins overall and the Big Ten. If a guy goes in to Florida, yeah, we should evaluate from year one. The Alvarez turnaround and his ablity to maintain a high level of success was and is remarkable.

Now the Gopher situation with Brewster is different is some respects. MN had been to a bowl game during Mason's last year. However, Brewster did change the entire offense from a power running I formation team to a spread. In fairness, I think you need to throw out the first year. Second year you're 7 and 6 and back to the Mason level. Don't see MN winning the conference in the fourth year, but ya never know. Jury still out on Brewster, but this year is big for him.
 

Agree in the sense that this year is big in terms of building stability/foundation for the next two years in what has been a turbulent staff situation on Brew's watch, rather than obsessing endlessly about the absolute level of W/Ls this year. Also big this year is continuing to recruit at a high level vs BT opponents.

Challenge for the title next year? Quite a stretch IMHO. However, I can certainly see the GGs becoming a legitimate mid-tier BT power within a few years possessing the talent to defeat the biggies periodically, especially at home.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom