(07-08-2015 10:46 AM)GullLake Wrote: Big Ten assistants, particularly from Michigan and Michigan State, generally do not make good head coaches in the MAC.
Obviously, this statement isn't generally true for all situations. That said, here's a list of B1G assistant coaches who went on to become head coaches at MAC schools over the years, along with how they fared (well, in my opinion, anyway). Many coaches spent time at B1G schools; I tried to focus specifically on those who were hired directly from a B1G school.
WMU: Jack Harbaugh ('80s, from U-M) - fail
CMU: Mike DeBord ('90s, from U-M) - other than his One Shining Moment in 2000, pretty much a debacle; Dan Enos ('00s - from MSU) - good luck finding a Chip who would call Enos a success.
EMU: Jeff Genyk ('00s, from NW) - not a terrible run (by EMU standards), but was ultimately fired; I will also include Ron English ('00s) who, technically, was at Louisville when he was hired, but there's little doubt it's his U-M roots that helped him get the job; he also had some success (by EMU standards) with a 6-6 record before ultimately - and literally - flaming out
Toledo: no B1G assistant hires to my knowledge
NIU: Joe Novak ('90s, from Indiana) - extremely slow start, but arguably laid the foundation for NIU to become what NIU is today
BSU: Brady Hoke ('00s, from U-M) - had a very good run at BSU before leaving for SDSU
Ohio: no B1G assistant hires to my knowledge
Akron: Lee Owens ('90s, from OSU) - IIRC, he oversaw Akron's transition to I-A football; had a couple of pretty good teams IIRC, but was ultimately fired
KSU: Dean Pees ('90s, from MSU) - don't remember much about his tenure; IIRC he left KSU to become an NFL assistant; Darrell Hazell ('10s from OSU) - had a historic season (by KSU standards) before leaving for Purdue
Buffalo: no B1G assistant hires to my knowledge
BG: no B1G assistant hires to my knowledge
Miami: Letterman made note of the success of Bo and Mallory earlier in the thread; Don Treadwell ('10s, from MSU) - trainwreck
I'm sure I unintentionally left a couple off this list, so feel free to add to it if you know of others. Obviously, they're not B1G, but you could also include ND assistants who became MAC head coaches:
Akron: Rob Ianello ('00s) - fail
BG: Urban Meyer ('00s) - other than not winning a MAC title before leaving, huge success
Miami: Mike Haywood ('00s) - won a MAC title before leaving for Pitt (and then getting fired before coaching a game there); Chuck Martin ('10s) - jury's still out