ESPN reports that Brady Hoke will be fired from his Michigan head coaching job. News conference/announcement set for 3:30 Central.

I believe that one of the sad things about where college football has evolved is that the era of the long time coach is over. With the mega conferences and the massive money, it is win now win always or be fired. On the other hand, landing such a position should certainly set oneself up as financially secure for life. Could a Grant Teaff or Jess Neely make it in this era? Clearly Bo Pelini never won a conference championship, but 9 wins/year? Reminds of when Fred Akers got fired, having coached UT to almost three national champs, then they underperformed until Mack Brown recruited Vince Young.

(12-02-2014 04:31 PM)Almadenmike Wrote:  ESPN reports that Brady Hoke will be fired from his Michigan head coaching job. News conference/announcement set for 3:30 Central.

Not me

There is such a thing as too high expectations - I always thought San Diego's firing on Schottenheimer after a 14-2 season was positively ludicrous (and this is the NFL, so wins actually count even against the bad teams)

Will be curious to see how Nebraska fares. I think the beatdown by Wisconsin in some ways was the writing on the wall. Wisconsin wasn't that great that year and Pelini had recruited his entire team, so giving up 70 points is simply unacceptable.

(12-02-2014 06:01 PM)Antarius Wrote:  There is such a thing as too high expectations - I always thought San Diego's firing on Schottenheimer after a 14-2 season was positively ludicrous (and this is the NFL, so wins actually count even against the bad teams)

Will be curious to see how Nebraska fares. I think the beatdown by Wisconsin in some ways was the writing on the wall. Wisconsin wasn't that great that year and Pelini had recruited his entire team, so giving up 70 points is simply unacceptable.

Honestly, I bet La Tech will be the same with Bailiff. This loss obviously has stung, and it will be the first thing to point to as we move forward if we underperform our expectations but still win games and remain above .500.

Mike Riley (HC at Oregon St.) will replace Bo Pelini at Nebraska. Strange move.

Jim McElwain is leaving Colorado St. to take over at Florida.

(12-02-2014 05:57 PM)texowl2 Wrote:  I believe that one of the sad things about where college football has evolved is that the era of the long time coach is over. With the mega conferences and the massive money, it is win now win always or be fired. On the other hand, landing such a position should certainly set oneself up as financially secure for life. Could a Grant Teaff or Jess Neely make it in this era? Clearly Bo Pelini never won a conference championship, but 9 wins/year? Reminds of when Fred Akers got fired, having coached UT to almost three national champs, then they underperformed until Mack Brown recruited Vince Young.

This is a very good point. However, if you are making 2-4 million, that is more than virtually everyone of your fans makes, by a long shot. If you are going to have high reward, there should be some expectation of results.

Most of these guys in five years make more than the average highly educated Rice grad makes in a lifetime.

(12-04-2014 04:42 PM)At Ease Wrote:  Mike Riley (HC at Oregon St.) will replace Bo Pelini at Nebraska. Strange move.

Jim McElwain is leaving Colorado St. to take over at Florida.

McElwain certainly had a good-looking trajectory at CSU, but 3 years is not a huge sample size. His winning percentage is 58% -- about the same as Will Muschamp's and significantly lower than Pelini's, despite CSU's lower level of competition. His best conference finish was tied for second in the division.

He got hired for one of the best jobs in college football.

I think that says a lot about the coaching market these days.

(12-04-2014 06:58 PM)Gravy Owl Wrote:  

(12-04-2014 04:42 PM)At Ease Wrote:  Mike Riley (HC at Oregon St.) will replace Bo Pelini at Nebraska. Strange move.

Jim McElwain is leaving Colorado St. to take over at Florida.

McElwain certainly had a good-looking trajectory at CSU, but 3 years is not a huge sample size. His winning percentage is 58% -- about the same as Will Muschamp's and significantly lower than Pelini's, despite CSU's lower level of competition. His best conference finish was tied for second in the division.

He got hired for one of the best jobs in college football.

I think that says a lot about the coaching market these days.

As does that Florida was willing to shell out $7MM to get him, just after paying $5MM to get rid of Muschamp.

I think we are approaching an unsustainable level with this stuff. $12MM+ of "coaching change expenses"?

(12-04-2014 06:58 PM)Gravy Owl Wrote:  

(12-04-2014 04:42 PM)At Ease Wrote:  Mike Riley (HC at Oregon St.) will replace Bo Pelini at Nebraska. Strange move.

Jim McElwain is leaving Colorado St. to take over at Florida.

McElwain certainly had a good-looking trajectory at CSU, but 3 years is not a huge sample size. His winning percentage is 58% -- about the same as Will Muschamp's and significantly lower than Pelini's, despite CSU's lower level of competition. His best conference finish was tied for second in the division.

He got hired for one of the best jobs in college football.

I think that says a lot about the coaching market these days.

Let's not forget he has SEC pedigree, having served as Saban's OC on two of Alabama's national championship teams.

(12-04-2014 04:42 PM)At Ease Wrote:  Mike Riley (HC at Oregon St.) will replace Bo Pelini at Nebraska. Strange move.

Riley was the last of the Baby Bears. Others who had tried to go back had failed (Ray Perkins, Mike DuBose) or at least failed to last (Gene Stallings). I think Riley had some thought of being the Baby Bear who could succeed. But he's 61 now and Saban doesn't appear to be going anywhere, so I can see this making sense from his perspective. And I've always thought that he might be too nice a guy to be able to make it in the pressure cooker that is Tuscaloosa; you have to be an arrogant SOB who is willing to tell the alumni and particularly the subway alumni that you don't give a rat's ass what they think, or they will eat you alive.

I'm not sure exactly what Nebraska is thinking. My own opinion is that they got a great coach, probably IMO the best of the Baby Bears. He kept OSU pretty competitive in the Pac-12 (8 bowls in 12 years) with a facility deficit compared to Oregon or Stanford or USC that is probably on a par with what we face versus UT or aTm. But I don't know if he can take that up a notch when he isn't fighting those things, and he may turn out no better than Pelini, although he's almost certainly a far nicer and more agreeable person. And that counts for something in Lincoln.

Some have asked if there is anyone who could replace Bailiff (assuming he leaves, not is fired) and get us to the big time. I would include Riley as somebody who could. We were never going to get him. He was making $1.5 million at OSU and will be making considerably more at Nebraska. But he's the kind of person that I think could get it done.

(12-05-2014 09:39 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  My own opinion is that they got a great coach, probably IMO the best of the Baby Bears.

I agree. Two data points on Riley

1. An experienced NFL agent told my sister that Riley is the best coach in college football. This was several weeks ago before this move came up.

2. Listening to 610 radio yesterday, they asserted that Riley turned down Alabama after Franchione (they hired Mike Price and then Dave Shula before landing Saban) and USC (twice). He is perhaps the only coach ever to turn down both Alabama and USC.


I think Riley has a great chance to win the Big 10 at Nebraska. He has California recruiting contacts. The bar is lower in the Big 10 than any of the other P5 conferences.

David Beaty hired at Kansas

(12-05-2014 12:09 PM)07owl Wrote:  David Beaty hired at Kansas

(Good for him, I just thought Kansas would try to make another splashy hire, even after Weis failed)

Wonder if he calls some of his old co-workers at Rice.

(12-05-2014 11:57 AM)MemOwl Wrote:  Listening to 610 radio yesterday, they asserted that Riley turned down Alabama after Franchione (they hired Mike Price and then Dave Shula before landing Saban) and USC (twice). He is perhaps the only coach ever to turn down both Alabama and USC.

There were a lot of Alabama fans who wanted him. They were always big on bringing back one of the Baby Bears. But he obviously knew the climate, and I have wondered if he thought that he wasn't mean and arrogant enough to survive there. Bryant, Stallings, Saban are the kinds of personalities that it demands.

I think Mike may have wanted one opportunity to see what he could do if he weren't always fighting with one hand tied behind his back. This will probably be the best chance he would ever get. And it would appear that you can be a nice guy and survive in Lincoln, unlike Tuscaloosa.

I love Riles, one of my mom's co-workers married one of his teammates, I love his laid-back attitude (he probably makes Pete Carroll look hyper by comparison), and I think he's a heck of a football coach. We'll see just how good.

(12-05-2014 12:22 PM)mrbig Wrote:  

(12-05-2014 12:09 PM)07owl Wrote:  David Beaty hired at Kansas

(Good for him, I just thought Kansas would try to make another splashy hire, even after Weis failed)

Wonder if he calls some of his old co-workers at Rice.

I've seen conflicting reports of him going there as HC or OC.

(12-05-2014 01:24 PM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  

(12-05-2014 12:22 PM)mrbig Wrote:  

(12-05-2014 12:09 PM)07owl Wrote:  David Beaty hired at Kansas

(Good for him, I just thought Kansas would try to make another splashy hire, even after Weis failed)

Wonder if he calls some of his old co-workers at Rice.

I've seen conflicting reports of him going there as HC or OC.

HC - http://footballscoop.com/news/david-beat...ch-kansas/

(12-04-2014 04:42 PM)At Ease Wrote:  Mike Riley (HC at Oregon St.) will replace Bo Pelini at Nebraska. Strange move.

Jim McElwain is leaving Colorado St. to take over at Florida.

He'll wish he never left Colorado

In my earlier post, I was confused about which former Rice OC was becoming Kansas's HC. I brainfarted and was thinking Reagan was being promoted instead of Beaty coming back. According to one tweet, getting paid $800,000/year.

David Beaty is clearly being hired by Kansas for his recruiting prowess, especially in the DFW area. Kansas desperately needs that recruiting pipeline, because the state of Kansas doesn't have much homegrown talent.

In the early reports, it's interesting how they all note how he got his college coaching start on Toad's staff in 2006 and his previous stints as a Kansas assistant, yet they don't mention that he was the Rice OC in 2010! It's the only OC stint he has ever had, but he wasn't successful at it. Beaty was the orchestrator of the repeated "McGuffie-up-the-middle" insanity, and he never properly developed Fanuzzi or McHargue. It will be interesting to see if he is up for being a HC, especially after being a non-OC assistant for almost all of his collegiate career. Kansas clearly is prioritizing his recruiting acumen in the DFW Metroplex.