(05-15-2016 10:11 AM)GoodOwl Wrote:  Maybe Sumlin will be available after this season. Would be interesting: UH's old coach coaching Rice in 2017 and Rice's old assistant coaching UH in 2017. But I think if Hermann has another good year at UH he may not last there and get called up to the major leagues instead...

Friday Five: College football coaches on the hot seat in 2016

1. Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M: It's somewhat strange how Kevin Sumlin's life at Texas A&M has mirrored Johnny Manziel's life as a quarterback. When Sumlin first showed up in College Station, and Johnny Manziel became Johnny Football, life was great. The Aggies went 11-2 that first year, and seemed poised to become a real threat in the SEC West. Since that season, though, Manziel has never been quite the same, and neither have Sumlin's Aggies. They've gone 25-14 overall, which certainly isn't terrible, but the 11-13 mark in SEC play has been concerning. If things don't improve in 2016, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Texas A&M make a change.

If Sumlin isn't available, maybe Rice could go after another former Texas school coach:

2. Charlie Strong, Texas: Charlie Strong has a lot of support from all the people you want support from at Texas. It's just that support can fade rather quickly, and so far through two seasons, Strong's Texas teams have gone only 11-14 and 9-9 in the Big 12. That's not exactly acceptable at Texas, and barring a real turnaround in 2016, Strong could find himself in serious jeopardy of losing his job. Now, having said all that, of the five coaches on this list, the one I feel like is in a position to have that job-saving season is Strong. Yes, Texas struggled last year, but it was also a very young team. The Longhorns could be poised for a breakout.


College Football Coaches Whose Jobs Are on the Line in 2016
By Bryan Fischer, National College Football Columnist Feb 22, 2016

Group of Five coaches on the hot seat for 2016: David Bailiff (Rice), Craig Bohl (Wyoming), Ron Caragher (San Jose State), Doug Martin (New Mexico State), Paul Petrino (Idaho), Brian Polian (Nevada)

You think the kids Sumlin recruits can get into Rice? No thanks for the 17 arrests in the offseason or whatever he had last year. We also can't afford a helicopter or 600 million dollar renovations to help him recruit and still LOSE.

(05-15-2016 10:15 AM)cr11owl Wrote:  

(05-15-2016 10:11 AM)GoodOwl Wrote:  Maybe Sumlin will be available after this season. Would be interesting: UH's old coach coaching Rice in 2017 and Rice's old assistant coaching UH in 2017. But I think if Hermann has another good year at UH he may not last there and get called up to the major leagues instead...

Friday Five: College football coaches on the hot seat in 2016

1. Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M: It's somewhat strange how Kevin Sumlin's life at Texas A&M has mirrored Johnny Manziel's life as a quarterback. When Sumlin first showed up in College Station, and Johnny Manziel became Johnny Football, life was great. The Aggies went 11-2 that first year, and seemed poised to become a real threat in the SEC West. Since that season, though, Manziel has never been quite the same, and neither have Sumlin's Aggies. They've gone 25-14 overall, which certainly isn't terrible, but the 11-13 mark in SEC play has been concerning. If things don't improve in 2016, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Texas A&M make a change.

If Sumlin isn't available, maybe Rice could go after another former Texas school coach:

2. Charlie Strong, Texas: Charlie Strong has a lot of support from all the people you want support from at Texas. It's just that support can fade rather quickly, and so far through two seasons, Strong's Texas teams have gone only 11-14 and 9-9 in the Big 12. That's not exactly acceptable at Texas, and barring a real turnaround in 2016, Strong could find himself in serious jeopardy of losing his job. Now, having said all that, of the five coaches on this list, the one I feel like is in a position to have that job-saving season is Strong. Yes, Texas struggled last year, but it was also a very young team. The Longhorns could be poised for a breakout.


College Football Coaches Whose Jobs Are on the Line in 2016
By Bryan Fischer, National College Football Columnist Feb 22, 2016

Group of Five coaches on the hot seat for 2016: David Bailiff (Rice), Craig Bohl (Wyoming), Ron Caragher (San Jose State), Doug Martin (New Mexico State), Paul Petrino (Idaho), Brian Polian (Nevada)

You think the kids Sumlin recruits can get into Rice? No thanks for the 17 arrests in the offseason or whatever he had last year. We also can't afford a helicopter or 600 million dollar renovations to help him recruit and still LOSE.

Craig Bohl would be a much better choice.

(05-15-2016 10:15 AM)cr11owl Wrote:  You think the kids Sumlin recruits can get into Rice? No thanks for the 17 arrests in the offseason or whatever he had last year. We also can't afford a helicopter or 600 million dollar renovations to help him recruit and still LOSE.

I'd like the hire due to the irony. He does have ties to the area, and although it's a step down for him, for Rice, his name might help get some kids we might currently be losing to P5 schools like Vandy, Duke, N'western and Stanford?

And I think we could afford a Rice helicopter. Think of the marketing and branding possibilities! That would be cool!

or, we could buy a Rice Blimp and float it over other P5 teams' stadiums during their games to advertise and recruit:

blimp advertising


crispy rice blimp


blimp over stadium

I'd much prefer an untested assistant that a coach who couldn't cut it in the P-5. If we are gonna roll the dice, let's do it on a relative unknown with big upside.

Is that UT's stadium? Must be a really old shot if it is as it doesn't look anything like their current stadium.

(05-15-2016 11:08 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Is that UT's stadium? Must be a really old shot if it is as it doesn't look anything like their current stadium.

No, it's Ohio State's stadium

(05-15-2016 11:10 AM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(05-15-2016 11:08 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Is that UT's stadium? Must be a really old shot if it is as it doesn't look anything like their current stadium.

No, it's Ohio State's stadium

thought it was an old shot, didn't look closely.

(05-11-2016 10:49 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  We need whatever you call a sig win, whenever, and wherever we can get them, but a sig win standing alone is meaningless. Once again, ask Appy State.

I disagree. I wonder if or how soon it would have been possible for Appy State to move up to Div I if they didn't beat Michigan on the road at the Big House. certainly got their name out there. Then instead of being laughable, it made people take their move up seriously. I'm sure it helped loosen the purse strings of donors for many years to be able to refer to that win. Sure, you can say they've stalled out in SunBelt, so far. But THEY MOVED UP not DOWN, like we did. So it made a big difference for them.





Look how SMALL the Appy State guys are in the video...and they beat Michigan...on the road...in the sold-out Big House...in front of 107,000 screaming fans and a national audience...when they were still a whole division lower. Wow.

(05-15-2016 11:01 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  I'd much prefer an untested assistant that a coach who couldn't cut it in the P-5. If we are gonna roll the dice, let's do it on a relative unknown with big upside.

Don't terribly disagree.... other than the fact that lots of coaches are great at certain things, but not as great at others. I'd be fine with an assistant successful enough to get a shot to be a head coach who perhaps failed as a head coach....

Sumlin succeeded at UH by any measure... but has struggled at A&M. Why? He recruited and now has lost a dozen 'star' QBs.

We know he can assemble a staff and coach, but we still don't know really if Hermann can recruit. He didn't recruit the players responsible for his ascencion at Rice or his success at UH... and perhaps not in between. Of course now that he's won, it's easier... so maybe that's not a requirement at UH anymore (for now)... but it would be for us... unless you think he could take ours and beat his. /Bum Phillips

(05-16-2016 02:23 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  

(05-15-2016 11:01 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  I'd much prefer an untested assistant that a coach who couldn't cut it in the P-5. If we are gonna roll the dice, let's do it on a relative unknown with big upside.

Don't terribly disagree.... other than the fact that lots of coaches are great at certain things, but not as great at others. I'd be fine with an assistant successful enough to get a shot to be a head coach who perhaps failed as a head coach....

Sumlin succeeded at UH by any measure... but has struggled at A&M. Why? He recruited and now has lost a dozen 'star' QBs.

We know he can assemble a staff and coach, but we still don't know really if Hermann can recruit. He didn't recruit the players responsible for his ascencion at Rice or his success at UH... and perhaps not in between. Of course now that he's won, it's easier... so maybe that's not a requirement at UH anymore (for now)... but it would be for us... unless you think he could take ours and beat his. /Bum Phillips

UH recruiting blew every other G5 off the map last year before they won all those games. They were the first ever G5 team to sign a 5 star (though there were circumstances helping them with that one). I'd say he can recruit.

(05-16-2016 02:23 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  Sumlin succeeded at UH by any measure... but has struggled at A&M. Why? He recruited and now has lost a dozen 'star' QBs.

We know he can assemble a staff and coach, but we still don't know really if Hermann can recruit. He didn't recruit the players responsible for his ascencion at Rice or his success at UH... and perhaps not in between. Of course now that he's won, it's easier... so maybe that's not a requirement at UH anymore (for now)... but it would be for us... unless you think he could take ours and beat his. /Bum Phillips

As I posted above, Sumlin would be worth at least a look if A&M shows him the door this season. He can likely attract a good staff and mold his recruiting to fit Rice's requirements.

At Rice, he'd be coming "home" to Houston. He can coach a bit (maybe not enough to win the SEC and beat Saban's Alabama, but likely good enough to run the table in CUSA several times in a row). He's still young enough to have something in him, and would have something to prove. Not a guarantee of course, but I don't see any guarantees eminating from South Main in football at present, unless I missed a press release.

Heck we could then schedule Alabama and see how we do. 4-0?

(05-16-2016 02:31 PM)cr11owl Wrote:  UH recruiting blew every other G5 off the map last year before they won all those games. They were the first ever G5 team to sign a 5 star (though there were circumstances helping them with that one). I'd say he can recruit.

So was that because of him, the 'special circumstances', one of his assistants or because of Sumlin (and Fertitta)? One guy or even one class, most of whom haven't seen the field yet is not 'proof'. I'm not knocking the guy so I really don't understand the reaction. OBVIOUSLY he can coach. He's recruited ONE class. When HIS class repeats the feat that he accomplished overwhelmingly with Sumlin's recruits, then we will REALLY know.... but at this point, despite everything you note, we still don't REALLY know if he can recruit.

Everyone can see 'this years' needs. One key to recruiting is being able to project your needs 2+ years down the road. We can't possibly know at this point if he is any good at that or not. That doesn't mean he isn't. It just means he hasn't demonstrated it. An OCs job is generally to project, identify and recruit offensive needs. That's entirely different from (and sometimes even at odds with) a HC's role in that process.

Since we've mentioned some of these games from the past that are generally considered "Signature Wins", lets' take a look. I went back on previous page and posted the Appy State-Michigan summary video and analysis.

Here's one from the OU-Boise Fiesta Bowl:





I particularly love how they mention they prepared for this stuff like 4th and 18 in practice every week not just for the bowl game, so they'd have a go-to play that was well-rehearsed. Hmmmmm.

I couldn't find a summary video, but here's the game mentioned:

1998 Sun Bowl USC vs TCU

Here's TCU's 2011 Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin highlights:

Not quite the same, but still noteworthy:

2009 Sugar Bowl - #7 Utah vs. #4 Alabama Highlights

We need both. We need transformational change, but we need some incremental change before we reach the point that transformational change can occur. We need signature wins, but we need to win more in CUSA too.

Bottom line: We simply aren't good enough. We need to get better by every metric.

(05-16-2016 02:32 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(05-16-2016 02:23 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  Sumlin succeeded at UH by any measure... but has struggled at A&M. Why? He recruited and now has lost a dozen 'star' QBs.

We know he can assemble a staff and coach, but we still don't know really if Hermann can recruit. He didn't recruit the players responsible for his ascencion at Rice or his success at UH... and perhaps not in between. Of course now that he's won, it's easier... so maybe that's not a requirement at UH anymore (for now)... but it would be for us... unless you think he could take ours and beat his. /Bum Phillips

As I posted above, Sumlin would be worth at least a look if A&M shows him the door this season. He can likely attract a good staff and mold his recruiting to fit Rice's requirements.

At Rice, he'd be coming "home" to Houston. He can coach a bit (maybe not enough to win the SEC and beat Saban's Alabama, but likely good enough to run the table in CUSA several times in a row). He's still young enough to have something in him, and would have something to prove. Not a guarantee of course, but I don't see any guarantees eminating from South Main in football at present, unless I missed a press release.

Heck we could then schedule Alabama and see how we do. 4-0?

I hope we keep our priorities. Sumlin is NOT a good fit at Rice: FBS Leaders in Player Arrests

(05-16-2016 09:24 PM)ArmChairOwl Wrote:  

(05-16-2016 02:32 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(05-16-2016 02:23 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  Sumlin succeeded at UH by any measure... but has struggled at A&M. Why? He recruited and now has lost a dozen 'star' QBs.

We know he can assemble a staff and coach, but we still don't know really if Hermann can recruit. He didn't recruit the players responsible for his ascencion at Rice or his success at UH... and perhaps not in between. Of course now that he's won, it's easier... so maybe that's not a requirement at UH anymore (for now)... but it would be for us... unless you think he could take ours and beat his. /Bum Phillips

As I posted above, Sumlin would be worth at least a look if A&M shows him the door this season. He can likely attract a good staff and mold his recruiting to fit Rice's requirements.

At Rice, he'd be coming "home" to Houston. He can coach a bit (maybe not enough to win the SEC and beat Saban's Alabama, but likely good enough to run the table in CUSA several times in a row). He's still young enough to have something in him, and would have something to prove. Not a guarantee of course, but I don't see any guarantees eminating from South Main in football at present, unless I missed a press release.

Heck we could then schedule Alabama and see how we do. 4-0?

I hope we keep our priorities. Sumlin is NOT a good fit at Rice: FBS Leaders in Player Arrests

If you are saying we shouldn't have a head coach at Rice whose players have been arrested then you have a problem with our present head football coach. I won't post it, but you can google Rice football players arrested if you want. I don't like it, and it would be better if it didn't happen, but let's not play the game where we pretend that it doesn't or hasn't because that is simply not being truthful.