A portion of an article from today's DNR. Gives hope that HCMH is in it for the long haul.

Another factor aiding the Dukes’ recruiting efforts is the stability the program has gained since Houston signed his 10-year extension late last season. “ The contract helps,” Houston said. “Because that was the question I got with every visit last year. I sat down with mom and dad and they ask, ‘How long are you going to be here?’ “At least this year you can say, ‘ The school has made a commitment to us. We’ve made a commitment to school.’ That helps ease the mind of the parents.”

Who knows how many posts I responded to before the 10 year extension with something along the lines...."Houston was a HS coach ~10 years ago and has been at 3 colleges since then...He is averaging ~3 years per school since the last decade....He only spent 2 years at Citadel why do you think he is at JMU for the long haul...etc. etc."

Signing the 10 year extension eased concerns cause it was just so long. I mean he could have signed for 5-7 years and the recruiting concern goes away. The rumors of him building a custom home are nice. The previous quotes were nice. Points about his family starting school and some consistency were nice. This quote is nice.

I have feared letting my guard down since Maggie broke my heart in 1st grade and divorced me right after our playground wedding. However, I am turning the corner and thinking Houston could be here for the long haul.

Just enjoy the moment......If he were to leave God Bless him and his family.

I m hoping for at least 2 to 3 more years til he moves on.

(10-17-2018 07:28 AM)DoubleDogDare Wrote:  have feared letting my guard down since Maggie broke my heart in 1st grade and divorced me right after our playground wedding.

The coach at NDSU is still there and he has three NCs. The one before him could only land the Wyoming job. Not much of a move up but it is the Mountain West.

Houston’s staff is mostly in their 60s and all have been at big programs or head coaches at some point so been there done that for them. I think they have to be liking the stability at JMU as well this late in life. Houston makes a good living at JMU and they win. He gets good kids here and JMU is not a hard school to recruit to. Maybe more money and a low level FBS program lure him away at some point but I don’t see it as a sure thing.

I worry about ECU, APP and UNC. Those are jobs that could attract him.

He will be here a minimum of two years and looking at how the freshmen and sophomores are turning out, he's going to be reloading not rebuilding (don't underestimate how much this plays into a coach leaving) so that gives it another 2+ year window. I'm with Nation on this, except I'd say only UNC really scares me and maybe App St. but they're doing well enough that they aren't going to be making any changes unless their coach gets poached.

That puts us at 4-5 years away which at that time we'll likely know what's up with the G5/Geo5 vs. FCS. If we're on the way up a level at that point, I can't imagine he's going to leave. So barring something crazy he might very well complete his contract. If JMU is smart they'll rework the contract around year 4 or 5 and extend it out another 5 years at that point.

Has to help some knowing your program is in high demand from guys looking to transfer in if possible. Probably some headaches that go along with that I'm sure too, but the +'s outweigh the -'s I'd think.

(10-17-2018 08:33 AM)DirtyDukes Wrote:  

(10-17-2018 07:28 AM)DoubleDogDare Wrote:  have feared letting my guard down since Maggie broke my heart in 1st grade and divorced me right after our playground wedding.

Coach Houston's actions have shown it's not just about money for him. He isn't our last coach. Not every coach leaves for a better paycheck.
I've said time and time again that he's a quality over quantity guy and he constantly proves that point. He is a family guy and has said he didn't want to move his family all over the country. He has stability here and appreciates the commitment that the admin has made to him and to JMU football.
I'm not too concerned about him leaving for UNC for two reasons: 1) the fan base will probably want a big name guy, and (maybe more importantly) 2) UNC has done some VERY shady stuff in the past. For a guy that seems to want to do things the right way, perhaps UNC's history turns him off a bit to wanting to go there.
Do I think he'll be here forever? Heck no. But I do think he'll be here for a while longer. He said it would take an incredibly special situation for him to leave JMU and I believe he won't leave for anything but a special P5 offer that gives him everything he could possibly dream of getting.
He's got a great thing going here at JMU and most importantly he knows it.

(10-17-2018 09:35 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  Do I think he'll be here forever? Heck no.

Exactly. I mean, if we lose another game this season, I say we fire him.

(10-17-2018 09:39 AM)Wear Purple Wrote:  

(10-17-2018 09:35 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  Do I think he'll be here forever? Heck no.

Exactly. I mean, if we lose another game this season, I say we fire him.

That's way too long of a leash. If we're down at halftime I say we fire him in the locker room.

(10-17-2018 10:13 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  

(10-17-2018 09:39 AM)Wear Purple Wrote:  

(10-17-2018 09:35 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  Do I think he'll be here forever? Heck no.

Exactly. I mean, if we lose another game this season, I say we fire him.

That's way too long of a leash. If we're down at halftime I say we fire him in the locker room.

Yep. Either that or just have his legs broken. We're a factory now and we need to start acting like it.

(10-17-2018 09:35 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  Coach Houston's actions have shown it's not just about money for him. He isn't our last coach. Not every coach leaves for a better paycheck.
I've said time and time again that he's a quality over quantity guy and he constantly proves that point. He is a family guy and has said he didn't want to move his family all over the country. He has stability here and appreciates the commitment that the admin has made to him and to JMU football.
I'm not too concerned about him leaving for UNC for two reasons: 1) the fan base will probably want a big name guy, and (maybe more importantly) 2) UNC has done some VERY shady stuff in the past. For a guy that seems to want to do things the right way, perhaps UNC's history turns him off a bit to wanting to go there.
Do I think he'll be here forever? Heck no. But I do think he'll be here for a while longer. He said it would take an incredibly special situation for him to leave JMU and I believe he won't leave for anything but a special P5 offer that gives him everything he could possibly dream of getting.
He's got a great thing going here at JMU and most importantly he knows it.

It's not unique to them, but UNC is a great example. Sometimes these high powered alums act like petulant children when they don't get their way. They become an obstacle rather than a what they are supposed to be...a "booster". I could see Houston succeeding at ECU and State because I believe he could sell the admin & alumni to let him run his ship. I view UNC differently. Like Daniel Snyder w/ the Skins, they are always looking for the quick fix/high profile hire.

(10-17-2018 07:28 AM)DoubleDogDare Wrote:  Who knows how many posts I responded to before the 10 year extension with something along the lines...."Houston was a HS coach ~10 years ago and has been at 3 colleges since then...He is averaging ~3 years per school since the last decade....He only spent 2 years at Citadel why do you think he is at JMU for the long haul...etc. etc."
...

How did you respond prior to the 10 year extension? I personally found it tough.

Today, with the new contract, it can be nearly impossible to convince someone he's going to be at JMU if a $13M, five year deal from UNC were to be offered.

(10-17-2018 10:15 AM)Wear Purple Wrote:  Yep. Either that or just have his legs broken. We're a factory now and we need to start acting like it.

He has the mark of being the only JMU football coach to have lost to Elon.

(10-17-2018 11:13 AM)Potomac Wrote:  

(10-17-2018 10:15 AM)Wear Purple Wrote:  Yep. Either that or just have his legs broken. We're a factory now and we need to start acting like it.

He has the mark of being the only JMU football coach to have lost to Elon.

The team played much better the following week. If you saw HCMH walking the sidelines at Nova with a little bit of a limp, neither myself or any of my associates know anything about it.

(10-17-2018 10:28 AM)olddawg Wrote:  

(10-17-2018 09:35 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  Coach Houston's actions have shown it's not just about money for him. He isn't our last coach. Not every coach leaves for a better paycheck.
I've said time and time again that he's a quality over quantity guy and he constantly proves that point. He is a family guy and has said he didn't want to move his family all over the country. He has stability here and appreciates the commitment that the admin has made to him and to JMU football.
I'm not too concerned about him leaving for UNC for two reasons: 1) the fan base will probably want a big name guy, and (maybe more importantly) 2) UNC has done some VERY shady stuff in the past. For a guy that seems to want to do things the right way, perhaps UNC's history turns him off a bit to wanting to go there.
Do I think he'll be here forever? Heck no. But I do think he'll be here for a while longer. He said it would take an incredibly special situation for him to leave JMU and I believe he won't leave for anything but a special P5 offer that gives him everything he could possibly dream of getting.
He's got a great thing going here at JMU and most importantly he knows it.

It's not unique to them, but UNC is a great example. Sometimes these high powered alums act like petulant children when they don't get their way. They become an obstacle rather than a what they are supposed to be...a "booster". I could see Houston succeeding at ECU and State because I believe he could sell the admin & alumni to let him run his ship. I view UNC differently. Like Daniel Snyder w/ the Skins, they are always looking for the quick fix/high profile hire.

Exactly. I think some schools see the potential in a coach and have no problem bringing in a guy that's had success but may not be a big name. I don't see UNC as that school. If Houston were considered, it wouldn't surprise me if boosters either threatened support or donated more money to bring in a bigger name. Didn't Tennessee have that issue just a few years ago?

(10-17-2018 07:28 AM)DoubleDogDare Wrote:  Who knows how many posts I responded to before the 10 year extension with something along the lines...."Houston was a HS coach ~10 years ago and has been at 3 colleges since then...He is averaging ~3 years per school since the last decade....He only spent 2 years at Citadel why do you think he is at JMU for the long haul...etc. etc."

Signing the 10 year extension eased concerns cause it was just so long. I mean he could have signed for 5-7 years and the recruiting concern goes away. The rumors of him building a custom home are nice. The previous quotes were nice. Points about his family starting school and some consistency were nice. This quote is nice.

I have feared letting my guard down since Maggie broke my heart in 1st grade and divorced me right after our playground wedding. However, I am turning the corner and thinking Houston could be here for the long haul.

where are we hearing rumors of a custom built home? heck, that would say more to me than anything. actions, not words good people

(10-17-2018 01:57 PM)PGJMU2 Wrote:  where are we hearing rumors of a custom built home? heck, that would say more to me than anything. actions, not words good people

It was rumored on this message board roughly 6-9 months ago.

(10-17-2018 02:42 PM)Potomac Wrote:  

(10-17-2018 01:57 PM)PGJMU2 Wrote:  where are we hearing rumors of a custom built home? heck, that would say more to me than anything. actions, not words good people

It was rumored on this message board roughly 6-9 months ago.

I did a quick search through most popular threads with "Houston" or "MH" in the title and could not find it. I might be twisting the rumor more but I'm confident it was more than just buying a home. Either the search function is garbage or I suck at utilizing it, maybe someone else remembers what was exactly said.