The unofficial online home for fans of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

I don't want to nitpick, but you're basing quite a bit off of short term performance. In the Pac-12, Utah is having a good season, but they're nowhere near the program of Oregon. Similarly in the ACC, Wake is having a good year. They're not the same as a program like FSU. All that said, I do agree that the new Big 12 is poised to immediately eclipse the Pac-12 and at least rival the ACC. I'm good with that.

(11-22-2021 02:22 PM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  The Big 12 is going to be damn good IF the hot coaches stay. That's really my only fear in terms of the Big 12's future. If Fickell, Campbell, Aranda, Sitake, Klieman, etc. stick around, I think the Big 12 will establish itself as the clear #3 conference. The Pac-12 basically has two good programs right now in Oregon and Utah, and this will be 6 straight years of missing the CFP for the league according to an article I read yesterday. Clemson will be back, and I do think programs like Wake Forest, NC State, and Pitt can continue to have some success. But as long as FSU, Miami, and Virginia Tech are down, the ACC isn't going to move the needle nationally. And Mack Brown will be retired in 2 or 3 years tops, so we'll see what happens to UNC after he leaves. UC, UCF, BYU, Houston, Iowa State (if Campbell stays), Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, and Baylor with Kansas and Texas Tech hopefully on the rise -- that's a hell of a football conference.

When was the last year that FSU was relevant?

(11-22-2021 03:01 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  Kelly might consider it for a lot of the same reasons Mick headed west. Massive pay increase. Unlimited budget and top facilities. The PAC12 is ripe for the picking. Crazy recruiting turf. And he might just be getting worn out by the ND administration and fans after 12 years. Might also be ready to live in a real city again. South Bend is an armpit outside of campus.

That's a great point Wrath, and I've never really considered it. All the money in the world isn't worth much, if you live in a cracker Jack box. It's like the Genie in Aladdin.

I remember when BK was hired here how much he and his wife gushed about the city and things like the museums and opera and other cultural things you only get in a large city. They were stoked to get out of Mt. Pleasant where CMU was.

South Bend is like a country club surrounded by a falling down, partially vacant rust belt town.

(11-22-2021 02:16 PM)Z-Fly Wrote:  

(11-22-2021 01:40 PM)Former Lurker Wrote:  The move to the B12 is undoubtedly great for UC, but you have to wonder if it just puts us back in the same place as we were in the BE with regard to FB coaches (along with WVU and Louisville): there's no stopping the big boys when they come calling for your coach.

This is not a Cincinnati only problem. Oklahoma is worried about losing their coach to LSU. Notre Dame might lose their coach to USC. Clemson could eventually lose their coach to Alabama. No one is safe.

Yep, every job is a potential stepping stone to somewhere...

(11-22-2021 03:04 PM)geef Wrote:  I don't want to nitpick, but you're basing quite a bit off of short term performance. In the Pac-12, Utah is having a good season, but they're nowhere near the program of Oregon. Similarly in the ACC, Wake is having a good year. They're not the same as a program like FSU. All that said, I do agree that the new Big 12 is poised to immediately eclipse the Pac-12 and at least rival the ACC. I'm good with that.

(11-22-2021 02:22 PM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  The Big 12 is going to be damn good IF the hot coaches stay. That's really my only fear in terms of the Big 12's future. If Fickell, Campbell, Aranda, Sitake, Klieman, etc. stick around, I think the Big 12 will establish itself as the clear #3 conference. The Pac-12 basically has two good programs right now in Oregon and Utah, and this will be 6 straight years of missing the CFP for the league according to an article I read yesterday. Clemson will be back, and I do think programs like Wake Forest, NC State, and Pitt can continue to have some success. But as long as FSU, Miami, and Virginia Tech are down, the ACC isn't going to move the needle nationally. And Mack Brown will be retired in 2 or 3 years tops, so we'll see what happens to UNC after he leaves. UC, UCF, BYU, Houston, Iowa State (if Campbell stays), Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, and Baylor with Kansas and Texas Tech hopefully on the rise -- that's a hell of a football conference.

Yeah, I didn't really word that the way I should have. What I meant to say is that Oregon is the only relevant program in the Pac-12 at the moment, and Utah is the only program that has been consistently good in the CFP era. Obviously USC is a blue blood and Washington, UCLA, Stanford, Arizona State, and Colorado all have had some really good years/have potential as well. I just don't know if the give-a-damn level about football out west is there for the Pac-12 to be a really good league anymore. When you look at actual football performance and take the brand names out of the equation, they've been on the AAC's level in recent years and aren't even much better than the Mountain West top to bottom. Even the new AAC and Sun Belt might give them a run for their money if USC and Washington don't make the right hires.

(11-22-2021 03:50 PM)Bearhawkeye Wrote:  

(11-22-2021 02:16 PM)Z-Fly Wrote:  

(11-22-2021 01:40 PM)Former Lurker Wrote:  The move to the B12 is undoubtedly great for UC, but you have to wonder if it just puts us back in the same place as we were in the BE with regard to FB coaches (along with WVU and Louisville): there's no stopping the big boys when they come calling for your coach.

This is not a Cincinnati only problem. Oklahoma is worried about losing their coach to LSU. Notre Dame might lose their coach to USC. Clemson could eventually lose their coach to Alabama. No one is safe.

Yep, every job is a potential stepping stone to somewhere...

Yeah, it's crazy. We've seen Oregon lose a coach to Florida State, and Florida State lose a coach to Texas A&M. Now you've got LSU trying to poach from Texas A&M and Oregon, although Jimbo's unlikely to leave based on his recent comments. Penn State might not be able to keep Franklin either. Hell, up here in Columbus, there's yearly concern that Ryan Day will eventually leave for an NFL head coaching gig. The latest speculation on the Columbus radio shows is that if Matt Nagy gets the ax in Chicago, Ryan Day could be tempted to coach Justin Fields and the Bears -- although the media admits that is unlikely. There's almost no such thing as a destination job anymore.

(11-20-2021 02:38 PM)Billy_Bearcat Wrote:  

(11-20-2021 02:37 PM)BearcatMan Wrote:  So is Ryan Day going to ask for a 10 year, $665M contract now since he is 7 times better than Mel?

See that’s where it gets weird. Is O$U good because of Ryan Day or is Ryan Day good because of O$U?

I was curious too. He was like the clear heir apparent. Is he like boy wonder or something? Because people are also talking about the NFL.

(11-22-2021 11:13 PM)ZCat Wrote:  

(11-20-2021 02:38 PM)Billy_Bearcat Wrote:  

(11-20-2021 02:37 PM)BearcatMan Wrote:  So is Ryan Day going to ask for a 10 year, $665M contract now since he is 7 times better than Mel?

See that’s where it gets weird. Is O$U good because of Ryan Day or is Ryan Day good because of O$U?

I was curious too. He was like the clear heir apparent. Is he like boy wonder or something? Because people are also talking about the NFL.

It's both. Yes, Ryan Day was handed the keys to a Ferrari in terms of a college football powerhouse. However, he is one of the brightest offensive minds in football, especially when it comes to developing quarterbacks. He also has maintained and, in some aspects, even elevated the recruiting. One other thing I'd say separates him from both Urban and Tressel is that he is not blindly loyal to a fault. I feel like if Urban were still the coach and the defense was struggling, he wouldn't have yanked play calling duties from Coombs like Day did. I was skeptical when they turned the program over to a first-time head coach, but he is the real deal. OSU is even better off now than they were under Urban.

I think the NFL talk stems from his ability to develop young quarterbacks, as well as his short stint in the NFL as quarterbacks coach for the 49ers and Eagles. He only spent two years in the NFL, but due to that, he is perceived as less of a risk as some other college coaches who would be considered for NFL head coaching jobs.

Sounds like LSU is down to Aranda, Campbell, and Napier.

My guess is if Aranda leaves, Napier is on speed dial for Baylor.

Napier is being talked about at Florida, too. He’s going to get a bigger house this offseason.

(11-23-2021 01:18 AM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  

(11-22-2021 11:13 PM)ZCat Wrote:  

(11-20-2021 02:38 PM)Billy_Bearcat Wrote:  

(11-20-2021 02:37 PM)BearcatMan Wrote:  So is Ryan Day going to ask for a 10 year, $665M contract now since he is 7 times better than Mel?

See that’s where it gets weird. Is O$U good because of Ryan Day or is Ryan Day good because of O$U?

I was curious too. He was like the clear heir apparent. Is he like boy wonder or something? Because people are also talking about the NFL.

It's both. Yes, Ryan Day was handed the keys to a Ferrari in terms of a college football powerhouse. However, he is one of the brightest offensive minds in football, especially when it comes to developing quarterbacks. He also has maintained and, in some aspects, even elevated the recruiting. One other thing I'd say separates him from both Urban and Tressel is that he is not blindly loyal to a fault. I feel like if Urban were still the coach and the defense was struggling, he wouldn't have yanked play calling duties from Coombs like Day did. I was skeptical when they turned the program over to a first-time head coach, but he is the real deal. OSU is even better off now than they were under Urban.

I think the NFL talk stems from his ability to develop young quarterbacks, as well as his short stint in the NFL as quarterbacks coach for the 49ers and Eagles. He only spent two years in the NFL, but due to that, he is perceived as less of a risk as some other college coaches who would be considered for NFL head coaching jobs.

I'm curious if the NFL could even afford him, at this point.

(11-23-2021 06:49 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  Napier is being talked about at Florida, too. He’s going to get a bigger house this offseason.

Yeah, the "Napier to Florida" talk has really taken off... right down to the speculation that UF fired Mullen when they did to get a jump on Napier specifically.

The "Fickell to Florida" talk, is almost in courtesy territory.

Found this funny

Fwiw, Mario Eugenio says Fick told him he is staying in Cincinnati.

https://www.si.com/college/2021/11/23/ma...ke-fickell

Now that is a source I like.

(11-23-2021 07:59 AM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(11-23-2021 06:49 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  Napier is being talked about at Florida, too. He’s going to get a bigger house this offseason.

Yeah, the "Napier to Florida" talk has really taken off... right down to the speculation that UF fired Mullen when they did to get a jump on Napier specifically.

The "Fickell to Florida" talk, is almost in courtesy territory.

I like how most of these openings, Fick's name pops up initially as a candidate but then quickly fades into the background behind other names. I wonder if these schools make the initial call to Fick's agent and they tell them...."He's staying put".

But the pessimist in me says his agent could also be telling them...."He's going to USC ". (or wherever) I tend to believe it's the former.

(11-23-2021 11:27 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  Fwiw, Mario Eugenio says Fick told him he is staying in Cincinnati.

https://www.si.com/college/2021/11/23/ma...ke-fickell

Reading this gives me more hope than anything thus far.

(11-23-2021 12:05 PM)bcat1997 Wrote:  

(11-23-2021 11:27 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  Fwiw, Mario Eugenio says Fick told him he is staying in Cincinnati.

https://www.si.com/college/2021/11/23/ma...ke-fickell

Reading this gives me more hope than anything thus far.

Normally when a coach says this he's leaving soon after. I actually believe Fick though. Really can't see him ditching his kid while he's in the team

(11-23-2021 11:27 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  Fwiw, Mario Eugenio says Fick told him he is staying in Cincinnati.

https://www.si.com/college/2021/11/23/ma...ke-fickell

Excellent story on both the recruit and our coach.

I'm reading a lot more into this but it makes me believe that Cunningham/Pinto have already engaged in a dialogue with Fickell that a contract upgrade is coming once again at season's end--perhaps one that anticipates the new Big XII revenue stream in year two of that offering.