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(11-30-2022 10:19 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 09:26 AM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 09:23 AM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 09:08 AM)BearcatMan Wrote:  I have a feeling it will end up being either Sean Lewis or Gino and I'd be fine with either.

I won't. Sean Lewis who has a losing record at Kent State? That sounds like a hire we'd make if we were a middlin' AAC team. Gino has never been a head coach. We are coming off a CFP run, dominating our conference until the last few games of this season, and about to enter the B12. If that's all the splash we can make then we've got bigger problems.

Kent State has had 9 games against Top 15 teams in the last 4 years...so adjust that schedule a bit. We don't need to make a splash, we need to make a hire that will do well here.

I'm guessing you're thinking a WR coach who has no playcalling experience and very little evidence that he can individually recruit or develop talent is your top choice? Or is it the TV personality who will not come here? Or the guy who is more toxic than the grass in northern Ukraine?

Gino doesn't have the resume to be qualified to get a HC gig in the MAC. Of course he's going to be our guy.

Sure he does...look at the current MAC HCs, he'd be arguably the most qualified of all of them when they were hired outside of Chuck Martin.

(11-30-2022 09:51 AM)Cat-Man Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 09:26 AM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 09:23 AM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 09:08 AM)BearcatMan Wrote:  I have a feeling it will end up being either Sean Lewis or Gino and I'd be fine with either.

I won't. Sean Lewis who has a losing record at Kent State? That sounds like a hire we'd make if we were a middlin' AAC team. Gino has never been a head coach. We are coming off a CFP run, dominating our conference until the last few games of this season, and about to enter the B12. If that's all the splash we can make then we've got bigger problems.

Kent State has had 9 games against Top 15 teams in the last 4 years...so adjust that schedule a bit. We don't need to make a splash, we need to make a hire that will do well here.

I'm guessing you're thinking a WR coach who has no playcalling experience and very little evidence that he can individually recruit or develop talent is your top choice? Or is it the TV personality who will not come here? Or the guy who is more toxic than the grass in northern Ukraine?

Isn't the TV personality and the toxic guy the same person?...Urban?

Deion would be TV Personality.

(11-30-2022 10:28 AM)Edgebrookjeff Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 09:08 AM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 08:43 AM)Edgebrookjeff Wrote:  When was the last time it worked for us hiring an established coach?

Brian Kelly and Butch Jones

They were fast rising "up & comers) making the jump from DII to the MAC and then UC. I'd rather have the big name assistant from a proven program. You have a chance of getting a dud no matter which route you take. Let's just wait and see. It seems like the AD knows what he's looking for and isn't unprepared for this process.

Bolded, the risk there is someone who may be a brilliant a functional specialist who can't hire, inspire, and lead a large coaching staff. Case in point? I respected what Rick Minter did for UC and his loyalty through some lean years but my observation was that he was poor at delegating authority and trusting his assistants, hence a lot of assistant coach turnover every season yielding inconsistent results.

Alternately, my understanding is the other finalist when Minter was hired was Jim Tressel who had demonstrated leadership as a national championship head coach at Youngstown State.

Great assistants can become great head coaches, but the degree of risk is likely higher.

Or you can get the proven head coach like TT who was more interested in playing golf and being everybody's buddy, than coaching football.

(11-30-2022 09:52 AM)cinbinsportsfan Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 09:47 AM)OKIcat Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 09:36 AM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 09:26 AM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 09:23 AM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  I won't. Sean Lewis who has a losing record at Kent State? That sounds like a hire we'd make if we were a middlin' AAC team. Gino has never been a head coach. We are coming off a CFP run, dominating our conference until the last few games of this season, and about to enter the B12. If that's all the splash we can make then we've got bigger problems.

Kent State has had 9 games against Top 15 teams in the last 4 years...so adjust that schedule a bit. We don't need to make a splash, we need to make a hire that will do well here.

I'm guessing you're thinking a WR coach who has no playcalling experience and very little evidence that he can individually recruit or develop talent is your top choice? Or is it the TV personality who will not come here? Or the guy who is more toxic than the grass in northern Ukraine?

No. I'm not in the Hartline camp if that is what you're referring. Look, we're all going to have an idea of what a coach should be moving forward. We aren't an unknown brand anymore. Our profile has been raised a great deal. If we settle for a guy that couldn't run a consistent offense/questionable play calling or a guy with a losing record at a MAC school [24-31 to be exact] then that is a BIGLY disappointment and a poor reflection on our program. It would make me seriously consider to turn my time and attention to other things.

Bolded, I understand your concern and will only share that I don't believe there is any way Cunningham sells our program short and hires anyone who lacks both the will to and the ability to deliver results in the P5. Whether that means previous P5 experience or not is TBD. This is now a big job--bigger than the one Fickell accepted six seasons ago. With the available resources and a Big 12 season just nine months away, we should expect to hire very well. I expect it will get done in the next seven days with more substantive information leaking even sooner on top contenders.

I'd also add onto this that Cunningham showed with the basketball coaching hire that he's more than willing to cast a VERY wide net and run the gamut of candidates. I'm sure we'll see the same thing with the football search as well; several names tied to the open job, several names that will "interview", but it's anyone's guess as to how those coaches rank in the eyes of JC.

Casting a wide net is well and good, but everything I've heard is that they want this wrapped up ASAP. Transfer portal opens next week, and they want a coach who can immediately start working that / keeping the class together.

I'd be shocked if this lasts past Saturday.

(11-30-2022 11:21 AM)OKIcat Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 10:28 AM)Edgebrookjeff Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 09:08 AM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 08:43 AM)Edgebrookjeff Wrote:  When was the last time it worked for us hiring an established coach?

Brian Kelly and Butch Jones

They were fast rising "up & comers) making the jump from DII to the MAC and then UC. I'd rather have the big name assistant from a proven program. You have a chance of getting a dud no matter which route you take. Let's just wait and see. It seems like the AD knows what he's looking for and isn't unprepared for this process.

Bolded, the risk there is someone who may be a brilliant a functional specialist who can't hire, inspire, and lead a large coaching staff. Case in point? I respected what Rick Minter did for UC and his loyalty through some lean years but my observation was that he was poor at delegating authority and trusting his assistants, hence a lot of assistant coach turnover every season yielding inconsistent results.

Alternately, my understanding is the other finalist when Minter was hired was Jim Tressel who had demonstrated leadership as a national championship head coach at Youngstown State.

Great assistants can become great head coaches, but the degree of risk is likely higher.

The other risk is that most of the "Big Name Assistants" that people are clammoring about seem to be people who don't call plays or don't recruit...or both.

(11-30-2022 11:48 AM)#41 Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 09:52 AM)cinbinsportsfan Wrote:  I'd also add onto this that Cunningham showed with the basketball coaching hire that he's more than willing to cast a VERY wide net and run the gamut of candidates. I'm sure we'll see the same thing with the football search as well; several names tied to the open job, several names that will "interview", but it's anyone's guess as to how those coaches rank in the eyes of JC.

Casting a wide net is well and good, but everything I've heard is that they want this wrapped up ASAP. Transfer portal opens next week, and they want a coach who can immediately start working that / keeping the class together.

I'd be shocked if this lasts past Saturday.

Oh yea, no doubt this should get wrapped up in less than a week. My comment was more around Cunningham having a propensity to interview a wide variety of candidates with various experiences and backgrounds, not necessarily dragging the process out for the sake of due diligence. I think he can be both extremely thorough and extremely speedy in honing in on a new coach in this day and age of information and technology.

A former player told me that they haven't heard anything from the athletic department.

He said sometimes Cunningham hosts Zoom calls, but nothing so far.

He also said that the football alumni group has reached out to the athletic department to try to get some face time with the team to convince guys to not enter the portal.

I'll lay my cards on the table...IMO this is the most critical time in our [decades long] history in hiring a football coach for all the reasons we've previously stated. Replacing Minter or Riverboat Russell was an easier deal. The expectations were lowered. The program was on a lower trajectory. Some of the names being mentioned in all of these damn different threads would be fine if it was replacing those two dudes. Look at where we are now. There has been no higher point for UC football. NONE. What we don't want or need is a bad hire or a guy with a learning curve that fails to hit the ground running in the B12 and doesn't find some early success. That means another hire in 3 years and still trying to get our footing in the B12 - a big boy conference. That's my worst fear. The glass half full in me thinks JC will make a solid hire and we'll be fine. If it were my decision, I would lean toward the best head coach candidate that is interested. Someone that has a few years under their belt and knows what it takes to win. If it turns out that's Matt Campbell then fine. My back-up would be a top assistant from a top program that has also been involved in recruiting.

I respect everyone's opinion and it's ok to disagree. It's the Bearcat blood that binds us and WE CARE about this program and what it still can rise to become. We don't want to see it go backwards or lie in meh-ness for the foreseeable future.

All I know is this shiit is stressful for the fanbase, the players, the recruits, the remaining coaches, et al. The sooner this gets done the better so we'll know where we stand moving forward and we can stop with all of the speculation.

(11-30-2022 11:57 AM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 11:21 AM)OKIcat Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 10:28 AM)Edgebrookjeff Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 09:08 AM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 08:43 AM)Edgebrookjeff Wrote:  When was the last time it worked for us hiring an established coach?

Brian Kelly and Butch Jones

They were fast rising "up & comers) making the jump from DII to the MAC and then UC. I'd rather have the big name assistant from a proven program. You have a chance of getting a dud no matter which route you take. Let's just wait and see. It seems like the AD knows what he's looking for and isn't unprepared for this process.

Bolded, the risk there is someone who may be a brilliant a functional specialist who can't hire, inspire, and lead a large coaching staff. Case in point? I respected what Rick Minter did for UC and his loyalty through some lean years but my observation was that he was poor at delegating authority and trusting his assistants, hence a lot of assistant coach turnover every season yielding inconsistent results.

Alternately, my understanding is the other finalist when Minter was hired was Jim Tressel who had demonstrated leadership as a national championship head coach at Youngstown State.

Great assistants can become great head coaches, but the degree of risk is likely higher.

The other risk is that most of the "Big Name Assistants" that people are clammoring about seem to be people who don't call plays or don't recruit...or both.

I get the recruiting emphasis, but I'm not sure I get the clamoring for avoiding a "Big Name Assistant" who doesn't call his own plays. I haven't studied it in depth, but I'm guessing most P5 coaches don't call the plays - that's partially why they have an OC. And if it isn't a majority, it's certainly a sizeable number and it in no way impedes a HC from being successful (e.g. Fickell at UC.)

(Apologies for taking this thread even further off its original intent, but I guess it was inevitable...)

Being the DC or OC means different things on different teams. I don't think the OC under Brian Kelly ever called the plays, yet under CLF the OC always called the plays.

(11-29-2022 11:05 PM)BearcatsUC Wrote:  

(11-29-2022 10:43 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(11-29-2022 10:33 AM)cinbinsportsfan Wrote:  

(11-29-2022 09:53 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(11-29-2022 09:39 AM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  ^^^^
What I'd rather see is a guy who is building the trajectory of success and sustaining it. I admit, I don't follow Iowa St but they sure have fallen off since the 9-3 season. Campbell seems like a "safe, comfy" pick but I think we can do better.

You see what he did at Iowa State and see it as his ceiling. I see it, and view it as his floor (worst case scenario) at UC.

Edit - I am now in the camp for Gino.

Such is the nature of differing views in a coaching search.

I'd be completely in favor of Matt Campbell, who's arguably the most successful head coach at Iowa State in the last 50 years. Seriously, he's the only head coach since Earle Bruce in the 1970's to post a winning record over their tenure in Ames; that's how hard that job is.

I mean, Iowa State averaged a hair over 4 wins per season in the 30 years prior to Campbell taking the job. During his time there Iowa State averaged 7 wins per season before being rife with injuries this season, including the only top 10 finish in school history. I don't think people realize how difficult of a job Iowa State is (you have to convince recruits to play in AMES, IOWA for goodness sake) and appreciate the kind of success Campbell has had there.

Get Campbell back in his home state, give him the same resources he had at Iowa State, which he will once UC is in the Big 12, allow him to focus on the same 100-mile radius Fickell did, convince players that they can come to a large city with lots of things to do, show them this rabid fanbase and the IPF renderings and make that transition to the Big 12 all the smoother.

Great stuff. Yea, that's what I'm talking about. It's so weird to me that people look at every job as if its the same. Degree of difficulty is something we should really look at when evaluating coaches.

Campbell already knows the B12 inside and out. Not like he has to learn his conference foes from scratch.

But the real question is, does Matt Campbell love Ohio, and will that love keep Him here forever and ever?

Campbell is my pick. Love Primetime but if Florida State came calling after one year, he would be gone in a second and Cincy would be back to square one.

Edit - Gino instead of Campbell.

Had a dream last night they hired Charlie Strong as he fit some of the initial bullet points Cunningham mentioned. A literal dream hire!

(12-02-2022 08:45 AM)fnz Wrote:  Had a dream last night they hired Charlie Strong as he fit some of the initial bullet points Cunningham mentioned. A literal dream hire!

Just say no to drugs.

The longer this goes on the more I start to think it could be Deion. Deion can’t decide until after his game on Saturday. If we were going to hire Gino or one of the many randos mentioned so far, why haven’t we? What’s the hold up? Is it Prime Time?

(12-02-2022 09:03 AM)Dannyboy Wrote:  The longer this goes on the more I start to think it could be Deion. Deion can’t decide until after his game on Saturday. If we were going to hire Gino or one of the many randos mentioned so far, why haven’t we? What’s the hold up? Is it Prime Time?

Due diligence?

The only due diligence needed is to measure Coach Prime for a brand new UC track suit and give him a shiny new whistle. :)

(12-02-2022 09:23 AM)Dannyboy Wrote:  The only due diligence needed is to measure Coach Prime for a brand new UC track suit and give him a shiny new whistle. :)

Heck ya! Bring on the circus! Win or lose we'll be hella entertained for the next few years.

I'd be all over the Coach Prime Light Rail. All aboard!

I don't know if we'd win or not but the amount of $$ and national exposure that would pour in would be biblical.

If a guy is a Fickell-level recruiter but weak on Xs and Os, we will at least be decent. If he’s Belichick-level with Xs and Os, but can’t recruit, we’ll get clobbered. That’s my concern with the Kent State fellow.