(06-15-2018 05:49 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(06-15-2018 05:44 PM)Tiki Owl Wrote:  

(06-15-2018 05:30 PM)Minnewaska Owl Wrote:  

(06-15-2018 05:04 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(06-15-2018 04:56 PM)OldOwl Wrote:  Looks like a good hire. Maybe Berkman will join him as an assistant.

I think a coaching staff roster of Pope (to ensure continuity in recruiting), Berkman (volunteer) and one other former alum (Janish, Cruz) would be a home run.

I agree with your statement Walt, but after reading Berkman's incredible presentation, it just doesn't feel like Lance is looking to come in as an assistant. Plus, if he were to somehow agree to be an assistant, I think it is less likely that Andy Pettitte would be as enthused about coming along - which was part of the plan if Lance had been selected head coach. I could be wrong, but that is my gut feeling. Lance had such a comprehensive, exciting plan in place, that seeing him passed over has taken the wind out of my sails.
Rarely does a college Athletic Director or Professional Sports team general manager get the opportunity to make a coaching decision that, although a bit risky, would absolutely set the fan base on fire. With so much support and buy-in from former players, scouts, fans, etc., picking Lance would have re-ignited the Rice baseball fan base. You just don't get opportunities like that very often, and JK instead decided to go with a more traditional, less risky, pick. That disappoints me.
About 12 years ago the Texans were in a similar situation. Say what you will about Vince Young's ability to be a long-term QB success in the NFL. The fact is, if the Texans had drafted him as our number 1 pick, this town would have absolutely exploded! It would have been "Luv Ya Blue" all over again. But, we decided to go with a more conventional, less risky pick, and never got to experience what might have been. Even if Vince had only been successful for a few years, you can't deny how exciting things would have been for those few years.
I agree with Tiki - Coach Bragga should be able to get us back to being a hungry, spirited, more fundamentally sound ball club. And as Walt says, I would like to see us keep Pope and some of the other former players involved. But, I think by passing on Lance we missed our chance at having something great happen.

Re:Berkman. If Lance does want to be a DI coach some day and believes the reason he wasn’t selected this time was his lack of college coaching experience then I think he would be very interested to be on Bragga’s staff.

I think the bathroom bill killed Lance's chances. I don't agree with that as an appropriate reason, but I think that is the reason. If he wants to be a D1 head coach, he needs to go work as an assistant at an SEC school. He has a much better chance of being hired somewhere in the SEC.

Owlmoha had some interesting revelations just prior to the Bragga hire. Based on what was said, I don't think the issue with Lance was the bathroom bill but rather his efforts to become the next head coach and a desire by JK to mend relationships with the WG crowd. Because of that, I doubt Berkman will be on this staff.