No, I'm not referring to the trend of Ohio U.'s losing seasons on the gridiron.

I'm wondering about the inability of "Big Name" football coaches to succeed in more modest surroundings. I can't think of a single one who has done it.

Some of the attempts....
John Robinson (USC to UNLV)
Gerry Faust (Notre Dame to Akron)
Dick Crum (North Carolina to Kent)
George Allen (Washington Redskins to Long Beach St)

And the jury is still out on...
George O'Leary (Georgia Tech to Notre Dame-sort of to Central Florida)
Bobby Ross (Georgia Tech to pros to Army)
Mike Price (Washington St to Alabama-sort of to UTEP)

Maybe Solich can be the exception to the rule.

Gee OC, I thought you read my stuff. I went thru this recently.

The only one I think who's done it is Earle Bruce, who got fired from tOAMU and was fairly successful at Colorado St.

Hal Mumme is doing alright as well (though he dropped a level...still not bad)
Ron McBride will get a 2nd chance at Weber St as well

DiNardo was relatively successful at Vandy, considering it was Vandy, but failed at IU. Not a resounding success by any means, but hard to quantify.

Going to the NFL doesn't count IMO. Plenty of successful folks have come back from the NFL(Bill Walsh to some extent), even if they failed in the NFL. (Lou Holtz, Pete Carrol). George Allen had a winning record at LBSU, so I don't consider that a failure. So buck up Butch!

And Price didn't get fired for being a bad coach...at least not in the usual sense. So I think he'll get by.

Other failed attempts:

Mackovic (Texas to u of arizona)
Larry Smith (U$C to Mizzou)
Bill Curry (Ala to Kentucky)
Johnny Majors (Tenn to Pitt) probably the oddest since Majors was still winning at Tenn when he was fired.

Quote: Gee OC, I thought you read my stuff.

It must have been the day my wife told me to get off the PC or else.

DiNardo actually went from Vandy to LSU, then to IU, so he's an odd case.

For the sake of being accurate....

O'Leary went like this- Georgia Tech-Notre Dame (well...)-Minn. Vikings Defensive Coordinator-UCF

I thought John Robinson did a good job at UNLV. You have to remember that it was a very tough job to walk into. He brought in some nice transfers and gave the program some notoriety.

Gerry Faust wasn't quite the failure most of this board perceives him to be. He had a record of 43-53 in 9 years at Akron, actually better than Lee Owens. Not bad really for a new Division 1-A team. And we all know that Akron is a tough job because of the facility issue with the Rubber Bowl.

Dick Crum was head coach at UNC, not exactly the same pedigree as the Nebraska or Notre Dame programs.


All Ohio is really expecting from Solich is a decent enough team to command a few ESPN games a year, and go to a couple of bowls. It shouldn't be hard to do in the MAC East. The Bobcats were 4-7 this year but they played a tough conference schedule featuring Toledo and Bowling Green from the West. A very good chance for a winning season next year with a softer league schedule.

Kit-Cat Wrote:I thought John Robinson did a good job at UNLV. You have to remember that it was a very tough job to walk into. He brought in some nice transfers and gave the program some notoriety.

UNLV hasn't been very good at all.

Okie Chippewa Wrote:No, I'm not referring to the trend of Ohio U.'s losing seasons on the gridiron.

I'm wondering about the inability of "Big Name" football coaches to succeed in more modest surroundings. I can't think of a single one who has done it.

Some of the attempts....
John Robinson (USC to UNLV)
Gerry Faust (Notre Dame to Akron)
Dick Crum (North Carolina to Kent)
George Allen (Washington Redskins to Long Beach St)

And the jury is still out on...
George O'Leary (Georgia Tech to Notre Dame-sort of to Central Florida)
Bobby Ross (Georgia Tech to pros to Army)
Mike Price (Washington St to Alabama-sort of to UTEP)

Maybe Solich can be the exception to the rule.

Mike Price has actually done a great job in his first year with UTEP!

rocketfootball Wrote:

Kit-Cat Wrote:I thought John Robinson did a good job at UNLV. You have to remember that it was a very tough job to walk into. He brought in some nice transfers and gave the program some notoriety.

UNLV hasn't been very good at all.

A 28-42 career record as an MWC coach isn't great, but its sure a lot better than a 13-44 record in the Big West and WAC under the previous coach.