The Next Head Coach

[freescooter]

I am hearing from several sources that UConn is not interested.

There is a God...

 

[freescooter]

I have to say that I prefer a guy who comes from a lower league. I especially like the MAC guys and for the 100th time, Pete Lembo a lot. He has taken a program that had fallen off th emap after Brady Hoke left and pretty quickly turned it around. 6-6 in year 1, 9-4 year 2 and they'll very likely win at least 10 this year. they have beaten Indiana(X2), South Florida, Army, Virginia. He is a northeastern guy from Long Island but has coached in the northeast, southeast at Elon and in the mid-west at Ball State. Was recruiting coordinator at Dartmouth early in his career so he gets the academic issues, too. He had 1 losing season, his first at Elon, which had had 5 state losing seasons, and 8 of its previous 10. he turned it around and had 4 straight winning years before he left to take the Ball State job. Other successful guys who came through the MAC include Brady Hoke at Michigan (Ball State 2002-2008) Brian Kelley (Central Michigan 2004-2006) Butch Jones (Central Michigan 2006-2008), Urban Meyer (Bowling Green 2001-2002). Very competitive league that really tests coaches. Lembo would be a great get for us.

 

[FDNY99]

UConnReport​

1:40pm via Web
Hearing from a source that Eric Mangini would listen if #UConn reached out to him about the job

Gawd - December can't come quick 'nuff!!! Guessing Mangini's agent sent an email or made a call.

THE LAST GUY I WANT TO SEE!!!!!! He was a disaster as a HC in the NFL...has zero college experience recruiting. The younger version of the guy who was just fired!!!

 

[FDNY99]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...e-become-college-football-head-coaches/page/4

Medic thanks for the link...there is some good guys on that list. I like what Bobo has done at UGA (especially with all his playmakers healthy).

 

[noeynox]

THE LAST GUY I WANT TO SEE!!!!!! He was a disaster as a HC in the NFL...has zero college experience recruiting. The younger version of the guy who was just fired!!!

Hate to say this but I agree. He also has the personality of a bump on a log and very much had a bunker mentality when it came to information. I want guy who is almost a blow hard about pimping the program or the exact opposite of Mangenius.

 

[FDNY99]

Hate to say this but I agree. He also has the personality of a bump on a log and very much had a bunker mentality when it came to information. I want guy who is almost a blow hard about pimping the program or the exact opposite of Mangenius.

If he wants to get back into coaching he needs to go back to the NFL and be a DC. He should stick to television if he can't do that.

 

[Sean]

I'd also be interested if UConn came calling.

I have 6 years experience in the insurance industry, and I work in the same company as famed poster Whaler11. Pretty sure that makes me a better fit than Mangini!

 

[specialisthusky]

I have to say that I prefer a guy who comes from a lower league. I especially like the MAC guys and for the 100th time, Pete Lembo a lot. He has taken a program that had fallen off th emap after Brady Hoke left and pretty quickly turned it around. 6-6 in year 1, 9-4 year 2 and they'll very likely win at least 10 this year. they have beaten Indiana(X2), South Florida, Army, Virginia. He is a northeastern guy from Long Island but has coached in the northeast, southeast at Elon and in the mid-west at Ball State. Was recruiting coordinator at Dartmouth early in his career so he gets the academic issues, too. He had 1 losing season, his first at Elon, which had had 5 state losing seasons, and 8 of its previous 10. he turned it around and had 4 straight winning years before he left to take the Ball State job. Other successful guys who came through the MAC include Brady Hoke at Michigan (Ball State 2002-2008) Brian Kelley (Central Michigan 2004-2006) Butch Jones (Central Michigan 2006-2008), Urban Meyer (Bowling Green 2001-2002). Very competitive league that really tests coaches. Lembo would be a great get for us.

I'm 100% with you on this. He is my number one pick.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

I am not crazy about that Bleacher Report list. Pease has not done well at Florida at all. Go read a Gator board if you want to see what they think of him. Florida offense is brutal...and boring. Bobo also takes a lot of heat from UGA fans.

 

[FDNY99]

I know a lot of you guys are talking up Ambrose, Lembo, and Moorhead. All have done good jobs were they currently are...but if you look at the background of the 2 football coaches Manuel hired at Buffalo..which was the same criteria he used to hire Mike Cavanaugh as hockey coach at UCONN...just don't think those guys fit that m/o.

 

[FluxTZ]

I know a lot of you guys are talking up Ambrose, Lembo, and Moorhead. All have done good jobs were they currently are...but if you look at the background of the 2 football coaches Manuel hired at Buffalo..which was the same criteria he used to hire Mike Cavanaugh as hockey coach at UCONN...just don't think those guys fit that m/o.

Can you please specifically explain what that criteria is?

 

[FDNY99]

Can you please specifically explain what that criteria is?

Manuel has chosen his 2 football hires at UB and his hockey hire here at UCONN from successful D-1 programs in their respective sports. They are usually highly rated Asst's who have worked for very successful college coaches (his 2 football hires worked for Tom Osborne and Brian Kelly respectively..Cavanaugh for Jerry York at BC) that run VERY high level programs (Nebraska, Cincinnati the year they represented the BE in the BCS, BC). These guys have experienced winning at the highest level..what it took to get to that pont..and what it took to stay there. Could he deviate from this...yes...but he seems to stick to his plan.

 

[metsfan2323]

The thing I like most about Lembo is he is known to be a thinking man's coach who is known for his successful halftime adjustments, the smartest man in the room type of guy (Gtown grad) who is three times a success at his coaching stops. We need a guy who can coach up the existing talent on the roster, not someone who is used to having 4 and 5 star athletes because they ain't coming here.

Lembo also grew up a Michigan fan and has a picture of Bo Schembechler in his office.

I don't put too much stock into Warde's hiring history, too small a sample size and he obviously can't hire a rising MAC coach when he is at Buffalo in the MAC. A different strategy can be adopted at UCONN. I highly favor hiring a guy who has proven success as a head coach. The MAC has a long history of producing great coaches (Urban Meyer, Saban, Kelley, Butch Jones), to not consider them as a top option would be shortsighted and extremely foolish.

Matt Campbell and Dave Clawson are also doing a great job in the MAC.

 

[metsfan2323]

THE LAST GUY I WANT TO SEE!!!!!! He was a disaster as a HC in the NFL...has zero college experience recruiting. The younger version of the guy who was just fired!!!

Mangini is nothing like P at all. Completely different. Mangini is known to be a highly intelligent football man.

A complete disaster in the NFL? He surprisingly took the Jets to the playoff's year one, Pennington got hurt year two, Favre came in year three and the Jets were 8-3 and if I remember right # 1 in ESPN's power rankings after 11 games, then Favre tore his throwing arm bicep and the season collapsed to a 9 - 7 finish. (I'm a lifelong Jets fan so I remember Mangini very well) To be fair he was not a disaster with the Jets.

Mangini failed in just two seasons at Cleveland but who hasn't. Mike Holmgren couldn't turn them around either. Bill Belichick also failed at Cleveland. If I remember right Mangini was also Cleveland's GM in his first year (he traded Braylan Edwards to the Jets and made all of the draft picks, draft day trade with Jets so they could pick Sanchez) then Holmgren came in year two as GM which created an awkward situation after Mangini won his last 4 games in 2009

The biggest criticism of Mangini as a head coach was that he treated his players like college kids instead of professionals. He had a lot of rules NFL players didn't like and he would often drop pop quizzes on his players which they hated. It's unclear whether or not that type of thing would be a problem at the college level. In some ways his disciplinarian type of style reminds me of Edsall.

There is plenty of reason to not want Mangini (no college experience) but as a coach he has nothing in common with P.

 

[Colt house75]

The thing I like most about Lembo is he is known to be a thinking man's coach who is known for his successful halftime adjustments, the smartest man in the room type of guy (Gtown grad) who is three times a success at his coaching stops. We need a guy who can coach up the existing talent on the roster, not someone who is used to having 4 and 5 star athletes because they ain't coming here.

Lembo also grew up a Michigan fan and has a picture of Bo Schembechler in his office.

I don't put too much stock into Warde's hiring history, too small a sample size and he obviously can't hire a rising MAC coach when he is at Buffalo in the MAC. A different strategy can be adopted at UCONN. I highly favor hiring a guy who has proven success as a head coach. The MAC has a long history of producing great coaches (Urban Meyer, Saban, Kelley, Butch Jones), to not consider them as a top option would be shortsighted and extremely foolish.

Matt Campbell and Dave Clawson are also doing a great job in the MAC.

Ditto above and agree on Lembo as being the perfect choice coming out of the MAC, successful HC at every stop. Has taken each program and was successful over a number of years. Has the smarts
and the ability to recruit in different areas. Has proven he can win. In the next two years, he will leave Ball State for a p5 program if we don't get him. His base salary at Ball State is currently at $350K.
This is a huge step up for him. Even if we don't go to PP $1.7MM per year, enough incentives can be built in to get him to that or above. PETE LEMBO. BALL STATE. ...provided he would he even want to take over the PP-GDL train wreck.

 

[SubbaBub]

Of all the names thrown out, Lembo is the most intriguing. He runs a program. He is not working in the shadow of a top name coach, he doesn't have a geographic recruiting advantage, conference or a name program advantage to help bring in talent. He's been successful against P-5 teams.

I think his resume would translate well at UConn. The question is, Is he waiting for a P-5 job offer?

 

[ZooCougar]

Manuel has chosen his 2 football hires at UB and his hockey hire here at UCONN from successful D-1 programs in their respective sports. They are usually highly rated Asst's who have worked for very successful college coaches (his 2 football hires worked for Tom Osborne and Brian Kelly respectively..Cavanaugh for Jerry York at BC) that run VERY high level programs (Nebraska, Cincinnati the year they represented the BE in the BCS, BC). These guys have experienced winning at the highest level..what it took to get to that pont..and what it took to stay there. Could he deviate from this...yes...but he seems to stick to his plan.

Well, we could be pulling from a higher grade of candidates at UConn vs. Buffalo. But you make a good point.

 

[ruskin]

I'm not buying this idea that we have to pay over 2 million, paying extra money doesn't guarantee anything. Bring in a young head coach who has had success at a lower level and dangle the possibility of a 2 million dollar salary in front of him as an incentive.

By the way, P was paid very well, and all that money we gave him bought us a dumpster fire.

I think over $2 million to the right hire sends a good message. The only reason P got $1.6 million is because Hathaway had no concept of the market other than what Randy was getting at Maryland and was determined to stick one up RE's butt by paying P the rough equivalent of $1 more.

 

[ZooCougar]

We should talk to Mangini, if anything it gets the school publicity.

He is a high risk, high reward hire. I think he knows how to win football games, but I am not sure he gets the college game and its unique challenges.

 

[billybud]

As long as we're looking at coordinators, James Coley spent two seasons under Nick Saban with the Miami Dolphins, a few years under Jimbo Fisher at Florida State and is now an OC calling the plays for the undefeated Miami Hurricanes.
"Growing up in Florida and spending much of his coaching days in the area, Coley knows the hot recruiting spots like the back of his hand. Because of this, he is widely considered one of the top recruiters in the country, which will be a reason why a struggling program would offer him a hefty paycheck to be a head coach. Coley is only 40 and would have no problem bringing in a top-10 recruiting class anywhere he ends up. Now he just needs a team to take a chance on him."
We've got the money to attract him. He's young, is a winner, wants to be a HC and this would be a great turnaround gig for him. It's also a chance for us to get a great recruiter from the FL area. We'll need that with our current AAC affiliation. He can make a name for himself with us. I'd call that a win-win.

Coley is a great recruiter...kids respond to him. He never got to call plays as FSU's OC (Jimbo does) so he moved to Miami to pursue his calling. He will make a good HC...but as a hands on recruiter, he is at his best.

 

[ZooCougar]

Coley is a great recruiter...kids respond to him. He never got to call plays as FSU's OC (Jimbo does) so he moved to Miami to pursue his calling. He will make a good HC...but as a hands on recruiter, he is at his best.

How much hands on recruiting does a HC do?

 

[billybud]

my point.

 

[tduconn]

I'm with those who think the next coach may come from a MAC school.....if it isn't Weist. And unfortunately, no matter how good a MAC ,MWC, etc assistant may be, fans will scratch their heads and declare Manual "a looser"

The identity of all those P5 assistants that have great minds, are great recruiters, come from prominant P5 schools, and that are ready for the next step do not have the same advantages that lead to their current successes ....... at UCONN.

For instance, a "top ten recruiter" from a region recognized as a hot bed of football talent has an easier time of recruiting for a team in a P5 conference that has a rich tradition of being a ranked team a portion of their history; maybe has played, or can play for national championships; plays before a multitude of fans; has successful and recognize household names in the NFL, etc.

UConn has none of that. Some have suggested there may be some CT high school coaches that have discourage their best players from going to UConn. I find it hard to believe any HS coach in the hotbeds of football talent would seriously say to their players that if you get an offer from UConn.......TAKE IT!

For example ....... southern/midwestern HS coach says "You got offers from Miami, FSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Georgia, LSU, UConn......take the UConn offer quick!"......I don't think so. Those good recruiters will not see the same success at UConn.

And if the assistants are as good as their accolades.......why would they choose a AAC conference team like UConn. (Perception, perception, perception) I'm guessing the more prominent schools looking for a new coach can easily trump whatever UConn offers monitarily.......especially if the accolades are as reported. Heck....the TV revenues alone will cover the difference.

Warde has a very, very tough sales job.......I'm not sure he or anyone else could pull it of to the level of fans expectations.

I can be wrong, however.......and I hope I am.

 

[bobbyinaz]

I'm with those who think the next coach may come from a MAC school.....if it isn't Weist. And unfortunately, no matter how good a MAC ,MWC, etc assistant may be, fans will scratch their heads and declare Manual "a looser"

The identity of all those P5 assistants that have great minds, are great recruiters, come from prominant P5 schools, and that are ready for the next step do not have the same advantages that lead to their current successes ....... at UCONN.

For instance, a "top ten recruiter" from a region recognized as a hot bed of football talent has an easier time of recruiting for a team in a P5 conference that has a rich tradition of being a ranked team a portion of their history; maybe has played, or can play for national championships; plays before a multitude of fans; has successful and recognize household names in the NFL, etc.

UConn has none of that. Some have suggested there may be some CT high school coaches that have discourage their best players from going to UConn. I find it hard to believe any HS coach in the hotbeds of football talent would seriously say to their players that if you get an offer from UConn.......TAKE IT!

For example ....... southern/midwestern HS coach says "You got offers from Miami, FSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Georgia, LSU, UConn......take the UConn offer quick!"......I don't think so. Those good recruiters will not see the same success at UConn.

And if the assistants are as good as their accolades.......why would they choose a AAC conference team like UConn. (Perception, perception, perception) I'm guessing the more prominent schools looking for a new coach can easily trump whatever UConn offers monitarily.......especially if the accolades are as reported. Heck....the TV revenues alone will cover the difference.

Warde has a very, very tough sales job.......I'm not sure he or anyone else could pull it of to the level of fans expectations.

I can be wrong, however.......and I hope I am.

But we are going to pay Mark Richt $2.5MM per year to be our next coach......

 

[ZooCougar]

I am kind of warming to the idea of a MAC head coach. They definitely come battle tested. We should be able to lure one of them. The biggest thing is that we can pay them better.

I like the idea of hiring a current head coach because it won't be like he will be building a staff from scratch.