CC: Frame of Reference -- Other Big Ten Hires
We have enjoyed numerous discussions of potential coach candidates over the last few months. Lots of different opinions, but let's see what has WORKED already when it comes to crecent oaching candiates in the Big Ten.
Unfortunately, it seems the Big Ten is horrible at hiring coaches with goo resumes. That is why we find ourselves in the cellar.
Ohio State:
It appears that Urban Meyer is currently the best coach in the Big Ten. (Ugh.) But, he is also the only "A-list" candidate hired in the Big Ten in recent memory (let's not discuss RichRod).
Candidate: Home Run hire and very good results.
Michigan State:
Mark Dantonio is probably the second best coach in the Big Ten. He has had some really good years and some really mediocre ones that eite coaches, like Meyer, do not have.
As a candidate, he was a .500 coach at Cincinatti. An uninspiring hire. His best credential was being OSU's DC. (OSU coach does well in Big Ten.... is there a trend?)
Candiate: Weak, but very good results.
Wisconsin:
It shouldi be noted that another program was able to take away the HC from one of the best performing teams over the last ten years in the Big Ten. Anyway, after Beleima left,Wisco hired a guy with a middling record in a lower conference with ONE good year to his name. It has worked out well so far for them.
Candiate: Middling, but good results so far.
Penn State:
They hired a guy with good, but not great record at a dormat team in another power conference. He went 6-6 this year. Hard to tell how that is going to work out.
Rest of the field:
Nothing to see here.
During Michigan's swoon, the Big Ten has not done well nationally on the field or in hiring coaches. The only A-List hire has been Meyer at OSU. Otherwise, the conference hires guys with middling resumes BEFORE coming to the conference. Some of them have done well once here, but it seems that may be a reflection of the state of the conference to some degree.
Prior to Meyer, OSU also hired the guy who won the last NC in the Big Ten. He was a guy from a lower DIVISION who won a lot, but was unproven in FBS. That worked out well too. (Meyer was once in a similar position at BG).
Maybe hiring the best coach with a great record, regadless of college level is the BEST idea?
Anyway, If Michigan doesn't get a home run hire, I think a guy like Doc Holliday (see post below) or Greg Schiano will be as an inspiring a hire as any other team has in the Big Ten (save OSU). WIth a hire like that, Michigan could go back to competing for and winning the occassional Big Ten title (provided the league doesn't improve too much).
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:51 AM ^
Umm I think Jerry Kill should be included in this. He's done a damn good job at Minnesota. He had success but at lower levels so not a huge name.
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:59 AM ^
Kill is deinfitely one of the better resumes hired in to the Big Ten recently in the "other category". He fits into that Meyer/Tressel category of winning a lot at a lower level. But, not to the same degree. He seems to always lose early in the post-season (playoff level) or lose a bowl game.
Plsu, I didn't include him because he hasn't done mucha at Minny so far. They look like a "good" team this year, but not a great team.
He has an good, not great resume and middling result s at Minny so far. Not mucht o be learned from it....yet?
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:52 AM ^
i dunno, i think a lot of B1G hires have goo resumes. i'd probably throw hoke into that category.
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:53 AM ^
is a good resume?
December 3rd, 2014 at 12:08 PM ^
I'm so confused. And is goo a bad thing or good thing?
December 3rd, 2014 at 12:13 PM ^
He said "goo" resumes which I would agree that Hoke had that.
December 3rd, 2014 at 12:54 PM ^
I'd rather have fun with minor typos in the OP than post something meaningful.
December 3rd, 2014 at 12:58 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:55 AM ^
I can see omitting Minnesota's mostly-great hire of Kill, or Northwestern's mostly-great hire of Fitzgerald, on the basis of those schools not being historically first-tier B1G teams.
But how can you leave Nebraska out of the analysis? Seems like there's something to see there.
December 3rd, 2014 at 12:00 PM ^
Pellini was hired a while ago and Nebraska was in the Big 12 when considering candidates. I wanted to focus on people hiring a B10 coach.
December 3rd, 2014 at 12:06 PM ^
But I still wonder if you harbor an anti-cat bias:
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:56 AM ^
I hate to admit it, but Dantonio might need to be first. Can't really argue with Meyer's record, but he has the resources and starting talent of Ohio State. Dantonio built from the ground from a school that is second fiddle in its own state, let alone the conference or country.
Also, Kill. Doing what he's done at the dumpster fire that was Minnesota is incredible.
December 3rd, 2014 at 12:06 PM ^
All the Big Ten teams (save OSU) can be considered to be at a talent disadvantage. But, if you start giving Kill tons of credit for a winning record at Minny, then you need to do the same with Ferentz and Fitzgerald, etc.
As for Meyer v. Dantonio, Meyer has the better resume. He wins. Period. He turned around OSU faster and has done so with backups and young guys in lots of positions that MSU might have red-shirts given Dantonio's tenure. They also beat up on MSU pretty solidly in EL this year. Plus, while MSU is second-fiddle in its own state, Dantonio really struck the iron when the first fiddle was flpoundering. That helped a bit.
December 3rd, 2014 at 12:44 PM ^
If by turning around Ohio State means not having Joe Bauserman throw 23 passes per game into the 46th row of the stands, then yes - Urban Meyer turned them around.
In all honesty, Ohio State was pretty stacked with talent and all they needed was a head coach. Luke Fickell wasn't up to the task. Urban cherry picked that job because he knew it would be much easier to win with Tressel's players in a crappy B1G.
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:58 AM ^
that comes with the winning that Urban Meyer brings is beyond what I think Michigan should be willing to pay. And I'm not talking about money...
December 3rd, 2014 at 12:05 PM ^
is why the Big 10 is perceived to be down. Just because the SEC is constantly trumpeted as the best conference doesn't make it so. Yeah, Alabama has been pretty dominate. But look at the SEC East. Now that we have play offs, we'll have the results of head-to-head games to judge the best teams, not just the bloviating of "experts."
And I think you misjudge Michigan fans if you think they'll settle for the "occasional" Big 10 title.
December 3rd, 2014 at 12:12 PM ^
we're better than all those other schools What rational person wants to live in Columbus or East Lasning?
December 3rd, 2014 at 12:20 PM ^
I don't really think the Big Ten's coaching hires have been atypical for power 5 conferences. Slam dunks are rare. Urban Meyer has to have take a sabbatical for Ohio State to have landed him. Alabama needed Nick Saban to not want to be in the NFL any longer. Otherwise, you look at the SEC coaching hires and they're not all that different, with the possible exception of Bielema. Malzahn was an OC of a great team and had one year of HC experience, a resume not all that different from Gary Andersen. Hugh Freeze coached for five years at FBS level (only one as HC) before landing the Ole Miss job. Butch Jones had so-so success following Brian Kelly everywhere. Florida, Mississippi St., Kentucky, Vanderbilt all hired guys with no HC experience. You can't tell me that these hires had better resumes than what the Big Ten had been getting.
Maybe the only real difference between the Big Ten and SEC is that the SEC has more schools willing to take the chance on pursuing reach candidates and have gotten fairly lucky with it (Petrino, Spurrier, Beilema).
December 3rd, 2014 at 12:42 PM ^
First forget about compring the Big 10 to the SEC - we are playing a different sport. We are the 5th best conf, lets worry about passing the ACC and Big 12 and comparing to those guys.
Comparable analysis for Big 12:
- Nebraska (at the time) - hired a big school defensive coordinator
- Oklahoma - hired a big school defensive coordinator
- Texas - hired one of the best candidates IMO of the past half decade, both a stellar defensive coordinator at a big school and a guy who then went on to build a track record at a solid school and did very well there.
- TCU - was not in the Big 12 when Patterson was promoted from DC
- Baylor - hired a hot offensive guru head coach from Houston
- Ok State - hired OC from within
Was there a lot of big splashy hires here? Almost none - Stoops was no sure thing, he was basically Will Muschamp of his time. Same with Pelini. Only Charlie Strong I'd consider a big hire and certainly not of Saban or Meyer quality.
If I did the same for the ACC I'd have an even weaker group of coaches
- FSU - hired a coach in waiting who was a OC
- Clemson - promoted assistant HC/WR coach from within
- Miami FL - Temple's coach
- NC - Southern Miss coach
The Pac 12
- Oregon - promoted OC
- Stanford - promoted OC
- ASU - "failed" UM coach
- Arizona - hired successful mercenary vagabond via Tulsa/Pitt
- UCLA - really the only "hot hire" in the conference with Mora Jr
- USC - Washington's coach who had ho hum results
- Washington - Peterson from BSU
I don't see what the Big 10 has done as very different than any conf other than the SEC and the SEC I'd argue is not that different either. Richt was a coordinator, Malzahn had 1 whopping year of HC experience, Miles was a solid but not elite head coach at OK State, Mullen was a coordinator not highly coveted even like Strong was last year, Arkansas got Big Bert, TN got a decent coach who was a poor man's Brian Kelly, and SC got a big hire. Florida went with a coordinator that did not work out.
December 3rd, 2014 at 2:08 PM ^
You left off some impressive hires:
Washington State hired Mike Leach, who had impressive results at Texas Tech
Oregon State hired a guy who was an assistant HC at USC after serving as their OC
Cal brought in the head coach from La Tech
Also, it's too late to edit now, your ASU and Arizona descriptions should be reversed.
December 3rd, 2014 at 12:49 PM ^
It was good after that 11-2 season. Since then he has had 5 seasons with an overall losing record in the Big East and a terrible NFL tenure.
Recent history suggests he's a mediocre coach. The main reason to hire him would seem to be his availability.
December 3rd, 2014 at 12:54 PM ^
I'd want to see Schiano coach somewhere else before being considered here. It makes me feel bad inside to think of him as the U-M coach.
December 3rd, 2014 at 1:08 PM ^
68-67 overall record. One season finished in top 25. Erratic record from year to year.
I agree, sir.
December 3rd, 2014 at 1:39 PM ^
RR was a pretty big "A list" hire at the time, even IF half of the old hats didn't want/like him. Bacon's book has given me an awful lot to think about in the way of counterfactuals, especially since RR was named coach of the year the same day Hoke was fired.
In any case, we all know neither of our past two hires worked out. Now to avoid settling for Schiano...