Coaching Carousel Thread
Maybe I’m just adding to the thread madness but I thought we could summarize it all in here as it stands today and not have a new thread every rumor. If not, neg away.
Riley to USC, Kelly to LSU, Pry to Virginia Tech, Stoops signs extension at Kentucky, Clawson signs extension at Wake Forrest, Washington gets Deboer, Florida signed Billy Napier and obviously Franklin and Mel signed extensions at their schools.
Notre Dame and Oklahoma are currently the big openings that will continue to the domino effect. who will they get and what falls from there. Miami and potentially Oregon could be in this soon if the new AD doesn’t keep Diaz.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:20 PM ^
Fickell to Notre Dame after UC's season ends.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:28 PM ^
UC renegotiating paying him $7m/year. Crazy times, but ND opening definitely giving him leverage. Some think he's holding out for OSU job, and I would tend to agree.
At the end of the Internet they're saying Freeman is locked up for ND's new coach. Fun times, just glad to be in the gallery for this one. A lot of big jobs open this year.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:34 PM ^
ND would be crazy to not take a legit run at Fickell. That would be a home run for ND. Much more risk to go with Freeman. And honestly, it would be crazy for Fickell to pass on ND if they want him. There's only, what, 4 midwest blue bloods and he would never take one of those jobs. Is he going to stay at Cinici indefinitely until OSU opens up? What if Day is legit good and stays there 10 years? He's reached the pinnicle of what can be achieved at Cinci. And he still may be left out of the playoff...
November 30th, 2021 at 3:01 PM ^
ND is going to have to pay a lot for their HC this year, unlike Kelly who was making something like $2.7M a year in salary (I'm sure there were other benefits but still quite low). They should try to get Fickell but I do wonder if he'd struggle a bit even sustaining Kelly's success at ND.
November 30th, 2021 at 4:01 PM ^
Whatever. I think Fickell would do well, but I would personally just prefer OSUs back of plan be at a blue blood of his own that aligns with his personal beliefs and desires. Makes it harder to walk away if Day doesn't work out at OSU. Plus would be hilarious considering ND and OSU start a home and home next year...
November 30th, 2021 at 4:17 PM ^
Wow, $2.7M was crazy low money for a school of ND's stature. Would be interesting to know if ND even tried to counter any LSU offer or did they say good bye BK, we are Notre Dame - FERGODSAKES - and any coach would be honored to work here for less than Tucker money!
November 30th, 2021 at 6:33 PM ^
Fickell would be crazy to turn down ND on the hope that the OSU job opens up. He has reached his ceiling at UC and it’s time to cash in the UC once in a decade season. If OSU opens up he can always jump there if offered, “dream job” exception and all.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:34 PM ^
I would’ve thought the same about ND and Freeman, however the AD said in his interview that they would not be naming an interim coach for any post season games. Just the wording and body language gave me pause on Freeman, definitely made it sound like he was not in his top group of choices.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:51 PM ^
I still want Fickell to ND ASAP, then both Cincy and ND make playoff, then Fickell coaches ND in playoff after beating them earlier this season
Then he beats OSU in Columbus in the first game next year
He'd also look great as a new addition to my ND-schadenfreude collage
November 30th, 2021 at 3:18 PM ^
I actually want them to take their time. I would like for them to lose some recruits, preferably to us and then dangle that carrot in front of Fickell a lot and that causes a distraction for his team should we play them in the playoffs.
November 30th, 2021 at 9:27 PM ^
I don't see ND making a move on Fickell until Cincy is eliminated. Especially if ND makes the playoff. It would be a PR shitshow nightmare if they faced each other in the playoff. It looks like ND is going to have to wait until Fickell is ready to leave. We had to wait for Harbaugh until the 49'ers were eliminated. Funny how Kelly had no such loyalty to his team.
November 30th, 2021 at 3:05 PM ^
I read that a different way. By not naming an interim they build distance between the permanent position and whatever happens in the post-season. That could as be seen as working in Freeman's favor.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:34 PM ^
Bill O'Brien has the perfect name to be Notre Dame's next coach. Doesn't get much more Irish than that.
Oh, and before I forget, to hell with Notre Dame.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:41 PM ^
so did george o'leary
November 30th, 2021 at 2:47 PM ^
Speaking of, the swahili-speaking, blues-standard penning, Nobel-Prize winning physicist O'Leary is available
November 30th, 2021 at 6:47 PM ^
I come to MGoBlog for this kind of content. Well done sir.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:48 PM ^
They can't have our quarterbacks. Not sure how McNamara's Band hasn't become a common term. And McCarthy is right there too.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:21 PM ^
This really should be a sticky for the next few weeks, but people don't seem to notice the sticky threads either
November 30th, 2021 at 2:35 PM ^
I'm waiting for people to realize that every thread is really just a posbang thread in disguise.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:52 PM ^
Yep. Day 4 of this thumbs-up orgy
November 30th, 2021 at 2:40 PM ^
It actually is not a bad idea, although here's what gives me pause -
1) As many likely know, to sticky something puts it at the top of the list of threads, but to see that, you have to click "Go To MGoBoard", which I surmise enough people don't do that it would actually get ignored by someone rather quickly.
2) I could change the timestamp on this thread and fool the interface into thinking it was created in the future - that would keep it at the top of the webpage listing as well as the full list. Of course, then it takes up space on the webpage and sometimes that leads to faster thread creation because people won't see other topics, won't click on the link to full list of topics, and we would net more redundancy.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:22 PM ^
Upvote from me. It's the last day of No-Neg November
November 30th, 2021 at 3:01 PM ^
Every OP is a POSBANG!
November 30th, 2021 at 2:22 PM ^
There's a lot going on!
November 30th, 2021 at 2:23 PM ^
One pinned post for all this is, actually a good idea.
Was really hoping someone would lure Stoops away from Kentucky: Goodwin
Hating Riley to USC: Jackson & Conerly
Want more five stars, not seeing impacts on recruits in our favor as yet.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:26 PM ^
More than Stoops we need someone to poach Vince Marrow (Goodwin's primary recruiter). That guy has worked some magic on the trail for a program that's been a punchline for decades.
November 30th, 2021 at 3:06 PM ^
Yep, Marrow is who is driving the UK recruiting train. You remove him, their Midwest and particular Ohio ties dwindling down bigtime.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:24 PM ^
Oklahoma job is interesting. The next coach is almost definitely not going live up to expectations with the competition level in the SEC. Obviously someone is going to go their to get paid but I don't see it ending well.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:56 PM ^
Riley running off USC was incredibly shrewd because OU (and Texas to an even greater extent) were going to be in for a rude awakening next year and that would have tarnished Riley's name a bit.
November 30th, 2021 at 3:20 PM ^
Agree with this as well. Riley just saw what was coming down the pike for OU and Texas and did the math a few steps ahead:
Option 1: Path to the conference championship and playoff, which will be the ultimate measure of success - LSU, Alabama, Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas, TAMU, SEC East Champion
Option 2: Path to the conference championship and playoff, which will be the ultimate measure of success - uhh.. UCLA?, Utah?, Arizona State?, PAC12 North Champion (i.e. Oregon)
The prime-ist of real estate for elite QB and skill position recruiting.. this one is kind of a no brainer if the money was right. And it sounds like it was.
November 30th, 2021 at 3:26 PM ^
Yep, he sold high. Matt Campbell may have waited too long. He was the golden boy last year and now...crickets for the most part.
November 30th, 2021 at 3:34 PM ^
I would be mildly surprised if Stoops doesn't come back until they can bring in someone to groom for the job.
November 30th, 2021 at 9:12 PM ^
I thought the same thing. He is already the interim coach for their bowl game. They should extend that arrangement until they find a replacement; however long that takes.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:25 PM ^
Dominos is the right analogy, this definitely escalated quickly. Happy to be the program with a stable coaching situation and at a bargain price! Go Blue!
November 30th, 2021 at 2:27 PM ^
With Mike Hart’s name being mentioned for the opening at Temple, who else could Michigan lose, and the likely replacements?
November 30th, 2021 at 2:34 PM ^
Umm I am now seeing rumors of Courtney Morgan leaving for Washington. This would be a devastating loss, especially for recruiting. Warde needs to open the checkbook to prevent it.
November 30th, 2021 at 3:31 PM ^
Yes, that would suck, especially at a pivotal portion of the recruiting season. Dudek wasn’t exactly killing it and we needed a makeover in the recruiting dept.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:42 PM ^
The downvoters demand positive vibes only. Obviously I don't want to lose anyone, but coaches considered for promotion out of the program is generally a healthy sign of where you're at. Ideally the smoke remains purely smoke.
I'd be surprised if Temple went with Hart at this stage, but an OC job could be tempting? Gattis has been mentioned for VaTech (now filled), Duke, Akron. Duke could be interesting given where he's from.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:49 PM ^
Wasn't Chris Partridge the one taking the Temple HC position? Warde would do well to keep this staff intact. IF there's ever a year we need to, this is the year. Need to hold on to this momentum and carry it into recruiting.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:55 PM ^
Nobody is taking it yet. Bruce Feldman writes an article for every opening with some names he expects to be considered. Partridge and Hart were on that list for Temple. There hasn't been anything beyond that.
November 30th, 2021 at 3:00 PM ^
Huh... Just last year all of the coaching turnover on Harbaugh's staff over the years was considered a failure to maintain continuity and consistency. No bother that most of those departures were for promotions...
But I do agree - when young guys are moving elsewhere for promotion, your head coach is doing something right to develop (and market) them.
November 30th, 2021 at 3:27 PM ^
I’d be surprised if Hart left yet. He’s been waiting forever to be back at Michigan. He’s now got it and has us one win from the playoffs. Eventually if he doesn’t get an OC job here he may leave though.
November 30th, 2021 at 5:07 PM ^
I think Gattis is the most likely departure. He has been here for an extended period and is close to achieving the ultimate prize for an OC. His stock is near max for a move to an HC position in a great year for HC opportunities. Hart/Moore as co-OCs? I could see that happening. I could also see JayBaugh getting a promotion opportunity outside the program.
November 30th, 2021 at 9:18 PM ^
Hart? Hasn't he only ever been a quality control coach and a running backs coach?
November 30th, 2021 at 2:27 PM ^
Call me old fashioned, but I think that it is bad for college football for coaches to leave major programs like ND and Oklahoma for other schools. A program's character comes in part from having the same coach for a long time--I don't like Brian Kelly, but I like to dislike him. And coaches moving like this makes the sport seem all the more mercenary. College football at its best is one culture competing against another, and this decreases that. A coach's recruiting pitch should be more than "Come to the school that paid me the most money!"
November 30th, 2021 at 2:34 PM ^
Couldn't agree with you more. And, this point is even more poignant with Harbaugh's decision to pass along his bonus money. Gives some very much needed perspective on the game of college football.
November 30th, 2021 at 4:19 PM ^
Maybe Harbaugh becomes the Tom Brady of college coaches, intentionally asking for a lesser salary to obtain the best assistants possible year in and year out?? And then maybe he can win multiple national champs form here on out? One can dream.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:36 PM ^
Couldn't happen to a better program. Can you imagine if Bama, Cincy, and OSU lose next week? That would get a Kelley-less ND into the playoff.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:39 PM ^
Yes, I'm torn here, because I am all for bad things happening to ND.
November 30th, 2021 at 2:53 PM ^
I think what you describe is how college football used to be. There are still echoes of that order, but the days are numbered and in another decade it will have drained away.