Hello: Rick Finotti - New Director of Football Ops
Per Josh Helmholdt:
That Rick Finotti to Michigan news was interesting, more so from a HSFB standpoint. St. Eds has been a year in, year out force under him
— Josh Helmholdt (@JoshHelmholdt) March 13, 2015
Apparently it was announced at today's football clinic.
I know nothing about the guy, but he's apparently an excellent Ohio high school football coach, so yay for recruiting?
Also noted by Tom VH:
Was HC at St. Ed's in Ohio, that's interesting RT @chengelis Harbaugh just introduced to the crowd @RickFinotti as the director of fball ops
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) March 13, 2015
EDIT: h/t MantisToboggan for a nice blurb on the hire in the second thread on the topic
Jim has hired another recruiting coordinator: Lakewood, OH powerhouse St. Edwards head coach Rick Finotti. Alma Mater of Kyle Kalis and former commit Shaun Crawford. This staff now has major clout in CA, NJ, OH, Detroit, and TX.
Big time Ohio High School program. They have been a power house for years. He will have many contacts in Ohio.
Love Finotti,
USMC Col Minnick
Marine Col. Jim Minick is director of football ops
I heard somewhere that he might be changing roles into more of a position in the AD office.
Otherwise, he and the new guy have the same title.
I think this where Kyle Kalis came from.
Also former recruit Shaun Crawford
I wasn't aware of either of them.
Great program that we have recruited for years.
Are there any 2016 guys at that school who are UM targets?
2016 looks like a down year in terms of talent for St. Ed.
Only one guy that came up with a rating on Rivals.
https://rivals.yahoo.com/al/football/recruiting/player-Tony-Butler-1651…
Where can we get a run down of all the ancillary staff hires under Harbaugh? It seems like theres been like 5 or 6 people hired for the same 2 positions.
I will look for the article on MLive. They want to follow Alabama's model.
Good thing I double check the board again before hitting submit. I wouldn't want to be like Dr. Toboggan.
St Ed's is an absolute powerhouse here in Northern Ohio and his team just won the Divison I state championship. Finotti is well known and well respected in coaching circles.
This is huge.
This is huge.
Everything so far has the look and feel of being all-in. It's as if this conversation took place:
Harbaugh: "If I become HC, I'm going to want to do this right."
Hacket: "Whatever you need."
Harbaugh: "No, really -- all in. Are you ready?"
Hacket: "Whatever you need."
Harbaugh: "Okay, let's do this."
And thus it is being done.
take a college job where he's not coaching any longer? $$$?
Regardless, sounds like a good addition to the staff.
And the chance to learn under Harbaugh. If you were a coach would you not want to get in on that coaching tree?
I'm not sure how much coaches make, but found this article about Texas HS FB coaches making about $88K/ year (and I'm assuming Texas HS Coaches make more than Ohio/ NJ ones). If Harbaugh throws $150K+ at them, it's a great move salary wise.
Chris Singletary made $107,432 last year and I'd assume he's the highest paid non-coach on the football staff. Justin Dickens (Hoke's last director of football ops) made $92,700.
May view it as a way to parlay this experience into an actual coaching position at some point versus staying at the HS level for his whole career.
May view it as a way to parlay this experience into an actual coaching position at some point versus staying at the HS level for his whole career.
you have to leave the HS job. Is it better to be an assistant coach at a small time school? I'm guessing it's not. This won't look too bad on his resume and the money is better.
How old is he? Maybe he's looking towards the tail end of his career and wants to get off the field? Or, alternatively, as others have said, he sees this as a chance to learn under Harbaugh and then move into a position coach/coordinator job down the line?
Also money. Money cures many ills.
He's only been a HC in HS since 2009.
This quote tell the tale.
http://www.maizeandbluenews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=artic…
“We’ve got a great staff of coaches here at the University of Michigan,” Harbaugh said to some 800 high school coaches in attendance. “The other thing we’ve done, and I really want to do is add great high school coaches to our staff in some form or fashion. In the recruiting department, in strength and conditioning, in coaching department, in operations.
“I believe that the thing that I didn’t have and am very envious of, and don’t have in my coach’s training is that I was not a teacher, that I have not taught class. I did not train in college to be a teacher like my dad was. … Like Bo Schembechler was, like Woody Hayes, like some of the great coaches.
“I feel like right now there aren’t a whole lot of college coaches that are going to the high school level or to the pro level. I want to change that this year by two or three winning, highly productive high school coaches.
“Chris Partridge, who’s right here. Also Rick Finotti, the head coach at St. Eds in Cleveland, Ohio, will be our Director of Football Operations. I have a vision that that will be the progression, to go from that job to coaching, because that’s what ultimately they do. That’s what Chris does, that’s what Rick does.”
I think the third parigraph should read .... high school coaches that are going on to the colleg level or to the pro level.
Since we are speaking of recruiting. How much do you guys think that the success of the UM basketball team as of late should/could/did have and effect on the recruiting for the football team and vice versa. Is there any overlap here at UM. I ask because of programs that are rich in basketball tradition recently stepping up and playing some pretty good football and attracting some really good recruits as of late.
Do you guys think that there is any correlation at all?
I'd say no correlation. A lot of the SEC schools have terrible basketball teams.
No.
I ask because of programs that are rich in basketball tradition recently stepping up and playing some pretty good football and attracting some really good recruits as of late.Can you at least name some teams that fit this?
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Duke for one, UNC (this is somewhat sketchy because they have always had the ability to be a good football recruiting school) Kentucky is getting a lot better with their recruits and their on field play, Arizona, Kansas football had gotten better with better recruiting as well before Mangino left. These are a few.
Also honorable mention in Florida being so good with Donnovan and Urbz. Wisc hasn't stopped being great at recruiting both and even L'ville recently.
What is your defenition of recruiting well?
Duke finished #57 in 2014 and #57 again in 2015.
Don't think you should use Kansas to make your point. Since 2007(only double digit win total in the last 20 years) their record has been (8-5. 5-7, 3-9, 2-10. 1-11. 3-9)
I agree with the Kentucky thing. Most of that seems to be becuase of Stoops and Morrow hitting Ohio pretty hard.
Their on field play and recruiting has gone up the past 3 years. Last year Duke was 2 silly plays away from being a 2 loss Bowl winning team. The year before, again, Duke... 2 silly plays away from being a 2 loss Bowl winning team. The year before they were much much better than the previous year in recruiting and on field play. Not too long ago they lost every game that they played. Also remember Duke only signed 20,18, and 17 players the past 3 years as well.
I was just wondering if there should be a relation. Wisconsin can do both well, MSU... Florida. Harbaugh is a celebrity that brings a lot of positive attention to the football and basketball programs. I'm curious to see if he could light a spark in more top athletes actually choosing Michigan over the Dukes and UNCs and Kentuckys in college basketball.
They've been really good at basketball for a very long time. Why would that suddenly be reflected in their football recruiting? The same is true for Kentucky, Arizona, UNC and most other elite basketball schools.
Most of them have had some sporadic success in football, probably you'd find a strong correlation with the quality of their coaches.
Working in the other direction, you could look at schools that have recently risen to prominence in football. TCU, for example. It doesn't seem to have made a positive impact on their basketball program.
So it's more with the coaches that they bring in rather than the success of the other athletic programs? I would think that having great success and being a high profile program would also garner a bit of attention to the recruiting of other sports. IDK. Thanks guys.
I think for Duke, coaching has everything to do with their success. I mean Cutcliff even turned down the Michigan job.
Duke and Kentucky seem to be on the up and up football wise.
Urban's not going to like this.
I guess he does not have Ohio on lock down......
Let the Ten-Year War begin.
Part deux.
Maybe we can hire Ginn Sr. as well. Who coaches St. Ignatious?
Unless he's moved recently.
Do not think he would make the move. But, if he did, I would only sanction it AFTER my son graduates in 2018.
This is huge. There were also whispers in the area the past couple years that Finotti was not a fan of Urb. However, take that with an adequately sized grain of salt considering it's coming from a guy on the internet.