Rodriguez vs. English?
In addition to a potential game with Arizona (if yesterday's gossip is true), we could potentially see RichRod go up against Ron English (as the coach of ASU) in that state, according to speculation here:
http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1300482
Good for English -- he has come a long way at EMU.
November 30th, 2011 at 6:18 AM ^
...to watch the progress of Ron English as a head coach. His efforts to right the ship at Eastern are finally paying dividends and to be considered for ASU at the very least should be taken as a compliment, I would think. If he does not fill this opening, then I imagine he could easily contend for a comparable one down the road.
November 30th, 2011 at 10:46 AM ^
I agree...He has done wonders with that school...Hasn't been easy for him, and he has made some dumb mistakes (see daddy comment-link), but that team isn't a pushover. He will get a job somewhere, and I hope it is within the B1G
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?id=5473428
November 30th, 2011 at 11:25 AM ^
...with a program that seemed irredeemable. However, it will still be a few years before they are selling Eastern jerseys in Ohio.
November 30th, 2011 at 12:02 PM ^
I am happy for both men as I think they would do well at these schools.
They may not be selling jerseys in OH but both can sell their program and are good recruiters. Enough so that I am a bit fearful of the effect on local recruits from an "Arizona pipeline"
Just thinkin' out loud:
What are the odds that defensive back Demar Dorsey ends up at Arizona?
November 30th, 2011 at 3:06 PM ^
which caused RR to go from neutral to eff that guy (if you believe Bacon's book), then this might spice up that rivalry even more.
November 30th, 2011 at 7:10 AM ^
I would not be surprised if Ron English some how found hmself interviewing for some bigger jobs with all these openings available. He might like Eastern Michigan, but he could potentially be a hot commodity. Eastern kind of has a joke of a program even by MAC standards and he led them to a 6-6 record. That's a Brady Hoke style turnaround.
November 30th, 2011 at 7:15 AM ^
I am very happy for Ron English, but I just hope ASU doesn't look at the film from 2007. His lack of success against the spread might not sit well with them.
November 30th, 2011 at 7:23 AM ^
I mean, i know we lost to App. State, but i think Ron English did pretty damn good stopping Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin and that Urban Meyer spread in Florida's own backyard.
November 30th, 2011 at 7:33 AM ^
November 30th, 2011 at 7:39 AM ^
Not to mention 624 yards and 39 points to Oregon that year.
Also, you can put the Rose Bowl in there since that technically was in 2007. Not such a good showing against USC.
November 30th, 2011 at 7:51 AM ^
If we're going to pile on, putting a linebacker on Ted Ginn for a half of football.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:26 AM ^
Weren't a lot of great options once Adams got hurt though. Would Johnny Sears have done better? That was more a personnel/recruiting problem than a scheme problem. That defense's one flaw was that we only had two functional corners.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:34 AM ^
MAKE IT STOP!!!!
November 30th, 2011 at 8:57 AM ^
Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator are two VERY different things.
I believe English would/is a better head coach...he can recruit and motivate and inspire with the best of them.
On the flip side look at someone like Wade Phillips, average head coach...great DC.
Al Borges' name is mentioned a little in some of these west coast jobs. I personally think he's always going to be a better coordinator than head coach similar to Phillips.
November 30th, 2011 at 9:13 AM ^
Based on what?
November 30th, 2011 at 10:42 AM ^
I would imagine based on getting enough good players at EMU to go 6-6 this year. I have no idea about motivation or inspiration, as those cannot be measured, but you could again point to 6-6 for Eastern, which is probably like 9-3 at any other mac scool.
November 30th, 2011 at 3:36 PM ^
You know, like how Ron English is always saying things like, "I know there are a lot of single mothers out there doing their best to raise kids on their own. It can be a real struggle, and kids who come out of those situtations learn to cope with a lot of adversity and hardship at a young age. To me, when a young man is able to overcome those kinds of setbacks it's a sign of character, and so that's why you always see me out recruiting kids from single-parent households."
Well, it would have been nice if he'd said that, anyway. (Or at least if he would have said nothing at all, instead of the exact freaking opppsite).
December 1st, 2011 at 4:24 PM ^
Based on the fact that he just won Coach of the Year and when he was at Michigan offensive (Mike Hart...who actually now works for him) AND defensive players LOVED Coach English.
November 30th, 2011 at 12:28 PM ^
can't figure out how to stop mobile QB in spread offense. If English face RR, RR will put up 1000 points against his defense.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:48 AM ^
with Florida winning the turnover battle by at least 2 (possibly 3?). Tebow was sacked multiple times and at the end of the day, their final drive ended with no points.
I think it's reasonable to say that the defense stopped Florida.
November 30th, 2011 at 10:54 AM ^
Dude 35 points. It's not like they had pick sixes.
November 30th, 2011 at 12:42 PM ^
Michigans strategy was to let Percy Harvin run until he got tired. Then they stopped them.
November 30th, 2011 at 7:40 AM ^
I am pulling for English. I actually don't think that he is a great dc (see Appy state and most of 2007 against the spread) but he has the potential to be a great hc. He seems to have many of the same qualities that are making hoke successful: passion, likeability, great recruiter, family atmosphere.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:33 AM ^
It should make for some great handshake pictures.
Who would have thought 4 years ago Ron English might have a better job than Rich? (And in the same State...sports are weird).
Not that odd that ASU might be interested, as he has a degree from there and coached there multiple times, so he knows the area. But after the cross State rival went big, they may want to try and get a Leach or someone with more name value.
November 30th, 2011 at 10:00 AM ^
Is the ASU job a better job than the Arizona job? I'm not sure about that. You could be right but I think its probably at least 6 and one-half dozen. Arizona is probably a better known school (because of basketball), so there's that. ASU has been better in football in recent years but what about going further back? Arizona had some nasty defenses back in the 90s(?).
November 30th, 2011 at 1:02 PM ^
Arizona is the only pre-expansion B10/Pac10 team to not play in a Rose Bowl. They were close in 1998 with a record of 12-1 and finished 4th in the country. However, they lost to UCLA who went 8-0 in conference play that year. They did tie for first place in the pac10 in 1993 along with ucla and usc. Again UCLA beat both Arizona and USC getting the tie breaker.
ASU is not much better but they do have 2 Rose bowl appearances including a win against Michigan that turned into the gift of Cooper going to tOSU.
November 30th, 2011 at 1:44 PM ^
They were the first round of Pac 8 expansion.
It's true that Arizona State was also in the WAC before 1978, and ASU has been to two Rose Bowls as a member of the Pac 10.
It's also true that the WAC has never exactly been a football powerhouse.
November 30th, 2011 at 2:02 PM ^
But maybe a poor man's Alabama-Auburn or something.
ASU- win % .613, 12-11-1 in bowls, 3 Pac10 titles (17 overall). AZ- win % .570, 6-8-1 in bowls, and 1 Pac Ten title (6 overall), and no Rose. It's basically two mediocre schools, but one that is more a basketball school, and the other which has had more football success. Not that they're wildly different though. Neither is an elite job.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:38 AM ^
I'll take the over.
November 30th, 2011 at 9:00 AM ^
June Jones: career 99-69; 3 seasons of 10+ wins at Hawaii; 7-5 SMU this year
Larry Fedora: Career: 32-19 @ Southern MIss; 10-2 this year
Kevin Sumlin: Career: 35-16; 12-0 this year
Ron English: Career: 8-28; 6-6 this year
So we're supposed to believe that Ron English would at this point in his career be a serious candidate for the ASU job, especially given the other supposed candidates.
Right.
ASU alumni would be absolutely apoplectic if English were hired with his current resume, and they'd have every right to be.
Sure, it's possible that RE can turn EMU into a truly solid program, but he hasn't actually proved that yet.
November 30th, 2011 at 9:29 AM ^
I feel like ASU will want a younger guy than June Jones, personally.
I can see Fedora and Sumlin as hot commodoties in general. UCLA, for instance, is said to be fully on the Sumlin-or-bust bandwagon.
English may need a little more seasoning at EMU or another MAC-level school. The last thing I want to see is for English to go the way of Turner Gill - good job turning around a badly struggling non-BCS program and washing out at a BCS school after only 2 (!) years.
November 30th, 2011 at 9:43 AM ^
Hate to agree, but I agree. Granted he's done well this season, going 6-6 at EMU, but the first two seasons were awful.
Of course going 6-6 at EMU is pretty darn good. Some of those losses were close, too.
If English can get a couple more decent seasons at EMU I'm sure he'll be considered for a HC job somewhere else, but now is too soon.
November 30th, 2011 at 10:43 AM ^
Yep, this. Eastern won about 3.5 games per 12 played from 1990 to 2008. Under English's watch, they've won under 3. 6-6 is as good as the program has done since 1995, the last time they won 6 games. 4 wins in conference is well above average too.
November 30th, 2011 at 9:55 AM ^
ASU's problem is that they are competing for Fedora and Sumlin with potentially more attractive jobs (I'd be wildly surprised if Jones went anywhere, SMU is paying him upwards of $2 million a year, and he's 58 already).
Fedora's got to be the leading candidate for the Ole Miss job, given his local ties, and will be up for the aTm job if that opens up (which it should, holy gods is Mike Sherman a terrible coach).
Sumlin's apparantely UCLA's leading candidate and Illinois will likely come calling as well, given his background in the Big 10. (He played at Purdue and coached at Purdue and Minnesota. He also coached at Wazzou, but I can't see someone taking WSU over ASU).
November 30th, 2011 at 2:17 PM ^
No one believed we would hire Hoke. It was all Miles/Harbaugh.
Also, English is an ASU alum (Grad School) and has coached there.
I kind of agree with you that he won't be hired. But that doesn't mean he isn't a serious candidate.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:55 AM ^
Thank god Borges and Mattison are not mentioned in this articles as possible replacements at these places.
November 30th, 2011 at 9:05 AM ^
He's only going to be coaching for 4-5 more years. He's stated that himself. I think he'll see this recruiting class (Pipkins, Ross, Bolden and co.) through graduation and then retire. Borges will be mentioned, but like I said in another thread...I think he's always going to be a better OC than head coach. Similar to Norm Chow or Wade Phillips on the pro ranks.
Could he leave to go back west one day to say Cal, should Tedford leave and become an Assoc. Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator? Sure. But I personally wouldn't be worried about losing Borges. I'm not sure he's settled and enjoying the midwest, and I don't know if he ever will. HOWEVER, I truly believe he's excited about this TEAM and its future.
When you have pieces like Denard, Devin, Gallon, Roundtree, Dileo, Fitz, Smith all returning for their 2nd year...you have to rub your hands together like a mad scientist. Now that they know him, his system, his ways. I imagine next year is going to be nuts. One full offseason, plus new recruits, plus Denard going into his senior year, PLUS the mind of Al Borges? Look out world, look out.
November 30th, 2011 at 9:31 AM ^
But I personally wouldn't be worried about losing Borges. I'm not sure he's settled and enjoying the midwest, and I don't know if he ever will. HOWEVER, I truly believe he's excited about this TEAM and its future.
Based on what?
November 30th, 2011 at 9:49 AM ^
He's definitely going to be warmer than me this winter...
December 1st, 2011 at 4:23 PM ^
Based on the fact that he hasn't said it is...That why I said "I'm not sure." Because I don't know if he is or isn't, lol. Sorry if the wording was confusing.
November 30th, 2011 at 10:51 AM ^
I agree that Mattison is probably looking to end his career at Michigan in the near future and retire (probably 4 years from now). I think Coach Mallory with what he did with the secondary in his first year, and his family name is making a good case to be DC in waiting, unless he is courted to other jobs.
About Borges I partially agree. I don't think his problem is with the Midwest, I think that is a pretty unwarranted claim. However I agree he may not be the best HC candidate. He seems to be more of mind than a manager. He has great knowledge of the game and designing scheme, but I don't know how well he could lead a program/recruiting efforts. I see our number one competitor to loose him as the NFL. He seems to be pretty smart guy as far as gameplan and scheme goes, and that's what the NFL is all about, maybe he lands a NFL OC job sooner or later.
November 30th, 2011 at 9:29 AM ^
If I remember right, Mattison's salary is more than most BCS head coaches anyway. There is not the financial incentive to go elsewhere unless it was a HC position with an elite program.
November 30th, 2011 at 9:40 AM ^
Hmm looks like I might actually have a reason to see some ASU games next year if that all works out.
November 30th, 2011 at 10:05 AM ^
Poor Caw! They can't afford to lose Ron
November 30th, 2011 at 10:23 AM ^
Speaking as an EMU alumnus and fan, I seriously hope that this doesn't pan out. I like English right where he is. And based on the two winnable games that were lost, I don't think he's quite ready to make the move to a higher profile team. In both cases, EMU had the ball on the 1 yard line and couldn't either finesse or punch it in. There were a few other cases were lack of adjustments turned what should have been blow outs into much closer games. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the 6-6 season since it's the first time that EMU has not been on the negative side of a season in a long time but I think it could have been much better.
From what I understand, he's fairly happy in Ypsilanti...so we'll see.
November 30th, 2011 at 10:34 AM ^
Meyer didn't leave much behind for new Florida coach Will Muschamp. Privately, Muschamp has told people he was shocked at the level of talent he inherited. Muschamp, a former Texas defensive coordinator, finished 6-6 in his first season as a head coach.
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<br>He is the best recruiter! He recruited Tebow, right?
November 30th, 2011 at 11:05 AM ^
He still has much to prove. 6-6 with no wins over a decent team does not make one a candidate for a high profile job.
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<br>He needs to show he can beat good teams and achieve a winning season. At least that is what any intelligent AD would do. Maybe ASU's is dumb enough to hire a guy who has only been a head coach for three years.
November 30th, 2011 at 2:23 PM ^
Telling other schools to look for big-name coaches?
How did that work for us?
This virtual unknown on our sideline is doing pretty well.
So did the one who came in '69.
A good coach is a good coach. If they see things they like in English, if they talk to him and like what he stands for, why not hire him, even with an abysmal record?
Bill Belichick was an abject failure as a head coach before he got to New England. He's ok.
November 30th, 2011 at 3:53 PM ^
got Greg Mattison and had a strong track record of turning multiple teams around (including a perfect season in the MAC while at Ball State).
Belichick's failure in Cleveland is perhaps an exception that proves the rule. Hiring Jack Del Rio, for example, would reasonably be greeted as a disastrous idea by most teams.
I think questioning Ron English is a reasonable thing to do, given that he has sparse track record of success as a HC and is one year removed from a winless season. That's not to say he will never be one, but that he is still too green (ha) behind the ears to warrant a pick-up just yet.
November 30th, 2011 at 2:29 PM ^
I hope he does well and beats RR