Ron English MAC Coach of the Year
Ron English won MAC Coach of the Year yesterday. He led Eastern Michigan to a 6-6 record this year after going 2-10 and 0-12 in the 2 previous years. Congrats to Ron, it's always nice to see a former Michigan coach do well.
Also I found this interesting:
English has been mentioned in recent days, in various publications, as a candidate for the vacant head coaching jobs at Arizona State, Washington State and Illinois.
I did not know that until now. It'd be great if he went to Illinois and was able to hand OSU a loss every now and then.
December 1st, 2011 at 1:45 AM ^
I still am skeptical his resume at EMU is good enough at this point for him to get a BCS-level job, but regardless I hope he does well wherever he goes.
It would be a bummer for EMU to lose him if he has a couple of winning seasons and then leaves, but that's the lot of MAC schools.
December 1st, 2011 at 1:46 AM ^
I don't see him getting an AQ job yet. EMU was obviously in horrible shape but it's usually going to take better than 6-6 to get you out of the MAC.
December 1st, 2011 at 1:48 AM ^
It's better to be Ron English than Ron Mexico.
December 1st, 2011 at 1:48 AM ^
How about that Lloyd Carr coaching tree!
December 1st, 2011 at 1:59 AM ^
I know you're joking, but English is ten years younger than Hoke, and it'll be really nice if he emerges as an elite college football coach.
December 1st, 2011 at 2:45 AM ^
I'm not trying to be funny. I'm legitimately excited about the respective COY awards for the former Carr assistants. I'd love to see English when he has the recruiting power of an AQ-conference school.
December 1st, 2011 at 4:52 PM ^
The Lloyd Carr Coaching Tree has spent a combined one season at an AQ school and that was Michigan.
The Tree is still truly pathetic compared to Bo's.
December 1st, 2011 at 6:30 AM ^
I think it's somewhat humorous that one of the knocks on Carr was his lack of a coaching tree, for a guy who retired only a few years ago...
...and pretty soon after that criticism, two of his former assistants earn their conferences' Coach of the Year Awards.
December 1st, 2011 at 1:35 PM ^
look at the collective career HC records for Lloyd's coaching tree. This is not a shot at Hoke who appears to be a great hire.
December 1st, 2011 at 4:54 PM ^
You are putting way too much stock into COY awards. Carr's coaches have still had four winnings seasons in 16 combined years, 13 of those years in the MAC.
You still impressed?
December 2nd, 2011 at 3:45 PM ^
Take EMU for instance. This is the first year in a long time that EMU has had 6 games at home. When they are playing against teams like Michigan, they are playing on the road. So that takes away at least 1 or 2 home games as they try to schedule bigger schools for the non-conference games. That tends to put them at a bit of a disadvantage. Add in the recruiting disadvantage that EMU has because they've been so bad for so long. And then when they play at home, they aren't exactly playing for a crowd that is going to pump up the team. So I think putting together a winning season there speaks more about the coach than at some other places.
December 1st, 2011 at 10:49 AM ^
DeBord and Parrish are other former Carr assistants who have been head coaches (though not successfully.) A lot of former Carr assistants are now (or have recently been) position coaches or coordinators in the NFL. Given that Carr retired 4 years ago (and first started head coaching less than 20 years ago) it's a little early to close the book on the coaching tree, but having one assistant win 3 CoY awards and another 1, plus spawning a number of national championship and Super Bowl-winning assistants ain't a bad start.
December 1st, 2011 at 1:45 PM ^
Which of Carr's assistants have won national championships and Superbowls? I'm drawing a blank...
December 1st, 2011 at 2:00 PM ^
...has won a national championship.
Probably not what elm had in mind though.
December 1st, 2011 at 3:21 PM ^
Mattison and Bedford have won National Titles at Florida, in different years. Super Bowls- Stan Parrish with the Bucs, Terry Malone with the Saints, Bill Sheridan with the Giants. And that's just won, and there's probably others. (And guys like Teryl Austin coached in Super Bowls).
December 1st, 2011 at 3:27 PM ^
...what's Nick Sheridan doing these days? I remember he wanted to get into coaching after he graduated but I never heard if he landed a gig anywhere--HS, or GA somewhere....
December 1st, 2011 at 4:55 PM ^
Gary Moeller hired Greg Mattison. Carr merely inherited him.
December 1st, 2011 at 5:31 PM ^
Like most of what you say.
December 1st, 2011 at 4:57 PM ^
Scot Loeffler was QB coach at Florida for a couple of years under Meyer. Was he there in 2008? I can't recall.
December 1st, 2011 at 5:08 PM ^
Funny you should ask. Loeffler was the QB coach of the 0-16 Detroit Lions in 2008. M-Wolverine loves to pump up the resumes of his Carr assistants when they were position coaches on great teams, but kind of whitewashes the other half of the story.
December 1st, 2011 at 5:32 PM ^
Florida. So yeah, I'm sure he was to blame for all 16 losses. Oh, and he's an offensive coordinator now.
Any more stupid points? Why do you even bother? Sad little man.
December 1st, 2011 at 6:03 PM ^
You're the guy who is repping the team accomplishments with Michigan position coaches. Can't have it both ways, asshole. If Teryl Austin helped the Arizona Cardinals to get to the Super Bowl, Scot Loeffler helped the Lions get to 0-16. The claims are of the exact same validity.
December 2nd, 2011 at 3:29 PM ^
Because I can say it wasn't horrid QB play that was the Lions main problem to that record. (Maybe QB talent, but even then, that'd be down on the list). And the Cardinals haven't really played well in at those positions since. And you're comparing outliers of a team, to outliers of a career, two different things. You find one bad season, and it overrides all the good ones. The successful ones go in stride with the many other successful seasons of acomplishment. They are high points of trends. And professionals, who are highly placed in the game, see value in them.
I may be an asshole, and am hardly the most popular guy on this site, but at least I haven't managed to be the guy who everyone disagrees with at all times. Why you even come here, other than to troll is beyond me. You're not making any friends, and you're not convincing anyone of anything. Kind of a sad way to go through life. But hey, better you than me.
December 1st, 2011 at 9:24 PM ^
Mattison, Malone, and Sheridan were the ones I had in mind. Thanks for adding the others. As to another comment in this thread, sure, Carr's tree isn't as good as Bo's, but, um, Bo's tree has had a little to grow, you know. Also, that's a pretty high standard to hold someone to in order to consider them to have a good coaching tree. The reason I brought up the assistants and coordinators winning is that, as I said, it's too early to close the book on Carr's tree. Some of those guys could turn into HC's someday, too. Malone and Sheridan are both younger than Hoke, for instance.
December 1st, 2011 at 2:24 AM ^
Illinois might be a big step for him. Arizona State might be a lot of work considering the fact that it's going to be a shootout league once Rich Rod and Leach get their programs going. May be that'd be advantageous to be the defensive guy in the offensive conference. It's also more low key than stepping into a Big Ten program, at least in my opinion. Wazzu is already taken.
More coaches will be fired, more coaches will be hired. I think it might be best for his resume to wait a year and go 8-4 or 9-3 next year.
December 1st, 2011 at 7:19 AM ^
The Pac (N) was a shootout league long before RR and Captain Leach. Other than USC under Slippery Pete, no one has ever played a lick of defense in that conference. RR will fit in just fine.
December 1st, 2011 at 2:35 AM ^
Wow, congrats Ron. 6-6 is extremely impressive considering the shape the program was in.
<br>What are the chances of a bowl game for EMU? I'm guessing not good, but just wondering
December 1st, 2011 at 2:46 AM ^
They beat two FCS teams so it would've taken 7 wins for EMU to be bowl eligible.
December 1st, 2011 at 2:49 AM ^
To be bowl eligible, a team not only needs 6 wins, but 6 wins over FBS competition. 2 of EMU's wins are over FCS competition.
EDIT: Not only is this wrong, it was posted late. Ignore me and my psuedo-FBS knowledge.
December 1st, 2011 at 2:40 AM ^
I simply do not understand why people are impressed with Ron English at EMU.
He had exactly one even remotely impressive win this year (Western Michigan).
Besides that, EMU beat:
-two 1-AA teams (neither of whom are ranked in 1-AA, so it's not as if these victories were against Appalachian St. or Northern Iowa)
-Akron (1-11)
-Central Michigan (3-9)
-Buffalo (3-9)
Prior to this year, Ron English was 2-22. For comparison purposes, Eastern Michigan was 8-28 in the three seasons previous to English's hire. In other words, the exact same record that English has put together.
I'm not saying that English won't be successful, but I have seen many comments on this blog and elsewhere that are thoroughly impressed with what English has done. He hasn't done anything. I think it's laughable to see him suggested as a possible coach at Illinois or Arizona St.
End rant.
December 1st, 2011 at 3:32 AM ^
EMU is the most downtrodden program in FBS. The last time they didn't finish the season with a losing record was 1995, when they went 6-5. They have had six head coaches since then. I agree that English is still not ready for a job at a BCS school, but just avoiding a losing season is an accomplishment at EMU. It doesn't matter who they beat, this is EMU we're talking about. Give him credit.
December 1st, 2011 at 7:55 AM ^
EMU was really bad in the 80's, too. At one point they had the nation's longest losing streak. Just to get students to show up they had all kinds of gimmicks, like prizes, The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders at halftime, and so on.
December 1st, 2011 at 7:58 AM ^
At one point they had to give away thousands of tickets just to keep average attendance above the D1 threshold.
It really is as low as it gets in the FBS. 6-6 is a real accomplishment, especially since this time it doesn't just seem to be tied to a single outstanding player (Batch, Ron Johnson).
December 1st, 2011 at 9:38 AM ^
You look at the wins, but you have to look at the losses too. Maybe two auto-wins at the beginning, but 2 auto-losses vs. Big Ten teams after that (and the eye test alone against us says while not really more talented, they were a more competent squad). Then they lost a couple of close ones to equivalent teams Kent State and Ball State. And played likely MAC champ N. Illinois to a 12-18 loss. Wins are wins, and losses are losses, but even being close at Eastern is an accomplishment. What other division 1 program is 8 minutes away from one of the national power programs? Mediocre results are lauded because it's a crap job.
December 1st, 2011 at 9:45 AM ^
I can't think of another MAC-level program anywhere in the country that's so close geographically to a nationally prominent program. It's hard for me to imagine a more difficult place to recruit to than EMU. Some parts of Ypsi are pretty cool in a funky sort of way, but as a campus environment EMU always seemed pretty grim to me.
December 1st, 2011 at 10:01 AM ^
FIU is about ten miles from the U.
But Miami and Ypsilanti are...um...not the same.
December 1st, 2011 at 10:10 AM ^
Kicked a FG to go up 31-30 with just under 2:00 left in the game, only to give up the game-winning kick with :12 on the clock. That sucks.
I'm trying to figure out if they would've made a bowl game even if they won that game, because doesn't the MAC only have three or four tie-ins? Temple didn't going to a bowl last season despite an 8-4 record.
December 2nd, 2011 at 4:03 PM ^
Howard was an auto win for EMU. Alabama State is probably about the equivalent of a mid level Division IA team, so for EMU I wouldn't consider that an auto win. After that, they had to travel to Ann Arbor and State College. So....
December 2nd, 2011 at 3:49 PM ^
Let me put this in perspective for you. The last time that EMU had a winning season was when they went 6-5 in 1995. The last time EMU was in a bowl game was 1987. Prior to that, they have been in 1 bowl game. Thier most successful coach was Rynearson and that was back in the 40's. So to call EMU a bad program is probably an understatement.
December 1st, 2011 at 5:43 AM ^
Even though Ron English may not be quite ready for primetime and a BCS-level head coaching position, I think he probably deserves this honor. It takes enormous effort and inherent skill to take a program whose existence in the FBS would be routinely questioned from tire fire to something that at least makes people stop and look for a second despite the 6-6 record this year (key word: a second). By that alone, he's done more for EMU football than anyone in almost the last 20 years.
Within Division I in general, it's not a huge deal, but for EMU and the MAC, to have one more team that doesn't have to call a 3-9 or 4-8 season successful necessarily is an achievement.
December 1st, 2011 at 7:10 AM ^
Ron English definitely deserves this award. I would've never thought Eastern would be 6-6 this year. I thought when they played us they looked a lot better than any other year I've ever seen them. Wouldn't say he's ready to jump up to BCS level yet though. If Eastern ever wins the MAC under his watch though I say send him up because that would surprise the hell out of me.
December 1st, 2011 at 8:04 AM ^
I guess they embraced the process there after all
December 1st, 2011 at 8:06 AM ^
It's too bad for EMU that their program is a stepping stone to second-level major conference schools. It would be nice to see someone stay there and build something that lasts for awhile.
December 1st, 2011 at 10:09 AM ^
I don't know who built it, but that water-tower thing has has lasted for a while.
December 1st, 2011 at 8:55 AM ^
You can't judge a coach strictly on wins and losses. You have to look at their ability to manage a program and motivate players.
If Dave Brandon was looking for coach based on wins and losses, Brady Hoke would still be at SDSU. In his years as HC at Ball State and SDSU, Hoke had a sub .500 win/loss record. What he did do was take two perennial losing programs and turned them around.
Ron English has at least been a HC. There are many DC's and OC's that become HC's every year with no track record at all. With Ron English, you know that he has already made the transition successfully.
December 1st, 2011 at 1:11 PM ^
Brandon would've offered Hoke much earlier if he was not giving some thoughts of hiring JH and LM. Hoke has a more than a decent record, turned around a rock bottom program at Ball State in 3 years, going 12-0 in his last season, and turned around SDSU in a year, with all 4 losses are very close, and he brings with him top notch OC and DC which would be something discussed in his hiring process.
Ron is far from Hoke's record yet, his best is 4-4 in MAC. Wait a few more years we will see what he is made of.
December 1st, 2011 at 9:13 AM ^
I think English has really changed the tide on the rivalries. Hell people in Mount Pleasant and Kalamazoo are starting to believe him. Never in a million years I would've thought that. Winning games at EMU is a great start.
December 1st, 2011 at 9:15 AM ^
I wish him nothing but the best. His "crime" so to speak, was wanting to be the HC here at Michigan fergodsakes. And, despite his inability to defense the spread, i would've gladly taken him over Shafer and the Gerg horrorshow.
I watched him on the sidelines of the Michigan game and i was very impressed with the way he handled his players and his staff as the game unfolded. I think Ron would be an excellent candidate for any of the jobs mentioned and will do a great job if given the chance.
December 1st, 2011 at 2:06 PM ^
His crime was being unable to defend the spread offense, especially the one run by App st. Why are people so happy for the man responsible for Michigan's worst loss ever?
December 1st, 2011 at 9:16 AM ^
If coach English goes elsewhere, I wonder where coach Hart will go? I am curious in the long term to see what happens with him.