Semi-OT: replacing Willie Taggart - candidates with Big Ten ties
Came across my news feed, so did a little more reading. Many coaches with Big Ten ties being mentioned as early candidates for FSU.
All the big publications mention...
- PJ Fleck: Turnaround artist at WMU and Minny, FSU is more high profile, but he's a midwest guy (osu, NIU, Rutgers, that one year at Tampa Bay, WMU, Minny).
- Luke Fickell: Cincy head coach, former osu guy
- Urban Meyer: lol
Tampabay.com is going big with their guesses, too:
- Brian Kelly
- James Franklin
- Also current Indiana coach Tom Allen
jacksonville.com went out there and threw Rich Rodriguez into their pot
Matt Campbell (Iowa State), Mark Stoops (Kentucky), and Brent Venables (Clemson DC) are also popular picks. Bob Stoops is also showing up in a lot of lists.
I hear Chris Ash is looking for a job...
November 4th, 2019 at 11:47 AM ^
FSU will hire Brady Hoke ‘cause they don’t like winning anymore.
November 4th, 2019 at 7:22 PM ^
And they like clapping
November 4th, 2019 at 11:52 AM ^
Are the Brian Kelly and James Franklin suggestions jokes? Why would either of them leave?
November 4th, 2019 at 11:55 AM ^
Brian Kelly, agreed. Franklin? Maybe. The long arm of Paterno is still there. There's no telling how often he gets one of those, "Well, Joe Pa did it this way" comments from alumni and Paterno's rat bastard family.
November 4th, 2019 at 12:53 PM ^
Obligatory reminder - the "Paterno people" are the reason why Bill O'Brien left:
https://www.pennlive.com/sports/2014/01/bill_obrien_the_outsider_arriv.html
November 4th, 2019 at 12:23 PM ^
Franklin would get out of the Big Ten east and into a bigger talent pool. It's a perfect time for him to leave, but USC may be more likely. He wouldn't have been on anyone's short list a year ago.
November 4th, 2019 at 1:07 PM ^
I'm not seeing Franklin leaving PSU for FSU. He's recruiting gangbusters at PSU, and he's winning, which will keep the PSU people happy enough. I get that the narrative here is that Franklin is a bad coach, but his recruiting and his record belie that. Plus, I imagine that neither FSU or USC could pay him what PSU can.
November 4th, 2019 at 7:23 PM ^
Urban Liar has that locked up
November 4th, 2019 at 12:31 PM ^
I can't see Franklin going there. He has been mentioned as a possible candidate for USC, though, and he might have interest in that job.
November 4th, 2019 at 1:03 PM ^
I don't see Franklin leaving for USC. Outside of a year at Washington State and a year at Idaho, he's never lived or worked west of the Central Time Zone. USC is a tough place to coach for someone who doesn't have a reason to be in Los Angeles; they don't pay Alabama-level money, they don't have Alabama-like status on their home turf (there are a million things in LA that outrank USC Football in popularity), and the cost of living is significantly higher in LA than in other Power 5 college towns.
That doesn't mean USC won't land a big name, but it will likely be someone with deep ties to LA, California, or the Pac-12. The job doesn't make sense for someone who is already at a blueblood, has no family in LA, and has spent most of his life in blue-collar towns in the South and Midwest.
November 4th, 2019 at 11:52 AM ^
Rhule
Wake Forest's coach
Matt Canada did a great job with Maryland last year in a rough year.
Dantonio? fresh start, better weather, and a chance to bring in new guys
Frost? Lot of folks remember UCF's success in the state, might ignore Nebraska
Keep in mind that it looks bad they fired him after 1.5 years...so a big name might not go there.
Also, they are poor...so they won't be able to pay top dollar for B Kelly, Meyer, or Franklin.
November 4th, 2019 at 12:05 PM ^
Rhule would be a good hire for FSU (assuming Baylor doesn't collapse down the stretch), but there are probably other jobs he has his eye on.
Matt Canada would be a second tier candidate at best.
Dantonio is approaching 65 and will retire at MSU. If he was going to leave, he would have done so after their 2013 Rose Bowl season or their 2015 CFP season.
Frost is an intriguing possibility, but I don't see him leaving Nebraska voluntarily.
Basically, FSU is screwed.
November 4th, 2019 at 12:06 PM ^
Also the OTHER Stoops at Kentucky. Might be a good move for him too.
November 4th, 2019 at 12:36 PM ^
I don't see Dave Clawson leaving Wake Forest, especially for Florida State. One, he is a slow and steady program builder, and Wake Forest is one of the few Power 5 jobs that accepts anything less than "win this instant". Two, he took the WF job largely due to family in the area. He had other opportunities after leading BG from 2-10 to conference champs but he picked WF so I don't see him leaving for the next shiny job.
November 4th, 2019 at 1:07 PM ^
Dantonio would actually be a good hire, he'd be able to bring his entire staff with him, as they're all about to be run out of East Landfill ahead of pitchforks....
November 4th, 2019 at 3:47 PM ^
Hard for me to compute "they are poor" with the buyout they just dropped on WT.
I get that their AD might be poor, relatively speaking. But the stories around how they put together this buyout seem anti-poor.
Cheers.
November 7th, 2019 at 1:22 PM ^
so the thing with FSU I found out this week...they were an all-womens college not that long ago. Most of their alumni base is women, employed as nurses and teachers, because it was a nursing an teaching college. They don't have the endowment other schools have because they don't have a number of wealthy billionaire alumni. And none of their scholarships are endowed, so they are paying for them out of pocket.
November 4th, 2019 at 11:54 AM ^
If the winner comes from the guys you listed I'd guess it would be Tom Allen, with Fickell as the next most likely. Fleck needs to show he can win at a higher level for a little while before he would be a good choice. Kelly and Franklin have no reason to make that move.
November 4th, 2019 at 11:55 AM ^
Apparently FSU's athletic department is a total mess and has a bad reputation among the Power 5, which could hamper their ability to attract a big name. And the pickings are slim this year to begin with on big name coaches who might be a good fit at FSU. PJ Fleck is a big name, but he's never had a college job outside of the Midwest, so it's doubtful that he would take the job even if they wanted him.
Welcome to the vicious cycle, FSU.
November 4th, 2019 at 11:55 AM ^
FSU is feeling a lot like Tennessee now-a-days. They just keep swinging and missing.
November 4th, 2019 at 12:02 PM ^
I wouldn't mind them going after Fleck or Allen as those programs seem to be heading up and usually fall back to mediocrity when the coach leaves. I don't see Franklin leaving for FSU and Kelly will likely be gone from ND by 2033 so I don't really care.
Perhaps they go after Mork as he may be a good fit for FSU where misconduct has been swept under the rug.
November 4th, 2019 at 12:09 PM ^
FSU can't afford James Franklin
November 4th, 2019 at 12:32 PM ^
FSU has a lot of issues but $$$ isn't one of them. They're probably in for $20 million in buyouts so, after paying that much dough why cheap out on the next coach? They have wealthy boosters all over Florida who funded the buyout and they will want a big name in return. Urban won't take the job but I bet Franklin will.
November 4th, 2019 at 1:15 PM ^
They do NOT has wealthy donors--UF has wealthy donors.
November 4th, 2019 at 1:16 PM ^
They do NOT have wealthy donors--UF has wealthy donors.
November 4th, 2019 at 3:53 PM ^
So how did they come up with the buyout?
Cheers.
November 5th, 2019 at 12:13 AM ^
They'll have that much LESS to pay the new coach over the length of that contract. Gesundheit.
November 4th, 2019 at 12:42 PM ^
Here is to hoping they take Luke Fickell, bringing him off the top of MSU’s board which becomes active in a month or two...
November 4th, 2019 at 12:51 PM ^
Wouldn't they like to see how Fleck finishes against real competition before considering him?
November 4th, 2019 at 1:09 PM ^
Minny's game against Penn State is the one I'm planning to watch closely during the bye week. If they play PSU close or manage to pull off the upset, that will put Fleck's name in the stratosphere as a candidate for top jobs.
November 4th, 2019 at 1:05 PM ^
I think it's cute that Florida residents think Kelly will leave ND for FSU. Almost as cute thinking Franklin will leave PSU. Both of those schools are light years ahead of FSU in terms of national following, boosters, facilities, and overall program funding. These are all reasons Fisher left in a huff. If there's a choice between USC and FSU, I'm not sure FSU will get a single look!
FSU has great tradition, is stocked with talent, swims in a talent rich pool, and is still a damn good job; so they're going to get a good coach. But I doubt they'll be able to poach an established HC from an industry leading P5 thoroughbred.
November 4th, 2019 at 1:31 PM ^
FSU is a blueblood and its brand strength, tradition, resources, and talent pool are as rich as any program in America.
But their problem is that their athletic department is currently mired in dysfunction. They conducted a national search for a new AD recently and they struck out on all of their top choices, which forced them to promote the interim AD. That guy had moved over from university administration, had no prior background in athletics, and was only intended to be a caretaker. They're also running a huge deficit and are in the process of privatizing the athletic department, which will likely be a messy process. It's hard to imagine a top-shelf candidate wanting to step into that mess.
November 4th, 2019 at 2:14 PM ^
It really depends on how you define blueblood. Before Bobby Bowden showed up in 1976, the program was middling. They went to a bowl game here and there, but not consistently. Then Bowden did... things. 14 straight seasons ranked in the top 5 is unprecedented and will likely never be replicated.
So yeah, great tradition, amazing history dating back just over 40 years, talent rich region. They should be better than they are.
November 4th, 2019 at 1:44 PM ^
I would throw Sparty fans thinking Fleck would bolt Minnesota for E Lansing in a heartbeat.
November 4th, 2019 at 1:45 PM ^
Fleck is going to East Landfill...
November 4th, 2019 at 2:17 PM ^
Why would Fleck go to East Landfill? His path to the Big Ten title game is so much easier in the west. Why would he trade that to play Pedo State, OSU, and Michigan every season? Makes zero sense. Fleck going to FSU seems more plausible to me.
November 4th, 2019 at 2:28 PM ^
I agree. At this point, I wouldn't say msu is any more attractive than Minny. At least they have a stable administration that doesn't have a cloud of controversy surrounding it and, as you point out, they get to deal with Wisconsin and Iowa as the west powers compared to Michigan, osu, and psu in the east.
November 4th, 2019 at 5:47 PM ^
PJ going somewhere bigger makes sense. Not MSU. FSU maybe.
FSU will want a name or up and comer. Fickell would fit that bill.
MSU, when Mork retires, is likely to get Narduzzi.
The situation at FSU isn't yet Tennessee as Jimbo did win a NC. But this hire will make or break them for 5+ years.
The Baylor guy might be a good hire.
November 4th, 2019 at 9:10 PM ^
I’d look at ash for a dc role if they go with an offense minded hc