Well.. why not consider Steve Sarkisian?
He's only 36, he could be coaching for the next 25 years. He took over the clusterf**k that were the Huskies and took them from 0-12 before he started there to 5-7 his first season and 7-6 with a bowl victory over Nebraska his second season. (to compare, JH took over a 1-11 Stanford program, and went 4-8 and 5-7 his first two years)
Four wins vs ranked teams on his first two years, one vs a top 5 team. (That's four times what JH had on his first two years as Stanford's coach)
Has closed out both seasons with a decent win streak. (2 win streak ending with win vs #19 Cal his first season, and 4 win streak ending with win vs #16 Nebraska his second season.)
Could strengthen our recruiting in California while keeping up with recruiting in our present pipelines if he chooses the right coordinators.
What do you guys think?
January 9th, 2011 at 3:00 AM ^
1. West Coast guy
2. We are sooooo out of time we need to stop interviewing and start hiring
January 9th, 2011 at 12:30 PM ^
Yes
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<br>.
<br>Yes
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<br>Bring back Haloscan
January 9th, 2011 at 3:05 AM ^
January 9th, 2011 at 3:12 AM ^
DB wants someone with Midwest connections. I think he is right, FWIW, and JH's time growing up in A2 with his dad as an assistant coach and then playing for UM checks the box. Miles and Hoke have both coached in the Midwest (including at UM) and Miles was born in Ohio and played at Michigan.
January 9th, 2011 at 3:19 AM ^
Again, Miles has had no connection with the midwest since 1994 when he was pushed out the door after Mo's resignation. Harbaugh is a former player, but he hasn't been connected to the university since 1987 when he entered the NFL draft. He's never coached in the midwest, and recruiting the midwest has never been a particular focus for him. (Well.. he did recruit in the midwest back when his dad was coaching Western Kentucky)
The only guy with coaching/recruiting experience within the midwest is Brady Hoke, and some of you guys would donate 1 and a half testicles if it kept him from coaching Michigan.
January 9th, 2011 at 3:57 AM ^
both of mine.
January 9th, 2011 at 4:14 AM ^
Donating your testicles to keep the Lesticles at bay? Are they like kryptonite to him?
January 9th, 2011 at 4:05 AM ^
Go with that logic if you want. But if you want to know what DB is looking for, check out Wednesday's press conference. I am not saying he won't deviate from the criteria he set for the HC search, but I believe he will look for someone who checks all of he boxes if he can find one.
Also, saying Harbaugh, Miles and Hoke do not have major ties to the Midwest is ludicrous. It undercuts your credibility.
JH grew up in A2 playing little league football and hanging out at Michigan Stadium with his dad, who was an assistant coach at UM. He moved away briefly in high school but returned to play at UM and later in the NFL for Chicago. Miles was born and grew up in Ohio, and played and coached college ball at UM and at other schools in the Midwest. Yes, he has spent the past ten or so years at LSU and Oklahoma State, but that is a relatively brief amount of time considering he is 57 years old. And Hoke was an assistant coach at UM and a head coach at Ball State. He has been out West for all of two years. Compare Sark's Midwest "credentials" to these and get back to me if you still think they are comparable.
To be clear, I did not say Sarkisian is not a good coach or would not do a great job at UM. I merely said he does not meet the criteria announced publicly by DB on Wednesday.
January 9th, 2011 at 5:43 AM ^
January 9th, 2011 at 3:00 PM ^
Again, Miles has had no connection with the midwest since 1994 when he was pushed out the door after Mo's resignation.
Let's just nip something in the bud right now: Miles was never forced out of here. He was our offensive line coach, and then left to move up the career ladder - he became Oklahoma State's offensive coordinator.
As for the Midwest ties issue, if you're from here, you never really lose them. That gives you instant credibility in the eyes of local coaches. What's impressive about Miles is that he went to Louisiana, a place he'd never been before, and managed to lock down all the local talent. Most LSU coaches have not been able to do that.
January 9th, 2011 at 3:23 AM ^
Thanks, but no thanks. In order to avoid a team nuclear explosion, it's gonna take a big name coach. Period! Gruden, Miles, Stud X. If we close one of these whales we'll salvage our recruiting class and might close VERY strongly. Otherwise, the team will blowup and we'll be in another 3-4 year rebuilding phase (even with a "good" coach). Play this right, and I think we can win NEXT year without a hitch. Go Blue!
January 9th, 2011 at 3:39 AM ^
We do need a big name coach, but we need a big name coach who is also a good coach. Les Miles is not a good coach. He is surrounded by so much talent in Louisiana that it is impossible for him to win less than 8 games a year. If we can't land a Gruden, Mullen, Patterson, I would definitely LOVE this hiring. Sarkisian is an AMAZING coach/play caller and an AMAZING recruiter. AND he has a stud defensive coordinator in Nick Holt. This is definitely a better option than Les Miles, Brady Hoke, or hiring a coordinator.
January 9th, 2011 at 1:28 PM ^
Les Miles is not a good coach. He is surrounded by so much talent in Louisiana that it is impossible for him to win less than 8 games a year.
Hardly impossible. Ask Gerry DiNardo. Curly Hallman. Mike Archer. Jerry Stovall. Charles McClendon. Ask anyone who coached at LSU since 1970 how automatic 8 wins are. Bill Arnsparger is the only exception.
I'm not a huge fan of Miles as a human, and he's obviously had some very high profile coaching gaffes. I hoped he wasn't going to be the guy in 2008, and I won't be thrilled if he's the guy in 2011. But he can recruit, he knows how to hire very good assistants, and knows how to coach. It's pretty obvious. You don't have the success in the SEC (and the B12) he's had and not be doing something right.
January 9th, 2011 at 3:26 AM ^
Well i live in WA and no thanks.
January 9th, 2011 at 3:29 AM ^
true that. I live in the PNW. Seen almost every Udub game. No Thanks. I'd rather have Hoke.
January 9th, 2011 at 3:27 AM ^
Is underrated (and he owns USC) but I just don't see DB being interested
January 9th, 2011 at 3:46 AM ^
1. Pro-style offense that might scare off Denard (even if it is run-friendly)
2. Recruiting question marks (regional, lack of data to determine measurable success)
All that said, I like him and think he's a promising coach. Not sure how tainted he is by the Carroll/Bush drama though.
January 9th, 2011 at 3:54 AM ^
As everyone has stated, he is a west coast guy with no ties to the midwest or Michigan. He is very committed to Washington and rebuffed overtures from USC last year. If he was going to leave for another college job, it would have been for USC despite the sanctions last year. He is at Washington for the long-haul unless the NFL someday comes calling.
Also re: Washington's results, they are very lucky to play in a weak Pac 10. They beat USC last year when Barkley was out injured. I don't think Nebraska cared about playing a rematch in a meaningless bowl game after they already drubbed Washington by 35. The Huskies have shown improvement, but they are still a disaster so let's not read too much into his results particularly the Nebraska victory.
January 9th, 2011 at 5:56 AM ^
January 9th, 2011 at 4:02 AM ^
Hmmm... Can we instead have Don James circa 1978 please?
January 9th, 2011 at 5:08 AM ^
He was on the USC staff when everything went down, why not ask about Kiffin if you're going to ask about Sarkisian?
January 9th, 2011 at 5:32 AM ^
He was the QBs coach back then and had nothing to do with Bush's recruitment... your comment is completely unwarranted.
January 9th, 2011 at 5:57 AM ^
Personally, I believe that the Head Coach should be able to be a wonderful leader and know how to manage all parts of the team. To me, it doesn't matter who is coach (within reasonable expectations) as long as he is able to assistant coaches who are able to do their jobs at a high level. The strongest link in the chain (HC) is also the weakest (assistants). Each successful, big time coach always had top quality assistant.
In regards to schemes whether the coach coming in likes spread, pro, wishbone, or t-bone offense, I hope that the offense can be consistent in scoring with a defense that is able to be competent. If the defense is the weakest link, I hope the offense is able to take the burden off of the D and focus on ball/time control. Keep the weakest aspect of the team off of the field. I feel that this past season, the offensive playcalling could have been more generous to the D and allowed for snaps deeper into the play clock (I wish I had some stats on when the ball was snap in relation to playclock but I am going through observation). If we had a stronger D (I guess 2008) for comparison, then the tempo of the offense would have been fine. I am just hoping that the new coach is able to manage the game, recruit within the academic standard, and develop players throughout the year regardless of what year the player is in.
January 9th, 2011 at 12:04 PM ^
The AD might be leery of another "offensive genius."
Sarkisian is a QB guru, master recruiter and has done a great job at UW. He's a great recruiter and other top coaches seem to think very highly of him.
I'd like the hire better than Miles or Hoke.
Midwest experience would be his major obstacle but I believe he'd quickly establish himself in the region while maintaining his California ties.
January 9th, 2011 at 12:44 PM ^
January 9th, 2011 at 1:30 PM ^
because they had locker these two years
no locker: 0-12
with locker: 5-7, 7-6