What about Todd Grantham? Elite defensive coordinator that was successful at Mississippi State and now Florida. Not sure if he is a legitimate option. Unsure of his recruiting and he’s never gotten a shot before.
2019-20 Coaching Discussion/Carousel
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That’s a name we haven’t discussed, good call.
Does he want to stay in college? He danced around the league this offseason.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Another guy whose, uh, affect doesn't exactly scream "head coach", though it screams just about everything else.
But hey, maybe, who knows.
Well, Saban probably couldn’t find more of a challenge than here. Unless he wanted to go back and give the Dolphins another try.
Ahh.. so we are finally at the point in the season where the suggestions are alumni, high school coaches, and horrible retreads..
I miss when this thread was a little more private. That dang Minny game brought out the goofy suggestions.
I miss when this thread was a little more private. That dang Minny game brought out the goofy suggestions.
I won’t pretend to know what the answer is. I was hopeful when Lovie was hired. There hasn’t been much of a reason to be encouraged the last couple of years and there certainly isn’t now. Yesterday was really just a last gasp. I don’t know if there is anything to be gained making a move not even half way through the season but, certainly preparations should be made for a change at the end of the season. I don’t have any ill will toward Lovie. It just didn’t work out. Could he or we announce that he won’t be coming back next year but, will finish out the season and do whatever is necessary for a smooth transition to a new coach and staff? To the extent that is even possible.
Almost all of the names mentioned here as candidates have some points that make them a good possibility. I am not of the mind that the head coach has to be an alumni but, do like having some alumni sprinkled into the staff.
I know PJ Fleck has a lot of doubters here but, Minny is 5-0. And just looked like a better prepared team yesterday. The tough part of their schedule is still to come so we’ll see how they progress but, they are well setup for a successful season. After he called that timeout when we missed the field goal at the end of the first half and then made the 2nd attempt you could see him telling the players coming off the field “that’s on me guys”. Gotta think that kind of stuff means something to players.
Almost all of the names mentioned here as candidates have some points that make them a good possibility. I am not of the mind that the head coach has to be an alumni but, do like having some alumni sprinkled into the staff.
I know PJ Fleck has a lot of doubters here but, Minny is 5-0. And just looked like a better prepared team yesterday. The tough part of their schedule is still to come so we’ll see how they progress but, they are well setup for a successful season. After he called that timeout when we missed the field goal at the end of the first half and then made the 2nd attempt you could see him telling the players coming off the field “that’s on me guys”. Gotta think that kind of stuff means something to players.
Deleted member 654622
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I am not sure I agree with this. I have not done any research to make an educated decision here either. But if we are confident this team is not going to improve, what benefit are we getting by keeping him? The worst thing is no hope. And this program has no hope.
We used to call them "winnable" games, but let's be more realistic and say bad teams left on the schedule -
Purdue, Rutgers and Northwestern
The only way we win any of those games is if:
1. The roster learns how to tackle. Lovie doesn't tackle in practice. Even after four years of bad tackling. Not going to change
2. Get competent QB play from a running QB. If we are honest, the odds of an undersized, inexperienced true freshman filling that role is slim. And wouldn't you want to save a legit year for the new coaching staff? Give me Coran Taylor. Eff it. Be AJ Bush Coran
If we are not going to improve the players currently on the roster to better prepare us for next year, then look at the possibilities that can make that happen.
I believe most programs have a plethora of analyst with coaching experience on the staff, that could step in as position coaches for whomever to take over coordinator / HC duties. I just looked at the IL analyst...….never mind. Yep this is a very inexperienced and possibly the most inept coaching staff in the country.
#1 sounds like something a... hmm... defensive coordinator could have helped with.
Illinifan533
- Normal, Illinois
There was a time when Fleck was a popular name on here to replace Beckman for good reason. Then Minnesota hired him and all of a sudden his quirks turned him into a laughing-stock. I don't care if a coach is a bit weird as long as he's not dopey like Beckman and can actually win.
I don’t know who we can get or will get. I don’t know if that person will be a current head coach or a coordinator. I do know, that after watching the last two coaches try to fill their staff, that it would be important for me as an AD to know who my candidate is planning on bringing in for their coordinators and names for at least half the staff if possible. And I wouldn’t just take the candidates word for it, I’d be calling those coaches and making damn sure they’re on board.
Dopey like Zook sometimes was, Beckman always was, and Lovie has become.
Depressing.
Deleted member 654622
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nc...ing-head-coach-of-rutgers-football/ar-AAIfyev
Basically just replace Rutgers with Illinois.
He has been successful, his next HC job will be extremely important to him, he has plenty of ties and experienced enough to build a talented staff.
Even with Gritty's information about retreads, I still think he can get us back to AT LEAST middle of the pack. Then we can go from there.
And he can take over RIGHT FREEKING NOW. He is just an analyst for Alabama currently.
Basically just replace Rutgers with Illinois.
He has been successful, his next HC job will be extremely important to him, he has plenty of ties and experienced enough to build a talented staff.
Even with Gritty's information about retreads, I still think he can get us back to AT LEAST middle of the pack. Then we can go from there.
And he can take over RIGHT FREEKING NOW. He is just an analyst for Alabama currently.
Very very few teams tackle when going live in practice.
Your recruiting strategy and your assistant choices would pretty much be my first two questions. They might be my only two questions. You can’t win without a strong supporting staff.
Deleted member 654622
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Guest
During the season. According to Jay Leman, if I remember correctly, touched on this either last year or during the offseason. They do not live tackle during practice, off season or during season. And let's be honest, after the last three games of missed tackles, should you not work on tackling??? Very very few teams look as bad as we do
There has to be some type emphasis going forward but this is a legitimate slippery slope here. When Houston Nutt was at Ole Miss, one of their prized recruits from the cycle before broke his ankle in a live tackling drill and their fan base went berserk. I all but guarantee a similar situation with Lovie would garner the same response.
BZuppke
- Plainfield
We all knew the Lovie Smith experiment was iffy. What we have failed to do is hire a college football coach who knows how to build a program. I’ll submit that the last time we did that was when we hired Mike White. People here scoffed at Fleck but they are now 5-0. He proved at Western Michigan he could build a program. Case closed.
Okay, but the coaches can still teach tackling, and emphasize the necessary desire and technique, without "live" drills. They can also hold players accountable who show a lack of manhood in their so-called "effort" at making a tackle. (No, I'm not suggesting some over-the-top discipline. I'm suggesting that they sit people on the bench so that the entire team fully understands what is expected.)
We expect 4/5 star kids to enroll. We should expect a 5-star coaching staff too. Then we MUST have a clause in there that if the staff underperforms then we do .....
FeelYourPaign
- So Cal
FWLIW, He is the guy I wanted a few years ago.
I did like seeing Lovie hired, as it said to me that the AD was serious. Hadn't felt serious about football before that. So, Lovie was an upgrade in attitude. But I didn't like Lovie with the Bears and I was worried about Lovie with the Illini. Now, after four years, I find myself daydreaming about what might have been.
SKane
- Tennessee
Three questions.
Have we discussed how much money is available to hire a new head coach in the event that Coach Smith is fired after this season?
Also, do any of the Assistant Coaches have buy-out money that they would collect?
Finally, would you want any of the Assistant Coaches to be retained?
My impression is that wunderkind JW will (unfortunately) get to hire one more football coach. So all of the fans can give donations, buy tickets, and buy merchandise to
.
Have we discussed how much money is available to hire a new head coach in the event that Coach Smith is fired after this season?
Also, do any of the Assistant Coaches have buy-out money that they would collect?
Finally, would you want any of the Assistant Coaches to be retained?
My impression is that wunderkind JW will (unfortunately) get to hire one more football coach. So all of the fans can give donations, buy tickets, and buy merchandise to
I don’t think money is a major issue. Can we please start kicking around realistic names that aren’t high school coaches are solely alum?
Brand new football building, 60k seat B1G stadium, low expectations (any Bowl will do now), and reason to believe money to spend. It has to be enticing.
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