2019-20 Coaching Discussion/Carousel

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#1,251      
Mike Norvell Memphis (age 38) 31 – 15 overall. Worked as an Offensive Coordinator for Pittsburgh and Arizona State before becoming the head coach at Memphis in 2016. Won his division the last two years. This might be a reach because he doesn’t have a lot of head coaching experience and is young. Currently 5 – 1.

I think that is exactly the kind of guy that Illinois needs to go after. Young guy that has had success in a non Power 5 conference, but may not be getting looked at by the big dogs quite yet because he is young and "inexperienced." Unfortunately, he may be past the stage of being willing to take and Illinois rebuild job. He is the highest paid non Power 5 coach. So it's not like he is exactly hurting for money at Memphis. He may be willing to wait around at Memphis and continue winning for a few more years until the big dogs start making offers.

He would probably be up there close to my #1 choice, but I just don't think it'll happen. We are gonna have to take a bigger risk and hope that we get lucky at this point.
 
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ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
He is the highest paid non Power 5 coach.

No longer true, it's now Dana Holgorsen, at like $3.7 million per.

Houston will stop at nothing to gate-crash major conference football. They've done it before.
 
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Any good coaches out there that have an Irish background? They get a free trip to Dublin if they take the job 😎
 
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I'd love to have Norvell, but I can't see him taking the Illinois job at this point; he'll have better offers.

Also, I just spent a bunch of time reading about Clay Helton. He could be our Zook 2.0, if we wanted such a thing. A little better at the podium, and less strutting around on the sideline scrawling in a tiny notebook. Probably fewer 5 star recruits as well, unfortunately. He could be an upgrade over Lovie though...
 
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No longer true, it's now Dana Holgorsen, at like $3.7 million per.

Houston will stop at nothing to gate-crash major conference football. They've done it before.

I stand corrected. My logic still stands. This isn't a guy making $500k a year (poor them). He is making a couple million a year. Granted, a pay raise is a pay raise, but it's a little easier to wait it out if you are making a couple million a year.
 
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ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
I just spent a bunch of time reading about Clay Helton. He could be our Zook 2.0, if we wanted such a thing.

USC's recruiting has completely collapsed in the last two years. They were 20th nationally last year, which sounds fine but is the worst they've done since pre-Pete Carroll, including years where they were under scholarship limitations, and this year they currently have 11 commits, only a single four star (that's, like, unimaginable at USC), and are 65th in the country.

There's not a lot of evidence that Helton is a difference maker in any regard, IMO. I was very surprised they gave him the job in the first place.
 
#1,262      
USC's recruiting has completely collapsed in the last two years. They were 20th nationally last year, which sounds fine but is the worst they've done since pre-Pete Carroll, including years where they were under scholarship limitations, and this year they currently have 11 commits, only a single four star (that's, like, unimaginable at USC), and are 65th in the country.

There's not a lot of evidence that Helton is a difference maker in any regard, IMO. I was very surprised they gave him the job in the first place.

Yeah, looks like the recruiting wheels came off on 2019. Okay, I crossed him off my list.

Looks like we better go get Jason Candle before someone else snaps him up.
 
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ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
After the egg they just laid, I doubt there's a run on his bank.

You don't overreact based on one game of course. But I think that was the largest upset by point spread yet this year. It was Toledo -27, and they lost by 13. Vegas does not miss by 40 often.
 
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You don't overreact based on one game of course. But I think that was the largest upset by point spread yet this year. It was Toledo -27, and they lost by 13. Vegas does not miss by 40 often.

It's not about the one game, it's what that performance projects them out to finish. A MAC team in the 8-4/7-5 range isn't going to cause programs to line up to the point that we need to snatch him up before anyone/everyone else.
 
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ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
It's not about the one game, it's what that performance projects them out to finish. A MAC team in the 8-4/7-5 range isn't going to cause programs to line up to the point that we need to snatch him up before anyone/everyone else.

Yeah but they looked like they had a shot to win out before that game, and may still.

Candle is probably behind only Fickell on the "out of central casting Big Ten head coach" list among current group of five HC's. But I agree that if Saturday is indicative of them slumping to 7-5 that very much changes the calculus.

My money is still on them in the MAC West. A division which, fun fact, neither Tim Beckman nor Matt Campbell ever won. Candle has.
 
#1,274      

BZuppke

Plainfield
I think they are completely separate but I would say it could impact the decision. Wouldn’t you want a new coach in his second season rather than his first game.
 
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