Football Coaching Staff / Coaching Carousel Thread

[MadSeason]

“Thrilled?” LOL. Is this Mrs. Hudson?

I’ve never heard of the guy. I suspect neither have any on this board and most of our recruits. Maybe he will be OK. I sure hope that he is. But a 41 year old guy with a grand total of one year of D1 coaching experience at FAU hardly screams “home run.” Seriously, this is the best Lovie can do after a six month search? You know there are other coaches with both “Florida recruiting ties,” and far more impressive resumes, right?

You've never heard of the guy, know nothing about him apparently but are "terribly underwhelmed" by the hire.

If we are going to be basing our opinions on the quality of assistant hires by name recognition then yes I suspect you will be disappointed.

 

[Deleted member 649710]

I hope the guy succeeds. Hope he kills it. Honestly. I hope I’m here eating crow in 11 months.

I just don’t see how anybody gets off pimping this guy as a “great recruiter” based on sample size. Can anyone name a single player he pulled to USC or FAU as primary recruiter?And is he going to be able to improve our DB play? Has he shown ability to “coach em up?”

Again, I hope he’s great, but his resume hardly suggests that he is going to move the needle during what likely will be a make or break year for Lovie. Very puzzling hire.

 

[Illinisouthside]

I hope the guy succeeds. Hope he kills it. Honestly. I hope I’m here eating crow in 11 months.

I just don’t see how anybody gets off pimping this guy as a “great recruiter” based on sample size. Can anyone name a single player he pulled to USC or FAU as primary recruiter?And is he going to be able to improve our DB play? Has he shown ability to “coach em up?”

Again, I hope he’s great, but his resume hardly suggests that he is going to move the needle during what likely will be a make or break year for Lovie. Very puzzling hire.

He coach them 2nd on the nation at int

 

[GForce]

He appears to be Thad 2.0, with more Florida ties

 

[Joel Goodson]

So, somewhere in between great and terrible, amirite?

 

[GForce]

I'm assuming Clark had some input on the hire, since they were on the same staff at USC.

 

[IlliniNation1010]

I hope the guy succeeds. Hope he kills it. Honestly. I hope I’m here eating crow in 11 months.

I just don’t see how anybody gets off pimping this guy as a “great recruiter” based on sample size. Can anyone name a single player he pulled to USC or FAU as primary recruiter?And is he going to be able to improve our DB play? Has he shown ability to “coach em up?”

Again, I hope he’s great, but his resume hardly suggests that he is going to move the needle during what likely will be a make or break year for Lovie. Very puzzling hire.

I agree, his profile is nothing to be impressed by. He knows the system, the Kiffon's and Coach AC gave him their endorsement. We'll just have to wait & hope the recruiting prowess is true

 

[thunderwear]

I hope the guy succeeds. Hope he kills it. Honestly. I hope I’m here eating crow in 11 months.

I just don’t see how anybody gets off pimping this guy as a “great recruiter” based on sample size. Can anyone name a single player he pulled to USC or FAU as primary recruiter?And is he going to be able to improve our DB play? Has he shown ability to “coach em up?”

Again, I hope he’s great, but his resume hardly suggests that he is going to move the needle during what likely will be a make or break year for Lovie. Very puzzling hire.

Quran hafiz. We were also on him

I trust his credentials with recruiting. That’s what we hired him for. He also has the pedigree to support the decision. I’m not sure what posters were hoping for with this hire.

 

[ILL_INI]

Top recruiter on a team that has finished 1st, 3rd and 7th respectively in recruiting rankings for Conference USA according to 247. Has landed multiple players from Jacksonville, Dayton and Tampa area and has ties in Georgia and Alabama.

Was well liked and know as good recruiter during time at USC

Thanks, MadSeason. I'm still not feeling it. I'm not trying to deflate your elation, but the three prior years FAU ranked 8th (2014), 2nd (2015) and 3rd (2016) in Conference USA per 247. Being 1st and 3rd the following years seems to be a continuation of what was built, and now they've fallen back to the middle of the pack. Would rather see the trend going the other way.

Maybe he learned some of the recruiting tricks of the trade working with Lane Kiffin at both FAU and USC and will bring them to Illinois.

 

[MadSeason]

I hope the guy succeeds. Hope he kills it. Honestly. I hope I’m here eating crow in 11 months.

I just don’t see how anybody gets off pimping this guy as a “great recruiter” based on sample size. Can anyone name a single player he pulled to USC or FAU as primary recruiter?And is he going to be able to improve our DB play? Has he shown ability to “coach em up?”

Again, I hope he’s great, but his resume hardly suggests that he is going to move the needle during what likely will be a make or break year for Lovie. Very puzzling hire.

Hudson was primary recruiter for 16 guys on the FAU roster, 8 of them from Florida with several more coming in 2019. Lovie has prioritized Florida as a recruiting spot and we needed someone with deep ties down there after Abraham left. I struggle to understand what is puzzling about it.

If this guy had University of Illinois listed after his Alma Mater people would be thrilled with it. Great recruiters aren't exactly known quantities until they wind up at Ohio St, Alabama and Georgia. So are we going to lure a big name from one of these schools?

When a guy is primary recruiter on nearly 20% of an FBS roster after only being there 2+ years, thats a guy I tend to take notice of.

USC fans weren't happy that Hudson wasn't promoted due to reputation as a big time recruiter.

Here's the story from when he was hired at FAU

https://247sports.com/college/usc/Bolt/FAU-hires-Keynodo-Hudson--49933720/

 

[ILL_INI]

Here's the story from when he was hired at FAU

https://247sports.com/college/usc/Bolt/FAU-hires-Keynodo-Hudson--49933720/

One thing I learned from this article is that FAU plagiarized 247sports.com.

 

[NScale]

He appears to be Thad 2.0, with more Florida ties

This is why I really like this hire.

 

[GForce]

My take: Lovie's first go-round at staff hires were mostly position teacher types. I think he realized he needed better recruiters and so has added that with more recent hires, like Patterson, Clark, and now Hudson.

 

[Blockhead]

My take: Lovie's first go-round at staff hires were mostly position teacher types. I think he realized he needed better recruiters and so has added that with more recent hires, like Patterson, Clark, and now Hudson.

The problem with his first staff was the timing of the hire. Less coaches are open to moving around in the spring. It was more a lack of fit than anything (and results with McGee). But if you look back on the first staff there was actually much more college coaching experience vs the new guys. Ward, Williams, McGee, and even McGarigle and Phair had more impressive resumes than any of the new guys. The new guys are more high risk, high reward than anything else. (I’m talking comparative to the guy each replaced. Rod has a better resume than a lot of these guys but coming into Illinois it was at best even with McGee’s)

 

[Deleted member 654622]

It means that the DC is probably already on the staff. I would guess it's Byrd (in name only) with Miles as the LB coach.

Really disappointing if that's how it shakes out. If it's not the most inexperienced Defensive staff in the FBS then it would have to be close.

I can't think of anything positive to say about Miles Smith as an LB coach. We really needed a dynamite recruiter with significant college coaching experience and Miles really gives us nothing.

I'm not entirely sure what Byrd does. His "coaching" was suspect at best last year and his "recruiting" is non-existent.

Byrd is a PHENOMENAL coach. His track record shows that. No he is not a recruiter at all. That is the big down side. More of a reason to fill the staff with position coaches who recruit the crap out of some key areas

 

[GForce]

The problem with his first staff was the timing of the hire. Less coaches are open to moving around in the spring. It was more a lack of fit than anything (and results with McGee). But if you look back on the first staff there was actually much more college coaching experience vs the new guys. Ward, Williams, McGee, and even McGarigle and Phair had more impressive resumes than any of the new guys. The new guys are more high risk, high reward than anything else. (I’m talking comparative to the guy each replaced. Rod has a better resume than a lot of these guys but coming into Illinois it was at best even with McGee’s)

I agree the timing was bad for filling that initial staff. And I'm only assuming those coaches were good teachers (Phair for sure) because they certainly weren't ace recruiters. I kind of recall Ward being brought on because of his recruiting chops and connections in Florida, even though he was a mid-major guy, but everyone else was inherited, or hired for their coaching experience. Now it seems it's all about recruiting when hiring new position coaches, fancy resumes be damned. So far it seems to be working out, with Clark and Patterson, two high risk/reward hires, responsible for some of our top 2019 recruits. Hudson has a better resume than both those guys.

As far as McGee, he was considered something of a coup when we got him, so you never know until they're actually in the job. Fortunately Rod has worked out great, and he even recruits. Judging by the recent blanketing of the state by the entire staff, and appearances in TX and FL, Lovie seems to want to kick recruiting into high gear. So I'm guessing he'll fill out the remaining positions with coaches who are all about recruiting, and Byrd will be our new "DC" (really co-DC with Lovie).

 

[MadSeason]

I agree the timing was bad for filling that initial staff. And I'm only assuming those coaches were good teachers (Phair for sure) because they certainly weren't ace recruiters. I kind of recall Ward being brought on because of his recruiting chops and connections in Florida, even though he was a mid-major guy, but everyone else was inherited, or hired for their coaching experience. Now it seems it's all about recruiting when hiring new position coaches, fancy resumes be damned. So far it seems to be working out, with Clark and Patterson, two high risk/reward hires, responsible for some of our top 2019 recruits. Hudson has a better resume than both those guys.

As far as McGee, he was considered something of a coup when we got him, so you never know until they're actually in the job. Fortunately Rod has worked out great, and he even recruits. Judging by the recent blanketing of the state by the entire staff, and appearances in TX and FL, Lovie seems to want to kick recruiting into high gear. So I'm guessing he'll fill out the remaining positions with coaches who are all about recruiting, and Byrd will be our new "DC" (really co-DC with Lovie).

Agreed. AHS was probably seen more as a coach coach, but has turned into a major force in recruiting. Seemingly we have locked in a very strong recruiting base in Texas, St. Louis and now hopefully Florida. Seems like the last piece of that puzzle will be solidifying recruiting in Illinois. I'd prefer Scheelhaase but not sure if thats going to happen. If not I would like to see someone like Aaron Moorhead who has proven himself a strong recruiter.

 

[EthanM]

Since the Super Bowl is now over, that means Lovie can formally announce Wade Phillips as our new DC at any time, right?

 

[Chukwuwumba]

Seems like the team has some connections to USC in regards to staff insights. Clark and now Hudson.
People are down on his coaching experience, but had more than Clark and Patterson (at college level). And he was coaching the Tampa 2 scheme. I wonder how the talks with Monte Kiffin Went, I’m guessing they talked. Taking a coach away from their staff, but have good professional connection?

Doesn’t seem like the board has a good feel on asst position coaches...probably cause it’s hard to know what goes on behind the scenes. Coordinators are easier to identify.

 

[Chukwuwumba]

ILL best case scenario is to hire a def assistant and keep Miles as part of team in another capacity(def analyst??). Better quality than finding another staff member to pair with Miles as the full time assistant.

Miles best interest is to get a full time position. Maybe he is trying to get opportunities at other places?? Holding the position open possibly helps in that aspect, that he is under consideration. ???

 

[illinipioneer]

ILL best case scenario is to hire a def assistant and keep Miles as part of team in another capacity(def analyst??). Better quality than finding another staff member to pair with Miles as the full time assistant.

Miles best interest is to get a full time position. Maybe he is trying to get opportunities at other places?? Holding the position open possibly helps in that aspect, that he is under consideration. ???

Ehhh, I highly doubt they are playing that kind of 3d Chess

 

[illini0440]

ILL best case scenario is to hire a def assistant and keep Miles as part of team in another capacity(def analyst??). Better quality than finding another staff member to pair with Miles as the full time assistant.

Miles best interest is to get a full time position. Maybe he is trying to get opportunities at other places?? Holding the position open possibly helps in that aspect, that he is under consideration. ???

problem is there isn't a division 1 coach that would hire Miles other than his dad....

 

[Chukwuwumba]

problem is there isn't a division 1 coach that would hire Miles other than his dad....

Maybe a trade with FAU lol

 

[illini0440]

Maybe a trade with FAU lol

That would be best for us haha but Lane would probably rather keep the position empty than have Miles.

 

[Deleted member 654622]

That would be best for us haha but Lane would probably rather keep the position empty than have Miles.

So your opinion is that he is not a quality D1 coach?