I’m watching the Syracuse vs NC State game on espn right now. I’d take either Dino or Doeren. Chance to coach on the B1G plus some monster load of KhanKash?!?! Yes please. I think you could define a legitimate path for either to take the risk.
Doeren just recieved a 5 year contract through 2023 and is making a little over 3 million a year at NC State. He has led the team to 5 straight bowl games. I think it would be next to impossible to bring him to Illinois.
Babers on the other hand... a little bit more possible.
Babers on the other hand... a little bit more possible.
People's interest in a guy who would then be 23-26 (12-20 ACC) in four years at Syracuse, who would be 59 years old when coaching his first game, and who is apparently looking to bail out of the Power Five job he already has....I don't think it's the smart part of people's brains leading them in that direction.
A name that I don't think I have heard mentioned:
Eliah Drinkwitz over at App State
Probably a long shot but the guy is an offensive guru through and through.
I'm not sure I see six wins on that schedule for them. For the sake of argument let's put them at 5-7.
People's interest in a guy who would then be 23-26 (12-20 ACC) in four years at Syracuse, who would be 59 years old when coaching his first game, and who is apparently looking to bail out of the Power Five job he already has....I don't think it's the smart part of people's brains leading them in that direction.
No wins are awarded for paying the most money or stealing the most prominent coach, despite how resolutely fans always believe that.
A name that I don't think I have heard mentioned:
Eliah Drinkwitz over at App State
Probably a long shot but the guy is an offensive guru through and through.
All fair points. Only comment I'd make is I don't think the view of Syracuse is overly accurate. It's a Power 5 job but it has very real limitations. There are Group of 5 jobs that are as attractive if not moreso.
Oh sure, Syracuse is a tough gig. List the Power Five jobs by talent located within a 4 hour drive of campus, and Syracuse is going to be a handful from the bottom (Illinois would be higher on that list that people might assume btw).
But is Babers actually succeeding there? I'm dubious.
The next FB Coach, it seems to me, will more than likely be an experiment too. ??????
Any coach we would hire would be an experiment. Urban Meyer, Bob Stoops, Dabo Swinney, you name it.
Keeping Lovie would also be an experiment.
The future is not certain.
After reading a good number of posts, I just do not think Illinois has any good alternatives. The next FB Coach, it seems to me, will more than likely be an experiment too. ??????
Nope.
The future is more certain with some and disastrous with some.
There is a curve out there. Heck the world runs on such curves.
Has anyone mentioned John Grass from Jacksonville St? 37-2 in the OVC. On par with Babers EIU run for 3 times as long.
Any coach we would hire would be an experiment. Urban Meyer, Bob Stoops, Dabo Swinney, you name it.
Keeping Lovie would also be an experiment.
The future is not certain.
How are the absolute sure things Chip Kelly at UCLA and Jim Harbaugh at Michigan going?
(Coming soon to this list: Jimbo at A&M)
I refuse to do a deep dive into this one-- in the context of being a "sure thing hire", I know you aren't really implying Chip Kelly & Jim Harbaugh would be an apples-to-apples comparison to Dabo Swinney, Urban Meyer and Bob Stoops.
I would say no one including Doeren is necessarily a pipe dream. There are other factors that play into these things. For example if Doeren’s Wife’s family is all here in the Midwest, a big payday and being much closer to family could factor in. Additionally, what is his relationship with the AD? Saban for one has always listed this as a big factor. Our conclusions here do not take these other factors into account so we aren’t necessarily getting the full picture.
I think Harbaugh was probably a better hire than any of those three would be. Jim Harbaugh to Michigan might have been the highest expected value hire in modern CFB history. Meyer to Ohio State is a contender for that. Both were even higher than Saban to Bama.
I betcha Stoops and Meyer will struggle more at their next gigs than people are anticipating.
(On Chip Kelly, I saw this coming a mile away, so I'm a bit less sure what the general expectation level was, but I know it was treated in some quarters as the surest of sure things, not without some justification.)