Brohm has flown under the radar, but has done a tremendous job at Western Kentucky. He fits the bill of the offensive innovator that Purdue wanted. He certainly is better from a recruiting standpoint (than Fleck) for Illinois as Fleck would do a tremendous job in Illinois recruiting. I believe we avoided either Indiana schools becoming a serious threat at Illinois recruits....if the Brohm to Purdue comes to fruition.
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Brohm has flown under the radar, but has done a tremendous job at Western Kentucky. He fits the bill of the offensive innovator that Purdue wanted. He certainly is better from a recruiting standpoint (than Fleck) for Illinois as Fleck would do a tremendous job in Illinois recruiting. I believe we avoided either Indiana schools becoming a serious threat at Illinois recruits....if the Brohm to Purdue comes to fruition.
I argued with a lot of people last year that Fleck would be better than Babers. I do believe Babers is an excellent coach (I don't think he'll ever get Syracuse where he wants to), but Babers would have viewed Illinois as a stepping stone to a Big 12/SEC/PAC12 job. Fleck would set-up shop and be in for the long haul...he has the aura about him that could spark this program for years to come.
There is still a part of me that would still like to see Lovie move on, opening up the possibility of Fleck. Having said that, I am very happy with the direction Lovie has the program going so by no means am I saying we should make this move. If Fleck moves on from Western Michigan, I hope it is not in the Big 10 for recruiting purposes.
One other piece of information....We all know that Josh Whitman reached out to Ron Turner in regards to who could be successful at Illinois. Turner recommended Lovie Smith. Ron Turner worked with PJ Fleck in Tampa Bay and I have heard interviews with both coaches saying how close of friends they are and how much respect they have for each other. This leads me to wonder if Lovie didn't work out, if Fleck was Whitman's second phone call.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
I actually feel the opposite, IF Fleck would have ended up with the UI job, I believe he would have moved on if things went really well (either bigger college job or NFL)
Fleck is a scumbag. When hired at Western Michigan he cut the scholarships of all committed players. He did this after signing day, during a dead period. So all the commits had nowhere to go, no other schools had any scholarships left, and even if they did they could not recruit them. When asked about doing this Fleck responded by saying "It's a tough situation, but I know if it was me I would be banging on the coach's door telling him how badly I want to be here." He said this knowing it was a dead period and coaches would not be able to communicate with unsigned players. One of the most despicable acts I have heard of in college athletics, he's garbage, so glad does not represent the University.
He is strongly considering staying at Western Michigan....he grew up in Illinois and makes it no secret that Illinois was his favorite team growing up. The running joke between Ron Turner and Fleck is that Turner never recruited him and Fleck always gives him a hard time. You cannot possibly think that Fleck is a bigger flight risk than Babers would have been.
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mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
If he stays at WMU, it's because he doesn't see a logical step-up in job prospects available, not because he is going to put roots down in Kalamazoo. My statement wasn't about who was the bigger flight risk (and I think teams like Illinois should worry less about flight risk and focus more on who is most likely to be successful when making hires).
I can and do.
It appears Donte Williams (Arizona CB Coach) will be joining the Nebraska coaching staff. Williams is considered one of the very best recruiters in the state of California. Really good hire by Mike Riley if true.
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What about the Ol Ball Coach?
Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
- Bloomington, IL
Isn't he the poster child of coaches you can't trust?
I have heard it mentioned in the past the Fleck prefers to go south. Specidically that he would like to be in Florida, but South in general.
He recruited Florida as well as anyone while being WR coach at Rutgers. The reality is this dude could recruit well anywhere he wants.
Any football or basketball coach that does well at Illinois is a flight risk. That's a big (maybe the biggest) reason we are where we are. Imagine Mike White's program was a little cleaner, or Mackovic chose to stay here, or Guenther gave Self a $3M contract.
dgcrow
- Kelso, WA
That may be true, but the only head football or basketball coaches that I am aware of who actually left Illinois for another college were Gene Bartow, Mackovic, and Self.
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I really can't comprehend this...please follow up with reasons.
Babers: Grew up in California, has coached at Arizona, UCLA, Texas A&M, and Baylor. He has spent three years coaching in the state of Illinois. Babers also jumped at the first power 5 job that came available, meaning he just wants to move up no matter where.
Fleck: Grew up in Illinois (as an Illini fan), played college in Illinois, has spent almost his entire career coaching in Big 10 territory. Fleck is talking about not even interviewing at Oregon because of his commitment at WMU....I'll say it again considering how large of statement it is, he is most likely not going to interview at OREGON because he wants to stay at WMU.
...I am trying to comprehend how you think Fleck would be more likely to bolt than Babers. It makes zero sense.
Fleck is a 36 year old wild-eyed narcissist who job hopped relentlessly to get where he is and cannot get enough of media attention.
Babers is 55.
1. I think considering flight risk when hiring a coach is absolute hair-on-fire insanity. It's either throwing the baby out with the bathwater, cutting off your nose to spite your face, or both, I can't decide.
2. The question of who is the likelier flight risk should involve only two variables: their age and their chances of succeeding at the job you're hiring for. Anything else is pseudoscience.
3. If you put a gun to my head and force me to delve into pseudoscience, Fleck exudes the "I'm gonna sleep with your girlfriend, possibly your Mom too, and then lecture you at a self-help seminar for 8 hours" vibe more than any college coach I've ever seen. I wouldn't trust that guy to park my car.
I do agree that considering flight risk is not good practice when considering a head coach. It was you that mentioned you felt Fleck was the bigger flight risk. I am simply proving you wrong.
Babers moved to a new school 15 times in 32 years. Fleck moved 5 times in 11 years. I'm not the best at math but that appears to be about the same odds to "job hop relentlessly". If Fleck has "job hopped relentlessly" then why is he likely to not interview for Oregon and by all accounts has turned down even a sit down with Purdue? He also turned down an OC job in 2012 because he did not feel like he was ready, that does not scream narcissist to me. Babers age is irrelevant, at 55...he could get hired for a new job for 10+ more years. AD's do not pay attention to age just as much as they shouldn't look at flight risk ratios.
You are entitled to your opinion on Fleck; however, I think you have sadly mistaken his character.
Yeah, we'll see.
Suffice it to say that I see Fleck as a bullet dodged for Illinois football.
More than Kiffin?!
Or Petrino, or Saban or Hugh Freeze.
It's almost like an affliction most D-1 coaches suffer from
So Lon Kruger doesn't count in your world?
And who are the successful coaches that stayed? Lou Henson. That's it. Mike White may have stayed, but he wasn't getting big offers because of his NCAA troubles.