You guys ever go back and look at old posts and just laugh a little bit?
Coaching Carousel (Football)
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FlyNavy
- Los Angeles
I think Nate will be an OC next season with a ton of jobs opening up. What's interesting is him being considered a dark horse candidate for a head coaching job, and it makes sense given the youth movement in the NFL. Here are five youngest coaches as of today (Nate is 35):
1. Kellen Moore (Saints) - 37
2. Mike Macdonald (Seahawks) - 38
3. Ben Johnson (Bears) - 39
4. Sean McVay (Rams) - 39
5. Liam Coen (Jaguars) - 40
Four of these guys have their teams in the playoffs, and the fifth (Moore) inherited one of the worst teams but has them trending in the right direction. Given his lack of play-calling experience, I would be surprised if Nate was tapped for a HC position this cycle, but I think he'll be a head coach before his 40th Birthday.
Another name to watch is Jim Leonard (age 43) - he has a great shot at being a DC next year (possibly with the Broncos if Vance Joseph gets a head coaching job) and a head coaching job in a few years.
nah... that would be like... bringing ron turner back again
and 69 others
“Timeout South Carolina”
You sent me down a fun rabbit hole! The 2020 coaching search thread is hilarious in 2025.
Just went down it myself... SO hilarious. I forgot about the Bret Arkansas windsuit. Need that in Orange.
FWIW....Leipold was the guy I wasn't thrilled by
Glad we hired Bret. Was not glad at the time, and am so happy I was wrong.
That being said Leipold would have been a fine hire too. He's done alright with a more difficult assignment at Kansas. Given where the state of the program at the time of this hire I think it says a lot about JW's ability to evaluate that the guy who got the job has done so well, and that the guy who came in 2nd (I think?) has also done well where he ended up.
I think Leipold would have struggled to recruit here
ha, shows what i know. that's who i really wanted. i still think he's a good coach, kansas is just a very hard gig
yea
Bret was clearly the better choice of those two , given his experience in the B1G & SEC and existing knowledge of the state .
Some of Liepold's success seems based on taking on guys that would have never historically gotten into UIUC.
Although I'm not sure how much leeway Bert/Josh have gotten though since you don't hear them passing on guys over academics.
mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
I've got lots of posts during that search where I wanted Leipold and did not want Bielema. I had serious doubts about hiring a guy at Illinois after he had failed at an SEC equivalent (Arkansas), but plenty of maturity rumors spread across Madison and Fayetteville. I was underestimating the "lessons learned" component from those experiences. Plus, I didn't know that Bielema held high prestige in the coaching community.
I still believe Leipold would have been a good hire (Kansas was the worst P5 program when he took over, maybe even worse than that), but Bielema has turned around this program in ways that would have been unforeseeable for most Illinois fans.
I still believe Leipold would have been a good hire (Kansas was the worst P5 program when he took over, maybe even worse than that), but Bielema has turned around this program in ways that would have been unforeseeable for most Illinois fans.
Illinivek23
- Gurnee
It seemed Leipold's defense at Buffalo gave up a ton of points in the last half of the year and wasn't too thrilled about that, after going thru the Tampa 2 years of Lovie's stagnant read and react defense.
Need to get our defensive side back on track this coming fall - love the job Bret is doing since coming here.
Need to get our defensive side back on track this coming fall - love the job Bret is doing since coming here.
mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
Here's a list of names mentioned in that thread that were either connected to the job or posters wanted for the head coach opening after Lovie:
Jamey Chadwell
Chuck Martin
Billy Napier
Art Briles
Marc Trestman
Hugh Freeze
Jim Leonhard
PJ Fleck (most people trashing him)
Corey Patterson
John Holecek
Lance Leipold
Kendal Briles
Steve Sarkisian
Jeff Monken
Todd Monken
Gus Malzahn
Clark Lea
Marcus Freeman
Jay Norvell
Troy Calhoun
Dave Doeren
Tom Herman
Kalani Sitake
Mike Leach
Bo Pelini
Jim Tressel
Nathan Scheehaase (would have been 30 years old at hire date)
Joe Brady
Bill O'Brien
Matt Campbell
Luke Fickell
Urban Meyer
Alex Grinch
Chris Peterson
Matt Entz
Jim McElwain
Pat Narduzzi
Jamey Chadwell
Chuck Martin
Billy Napier
Art Briles
Marc Trestman
Hugh Freeze
Jim Leonhard
PJ Fleck (most people trashing him)
Corey Patterson
John Holecek
Lance Leipold
Kendal Briles
Steve Sarkisian
Jeff Monken
Todd Monken
Gus Malzahn
Clark Lea
Marcus Freeman
Jay Norvell
Troy Calhoun
Dave Doeren
Tom Herman
Kalani Sitake
Mike Leach
Bo Pelini
Jim Tressel
Nathan Scheehaase (would have been 30 years old at hire date)
Joe Brady
Bill O'Brien
Matt Campbell
Luke Fickell
Urban Meyer
Alex Grinch
Chris Peterson
Matt Entz
Jim McElwain
Pat Narduzzi
I don’t quite understand the last part but if you’re looking for an answer on Henry I don’t think he’s going anywhere. Bret has a list for RB coaches….i think he’s allowing another coach to find a job…
I think he means are we waiting for a coach that is coaching in either the CFP (playoffs under way) or the NFL playoffs (playoffs yet to start).
Thinking of the most likely potentials and given the fact that we've brought a ton of OL on board and not TEs, K, or P - although we did add a long snapper - I'm going to guess that RD is going to be coaching somewhere else next year.
I’m out of my depth on understanding football. But can an insider tell me why Henry would be back?
Bret alluded to even taking over more responsibilities there and that seems ominous. Is this a belief in Henry thing or a “not so many good available options” thing?
Bret alluded to even taking over more responsibilities there and that seems ominous. Is this a belief in Henry thing or a “not so many good available options” thing?
Bret believes in AHen and thinks he is a rising star in the coaching world. Coaching doesn't stop at the player level, part of Bret's job is to mentor and grow Jr staff too. That is how you continue to grow and evolve and how you keep good connections in the coaching world. Not saying that AHen's leash is infinite, but it doesn't seem like he is on the way out this year either.
Are we a program that is still on the level of developing coordinators? I understand lower level coaches, but coordinators are pretty hight level positions. Are there many other Power 5 programs that do this? Genuine questions.
My thinking is…paraphrasing ’we have think about what we are asking these kids to do’ was more targeted to players than the coaches. BB may think it was a player ability question. At the time, thought it was related to coaches but now appears more toward players.
There is a lot of head coaching movement this year, lot of competition for coordinators. Not a good year to change imo, may be left with someone who doesn’t align well.
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