Mr. Tibbs
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do you believe Leipold was on Whitmans short list had discussions with Bielema not worked out ?And the interim tag doesn’t completely handcuff them to Leonhard if for some reason it doesn’t work out.
do you believe Leipold was on Whitmans short list had discussions with Bielema not worked out ?And the interim tag doesn’t completely handcuff them to Leonhard if for some reason it doesn’t work out.
Until Alvarez got there, Wisky had been fairly similar to Illinois, but with lower peaks. Since the division system started they have benefited from not having to deal with OSU/UM/PSU every year and Illinois and Nebraska being dumpster fires. Assuming Nebraska hires someone decent and what we are seeing out of Bielema is sustainable, Wisky will return to being an average program, regardless of who the coach is. I think their fan base perceives them as being in OSU/UM/PSU's strata; they aren't and never will be.POTD for those above a certain age. I've said it often on the Board: if you'd assured me in January 1990 (or in Jan '91 after Barry went 1-10 in his first year there) that Wisconsin would win the BT and the Rose bowl in '93/'94 I would have had to be hospitalized due to convulsions and oxygen deprivation resulting from my disbelieving laughter.
He was as was Freeman. Glad it didn't go that way(Nothing against LL either). It was BB from the start though.do you believe Leipold was on Whitmans short list had discussions with Bielema not worked out ?
This is very reassuring - it should give us confidence in his ability to judge talent and that he has learned from the Lovie debacle.He was as was Freeman. Glad it didn't go that way(Nothing against LL either). It was BB from the start though.
What unimaginably good luck to have both Bielema and Underwood fall into our lap (though I must admit that when they hired Bielema I said "Not that retread!"), based on his performance at Arkansas. I've totally revised my thinking on him.He was as was Freeman. Glad it didn't go that way(Nothing against LL either). It was BB from the start though.
If they ultimately want Leonhard to be the guy then and you let Chryst finish out and he does pull off 8-4 then is makes it harder to fire him.This is surprising to me with the idea that there are far more knee jerk resistant people around the Wisky FB program than at Nebby/Auburn/Texas and the like.
But I guess not. Their remaining schedule has 7 winnable games on it. They could easily go 6-1 in the remaining games to get to 8-4 with Chryst at HC. It would seem to be the smart thing to do to let more of the season play out before making a decision.
I get that but if you want Leonhard to be the guy why extend Chryst and tack on a $16m buyout? The whole series of events is weird.If they ultimately want Leonhard to be the guy then and you let Chryst finish out and he does pull off 8-4 then is makes it harder to fire him.
I think debacle is too strong of a word. Lovie did what most of us were hoping for at the time except win. The hire gave some credibility that Illinois was ready to play big boy ball. It also drove up donations for renovations and the Smith Center. As we can see on the field now, Lovie's staff had an eye for some underrated talent as well. They may not have been able to coach them up to this level, but they at least got it here. You also knew Lovie wasn't going to make a mockery of you department either. I don't know for sure, but would imagine that all of this helped to get BB in the door and eventually take the job. Don't think someone like that was a legit option after Cubit was hired. Lovie may not have been able to turn the ship around, but he kept it from finding itself at the ocean floor.This is very reassuring - it should give us confidence in his ability to judge talent and that he has learned from the Lovie debacle.
Until Alvarez got there, Wisky had been fairly similar to Illinois, but with lower peaks. Since the division system started they have benefited from not having to deal with OSU/UM/PSU every year and Illinois and Nebraska being dumpster fires. Assuming Nebraska hires someone decent and what we are seeing out of Bielema is sustainable, Wisky will return to being an average program, regardless of who the coach is. I think their fan base perceives them as being in OSU/UM/PSU's strata; they aren't and never will be.
Yup. They just panickedI get that but if you want Leonhard to be the guy why extend Chryst and tack on a $16m buyout? The whole series of events is weird.
It is considerably lower than 16 Million. CHryst and Wisky agreed to a new buyoutI think the notion that there's an endless source of money is crazy. Flat out these buyouts limit the amount of NIL money you can put together. The imperative for change in Nebraska wasn't so great that they couldn't wait two weeks. The idea that Leonhard is so good they can't chance him leaving is ridiculous in my opinion. Wisconsin is a solid program who can fill coordinator and head coaching positions with good talent. Perhaps great.
Not to mention, if Leonhard is so awesome that you need to swallow a 16 million buyout then he's awesome enough to be stolen away by another school.
I accept that opinion, and you may very well prove to be right. But this didn't just get invented last week, this has been a simmering back burner conversation in Badgerland for a few years now. He's the best DC in the country at this point and a candidate for any open position, though it's always been obvious he covets the job he's now gotten.The idea that Leonhard is so good they can't chance him leaving is ridiculous in my opinion.
Interesting the Colorado AD is former Illini Rick George. I believe he was contacted before we hired Josh. I still can’t believe what a difference Josh Whitman has made.Colorado coaching candidates: Bronco Mendenhall, Troy Calhoun lead options to replace Karl Dorrell
The Buffaloes' coaching search may be one of the most intriguing this cyclewww.cbssports.com
Colorado and Walters. He is too good. He played for them
Yeah so coming off a 9-4 season and winning their bowl game, and then their three losses this year are to tOSU (#3) and two other teams that will be ranked soon, I have to ask WT(actual)F? Of course we know how good we are , but that Wazzou team is vastly underrated too. They went toe to toe with the Ducks (who are admittedly a bit overrated IMO but still VG), and have soundly beat everyone else they played. By the end of the year these will be losses to three ranked teams. They obviously need to show improvement but to think the next guy is better than Chryst (for the points you made above) seems like a very bad bet indeed.I think looking at it statistically is kind of a trap.
Yes, Chryst and Bielema have similar records, but a lot of it is that Leonhard's defense carried the program.
Chryst(a offensive guy and former QB Coach at multiple stops) hitched his wagon to a 5 star QB who has not shown an ounce of improvement. He has nothing consistent when the run game isn't there.
I mean it's not even clear that Wisconsin was trending down imo, many long tenured coaches have down years. The only other multiple time West-winner is Northwestern and look at how they have been doing.
Wisconsin is 0-2, all the other West teams are 1-1 in conference play. It definitely seems like a risky move the more you look at it, and Wisconsin is now banking on a DC turned HC mid-season who has zero head coaching experience.
I think that's a gamble they will ultimately lose.
I respectfully disagree. I'm one of the people who was originally thrilled when Lovie was hired but he turned out to be a fraud and a disaster. Bad coaching, boring personality, lack of effort, outrageous nepotism and cronyism in his hiring decisions, stubborn and predictable, and a lack of understanding of how to plan and execute a cohesive recruiting plan suitable for the current landscape in college football. I'll concede your point that he was not likely to cause a scandal, but that's a pretty low floor for a head coach.I think debacle is too strong of a word. Lovie did what most of us were hoping for at the time except win. The hire gave some credibility that Illinois was ready to play big boy ball. It also drove up donations for renovations and the Smith Center. As we can see on the field now, Lovie's staff had an eye for some underrated talent as well. They may not have been able to coach them up to this level, but they at least got it here. You also knew Lovie wasn't going to make a mockery of you department either. I don't know for sure, but would imagine that all of this helped to get BB in the door and eventually take the job. Don't think someone like that was a legit option after Cubit was hired. Lovie may not have been able to turn the ship around, but he kept it from finding itself at the ocean floor.
Leipold is 58 years old. Kansas may be his last job.
I think you’re both right. As a coach he was for the most part bad. But as a “figure head,” for lack of a better phrase, he did seem to give some credibility to the program and helped increase fundraising. Of course, it would have been nice if he could have done all the things you mention too. But how many complete package coaches were beating down the door then? With all of his shortcomings (and there were plenty), he did get the program to the point that the BB hiring was possible.I respectfully disagree. I'm one of the people who was originally thrilled when Lovie was hired but he turned out to be a fraud and a disaster. Bad coaching, boring personality, lack of effort, outrageous nepotism and cronyism in his hiring decisions, stubborn and predictable, and a lack of understanding of how to plan and execute a cohesive recruiting plan suitable for the current landscape in college football. I'll concede your point that he was not likely to cause a scandal, but that's a pretty low floor for a head coach.
I respectfully disagree. I'm one of the people who was originally thrilled when Lovie was hired but he turned out to be a fraud and a disaster. Bad coaching, boring personality, lack of effort, outrageous nepotism and cronyism in his hiring decisions, stubborn and predictable, and a lack of understanding of how to plan and execute a cohesive recruiting plan suitable for the current landscape in college football. I'll concede your point that he was not likely to cause a scandal, but that's a pretty low floor for a head coach.
If Curt Cignetti is ready to move up from James Madison after successfully managing the transition to I-A, that might be a good spot.Re: Ryan Walters, I think the best scenario for him would be a top tier G5 school that’s made serious investments in their football programs recently and are in recruiting hot beds. Three that come to mind are Coastal Carolina, TX-San Antonio and Alabama-Birmingham.
UTSA and UAB are about to jump up conferences. CC’s and UTSA’s head coaches are going to be among the top of the lists for the next P5 coaching openings. And UAB currently has an interim coach because their long-time guy retired unexpectedly over the summer due to health issues.