Coaching Carousel

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#201      
I mean who knows what Leonhard wants, but coming here would be kind of all downside no upside for him.

It would be basically impossible for him to outperform what Walters did this year or what he himself did as a B1G DC in the couple of years prior. And even if he does great, it's still within the bosom of the Wisconsin coaching universe.

I'm sure Leonhard is very disappointed right now, he just had his dream job rather surprisingly snatched from him.

His is a weird resume, he got started so late because of his long NFL career and then achieved massive success almost immediately, but only at his alma mater in a situation it's difficult to picture him outside of. The only other job he ever was reported to be close to taking was the Packers DC job, it's like a parody of Wisconsin Guy.

He'll have higher profile and more remunerative offers than this (including just staying as Fickell's DC, a move Fickell himself once parlayed successfully), but I'm not so sure a year at Nick Saban Analyst Academy isn't his savviest move right now. Get outside the nest and take a look at things from a different perspective. He's 41, there's nothing but time. He's only been a football coach for seven years.
Both DCs from Cincy are going to Wisconsin. Leonhard isn’t going to stay at Wisconsin. Upside for him coming here: keeps getting paid a million+ to be a DC at a power 5 and get to stick it to Wisconsin every year.
 
#202      

SampsonRelpenk

Edwardsville, IL
RE: RW assembling a theoretical staff as a HC: I'm sure that part of the appeal of working for BB is the implicit or explicit expectation that when you eventually level up he will use his connections to help you.
 
#203      
RE: RW assembling a theoretical staff as a HC: I'm sure that part of the appeal of working for BB is the implicit or explicit expectation that when you eventually level up he will use his connections to help you.
On a tangent from that, BB has been a head coach now for 14 seasons (with a few years away in the NFL) and I'm aware of at least 3 HC's that have gotten their opportunity after working for him (his "coaching tree"), Dave Doeren, Paul Chryst, Charlie Partridge. Only 1 is currently a HC, but still not a bad start to a tree at 52 years old for BB. Pat Fitzgerald has been the HC at NW for 17 years - have any coaches come out of that program and gone on to HC gigs? (I don't know the answer to that, serious question). Someone mentioned NW as a possibility for Leonhard given their opening and the proximity to Wisconsin, but has anyone succeeded coming out from PF's shadow?
 
#204      
Locksley example is a good one. He was not ready to be a head coach at 40 and New Mexico was not a great opportunity. He is doing much better at MD with 15 years more experience as a assistant. Are you Sean McVay or Josh McDaniel.

Illini should be very good next year (assuming we get our QB situation resolved positively with either DeVito getting red shirt year or good portal guy). Walters might get better opportunity than Colorado if we go 10-2. I have no idea if Colorado is his dream job but if it is and he feels ready then he should go.

Colorado has had rough past 18 years (not unlike Illinois). One winning season (excluding 4-2 Covid year) since 2006.

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#206      
Both DCs from Cincy are going to Wisconsin. Leonhard isn’t going to stay at Wisconsin. Upside for him coming here: keeps getting paid a million+ to be a DC at a power 5 and get to stick it to Wisconsin every year.
If people are concerned with losing Henry, as another Wisconsin alum, Leonhard could be a good draw to stay here. Leonhard actually seems like the obvious choice.
 
#208      
Leonhard could also go the NFL now that being HC at Wisconsin is off the table.
 
#210      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
Tom Herman named the head coach at FAU Owls

there are certainly worse places to spend a 2-3 years
On the one hand that place revived Lane Kiffin's career. On the other hand, that's what Willie Taggart was thinking too.

Willie Taggart, man, what a fall from grace. The immediate step down HC job the same offseason you get fired seems like it never works.
 
#211      

Mr. Tibbs

southeast DuPage
On the one hand that place revived Lane Kiffin's career. On the other hand, that's what Willie Taggart was thinking too.

Willie Taggart, man, what a fall from grace. The immediate step down HC job the same offseason you get fired seems like it never works.
AGREE

most guys need a year or two, as an assistant in the NFL or as an "analyst" for some other coach, to figure out what they were doing wrong.
jumping to another gig right away, laterally or at a level down, not usually the thing to do . Unless all you want is a paycheck
 
#212      
Locksley example is a good one. He was not ready to be a head coach at 40 and New Mexico was not a great opportunity. He is doing much better at MD with 15 years more experience as a assistant. Are you Sean McVay or Josh McDaniel.

Illini should be very good next year (assuming we get our QB situation resolved positively with either DeVito getting red shirt year or good portal guy). Walters might get better opportunity than Colorado if we go 10-2. I have no idea if Colorado is his dream job but if it is and he feels ready then he should go.

Colorado has had rough past 18 years (not unlike Illinois). One winning season (excluding 4-2 Covid year) since 2006.

View attachment 21867
That Mel Tucker year still makes me shake my head at the wheelbarrow full of money MSU threw at him.
 
#213      
On the one hand that place revived Lane Kiffin's career. On the other hand, that's what Willie Taggart was thinking too.

Willie Taggart, man, what a fall from grace. The immediate step down HC job the same offseason you get fired seems like it never works.
I seem to recall a poster here (not you) advocating VERY strongly for the beloved to hire Taggart during our last coaching search (or was it the one before that?🤪
 
#218      

redwingillini11

North Aurora
Not related to the HC carousel or what Walters will do, but wonder how this board still feels about Scheelhaase and if we want to try and grab him.

I'm sure Scheelhaase would be welcomed back if he were hired here.

But I think the urgency to do so is lessened when we have a solid staff in place that we feel confident in. Kind of like Roger Powell. When there isn't much going on here, there's the appeal to bring a guy like those two in here because maybe they'd be able to be successful here because of their past. When you are a bit desperate you are grasping at any straw you can find. But Underwood has shown he can attract great candidates and build an amazing staff twice now, and in two years Bielema has built the best football staff that any of us can remember, and will likely have no trouble replacing people who move on to greater positions. We trust that the head coach will bring in the best fit for what he is doing and it will work. So godspeed to our beloved alumni. If their career brings them back to Champaign. Fantastic. If not, I'm sure both parties will do just fine.
 
#219      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
Not related to the HC carousel or what Walters will do, but wonder how this board still feels about Scheelhaase and if we want to try and grab him.

Matt Campbell is a good example of why you strike when the iron is hot.

You can blab until you're blue in the face about how much you value the happiness of that Iowa State job and how you hope you're there for life, and all of that. But now he's stuck at an uphill battle of a job, being held against expectations he created, and he could very easily be fired in a couple of years and it's all gone up in smoke.

Advice for college football coaches just as with regular schmos like us: the job isn't going to love you back.

Scheelhaase has a tough decision to make now. Can he get that Iowa State OC job? Is that a poisoned chalice on a sinking ship? Alternatively, could be become the OC at a promising mid-major project a la Barry Lunney? Needs to be well chosen. He could probably also get an ace recruiter position coach role at a powerhouse school, for good money and relative security and give him some time to assess his next move (he's still only 32). But he risks being typecast as a non-playcaller which is something the African-American coaching community especially knows can be a glass ceiling that's unfairly difficult to shake.
 
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#221      
This may be true…who knows, but it defies logic to me.

Rick George (Colorado AD) is really rolling the dice here should it come to fruition. Going all in on Neon Deion will be a huge gamble. He’ll either be a genius or fired.
Well all coaches either do well or get fired, but I agree it seems like a strange fit. I think he’ll energize the fan base more than say a hire like Walters, but the key is will the big donors be excited by the hire. I don’t know if Colorado needs facility upgrades — though what program doesn’t want them — but if his hire has the same impact that Lovie’s did here with the donors then it would probably be a net positive even if on field results aren’t what they are looking for.
 
#222      

RedRocksIllini

Morrison, CO
This may be true…who knows, but it defies logic to me.

Rick George (Colorado AD) is really rolling the dice here should it come to fruition. Going all in on Neon Deion will be a huge gamble. He’ll either be a genius or fired.
Got the feeling George won't stick around to find out how this plays out. Lots of rumors that he's been keeping his resume fresh. He's oh-for-two on football hires and it would not make sense to gamble his career on this next hire.
 
#223      

illinihawk16

Chicago
Got the feeling George won't stick around to find out how this plays out. Lots of rumors that he's been keeping his resume fresh. He's oh-for-two on football hires and it would not make sense to gamble his career on this next hire.
This is an interesting point. If you're George, which hire is more likely to keep you in your job?

-Deion has been very successful as a HC (even if in a lesser conference), but seems like a strange fit.
-Walters seems like a more natural fit and is a top coordinator in the country, but hasn't had HC experience.

Edit:
I'll answer my own question and say that Deion is probably more quickly able to bring in highly rated recruits/transfers. If George is on the hot seat, he probably wants a coach that will be more immediately successful and then you figure out the sustainability later.
 
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#225      

RedRocksIllini

Morrison, CO
Has Bienemy shown any interest in this job?
Not sure there's any interest from Colorado in Bieniemy. He was OC there during the Jon Embree years. Possibly the low point in Colorado football although many other points have legit claim to being lowest. Don't think his name has come up although things have been remarkably quiet from the Colorado side.
 
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