So why is it that many of these “must have” or “best” option out there coaches haven’t performed and others, like the guy at Indiana, are performing? Thoughts?
OT: Lincoln Riley
- Thread starter 18IsTheMan
- Start date
I think it just shows how hard hiring coaches is. There's just no way to know how a guy is going to do at a school. For every slam dunk hire that is Kirby Smart and works, you get a few Jimbo Fishers, Lincoln Rileys, and Tom Hermans.
I’d love to see them let him go. I don’t know that he’s really that great a coach but he isn’t bad and he’s beem there a long time bringing stability to the program. I feel like he’s pretty much hit a ceiling in recent years of what Kentucky football can reasonably expect to accomplish. If they let him go it’s pretty likely they will have a drop off which only helps us.
I think Jimbo was a sham from the get go. He made his name with a generational qb and he knew the wheels were coming off so he bolted to A&M. Herman's struggles surprised me. I thought he was going to be a great one, especially at Texas with their resources. Riley should have stayed at OU. He had built a really good program there and the USC job has been tough since Pete Carrol and the cheating left.
Kirby was the magic ingredient at Georgia. They already had all the resources a program could ask for and Richt handed him a pretty talented roster. Saban and quite a few other big name coaches had been saying for years that Georgia was the sleeping giant in college football. Kirby brought the energy and the training at the feet of Saban to Athens and unlocked the potential.
Clark Lea at Vandy is intriguing to me. He is definitely doing more with less up there. I think someone like him could do well at Carolina where he had at least average SEC talent on the roster.
I think the key for a coach becoming successful is that they evolve into more of a CEO mindset, with a caveat or two. You have to be willing to upgrade your coaching staff when it’s necessary, but can’t have a happy trigger finger. You have to build your system over time, but can’t ignore playing to the strengths you currently have. You have to be able to figure out and maximize NIL. And you have to be able to relate to and inspire your players. One caveat, if you are a genius on one side of the ball, then yes, keep your hands more on it until the system is fully in place. Wow, seems pretty simple, amazed not more coaches are successful 
. Seriously, it’s a way more complicated job than it was 25 years ago. The other caveat I would mention is timing. When you end up somewhere seems to be a huge factor in how coaches do once they take over, whether they had past success or not. Holtz and Spurrier did well for us, Saban obviously did well wherever he went in college. Past success doesn’t seem to transfer like it did in the past, Fisher, Herman, and so on and so on. Too many to list.
. Seriously, it’s a way more complicated job than it was 25 years ago. The other caveat I would mention is timing. When you end up somewhere seems to be a huge factor in how coaches do once they take over, whether they had past success or not. Holtz and Spurrier did well for us, Saban obviously did well wherever he went in college. Past success doesn’t seem to transfer like it did in the past, Fisher, Herman, and so on and so on. Too many to list.Not sure I would classify Lincoln Riley with that group. He was successful at Oklahoma. And I still believe he is a good coach. I think it has more to do with where he is coaching. Southern Call does not have a good track record and some coaches that have failed there have found success elsewhere.
No, it’s definitely not. Obviously football is the big money maker without a close second and it will always have the most fan interest. I just don’t share the view that I think most other fans have in that it’s a football school. That is cause we all want it to be but the football program itself needs to help out. Fan support could not be any better.
We definitely are a football first school if you consider fan support and facilities. You can certainly make the argument that all our facilities and environments are top level. Fan support is top level as well. Give us a reason to show up and we do. And for football, give us half a reason and we show up. All 3 of the main sports are important to us. The old, and I mean old fans remember the McGuire days. We built the Carolina Coliseum to be the largest ACC basketball arena back in the day. Founders Park is one of the best facilities in the country, Willy B is always up there in the toughest places to play. Throwing money at it has never been an issue, especially related to facilities. That the university has controlled. The other factors are much harder to control, especially over time.
I think Clark Lea caught lightning in a bottle with Diego Pavia.I don’t see Vandy having staying power.
For real. I would take much less to be a loser. Really, Jimbo wasn’t a loser but he underachieved with amazing consistency. Now Muschamp…there’s a guy who made bank off being a loser
Lea will need to do it again next year to prove it's for real. This year has been impressive, but Vanderbilt was terrible even by their standards his first 3 years there. And even with the good in this season, he did lose to Georgia State.
Is this Pavia's last year? He did 2 years Juco then 2 years at NMSU and is in his 5th year now at Vandy.
He's been the biggest reason for their success.
Riley's win percentage at SoCal ranks 11th all-time there, behind Kiffin, Helton and Sarkisian, all of whom were considered disastrous failures.
I read an interesting comparison between him and Jimbo Fisher.
Both were OCs who succeeded highly successful head coaches (Fisher for Bowden and Riley for Stoops). Both went on impressive runs of their own before abruptly jumping ship for another program. Both had trouble replicating their previous success at their new school and fanbases soured. Riley's downturn at SoCal seems to be a bit ahead of Jimbo's pace at A&M, but the trajectory is quite similar.
I read an interesting comparison between him and Jimbo Fisher.
Both were OCs who succeeded highly successful head coaches (Fisher for Bowden and Riley for Stoops). Both went on impressive runs of their own before abruptly jumping ship for another program. Both had trouble replicating their previous success at their new school and fanbases soured. Riley's downturn at SoCal seems to be a bit ahead of Jimbo's pace at A&M, but the trajectory is quite similar.
Texas won a national championship in the BCS era - 2005 -under Mack Brown, one of four in total, I believe, and prior to NIL. I'd count that as relatively contemporary. Texas is always a factor to watch due to resources, commitment, and heritage. They are on the upside of relevancy right now. It will help them that they can now legally do what they did surreptitiously before, and they have more than anyone with which to do. SEC membership will only legitimize them more. I want you to understand, even though I have a nephew working there, I do no not, have not, and will not pull for Texas unless they can help the SEC by beating a B1G team. Go, Aggies, when those two play.
I guess "relevant" was too strong a word. Texas has always been relevant they have just always underperformed since 2005 considering their resources. I recall Texas and UGA always being in the same conversation about underperforming programs considering their resources.
I wonder how many people recall that Muschamp was "head coach in waiting" at Texas under Mack Brown? If I recall correctly, he left Texas to take the UF job. I have to wonder if he ever looks back and regrets that decision.
And those impressive runs were built around Heisman trophy-level quarterbacks. Fisher with Winston, Riley with Mayfield, Murray, Williams, and Hurts.
Considering the fact that Muschamp was paid almost $20,000,000 by Florida and South Carolina just to not coach, I doubt it! That's not even factoring in the salary earned while coaching at those schools.
I wonder if Lea will stick with the option offense? Paul Johnson enjoyed relative success with it at GT which is somewhat similar to Vandy as far as recruiting goes. Vandy isn't going to be able to recruit top talent for a traditional offense but 2 and 3 star players are more than adequate to run a triple option.
I thought for a while that Carolina should have hired Johnson after Spurrier. He would have made us a true problem for opposing teams.
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