Same for Mike Norvell. There’s something about these former Memphis coaches.
It’s really hard to make a good coaching hire.
75% of this board would have given up a testicle to get Justin Fuentes when he was leaving Memphis assuming Mullen would have been leaving at the time.
Just another reason we don't want those guys in a P5 conference.Memphis has made a killing the last 8-10 years at the skill positions by coming into Mississippi and getting the kids that flew under MSU and OM’s radar, snagging SEC castaways, and then finding a local diamond in the rough here in there. And to you’re point, there isn’t anyone else in the AAC aside from occasionally Cincinnati that can collect that type of talent.
It feels nuts saying this, but over the last 5 years, I think Memphis may have put more skill players in the NFL than OM and MSU combined. I’m trying to think…. Gainwell, Gibson, Henderson, Pollard, Miller, and I think there’s at least one more that I’m forgetting, so there’s 5-6
Add Scott Frost to the list. He was 19-7 @ Mike Bianchi's nominee to join the SEC, UCF, but is 15-27 (currently 3-7) at his Alma mater Nebraska and would probably be gone after this season, except, he will be owed $20,400,000 in a buyout
Mullen would be a very good fit at Virginia Tech. Somebody has to win that division every year opposite Clemson.
Sam Pittman is the biggest WTF hire that worked out and goes to show that coaching hires can be a crapshoot. Guy was a 60-year old career O line coach who didn’t even have a Wikipedia page when he was hired at Arkansas. Everybody laughed at the hire but he very well might win SEC COY this season.
I agree with this. He'd be a great NFL head coach, especially in this QB-centric age. But he'd still have to change a few things. He can't just cuss everybody out daily in the NFL.I think Dan will take time off and/or try to catch on with NFL as an assistant. He appears to be burned out on CFB at the moment, and while the level at VT is different at UF, it still requires the recruiting, etc that he loathes. He could catch on in NFL as an assistant and try to parlay that into a HC opportunity, or come back to the college game if he finds out the pros aren't for him and have a renewed focus.
I don't know. Tennessee wants to get back to elite status. Heupel seems like another Butch Jones to me at best. People forget that Butch did a lot of good things, just never got over that hump before he lost it. Very close to big years in 2015 and 2016.And it goes both ways. I thought Huepel was a pretty mediocre hire based on UCF dropping off when Frost left. But he appears to have UT moving in the right direction at least.
Sam Pittman is the biggest WTF hire that worked out and goes to show that coaching hires can be a crapshoot. Guy was a 60-year old career O line coach who didn’t even have a Wikipedia page when he was hired at Arkansas. Everybody laughed at the hire but he very well might win SEC COY this season.
In other words, they've taken a lot of the recruits Southern Miss used to get back when they were good.
Pittman is a good CEO glue guy that is currently a product of 2 very good coordinators. Kind of reminds me of how Coach O was successful in 2019. Be interesting to see how Pittman does if Odom and Briles leave.
Sam Pittman is the biggest WTF hire that worked out and goes to show that coaching hires can be a crapshoot. Guy was a 60-year old career O line coach who didn’t even have a Wikipedia page when he was hired at Arkansas. Everybody laughed at the hire but he very well might win SEC COY this season.
75% of this board would have given up a testicle to get Justin Fuentes when he was leaving Memphis assuming Mullen would have been leaving at the time.