UND-FB-FAN

Schmidt is controversial, as again, he has not been a collegiate head coach and he has not had championship-level success as a defensive coordinator. DeBoer’s opinion was to have him be a special teams coordinator and a position coach; he had to leave DeBoer’s staff to get another DC opportunity. My gut feeling is that Schmidt gets the job and Fruechte gets to stay as offensive coordinator. That likely will mean minimal overall change for UND, and we are left with the same cultural limitations, but we will see … Would prefer someone with head coaching success, such as Baldwin or Bolte. Despite saying we should go with the best candidate, many fans, as evidenced by opinions on here, want to simply hire someone they’re familiar with. This will limit the ceiling of the program.

Hasn’t been successful enough as a defensive coordinator. I don’t care about his past with UND, going 3-9 and giving up nearly 30 ppg in the Mountain West is not good. We shouldn’t be jumping at this hire at all… I would like Baldwin, but the odds on favorite is …. Schmidt. Chaves is going to honor Schweigert’s endorsement, and who do you think he’ll endorse? It will be his right hand man from when they were a player-coach duo from 97-01, assistant coach duo at SIU, and again a head coach-defensive coordinator duo at UND. I don’t think it is right, or the best for UND, because I don’t think Schmidt is the best candidate. But, Schweigert will get to make one final decision for the football program (perhaps again that sets it back). Hope I’m wrong.

Beau Baldwin did quite well in terms of wins and loses at Cal. He was an apart of a resurgence, with team going 5-7 his first season in 2017, and then 7-6 in 2018, and then finally 8-5 in 2019. Yes, the offenses were not that great, but team did okay. Cal Poly was a dumpster fire but it was during the pandemic when a poor job got poorer. The ASU season (2023) was bad. All in all, though, given his connections are equal to Schmidt’s in terms of FBS, and Beau Baldwin actually has been a successful (and champion) FCS head coach, I’d give the nod to Beau Baldwin over Schmidt.

This would be the stereotypical mindset of UND historically, hiring someone who returns to Grand Forks and UND due to familiarity and not the best ability, but that needs to be steered away from. With all said, I wouldn’t be surprised if precedent gets its way (again) … I think there are better candidates that have actual collegiate head coach experience (and better experience and success as a coordinator as well).

Beau is a Cali guy and the CFL season is over. My guess is Beau Baldwin is not physically located in Canada at the moment…

Yes, been mentioned many times he’s never been a collegiate head coach, but I didn’t clarify that in my most recent post. A guy like Beau Baldwin - who has actually been a collegiate head coach at the FCS, and won a national championship, would also have a ton of connections, from Eastern Washington but also time with FBS programs/staffs at California (Cal) and Arizona State (ASU). Give me Beau.

Not a fan only because I DON’T think his track record as defensive coordinator is good enough. And he’s never been a head coach. Hiring a guy because of his connections and not his own intrinsic ability is a bad bad idea.

But he did do well (as an actual head coach) at Central Washington and Eastern Washington. He’s most intriguing in my opinion. The Cal Poly situation with him is unfortunate, but many good coaches would fail at Cal Poly.

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/college/8-names-to-consider-for-und-head-football-coach?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2qB_YCXK8TynWB7nXORu2Hu2lgA2-giWQuUG5HTeI_n0H_5RVPbEgQxUI_aem_gD4l67ayLhcHvLxlgYXG5w Many many former UND guys on this list. I’m intrigued and most interested in the ones never before a coach at UND: 1) Beau Baldwin, Calgary Stampede quarterbacks coach 2) Travis Johansen, South Dakota defensive coordinator 3) Brent Bolte, Bemidji State head coach

For this reason would like to see success as a head coach in the past …

Agreed. Preferred criteria would ideally be consistent success and a fast riser. Want someone who is capable of succeeding at UND and not plateau here. How that would look is someone with success as head coach (ideally) but alternatively success as coordinator, and someone who has moved up the ranks in relatively short amount of time. Success probably should be defined as wins.

Beau Baldwin and Eric Schmidt have to both be considered, but I would give the edge to Baldwin given his success as FCS head coach. Schmidt has never been a head coach collegiately and his time as UND defensive coordinator was not that great - no playoff wins. His short time as DC at San Diego State has not been going well. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beau_Baldwin Another perhaps overly simplistic method that would have barriers, but could produce high quality candidates, would be to look at recent Division II champions: Tony Annese - Ferris State https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Annese Todd Hoffner is intriguing although no championship https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Hoffner Toldeo DC based on his time at Mount Union https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Kehres Travis Johansen is gaining steam on here and I think he’s a fine candidate https://goyotes.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/travis-johansen/1537 Lastly, there is Scott Wooster. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Wooster All in all, I can guarantee at least one of the above will apply and be interested. I would not look towards Danny Freund, Isaac Fruechte, Jake Landry, or even Luke Schleusner, I’m afraid, as they do not have head coaching experience, FBS experience, or signifiant success as a coordinator. Badly need to get some outside experiences into the UND fb program.

Learn from 2013/2014. Grab a fast riser, most likely to use UND as a stepping stone. Looking back on Bubba vs DeBoer, there were signs who would ascend further and faster. One was clearly more of a “UND is the final designation” guy, and I strongly think that needs to be avoided now this time around.

@Ron Mexico Please do your best to try and understand this principle.

Good mentor in life, yes, but not a very good football coach. It’s a dichotomy, sure, but it is also amazing how many fail to recognize the timing failure here. There are other mentoring and counseling positions one can have that are not division one head football coach, such as the role just carved out for Bubba Schweigert (Senior Associate Athletic Director for Engagement and Mentorship). Schweigert should have moved to a position like this years ago, as it clearly best fits his abilities, but never late than never.

For anyone unfamiliar: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_principle In general, I agree with the principle, and its application to college football coaching. It is critically important UND hires someone who will be competent in their role as head football coach at UND, and we all should fully expect they will be hired as a FBS coach in the next 3-5 years. If not, and UND is considered the final destination, then that would be a major red flag as we begin to evaluate candidates. Hard to predict the future, but need to hire someone who “looks” for UND to be a stepping stone. What does that look like? A fast riser, someone moving up the ranks quickly. The guys with previous UND ties don’t necessarily fit that narrative to be honest.

You pay for what you get; and there was no reason to increase pay for mediocrity, which was there with Bubba. Now, with the hiring of a new head coach, increasing pay for the right coaching staff is 100% in front of us. As for the checkbook, done ✔️. Thanks for your concern. LGH

Yes, class act, but again, being nice doesn’t win football games as we all clearly found out. Coming on here and stating the following is misleading: “Consistent top 25. Playoffs 4/6 years. Smoked NDSU last year. Amazing home record. Hockey is to UND what Football is to NDSU in terms of resources. Berry makes about what their football coach makes. Their assistants, much more.” I would remind of the following stats: Bubba only made the playoffs 5 of his 11 seasons (less than 50% of the time in FCS is inadequate), and when he did make playoffs, he went a only 1-5 (won 1 playoff game out of 6 total). He’s a nice guy who bleeds kelly green, but he was not a very good head football coach

Yeah, this is baseless, other than I suppose Moo U does put up cash (and I suppose he’s a class act). You failed to mention that Bubba only made the playoffs 5 of his 11 seasons (less than 50% of the time in FCS is inadequate), and when he did make playoffs, his teams only went 1-5 (won 1 playoff game out of 6 total). He’s a nice guy who bleeds kelly green, but he was not a very good head football coach … period. Onto the next head coach, desperately needed, and hopefully it will be someone who escalates the program …

I agree. Preferred criteria should be previous success as a head coach. Alternatively, FCS coordinator success would be second tier. Simply going for a guy with UND connections is limiting the ceiling (again).

Not a bad candidate. Checks boxes: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Kehres https://utrockets.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/vince-kehres/1283

We will agree to disagree. DeBoer’s success speaks for itself, at numerous stops, many sans Schmidt. Being a head coach at a FCS program like UND (considering the opportunity for success and the facilities) is comparable to being a coordinator at a lower-tier Mountain West program. Schmidt was a position coach and special teams coach at Fresno State and Washington. He has not had success at the FBS as a defensive coordinator. He has never been a collegiate head coach. I really think we should not immediately (again) jump to a former UND guy especially based on the lack of high level success as a coordinator or head coach … it’s Bubba all over again otherwise.

Position and ST coordinator success does not guarantee head coach success. It is important to not lose sight of this. Schmidt has not been a part of a championship winning program as a head coach or coordinator, with the exception being 2016 UND, and we should not overlook that. I can appreciate his connection to the university and area, but shouldn’t be the preferred criteria has it limits the ceiling of success. I am very confident that Eric Schmidt applies, from what I’m told.

No question that’s a concern, albeit Cal Poly is a tough place to win at. I think it’s fair to state that there should be a better candidate with more recent success.

The point I made earlier is Schmidt didn’t have profound success here (UND) as defensive coordinator, and his success at Fresno State and Washington was on the coattails of DeBoer. I would strongly caution against a similar situation as when UND hired Bubba in 2013. Should be a successful coordinator in FCS, or successful head coach at D2. Alternative could be a guy like Beau Baldwin, who knows Bill Chaves from their time at an Eastern Washington, and Baldwin won a national championship at this level (FCS).