FB Coach Head-Hunting Season Approaches

[star2city]

By the end of November, a number of Head Coaches will have lost their jobs. As was the case last year, Dale Lennon will probably be getting some inquiries. On the Idaho Vandal board, VandalVenue.com, a poll has been running to determine the most popular replacement option for Idaho Head Coach Tom Cable (who hasnt yet been fired, but probably will be.) Lennon came in third behind Bob Biggs of UCDavis and Jerome Sauers of Northern Arizona.

Here's a couple of quotes from the board:

by AdaVandal,  I like Dale Lennon

Here's why:

1. Head Coaching experience- I believe this is the most critical thing in our next hire. We need someone who has done it. This is not the time to break in someone who MIGHT be a good HC. Another Cable from the Erickson tree scares me. (Not that I don't like the things he did for us, but I agree with VV that we need to move on)

2. Offense- UND is averaging 400+ yards per game and scoring 33 points per game average. Good Stuff. I think he should be the number 1 choice. (I am assuming Mike Price will not want it, I could be wrong)

And this:

by VANDALVIEWER, Re: I like Dale Lennon ... so do I

I've read and re-read his bio. Impressive, and won in a rural area. Worth a phone call, same with Price. Worst thing that could happen is they say no thanks. But let's be innovative, creative, and think highly of ourselves. Let's get five really good candidates in here and may the best man win.

Now Idaho is not exactly a plum job at the moment (no AD, no president, budget problems, conference issues, facilities, etc), so I'm doubtful it would be in anyone's interest to take a position there. But the fact remains that Lennon will probably be getting phone calls again soon.

All the more reason to relish the rest of the season.

[UND92,96]

In the unlikely event that the national championship wasn't enough to put him on the coaching map nationally, three NCC titles in his first five years as head coach at UND probably will. He's building a very impressive head coaching resume in a pretty short amount of time.

[CoteauRinkRat]

I remember when there was some grumbling that Hedberg didn't get the head coaching position when Lennon did. Both are great coaches, but I wouldn't trade Lennon for anyone.

[RD17]

Idaho is probably the worst I-A coaching job in the country. They play in an antiquated 16,000 seat dome, are in a terrible conference (Sun Belt), and they have a Pac 10 school 10 miles away that they have to compete with for fans and media attention. A head coach (at any level) that is currently running a successful program would be putting a huge black eye on their resume by going to Idaho.

[The Sicatoka]

DIA Idaho averaged just 1433 more per home game (10931 vs. 9455) in 2002 than UND. They are one of the first candidates to be moved back down to DIAA under the new "average 15000 fans per home game" rule.

Toss in the fact that the Sun Belt is losing teams, due to all the conference realignment, and Idaho just might have been wise if they kept the Big Sky offices on speed-dial.

That's a tough scenario to walk into.

[UND92,96]

South Dakota has fired coach John Austin.

link

This probably wasn't much of a surprise. There's a new a.d., USD has really struggled the past few years, and Austin really only had one decent season during his tenure.

[WYOBISONMAN]

Houston would be the worse D1A job in the country.....that is a true Football black hole, although Idaho isn't much better, but it is more scenic than Houston...

[Diggler]

What about SMU? That has to be a death trap of a program. Ever since the mid 80's (?) when they got the death penalty they have been wretched and horrible. Maybe Minnesota will fire Mason and Lenon will take over the job.

[RD17]

I'd have to agree with Houston and SMU being pretty rough places to coach, but I'd still rather be there than Idaho. At least if you're in Texas and are a reasonably effective recruiter, you could win with the players the Big 12 schools don't want. Plus, at SMU anyway, you have a rather generous alumni base to help you get players.

[The Sicatoka]

Idaho, SMU, or Houston.

Sounds like trying to decide whether to get mumps, measles, or chicken pox.

[lawkota]

Geez, no love for my alma mater. Things may be bad in pony land this year (I quite sure they're the worst team in D-IA, will finish 0-12) but its not even close to being a bad job, especially now that the university has finally relaxed recruiting restrictions it placed on the program in the aftermath of the DP. Prime recruiting territory, a new conference and great facilities (the new stadium is one of the nicest in the country). There is no reason why the right staff couldn't do at SMU what is being done at TCU.

[UND92,96]

It was just reported on WDAZ that Kyle Schweigert and Chris Mussman are two of the four finalists for the UMD head coaching job.

Here's a link to a release from the official UMD site.

[Smoggy]

So we could see yet another former Sioux coach in the NCC. Just shows you how strong our program is.

[RD17]

It was just reported on WDAZ that Kyle Schweigert and Chris Mussman are two of the four finalists for the UMD head coaching job.

Here's a link to a release from the official UMD site.

What a great situation to be in- having your offensive and defensive coordinators auditioning for the same job in a game on national TV. I expect both units to be playing at peak efficiency during the game.

[UND92,96]

It would be interesting to know the inside scoop on this (from the Forum):

Former NDSU head football coach Rocky Hager has been eliminated from the list of finalists for a similar job at Missouri Southern.

“I can tell you, he will not get the job,” said Missouri Southern sports information director J.R. Belew.

[UND Fan]

I was thinking the same thing - that comment sounded like there was more to it than he simply was out of the running for the job.

[bisonguy]

The rumor in Pittsburg, Kansas is that Rocky Hager will be taking over the Pitt State head coach spot, with Chuck Broyles moving to AD. This is from Pitt. State fans on the D2fooball.com board.

Edit- Rocky Hager was reported by FOX news as being one of two finalists for the SE Oklahoma head coach.

[redwing77]

The rumor in Pittsburg, Kansas is that Rocky Hager will be taking over the Pitt State head coach spot, with Chuck Broyles moving to AD. This is from Pitt. State fans on the D2fooball.com board.

Edit- Rocky Hager was reported by FOX news as being one of two finalists for the SE Oklahoma head coach.

Imagine the kegger Rocky will hold with the players if he gets hired!

[CoteauRinkRat]

Rocky seems like he can't land a head coaching job anywhere.

[star2city]

It would be interesting to know the inside scoop on this (from the Forum):

This quote from this source shows Missouri Southern leadership was not impressed with Rocky's cocky viewpoint:

The MSSU administration went with the sturdy and reliable station wagon rather than a flashy sports car in their decision to name Ware as coach.

[star2city]

The rumor in Pittsburg, Kansas is that Rocky Hager will be taking over the Pitt State head coach spot, with Chuck Broyles moving to AD. This is from Pitt. State fans on the D2fooball.com board.

Edit- Rocky Hager was reported by FOX news as being one of two finalists for the SE Oklahoma head coach.

The SE Oklahoma job doesn't appear to be open, as its head coach was also a finalist for the Missouri Southern job. Rocky as a finalist for a SE Okla coach looks to be a misreport of the Missouri Southern situation.

If Rocky got a job somewhere, UND should schedule a series with his team, as the Alerus would be packed (just think of all the NDSU fans clamoring to buy tickets to get another chance of cheering Rocky back to long-lost glory).

[star2city]

In the Orlando Sentinel today, there was an article on Purdue's special teams coach, Mark Hagen. Mr. Hagen gives credit to Dale Lennon for Purdue's improved special team performance. With accolades from a Big Ten coach, it gives a sense of just how well respected Lennon is. Here is the article from the Sentinel, as you have to register to view it:

Purdue sees value of special teams

By Alan Schmadtke | Sentinel Staff Writer

Posted December 29, 2003

When Purdue's punters and kickers reported back to campus in August for two-a-day practices, they knew immediately that a renewed emphasis had been put on special teams. Assistant Mark Hagen was put in charge of special teams in the off-season, and he took the title to heart.

After a visit to 2001 Division II national champion North Dakota, whose head coach supervises special teams, Hagen returned to step up the rate for workouts and introduce more individual work.

"It's a matter of us buying into it more," long snapper Brandon Villarreal said. "The last few years, people haven't bought into the program. Coach Hagen has made things more intense and stressed things more. . . . No matter what we do, we're running. If we're walking, we're wrong."

Under Hagen, times have dropped for punters to catch the ball and kick it. Ditto for long snappers and kickers. Almost every standard saw the bar raised.

WR Anthony Chambers set game, season and career school records for punt-return yardage this year, and K Ben Jones set a single-season school mark for field-goal percentage and could set the record for most field goals in a year. Purdue's kick-return team has improved dramatically, and in their past two games, the Boilermakers have blocked field-goal attempts.

Like many teams, Purdue starts practice with special-teams work. Under Hagen, all special-teams players -- and there are many -- break up to work on specific drills.

"I look around now and think, 'Man, we're pretty deep on special teams. We have some good athletes out here,' " P Brent Slaton said.