new coach?

[bincitysioux]

Congrats to Coach Mussman

[bincitysioux]

Here' the official release.

[bincitysioux]

Sorry to keep following up my own posts.

Mussman was asked during the press conference about other options that he had. He said he could have gone with Dale to SIU, and that he was pretty interested in the Minnesota St. job.

[SloStang]

Congrats on the hire. I think Mussman will do great and will hit the ground running.

[SiouxperDave]

The only reason Casey didn't get the job was NDSU was moving to FCS and we wanted a head coach with more DI recruiting contacts. To each your own - we see if it works out.

I wish UND would have expanded their search like NDSU did. I think UND screwed up by hiring Mussman so soon. Maybe he is the right guy for the job but it wouldn't have hurt to bring in few other candidates.

[dlsiouxfan]

I wish UND would have expanded their search like NDSU did. I think UND screwed up by hiring Mussman so soon. Maybe he is the right guy for the job but it wouldn't have hurt to bring in few other candidates.

What exactly were you hoping for with an outside search? You would have gotten applicants from small-time DII- NAIA programs (Winona State, University of Sioux Falls) and guys who got their ass canned at I-A schools. Plus, you would have pissed away an entire recruiting class and probably disrupted the program so much that guys would have started transferring. We were 11-2 last season. If it isn't broke then you don't have to fix it. You conduct a head coaching search a lot differently with a successful program than you do at a losing one.

[dlsiouxfan]

[SloStang]

I wish UND would have expanded their search like NDSU did. I think UND screwed up by hiring Mussman so soon. Maybe he is the right guy for the job but it wouldn't have hurt to bring in few other candidates.

Just because they did not open it up officially to outside canidates, I am sure they had coaches who were interested inquire about the job so they had a good idea who was out there. I think that in Mussman they saw a rising star who was ready for the next step. I think he is a great hire and he is hitting the ground running.

[iramurphy]

Mussman should bring stability to the program and should mean that we keep the kids who have committed.

He will need to make sure he meets with every coach still on the staff and communicate to them his philosophy, goals, plans etc. They need to immediately finish what seems to be a strong recruiting class. It is his job to sell his ablitiy and style to his coaching staff and team. Might have been interesting to see who would have applied but it is a done deal and it is important for the entire UND community to get behind the decision and support the team and athletic department. The present staff needs to either get behind Mussman and support the decision or move on. The decision has been made and we have a good staff.

We also need to get on with the AD and president hires.

[GeauxSioux]

Just because they did not open it up officially to outside canidates, I am sure they had coaches who were interested inquire about the job so they had a good idea who was out there. I think that in Mussman they saw a rising star who was ready for the next step. I think he is a great hire and he is hit the ground running.

Thanks SloStang. I agree that Mussman is a good hire. He is part of a system that has been successful and has been at UND so long he is part of the UND family. An outside search would have taken time and could possibly yielded the same results.

Good luck Chris.

[UND92,96]

Last night on the WDAZ sports, Mannausau and Belmore were interviewed, and it certainly seemed as though both were pleased with the hire and planned on staying.

[UND92,96]

Ryan Bakken blog.

[UND92,96]

Interesting column in the Mankato paper bemoaning the fact that Mussman isn't going to be the next MSU-Mankato coach.

[UND92,96]

Another interesting thing from the above-linked column is that Kelling's name isn't mentioned as somebody who has been interviewed via phone. I wonder if he's still in the running?

[star2city]

Interesting column in the Mankato paper bemoaning the fact that Mussman isn't going to be the next MSU-Mankato coach.

If Lennon had moved on a week or two later, Mussman might already have been the Mankato coach. That could have placed UND's program in a real bind timing wise. Have to wonder if there was any discussion between Lennon and Mussman about Mussman's MSU-M interest relative to UND before Lennon accepted the SIU position.

Mussman, the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for the Sioux, was promoted to head coach last week after Dale Lennon took a job at Southern Illinois. Some people who are close to Mussman said it was a tougher choice than it might appear.

However, it was an opportunity too good to turn down, though there will be tough times ahead as the program transitions to Division I. But the pay was likely far more, the university has a proud tradition, and as North Dakota State has shown, the rewards of even moderate success can be sweet.