Hold On Loosely - The New Era Of Coaching Carousels

Bobby Bowden left almost 40 years ago… THAT should have been an indication that shit like this just happens…

Is living and retiring and staying in WV your choice? Props if it is, but, I took a MASSIVE payday to leave Charleston and move to Myrtle Beach 7 years ago. Its no different for anyone else, just because they happen to be in the spotlight. Its not fair to hold coaches to different standards than we hold in our own lives.

If someone walked in and said “here, double/triple your salary,” would you honestly leave that money on the table?

are you just now realizing that?

with you wanting a coach(es) to stick around Morgantown indefinitely, but it just won’t happen. I currently live in C-bus but could move on when the next professional challenge comes along. The coaching industry is an industry where coaches should really look out for themselves (and they do) because they could be out of a job and making 15-20% of what they were making (whether as analyst or demotion as a coach). You’ve got to get what you can, as many coaches don’t have the shelf life of JoePa or Bobby Bowden.

The Mountaineers, relatively speaking, are a medium-sized program that will never be at the same level of Ohio State, Florida, Texas, etc. We simply don’t have enough people/fertile recruiting ground to get to that level. That’s not to say that we can’t have a good run of years where we are nationally relevant. In fact, I could see the WVU f-ball and b-ball programs parallel franchises like the Minnesota Twins, San Antonio Spurs, etc. where DESPITE turnover we hire the next young guy, he sticks around for a short period (hopefully) and moves on, leaving the reins to another successful hire.

Look at the Steelers. If you think that the reason for their success is Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin (exclusively) then one would be called a fool. It starts with an ownership group that is so grounded, constantly thinking 2-3 steps ahead, and incorporating critical evaluation techniques in its decision making. With President Clements and ADOL in charge, I see no reason why WVU couldn’t breed a “Winner’s” environment full of thoughtful anticipation and constant assessment/evaluation of coaches in the event that WVU’s head coach (or even assistants) would ever leave.

Sure, we don’t have nearly the same advantages as one of the most successful professional sports franchises on Earth, but consistent winning (9-10 win seasons) can be accomplished in Mo-Town.

My 2 goals as a WVU alum is to get to the point where our fans no longer set couches on fire, etc. because we’ve “been there, done that” (and I really think this is currently getting better and better) because it lets us know that we have elevated the programs AND to NEVER EVER be satisfied with getting to a championship game. We already did that in 1988 against ND in football. If we would’ve won that game we would be National Champions. Nobody remembers the runner-up. In talking to Cardinals and Seahawks fans during the Steelers run of 2 SBs, I always remember them saying that they were just happy that they “got there”. I just shook my head.

It’s all about the hardware and I’m confident WVU will get that elusive piece at some point in the next 10-15 years.

Losing hope in a coach who has produced the teams he has and already produced a BCS bowl winner in us his first year is absurd. I don’t care who he brings in, if it’s in our best interest then why question it?

Every coach has their dream job and personal goals they are trying to achieve. I read where coach Deforest put his coaching career on hold and remained at OSU for 11 years because he promised his daughter she could finish high school there. Also, many of the coaches Dana is bringing in (Patterson being the exception) appear to have close ties with him and are people he trusts. It is easy to point out potential downfalls of a situation but we should choose to also point out the positives. It is a great time to be a Mountaineer and I am going to setback and enjoy the ride.

One, Holgs isn’t exactly making bad money here at Morgantown. Remember, this is his first year head coaching – by the end of his current contract, he’ll be making ~2.4 mil a year, up from 1.4 today. Considering he’s a first year head coach, that really ain’t bad. Could an SEC school or a Big 12 school pony up more cash? Yeah, probably, but will they?

Two, there are always other intangibles outside of money that go into it. Whoever said Oliver Luck was the best AD ever was making a gross understatement, and I think that there’s a sense that, right now, it’s really Holgs program. For all of the controversies surrounding RichRod and Stew, WVU isn’t a dysfunctional program (like Pitt) and Holgs isn’t a dysfunctional coach (like Graham). This team has tremendous upside going into the Big 12 and Holgs could probably do more for his career sticking around for a while than hopping from school to school. Just something to think about.

Will Holgs spend his whole career at WVU? No, probably not. But I think saying “HE PICKED A GUY WHO HAD TO BAIL ON ARKANSAS STATE TO COACH ZOMG ALL OUR COACHES ARE HERE FOR A YEAR AND GONE” (excuse the exaggeration) may be a bit of our downtrodden attitude kicked in. No, we aren’t Texas, but Morgantown has alot to offer a young coach and I wouldn’t be surprised if Holgs does stick around for a while.

Other than that, see WVU Columbus’ above comment about the Steelers, covers the rest of my thoughts on the issue.

Can anyone answer that? I’m not being a dick, I really want to know, because I’ll bet its a VERY small number.

Head coaches I can think of, and it doesn’t speak of assistants, but I can account for –
Frank Beamer (and Bud Foster, resident dick), Bob Stoops, Mack Brown, Frank Solich at Ohio, Jeff Tedford at Cal, and…?

I would say that even though you mention Holgs being lured away by a 3 million dollar SEC coaching job, it seems to be that what he wants, and has always wanted, is a Big 12 job at a program he can mold as he wants. The guy was at Texas Tech for 8 years, made a pit stop in Houston, then went back to another Big 12 job at OSU. He now HAS a Big 12 job at a place that he doesnt have to conform to a preestablished way of doing things. Plus, in a few years when WVU is getting a full share of Big 12 revenues, we’ll actually be able to pay coaches comensurate with big boy programs.

Im not saying he won’t leave for a better job, Im saying that the number of better jobs is way smaller than it was as recently as a week ago. RichRod left for Michigan, but seriously, zero non-WVU fans would say that WVU is as good a job as Michigan (until you actually get their and catch shit just for giving the wrong guy Braylon Edwards’ old jersey #). I truly believe that Holg’s endgame is coaching for a BIg 12 school. So, assumming that, the jobs he would want are Texas, OU, and OSU, all of which have head coaches that don’t look to be going anywhere. The next tier down is Texas Tech, which will have an opening soon, TCU, which is taken, and wouldnt hire a guy that gets kicked out of casinos (another point in WVU’s favor, most fans here LOVE that about him), and, i guess, Baylor. Iowa State? I guess he’s from Iowa, but can you win there? Do the Cyclones even give a damn? I can’t specifically remember any Cyclones affirmatively giving a damn. Kansas and Kansas State? K-state maybe when Coach Old Guy dies. Kansas doesnt give a damn about football and the Air Raid doesnt work in roundball.

Then of course the other usual suspects from around the country that coaches probably can’t turn down. Notre Dame (also would have an issue with his drinking), Michigan (set for awhile), Ohio State (set until Meyer’s heart explodes), USC (set until Kiffin transitions from shady behavior to criminal activity). These jobs don’t come along every day.

Everyone seems to forget Holgo wasn’t supposed to be the HC this past year. If Stew was the coach, would the defensive staff we just lost still leave for ASU? Nothing against JC, but Holgo had full control of the offensive hires pre-season and had friction with the defensive side as I’ve read in articles.

Yes his newest hires may not stir confidence in you, but you have to look at is as, this is what Holgo year one would have looked. Holgo isn’t Todd Graham, that’s for damn sure. Has Hologo been hoping around? You’re damn right he has, but he also stayed in Lubbock for 9 years….LUBBOCK. So he has some loyalty, and obviously once the bigger school start coming, he’s going to listen, but he’s no Lane Kiffin, and has respect for us and atleast some tact. Plus the way he speaks, we’d know he was leaving months before he does. I’d say he has 5-7 years minimum, which is average for CFB now-a-days. Who knows, in 5 years we’ll probably hire another offensive prodigy for 5-7, that’s how it goes, you can’t let it get to you.

College football is a business. Cry all you want about amatuer athletics, unpaid players, yada-yada, that’s what it is at the end of the day. And a multi-million dollar business at that. If Luck is worth his salt he realizes this and plans to pony up the salary worthy of a great head football coach. That’s what is needed here. You wouldn’t hire Mike flippin burgers down at Burger King to run Apple so why is this any different? Want a great qualified, innovative coach that creates a good team year-in and year-out that wins national titles, etc.? It costs MONEY. WVU is not a poor institution, just pay your coaches and the rest will come (and stay). It’s not that hard to figure out.