Which AAC School Made the Best Hire
- WaveProf
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Which AAC School Made the Best Hire
Given the particulars of their situation.....
Last edited by WaveProf on Mon Dec 12, 2016 12:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
“We will expect success in all endeavors and be prepared to assess and hold ourselves accountable when we aren't successful. Tulane is a top 40 academic institution and it should expect nothing less from its athletic department.” --Troy Dannen 11.5.16
Re: Which AAC School Made the Best Hire
I thought Cincy. hired a different guy. From OSU?? Can't recall his name.
- WaveProf
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Re: Which AAC School Made the Best Hire
They did. Its Luke Fickell. Who I'm actually very familiar with. I just had a brain fart with f-named coaches
“We will expect success in all endeavors and be prepared to assess and hold ourselves accountable when we aren't successful. Tulane is a top 40 academic institution and it should expect nothing less from its athletic department.” --Troy Dannen 11.5.16
Re: Which AAC School Made the Best Hire
They really are similar last names.WaveProf wrote:They did. Its Luke Fickell. Who I'm actually very familiar with. I just had a brain fart with f-named coaches
- long green
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Re: Which AAC School Made the Best Hire
I vote to get rid of polls.
The question, shorn of the boring poll feature, is a good one. The answer is "none of the above." Every one of these hires could fail; usually you can point to a group of hires inside a conference in a given year and confidently pick one future winner. Strong is not far removed from being considered a very good coach but his last year at Texas was an implosion. His original staff failed him, his special teams cost him games throughout his tenure, and a good defensive coach couldn't create even a bad defense from a roster filled with big-time recruits. Also, the end of his tenure argued that this good guy's team quit on him. Fickell could turn out really well but to me his hire is a triumph of name recognition over everything else. Applewhite has the same issue but following the UH search more closely than I did the UC search, it seemed that he was the man left standing after their requirements scared off too many good candidates. All of a sudden it was like "Sh-t, we've got to hire somebody." His reported buyout, the vaunted huge UH buyout, isn't that great. If he's a big winner any P5 could easily pay it.
I can't wait to see who Temple hires. They have a popular assistant - the players' choice - who is too old and looks like The Man With One Arm from The Fugitive. Old Dominion's coach looks like a good choice to me.
The question, shorn of the boring poll feature, is a good one. The answer is "none of the above." Every one of these hires could fail; usually you can point to a group of hires inside a conference in a given year and confidently pick one future winner. Strong is not far removed from being considered a very good coach but his last year at Texas was an implosion. His original staff failed him, his special teams cost him games throughout his tenure, and a good defensive coach couldn't create even a bad defense from a roster filled with big-time recruits. Also, the end of his tenure argued that this good guy's team quit on him. Fickell could turn out really well but to me his hire is a triumph of name recognition over everything else. Applewhite has the same issue but following the UH search more closely than I did the UC search, it seemed that he was the man left standing after their requirements scared off too many good candidates. All of a sudden it was like "Sh-t, we've got to hire somebody." His reported buyout, the vaunted huge UH buyout, isn't that great. If he's a big winner any P5 could easily pay it.
I can't wait to see who Temple hires. They have a popular assistant - the players' choice - who is too old and looks like The Man With One Arm from The Fugitive. Old Dominion's coach looks like a good choice to me.
And may our enemies, if they exist, be unconscious of our purpose. - From The Lady Vanishes
- PeteRasche
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Re: Which AAC School Made the Best Hire
I guess they're hoping it's not like the last time they did that. You know, the guy they're replacing. Fool me once...long green wrote:Fickell could turn out really well but to me his hire is a triumph of name recognition over everything else.
- long green
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Re: Which AAC School Made the Best Hire
My bad, I wasn't clear. By name recognition, I meant locally, considering Fickell's Flaming Ohioism. Columbus native who played at OSU and has never worked outside of the state. His nickname should be "House Arrest."PeteRasche wrote:I guess they're hoping it's not like the last time they did that. You know, the guy they're replacing. Fool me once...long green wrote:Fickell could turn out really well but to me his hire is a triumph of name recognition over everything else.
And may our enemies, if they exist, be unconscious of our purpose. - From The Lady Vanishes
- PeteRasche
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Re: Which AAC School Made the Best Hire
But you were correct in the way I took it, too (though you might not know it, you not living up here). Nobody cares about the "flaming Ohioism", they care that he came from a big-name school and once even briefly had a head gig there. It's like there is this crazy pressure to hire someone from a power school, despite both the failure of doing that previously and the fact that their most successful coaches all came from non-power schools.
Btw, his contract is something like 6 years, $2.3M per year.
Btw, his contract is something like 6 years, $2.3M per year.
- long green
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Re: Which AAC School Made the Best Hire
I saw that $ figure and I couldn't believe it. Still can't. Cincy is in a real fix if he's a dud.
And may our enemies, if they exist, be unconscious of our purpose. - From The Lady Vanishes