The View from Memphis

[WaveProf]

"Why this Memphis football win over Boise State could be more than a comeback"

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/ ... 935751007/

[PeteRasche]

<obligatory>

[speckled trout]

I watched some of that game including the blocked field goal. A couple of observations

1) I don’t think Boise is that good anymore
2) Why kick a FG on 4th and 1 in the red zone to begin with?

[tulaneoutlaw]

I watched some of that game including the blocked field goal. A couple of observations

1) I don’t think Boise is that good anymore
2) Why kick a FG on 4th and 1 in the red zone to begin with?

They are nowhere near their peak. Avalos' game management is terrible and has cost them before. I'm not sure he survives the year unless they pull it together and win the MWC

[WaveProf]

“How Memphis is Fixing the Problems that Caused the Slow Start against Boise”

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/ ... 006191007/

[Sophandros]

I watched some of that game including the blocked field goal. A couple of observations

1) I don’t think Boise is that good anymore
2) Why kick a FG on 4th and 1 in the red zone to begin with?

Too many coaching changes over the year hurt them.

[Poseidon]

I watched some of that game including the blocked field goal. A couple of observations

1) I don’t think Boise is that good anymore
2) Why kick a FG on 4th and 1 in the red zone to begin with?

Too many coaching changes over the year hurt them.

That and they settled on the last hire. Very reminiscent of Houston hiring Levine after Sumlin left and then hiring Major Applewhite after Herman left.

Levine, Applewhite, and Silverfield all were coaches promoted from within and all had no previous HC experience. All did/done no better than 8 wins IIRC. If Fritz were to retire/leave is makes you think twice about promoting from within.

[Poseidon]

dup

[Baywave1]

Infante vs Davis vs Rodriguez vs scelfo-toledo-johnson

Some assistants are great hires like Dabo some are not like Davis.

Gotta pick the right replacement if you can’t keep the incumbent

[long green]

I watched some of that game including the blocked field goal. A couple of observations

1) I don’t think Boise is that good anymore
2) Why kick a FG on 4th and 1 in the red zone to begin with?

Too many coaching changes over the year hurt them.

That and they settled on the last hire. Very reminiscent of Houston hiring Levine after Sumlin left and then hiring Major Applewhite after Herman left.

Levine, Applewhite, and Silverfield all were coaches promoted from within and all had no previous HC experience. All did/done no better than 8 wins IIRC. If Fritz were to retire/leave is makes you think twice about promoting from within.

Making a mistake in hiring need not be a killer provided you don’t reinforce the mistake. Levine and Applewhite didn’t crash and burn but were moved out when the ptb at UH decided they weren’t The Man. In Levine’s case, Herman had a huge year with the players he inherited from him.

I’m not sure Silverfield is a mistake yet. He’s not Norvell but if UM boosters wanted him out because of that it could be a case of making perfect the enemy of good.

[GSx]

Infante vs Davis vs Rodriguez vs scelfo-toledo-johnson

Some assistants are great hires like Dabo some are not like Davis.

Gotta pick the right replacement if you can’t keep the incumbent

As of now, should Fritz leave, our situation would be like when Mack Brown left: there is no internal candidate with bright, blinking lights. When Smith and Bowden left, there was, of course, such a candidate....
The Memphis coach hasn't crashed and burned, but coaching changes catch up to you. Tulsa had a series of what were to become Hall of Fame basketball coaches, and the turnover finally caught up with them.

[Baywave1]

Good summary. I reasonably guess that several assistants on current staff could succeed greatly but don’t make me bet on naming them

Assuming Tulane keeps winning under Willie (and hopefully bigly) then i can safely bet there will be several outstanding applicants to replace him whenever. Just have to choose the right one which we know Tulane has woefully underachieved at in past decades.

I guess i have to really hope bigly that Tulane makes the right hire next time

[tulaneoutlaw]

There are some assistants from this current head coach but no longer on staff worth considering. My first call would be to Alex Atkins though his stock is so high right now I'm not sure he would be interested. Chris Hampton and John Sumrall would also be on my short list.

But WF is going to stick around and win long enough to get the all time tulane wins record, a statue, and the stadium hyphenated. Yulman-fritz field has a nice ring to it

[waverider]

There are some assistants from this current head coach but no longer on staff worth considering. My first call would be to Alex Atkins though his stock is so high right now I'm not sure he would be interested. Chris Hampton and John Sumrall would also be on my short list.

But WF is going to stick around and win long enough to get the all time tulane wins record, a statue, and the stadium hyphenated. Yulman-fritz field has a nice ring to it

It would have to be Benson-Fritz Field

[nolasilver]

Sumrall would 100% be my first call. Those are other goods you mentioned as well. I would also see if I could get that james Madison coach who prior had spent time at Alabama with Saban.

[tjtlja]

[quote=Baywave1 post_id=872211 time=1696461671 user_id=713]
Good summary. I reasonably guess that several assistants on current staff could succeed greatly but don’t make me bet on naming them

Assuming Tulane keeps winning under Willie (and hopefully bigly) then i can safely bet there will be several outstanding applicants to replace him whenever. Just have to choose the right one which we know Tulane has woefully underachieved at in past decades.

I guess i have to really hope bigly that Tulane makes the right hire next time
[/quote]

WF loves Tulane and New Orleans. Just pay the man what he is worth and he will stay. Commitment!

[waverider]

Sumrall would 100% be my first call. Those are other goods you mentioned as well. I would also see if I could get that james Madison coach who prior had spent time at Alabama with Saban.

That explains why they are so good on defense.

[Cheerleader]

Quit talking about Fritz replacement. He has worked too hard to build this program and would not want to leave it to start over again. Let’s keep it going and build a statue of WF one day.

[WaveProf]

Quit talking about Fritz replacement. He has worked too hard to build this program and would not want to leave it to start over again. Let’s keep it going and build a statue of WF one day.

There's a better chance Fritz stays than the avg coach with the level of success he's had here, for the reasons everyone is stating. And I hope it works out that way. But if you think there is zero chance of Fritz leaving I have some seaside land to sell you in Missouri. It depends on the job, the offer, the timing. I do think he learned a lesson from the Georgia Tech fiasco that makes him suspicious of offers, and is relatively happy here. I don't think he's going to consider another "bad" jump again just because of money or conference. But the right school, in the right conference, for the right money, with a chance to actually win there? He's gone. The good news is few schools match that description, and he's a year older every year.

[wavedom]

Fritz wants out and he's made that clear since he started going 6-6. If we go on a roll and he gets an offer from a P school he'll take it without hesitation of wanting to wait on the timing of the announcement. That's what he learned from the GT fiasco.

[speckled trout]

I would definitely watch if either Kansas school opens up. Both Klieman at Kansas State and Leipold at Kansas are obviously safe but if either bolts to Michigan State or somewhere I could see Willie Fritz being very interested, to say the least.

I do think he’s happy here and I’m not worried about this right now, but like others said you never know what’s going to happen.

[washwave]

If Fritz wanted out, he had the opportunity to go last year. Mack Brown and Tommy Bowden showed what a coach that wants out will do - leave regardless of the timing. Obviously, if a school comes after WF and offers to double his salary or more he'd be dumb not to do it and that is a real possibility that everyone should understand.

[wavedom]

If Fritz wanted out, he had the opportunity to go last year. Mack Brown and Tommy Bowden showed what a coach that wants out will do - leave regardless of the timing. Obviously, if a school comes after WF and offers to double his salary or more he'd be dumb not to do it and that is a real possibility that everyone should understand.

He had the opportunity and took it. Then had it pulled when it leaked out before he wanted it announced and their donors, fans and students protested the hire. He won't let that happen again.

[ml wave]

If Fritz wanted out, he had the opportunity to go last year. Mack Brown and Tommy Bowden showed what a coach that wants out will do - leave regardless of the timing. Obviously, if a school comes after WF and offers to double his salary or more he'd be dumb not to do it and that is a real possibility that everyone should understand.

He had the opportunity and took it. Then had it pulled when it leaked out before he wanted it announced and their donors, fans and students protested the hire. He won't let that happen again.

Yeah, if your takeaway from last year was he wants to be here and won't leave then I don't know what you've been paying attention to. He came here for more money and he'll leave here for more money. As most would.

[WaveProf]

If Fritz wanted out, he had the opportunity to go last year. Mack Brown and Tommy Bowden showed what a coach that wants out will do - leave regardless of the timing. Obviously, if a school comes after WF and offers to double his salary or more he'd be dumb not to do it and that is a real possibility that everyone should understand.

He wanted to go until he realized he was walking into a powder storm. GT either released the information because someone in the Athletics Department wanted to cause backlash to stop the hire or because someone in the Athletics Department wanted to force his hand to leave immediately, either way he knew he couldn't trust his new employer. Add to that that if it was the first scenario, it was working, as donors and fans were having a fit, and the situation was even less desirable.

Him staying had nothing to do with him preferring Tulane to Georgia Tech, in principal.