So far three guys have formally interviewed for the position (Donahue, Cooley and Mooney). Thankfully Tommy Amaker did not and will stay at Harvard. Bill Coen will interview Monday. Now there is supposedly an under the radar candidate whose name has not been leaked. (I am not buying that by the way. These things never stay quiet for long.) Of the three that interviewed, I think you can cross off Mooney. Supposedly it is "not a good fit at this time" for either side. This is second hand gossip, but I guess Mooney didn't express enough passion for the opportunity nor have the same ideas when it came to running a program.
Donahue is very enthused about BC and the opportunity. The question surrounding his candidacy is staff. Will he bring his Ivy Leaguers? Will he keep some of Skinner's guys? Can he find assistants that have competed and recruited at the ACC level?
Cooley exceeded expectations in the interview and would be willing to sell the school. He would also be a relatively seamless transition. Gene and Ed get along. But can you fire Skinner only to replace him with one of his long time assistants? Does Gene care about the hypocrisy? Will Cooley give the program a shot in the arm?
Coen is well liked and has the media (Katz and Bob Ryan) in his corner. But he is yet to interview. We will know more next week.
My prediciton
Despite the growing Donahue whispers, I still think it will be Cooley or Coen. I also think Pat Duquette will remain on with Cooley or Coen. If forced to pick between Cooley or Coen, I would say Cooely, only because he has interviewed and interviewed well.
Stay tuned...
Posts
20 comments:
ATL -- You say "I still think it will be Cooley or Coen." ugggghhh.
If that is also where GDF is at, that is the most compeltely pathetic outcome imaginable. Fire Al and hire his favorite assistant. Really lame.
As for Mooney, he seemed to be the most interesting of the current candidates (he was, in truth, not that accomplished though), and it is interesting to see that GDF did not think Mooney sold himself well.
Gee, GDF, why the heck don't YOU sell BC to Mooney. Every coach who is worth anything is going to be coy and reluctant. Only the desparate and unsophisticated act like its a dream job. Doesn't GDF know he must woo the better candidates. Man, guy is bad news.
It's not like we are Kentucky, UNC or Duke. Even UNC had to woo Roy Willimas for years. GDF figure that out. You must woo the winners, not the other way around.
Coen/Cooley are just other names for Spaz. Safe, unspectacular choices that GDF knows won't challenge his authority and won't rock the boat. They would arrive having kissed the ring and they are unlikely to deliever BC to new "Heights" either.
Boy, I really, really had hoped for some new blood here. I now (again) feel like Charlie Brown after Lucy (GDF) once again, dashed my hopes by pulling the football away at the very last moment.
GDF -- be bold and imaginative. No more Spaz types. (spaz is ok, but ok doesn;t cut it for a new hire) Aspire, GDF, Aspire to greatness.
http://espn.go.com/espnradio/player?rd=1#/podcenter/?id=5050969&autoplay=1&callsign=ESPNRADIO
Entertaining discussion with Jared Dudley on the Bill Simmon's Sports report.
"St. Mary's Head Coach Randy Bennett's name keeps coming up in conversations about this spot. We'll keep an eye on how this develops."
http://www.hoopdirt.com/blog/99348c9a/boston-college-update/
I agree completely we need someone enthused about coming to BC - there are so many people who want us to be in our place - whatever that may mean - from sportscasters and BU-trained scribes to the Ivy league types who are threatened by BC to the domers who can;t handle another Catholic sports power. BC is a great place - and if we demand enthusiastic top-notch students, why not the same of our coaches?
That's one reason I like Spaz and I think we'll do well. I really dislike thew Spaz bashing that seems to be accompanying the bball discussions. Spax was, after all, the architect of our great defenses the prior 10 years - not some Div 2 wannabe,
Could Michael Adams be the mystery candidate? Not many people would have to know if he was a candidate.
blist --
you need to adjust your perspective. "Ivy league types who are threatened by BC" ! Are you kididng, No Ivy Leagure type is threatened by BC. Its like saying BC grads are threaten by St. Anselm, Fairfield, Villanova or PC grads. No way.
"domers who can't handle another Catholic sports power" ND ain't threatened either.
But your sentiment seems to be the GDF attititude. Sure, the coach has to be enthusiastic about BC That should go without saying. But BC must court, cajole and persuade the very best candidates that BC is a great move for them. My guess is that GDF is very insecure about the use of power and needs the coach to understand he is king.
Perhaps if one worked for a long time in gov't or the academy, like GDF, the point might be lost. But in any form of business, the executive you want to hire really bad, the executive who will take your biz to new levels is the guy who has a great job and does not need you. That recruit will play hard to get for both more money and more power coming into the job. The great recruits understand power and understand the power dynamic starts at the first interview. Seems like GDF wants toadies.
As for Spaz, good man, and no one is trashing him, but you must understand that Spaz is a #2 by nature. He is just a care taker coach who is NOT going to take BC far. Sure, he might surprise us, but not likely. I think we all understand that.
Going for Coen or Cooley is just a repeat of the Spaz hire.
If we are going to throw michael adams name out there how about Dana Barros. BC guy. Celtics guy. Local guy. Would help with recruiting in new england. This one almost makes sense to me.
Mooney out -- u got that right ATL..hope rest if not right!!
"University of Richmond basketball coach Chris Mooney Friday night withdrew as a candidate at Boston College. UR is expected to announce a contract extension and pay raise for Mooney early next week.
Mooney, 37 and UR’s coach for five seasons, acknowledged that he met with representatives of Boston College, an ACC school that is seeking a replacement for Al Skinner. Friday night, he said his decision to remove himself from BC’s process “had everything to do with Richmond, the program that we’ve been able to build, the support that we’ve gotten, and the bright future that we have.
“I love the area. I love the university.“"
Am I the only one who sees Brian Gregory as the perfect fit for BC? He's already proven he can go toe-to-toe with Roy Williams and win. He's an Izzo disciple and if just a little of the "6 Final Fours in 12 years magic" rubbed off on him, we will all be delighted. He's used to coaching at a private school and his teams play exciting offense and tough defense.
Gregory, please!
mod -- I liked what you said about selling the school. You hit the nail on the head with the sentiment that only the more underqualified coaches may act that it's a dream job.
I don't want to dismiss the old Skinner assistants simply because they did as they were told when at BC.... I hold out hope that Cooley might be great for this program.
We harp on the negatives.... we might lose a recruit or a current player. But maybe we'll gain a player that follows his coach, and dreams of playing in the ACC?
It's possible that while Cooley can probably kiss enough of GDF's butt to get the job, hopefully he will ignite the program and do it his way, once he has been hired.
I know what you mean about not making a big splash, and GDF just hiring a puppet like Spaz... but let's not dismiss Spaz or the future Bball coach quite yet.
I like Bennett but don't see him coming East. He can wait for a Pac 10 job. Gregory would be a terrible fit at BC. I don't think he and Gene could get along for more than a season or two.
So here's an idea, what if we hire Coen or Cooley and keep one of them for about 5 or so years until Pearl's contract runs out, and then have him come in with probably the same talent and expectations as it has been this whole decade.
I think it is time we move on from Pearl, folks. He turned BC down and I doubt 5 years will make a difference.
Apparently, I am wrong about Gregory but I just cannot get excited about former Skinner assistants taking over the job. However, I am willing to go in with an open mind.
There have been a couple of negative Spaz references here. I don't think that was a bad hire at all. Who else could get 8 wins out of that debacle of an off-season last year? He did a terrific job. And I love that he is going back to smash-mouth football to go with the tough defense.
If we can't convince Mooney to leave a very mediocre Richmond program, we are going to be severely disappointed with whoever gets hired. Not a good sign at all.
Bravesbill, I would not read too much into Mooney's decision. Many coaches just use these coaching searches to get raises. They are perfectly content at their current job but they see an opportunity to get a contract extension and they go for it.
papa samba ndao, a signee for the incoming class, is playing on espn right now. his team (monteverde) is playing findlay prep in th enational high school invitational. he's number 12 i believe. hasn't show much so far....looks athletic, but hasn't made any plays and is definitely not the best player on this team.
Former Vermont coach Tom Brennan called GDF about the BC job.
No word on whether he will get an interview.
He has the personality to sell the program.
Encouraging quote out of Wes Davis:
"I think our fans will be real happy to know that Ifeanyi Momah is looking really good out there. I think the coaches are going to be able to use his athleticism and physical talents to benefit us in a lot of ways defensively. It may sound cliché but Luke Kuechly is looking even more impressive out there. He's playing middle linebacker and making lots of plays running people down. KPL is a physical specimen. He still has a long way to go and I don't know if he's going to play this fall, but physically he is the best looking freshman I've ever seen at BC bar none. I tell him that I'm trying to look like him. He has the work ethic, the discipline, and the character to be a very good person and football player," said Davis.
Dan,
Thanks for the update. With all of the drama surrounding basketball, we have kind of forgotten about football. The quotes from Davis gave me goosebumps. If Momah can hurry the QB, something we have not seen in years from the DE position, that will really play into the strengths of the defense, the LB's and DB's. Luke is on the verge of stardom and it's great to hear KPL could be the next to grab the LB mantle. And there is still the possibility Herzy will play!
Way too early to get excited about football but I predict the defense will have to carry the team next season and it sounds as if they are up to the challenge.
Post a Comment