Saturday, November 17, 2012

Blauds spills the beans on Bates meeting

Early last week Brad Bates met with some key BC-friendly advisers off campus. I knew about it but kept it off the blog for a variety of reasons. Now that Blauds is writing about it, I can add my two cents. He is correct on BC's approach. Bates will explore some bigger names who might at least take BC's call. I don't think BC or Bates would expect the Dan Mullens of the world to leave their current jobs, but it is important to make the call. The other names mentioned in the article are all valid with the exception of Blauds' buddies Tim Murphy and Mark Whipple. Murphy has a huge advocate in Chip Kelly, but I think BC will go with a younger coach. Whipple is just old news at this point and no one at BC is going to go to bat for him this go around.

Blauds hit most of what I heard but missed a few things.

 -- There will be an emphasis on prior head coaching experience. That might seem obvious based on BC's desire to go for a big name. But where it might not play out as expected is in the hot college coordinator vs the MAC head coach. Experience is going to matter and having that knowledge and track record of running a program is going to be a big plus for a candidate. Considering our last three head coaches had never been head guys prior to BC, this is a change.

-- There will be NFL names kicked around. Pete Carmichael Jr.'s name has been out there for a long time, but other names will emerge. Former Coughlin protege Tim Sullivan has fans. Dirk Koetter's name has been floated. Expect Eric Mangini's name to get out there. Greg Roman will be called. Two-time BC bridesmaid Kevin Gilbride is probably going to be passed over based on age. The NFL stuff may seem in conflict with my first point, but I think and some close to the program think that a good process needs to at least explore the NFL names. There is too much upside with some of these guys to ignore.

-- Remember BC's approach during the AD search. There was an emphasis on experience as an AD. There was an emphasis on candidates who respect the student athlete. The coach's values (and although not mentioned, his religion) will be important. BC will operate on its own timeline, not the fans or media. There's not much worry in saving Spaz's recruiting class. It is about getting the right hire for the next five to ten years.

-- Spaz is done and its not going to take up much of Bates' time. Everyone wants Spaz gone but it is just a technicality at this point. Negotiating Spaz's buyout and dealing with all that is involved with be mostly on Leo Sullivan. Bates will be part of the process, but will be dealing with the search and the other demands of his new job.

Blauds has been all over the place with regards to AD stuff, but he got pretty close on all of this. Maybe he'll redeem himself in the coaching search.

30 comments:

bc1900 said...

If we are choosing one coach over another based on religion, BC has more problems than I ever imagined. This is 2012 and anything other than using religion as maybe a tie breaker at best is absolutely ridiculous and wrong, in fact it is illegal.

bc1900 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
C. Scanz said...

So what you're saying is we will hire a boring, white 55+ year old MAC coach. Cool.

mod34b said...

ATL, can you confirm that Blauds is not part of the advisory group? (I hope Bates knows Blauds not worth talking to) Can you give us a general idea of who the advisory group is?

ATL_eagle said...

Blauds is not part of the group. C. Sanz: it won't be someone over 55. Younger in fact. MAC coach? Could happen.

bc1990: We are a religious institution. That factors in two ways. First we need someone who understands and respects the Catholic tradition involved in our school and the football team. Second, this guy will be a representative of the school. We are not getting an atheist.

bc1900 said...

I agree, but we can't just be looking at catholics, that is wrong and again illegal. All you have to say is being catholic is a plus, but it can't be a deciding factor.

bc1900 said...

I have heard rumors for years that Spaz likes to drink a bit, has anyone else heard this. I try to post this on blauds site but he obviously erases it. My statement could be totally wrong, but I have heard it a few times and wonder if anyone else has.

EL MIZ said...

dave doeren (40 yr old HC at northern illinois, 20-4 lifetime) should get a look as mentioned by a previous ATL post. i have no idea what church he goes to on sundays, but he's married with 3 kids, and thats gotta count for something. my worry with doeren is he got to NIU at a moment comparable to jags at BC and has won with another coach's players -- can he really recruit and build a program, is he willing to stick around, and how would he build his staff would be the most pressing questions i'd have for him.

some of the longshots are interesting -- kevin gillbride, eric mangini, even dan mullen is an interesting if extremely unlikely candidate.

thank you for posting this ATL; it alleviated some of the stress i had built up during the day and thinking about having to watch just 2 more halves of spaz football. we are almost at the end, finally. i cannot wait for a new coaching regime.

EL MIZ said...

just read this article on Doeren, and would be more than happy to get this guy:

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/colleges/post/_/id/2019/doeren-paid-his-dues-before-landing-niu-job

20-4 as a head coach. before that he was the DC at Wisconsin and directed some great defenses. also coached at USC and Kansas. passionate recruiter apparently. only makes $400k at NIU; we paid Spaz over $1 million this year (truly offensive considering the sad state of affairs).

EL MIZ said...

While coaching for KU, Kansas City and Dallas were Doeren’s main recruiting areas. During that time, he recruited, among others, All-American cornerback Aqib Talib, second-team All-American defensive tackle James McClinton, NFL safety Darrell Stuckey, and linebackers James Holt, Kevin Kane, Joe Mortensen (Oakland, Calif.) and Mike Rivera.

defensive stats at Wisco:

2010:
29th in scoring defense (20.5 ppg)
22nd in total defense (323.5 ypg)
30th in rushing defense (131.7 ypg)
49th in pass-efficiency defense (122.7 rating)

2009:
33rd in scoring defense (21.8 ppg)
17th in total defense (305.7 ypg)
5th in rushing defense (88.2 ypg)
58th in pass-efficiency defense (127.7 rating)

2008:
66th in scoring defense (26.5 ppg)
37th in total defense (329.1 ypg)
44th in rushing defense (133.3 ypg)
24th in pass-efficiency defense (111.7 rating)



some good video of him in practice. i literally cannot imagine spaz appearing in such a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxOSgib-RiQ

eagleboston said...

Thanks El Miz,

That was better than Cialis. What a positive, enthusiastic coach. The BC players would be shell-shocked for weeks with a coach like this. This is the type of guy the Eagles need to restore the program to greatness.

eddierock said...

From the front page of Washington Post sports section this morning:

"The university of maryland is in talks to join the Big Ten Conference, according to people with direct knowledge of the situation. One said the announcement of Maryland's move to the big ten could be made within days".

NEDofSavinHill said...

Is Maryland to the Big 10 real? Espn has been controlling conference re alignment over the past several years. Finances dictate everything. Espn always wanted to protect their two favorite schools ( UConn and Syracuse). That is what led to the recent ACC expansion involving Pitt and the Bernie Fines. UConn was supposed to be part of the arrangement but Mr. Big put the kybosh on that. So an alternate plan was developed.2. The Big 10 pays $24 mil per team per year. Several mil more than the ACC. If Rutgers and UConn stay in the Big East their payout annually is at least $10 mil less than it would be in the Big 10 or ACC. Those programs would get up to $150 mil less over the next dozen years if they stayed put. Were UConn and Rutgers to split the $60 mil combined exit fees on behalf of Maryland and Rutgers they could reap a substantial windfall for the three schools. Maryland in the Big 10 with UConn and Rutgers paying the exit freight seems likely. Money talks.

C. Scanz said...

Thanks for this post Bill.

I would love to hire Diaco, BOB, PCJ or Golden. But it is going to be tough to hire a coordinator or guy with no head coaching and recruiting experience. BOB has worked extremely well in year 1 but seems very non-committal to that situation....hopefully a signal of interest in opportunity elsewhere.

Wesley said...

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2012/11/17/3660154/goodbye-carolina-bias-official-maryland-twitter-account-is-excited

Fenwick 111 said...

I love the idea of getting Mangini. He would be an attractive coach to have. Past NFL coaches have done very well lately – Carroll at USC, Petrino at Arkansas, and most recently, Mora at UCLA. Mangini would be able to play off of the old Belichick work relationship he had. His work at ESPN would likely make him realize how necessary it is to work with new media. Additionally, think of where he has coached – NE, NY/NJ, and Cleveland – areas where BC needs to establish its recruiting foundation. Recruits would understand that Mangini knows the NFL, and could help them get there.

ccw said...

But why Mangini want to coach here?

eagleboston said...

I think BOB has done an absolutely tremendous job at Penn State. I know his wife is a BC grad. However, doesn't he have a significant buyout? How could BC afford that?

Knucklehead said...

Mangini is a ruthless bastard. He is nothing like Caroll or Mora.

If Maryland leaves the ACC then Notre Dame will fill in their spot.

Knucklehead said...

. . .
http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/104750-manginis-bus-ride-angers-browns-rookies.

Knucklehead said...

The tone of the post leads me to believe that the University is willing to pay the right person to take the job.

Look for Golden or Diaco to be the next Eagles head coach.

Either would turn the program around in two-three years and then could jump to a better job(Miami is going to get destroyed by the NCAA). The we could promote one of their assitants. Similar to the Stanford situation with Harbaugh and now London.

rick_nadell said...

James Franklin from Vandy would be a great hire. Vandy is similar to BC in many ways. Plus he can recruit. He's got a top 15 recruiting class. He'd be an interesting hire.

Ry said...

How long before Eagle74 or whatever his name is shows up and starts screaming about Diaco?

dixieagle said...

What would we have to pay to attract a really good coach? And will we do it? (The more I think about GDF extending Spaz's contract, the angrier I get.)

Scoop said...

No to NFL types Mangini and Gilbride. The former has the personality of a cactus and the latter is a clown. Coughlin and the Giants win in spite of him. Besides, BC went down that road with Henning 20 years ago and look how that turned out.

I suspect the AD has 2 or 3 guys he wants and its just a matter of which one will take the job on terms acceptable to BC.

I'll be happy with any coach who is determined to win, win big and win national championships. I don't care if he's Catholic, Baptist, Jewish, Muslim or Mormon as long as we win, play by the rules and recruit good people.

JBQ said...

I would like to know what Coughlin and Flutie think!

eagleboston said...

National championships???? Lighten up, Francis. We need to win the ACC first. Plus, you have to cheat and loosen academic standards or be an iconic team like Notre Dame to win national titles. If you can't come close to a national title with once-in-a-generation QBs (Flutie and Ryan) then you are never going to win a title.

Knucklehead said...

Notre Dame lowered its standards during the Holtz era . . . which lead to their success. Since Holtz was removed from the ND job for breaking ncaa rules, read the book "Under the Tarnished Dome" ND had raised it's standards. Look into the background of Jerome Bettis, Ricky Waters and Chris Zorich. 15 years of average football led to a lowering of standards for Charlie Weis and now Kelly, look into the number of alcohol and discipline issues at ND since Weis took over.

Notre Dame cheats more than anyone.

Boston College is probably the cleanest program in college football and that is a result of the gambling issues in the 90's.

Knucklehead said...

Notre Dame lowered its standards during the Holtz era . . . which lead to their success. Since Holtz was removed from the ND job for breaking ncaa rules, read the book "Under the Tarnished Dome" ND had raised it's standards. Look into the background of Jerome Bettis, Ricky Waters and Chris Zorich. 15 years of average football led to a lowering of standards for Charlie Weis and now Kelly, look into the number of alcohol and discipline issues at ND since Weis took over.

Notre Dame cheats more than anyone.

Boston College is probably the cleanest program in college football and that is a result of the gambling issues in the 90's.

Bravesbill said...

Why on earth would Franklin want to go to BC esp. with the sweet gig he has at Vandy now? He would make more money at Vandy, play in a much better conference, and has job security basically for life now. Plus, he's already rebuilt their program and is now starting the reap the rewards of his hard work. Why would he bail now to go to a bad program in a bad conference?