Thursday, November 29, 2012

Why NFL names are popping up

All of a sudden any NFL assistant with a pulse seems to have his name in the BC mix. This shouldn't be that surprising. There are a lot of reasons why NFL names are being tied to the BC job.

Public interviews help NFL guys. Public interviews hurt college guys.
College head coaches love when their names are rumored for new jobs, but never want to be revealed as a true candidate unless they are going to get the job. If a college guy publicly interviews and doesn't get the job, it undermines his relationship with his recruits and his fans. If an NFL guy interviews for a college head job, it raises his profile within the NFL and with other colleges.

BC is a very appealing job to NFL guys.
NFL guys know that Coughlin and Jags both transitioned from NFL assistants to winners at BC. Plus BC offers more on an NFL lifestyle experience than most college jobs. You live in a major city and not a college town. The job is very light on rubber chicken dinners and boaster functions. While you will still have issues dealing with college kids, in general BC kids are a little more focused and mature than your average BCS program. Recruiting -- which can often feel like pulling teeth for NFL guys -- is not intense at BC. To succeed you are going to have to find good talent, but there is no expectations to go and get all the five stars. Heck, half of the elite recruits wouldn't get by BC's admissions office. If don't want to spend all your time texting and sweet talking high school kids, you can still find BC talent.

There are still only so many opportunities to be in charge
Greg Roman has salvaged Alex Smith's career and groomed Colin Kaepernick and has been a key part of the 49ers revival, yet he is a long shot to get an NFL job this season. Aaron Kromer got an shot as an interim interim in New Orleans, but that might have doomed him with the NFL this year. Pete Carmichael Jr has been the OC of the NFL's best offense but everyone credits Brees and Peyton. Guys like John McNulty or Rob Chudzinski are on struggling NFL teams. There future with their respective positions is uncertain. You don't think they would jump at the chance to take control of their careers and destinies?

This is Bates first chance to seriously talk to NFL candidates
BC has the budget and track record to attract NFL guys. That wasn't the case at Miami of Ohio. Bates admittedly is not as networked into the NFL circuit as he is in college. Given his methodical approach to things, it makes sense that he is exploring all the NFL possibilities.

My ranking of rumored NFL candidates
I am lukewarm on Kromer, but love a lot of the other rumored NFL names. I think Mike Sullivan, Greg Roman and Pete Carmichael Jr would all do really well at BC. If I had to order them, I would give a slight edge to Roman for his recent college success at Stanford. I don't think Sullivan is some sort of Coughlin clone, but there are a lot of similarities. Carmichael's lack of relevant college experience gives me a little pause, but he is one of us and that counts for a lot.

1. Greg Roman
2. Mike Sullivan
3. Pete Carmichael Jr
4. Rob Chudzinski
5. Aaron Kromer
6. John McNulty
7. Jim Turner

42 comments:

SAMOFSAVINHILL said...

I've got my sources that are a little better than most. Here's a name that you can chew on: John Lynch. I've heard he's already talked with the AD. Strayhand referred him when he said he was no longer interested. Lynch was a Patriot, knows and likes the area, and fits in with the BC idea of athletics coming from a Stanford background.

nceaglefan said...

Story out today that Kromer is interviewing with BC this weekend after tonights game. I think he might be a front runner given his ties to Miami(OH) I still think Roman would be a home run for BC.

ATL_eagle said...

Lynch is not getting a sniff of this job. The same with Flutie. We are not going to hire a guy who has never coached a day at any level to take over the program.

Unknown said...

As a 49er fan, I'd hate to lose Roman. But as a BC alum, I'd love to see him as the new head coach.

CatabEagle said...

I love the idea of Roman. BC should always focus on the NFL guys, for many of the reasons that Bill mentioned. Here's hoping we make a strong push at him.

Knucklehead said...

Roman graduated from John Carroll U? a couple years before Josh McDaniels - patriots OC.

Bill Belicheck introduced TOB to his wife.

Interesting circle there.

diabetic tackle said...

going from the NFL to a place like BC is a major transition in work intensity for any new Skipper. The guy (like a Coughlin) who brings added intensity is the guy you want. The guy (like Al Groh) who lets the more laid back environment in college affect his overall approach is to be avoided. Bates needs to discern this if NFL asst is his focus.

Soxx22 said...

This job is so attractive that trains full of candidates are colliding on the green line trying to get to campus.

Ry said...

Strayhand doesn't exist. Why does this bother me as much as it does?

Ry said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
BCballer said...

One important question Bates needs to ask any NFL assistant, especially one who has not toiled long in the collegiate environment, concerns the staff he would assemble. You need some recruiters to sell the product. Granted, to high school kids, having a head coach who has experience in The League is a plus, but you need guys on the road selling it, as well as relating to the issues that exist on a college campus. Images of Jack Stanton ( Hennings short-lived DC ) come hauntingly to mind.

By the way, it will be 2076 and BC will be searching for a head coach. Mark Whipple, who will have been dead for 30 years, will still have his name thrown in the hat by certain hacks.

mod34b said...

I am not that comfortable with hiring an NFL assistant.

Why?

1. All proposed NFLers are not Head Coaches. Being a #1 is very different than being a #2, #3 etc. Not clear these #2 can step up, even if they had been a success as a #2. See, Spaziani, Frank. The most important qualification for BC is prior success as a head football coach. Do any of these NFLers qualify?

2. Coaching highly paid and $$ motivated NFL players is totally different from taking a green 2/3 star, 18 year old recruit and building that kid up physically and mentallly to make him a player, a man. Being a father figue of sorts to the kids. Not sure any of the NFLers have ever done it or can do this. I know some have college coaching assistant experience, but none as a HC who is in charge of this whole effort.

3. None of the NFLers had to recruit in the NFL. Recruiting is 75% of the job of a college coach. Just look at Brian Kelly: after he beat USC, he immediately went on a recruiting trip. Not sure these candidates know what 24/7 recruiting is all about and whether they can hack it. Are any of these guys psyched about recruiting? - Jags, for example, hated it and it showed.

4. Longevity: If any of the NFLers are a success at BC, they will very likely go back to the NFL with "ticket punched". Just look at the clown move made by Jags at year 2. Why would any of these others be different? I'd like to get a guy who we expect will stay at least 5 years. A person who wants to build a fully successful organization, not just a person who wants to experience individiaul success.

5. College football HC is a 12 months job. The NFL is not a year round job - not for an assistant.

6. Most of these NFLers lack a network of high school coaches to aid in recruiting

7. Hiring the right assistants as HC is really important. Person needs judgment and experience to make the right moves. Do any NFLers have that skill? Not clear they do

8. #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7 combined -- all togehter that is a heavy burden.

Sure some NFL assistants can (and have) transisition to college HC and be successful, but that is a much more risky proposition than a current succcessful college HC becoming a success at BC.

mod34b said...

Look, for example at the "fav" - Roman -- he is an NFL guy, through and through (just 2 fleeting years at Standford)

His bio from SF site:

"In what marks his 15th season coaching in the NFL, Roman has been a member of the coaching staffs of the Carolina Panthers (1995-2001), Houston Texans (2002-03) and Baltimore Ravens (2006-07). He also spent two seasons (2009-10) on Jim Harbaugh’s coaching staff at Stanford."

Joseph said...

Boy, i'm glad that mod34b posted. I'm sure that Brad bates will read every word. I am also sure that Bates never thought of any of this and will be pleased to invite m34b to his next interviews to be sure that it gets done right.

thanks, mod34b. What would we all do without you.

mod34b said...

Joseph - thanks for being a dick.

Joseph said...

You are welcome. Brad thanks you as well. He just called and said that he read your post and cancelled all NFL type interviews. You saved us from something even worse than Spaz.

CatabEagle said...

I disagree with most of what mod34b wrote, up until he called Joseph a dick. That was 100% accurate.

mod34b said...

Catab - !

And yes, Please disagree 100% with me, if you like. That what comments are for!

Too bad Joseph resorts to low comments. I guess he does not yet know how to respond to the substance or lack thereof.

But so it goes . .. .

eagleboston said...

Yeah, Joseph, that was a pretty classless post. Those of us who have been on here for several years have our differences from time to time but we try to restrict them to the merits or lack thereof of the other posters' comments. Mod always brings thought provoking comments and while I don't agree with him all of the time, I appreciate his perspective.

CatabEagle said...

I've you're going to go negative town Joseph, please see the instructions as set forth in example by BravesBill.

Joseph said...

Sorry, if you were offended. I was not.

EL MIZ said...

a few things:

A) RY, i am with you on Sam of Savin Hill, who may watch BC games with Ned of Savin Hill. regardless, his posts are utter nonsense and always refer to "Strayhand"; he's like a non satirical observer college. lame.

B) "classless" and "dick" to describe the sarcastic response to Mod's post are a little aggressive. come on.

C) that said, i agree with Mod 34B unless Roman goes into the interview and says all the right things (and actually means them unlike that carpetbagger Jagodzinski). i'd prefer a college guy (like Doeren or Hazell) who have been around the block recruiting and dealing with 18-22 yr olds to an NFL coordinator with limited NCAA experience who likely would try to jump back to the NFL in 2-3 years if he had a good run, like Jags.

the interviews with these guys really do mean a ton, bates has to talk to them and get a gut feeling, something none of us as Blog Commentators can.

mod34b said...

Indeed, El Miz, my word choice was a bit much. It must be due to Mercury being presently in retrograde!

Joseph said...

thanks ,EM. and you too m43b. we were all right in expressing our thoughts

blist said...

I'm with mod34b here - Henning showed an NFL guy isn't a slam dunk and can bring some real deficiencies to the table (i.e. lack of oversight).
Similarly with Carmichal, just b/c he's a BC guy doesn't mean much to me after Spaz - it's hard to say Spaz didn't love BC and didn't want to win.
As much as I would love a flier to get us to 13 wins asap, I think a TOB type who can rebuild the program to a consistency of pretty-good-ness is preferable to the risk of another awful Spaz-like bust.

eagleboston said...

Here is my Top 5 (granted, most of these are a stretch, but I would at least make them say "no.")

1) Bill O'Brien
2) Al Golden
3) Bobby Diaco
4) Dave Doeren
5) Darrell Hazell

Bravesbill said...

Joseph--My 75 page handbook on bitterness is available on Amazon. Surprisingly, BC's lack of success in football and basketball has mellowed me out (a bit). At this point, I don't really care who is hired as long as he is actually competent.

EL MIZ said...

eagleboston -- i think BOB has a prohibitive buyout (something in the $8-10M neighborhood), and Golden isn't going anywhere per a release by the U's AD today.

that puts us at #3. i think i'd have to put Diaco as the #1 guy. he doesn't have HC experience but he's a top of the line recruiter and a guy who can deliver at least one side of the ball. if Diaco came with a promising OC, i think that is the best case scenario.

Joseph said...

Thanks, Bravesbill, but I am not bitter about anything to do with hiring a new coach. however, I do get annoyed at some of the well meaning folks here, who imply that our new AD is a dope and that it is impossible for BC to ever excel. There are many great universities that produce great athletics. No need to list them, we all know who they are. I won't accept the concept of permanent mediocrity or worse. We CAN EXCEL.

Basketball is a perfect example of the problem I see with some of the "expert" commentators. Donahue starts all freshmen and sophs, but is damned as incompetent by a few because he is not winning every game. Wait for two more years, then an informed decision can be made about his recruiting and coaching. Before then you are nothing more than mouths without brains.

Ry said...

I didn't see Miami's AD's pronouncement as even being close to ironclad. If anything it seemed like posturing.

CatabEagle said...

Here's an idea for BC. Southern Miss just sold their home game in a home/away series to Nebraska for 2.1M. I would be completely on board with doing that with, say, USC, if it ensured we can either (a) buy out Spaz' contract more quickly or (b) get a better coach.

Thoughts?

http://deadspin.com/5964003/to-buy-out-failed-coach-southern-miss-sold-home+field-advantage-back-to-nebraska-for-21-million

Soxx22 said...

Carmichael Jr did not make a great impression last night. Saints offense looked out of sync all night. and the play calling at the end of the first half was really poor.

mod34b said...

Matt Ryan did not look good either. Nor Brees. Nor the Atlanta OL. Nor -- for long stretches - the Atlanta D

Maybe the Thursday night game had them all out of sync.

dixieagle said...

Interesting about Southern Miss and the Nebraska home game sale. They were projected to go 10-2 this year, but went 0-12 and canned Ellis Johnson after one horrible season. (Interestingly, he was a successful defensive coordinator who failed miserably as a head coach... hmmmm.)

Very creative way to come up with buyout cash.

Knucklehead said...

In the case of Boston College, since our financial situation is much better it would be called an "avert a blow-out buy-out."

Although USC is coached by an incompetent right now as well.

Kiffen lost USC that ND game. The long bomb ND INT at the end of the 2nd Q led to 3 points. He should have run the clock out Spaz-style(different circumstances). Kiffen could not call a play to get the ball in the end zone from the 1/2 yard line with 3 min to go in the fourth.

If they got a TD there and averted the FG then the game would have been tied.

SAMOFSAVINHILL said...

RY and El Miz: If you'd ever watch NFL Fox Sunday you'd see that Strayhand in fact exists. He's a former pro bowler - 7 times.

EL MIZ said...

MIZ OF SAVINHILL says...

what are you talking about Sam? do you mean the gap-toothed host of a morning talk show Michael Strahan? that is entirely inconsistent from other posts about "Clarence Strayhand" who is 52-8 and went to a Catholic HS. strahan, strayhand, neither will be HC.

NEDofSavinHill said...

Sam is not to be believed . He is an imposter. If one remembers the film " The Shining" where the young boy DOC had an imaginary man in his mouth "TONI" to whom he talked. Strayhand is the imaginary man in Sam's mouth and is directing all of his posts. Frank Bellotti and Mike Dukakis have a better chance at the BC job Get off the Maui Wowee.

CatabEagle said...

Ned,
In a million years I can't imagine the reason why Frank Belotti (former Mass AG from 75-87) or Dukakis could possibly be brought up on a BC Sports Blog, but somehow you've pulled it off. Are you secretly Howie Carr from 1986 brought to 2012 in a time machine?

Matt said...

You know my brother was named Clarence Strayhand and thought he was going to be a pro athlete. I Google his name once a week on Fridays and I was excited to read about him here since he left home as a kid and went off with the circus (not really but you know what I mean). Now I'm confused. Does that guy Sam know him; and what's his friend Ned mean he's got TONI in his mouth. What's this Savin Hill got to do with Eagles in Atlanta. Thanks for your help

Unknown said...

I'm worried the new AD from Kent State will take his buddy the coach at Kent State. Is there a way we can make it known that bringing in a coach with a losing record is a bad idea.

JBQ said...

Steve Spurrier received a two year extension at South Carolina today. Who would deny that he deserved it? Now, compare that to the "head scratching" move to give Spaz a two year extension. GDF should have been fired just for that illicit maneuver. There have to be some questions over "quid pro quo".