BC in the clear on Wakeyleaks

I don't know if any other program is going to get in trouble for the Wakayleaks scandal, but Steve Addazio verified that he nor anyone on his staff had any contact with Tommy Elrod. I believe the coach for a few reasons. One we looked generally disorganized and sloppy when facing Clawson's Wake teams. Second, there is no obvious connection between Elrod and any former or current BC staffers. That is a relief and it will be even better if Bobby Petrino is forced out after all this mess.

While I am relieved about BC's lack of involvement, I still don't understand Elrod's motive. What could have happened that led to him hurting his employer and Alma Mater? Even if he was gaining financially, there is still only so much you can make on one game. Plus that is a short term gain and if caught it kills your long-term financial opportunities. Elrod will never work in College Sports again. 

I do support an ACC investigation. I don't know what they will find, but you have to see how widespread this was. And hopefully when the smoke clears, a couple big coaches will be out and Addazio will have his team ready to compete. 

Looking back on what could have been: former BC coaching candidates

Having just faced David Cutcliffe and heading into a game against Dave Clawson, I thought it might be time to look back at what could have been. Both guys were very friendly with Gene Defilippo and were considered in 2006 when TOB left. And since we're going back, I thought we might as well examine Al Golden and Mike London too. (It always feels like the ACC is littered with guys who talked to BC about the job.)

David Cutcliffe
Of all the guys listed in this, Cutcliffe probably advanced the least in the process. I think his age, the lack of New England or even northeast ties, his health and his persona kept him from being considered strongly. After TOB, I think everyone wanted someone a little more passionate and a little more high energy. Cutcliffe is not as dry and reserved as TOB, but he is not rah rah type. I never wanted him and would have been livid if we had hired him. Yet maybe that was a mistake. He's exceeded everyone's expectations at Duke and turned them into a viable, somewhat consistent football program. Imagine what he might have done in Matt Ryan's final year or with someone like Chase Rettig? Since he was a Gene crony, Spaz probably would have stayed on as DC. In retrospect, that might have been pretty formidable. Even though our Whale Pants booster crowd might not have taken to a southerner like Cutcliffe as head coach, the guy is a devout Catholic (supposedly attends Mass daily). Maybe it would have worked.

Dave Clawson
I had never heard of Dave Clawson until the BC job opened up. His candidacy (and much of his career) was directly tied to Gene D. At the time, he was head coach at Richmond. While successful there, he had yet to coach at the DIA level. The jump to BC would have been massive and a real question mark in recruiting. Aside from his relationship with Gene, what Clawson did have in his favor was a track record of building good teams. First at Fordham and then at Richmond. That success continued at Bowling Green. Will he turn Wake into a winner? Who knows? But I don't think BC missed anything. Unlike Cutcliffe, who was more of Gene's peer, Clawson was Gene's mentee. That style of management blew up with Jags. It probably would have with Clawson as well.

Mike London
London was a serious candidate when Spaz got the job. A year later he got the UVA job. They've been very patient with him and he is still well under .500. I don't think BC would have had as much patience. At the time I preferred London to Spaz. In retrospect, he probably would have failed here too. I don't even know if he would have won as many games as Spaz did (London's winning percentage is below Spaz's). London is and was a better recruiter than Spaz, so the bottom might not have been as low, but there still would have been multiple bad, frustrating seasons.

Al Golden
For a guy who put so much planning into his career progressions, Al Golden's timing with BC has always been bad. Unlike the other guys, he was a candidate after TOB, Jags and Spaz. Now that the Miami fans are fed up, it looks like Al probably should have left when BC came calling after firing Spaz. Even if it meant a pay cut, it would have gotten him out of the mess he's been dealing with in South Florida. Of all the guys on the list, I think Al has the most in common with Addazio. They are both intense rah rah guys. Both are passionate about recruiting. And both are guys who raise a lot of questions with their game management. If we had hired Golden instead of Addazio, I think we would probably be a in a very similar situation: a lot of young talent, but questions on if the coach can take the team to the next level.

What Could've Been: When BC almost hired Dave Clawson

As we know, during any coaching search, plenty of gossip and flatout BS rises to the surfaces. When BC went looking to replace TOB in 2006 many coaches were linked to the job. Some were real discussions and some were nonsense. The one candidate that BC fans rarely harp on is Dave Clawson. The new Wake coach was floated as a possibility and was probably much closer to being hired than any of us ever imagined.

In the closed-knit community of college football, it is important to pick your mentors well. As a rising assistant coach at Villanova, Clawson struck up a friendship with Gene DeFilippo, the Wildcats AD. I don't know what the connection was, but it lasted as Clawson worked his way up the ladder. His first success was reviviing Fordham's moribund football program. From there he jumped to the higher profile Richmond job. It was at Richmond that Gene and Clawson's history would become a factor in both men's future. After three seasons at Richmond, Clawson had the team turned around, but he wasn't on any national radar until he landed an interview for the open BC job. His candidacy caught people by surprise but could be rationalized by the head coaching success and his history with Catholic schools. BC went in a different direction and hired another guy who Gene had mentored in Jags, but the process clearly influenced Gene and Clawson. Gene liked what he saw in Clawson and if not for his lack of experience with BCS-level programs might have gone to bat for him. Clawson clearly appreciated the professional rub he got from being interviewed because the next jump in his career came via GDF.

After missing out on the BC job, Clawson produced another very strong season in Richmond. Yet no big jobs came calling this time around. Maybe too many big programs viewed him as a FCS lifer. The only way to change that was to prove himself at thet next level as a recruiter and coordinator. At the same time, that Clawson was looking to add a different type of experience, Gene's old friend Phil Fulmer was looking for a new Offensive Coordinator. Gene played matchmaker and now his protege would have SEC experience to round out his resume. But his time in Knoxville was a disaster. The offense sputtered and Fulmer was fired. Meanwhile the team he built in Richmond went on to win the National Championship. Instead of being mentioned for ACC level head coaching jobs, Clawson was now looking for any job. He got one as the Head Coach at Bowling Green. It wasn't a career dead-end, but he wasn't considered for the BC job when Gene had an opening a few weeks later and he wasn't on the fast track to a big job like Mike London (the guy who won at Richmond with Clawson's recruits).  A good coach survives though and after five years Clawson had Bowling Green turned around and impressed enough people to land the Wake job. If anything he could point to his track record as a rebuilder as a reason he got the Wake job.

I don't know if Clawson regrets his stop in Tennessee or thinks about what he could have done at BC with our 2007 talent. I am sure Gene is proud of him and proud of whatever influence he had on Clawson's career. Who knows? If Gene had hired Clawson instead of two other friends of his (Jags and Spaz), Gene might still be the AD at BC.

Clawson won't be the only "what if" of the day. Wake will start John Wolford at QB. He's Bobby's brother and many -- including thsi blogger -- suspected he would be at BC one day. However, he never really fit into Daz's plans. Despite some losing and a recent head injury, the younger Wolford seems to be doing well in Winston-Salem.

Ranking the MAC candidates

Brad Bates wants a younger guy with head coaching experience. The most logical place to look for an up and coming coach who has hands-on experience and is looking to jump is the MAC. Fortunately for BC, Bates came from a MAC school and knows the personalities well. This process will have many twists and turns, but I expect our new coach to come from the MAC. Here is how I would rate the potential candidates:

1. Pete Lembo, Ball State. Lembo hasn't received the attention that some of the others have, but he is a very strong candidate. He's a New Yorker and coached in the northeast at Lehigh. He played at Georgetown and although he is young, he's been a head coach for a long time. The only hole on his resume is recruiting in a BCS level conference.
2. Darrell Hazell, Kent State. He's a New Jersey native and has Kent State in the Top 25 (where they haven't been in years). He has key recruiting experience in Ohio and New Jersey. I think he will get a long look. The only problem is that he has only had two years experience as a head coach and in his first season he had a losing record.
3. Dave Doeren, Northern Illinois. I think Doeren would be ideal. He has an intensity and work ethic that we've been lacking since Coughlin. I think he could come to BC, do big things and restore our talent base quickly. His record at Northern Illinois has been very impressive. But I don't think he'll end up at at the Heights. His name is being mentioned for multiple jobs and I don't see BC chasing after the "hot" name. I've been wrong before, but if Doeren ends up at Purdue, I think it will be a missed opportunity for both sides.
4. Dave Clawson, Bowling Green. This name should be very familiar to BC fans, as he was a candidate in 2007. He's 22-27 at Bowling Green but his wins are trending in the right direction. His ties to the northeast and varied head coaching experience would make him an ideal fit at BC. There is only one problem: his very close relationship with Gene. I don't think it will fully disqualify him, but enough people know about it and enough people would raise the question publicly that I don't see it happening. Bates is his own man, but I doubt he wants to deal with any Gene-related baggage on this hire.
5. Matt Campbell, Toledo. There is young and then there is Matt Campbell. Only 32, Campbell is in his first year as the head guy in Toledo. His record is strong, but his experience is so limited outside of Toledo and Mount Union, that I don't see BC rolling the dice with him now.

The other MAC guys are either too old (Solich) or coming off disappointing seasons. If we go MAC, it will be one of those five guys.

Coaches to Watch this fall Part 2: Current Head Coaches that need winning 2012 seasons

Since everyone has Spaz on the Hotseat List, now is as good a time as any to look at future BC head coaching candidates. Unlike our past profile series, the timing and style on these posts will be a little different.  Instead of being weeks or days away from a potential change, we have the benefit of a whole season to evaluate these guys. Some stocks will rise, while others will fall and it will make our usual scoreboard watching that much more interesting. 


The second part of the series will look at current head coaches who don't have the resumes to take the job now, but could get consideration if they win this fall. The added twist is that all the guys have some tie to BC or Gene. Our past three head coaches had zero head coaching experience prior to taking the BC job, so prior head coaching experience is not a prerequisite. But I do think it will help any potential transition to BC. In fact if we hire a guy who lost at a previous school until this year, we receive the benefit of his head coaching learning curve without all the loses. 


Dave Clawson
Head Coach, Bowling Green
This name should be familiar to most since Clawson was a surprise candidate during the 2007 search. At the time he was a rising star in DIAA and had worked with Gene back in the Villanova days. BC fans were surprisingly receptive to his candidacy then. The years since have been a rollercoaster for Clawson. He left Richmond to take over play calling at Tennessee. Richmond won a National Championship and Clawson became a scapegoat for all that went wrong in the final Fulmer days. He landed the Bowling Green job, had a great first year, terrible second and losing third. Even if Clawson has a strong year in 2012, I don't think he'll be a hot name nationwide. The stink from Tennessee is still too strong. But I do think Gene would revisit the potential fit. One thing we've learned in this process is that personal relationships with Gene carry a lot of weight (if Gene is still calling the shots).
What to watch for in 2012: Clawson needs to win. Not blow the doors off, MAC Champion type winning, but prove that he can turn a FBS program around. If he goes 8-5 or 7-6, he might be a tolerable replacement for Spaz. If he does really well, that makes it even better. Bowling Green is expected to improve this year, so that will give his candidacy some momentum. If Gene is not involved in the hiring process, Clawson's going to need 10 or 11 wins to even get on BC's radar.




Mike Macintyre
Head Coach, San Jose State
Despite his losing record Macintrye enters 2012 as a "hot" name. He was a well respected assistant and impressed people with how competitive the Spartans were last season. If he has a winning third season, multiple programs will be interested. As far as being a fit at BC, Mac's got ties to the ACC, coached in the northeast at Temple, coached at schools with tough admissions departments, and worked for Parcells. He'd be pretty ideal except for one looming issue -- his ties to Gene. Macintyre's first offensive coordinator at San Jose State was John Defilippo. If Macintryre interviews there will be the perception that he's another Gene puppet. That might not be fair to Mac, John D or Gene, but that is the reality. 
What to watch for in 2012: Winning primarily but also how their offense changes now that John D has returned to the NFL. The young Defilippo actually has a pretty good reputation in coaching circles. If his last name was Smith, BC fans wouldn't care one bit about Macintrye's former OC. But I do think the offense will play a part in his BC candidacy. If they explode will it impact how Gene views Mac? Will it mean that Mac knows how to build a staff and find good replacements? Will it mean that he can bring his new OC with him to the Heights? I actually like the idea of Macinyre right now, but he does need to win this year.

Don Treadwell

Head Coach, Miami (Ohio)

Another familiar name to BC fans. Not only did he interview in 2009, but he was on TOB's first BC staff. The long time assistant finally got a shot at a Head job when he took over Miami of Ohio last season. The Redhawks finished a disappointing 4-8, but they are expected to rebound this year. Treadwell was never the most exciting guy in the room, but he has a solid reputation and could probably have a TOB like career if BC hired him and gave him time to build a program.

What to watch for in 2012: Can Treadwell win enough to leave after just two years? Miami is his alma mater, so walking away won't be easy. If they win seven or eight games and he bails, that will be a burnt bridge and follow him on the recruiting trail. It they win the MAC, he can claim "I've won a championship and now I am ready to move on." Miami is known as the "Cradle of Coaches", but you still have to leave in the right way.

Jason Swepson
Head Coach, Elon
Swepson is a long-time BC assistant who followed TOB to NC State. Last year he became a head coach for the first time at FCS school Elon. Swepson also has the added benefit of being a BC grad and former player.
What to watch for in 2012: Winning big. Real big. That is the only way a Swepson candidacy becomes tolerable. Let's face it, no other BCS program in the country would even consider Swepson after just two years at Elon. The only reason we might is because he's one of us. Swepson's first year was okay (5-7) but he needs to get to 10 wins for this hire not to leave people feeling empty. If he is hired after a seven win season, then you know that our coaching search was a disaster.