Showing posts with label new coaches. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new coaches. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Getting to know Dave Doeren

BC's last three head coaches had been career assistants prior to coming to the Heights. This time around it might make sense to hire someone who has been a Head Coach before and therefore has a different learning curve. One of the popular early names being floated for the job is Northern Illinois Head Coach Dave Doeren. In my opinion Doeren would be an excellent fit at BC and I predict he will be a finalist for the job.

Finding talent
Every potential coach will arrive at BC with a recruiting plan. What I appreciate about Doeren is that his past recruiting success can directly translate to BC. He was recruiting coordinator at Kansas and Wisconsin. He led the efforts that produced a rare Orange Bowl trip for the Jayhawks and Wisconsin's recent run. While neither school is a Northeast Catholic college, both rely heavily on finding and developing three star talent in the Midwest. Doeren didn't (and at Kansas couldn't) really chase after the elite four and five star recruits. Instead the process involved a lot of groundwork with coaches, a lot of player evaluation and leveraging camps and friendly high school programs. Wisconsin even recruited in New Jersey, so he brings those relationships with him too. 

Head Coaching Experience
While it has only been two years, Doeren would come to BC with the understanding of how to run a staff, the demands on his time and how to lead an entire organization. I haven't watched enough NIU games to speak to his Xs and Os, but the guy is currently 20-4 lifetime. He's doing something right. NIU was in a good place when he took over, but he's made them better. Depsite losing his offensive coordinator in the offseason, the team is still trucking along. I don't know if he would bring his whole staff with him to his next job, but he's already shown the ability to find quality assistants and replace them as they move on to better jobs.

In my opinion the only downside to Doeren is his lack of connection to BC or the Northeast. He's a Kansas native and has spent most of his career in the Midwest. But he is Catholic and has worked at private schools before. The lack of familiarity shouldn't be a dealbreaker. Father Leahy and Brad Bates are both Midwestern guys who took jobs at BC even though they didn't have ties to the area.

I don't know if BC and Doeren will be a match, but based on his trackrecord, Doeren is headed for big things.