The New Coach

[PerunaPunch]

O.K., how about generating a list of potential head coach candidates. Then Ponyfans can use the names we come up with for one of their famous polls? How about it? Let's get those name rolling.

So far, I believe we have nominations for:
Bowden
Spurrier
Stallings

I'm much more of a Mustangs and NFL fan than a college football fan in general. The only teams that I know about are those on our upcoming schedule. Come on you college football buffs, throw out some candidates!

[DallasDiehard]

If he wasn't Jerry's personal puppet, surely Dave Campo would be looking for a job, now if not at the end of the season. Want to throw his name on the list?

I don't.

[DiamondM]

I would add John Cooper to the list. Also, what about Turner Gill coming back?

I don't think we should go after Stallings, considering the serious NCAA investigation and charges leveled at the Alabama program stemming from Stallings' and DuBose's tenure.

Whoever it is, it HAS to be a name, or at least a program, that people recognize. It has to be a statement coach to demonstrate that SMU is committed to the success of the football program. The money is out there for the asking, as far as shelling out the buyout and salary of the new coach.

[Guest]

I honestly dont know if a big time coach would come to SMU, no matter what we paid him. There are still restrictions in place that hamper everything, and I mean everything a coach can do. I really wish we could get that big name, for nothing more than a marketing standpoint, but I just dont see it happening. Only time will tell...

But in a fantasy world I wouldn't mind seeing Terry Bowden, Jimmy Johnson or Mike Ditka on our sidelines.

[Jim Rome]

I hadn't thought of John Cooper - he's not a bad idea. It would cost us some serious JACK (are you listening, Gerald Ford/Lamar Hunt/Ray Hunt, etc.?)

I got the sense he felt like he was shown the door prematurely at Ohio State, since he won a ton of games but got run because he couldn't beat Michigan. But the man can recruit like very few in the nation. Give me a few Andy Katzenmoyers and Eddie Georges, and we'll make Fresno and the rest of the WAC our personal punching bags. Coop would be an awesome hire, if we could get him here.

Props to you, DiamondM. Good call.

[DiamondM]

Our recruiting rules should be the same as Duke, Stanford, Northwestern, Vandy, etc. But given the recent lifting of some of our restrictions, could someone please explain exactly how we are different from these schools. If the difference is not very significant, then I don't see how that is a significant obstacle. If we pay enough, say at least 750k per year, plus incentives (camps, endorsements, etc.), that would be a huge improvement and could entice someone with a name or experience with a good program. There are checkbooks waiting, so I have been told.

We need someone with a personal sense of pride; someone who likes a project and likes the idea of turning something around and what that will say about his abilities. Bill Snyder was that way when he got to KState.

Another suggestion that my boyfriend made last night over dinner was former Cowboy Jim (did he mean Bill?) Bates who was apparently pursued by Texas Tech when they were looking. I'm not sure about his coaching experience though.

[Corso]

Not so fast my friend!

Jim Bates is the former Dallas Cowboys' linebackers coach who I believe is now with the Detroit Lions. (Although as much as assistant coaches move around these days, he could be almost anywhere....) Anyway, he wasn't much of a coach with Dallas, and I don't think he'd be much at SMU. As goofy as it originally sounds, BILL Bates might not be that bad an idea. Think of him walking into homes of 18-year-old kids. He'd charm the hell out of the parents, and the kids would remember him as the DB/special teams kamikaze from the Super Bowls when those kids were just beginning to understand football, meaning he likely was one of their first heroes (if they're dumb enough to like the Cowboys -- but that's for a different argument.) The fact is there are a hell of a lot of Dllas fans throughout the state, and with the right staff of assistant coaches around him, Bill Bates might be just the name/personality SMU would need.

And the media loves him - the Morning News might even run a story on us once in a while.

[91Stang]

I'm ready to promote from within. Before you all freak out about that, there is a reason. I want to see a staff of players who have played at real schools.

Eric Schumann should be the next head coach. He always has our defense ready to play, and he played for Bear Bryant at 'Bama. Coach Giles (Texas) should be defensive line coach for another couple of years, then made into the defensive coordinator. I hear he's popular with the players, and a terrific technical coach, as well as a very promising recruiter. Warren Belin (Wake Forest) is borderline, based on his alma mater's program. But he's a good coach, and seems to bring SERIOUS intensity to every practice and game, as well as a reputation as a good recruiter (doesn't he recruit East Texas?) Coach Ringo (Texas) also stays, because he's got a strong offensive mind, enough so that he should be made offensive coordinator. His teams at Coppell ran offenses the opponents had never seen before. In addition, he has UT heritage, and has coach contacts all over the DFW metroplex, making him invaluable in recruiting. And we need The Diesel (Maryland, recent NFL player) to stay as our strength/conditioning coach.

By the same formula, Coach Kueck (Stephen F. Austin), Baker (UTEP), Henderson (Kansas - which hasn't been worth anything since Gayle Sayers and John Riggins left), Jones (Mercer - wherever that is) and Williams (Valdosta State) are out. Not that they're bad coaches -- everyone has their own opinion about that -- but we don't want current and prospective players to come in and ask the coaches where they played, only to hear "Valdosta State." I'm sure Coach Williams got a fine education there, but that doesn't matter. We need coaches who can say "I played for Bear Bryant" or "I played for Texas" -- statements that will command attention and respect from current and future Mustang players. If Coach Schumann tells me to do something, and I know he played for Bear Bryant, I'm going to do what he says, because the man knows what he's doing. He learned from the best. That alone, plus the much-needed increase in salaries, will draw excellent assistant coaches, which in turn will accelerate our improvement as a football program and as an athletic department.

There are good coaches from schools that aren't exactly athletic powers -- didn't Marv Levy graduate from Harvard? But those examples are rare. Give me a staff full of coaches who played at Big 10, Big 12, SEC, Pac-10 and ACC schools and this program will jump up. Make Schumann the head coach and give HIM the freedom to hire the rest of his staff.

[jettison]

Here is a list of the winningest active (as of October, 2000) NCAA Division I coaches and their respective alma maters.

Joe Paterno, Brown
Bobby Bowden, Samford
Lavel Edwards, Utah State
Lou Holtz, Kent State
Don Nehlen, Bowling Green
John Cooper, Iowa State
George Welsh, Navy
Jackie Sherrill, Alabama
[deleted] Tomey, Depauw
Ken Hatfield, Arkansas
Larry Smith Bowling Green
Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech


91Stang, I think that theory may be a bit unfounded. Of course, I forgot about those powerhouses at Samford and Kent State.

Some of the younger 'hot' coaches, like Dirk Koetter (Boise St-ASU head coach, Idaho State alumni) or Jon Gruden (Oakland Raiders, alumni of Dayton) tend to show that tendency as well.