Potential head football coach candidates search

[RobertM320]

I'd rather see Doug Meacham or Lincoln Riley, but that's just me.

Definitely wouldn't want Schiano.

[puffy]

1. Yes. RR would likely have left for W Virginia after the 2000 season. But as has been pointed out: so? Then Tulane would gave had four straight winning seasons, three straight bowl seasons. And, it would not have been unimaginable that Tulane would have had three straight Top 25 appearances. Tulane would have been one of the hottest jobs on the market, and we could have reeled in a good coach to replace RR. Lather, rinse, repeat. Works for your hair, and works for running a good football program.

2. WRONG about waiting ten years for conference realignment to take place. Two years later Miami, BC, and Va Tech left Big East for ACC. Big East added Louisville, Cincy, and South Florida. A successful Tulane program could likely have taken Cincy's place in the Big East or Big East could have expanded to nine teams to include Tulane.

I think you're overestimating how good the 1999 team (presumably RR's first) team would've been, a team that finished 3-8 under Scelfo. RR's ideal qb to run the spread would've probably been Derrick Joseph, a RS freshman. Patrick Ramsey was similarly inexperienced and was not nearly as mobile to run the spread. Plus, the team lost 8 starters on defense from the 1998 squad. RR in his first season as HC might have meant another 3 wins, but there was no guarantee that would've meant a bowl invite in that era of college football.

The Big East invited Cincy and UL because of their basketball programs; the fact that UL's football teams had been recently successful and had the backing of Papa John's pizza was an added bonus. Heck, Cincy was a sub-.500 program in football from 1999-2004, and never better than 7-5.

When Miami, BC and VaTech left for the ACC, the Big East decided to go all in and become the pre-eminent basketball conference in the country. If you wanted to make the argument that Tulane didn't get invited to the Big East because Shawn Finney had run the hoops program into the ground, I'd buy that.

I disagree. It was another 5 or 6 years before anyone had a clue how to stop RR's offense. He would have been just fine with Ramsey, as he was always able to adjust his run/pass ratio. We averaged >300 yards passing per game in '98.

I haven't been paying attention to his work in Arizona, but I can't recall a time when he hasn't used a quarterback who had the threat of running, either at WVU or Michigan. Ramsey presented a ZERO run threat. It had to be Joseph to make that offense run anything close to what it could.

Even if they scored a bunch of points, they weren't going to stop anyone from scoring on them either. RR's teams haven't been known as defensive powers at any of his stops.

When are these Scelfo fans going to give it a rest? He sucked and ran the program into the ground. The 99 team still had a good level of talent but coaching was poor. the record probably would have been flipped under RR. Ramsey was more than capable to run the offense. One bowl game in 8 years, lol.

I don't know where you got from my posts that I was a Scelfo fan, just giving my view of what I believe RR would've done in what would've been his first season as a HC on a rebuilding team. We can debate all day as to how the team would've done but nether of us would truly know.

And back to the original point of my reply was that the Big East had minimal interest in Tulane in 2003, even if they had done better in football. The Big East wanted to become a BASKETBALL superconference after being burned by the defections of 3 schools who chased football dollars. Tulane hoops at that point was mediocre to bad. This point is not debatable.

Rebuilding? Sure Shaun King was a huge loss, but the 99 team still had a 1st round draft pick at QB and 3 WRs who went to the NFL. Rebuildling is revisionist history. Cowen passing on RR in 99 had every bit as much impact on Tulane Athletics as leaving the SEC.

Never said there wasn't talent on that team. Just inexperienced at quarterback and that Ramsey wasn't an ideal fit in RR's offense.

The real culprit was the defense, which was no better than a .500 caliber squad.

[Robert1969]

Sorry, the 80s, 90s, amd 00s are over. I don't see what the benefit is of trying to find out if Mack Brown still has it. Let's go young, ambitious, and innovative.

[jonathanjoseph]

Scelfo's "the cupboard was bare" excuse started early 1999. And he used people respected by the fans (but who were always susceptible to coach BS) to spread it. It basically marked the inception of a 15 year long excuse culture in Tulane athletics.

Exactly right. This is the legacy of JTS and the others responsible for the censorship forum.

[greenphantom]

1. Yes. RR would likely have left for W Virginia after the 2000 season. But as has been pointed out: so? Then Tulane would gave had four straight winning seasons, three straight bowl seasons. And, it would not have been unimaginable that Tulane would have had three straight Top 25 appearances. Tulane would have been one of the hottest jobs on the market, and we could have reeled in a good coach to replace RR. Lather, rinse, repeat. Works for your hair, and works for running a good football program.

2. WRONG about waiting ten years for conference realignment to take place. Two years later Miami, BC, and Va Tech left Big East for ACC. Big East added Louisville, Cincy, and South Florida. A successful Tulane program could likely have taken Cincy's place in the Big East or Big East could have expanded to nine teams to include Tulane.

I think you're overestimating how good the 1999 team (presumably RR's first) team would've been, a team that finished 3-8 under Scelfo. RR's ideal qb to run the spread would've probably been Derrick Joseph, a RS freshman. Patrick Ramsey was similarly inexperienced and was not nearly as mobile to run the spread. Plus, the team lost 8 starters on defense from the 1998 squad. RR in his first season as HC might have meant another 3 wins, but there was no guarantee that would've meant a bowl invite in that era of college football.

The Big East invited Cincy and UL because of their basketball programs; the fact that UL's football teams had been recently successful and had the backing of Papa John's pizza was an added bonus. Heck, Cincy was a sub-.500 program in football from 1999-2004, and never better than 7-5.

When Miami, BC and VaTech left for the ACC, the Big East decided to go all in and become the pre-eminent basketball conference in the country. If you wanted to make the argument that Tulane didn't get invited to the Big East because Shawn Finney had run the hoops program into the ground, I'd buy that.

I disagree. It was another 5 or 6 years before anyone had a clue how to stop RR's offense. He would have been just fine with Ramsey, as he was always able to adjust his run/pass ratio. We averaged >300 yards passing per game in '98.

I haven't been paying attention to his work in Arizona, but I can't recall a time when he hasn't used a quarterback who had the threat of running, either at WVU or Michigan. Ramsey presented a ZERO run threat. It had to be Joseph to make that offense run anything close to what it could.

Even if they scored a bunch of points, they weren't going to stop anyone from scoring on them either. RR's teams haven't been known as defensive powers at any of his stops.

When are these Scelfo fans going to give it a rest? He sucked and ran the program into the ground. The 99 team still had a good level of talent but coaching was poor. the record probably would have been flipped under RR. Ramsey was more than capable to run the offense. One bowl game in 8 years, lol.

I don't know where you got from my posts that I was a Scelfo fan, just giving my view of what I believe RR would've done in what would've been his first season as a HC on a rebuilding team. We can debate all day as to how the team would've done but nether of us would truly know.

And back to the original point of my reply was that the Big East had minimal interest in Tulane in 2003, even if they had done better in football. The Big East wanted to become a BASKETBALL superconference after being burned by the defections of 3 schools who chased football dollars. Tulane hoops at that point was mediocre to bad. This point is not debatable.

Rebuilding? Sure Shaun King was a huge loss, but the 99 team still had a 1st round draft pick at QB and 3 WRs who went to the NFL. Rebuildling is revisionist history. Cowen passing on RR in 99 had every bit as much impact on Tulane Athletics as leaving the SEC.

Never said there wasn't talent on that team. Just inexperienced at quarterback and that Ramsey wasn't an ideal fit in RR's offense.

The real culprit was the defense, which was no better than a .500 caliber squad.

I may be wrong but wasn't Ramsey signed by Bowden/RR?

[SobeWave]

Sorry, the 80s, 90s, amd 00s are over. I don't see what the benefit is of trying to find out if Mack Brown still has it. Let's go young, ambitious, and innovative.

Easier said then done. We've tried that with Dickerson in basketball. And we've tried the inexperienced in football. We can't pick the wrong HC again and lose 4 more years. We are in no position to pass on Mack assuming he'd have interest. Let him turn it around and then promote one of his coordinators after he wins a bowl game and retires.

I'm all for a solid young coordinator but picking the right one is tough. Take the sure thing

[Robert1969]

Sorry, the 80s, 90s, amd 00s are over. I don't see what the benefit is of trying to find out if Mack Brown still has it. Let's go young, ambitious, and innovative.

Easier said then done. We've tried that with Dickerson in basketball. And we've tried the inexperienced in football. We can't pick the wrong HC again and lose 4 more years. We are in no position to pass on Mack assuming he'd have interest. Let him turn it around and then promote one of his coordinators after he wins a bowl game and retires.

I'm all for a solid young coordinator but picking the right one is tough. Take the sure thing

Tommy Bowden was "inexperienced." Rich Rod was "inexperienced."

I am officially on the Jeff Brohm bandwagon. He is winning without a dual threat QB. We don't have a mobile QB with any experience. I would rather not give up Jack Abraham if we don't have to. Brohm checks all the boxes: wins where it is difficult to win, has an explosive creative offense, wins without dual threat QB, meaning he can work with talent we already have, and have coming in. He is young and ambitious. He just whooped Monken's Southern Miss squad.

[Robert1969]

I'm all for a solid young coordinator but picking the right one is tough. Take the sure thing

I don't think Mack Brown is the sure thing anymore.

[winwave]

I'm all for a solid young coordinator but picking the right one is tough. Take the sure thing

I don't think Mack Brown is the sure thing anymore.

The only thing that's sure is that he's washed up . The last time he left us w/his coordinator we got stuck w/ Greg Davis. Not only no but fuck no.

[Eaglewave]

Sorry, the 80s, 90s, amd 00s are over. I don't see what the benefit is of trying to find out if Mack Brown still has it. Let's go young, ambitious, and innovative.

I don't know Robert, I think we should go with experience. After the CJ experience, we need a veteran to come in here and clean up a few things. I don't want to see a young guy come in and leave the first P5 shot he gets. I want an SEC, Big 12 or ACC former coach who has proven that he can win and still has 7 to 10 years of winning fuel left in his tank.

[Eaglewave]

Sorry, the 80s, 90s, amd 00s are over. I don't see what the benefit is of trying to find out if Mack Brown still has it. Let's go young, ambitious, and innovative.

Easier said then done. We've tried that with Dickerson in basketball. And we've tried the inexperienced in football. We can't pick the wrong HC again and lose 4 more years. We are in no position to pass on Mack assuming he'd have interest. Let him turn it around and then promote one of his coordinators after he wins a bowl game and retires.

I'm all for a solid young coordinator but picking the right one is tough. Take the sure thing

I am with you. After watching our students pure out to buy tickets for the 2014 GT game, I just feel that the time has come to hire a former Southern rooted P5 coach with some years left to start winning asap.

[SobeWave]

I'm all for a solid young coordinator but picking the right one is tough. Take the sure thing

I don't think Mack Brown is the sure thing anymore.

The only thing that's sure is that he's washed up . The last time he left us w/his coordinator we got stuck w/ Greg Davis. Not only no but f**k no.

Ha! Good point. Davis was coach my freshman/sophomore/junior year then Buddy T. Davis is OC at Iowa now. put him on the list!!!!

[wave97]

WKU plays teams that can't field enough talent to credibly show man-to-man with lb's & db's on every play (while bringing pressure from up front). When they do play teams like LSU they are shut down tactically by the overall difference in talent, but they are also shut down strategically when it becomes a man to man slug fest which the "spread" simply has no answer for (short of exposing the QB to a high degree of punishment).
If only Temple had man to man skill with their LB's & DB's the Conference Championship game would have ended differently. Houston has a defense with hybrid LB's & DB's that I bet beats the stuffing out of their offense in practice. Tulane currently has most of the talent needed on defense to shut down the spread variations. We need a little more strength & experience with the corners and safety.
The AAC is a conference that I think will soon attract sufficient talent across the board to rise above the fundamental strategic vulnerabilities of the "spread" variation offenses.
YES, I want Ed Orgeron as Head Football Coach at Tulane. BeBe gets it!

[JerseyWave]

Dannen said a big part of his interview with candidates will be a discussion of who their coordinators are going to be. So he isn't only looking for the head man, he wants know who will be running the offense and defense.

Imagine CJ being interviewed by Dannen,

CJ: "I'm bringing the Saints playbook and I'll have Eric Price as my coordinator."
Dannen: "Is Eric Price familiar with the Saints playbook?"
CJ: "No"

Dannen: "What about Defensive Coordinator?"
CJ: "I think I will will go with Co Defensive Coordinators, Lionel "Speedy", we go way back, and Jon Sumral out in San Diego."
Dannen: "Have they ever worked together before?"
CJ: "No"

Dannen: "Ok Coach Johnson, thanks for your time."

[SobeWave]

Dannen said a big part of his interview with candidates will be a discussion of who their coordinators are going to be. So he isn't only looking for the head man, he wants know who will be running the offense and defense.

Imagine CJ being interviewed by Dannen,

CJ: "I'm bringing the Saints playbook and I'll have Eric Price as my coordinator."
Dannen: "Is Eric Price familiar with the Saints playbook?"
CJ: "No"

Dannen: "What about Defensive Coordinator?"
CJ: "I think I will will go with Co Defensive Coordinators, Lionel "Speedy", we go way back, and Jon Sumral out in San Diego."
Dannen: "Have they ever worked together before?"
CJ: "No"

Dannen: "Ok Coach Johnson, thanks for your time."

This is why I'd prefer a sitting head coach for the spot and 2 young stud coordinators with recruiting skills. You have to interview Ruffin McNeil today, correct?

[puffy]

Dannen said a big part of his interview with candidates will be a discussion of who their coordinators are going to be. So he isn't only looking for the head man, he wants know who will be running the offense and defense.

Imagine CJ being interviewed by Dannen,

CJ: "I'm bringing the Saints playbook and I'll have Eric Price as my coordinator."
Dannen: "Is Eric Price familiar with the Saints playbook?"
CJ: "No"

Dannen: "What about Defensive Coordinator?"
CJ: "I think I will will go with Co Defensive Coordinators, Lionel "Speedy", we go way back, and Jon Sumral out in San Diego."
Dannen: "Have they ever worked together before?"
CJ: "No"

Dannen: "Ok Coach Johnson, thanks for your time."

[golfnut69]

WKU plays teams that can't field enough talent to credibly show man-to-man with lb's & db's on every play (while bringing pressure from up front). When they do play teams like LSU they are shut down tactically by the overall difference in talent, but they are also shut down strategically when it becomes a man to man slug fest which the "spread" simply has no answer for (short of exposing the QB to a high degree of punishment).
If only Temple had man to man skill with their LB's & DB's the Conference Championship game would have ended differently. Houston has a defense with hybrid LB's & DB's that I bet beats the stuffing out of their offense in practice. Tulane currently has most of the talent needed on defense to shut down the spread variations. We need a little more strength & experience with the corners and safety.
The AAC is a conference that I think will soon attract sufficient talent across the board to rise above the fundamental strategic vulnerabilities of the "spread" variation offenses.
YES, I want Ed Orgeron as Head Football Coach at Tulane. BeBe gets it!

In regards to the Houston defense, it looks like they have taken cornerbacks, muscled them up and made them safeties...Safeties to Line Backers and Line Backers to Defensive ends to keep as much speed on the field as possible....

[Robert1969]

Sorry, the 80s, 90s, amd 00s are over. I don't see what the benefit is of trying to find out if Mack Brown still has it. Let's go young, ambitious, and innovative.

I don't know Robert, I think we should go with experience. After the CJ experience, we need a veteran to come in here and clean up a few things. I don't want to see a young guy come in and leave the first P5 shot he gets. I want an SEC, Big 12 or ACC former coach who has proven that he can win and still has 7 to 10 years of winning fuel left in his tank.

The problem with CJ is that he had no experience running and offense or defense. Too many guys have succeeded after being elevated from coordinator tonhead coach (Herman, Fuentes, Monken, Brohm) that it would be ridiculous to rule one out because a career wide receivers' coach couldn't handle the leap from position coach to head coach. A very poor analogy between CJ and experienced coordinators.

[SobeWave]

Sorry, the 80s, 90s, amd 00s are over. I don't see what the benefit is of trying to find out if Mack Brown still has it. Let's go young, ambitious, and innovative.

I don't know Robert, I think we should go with experience. After the CJ experience, we need a veteran to come in here and clean up a few things. I don't want to see a young guy come in and leave the first P5 shot he gets. I want an SEC, Big 12 or ACC former coach who has proven that he can win and still has 7 to 10 years of winning fuel left in his tank.

The problem with CJ is that he had no experience running and offense or defense. Too many guys have succeeded after being elevated from coordinator tonhead coach (Herman, Fuentes, Monken, Brohm) that it would be ridiculous to rule one out because a career wide receivers' coach couldn't handle the leap from position coach to head coach. A very poor analogy between CJ and experienced coordinators.

Next hire is a dart throw regardless of who it is. That's where the program is right now. But the bullseye is bigger with an established HC over a position coach and even a young coordinator. Some of these OC/DC's aren't HC material. That's a fact. Look at Cam Cameron.

[Robert1969]

Sorry, the 80s, 90s, amd 00s are over. I don't see what the benefit is of trying to find out if Mack Brown still has it. Let's go young, ambitious, and innovative.

I don't know Robert, I think we should go with experience. After the CJ experience, we need a veteran to come in here and clean up a few things. I don't want to see a young guy come in and leave the first P5 shot he gets. I want an SEC, Big 12 or ACC former coach who has proven that he can win and still has 7 to 10 years of winning fuel left in his tank.

The problem with CJ is that he had no experience running and offense or defense. Too many guys have succeeded after being elevated from coordinator tonhead coach (Herman, Fuentes, Monken, Brohm) that it would be ridiculous to rule one out because a career wide receivers' coach couldn't handle the leap from position coach to head coach. A very poor analogy between CJ and experienced coordinators.

Next hire is a dart throw regardless of who it is. That's where the program is right now. But the bullseye is bigger with an established HC over a position coach and even a young coordinator. Some of these OC/DC's aren't HC material. That's a fact. Look at Cam Cameron.

If you want a head coach, then go with Brohm if you can get him. Unlike Brown who is past his expiration date, Brohm is an up and comer who just got WKU to its best FBS season ever -- 11-2. If we could get him, passing up on that for a has been would be foolish.

[SobeWave]

Sorry, the 80s, 90s, amd 00s are over. I don't see what the benefit is of trying to find out if Mack Brown still has it. Let's go young, ambitious, and innovative.

I don't know Robert, I think we should go with experience. After the CJ experience, we need a veteran to come in here and clean up a few things. I don't want to see a young guy come in and leave the first P5 shot he gets. I want an SEC, Big 12 or ACC former coach who has proven that he can win and still has 7 to 10 years of winning fuel left in his tank.

The problem with CJ is that he had no experience running and offense or defense. Too many guys have succeeded after being elevated from coordinator tonhead coach (Herman, Fuentes, Monken, Brohm) that it would be ridiculous to rule one out because a career wide receivers' coach couldn't handle the leap from position coach to head coach. A very poor analogy between CJ and experienced coordinators.

Next hire is a dart throw regardless of who it is. That's where the program is right now. But the bullseye is bigger with an established HC over a position coach and even a young coordinator. Some of these OC/DC's aren't HC material. That's a fact. Look at Cam Cameron.

If you want a head coach, then go with Brohm if you can get him. Unlike Brown who is past his expiration date, Brohm is an up and comer who just got WKU to its best FBS season ever -- 11-2. If we could get him, passing up on that for a has been would be foolish.

Yes. I should have included him on my list. He's a Schnellenberger guy and that is huge. Go interview Brohm and McNeil today and sprinkle in some young coordinators to see if any jump out.

[tpstulane]

http://www.nola.com/tulane/index.ssf/20 ... ma_st.html

Mike Yurcich, LSU assistant Frank Wilson and Baylor offensive coordinator Kendal Briles are among the list of candidates hoping to succeed Curtis Johnson, who was fired at the season.

[DrBox]

http://www.nola.com/tulane/index.ssf/20 ... ma_st.html

Mike Yurcich, LSU assistant Frank Wilson and Baylor offensive coordinator Kendal Briles are among the list of candidates hoping to succeed Curtis Johnson, who was fired at the season.

"Hoping to succeed Johnson"
Twitter headlines translated that to "finalists".

[tpstulane]

http://www.nola.com/tulane/index.ssf/20 ... ma_st.html

Mike Yurcich, LSU assistant Frank Wilson and Baylor offensive coordinator Kendal Briles are among the list of candidates hoping to succeed Curtis Johnson, who was fired at the season.

"Hoping to succeed Johnson"
Twitter headlines translated that to "finalists".

Lol

[DrBox]

In regards to the Houston defense, it looks like they have taken cornerbacks, muscled them up and made them safeties...Safeties to Line Backers and Line Backers to Defensive ends to keep as much speed on the field as possible....

That's what TCU did- except they over-recruited RBs and turned them into LBs.
Makes sense -there are very few high school linebackers with the size and speed to play the position in college. Our only decent linebacker is under-sized (and he's really good, but the rest aren't FBS players). Speed over size.