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ITT We Follow Potential 2015 Coaching Candidate Week 4

NVA CANE said:
Fuente better be on the schools radar. There are no smoke and mirrors with his success. He took a terrible Memphis program and is kicking ***. Can't ask for much more than that.
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Memphis had no program. They finished last in the three years before he came to town. He just won his 12th straight game. Next up is Ole Miss.
 
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Consigliere said:
Fuente won his 12th straight game. Just a reminder that he won 12 straight at Memphis. He has a bye week then Ole Miss.
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The job he's done at Memphis has been outstanding. No question. But I can't overlook that he's coached at Illinois State, TCU when they were a big fish in a small pond before they joined the Big 12, and now Memphis. He's done a great job developing overachievers and having success against teams with comparable talent.

Zero experience coaching next-level athletes against the big boys on a weekly basis. Never faced high expectations. Completely unproven as an evaluator and recruiter with the type of talent coaches have access to at Miami. Can't sit down with a potential program-changing recruit and tell them, "I've put [insert future Hall of Famer or first-round draft pick here] into the NFL" like Butch Davis or "I developed multiple QBs that dominated during a national title run when we were down to our third stringer" like Tom Herman.

I feel like an ******* rattling off a list of concerns considering the job Fuente's done at Memphis. He's done as great a job as anyone possibly could at that program considering their ceiling. Maybe I'm way off here. But the Power 5 is a different world he's never experienced and there are legitimate concerns that make me take a step back, IMO.
 
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01Canes,

Not everyone gets power 5 experience before the big boys...

1. Jim Harbaugh: San Diego (Patriot League or FCS) to Stanford

2. Chip Kelly: Delaware to Oregon

3. Gary Patterson: Nowhere relevant to TCU

Not for nothing but not EVERY coach can work/coach at a big school before getting a big gig. They have to come from somewhere as they're not born in the power 5.
 
Consigliere said:
01Canes,

Not everyone gets power 5 experience before the big boys...

1. Jim Harbaugh: San Diego (Patriot League or FCS) to Stanford

2. Chip Kelly: Delaware to Oregon

3. Gary Patterson: Nowhere relevant to TCU

Not for nothing but not EVERY coach can work/coach at a big school before getting a big gig. They have to come from somewhere as they're not born in the power 5.
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Agreed, P5 shouldn't be a prerequisite, as long as the coach is winning/innovating where he's at, like Urban at Utah, Tressel at Youngstown St, and the guys you mentioned.
 
Consigliere said:
01Canes,

Not everyone gets power 5 experience before the big boys...

1. Jim Harbaugh: San Diego (Patriot League or FCS) to Stanford

2. Chip Kelly: Delaware to Oregon

3. Gary Patterson: Nowhere relevant to TCU

Not for nothing but not EVERY coach can work/coach at a big school before getting a big gig. They have to come from somewhere as they're not born in the power 5.
Click to expand...

Kelly doesn't belong on that list because he gained two years of Power 5 coaching experience as Oregon's OC before taking over for Mike Bellotti. Fuente hasn't been a position coach, coordinator, or head coach in the Power 5, which was the point I was trying to make. Kelly built a strong reputation for his innovative offensive concepts at New Hampshire in the early 2000s before earning a Power 5 OC job, not a head-coaching position.

Patterson technically counts, but his situation was very unique. He did a tremendous job of building that program into a big fish in a small pond before they joined the Big 12 in 2012, winning 11 or more games every year from 2008-2011. But even he experienced difficulties adjusting to the Power 5, going a combined 11-14 from 2012-2013 before showcasing his ability to adapt with an up-tempo spread that changed their program.

Harbaugh is a savage who does show that there's precedent for a coach to debut with a Power 5 conference and achieve great success. Took over a dormant program that went 6-17 in the two years before he arrived, went 9-15 in his first two years, but then got things rolling once he recruited his players to the program.

Fuente's done a **** of a job at Memphis. I just think there's reason to be a bit wary of Fuente, even though he absolutely should be brought in for an interview if they can't lock down Herman, Butch, or someone more proven we assume we're not in the running for.
 
Chip Kelly will get fired after this season.

You want to be relevant in college again? For a goddam change (like we did in 78 with Howard), make a statement hire. But alas, this is UM we are talking about. Miami is terrified of its own shadow, and has no interest in swinging for the fences.

I think Herman and Fuente are both really good coaches though. Hard to argue against them as coaches. Both came up under ELITE coaches too. Anyone from a Patterson or Meyer tree, who ALSO is kicking *** as a HC, is probably a safe bet.

Was Randy working at TCU when Fuente was there? Now THAT would be an interesting setup.
 
01Canes said:
Consigliere said:
01Canes,

Not everyone gets power 5 experience before the big boys...

1. Jim Harbaugh: San Diego (Patriot League or FCS) to Stanford

2. Chip Kelly: Delaware to Oregon

3. Gary Patterson: Nowhere relevant to TCU

Not for nothing but not EVERY coach can work/coach at a big school before getting a big gig. They have to come from somewhere as they're not born in the power 5.
Click to expand...

Kelly doesn't belong on that list because he gained two years of Power 5 coaching experience as Oregon's OC before taking over for Mike Bellotti. Fuente hasn't been a position coach, coordinator, or head coach in the Power 5, which was the point I was trying to make. Kelly built a strong reputation for his innovative offensive concepts at New Hampshire in the early 2000s before earning a Power 5 OC job, not a head-coaching position.

Patterson technically counts, but his situation was very unique. He did a tremendous job of building that program into a big fish in a small pond before they joined the Big 12 in 2012, winning 11 or more games every year from 2008-2011. But even he experienced difficulties adjusting to the Power 5, going a combined 11-14 from 2012-2013 before showcasing his ability to adapt with an up-tempo spread that changed their program.

Harbaugh is a savage who does show that there's precedent for a coach to debut with a Power 5 conference and achieve great success. Took over a dormant program that went 6-17 in the two years before he arrived, went 9-15 in his first two years, but then got things rolling once he recruited his players to the program.

Fuente's done a **** of a job at Memphis. I just think there's reason to be a bit wary of Fuente, even though he absolutely should be brought in for an interview if they can't lock down Herman, Butch, or someone more proven we assume we're not in the running for.
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I'll say this regarding Fuente vs. Herman:

Herman won a ring as a coordinator. Def has an elite pedigree. But let's let him complete a season as a HC first.

Fuente's resume doesn't feature the ring, but it does feature an elite pedigree as well coaching under Patterson, and he has shown he can build a team immediately and with success. He's in year three and was a coach of the year candidate.

I wouldn't necessarily say Fuente is unproven and I wouldn't necessarily say Herman is proven. Both present some risk, both present big upside.
 
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No disrespect but this P5 standard/requirement is bullchit. Coaches either can win or not. Coaches can either advance a program and beat the teams they have on the schedule or they can't. At Memphis he has shown, with inferior talent, that he can do just that.

Golden never was able to win the conference. In fact Golden had P5 experience as well. It is garbage. RS also had said P5 experience and was a defensive specialist, how did that go?

Fuente played football as a QB for Oklahoma, he earned his pedigree under Patterson. He is able to put up a chit ton of points. The guy does a tremendous job with inferior talent/program. Based on what Fuente has done at Memphis, what more could you want?
 
Hire the winner of the Memphis vs. Houston game.

Houston has better talent, but Fuente has the edge in HC experience.

Reach out after that game, get the deal done, then fire Golden.

Announce the new hire whenever Fuente or Herman says to do it.

The Miami job is not the Alabama job. And Chip Kelly doesn't have any ties to the school. Anybody thinking they're backing up a bank to his door is delusional, IMO. Now, if Chip reached out ... Said it was his "dream job" ... Then you do whatever is required to sign him. But UM can't convince him to come ... It would have to be his idea. There will be options for him in the NFL. He could also just go back to Oregon. Helfrich and Scott Frost are proving themselves to be "in over their heads". Or, maybe Texas will back up the bank? IMO, I don't see Miami convincing Chip Kelly.

But Houston has shown a pretty good track record of their good HCs being ready to elevate bigger programs ... Briles and Sumlin both made the leap. And if Fuente models "his Miami" after "Patterson's TCU", that's not bad at all, IMO.

The next few games for both of those guys should be appointment viewing for any Cane fans ...
 
Fuente and Herman are definitely my top two guys but, alas, I'm pretty sure that Mario Cristobal will end up as the next head coach of the Miami Hurricanes. Too much going for him in his favor in terms of what UM would likely be looking for to not come to this conclusion, including the fact that he doesn't come with a hefty buyout.
 
Just putting a name out there, and not giving an opinion one way or the other but interested in the board's take: Steve Addazzio.
 
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A few things I've seen from Tom Herman's team in 5 minutes of game action that we haven't seen at Miami in seemingly forever.

- An immediate sack with a nicely timed A-gap blitz in the red zone to put Tulsa well behind the chains.
- Proper clock management. Herman called a timeout after Tulsa failed to convert on 3rd & long with less than 1:10 left in the first half. Tulsa missed the field goal and Houston drove down the field in just a few plays and scored a touchdown to take a two-score lead at halftime.
- A third down conversion. Didn't know these were possible.

Houston leads Tulsa, 21-10, but now they're punting to start the second half.
 
I know I may catch flack for this but I still like Chris Petersen as a football coach and I think he could use a change of scenery from Washington. I know he has been average since leaving Boise but I think he could be good for us once he leaves the difficulty of the Pac 12. Facing Oregon, USC, Utah, Arizona, Arizona St and Stanford could be a real b*tch on a yearly basis. Also, he could be a new version of Dennis Erickson. A westerner with an innovative offensive mind who had an average record in two years at a PAC 12 school before coming to Miami and dominating. I'd like him added to the list as well. Also, I know the school was interested in him before we hired Fat Al and rumor had it that they offered him 3 mil per year but he turned it down. Can anyone confirm that? I wonder if the school would buy him out like they were planning to do before when he was at Boise.
 
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