There are 3 ways a school can go in hiring a coach

Posted on: October 27, 2019 at 12:51:15 CT

1. You spend a lot of money on salary and you invest a lot more resources into the football program, hiring a very well-known successful coach and you get our of their way and simply let them do their thing.

You ignore all complaints from the critics complaining about money, because they don't realize that the few million they are complaining about annually will be peanuts compared to the windfall that will come with being a national blue blood type program.


2. You don't have quite the money, but you hire a guy like Les Miles, a blue blood coach, with a name, that won a national title, that was put in coaching jail for whatever reason.

Jim Tressel just sat their, while programs like Illinois and others just crapped themselves. Huge missed opportunity for many schools.

Mike Leach at Washington State is a great example.



3. The safe way. Hiring the coordinator with no experience. Hiring the MAC coach with no name. Hiring the alumni cause its easy and they won't say no or leave.

This way seems to probably fail about 75-80% of the time. Maybe more.

How often does a coach like that, go to a school and raise them from the dead to national prominence for a sustainable period?

Bill Snyder and Dabo Swinney are the exception, not the rule.

I think even guys like Gary Pinkel and Mike Gundy are the exception, not the rule.

The far greater probability is that they will be flat bad, mediocre or barely above average, never great and they will last 4-5 years or less, while you continue to do this cycle over and over and over until its been 40 years since you've been relevant.