Wildhack rolls the dice!

[ThundrTroll]

You can’t scheme you way to wins with far inferior players

Tony White brought a scheme that improved our defense, which didn’t have highly recruited players

 

[ECE '76]

I think if he is here long enough to finish the initial contract, best case Locksley and worst case Hafley. If he is better he will be gone in 3. If he is worse he will also be gone in 3.

" best case Locksley"?

Someone needs to talk me off the ledge... how is this any different than Mike Locksley's start as a HC? 6 years of losing records...
1-11
1-11
0-4
1-5
3-9
2-3
7-6
8-5
7-5

 

[elimunelson]

I gotta ask any former players on here: past 25 years I hear that the hc has a gate around the program for former players and no one is welcome around the program

A. Is this true
B. If yes what do other programs do to let former players feel welcomed (is there a Rutgers fantasy camp or something for boosters and former players?)

 

[MSOrange]

I gotta ask any former players on here: past 25 years I hear that the hc has a gate around the program for former players and no one is welcome around the program

A. Is this true
B. If yes what do other programs do to let former players feel welcomed (is there a Rutgers fantasy camp or something for boosters and former players?)

Not a former player so I truly don't know the answer for SU. But at least at Iowa, their NFL alums are always back on campus in the offseason working out and they have a former player be a team captain for each home game and is in the locker room with the team before and after the game and goes out for the coin toss.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

stability, in theory, would be great, but what coach who does a good turn here is going to turn down an opportunity at a bigger school? Before I made the chart below I would have called SU mid tier in the ACC, but since joining the ACC they only have a better record than Virginia. The program needs a shot in the arm and its going to be from someone young and hungry who is using the program as a spring board.

	W	L	W%
Syracuse	56​	78​	42%​
NC State	81​	57​	59%​
Louisville	72​	54​	57%​
Pitt	78​	63​	55%​
Vtech	75​	64​	54%​
UNC	75​	65​	54%​
Duke	72​	66​	52%​
Wake	67​	69​	49%​
BC	65​	71​	48%​
Gtech	62​	72​	46%​
Virgina	53​	79​	40%​

We are talking about McPherson. At his age he isn't getting into HCing to use SU as a stepping stone. If he was hired it would be to have a decade+ long face of the program.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Ya Paul Johnson schemed wins with far inferior players

One guy.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

" best case Locksley"?

Someone needs to talk me off the ledge... how is this any different than Mike Locksley's start as a HC? 6 years of losing records...
1-11
1-11
0-4
1-5
3-9
2-3
7-6
8-5
7-5

He has only been at MD 5 years. The 1st two years I wouldn't even count. So really what I was referencing is the last 3 seasons where he went 11-16 in the B1G. People will say oh but he had the Big 3 teams every year, well he also had Rutgers and Indiana every year so it offsets.

Anything better than that the next 3 years and Brown is out the door. So he will be a flash in the pan.

 

[SmilinBob]

From what I've read and heard Brown soaks in info and isn't afraid to ask if he doesn't know, thus always learning to improve. Trying to fit him into another coaches box to compare really doesn't work as far as I can see and I'm looking forward to his time on the Hill and seeing what he brings to the table and adjustments he makes along the way.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

From what I've read and heard Brown soaks in info and isn't afraid to ask if he doesn't know, thus always learning to improve. Trying to fit him into another coaches box to compare really doesn't work as far as I can see and I'm looking forward to his time on the Hill and seeing what he brings to the table and adjustments he makes along the way.

Agree 100%, we really have no idea what he will do as a HC because he has never been one. How he will operate etc. We do know that he should update the talent level that is currently on the team, everything else is a total crap shoot. If he is one of the great coaches, he will get it done. hire good staff, motivate, innovate etc.

It's just a total guess right now what this team will look like on the field the next few years, I mean it truly could be anything. That's why it's such a huge gamble and that is fine with me. Willing to roll the dice

 

[zjscuse]

One guy.

…… Willie Fritz…………… Jamie chadwell

 

[SmilinBob]

Agree 100%, we really have no idea what he will do as a HC because he has never been one. How he will operate etc. We do know that he should update the talent level that is currently on the team, everything else is a total crap shoot. If he is one of the great coaches, he will get it done. hire good staff, motivate, innovate etc.

It's just a total guess right now what this team will look like on the field the next few years, I mean it truly could be anything. That's why it's such a huge gamble and that is fine with me. Willing to roll the dice

Yep and let's face it, there isn't a HC alive in their first gig they weren't overwhelmed at some point...thus the learning curve.

One of the things that I'm curious about is how he handles players and discipline. There are a plethora of ways to approach this and we'll see how this goes as the season progresses. Looking forward to the ride.

 

[All4SU]

It’s all about the staff. HCFB will do well to bring in coordinators with some HC experience, and veteran assistants. I’m sure that’s what he’s thinking about this week while wrapping up his gig at GA.

 

[bnoro]

It’s all about the staff. HCFB will do well to bring in coordinators with some HC experience, and veteran assistants. I’m sure that’s what he’s thinking about this week while wrapping up his gig at GA.

The more I think about it, the more I want him to build a staff not full of retreads, but of young, hungry, up and coming coaches. One or two old heads is fine (preferably an OC with a proven offensive track record), but I want energetic, dynamic recruiters like Fran if we're going to go all in here.

 

[PhatOrange]

Wildhack sure did roll the dice. To date he's made safe no frills hires. This one is a huge risk and really outside of the box and I'm still not even sure what to think of it. I definitely fear it.

I surmise some of it has to do with pumping life into a slumping fan base. If he nails a few big recruits it starts to get people excited. The easier schedule in 2024 should be manageable not to fall flat on our faces out of the gate. Some real recruiting wins and a winning season in 2024 will make money.

He needed to turn the energy around. There wasn't really anyone outside of Mullen or Cignetti who was going to do that and they're looking for a homerun not a single. IB described it perfectly about not choking up on the bat.

I'm with Bnoro on young energetic hungry coaches. But I think a mix of some grey and young is good. Young will be seen as going on the cheap but this is where I think Brown will know what he's doing. If there is a HS guy for example people will need to relax about it and trust FB. It's not uncommon for programs to promote a HS guy; you see this in Florida and Texas. They're good coaches, they connect and recruit. We will certainly need experience but doing it 'the old way' doesn't make it right. Young hungry guys are innovative.

Cautiously optimistic.

 

[orangenauburn]

The more I think about it, the more I want him to build a staff not full of retreads, but of young, hungry, up and coming coaches. One or two old heads is fine (preferably an OC with a proven offensive track record), but I want energetic, dynamic recruiters like Fran if we're going to go all in here.

Like Patridge and Smoke

 

[Bayside44]

The more I think about it, the more I want him to build a staff not full of retreads, but of young, hungry, up and coming coaches. One or two old heads is fine (preferably an OC with a proven offensive track record), but I want energetic, dynamic recruiters like Fran if we're going to go all in here.

Agree with you, refreshing not to be talking about Moorehead, Eddie O types.

Monday should be an interesting day.

 

[storange]

There is this NFL football coach...HEAD COACH.
Coming out of college...grad assistant...DB ( positional ) coach...small school
then somewhat larger ones... the peak was the Cincy Bearcats.
Then onto the pros..position coach... promoted to DC for 1 year with the Minnesota
Vikings. Then got his first HC position...with the Pittsburg Steelers some umpteen years ago.
Say hello to Mike Tomlin. He's done allright.

I heard something from Villari our TE. He stated CUSE football needs a "culture change".
This came from his time with U Mich. I think he's dead on. And Coach Brown strikes me as
a guy who isn't going to accept mediocrity. Don't think we're going to hear Santana's "Smooth"
blaring during practice...

Give this coach...with a solid staff...18 months. We could be a handful.

LGO!!!!!

Change in itself will often give a program a shot in the arm. I personally loved them playing Santana running through drills. It was one of the many things I liked about Dino as worked towards 2018. I was thinking Villari was referring more to overall discipline as compared to the blue blood program in Ann Arbor.

 

[bnoro]

Like Patridge and Smoke

Realistically, can we lock down NJ? No.

But having Fran/Partridge/Smoke goes a LONG way towards getting those players ranked 10-50 in the state

 

[orangenauburn]

Realistically, can we lock down NJ? No.

But having Fran/Partridge/Smoke goes a LONG way towards getting those players ranked 10-50 in the state

Saw someone throw out Tiquan Underwoods name too

Definitely interested to see how this shakes out

 

[PhatOrange]

Saw someone throw out Tiquan Underwoods name too

Definitely interested to see how this shakes out

I saw his name pop up to.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Wildhack sure did roll the dice. To date he's made safe no frills hires. This one is a huge risk and really outside of the box and I'm still not even sure what to think of it. I definitely fear it.

I surmise some of it has to do with pumping life into a slumping fan base. If he nails a few big recruits it starts to get people excited. The easier schedule in 2024 should be manageable not to fall flat on our faces out of the gate. Some real recruiting wins and a winning season in 2024 will make money.

He needed to turn the energy around. There wasn't really anyone outside of Mullen or Cignetti who was going to do that and they're looking for a homerun not a single. IB described it perfectly about not choking up on the bat.

I'm with Bnoro on young energetic hungry coaches. But I think a mix of some grey and young is good. Young will be seen as going on the cheap but this is where I think Brown will know what he's doing with this type of coach. If there is a HS guy for example people will need to relax about it and trust FB. It's not uncommon for programs to promote a HS guy; you see this in Florida and Texas. They're good coaches, they connect and recruit. We certainly will need experience but doing it 'the old way' doesn't make it right. Young hungry guys are innovative.

Cautiously optimistic.

I think a good amount of ex real fans have checked out and they won't even know if we get some big recruiting gets. They won't start paying attention again until the Ws come. Landing recruits will be great for those of us that are still paying attention. That will get us excited, but we are still here even without those gets. And the casual fans aren't paying attention until we are a Top 25 calibre team.

I don't think we are in a need to swing for the fences. Yes, to get the casual fans back we do. But should we be chasing them when our non casual fans are fragile? That seems like a big risk with little reward. The casuals will show up if we are churning out 9 W / Top 25 teams, but is that even achievable anymore? To consistently pull that off?

Colorado has been so bad that it was worth it to swing for the fences. There wasn't a risk of things getting worse. But that is not the case here. Things can get worse, so is the risk worth it? If we were putting out 7 to 8 W teams I think we get a good amount of our ex real fans back, but not the casuals. However if this is a complete disaster (strikeout), I think many of those ex real fans will turn into casuals, and some die hards will check out. You cannot expect people to stay loyal after nearly 30 years of crap.

IMO we just needed a course correction. We had a guy on 3rd and a single gets us a run (where the majority of the fanbase wants SU to be). If we had no one on base like Colorado, I get swinging for the fences. SU as a program has warning track power (limitations), why try for a HR when that isn't require to score a run?

 

[cayugacuse]

I'm in on the hire. He seems humble enough to seek the wisdom of others and trust what he has learned. The help of a solid staff is key as mentioned earlier. NIL and the portal are new challenges that will be an added to his plate. Going to take a village here.

 

[PhatOrange]

I think a good amount of ex real fans have checked out and they won't even know if we get some big recruiting gets. They won't start paying attention again until the Ws come. Landing recruits will be great for those of us that are still paying attention. That will get us excited, but we are still here even without those gets. And the casual fans aren't paying attention until we are a Top 25 calibre team.

I don't think we are in a need to swing for the fences. Yes, to get the casual fans back we do. But should we be chasing them when our non casual fans are fragile? That seems like a big risk with little reward. The casuals will show up if we are churning out 9 W / Top 25 teams, but is that even achievable anymore? To consistently pull that off?

Colorado has been so bad that it was worth it to swing for the fences. There wasn't a risk of things getting worse. But that is not the case here. Things can get worse, so is the risk worth it? If we were putting out 7 to 8 W teams I think we get a good amount of our ex real fans back, but not the casuals. However if this is a complete disaster (strikeout), I think many of those ex real fans will turn into casuals, and some die hards will check out. You cannot expect people to stay loyal after nearly 30 years of crap.

IMO we just needed a course correction. We had a guy on 3rd and a single gets us a run (where the majority of the fanbase wants SU to be). If we had no one on base like Colorado, I get swinging for the fences. SU as a program has warning track power (limitations), why try for a HR when that isn't require to score a run?

It's a big risk with a big reward, not a big risk with little reward.

 

[Trueblue25]

I love this hire

 

[HRE Otto IV]

It's a big risk with a big reward, not a big risk with little reward.

Again, do we need to take that risk given where our program currently stands? If we were going 3-9 every year, sure. That is a small risk because things wouldn't really get that much worse (like Colorado). If we our program were stable and we were just looking to take the next step, sure. In that case we can absorb the risk. It would be a short term blip (like Clemson). But where we are as a program it is a big risk. If it fails you are in complete rebuild mode which is much worse than where we currently stand.

We do not know if there is a big reward. If SU has a ceiling what is the reward, 8-5 seasons (like Maryland)? Is it worth taking a big risk to go from 7-6 to 8-5? If you believe that we can still churn out 10-3 seasons every year, then sure there is a reward. I don't believe that is possible for any non factory program in the ACC. Even if it is possible, Brown would be gone after the 1st 10-3 season. So we are taking a big risk for a chance at having another 2018. For me, that isn't worth. What is this big reward you speak of?