Nate Oats to Alabama

[hungrychuck]

Not the job I'd be going for.

I’d take it. I could use the raise.

 

[MG44]

 

[tipphill]

Oats clearly didn’t think Buffalo could become an East coast version of Gonzaga.
He took a job for the money and cashed out.
I realize Buffalo was losing a lot but Alabama isn’t a good job.

why is it not a good job? because its a football school??its enormous in terms of money for him. if he does not succeed there it will not hurt so much. he will survive and still be a wealthy hc somewhere else.

 

[Alsacs]

why is it not a good job? because its a football school??its enormous in terms of money for him. if he does not succeed there it will not hurt so much. he will survive and still be a wealthy hc somewhere else.

Little basketball tradition.
Not much local talent.
He has little contact to that area.
Not a top job in that conference.

He got paid. Which is fine. If he sucks he got his money. If he gets to the Tournament 3 times in 4 years like he did at Buffalo then he will get better job offers.

 

[Sherman20]

UB has been recruiting great though. They also have two senior transfers coming in next year who have a lot of talent and three of the top 25 JUCOs.

Hopefully nobody transfers out. If UB hires Bryan Hodgson that could maybe keep the recruits around because he recruited a lot of them.

Autry should go get this job.

 

[Sherman20]

Would be interesting to see a poll regarding having oats as the next head coach at cuse. Hire him with a big time recruting assistant that has the right connections and maybe keep someone on familiar with our program/traditions? Last year I disliked oats because he rubbed me the wrong way in his interviews regarding cuse and because they have been a better team the past 2 years then us. Now I would kill for what he brings to the table. Doing a hell of a job at buffalo and still young with his best years ahead of him. As an assistant at buffalo he was credited with recruiting justin moss who won the 2014/15 MAC player of the year award. 3x MAC tournament champions, 2x MAC regular season championships and 2x MAC coach of the year awards.

His resume is pretty good

Went 222-52 over 11 seasons as a highschool coach

And is 97-42(.698) as a college head coach.

I know some on here dislike him but I'm not sure if there is a better candidate to take over our program then someone like him? Heck people throw Buzz Williams out there all the time but I'm not sold on buzz being a better hire then Oats. PlusI dislike Buzz far more then I could ever dislike Oats.

Thoughts?

Ha, Buzz has a lengthy proven track record at two different high major programs. It’s not even close.

 

[Sherman20]

Mark Gottfried had some decent success there. Made the NCAA tournament 5 straight years, including the Elite Eight once (furthest they've ever gone in the tournament). He also had them ranked number 1 overall briefly in 2002.

They beat us to go to the Elite Eight in 2004.

I thought Avery Johnson was a good hire. An NBA guy with a big name. Surprised they bailed so soon. He managed to land a top 10-20 in Colin Sexton plus John Petty and I thought he had some decent recruits signed for next season.

 

[kcsu]

Alabama is like SU. A sleeping giant. They have the resources to create a great basketball program. Tons of great recruits in Alabama and surrounding states.

 

[Shark58]

❤

 

[chugg21]

Guy goes from making $825k to $2.5m and some folks saying its a bad move. Everyone being entitled to an opinion is a dumb thing sometimes.

 

[Trueblue25]

Guy goes from making $825k to $2.5m and some folks saying its a bad move. Everyone being entitled to an opinion is a dumb thing sometimes.

I can see the point where people say he would’ve received a better offer had he waited. A big 10 or big 12 job may have opened up, but 2.5 is 2.5. Congrats to Oats and hope his wife continues her recovery.

 

[Newhouser]

A big part of his success will be what the landscape of the game looks like. Unabated cheating continues he is out of his depth as Pearl, Cal, LSU will eat his lunch. Playing field evens up a bit - you can win a lot of games by consistently playing harder and being consistent.

 

[OttoMets]

Guy goes from making $825k to $2.5m and some folks saying its a bad move. Everyone being entitled to an opinion is a dumb thing sometimes.

You're creating a false dilemma.

This wasn't binary, a choice of sitting at his current salary or taking the Alabama money. There are other openings, a lot of which are better opportunities. Alabama's a s--- program in a second-tier conference and this guy's going to be out of a job in four years, mark it down.

 

[LetsGoOrang]

It was a good move on his part. UB is losing a lot of talent and he will have difficulty repeating his recent successes. He might have gotten a better offer if he waited a few more weeks but why not take the money and see how it pans out in 'bama.

 

[Alsacs]

I think Oats could have turned Buffalo into a MAC superpower and had better opportunities.
I never besmirch a person for cashing out as he can fail and he will have the money.
Alabama just doesn’t seem like a good fit but hey the got paid Mozel Tov.

Buffalo could have become Gonzaga Lite.
Hurley = Dan Monson
Oats could have been the Mark Few.
Monson built Gonzaga. Got to the Elite 8 and then jumped to Minnesota for money.
He lasted 7 years and flamed out.
Few has made Gonzaga into a power.

Surprised Oats didn’t get a better job. Virginia Tech is going to open when Buzz goes to Texas A&M.

VPI doesn’t have much tradition but that job appears better than Alabama.

 

[OttoMets]

I think Oats could have turned Buffalo into a MAC superpower and had better opportunities.
I never besmirch a person for cashing out as he can fail and he will have the money.
Alabama just doesn’t seem like a good fit but hey the got paid Mozel Tov.

Buffalo could have become Gonzaga Lite.
Hurley = Dan Monson
Oats could have been the Mark Few.
Monson built Gonzaga. Got to the Elite 8 and then jumped to Minnesota for money.
He lasted 7 years and flamed out.
Few has made Gonzaga into a power.

Surprised Oats didn’t get a better job. Virginia Tech is going to open when Buzz goes to Texas A&M.

VPI doesn’t have much tradition but that job appears better than Alabama.

Much as I mock VPI (hey, for anyone who was a Cuse football fan in the mid-'90s and then lived among their insufferable fans for years, how could you not), I think a mid-tier ACC school is a great landing spot. Again, the money's decent, you're going to be in the national press for four months playing the best teams in the country, and 11-9 in league play will get you into the tournament more years than not.

SEC, you'll get on ESPN now and again on a Tuesday night when you're playing 5 against 8 at Rupp Arena. Cool.

 

[Bayside44]

Alabama did beat us in the tournament (damn 2004 was a while ago now).

It's an SEC job. I am sure there are plenty of perks and a nice tidy state tax cut.

No. Brainer.

 

[realorange]

You're creating a false dilemma.

This wasn't binary, a choice of sitting at his current salary or taking the Alabama money. There are other openings, a lot of which are better opportunities. Alabama's a s--- program in a second-tier conference and this guy's going to be out of a job in four years, mark it down.

But then according to many of our posters, that's when we should hire him.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Much as I mock VPI (hey, for anyone who was a Cuse football fan in the mid-'90s and then lived among their insufferable fans for years, how could you not), I think a mid-tier ACC school is a great landing spot. Again, the money's decent, you're going to be in the national press for four months playing the best teams in the country, and 11-9 in league play will get you into the tournament more years than not.

SEC, you'll get on ESPN now and again on a Tuesday night when you're playing 5 against 8 at Rupp Arena. Cool.

Funny thing is that VA Tech job might open ip this year which makes Oats’ decision too soon.

 

[BuffOrange]

As usual I think people are succumbing to a lot of recency bias re: jobs. I remember when people thought Billy Donovan potentially going to UK was stupid because Fla was a "better job". Not to compare the two but heck I swear Bama football was thought by many to be a thing of the past when Saban went there. Calling VPI a mid-tier ACC gig I think is awfully generous; their tradition is arguably dead last and their 5th place this yr was their miracle ceiling. Frankly it was weird Buzz ever went there in the first place. I know the sec has had a great year but how permanent is that; a good program guy can get anyone in that league to the top long-term.

 

[Trueblue25]

Bama’s got loads of money to drop on a basketball program to complement the football.

The south loves winners and will dedicate their well being, blindly, to one. Not an awful move, bama has plenty of potential.

 

[OttoMets]

As usual I think people are succumbing to a lot of recency bias re: jobs. I remember when people thought Billy Donovan potentially going to UK was stupid because Fla was a "better job". Not to compare the two but heck I swear Bama football was thought by many to be a thing of the past when Saban went there. Calling VPI a mid-tier ACC gig I think is awfully generous; their tradition is arguably dead last and their 5th place this yr was their miracle ceiling. Frankly it was weird Buzz ever went there in the first place. I know the sec has had a great year but how permanent is that; a good program guy can get anyone in that league to the top long-term.

That's fair, I can't disagree with any of that. I still think Bama's a heavy lift with a pretty low ceiling, though.

 

[chugg21]

You're creating a false dilemma.

This wasn't binary, a choice of sitting at his current salary or taking the Alabama money. There are other openings, a lot of which are better opportunities. Alabama's a s--- program in a second-tier conference and this guy's going to be out of a job in four years, mark it down.

Who says that he had better opportunities? Please provide me with the offers he had that were better. What other schools in better conferences do you see available? Should he hold off on getting a 300% raise and $10m guaranteed at a major school in hopes that maybe Buzz Williams goes to Texas A&M and that VT is then open and maybe they might be interested? People are nuts.

 

[Trueblue25]

That's fair, I can't disagree with any of that. I still think Bama's a heavy lift with a pretty low ceiling, though.

I see no reason to believe Bama’s ceiling is any lower than what we see from Auburn, LSU and Tennessee.

 

[OttoMets]

I see no reason to believe Bama’s ceiling is any lower than what we see from Auburn, LSU and Tennessee.

I'd drop Tennessee from that group; in my memory, at least, they've had more success. But I'd group Bama right there with Auburn and LSU: able to string together a couple good seasons, earn the occasional high seed, and once in a blue moon maybe reach a Final Four.