A Clockwork Orange
2022 Cali Winner (Overall Record)
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- Aug 14, 2011
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If you've ever read any posts by me, you more than likely know that I work at James Madison University. The past month has been crazy for my alma mater's football program and the football program at the school where I work now.
Curt Cignetti fallout
On the heels of the Fran Brown hire, Curt Cignetti left JMU for Indiana. As I said in a few posts here, as we were all prognosticating SU's new coach - there was no chance Cigs was coming to SU, and thank God for that. Personally, I think the dude will be an unmitigated disaster in the Big Ten.
Suffice it to say - he's not a real class individual. Awkward best describes his character. Awkward, introverted, and anal-retentive. I didn't like him at JMU, and I didn't like him at Indiana. He won at JMU in part because JMU puts a lot of money into the program and has state-of-the-art facilities and a deep recruiting base. That's not to say he's not a good coach. I think he is. I don't think he realizes how difficult it will be to win at Indiana. Everett Whithers and Mike Houston both led great JMU football teams. They moved on and stunk. I think Cignetti is in for an uphill climb.
Bob Chesney and Syracuse
I am good friends with a person who was a member of the hiring committee for the new JMU coach. Much like Syracuse, JMU had to move quickly to hire a coach. They looked at Rutgers DC, a few coaches in the Midwest, and our favorite Holy Cross coach, Bob Chesney.
They loved Chesney. He was supremely prepared for the interview and was dynamic and excited. He also thought he would have already been the SU head coach. He met with SU's committee and was told he was a finalist. He told the JMU folks he was shocked when he didn't get the position because everything he heard from SU was he would most likely be the next hire.
He was disappointed not to get the job as he would have taken it if offered. He was frank and upfront with the JMU hiring committee on that. He accepted the JMU offer and will now lead the Dukes. From everything I've heard about him from my friends close to the program - he's a winner. He's a rising star and will win anywhere he goes because of his A) personality B) coaching acumen and C) attention to detail.
Fran Brown
From the tea leaves and what I've been told firsthand hand, Chesney was the leader for the SU position until Coach Fran got into the race. He blew away the SU hiring committee. So much so that they were willing to go with the unconventional hiring of a d-backs coach with no coordinator experience because of his presentation to SU about his plans for the program, knowing what I know about how Chesney comported himself with JMU and his attention to detail on the program, Fran must have really awed the SU folks because Chesney is the real deal.
The Future
Both schools got the right guy. I think Chesney would be successful at SU because he knows how to build a winning culture and has an incredibly sharp football mind. Remember, he's the son of a coach. He has lived and breathed football his whole life.
But Fran Brown is a unicorn. I was ready to write a post in late November about whether SU needed to think about moving down a division in football. I had historical charts looking at Colgate and Holy Cross when two-platoon football started. Both teams were regional players and sometimes national players. Two-platoon football slowly corroded both programs from the inside until they had to drop down a level.
My post will focus on how SU (much like the 'Gate and Holy Cross) does not have the money to compete in a BCS/CFP modern college football world. Regardless of coach, they would always be hamstrung by the limits a small Northeastern university has built into its DNA. At the time, I was fine with keeping basketball relevant and dropping the football program down a notch. I thought it was the inevitable conclusion to a century of Syracuse football.
Man, how can two weeks change things! When I say Fran Brown is a unicorn, that's exactly what I mean. I'm unsure if he's more Vince Lombardi or Greg Robinson regarding coaching. What I do know is he's a northeast guy, a black George DeLeone with his New Jersey ties. He has a vision that his coaching buddies have bought into. So much so that they gave up jobs at Texas A&M (a better job) and Colorado (arguably a better job) to do the same at Syracuse. That seldom happens for Syracuse football.
The Fate of Northeast Football
We needed a coach who understood the Northeast and could see there was an opportunity to build a dominant Northeast program. Schiano gave it a run at Rutgers. Rhule had some success at Temple. No one in nearly thirty years has put together a staff of coaches at a Northeast university that rivals the Northeast recruiting prowess of the staff Coach Fran is putting together.
You can feel the difference in the air. Hang on to your hats, folks. We have a Northeast guy with a Northeast vision and the coaches to fulfill that vision. Seemingly, the alumni whales can feel it, too. They are making big donations for the first time in years to a football program at its lowest low LESS THAN A MONTH AGO.
This coaching hire was SU's last chance to regain relevance in big-time college football. The goalposts are moving so quickly toward creating a new "power" division that I feared SU would be among those left out and left to wither on the vine. I still fear that could happen, but I have some faith that the alumni and this coaching staff can bridge that gap and make SU a relevant national player again.
And we'll see. Perhaps Coach Fran will get SU to that spot again where we don't need to hire three of the best Northeast recruiters in the country to keep the program afloat. That's my hope. Go Orange!
Curt Cignetti fallout
On the heels of the Fran Brown hire, Curt Cignetti left JMU for Indiana. As I said in a few posts here, as we were all prognosticating SU's new coach - there was no chance Cigs was coming to SU, and thank God for that. Personally, I think the dude will be an unmitigated disaster in the Big Ten.
Suffice it to say - he's not a real class individual. Awkward best describes his character. Awkward, introverted, and anal-retentive. I didn't like him at JMU, and I didn't like him at Indiana. He won at JMU in part because JMU puts a lot of money into the program and has state-of-the-art facilities and a deep recruiting base. That's not to say he's not a good coach. I think he is. I don't think he realizes how difficult it will be to win at Indiana. Everett Whithers and Mike Houston both led great JMU football teams. They moved on and stunk. I think Cignetti is in for an uphill climb.
Bob Chesney and Syracuse
I am good friends with a person who was a member of the hiring committee for the new JMU coach. Much like Syracuse, JMU had to move quickly to hire a coach. They looked at Rutgers DC, a few coaches in the Midwest, and our favorite Holy Cross coach, Bob Chesney.
They loved Chesney. He was supremely prepared for the interview and was dynamic and excited. He also thought he would have already been the SU head coach. He met with SU's committee and was told he was a finalist. He told the JMU folks he was shocked when he didn't get the position because everything he heard from SU was he would most likely be the next hire.
He was disappointed not to get the job as he would have taken it if offered. He was frank and upfront with the JMU hiring committee on that. He accepted the JMU offer and will now lead the Dukes. From everything I've heard about him from my friends close to the program - he's a winner. He's a rising star and will win anywhere he goes because of his A) personality B) coaching acumen and C) attention to detail.
Fran Brown
From the tea leaves and what I've been told firsthand hand, Chesney was the leader for the SU position until Coach Fran got into the race. He blew away the SU hiring committee. So much so that they were willing to go with the unconventional hiring of a d-backs coach with no coordinator experience because of his presentation to SU about his plans for the program, knowing what I know about how Chesney comported himself with JMU and his attention to detail on the program, Fran must have really awed the SU folks because Chesney is the real deal.
The Future
Both schools got the right guy. I think Chesney would be successful at SU because he knows how to build a winning culture and has an incredibly sharp football mind. Remember, he's the son of a coach. He has lived and breathed football his whole life.
But Fran Brown is a unicorn. I was ready to write a post in late November about whether SU needed to think about moving down a division in football. I had historical charts looking at Colgate and Holy Cross when two-platoon football started. Both teams were regional players and sometimes national players. Two-platoon football slowly corroded both programs from the inside until they had to drop down a level.
My post will focus on how SU (much like the 'Gate and Holy Cross) does not have the money to compete in a BCS/CFP modern college football world. Regardless of coach, they would always be hamstrung by the limits a small Northeastern university has built into its DNA. At the time, I was fine with keeping basketball relevant and dropping the football program down a notch. I thought it was the inevitable conclusion to a century of Syracuse football.
Man, how can two weeks change things! When I say Fran Brown is a unicorn, that's exactly what I mean. I'm unsure if he's more Vince Lombardi or Greg Robinson regarding coaching. What I do know is he's a northeast guy, a black George DeLeone with his New Jersey ties. He has a vision that his coaching buddies have bought into. So much so that they gave up jobs at Texas A&M (a better job) and Colorado (arguably a better job) to do the same at Syracuse. That seldom happens for Syracuse football.
The Fate of Northeast Football
We needed a coach who understood the Northeast and could see there was an opportunity to build a dominant Northeast program. Schiano gave it a run at Rutgers. Rhule had some success at Temple. No one in nearly thirty years has put together a staff of coaches at a Northeast university that rivals the Northeast recruiting prowess of the staff Coach Fran is putting together.
You can feel the difference in the air. Hang on to your hats, folks. We have a Northeast guy with a Northeast vision and the coaches to fulfill that vision. Seemingly, the alumni whales can feel it, too. They are making big donations for the first time in years to a football program at its lowest low LESS THAN A MONTH AGO.
This coaching hire was SU's last chance to regain relevance in big-time college football. The goalposts are moving so quickly toward creating a new "power" division that I feared SU would be among those left out and left to wither on the vine. I still fear that could happen, but I have some faith that the alumni and this coaching staff can bridge that gap and make SU a relevant national player again.
And we'll see. Perhaps Coach Fran will get SU to that spot again where we don't need to hire three of the best Northeast recruiters in the country to keep the program afloat. That's my hope. Go Orange!
)) on why I think it was the lowest. I don't think the program is as miserable talent-wise as it was then, but I do think the stakes are so much higher right now, especially for the future of a viable Northeastern football program.
