Thamel gives some names | Page 19 | Syracusefan.com

Thamel gives some names

Orangefizz said:
I will be shocked if either is hired. We really need an established head coach who can provide a disciplined environment. I like RichRod, Jeff Monken and Bronco Mendenhall.
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Both of those guys are way more likely than the 3 names you like. Lol
 
IthacaBarrel said:
I mean you can have your opinion but you really have no idea who is or isnt interested or more importantly who wildhack wants to hire and nor do I but the comment is a real reach.

I mean who is to say that Lewis wouldn’t be better than candle? Not all MAC programs are created equally
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Guess you missed my point. My bad. For me there are so many other better choices out there that either one can mean only one of two things. 1 Wilhack is not as good as I think or 2 everyone else is too expensive or said no interest.
And yes, it is my opinion.
Do we really want someone from Dino's coaching tree?
Time will tell.
 
phil77 said:
I would feel any type of success here White would bolt for what would be perceived as a better job as soon as he could. He has already proved he would do that. No concern about that?
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I think I’d feel the same about Sean Lewis tbh. Left a HC role to become an OC
 
I think Lewis would be my top choice. He has home run potential - the problem is, if you hit it outta the park, he's gone within a few years. But maybe he gets you back on the map and then you can go from there.

If Mendenhall has interest, you have to interview him and give him serious consideration. 11 straight bowls at BYU, give him a pass on the 2-10 season year one at UVA, then he rattle off three straight bowls, 5-5 in 2020 and declined a bowl, 6-6 in 2021 and bowl cancelled due to COVID issues. So that's one sub-500 regular season in 17 seasons at BYU/UVA, and it was year one turning UVA around. I doubt he has interest, but he's gotta be on a short list if he does.

I'd be shocked if Chris Petersen has interest, but if he does, that's a no brainer. 14 straight bowl games, 92-12 at Boise State, 55-26 at UW.

I don't have much interest in White, but if they go that route the important thing to me is to find a highly competent OC who's not going to have one foot out the door. Ideally they'll prioritize OL and be able to recruit decent QBs. I'd ask Marrone how much he'd need to come be OC here. He's not going to get another shot as an NFL head coach, you can pay him more than he'll get as an NFL OL coach if you're willing, and I think his style of offense would compliment a Tony White team well. Grind it out, rely on the defense, recruit some good OLs and see if you can use the OL as a hook to get a good QB now and then. It could work. Not my preferred choice, but if they go that route it's important IMO to find a good OC who's not a young up and comer who's going to be snatched up right away. I dunno if Marrone would come play second fiddle at a place he was HC once already, but it would be a step up from his current gig.

Candle I'm not sold on. He inherited a winning program, won with his predecessor's players his first two years (9-4, 11-3) then rattled off some ~ .500 seasons, and now has a couple strong seasons. I feel like he'd end up being a replacement level hire.

Anyway, outside of the longshots I doubt have interest, Lewis is the winner in my opinion.
 
GoSU96 said:
Of course it’s a consideration. This is not a gut and rebuild The next guy needs to improve a couple of positions and figure out how to stay healthy enough to win another game or two.
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I respectfully disagree. There is not one player I would keep on his roster over selecting the best candidate for the job.

The goal is not to go seven and five and go to a garbage bowl game.
 
djorange1989 said:
He connects really well with kids, is young and energetic and has ties to the area. I would much rather have an experienced head coach but I think Tony is an excellent candidate in general
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Translation: he’s African American. Which is a valid point and I think helped Dino to an extent. Obviously the university has proven it values, if not prioritizes, minority hires. I do think he’s a good coordinator, but is that enough? His ties to the area didn’t keep him from bolting for the same gig at Nebraska
 
pokercuse08 said:
I think Lewis would be my top choice. He has home run potential - the problem is, if you hit it outta the park, he's gone within a few years. But maybe he gets you back on the map and then you can go from there.

If Mendenhall has interest, you have to interview him and give him serious consideration. 11 straight bowls at BYU, give him a pass on the 2-10 season year one at UVA, then he rattle off three straight bowls, 5-5 in 2020 and declined a bowl, 6-6 in 2021 and bowl cancelled due to COVID issues. So that's one sub-500 regular season in 17 seasons at BYU/UVA, and it was year one turning UVA around. I doubt he has interest, but he's gotta be on a short list if he does.

I'd be shocked if Chris Petersen has interest, but if he does, that's a no brainer. 14 straight bowl games, 92-12 at Boise State, 55-26 at UW.

I don't have much interest in White, but if they go that route the important thing to me is to find a highly competent OC who's not going to have one foot out the door. Ideally they'll prioritize OL and be able to recruit decent QBs. I'd ask Marrone how much he'd need to come be OC here. He's not going to get another shot as an NFL head coach, you can pay him more than he'll get as an NFL OL coach if you're willing, and I think his style of offense would compliment a Tony White team well. Grind it out, rely on the defense, recruit some good OLs and see if you can use the OL as a hook to get a good QB now and then. It could work. Not my preferred choice, but if they go that route it's important IMO to find a good OC who's not a young up and comer who's going to be snatched up right away. I dunno if Marrone would come play second fiddle at a place he was HC once already, but it would be a step up from his current gig.

Candle I'm not sold on. He inherited a winning program, won with his predecessor's players his first two years (9-4, 11-3) then rattled off some ~ .500 seasons, and now has a couple strong seasons. I feel like he'd end up being a replacement level hire.

Anyway, outside of the longshots I doubt have interest, Lewis is the winner in my opinion.
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I will give you some personal insight from a BYU personal friend and super fan about Mendenhall:

I have a hard time believing he would come out of retirement. He’s an outstanding defensive coach, and not a bad head coach. He’s quirky as all get out and a really odd duck. Overall, I like him though.

He’s a solid fundamental type of coach. He bothered the BYU folks by publicly saying that football was not his first priority; probably his third behind the church and his family. Nothing wrong with that but probably not best to publicly proclaim in a press conference, even the religious BYU folk want football to be their coaches top priority. They gripe about him a lot near the end, but believe me, they would give anything to have him back.

In my opinion, Syracuse would be lucky as hell to have a Head coach as qualified as Bronco. A man of faith, discipline, and football success. I’d propose keeping a few of the current staff for year 1, so Syracuse wouldn’t have to incur multiple position and coordinator buyouts. Basically just replacing Dino with Bronco.
 
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I’d take Marrone in a heartbeat. I think he’d be great at evaluating players in the portal and bringing them in as opposed to kissing HS coaches butts. People worry about his age but he’s three years younger than Dino…

Al Golden next but honestly I think almost anyone would bring more excitement to the program then Dino had the last couple of years
 
Killdozer said:
Why are some fans so obsessed with the thought of hiring a previous coach that was on SU staff? It would be insane for JW to even consider that option. It's almost like the phrase "I refuse to think outside the box".
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And I get it, they had success here. We like the Beck family and think Jason is an up and comer. But at the end of the day after 8 years of Dino the question will be whether Wildhack thinks a “retooling” of coaches can revitalize what Dino once set the foundation of, or if we need a total overhaul. If he’s going with the former, he better be right
 
Scott11 said:
I respectfully disagree. There is not one player I would keep on his roster over selecting the best candidate for the job.

The goal is not to go seven and five and go to a garbage bowl game.
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Exactly. Which is why I’m non plussed with the names people are throwing around on this board. Think big, people!
 
Orangefizz said:
I will give you some personal inside from a UU/BYU poster about Mendenhall:

I have a hard time believing he would come out of retirement. He’s an outstanding defensive coach, and not a bad head coach. He’s quirky is all get out and they really odd duck. Overall, I like him though.

He’s a solid fundamental type of coach. He bothered the BYU folks by publicly saying that basketball was not his first priority; probably his third behind the church and his family. Nothing wrong with that but probably not best to publicly proclaim itfans, even the religious BYU folk want basketball to be their coaches top priority. They gripe about him a lot near the end, but believe me, they would give anything to have him back.

In my opinion, Syracuse would be lucky as hell to have a Head coach as qualified as Bronco. A man of faith, discipline, and football success.
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Thanks! I agree, I'd be very surprised if he wanted to come out of retirement. I figured he had to be solid with the fundamentals, same for Petersen. You can't have as consistent of success as they had without having teams that avoid dumb penalties and mistakes.

Your post made me Google 'Bronco Mendenhall quirky' and this came up... Good read! Gordon Monson: Bronco Mendenhall did some strange things at BYU. He’s doing something stranger at Virginia. Winning.

Excerpt: When he left Provo, he told some of his players that he craved the challenge of building something out of situations that are “unique.” And Virginia, with its academic standards and general lack of football tradition, provided that, just as academic and honor code hurdles did at BYU.

Someone tell this guy how unique of a challenge we have for him lol...
 
Scott11 said:
White would be unexciting...
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Who could SU get that would be "exciting"?

And is it important to hire a coach who excites or hire a coach who can excel at a program like SU?
 
A Clockwork Orange said:
This will be long. I am somewhat informed about Coach Cignetti and the JMU Athletic Department. I probably know more about the inner workings of the JMU AD and what makes Cignetti tick than anyone else on this board. I don't have a hard and fast "he's coming" or "he's not coming" to share with anyone here. I do have an idea of the atmosphere at JMU regarding the athletics program and the lengths it may go to keep Cignetti.

I don't have any major feelings one way or the other for him if he came to SU. I'm done figuring out what makes a coach successful over the short and long term. Every single one of us whiffed on at least one of the last four coaches in our expectations for them. We don't know, and frankly, neither do athletic administrators, what makes a good and long-lasting college football coach. What I do know is that Cignetti has spent his coaching years in the South.

He has been a head coach at Elon for two years and is now at JMU. He inherited an incredibly successful program. I think it's important to understand JMU football history to frame Curt Cignetti and the decision he'll make this offseason.

The three years before Cignetti inherited the program, JMU was 14-1 and won the FCS natty. 14-1 and were runners up and then 9-4 before Mike Houston left to coach at East Carolina. Houston won the natty in his first year as head coach after they went 9-3 the year before and made it to the playoffs under Everett Whithers. Everett Whithers bolted for Texas State.

In five seasons since he left JMU, Houston has had two winning seasons and went 2-9 this season. Whithers went to Texas State and went 2-10, 2-10, and 3-8 before he was fired. He is now the DC at Temple.

My point in all of this is that Cignetti didn't build the program. This program was invited to FBS in 2012 and turned it down because the athletic department wanted to ensure it was prepared to land in the FBS without a dip in success.

The coach doesn't make JMU. JMU makes the coach. They POUR money into the program. The practice facilities are already better than SU's, let alone the rest of the Sun Belt. There's a master plan to put a second deck on the other side of Bridgeforth and expand to more than 40,000. They have ample room to add to the east side of the stadium and the west side.

JMU will most likely back up a Brinks truck to Cignetti this offseason. My guess is with incentives, he will be making well over two million before all is said and done. That's not a random number I'm picking out of the sky. That's a number that I'm pretty sure is already in ink. It's not as much as he'd make at Syracuse. But I think it's enough to entice him to stay unless another, larger program comes and offers him five million or more.

JMU has built its program the right way, and it's because of the athletic facilities, the support system for athletes, and the athletic department unilaterally preparing for this moment for more than a decade.

Pittsburgh is as far north as Cignetti has ever coached, and he's from Pittsburgh. Syracuse might show interest in him, but I'm not sure he'll show interest in SU. He can move to much greener pastures and a much easier build than Syracuse offers him. And I'm not sold he would "turn around" a program. He inherited the JMU program and acted as a steward.

His claim to fame is turning around Elon. They were 2-9 before he arrived and went 8-4 his first year at the helm. The next year with him, they were 6-5. JMU then hired him.

Is he the answer? He might be, but I don't think he's as much of a slam-dunk hire as most on this thread believe.
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Stellar read.
 
A Clockwork Orange said:
This will be long. I am somewhat informed about Coach Cignetti and the JMU Athletic Department. I probably know more about the inner workings of the JMU AD and what makes Cignetti tick than anyone else on this board. I don't have a hard and fast "he's coming" or "he's not coming" to share with anyone here. I do have an idea of the atmosphere at JMU regarding the athletics program and the lengths it may go to keep Cignetti.

I don't have any major feelings one way or the other for him if he came to SU. I'm done figuring out what makes a coach successful over the short and long term. Every single one of us whiffed on at least one of the last four coaches in our expectations for them. We don't know, and frankly, neither do athletic administrators, what makes a good and long-lasting college football coach. What I do know is that Cignetti has spent his coaching years in the South.

He has been a head coach at Elon for two years and is now at JMU. He inherited an incredibly successful program. I think it's important to understand JMU football history to frame Curt Cignetti and the decision he'll make this offseason.

The three years before Cignetti inherited the program, JMU was 14-1 and won the FCS natty. 14-1 and were runners up and then 9-4 before Mike Houston left to coach at East Carolina. Houston won the natty in his first year as head coach after they went 9-3 the year before and made it to the playoffs under Everett Whithers. Everett Whithers bolted for Texas State.

In five seasons since he left JMU, Houston has had two winning seasons and went 2-9 this season. Whithers went to Texas State and went 2-10, 2-10, and 3-8 before he was fired. He is now the DC at Temple.

My point in all of this is that Cignetti didn't build the program. This program was invited to FBS in 2012 and turned it down because the athletic department wanted to ensure it was prepared to land in the FBS without a dip in success.

The coach doesn't make JMU. JMU makes the coach. They POUR money into the program. The practice facilities are already better than SU's, let alone the rest of the Sun Belt. There's a master plan to put a second deck on the other side of Bridgeforth and expand to more than 40,000. They have ample room to add to the east side of the stadium and the west side.

JMU will most likely back up a Brinks truck to Cignetti this offseason. My guess is with incentives, he will be making well over two million before all is said and done. That's not a random number I'm picking out of the sky. That's a number that I'm pretty sure is already in ink. It's not as much as he'd make at Syracuse. But I think it's enough to entice him to stay unless another, larger program comes and offers him five million or more.

JMU has built its program the right way, and it's because of the athletic facilities, the support system for athletes, and the athletic department unilaterally preparing for this moment for more than a decade.

Pittsburgh is as far north as Cignetti has ever coached, and he's from Pittsburgh. Syracuse might show interest in him, but I'm not sure he'll show interest in SU. He can move to much greener pastures and a much easier build than Syracuse offers him. And I'm not sold he would "turn around" a program. He inherited the JMU program and acted as a steward.

His claim to fame is turning around Elon. They were 2-9 before he arrived and went 8-4 his first year at the helm. The next year with him, they were 6-5. JMU then hired him.

Is he the answer? He might be, but I don't think he's as much of a slam-dunk hire as most on this thread believe.
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Great post. Makes me feel like not an idiot for not wanting him here whatsoever. Haha.
 
Orangefizz said:
I will give you some personal inside from a BYU personal friend and super fan about Mendenhall:

I have a hard time believing he would come out of retirement. He’s an outstanding defensive coach, and not a bad head coach. He’s quirky is all get out and they really odd duck. Overall, I like him though.

He’s a solid fundamental type of coach. He bothered the BYU folks by publicly saying that basketball was not his first priority; probably his third behind the church and his family. Nothing wrong with that but probably not best to publicly proclaim itfans, even the religious BYU folk want basketball to be their coaches top priority. They gripe about him a lot near the end, but believe me, they would give anything to have him back.

In my opinion, Syracuse would be lucky as hell to have a Head coach as qualified as Bronco. A man of faith, discipline, and football success. I’d propose keeping a few of the current staff for year 1, so Syracuse wouldn’t have to incur multiple position and coordinator buyouts. Basically just replacing Dino with Bronco.
Expand...

The problem with those BYU folks is that they thought Mendenhall was the basketball coach.
 
CuseBlood44 said:
Translation: he’s African American. Which is a valid point and I think helped Dino to an extent. Obviously the university has proven it values, if not prioritizes, minority hires. I do think he’s a good coordinator, but is that enough? His ties to the area didn’t keep him from bolting for the same gig at Nebraska
Expand...
No dude, he's just a great coach. I could care less if Tony is black not
 

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