Okay everyone, calm down

[oregonvol]

I strongly disagree with the idea of Ohio State being fine in terms of recruiting. Cooper's downfall was directly tied to his complete unwillingness to recruit in-state; it's not like we have 720 high schools that play football or anything. He couldn't beat Michigan, who regularly poached Ohio-bred talent (Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson being the most obvious). He was perfectly fine letting local kids walk away and go elsewhere, as long as he could reel in the kids from Texas, Florida, and California. We're not talking about one-star and two-star guys, we're talking about four- and five-star players. Antonio Hall, from one of Ohio's most storied programs, went to Kentucky and was a four-year starter. Na'Shan Goddard went to South Carolina and was a four-year starter. Michael Munoz went to Tennessee and was a four-yeaer starter. These are just three linemen, and all came out of Ohio within a two-year period and became four-year starters.

Part of the appeal of Glen Mason was that he was building Minnesota toward Big Ten contender status, but on the backs of the Ohio kids that Cooper didn't care about getting. He was getting elite athletes right out of the Columbus City League, right out from under Cooper's nose, and then using them against Ohio State. The rise of the MAC in the late 1990s was directly attributable to Cooper passing on the local kids, and seeing them go to places like Bowling Green and then into the NFL.

When Tressel got to Ohio State, he went out of his way to bring the high school coaches back into the fold. If a new coach was hired somewhere (anywhere), he was guaranteed to get a congratulatory card and letter from Tressel, along with a business card inviting the coach to call Tressel (actually, his secretary, but whatever) for anything football-related. It was a nice gesture, and plenty of coaches who'd been repulsed by Cooper appreciated it. It's the same stuff that Mack Brown had to do after replacing John Mackovic, who'd turned Texas from good ol' boy football into something derisively referred to as "The Tea-Sippers Club".

You weren't getting out-recruited by Miami of Ohio though. That's where we're at now.

 

[IrishFan]

Three things make our situation very different, perhaps unprecedented:

1) We have two strikes against us, coming off two horrid hires in Kiffin and Dooley that have left the fanbase divided, players discouraged, recruits wavering and our program at rock bottom. We can't afford a third strike; we need to land a top gun. And our AD hasn't shown that he can do that... or that he's willing to work with anyone else to do it now.

2) We just got saddled with NCAA probation for two more years, which means we can't chance taking a good coach with issues, like Tressel, Petrino or Davis, even though we could probably get them at a bargain and they have the skills to turn things around quickly.

3) There were four open jobs in the SEC, the most since 2004, plus a handful of other desirable jobs. We are competing against Auburn and Arky for top coaches, and this could drive the price up. We will probably end up overpaying for a coach, even if it's not the one we want.

The UT job is a great one, but the timing and circumstances aren't helping.

Not to play devil's advocate here but Petrino would be a great hire. Mike Slive, in a recent statement, completely overstepped his boundaries by saying that no SEC school can hire Petrino. Slive has lost his damn mind. There are no Head Coaching confirmation hearings in the SEC. Tressel would be a great hire. One problem with your statement.

Petrino's mistake was a bad moral choice and Tressel actually lied to the NCAA. Last time I checked, Petrino did not have the NCAA hounding him about banging an ex-vollyball player. Tressel lied to the investigators and has a show cause now. I agree that Petrino should be at the bottom of any short list but even thinking about Tressel is a bad thought. There is no doubt in my mind that he cheated at Youngstown State. Word is, his brother would give cars to players (his brother owns a car dealership in Y-town. YSU, in the 90's, could have beaten some ranked division I teams. The desirable coach would be Cutcliffe and only if he came to UT with Chavis. Romor has it that it was not going to happen under Hamilton because he wanted to keep the staff he had. I am still on the bandgruden. I want to see JG here at UT because I know that it will be instant success, maybe not on the field the first year, but definitely in recruiting and he won't take **** off these players. He will have discipline, integrity and loyalty, instantly.

 

[TomahawkVol]

We have taken our chances and failed

 

[LA Vol]

Not to play devil's advocate here but Petrino would be a great hire. Mike Slive, in a recent statement, completely overstepped his boundaries by saying that no SEC school can hire Petrino. Slive has lost his damn mind. There are no Head Coaching confirmation hearings in the SEC. Tressel would be a great hire. One problem with your statement.

Petrino's mistake was a bad moral choice and Tressel actually lied to the NCAA. Last time I checked, Petrino did not have the NCAA hounding him about banging an ex-vollyball player. Tressel lied to the investigators and has a show cause now. I agree that Petrino should be at the bottom of any short list but even thinking about Tressel is a bad thought. I want to see JG here at UT because I know that it will be instant success, maybe not on the field the first year, but definitely in recruiting and he won't take **** off these players. He will have discipline, integrity and loyalty, instantly.

I don't disagree with you, and you bring up some excellent points. I'm just saying that I believe the UTAD won't take a chance on Petrino or Tressel, given our current position. If we weren't coming off two bad hires and under NCAA scrutiny, UT might be more amenable to coaches with baggage.

And while it's true that Petrino didn't have the NCAA after him, he got off easy. His actions could have put Arkansas on the hook for millions, with years of aggressive litigation. Petrino is a great gameday coach and strategist, though, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him end up at Auburn. I agree that Gruden brings a nice package to the table, but if we don't get him, we may have to go way down our list. Most of those choice prospects (Stoops, Patterson, Petersen, Gundy, Mora, etc.) are happy where they are and will use other schools' interest to negotiate a salary bump and extension at their current job, a la Les Miles.

 

[bigorange]

What is this "bowl game" that you speak of? Do we get to wear special shoes?

 

[governmentmule]

hmmm if i remember rightly aren't you a coach Ohio Vol ? are you attending the banquet in December to toss your name in to Hart ? just think,you could be the big splash hire