SBNation: If Vegas is right about these 8 college football teams, will they fire their coaches?

[Nebfanatic]

What exactly has Michigan done since Harbaughs arrival? I'm gonna say not much if we consider he inherited a loaded roster compared to what Riley inherited.

Uh...are you serious with this question??!!! With all of that talent that Hoke had apparently he was 5-7 in his final season at Michigan (They went 7-6 the year before) then Harbaugh stepped in and obviously turned things around going 10-3 in his first season as well as last season. I'd say he's done pretty well considering where Michigan was under Hoke and that's an understatement. Harbaugh's record at Michigan is 20-6 so far. He's 78-33 overall as a college head coach.

The biggest thing he's done is that he's got people talking about Michigan football again and recruits have also taken notice. Michigan had the #4 recruiting class last year per Rivals.

No denying Harbaugh is a great coach, there is also no denying the talent he inherited at Michigan was elite, at very least on the defensive side. If we had the players Michigan has had the last 2 years I don't think we are even having this conversation about Riley, because I think we would have at least been to the CCG twice.
Serious question for you Suh_fan. If Riley and Harbaugh swapped rosters before they started at their respective schools, who do you think would have faired better to this point, Harbaugh with our players or Riley with UM's?

Uhh............it's not Mike Riley.

Oof.

Ok that's fine so Harbaugh has been 20-6, Riley has been 15-11. Does Harbaugh improve or decline in record with our roster? Does he win anything of significance? Do you think Riley would have a better or worse record with Michigan's roster? Do you think Nebraska wins anything of significance during those 2 years?
Edit: since you didn't answer I'll give my opinion. I think given this scenario, Harbaugh would have gone 17-9 during his stretch probably give a game. Riley I think easily could have matched Harbaugh's 20-6 but I would take a game on his record. But my point is yes Harbaugh has done a good job and is a more successful football coach than Riley, but it's not really fair to say "we started at square one because of our coach, look at Michigan" because I feel like if Riley was given that same roster when he started here the narrative would be completely different

 

[walksalone]

Nebraska: 6 wins

The Cornhuskers fired Bo Pelini after he went 9-4, 10-4, 10-4, 9-4, 10-4, 9-4, and 9-4. So far, Mike Riley has gone 6-7 and 9-4, so 6-6 would represent a serious backslide in one of the Power 5’s weakest divisions, the Big Ten West.

If Riley goes 7-5 this year, which I'm inclined to think this is going to occur, I think his hiring can be considered a failure.

We got exactly what I thought we were going to get, which is an "eh" coach that is nicer than his predecessor.

But it seems like Riley has made good moves to get us heading in the right direction. I like our assistants a lot. Think we have a lot better staff now, than under Pelini. And recruiting is certainly up.

I mention this because I generally think It's easier fix what we have in place rather than to fire the guy and start from scratch. When we reboot we go back to square one for a couple of years while the new coach retools the team to fit his schemes. I was one of the few who didn't want to fire Pelini. And I'd like to see us stick with Riley now that he's here.

=========================

Welcome back, btw.

Our staff may be better, but we've amassed 17 losses in three season.

The recruiting might be better, but unless you have a coach that can utilize that talent, then that's talent wasted.

How many years of, he's a great guy, but he's lost 5+ games is this fan base willing to endure?

 

[Nebfanatic]

Nebraska: 6 wins

The Cornhuskers fired Bo Pelini after he went 9-4, 10-4, 10-4, 9-4, 10-4, 9-4, and 9-4. So far, Mike Riley has gone 6-7 and 9-4, so 6-6 would represent a serious backslide in one of the Power 5s weakest divisions, the Big Ten West.

If Riley goes 7-5 this year, which I'm inclined to think this is going to occur, I think his hiring can be considered a failure.

We got exactly what I thought we were going to get, which is an "eh" coach that is nicer than his predecessor.

But it seems like Riley has made good moves to get us heading in the right direction. I like our assistants a lot. Think we have a lot better staff now, than under Pelini. And recruiting is certainly up.

I mention this because I generally think It's easier fix what we have in place rather than to fire the guy and start from scratch. When we reboot we go back to square one for a couple of years while the new coach retools the team to fit his schemes. I was one of the few who didn't want to fire Pelini. And I'd like to see us stick with Riley now that he's here.

=========================

Welcome back, btw.

Our staff may be better, but we've amassed 17 losses in three season.

We have?

 

[ZRod]

Nebraska: 6 wins

The Cornhuskers fired Bo Pelini after he went 9-4, 10-4, 10-4, 9-4, 10-4, 9-4, and 9-4. So far, Mike Riley has gone 6-7 and 9-4, so 6-6 would represent a serious backslide in one of the Power 5’s weakest divisions, the Big Ten West.

If Riley goes 7-5 this year, which I'm inclined to think this is going to occur, I think his hiring can be considered a failure.

We got exactly what I thought we were going to get, which is an "eh" coach that is nicer than his predecessor.

But it seems like Riley has made good moves to get us heading in the right direction. I like our assistants a lot. Think we have a lot better staff now, than under Pelini. And recruiting is certainly up.

I mention this because I generally think It's easier fix what we have in place rather than to fire the guy and start from scratch. When we reboot we go back to square one for a couple of years while the new coach retools the team to fit his schemes. I was one of the few who didn't want to fire Pelini. And I'd like to see us stick with Riley now that he's here.

=========================

Welcome back, btw.

Our staff may be better, but we've amassed 17 losses in three season.

The recruiting might be better, but unless you have a coach that can utilize that talent, then that's talent wasted.

How many years of, he's a great guy, but he's lost 5+ games is this fan base willing to endure?

couple more.

 

[famoustitles]

Nebraska: 6 wins

The Cornhuskers fired Bo Pelini after he went 9-4, 10-4, 10-4, 9-4, 10-4, 9-4, and 9-4. So far, Mike Riley has gone 6-7 and 9-4, so 6-6 would represent a serious backslide in one of the Power 5s weakest divisions, the Big Ten West.

If Riley goes 7-5 this year, which I'm inclined to think this is going to occur, I think his hiring can be considered a failure.

We got exactly what I thought we were going to get, which is an "eh" coach that is nicer than his predecessor.

But it seems like Riley has made good moves to get us heading in the right direction. I like our assistants a lot. Think we have a lot better staff now, than under Pelini. And recruiting is certainly up.

I mention this because I generally think It's easier fix what we have in place rather than to fire the guy and start from scratch. When we reboot we go back to square one for a couple of years while the new coach retools the team to fit his schemes. I was one of the few who didn't want to fire Pelini. And I'd like to see us stick with Riley now that he's here.

=========================

Welcome back, btw.

Our staff may be better, but we've amassed 17 losses in three season.

We have?

Probably a rounding error

 

[teachercd]

What exactly has Michigan done since Harbaughs arrival? I'm gonna say not much if we consider he inherited a loaded roster compared to what Riley inherited.

Better...that is what he has done. That is what we want from Riley too...Better

 

[Mavric]

As to the "Harbaugh has all the talent" argument, yes that's true.

But all you have do do is look at recent history for Michigan, Texas, Tennessee, etc. to know that it's not just about talent.

 

[Saunders]

What exactly has Michigan done since Harbaughs arrival? I'm gonna say not much if we consider he inherited a loaded roster compared to what Riley inherited.

Finish ranked in the polls. Be in the hunt for a conference title at the end of November. Be nationally relevant.

 

[Saunders]

Nebraska: 6 wins

The Cornhuskers fired Bo Pelini after he went 9-4, 10-4, 10-4, 9-4, 10-4, 9-4, and 9-4. So far, Mike Riley has gone 6-7 and 9-4, so 6-6 would represent a serious backslide in one of the Power 5’s weakest divisions, the Big Ten West.

If Riley goes 7-5 this year, which I'm inclined to think this is going to occur, I think his hiring can be considered a failure.

We got exactly what I thought we were going to get, which is an "eh" coach that is nicer than his predecessor.

But it seems like Riley has made good moves to get us heading in the right direction. I like our assistants a lot. Think we have a lot better staff now, than under Pelini. And recruiting is certainly up.

I mention this because I generally think It's easier fix what we have in place rather than to fire the guy and start from scratch. When we reboot we go back to square one for a couple of years while the new coach retools the team to fit his schemes. I was one of the few who didn't want to fire Pelini. And I'd like to see us stick with Riley now that he's here.

=========================

Welcome back, btw.

Our staff may be better, but we've amassed 17 losses in three season.

The recruiting might be better, but unless you have a coach that can utilize that talent, then that's talent wasted.

How many years of, he's a great guy, but he's lost 5+ games is this fan base willing to endure?

The current staff (well, most of them) are 15-11. Hopefully this year is a breakthrough.

 

[Nebfanatic]

As to the "Harbaugh has all the talent" argument, yes that's true.

But all you have do do is look at recent history for Michigan, Texas, Tennessee, etc. to know that it's not just about talent.

Yes but my point is more Nebraska wasn't really in the same boat as those schools. Those schools have had elite talent and underperformed on the field. Nebraska had slightly above average talent at best. Harbaugh I think got the Michigan guys to play to their potential. He is a great coach and that is a key ingredient. He brings it all together. But I just think if you were to give Riley the same situation as Harbaugh he would perform closer to Harbaugh than Hoke imo. These are the points I was trying to draw from my statements.
I say this if only for the simple fact that Michigan's roster in 2015 would have been much better suited for Riley's dream schemes.

 

[Mavric]

That's possible. It's also possible that I could have taken the talent Michigan had last year and gone 10-3. It doesn't really matter because it's not what happened.

His last three college teams have finished the year ranked in the Top 12 and he had a stint as an NFL head coach where he took two teams to the Conference championship game and a third to the Super Bowl. To try to discredit his accomplishments as "well, he's just got a lot of talent" is disingenuous at best.

 

[Nebfanatic]

That's possible. It's also possible that I could have taken the talent Michigan had last year and gone 10-3. It doesn't really matter because it's not happening.

His last three college teams have finished the year ranked in the Top 12 and he had a stint as an NFL head coach where he took two teams to the Conference championship game and a third to the Super Bowl. To try to discredit his accomplishments as "well, he's just got a lot of talent" is disingenuous at best.

that's not what I'm saying and you know it. Harbaugh was brought into this conversation in the first place to frame Riley's first year as terrible. I'm simply pointing out that isn't a fair comparison.

 

[Mavric]

That's possible. It's also possible that I could have taken the talent Michigan had last year and gone 10-3. It doesn't really matter because it's not happening.

His last three college teams have finished the year ranked in the Top 12 and he had a stint as an NFL head coach where he took two teams to the Conference championship game and a third to the Super Bowl. To try to discredit his accomplishments as "well, he's just got a lot of talent" is disingenuous at best.

that's not what I'm saying and you know it. Harbaugh was brought into this conversation in the first place to frame Riley's first year as terrible. I'm simply pointing out that isn't a fair comparison.

What exactly has Michigan done since Harbaughs arrival? I'm gonna say not much if we consider he inherited a loaded roster compared to what Riley inherited.

 

[Nebfanatic]

That's possible. It's also possible that I could have taken the talent Michigan had last year and gone 10-3. It doesn't really matter because it's not happening.

His last three college teams have finished the year ranked in the Top 12 and he had a stint as an NFL head coach where he took two teams to the Conference championship game and a third to the Super Bowl. To try to discredit his accomplishments as "well, he's just got a lot of talent" is disingenuous at best.

that's not what I'm saying and you know it. Harbaugh was brought into this conversation in the first place to frame Riley's first year as terrible. I'm simply pointing out that isn't a fair comparison.

What exactly has Michigan done since Harbaughs arrival? I'm gonna say not much if we consider he inherited a loaded roster compared to what Riley inherited.

hasn't won the division, hasn't beaten OSU, hasn't won a NY6 bowl. Yes they have been ranked highly he has them headed in the right direction but he started with a team with top 15 talent and made them a top 12 team. I'm over here arguing our coach could do similar things because I think we have a good coach! Wow what a revelation! I think Harbaugh wouldn't have done as well with our less talented roster! Woah!!! That's surprising!! I admitted I thought he would fair slightly better than Riley did. I get it, you don't think Riley is a good coach and you think that me comparing Riley anywhere near Harbaugh is an insult to Harbaugh. I am sorry if I offended you. Personally I think Riley is nearly just as good of a coach as Harbaugh. Time shall tell. We will see who wins the things that matter. Luckily for you I am a rational optimist so you can expect me to join your side of the fence if we see another year of mediocrity. But I am just convinced that is not what we will see this year.

 

[VectorVictor]

Michigan recruiting rankings under Hoke:

2011: #21 (20 commitments)

2012: #7 (25 commitments)

2013 #5 (27 commitments)

2014 #31 (16 commitments)

Say what you will about Hoke as a coach. But the guy brought in tons of talent that Harbaugh has benefited from. Two top 10 classes in his four years as HC. And Harbaugh has kept it up. Other than his transition year in 2015, he's done a heck of a good job bringing in talent.

So Mike Riley is perhaps our Hoke (who had to rebuild after Lloyd Carr and Rich Rodriguez messed the Michigan program up) while Scott Frost is our Harbaugh?