Who should our next HC be?

[Danimal]

He was voted the 2nd most underrated coach in the country in a poll of head coaches the year before we hired him. 

He was underrated for a career .500 coach, big wow. Dude, had one good season out of his last five, look up the records. He was a north-of-60 coach obviously past his prime. Dude was not a hot coaching-search name when we hired him, thus a bunch of fans had to google who he even was. 

 

[VectorVictor]

Let's be honest here--with Wisky in the mix, we're *not* going to get Liepold to Lincoln. 

If Mickey gets the job done (the job being to get this team to a bowl game...or better), he should get the position and we try to keep the current band together to improve (maybe find a full time DC if Busch wants to swing back to being Special Teams coordinator). 

I'm really hoping Mickey knocks this out of the park and not only gets us to a bowl game, but steals one we shouldn't win somewhere. He's doing the right things, saying the right things, he's a great recruiter, *and* he's a former Husker from our halcyon days. How could someone *not* want to root for Mickey to get the job done?*

Honestly, Mickey could potentially be what ScoFro *should* have been if he could have kept his nose out of the co-eds and party scene. 

*Central and Western NE excluded--we know why you're rooting against him. I've already heard it firsthand mixing with folks from GI and parts west. 

 

[TGHusker]

Let's be honest here--with Wisky in the mix, we're *not* going to get Liepold to Lincoln. 

If Mickey gets the job done (the job being to get this team to a bowl game...or better), he should get the position and we try to keep the current band together to improve (maybe find a full time DC if Busch wants to swing back to being Special Teams coordinator). 

I'm really hoping Mickey knocks this out of the park and not only gets us to a bowl game, but steals one we shouldn't win somewhere. He's doing the right things, saying the right things, he's a great recruiter, *and* he's a former Husker from our halcyon days.

Honestly, Mickey could potentially be what ScoFro *should* have been if he could have kept his nose out of the co-eds and party scene. 

Here's an article that discusses your point above highlighted in bold letters.    He gives pluses and minus for him going to each school 

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-football/news/lance-leipold-wisconsin-nebraska-Big-Ten-decision-kansas/bpwewhhndc57dkrewzax3555

Conclusion of the article:


 

Verdict: Leipold to Lincoln


How happy is Leipold at Kansas? The Jayhawks are a ruby-slippers story that has grabbed college football's attention, but that attention span can be short-lived with one or two losses in a cannibalistic Big 12 conference. Leipold has one more move in him, and Wisconsin and Nebraska are the best fits. 

It would be great for the Big Ten to add a coach with that track record of success to the conference. With Leipold, Wisconsin might be able to make that jump to the College Football Playoff time. Nebraska would at least be competitive in a Big Ten West Division where they should be producing on the Bo Pelini scale – which means nine wins every year. Leipold could do that when it feels more like the ceiling over the first few years. 

That is why Wisconsin might be the better fit, but Nebraska is the more logical landing spot for Leipold.

 

[Red Silk Smoking Jacket]

Oh boy.  So, you're only going to be satisfied this year if Joseph wins the conference?  Dude, this team was a mess with already two bad losses under their belts.  Georgia Southern beat us and they are sitting at 5th in their division....in the Sun Belt.  Let that sink in.  Joseph then took over the team with only one week to prepare for a tough rivalry game.  Then, won the next game.  Now, he can try to build on that.  Winning 5 more games would be a massive turnaround for this team and Joseph.

Where did I say I wouldn't be satisfied? It's 4 BTW.

I get so tired of "oh boy have we lowered our expectations".  It's stupid to expect anything else.  Absolutely nobody is saying just making it to a bowl game is the long term goal that the coach needs to strive for.  But, fans have realistic goals for the rest of the season when compared to what the team was when he took over.

Again, being satisfied with making a bowl this year and having that be the bar to hire or not hire MJ as the next head coach are not the same thing.

I would agree that this team has more talent on it than just making it to a bowl game.  But, that's not the only thing affecting the outcome of this season.  5 of our last 7 games are against programs that have beat us regularly recently.  If he turns around and wins 4-5 of those.....that should be looked at as impressive.

It would be looked at as impressive. But, see above.

 

[BigRedBuster]

So, just trying to keep up here...our new bar is a coach that can get a team to a bowl game? So, like 80 coaches will be acceptable?

This is what you said.  The new bar is a coach that can get A team to A bowl game.

That means you think fan's new expectations is A coach that can A team to a bowl game. There isn't anything in this statement claiming anything about this team....where they were when Joseph took over and where fan's long term expectations are.  

You just stated that you think fan's expectations are just any coach that can get any team to a bowl game.

Now, your back peddling on that?

Where did I say I wouldn't be satisfied? It's 4 BTW.

Well....you wouldn't be happy with just making it to a bowl for Joseph.....so, then what's the next step that you would be happy with?

 

[Danimal]

That very same Mike Ferrell was big on the Riley hire back in 2015, considered it a coup, and was quoted saying he thought Nebraska scored a better hire than Florida did with McElwain. 

You're right that Riley wasn't on lists in 2015 because he had spurned previous offers and it was generally understood he planned to finish out with his hometown team in Corvallis, then trending downward.  

Who said anything about Mike Farrell's dumb a$$? I sure didn't. Fact of the matter is Riley was a hot name his first stint at OSU, he went to the Rams and Ericksen did good things at OSU, Riley came back and started solidly then the last several years were meh. They were 5-7 his last year and overall dude was a career .500 coach. His best years were behind him and I said so at the time too. 

 

[Red Silk Smoking Jacket]

It isn't crazy at all.  Wins are the measuring stick by which all coaches are evaluated.  Last year is a great example imo.  Nebraska was actually a pretty dang good team last year.  It didn't matter in the end that we had a bunch of close losses and looked like the better team against eventual top 10 opponents because at the end of the day, we lost those games.  If MJ can figure out how to win 4 of the next 7 to get us to a bowl game, he deserves a shot to build on that in 2023.    

Why? Because he's already here? If he was coaching anywhere else and won 4 of the next 7 in a similar situation, he wouldn't even be on anyone's radar. I'm not saying I want him or don't want him. Of course, I'll get behind him if he ends up getting the permanent gig. I just think it's absurd of fans, after one sloppy win against a pretty bad Indiana team to be ready to hand him the reins of a blue blood football program as long as he can scrape together 4 more wins. But, knee-jerk, week-to-week reactions from fans is the way these things go I guess.

 

[VectorVictor]

Here's an article that discusses your point above highlighted in bold letters.    He gives pluses and minus for him going to each school 

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-football/news/lance-leipold-wisconsin-nebraska-Big-Ten-decision-kansas/bpwewhhndc57dkrewzax3555

Conclusion of the article:


 

Good article, thanks--I read it before, and while I agree with the writer that this makes more logical sense, these decisions also come down to Id, Ego, and $$. 

Liepold may like the narrative of the Wisky son come home to right the ship. Or Wisky may pay him enough $$ for him to like it. 

And I don't know about the writer's assertion that Nebraska is a rebuild at this point--maybe the O-Line and D-Line, and that's it. And with the transfer portal...  :dunno

 

[Red Silk Smoking Jacket]

This is what you said.  The new bar is a coach that can get A team to A bowl game.

That means you think fan's new expectations is A coach that can A team to a bowl game. There isn't anything in this statement claiming anything about this team....where they were when Joseph took over and where fan's long term expectations are.  

You just stated that you think fan's expectations are just any coach that can get any team to a bowl game.

Now, your back peddling on that?

Well....you wouldn't be happy with just making it to a bowl for Joseph.....so, then what's the next step that you would be happy with?

Honestly, I'd be very happy as a fan just to make it to a bowl this year given the circumstances. That does not mean I'd be happy long term with MJ as our coach. Would be a somewhat similar situation to Luke Fickell and Ohio State in 2011. He did a fine job patching that season together as an interim and guess what...he even took them to a bowl. Ohio State was smart enough to know that didn't just automatically qualify him to get the full time gig going forward as there were other, much more qualified options out there and tOSU had a higher bar than "just get us to a bowl and you're our guy"

(and yes I know Ohio State wasn't in as bad a shape when Fickell took over as Nebraska when Mickey took over)

 

[Mavric]

Let's be honest here--with Wisky in the mix, we're *not* going to get Liepold to Lincoln. 

Sounds like Leonhard will be the next Wiscy coach as long as he doesn't really screw stuff up.

 

[JJ Husker]

There’s a whole bunch of extra credit to be had for Mickey if he gets THIS team under THESE circumstances to a bowl game, especially considering our recent history. It’s not as simple as any other coach eeking out a bowl berth being qualified. It would be a much larger feat and accomplishment doing it with this current Nebraska team. IMO it definitely would qualify him for the job.

 

[Undone]

He's doing the right things, saying the right things, he's a great recruiter, *and* he's a former Husker from our halcyon days. How could someone *not* want to root for Mickey to get the job done?*

Yeah, he's a great guy and it seems to me he knows how to be a leader. He seems like he has a really good mix of loving the players but also being tough when needed. Not saying Frost didn't have that.

The setup I'd fear is that he'd bring in his brother or cousin as DC and if it didn't work would have trouble firing the guy.

One scenario that could maybe work out really well in a "have your cake & eat it too" thing would be if Trev helps pick his coordinators. 

 

[Ulty]

Would be a somewhat similar situation to Luke Fickell and Ohio State in 2011. He did a fine job patching that season together as an interim and guess what...he even took them to a bowl. Ohio State was smart enough to know that didn't just automatically qualify him to get the full time gig going forward as there were other, much more qualified options out there and tOSU had a higher bar than "just get us to a bowl and you're our guy"

(and yes I know Ohio State wasn't in as bad a shape when Fickell took over as Nebraska when Mickey took over)

Comparing Luke Fickell in 2011? To quote Pulp Fiction, it ain't the same f**king ballpark. Fickell took over a 12 win team and took the reigns in the offseason with time to prepare. He then went 6-7. It was damn clear at the time that he was not permanent head coach material for OSU. OSU's 6-7 record that year was not a great achievement.

Mickey took over a dumpster fire that was already terrible and still trending downward, in the middle of the season, and has already shown improvement. If Mickey were to guide this team to bowl eligibility now after the crap that we have seen, to quote Pulp Fiction again, "What happened here was a miracle, and I want you to f**king acknowledge it."

 

[The Scarlet Pimpernel]

Maybe not over half the coaches, but with our roster and schedule, a large portion of them absolutely would. Or are we not allowed to use the same arguments as to why Frost was under-achieving to point out how ridiculously low that expectation is? I know I'm being extreme for affect, but winning 4 of the next 7 isn't exactly lighting the world on fire. And I also don't think that not winning 4 of the next 7 necessarily makes MJ disqualified as a candidate. I just think it's crazy to say, if he gets us to a bowl, he should be our coach...or if he doesn't, he shouldn't be our coach.

All I know is that if we make a bowl, Trev will be under extreme pressure to give Mickey the job. That said, I'd like to think that Trev already has "his guy" picked out and has a deal already in place. Retaining MJ and giving him an increased salary as an incentive to stay would be great. If Mickey goes, a lot (if not all) of the guys he recruited are going to follow him. We'd also lose Omarion Miller, who's having a breakout year here in Louisiana.

 

[Mavric]

All I know is that if we make a bowl, Trev will be under extreme pressure to give Mickey the job. That said, I'd like to think that Trev already has "his guy" picked out and has a deal already in place. Retaining MJ and giving him an increased salary as an incentive to stay would be great. If Mickey goes, a lot (if not all) of the guys he recruited are going to follow him. We'd also lose Omarion Miller, who's having a breakout year here in Louisiana.

It would be pretty stupid to hire a search firm if he's already got his guy picked out.