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2012 Coach Wish list

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2012 Coach Wish list

Ok I am pretty sure this is Howard's last year so I am creating my coaching wish list.

1. Mike Leach  I am not a huge spread fan but i think he is prefect for FAU. He is currently living in Key West. He would fit our FAU beach theme.  Leach did great things at Texas Tech, which is not a premiere school in Texas. Leach is a hot coaching commodity but many BCS schools will not look at him because of his baggage ( for the recored I think Leach got Shafted by Texas Tech) this is a chance for FAU to get a great coach they normally would not have a shot at. Read this Washington Post Article on Leach

Mike Leach lives in Key West, hoping to coach again - The Washington Post

2. Rich Rodriguez- Ok this one sounds kinda crazy but it is my list. The big ten (or 12?) flat out did not work for him. He is a great recruiter of the South Florida area, just look at some of his classes when he was at West Virgina. Not Much Reason he would come to FAU but there is no reason why he would not be really successful here.

3. Manny Diaz Texas D-Coordinator- Son of former Miami Mayor has coached at FSU and Middle Tennessee. He's going to be a hot coach, but no reason we couldn't lure him down here. Think last year he was just at Mississippi State.

4. Mark Richt- Has been on the hot seat for awhile now at UGA and another avgerage season will have him looking for a job. I see no reason why UGA has great season this year. We all know Richt has Boca connections  and could be a good fit if looking a for a job.

5. Jarred Allen- I understand Allen is very young and is not ready to be a head coach yet, but if there is one guy I think we should hire from within it would have to be Allen. He is on this list simply because I think Allen will be a great college football coach someday.
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Re: 2012 Coach Wish list

I haven't really thought about many other coaches because the only person I'd feel confident in that would turn our program around would be Leach. I too think he was shafted at TT and he seemed to run a pretty clean program, I'm not sure but he probably had his players doing well in school and he had a winning season every year I think. Competing in the Big 12 year in and year out is quite the accomplishment. He loves south Florida so in my mind he's a perfect fit.

Alot of people will say "He's not going to come here because we can't offer him the $." My argument to that is that he doesn't need the money. I highly doubt he's strapped for cash. The guy just wants to get back into coaching, he's applied to like, every open position available! Also, to those who say he's just gunna leave after a couple years of success…who wouldn't?! There isn't one YOUNG coach in America that would stay here if one of the big boys came asking. If we have a lot of success and make it to bigger bowl games and maybe have an undefeated season, maybe Leach would stay longer. Our biggest selling point for him is that when he wants to go home, he can hop into his boat, head on out of the Boca inlet and sail on down to the keys. He can't get that any other place. I think this could be a real possibility just because he may be desperate. Just like Howard and Jarvis, they wanted to get back into coaching and we just so happened to have a vacancy.
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Re: 2012 Coach Wish list

If you read the article on Leach You will see he ran a very clean program and Graduated a high rate of players.
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Re: 2012 Coach Wish list

Besides the ones you mentioned…

Randy Shannon
Aubrey Hill- WR Coach UF
Billy Gonzalez- WR/Passing Game coordinator LSU

I think Leach would be the dream hire, Allen would make alot of sense, and I would be very pleased with.
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Re: 2012 Coach Wish list

Leach is not a good choice (as I have stated b4).  Not because of ability.  He is embroiled in a lawsuit against ESPN.  ESPN and ABC (owned by the same company) are major power players in college football.  Everyone states the one thing we have going for us is that we are in a great TV market.  Why in the world would we want to screw up the one thing that may help us get to the next level one day?

As far as Leach just wanting a job and doesn't care about the money…seriously?  Who says?  If the argument is that he has applied for every available job–then why hasn't he been given one of them or even mentioned as a top candidate?

I did go by campus the other day and there was a line out the door of great coaches dying to get into FAU to coach for nothing so we should be good.

I personally would like to see Howard stay 2 more seasons and see what kind of revenue the stadium can generate and then go after the next great FAU coach once we know what the budget will look like.  It is difficult to go shopping without knowing how much money you have in your wallet.
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Re: 2012 Coach Wish list

He probably hasn't been hired for the exact reason you mentioned..because schools are afraid of ESPN, which in my mind doesn't matter. We barely ever make it on ESPN anyway, and if we do, we are getting hammered by MSU. I think he would get us consistently in bowl games and then ESPN would have no choice but to show us! And remember, this is America, winning solves everything. If Leach comes in and does a bang up job and we knock off a couple big programs, there's no way ESPN is going to ignore it.

BTW- I think we are YEARS away from the "next level."

I'm sure there are some young coordinators out there that would be great coaches for us, but in my mind, we need to put butts in seats for the next few years and a big name coach that has won consistently will do that for us, even if he leaves after 3 years. People have commented on Ted's blog saying that they follow Leach everywhere and would become season ticket holders JUST because of Leach. The guy has more friends than enemies..he just so happens to have the biggest enemy in all of sports in ESPN,lol
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Re: 2012 Coach Wish list

I dont mind Leach but that lawsuit is not a good thing.  Being enimies of ABC and ESPN seems like a death sentence.

If we hired Rich Rod (will never happen) I will become an FIU fan.

I love the thought of Jared Allen.  Would be comforting to know a guy that truly cares about the University and program is in charge.  He would need to have some great recruitors to assist him though…being from Edmund, OK doesn't help his cause.

Teambeer is the most knowledgeable FAU sports fan I know, way smarter than me.
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Re: 2012 Coach Wish list

walty12 said

I dont mind Leach but that lawsuit is not a good thing.  Being enimies of ABC and ESPN seems like a death sentence.

If we hired Rich Rod (will never happen) I will become an FIU fan.

I love the thought of Jared Allen.  Would be comforting to know a guy that truly cares about the University and program is in charge.  He would need to have some great recruitors to assist him though…being from Edmund, OK doesn't help his cause.

Ya, seriously, the guy couldn't win getting some of the best talent in the country, how's he going to win with Sunbelt talent? This is also why I don't want Randy Shannon. I like him, he runs a clean program and truly cares about his players and their education, but he could never take Miami to that next level. Maybe he'd do well here, but maybe not.


This will be my last little tidbit and then I'll be done since this is my 3rd post already,lol. I am so adamant about hiring Leach because 1. He runs a clean program 2. He wins.  and finally and probably most important, his name alone will help sell tickets for our new stadium. If we continue losing then we are going to have to live with an empty stadium for a long time. We want the excitement over the stadium to continue. And the ONLY way to do that is to win and win consistently. I'd rather have Leach come in and get us a few winning seasons in a row and then leave than have an offensive line coach from somplace who has no head coaching experience.

BTW- I totally like the idea of Jared Allen. I just don't think he has enough coaching experience yet. Let's give him a call in 10 years after he's been a QB coach and O-coordinator for another school for awhile.
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Re: 2012 Coach Wish list

FAUfasho said

I am so adamant about hiring Leach because 1. He runs a clean program 2. He wins.  and finally and probably most important, his name alone will help sell tickets for our new stadium. If we continue losing then we are going to have to live with an empty stadium for a long time. We want the excitement over the stadium to continue. And the ONLY way to do that is to win and win consistently. I'd rather have Leach come in and get us a few winning seasons in a row and then leave then have an offensive line coach from somplace who has no head coaching experience.

BTW- I totally like the idea of Jared Allen. I just don't think he has enough coaching experience yet. Let's give him a call in 10 years after he's been a QB coach and O-coordinator for another school for awhile.


+1 EXACTLY!!! (maybe even +2)  ;D
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Re: 2012 Coach Wish list

FAUfasho said

and finally and probably most important, his name alone will help sell tickets for our new stadium. If we continue losing then we are going to have to live with an empty stadium for a long time.

Don't look now, but Howard Schnellenberger has a bigger name (and longer) in college football in the state than does Mike Leach.

The losing has a lot to do with the lack of talent caused by playing in a High School stadium.  I could out recruit both Howard and Leach if they had Lockhart and I had the new on campus stadium.  Whomever is the coach after Howard will have it 1000 times easier–and it will still never be easy…just easier.  Urban Meyer would struggle to recruit with the situation we had the past 10 years.
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