I thought Miles did pretty well at LSU. And LSU is having a tremendous recruiting year. Miles must have rubbed a few people the wrong way. I wouldn't be surprised to see Herman go to LSU. Seems like a good fit.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Former Hawai‘i quarterback and Nevada offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich named Hawai’i head coach.</p>— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) <a href="https://twitter.com/schadjoe/status/670433706012753921">November 28, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
He could very well be just using this for leverage for a raise from FSU. In that case, he has to make it sound like he's considering leaving.
Pretty good hire for Hawaii, considering all of the things that hold them back. Supposedly, the folks conducting the search put an emphasis on getting a coach who really knows the program and the culture of football on the islands, and he fits the bill. He is a link to some of the best years in program history, as he played QB for them under June Jones (succeeding Timmy Chang at the position) and he was an assistant under Greg McMackin. From a stylistic standpoint, I think it will also help the program that he's likely going to install an uptempo offense of some sort, even if it's not the traditional run and shoot that we saw at Hawaii a few years back. Norm Chow's pro style offense was just an odd fit there. Selfishly, I was hoping that they would end up bringing back June Jones, as I was interested in seeing if Jones and Hawaii could recreate the magic of his first tenure, but alas it was not to be.
June Jones seemed to be pretty spent when he left SMU. Anybody college program hiring him would be throwing money down the toilet.
Yeah, perhaps so, but it would have been fun to find out. What he did his first time around with the program was incredible at the time, and it seems ten times more incredible in hindsight. It's one thing to win 7 or 8 games at Hawaii. McMackin did that after taking over for Jones. That guy led them to an undefeated regular season and a BCS bowl.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Illinois agrees to a 2-year deal w/Bill Cubit</p>— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/McMurphyESPN/status/670658805831761921">November 28, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Updated as of 11/28: LSU (placeholder) - USC - Virginia Tech - Miami - South Carolina - Missouri - Maryland - Central Florida - Minnesota - Tracy Claeys Iowa State- Illinois - Bill Cubit Hawaii - Nick Rolovich Syracuse - North Texas - LA Monroe - Fisher to LSU will further shake things up unless they go the NFL route which I doubt. Can't see them going for an up and coming coordinator so look for them to poach from another major program.
Allegedly Fisher told the FSU president he's staying. http://seminolepost.blog.palmbeachp...te-president-he-has-no-intentions-of-leaving/
I actually like Bill Cubit as a coach in a vacuum, and I think he did a great job stabilizing the program after the Beckman debacle, but this seems like a terrible decision. First of all, having a coach on a two-year deal is not going to be great for recruiting. If you are going to bring back Cubit, and that's a big if, of course, you have to give him a four-year deal, or something in that neighborhood, to really give him and the staff a fighting chance on the recruiting trail. Further, while I think Cubit was a great guy to have available to take over on an interim basis, given his experience as a head coach, I think Illinois missed a real opportunity here by keeping him on. There is a bumper crop of successful MAC coaches right now that seem like great candidates for the job, such as Dino Babers of Bowling Green, Matt Campbell of Toledo, P.J. Fleck of Western Michigan, Rod Carey of Northern Illinois, and maybe even Lance Leipold of Buffalo if you really want to think outside the box. Sure, there will be a lot of competition for these guys, particularly once Fuente and Herman either announce that they are staying put or go somewhere else, but I liked their chances of getting one of those guys. To use an admittedly overused cliche, Cubit is probably a solid double in the gap given his experience, the continuity that he provides, and the fact that his son Ryan (who is on staff) appears to be a quality recruiter, but Cubit's not a long-term answer, and they passed up a potential home run with any of those younger MAC coaches.
I forgot to add that this decision reeks of the school more or less deciding to kick the can down the road on hiring a more long-term coach. Right now, the school has an interim AD, and it's my understanding that they also have high-ranking positions in the university administration being held by individuals on an interim basis. It really just seems like they're hoping that Cubit can keep them treading water until they have some permanent administrators in place to make the "real" head coaching hire a couple of years from now.
Edit: Your 2nd post addressed it/beat me to it. I didn't realize the mess Illinois is in. Beckman was in trouble, the AD was in trouble, both were fired but they got a bunch of interim folks running things. 1) Good luck getting anyone in there and 2) 2-year deal seems fair. Not a long term deal and the new folks who come in can decide on the new coach. _______________________ <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Justin Fuente will be new coach at Virginia Tech. Bud Foster & Shane Beamer will remain on Hokies' staff, source told <a href="https://twitter.com/espn">@espn</a></p>— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/McMurphyESPN/status/670684954913828866">November 28, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Sounds like Fuente to VT is all but a done deal at this point. Brett McMurphy tweeted just a few minutes ago that Fuente was going to be named the new head coach, with Bud Foster and Shane Beamer staying on.
I wonder if keeping Foster and Shane Beamer was a prerequisite for taking the job? Foster in particular has proven his worth, so I'm sure that was no real problem for Fuente, but his staff at Memphis can't be thrilled about that.
Yeah, makes you wonder. Frank did want Shane or at least one of the members of his staff to get the permanent job.
One potential litmus test for how willing (or not) programs will be in entering the crowded coaching carousel is Mike London at Virginia. At the end of this season, the Cavaliers will have been to one bowl game in his six seasons, but he's popular among his players and he has recruited reasonably well. I tend to be someone who thinks that college football programs are far too quick to hit the reset button, and even I think that he's probably been given too much rope.
I wonder if Foster assumed he was getting the HC job when he signed the extension and feels slighted at all (TAMU had a deal on the table as DC). If he decides to look... might be fun. UH's new coach in 2017
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Toledo HC Matt Campbell front-runner for Iowa St. job & deal expected in next 48 hours per sources w/ <a href="https://twitter.com/SIPeteThamel">@SIPeteThamel</a>. <a href="https://t.co/lJYAgAnoDZ">https://t.co/lJYAgAnoDZ</a></p>— Thayer Evans (@ThayerEvansSI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThayerEvansSI/status/670702283206868992">November 28, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sources: LSU officials have been in touch with Chip Kelly's representatives to gauge interest.</p>— Mike Ortiz Jr. (@xOrtiz4x) <a href="https://twitter.com/xOrtiz4x/status/670662275271888896">November 28, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Taken at face value, Iowa State is an upgrade over Toledo. He'll get paid more and they're in a Power 5 conference. But it's not that big of an upgrade. Toledo is definitely more of a "have" in the MAC versus a "have not," so this isn't likely a case where he needs to get out before the program takes a dive and takes his stock with it and it's a place where he would continue winning if he sticks around. If he ends up taking this job, I wonder if he'll end up regretting his choice. Outside of Fuente and Herman, there may not be a hotter name in college coaching than his. I find it hard to believe that there wasn't interest in him for some of the better jobs out there (just yesterday, there was a story that he was expected to interview for Mizzou, for example), and at 35, he's going to have plenty more offseasons to go looking for a head coaching job even if he gets passed over this offseason. I'm also left wondering if perhaps this is a smoke and mirrors move for Campbell. Perhaps he and his agent know that ISU would jump at the chance to get him, so they're going to bait them into putting together an official offer so that it becomes leverage for getting a raise at Toledo and/or becomes a starting point for his negotiations with other programs.
