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Mark Dantonio

SLOHusker

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Aug 7, 2001
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I feel that NU cannot afford to F up this hire so it needs to be as close to a sure thing as possible (the program is now being talked of as 'dead' nationally). That means former coaches with a track record of success in the Big 10. Dantonio was great coach at Michigan St that inherited a lot of garbage around him. At 65 he's older but I doubt he's done coaching.
 
I feel that NU cannot afford to F up this hire so it needs to be as close to a sure thing as possible (the program is now being talked of as 'dead' nationally). That means former coaches with a track record of success in the Big 10. Dantonio was great coach at Michigan St that inherited a lot of garbage around him. At 65 he's older but I doubt he's done coaching.
No. Some of you guys set the bar way too low
 
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No. Some of you guys set the bar way too low
And some of you think way too highly of the attractiveness of this job. If Frost is let go, then even the golden child homegrown guy couldn't turn it around. No established coach is taking that job. It will be a 48-55 year old with head coaching experience at a FCS or G5 program or a young 35-45 year old coordinator, thinking I can do what Stoops did at Oklahoma.
 
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dantonio is more of a defensive coach, we seem to be good there, maybe he could coach special teams?
the big focus should be qb coach, then maybe o-line coach
if solich wanted a partime job to stay busy maybe he could be the rb coach
 
And some of you think way too highly of the attractiveness of this job. If Frost is let go, then even the golden child homegrown guy couldn't turn it around. No established coach is taking that job. It will be a 48-55 year old with head coaching experience at a FCS or G5 program or a young 35-45 year old coordinator, thinking I can do what Stoops did at Oklahoma.
If Frost doesn't cut it here I'm sure other coaches would see that as Frost being the issue, not Nebraska.

It's not like Nebraska is going to fire Frost, ever, for winning only 9 games per year.
 
If Frost doesn't cut it here I'm sure other coaches would see that as Frost being thr issue, not Nebraska.

It's not like Nebraska is going to fire Frost, ever, for winning only 9 games per year.
I know, look at all the big name head coaches that lined up for the job the last 4 times it was open. Outside of Frost, an alum, no hot current head coaches were even interviewed.

Like it or not the job is a career killer for HC. Solich - MAC lifer, Pelini - out of football - Callahan - NFL Oline coach - Riley - out of football.
 
I know, look at all the big name head coaches that lined up for the job the last 4 times it was open. Outside of Frost, an alum, no hot current head coaches were even interviewed.

Like it or not the job is a career killer for HC. Solich - MAC lifer, Pelini - out of football - Callahan - NFL Oline coach - Riley - out of football.
Hard to line up when you're not even being asked.

Osborne: Interviewed only Pelini, Gill and maybe that guy from Wake Forest.

Eichorst: No idea who he all interviewed, but I have a hard believing it was any big name head coach.

Moos: We all know he only looked (was told to look) at Frost. No one else.

Only one that sort of fits the bill is Pederson & I believe he only looked at Wannstedt until Wannstedt surprised Pederson by saying no. Then he had no choice than to look at other coaches.

With all of that it's hard to blame the Nebraska job itself for not attracting big name head coaches. That's on the AD.
 
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Hard to line up when you're not even being asked.

Osborne: Interviewed only Pelini, Gill and maybe that guy from Wake Forest.

Eichorst: No idea who he all interviewed, but I have a hard believing it was any big name head coach.

Moos: We all know he only looked (was told to look) at Frost. No one else.

Only one that sort of fits the bill is Pederson & I believe he only looked at Wannstedt until Wannstedt surprised Pederson by saying no. Then he had no choice than to look at other coaches.

With all of that it's hard to blame the Nebraska job itself for not attracting big name head coaches. That's on the AD.
You forgot had Pedy had Houston Nutt on a plane..
 
Hard to line up when you're not even being asked.

Osborne: Interviewed only Pelini, Gill and maybe that guy from Wake Forest.

Eichorst: No idea who he all interviewed, but I have a hard believing it was any big name head coach.

Moos: We all know he only looked (was told to look) at Frost. No one else.

Only one that sort of fits the bill is Pederson & I believe he only looked at Wannstedt until Wannstedt surprised Pederson by saying no. Then he had no choice than to look at other coaches.

With all of that it's hard to blame the Nebraska job itself for not attracting big name head coaches. That's on the AD.
So you’re saying if (insert current stud HC here) had called Osborne, Pederson, or Eichorst and said I want to talk about your job, they would have said no? Puuuuuulease
 
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So you’re saying if (insert current stud HC here) had called Osborne, Pederson, or Eichorst and said I want to talk about your job, they would have said no? Puuuuuulease
Somehow Texas still gets "name" guys to look at their job when they cycle every few years, but they haven't getting their first choice for a while now. I think you're right that our fans might be disappointed with anybody we could land. One thing I heard from a former NFL player on the radio a few weeks ago was a comment on why NFL coaches get recycled. His point was that that happens because there just aren't that many guys how can do the job. He said, OCs and DCs get rehired because there are so few guys who have proven that they can first coach and develop at a high level and THEN all plays on game days.

I think you're correct that our only options would end up being a coordinator from a successful program or a younger up and comer. We wouldn't get an established coordinator from Clemson or somebody like that, There would be likely be better jobs to get than NU for guys like that.
 
And some of you think way too highly of the attractiveness of this job. If Frost is let go, then even the golden child homegrown guy couldn't turn it around. No established coach is taking that job. It will be a 48-55 year old with head coaching experience at a FCS or G5 program or a young 35-45 year old coordinator, thinking I can do what Stoops did at Oklahoma.
Baloney. A great coach can easily size up where Frost came up short and would love the opportunity to elevate this team. It's not an easy task and definitely not easy to choose the right guy. There are many intangibles that fans overlook when picking a coach. But he is out there. I'm leaning toward a guy in his fifties who is a proven program builder. Take that skill set and combine it with some serious resources and get high level recruits in here that can be developed.
 
Pedy was desperate after Wannstedt turned him down and Houston Nutt was only looking in order to get a pay raise from Arkansas.
That’s more likely true but it’s a fact that he made contact trying to hiring him..
 
Those of you hoping for an Urban Meyer/Bob Stoops type hire had better prepare yourselves for disappointment. If Texas can't successfully lure coaches like that, then Nebraska sure as hell can't.

If Frost is fired, the next coach will be some FCS coach or FBS coordinator you've never heard of, or somebody with Nebraska ties. On paper it is not going to look like a home run hire. Nebraska is geographically as far away from recruiting hotbeds as you can get. It will never be a top destination for the hottest coaches. Ever.
 
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Dantonio as D coordinator, Art Briles as O Coordinator, Freeze as head coach (to get the recruits). Probably get a few good years before we get hit with violations ;)
Dantonio's program was a complete mess when he was fired. I'm not sure why in God's name we would want him at Nebraska. IF it was to be a DC, it would probably be a step down from Chin. People need to chill. At this point if anything happens I expect it would be for us to "adjust" our assistants especially on offense. With all of the speculation about Frost unfortunately I could see schools trying to cherry pick some of our defensive staff. Hopefully that doesn't happen. FSU and MIami are going to have openings.
 
Baloney. A great coach can easily size up where Frost came up short and would love the opportunity to elevate this team. It's not an easy task and definitely not easy to choose the right guy. There are many intangibles that fans overlook when picking a coach. But he is out there. I'm leaning toward a guy in his fifties who is a proven program builder. Take that skill set and combine it with some serious resources and get high level recruits in here that can be developed.
History shows otherwise.
 
I know, look at all the big name head coaches that lined up for the job the last 4 times it was open. Outside of Frost, an alum, no hot current head coaches were even interviewed.

Like it or not the job is a career killer for HC. Solich - MAC lifer, Pelini - out of football - Callahan - NFL Oline coach - Riley - out of football.
I could be a function of not offering enough $ to attrack a big name coach. The only time we were willing to pay up for a big name coach was with Frost. We have to think big and go after a big name coach and be willing to pay competitively for it.
 
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I could be a function of not offering enough $ to attrack a big name coach. The only time we were willing to pay up for a big name coach was with Frost. We have to think big and go after a big name coach and be willing to pay competitively for it.
What big name coach and how much are you going to chip in to pay the salary? It isn't happening. Any new hire would be exactly as Tuco suggests. Malzahn would probably take it but I don't think Husker fans would be too excited by another UCF coach who has been fired multiple times. I can't even imagine what it would take to hire Matt Campbell. He's got a huge buyout and he ain't leaving for 5 million+ at Nebraska. Then there's the fact that he's failed to beat Iowa. Nope. We're looking at either retaining Frost with some staff adjustment or hiring a young head coach from a lower tier program.
 
What big name coach and how much are you going to chip in to pay the salary? It isn't happening. Any new hire would be exactly as Tuco suggests. Malzahn would probably take it but I don't think Husker fans would be too excited by another UCF coach who has been fired multiple times. I can't even imagine what it would take to hire Matt Campbell. He's got a huge buyout and he ain't leaving for 5 million+ at Nebraska. Then there's the fact that he's failed to beat Iowa. Nope. We're looking at either retaining Frost with some staff adjustment or hiring a young head coach from a lower tier program.
This is the reason we are in this mess, thinking small. We need to at least try to open up the checkbook and see what happens. Based on your thinking,, Nebraska will never be relevant again.
 
This is the reason we are in this mess, thinking small. We need to at least try to open up the checkbook and see what happens. Based on your thinking,, Nebraska will never be relevant again.
LOL. Thinking small? We hired the hottest young coach in college football after winning the battle for his services over CFB powers and we paid him $5 Million per year. Small my ass. If it doesn't work out it wasn't because we "thought small". How has "thinking big" worked out for Texass or Michigan? It looks like sticking with Harbaugh after the disaster they had may finally be working out with Michigan. Texass? They're doomed to continue to fail. The same goes for USC.
 
So you’re saying if (insert current stud HC here) had called Osborne, Pederson, or Eichorst and said I want to talk about your job, they would have said no? Puuuuuulease
Do big name head coaches even do that?

Saban called Alabama, Harbaugh called Michigan, Urban called Ohio St, Dan Mullen called Florida, Chip Kelly called UCLA, etc, etc??? No, those schools contacted those coaches.

What you're asserting (big name coaches call other schools) rarely, if ever, happens.
 
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LOL. Thinking small? We hired the hottest young coach in college football after winning the battle for his services over CFB powers and we paid him $5 Million per year. Small my ass. If it doesn't work out it wasn't because we "thought small". How has "thinking big" worked out for Texass or Michigan? It looks like sticking with Harbaugh after the disaster they had may finally be working out with Michigan. Texass? They're doomed to continue to fail. The same goes for USC.
So because thinking big hasn't worked out for those 3 schools (I wouldn't count Harbaugh/Michigan as not working out) means we shouldn't try thinking big.

How about the schools where thinking big or continuing to think big did work out? Do we just ignore those examples?
 
Do big name head coaches even do that?

Saban called Alabama, Harbaugh called Michigan, Urban called Ohio St, Dan Mullen called Florida, Chip Kelly called UCLA, etc, etc??? No, those schools contacted those coaches.

What you're asserting (big name coaches call other schools) rarely, if ever, happens.
If you don’t think coaches have their agents put out feelers your naive. Michigan knew Harbaugh was interested. Ohio St knew Meyer was interested etc.

right now, agents are contacting Bohn at USC letting him know if their client has interest in that job. He is also reaching out to the people on his list.

coaching searches are not one sided affairs.
 
If you don’t think coaches have their agents put out feelers your naive. Michigan knew Harbaugh was interested. Ohio St knew Meyer was interested etc.

right now, agents are contacting Bohn at USC letting him know if their client has interest in that job. He is also reaching out to the people on his list.

coaching searches are not one sided affairs.
Never said it was, but Michigan and Ohio St both reached out to Harbaugh & Meyer. Other schools have reached out to other big name head coaches before the head coach (their agents) reached out to said schools.

And we're talking big name coaches. Not just any coach. I think that's important to keep in mind as we're talking about what big name coach Nebraska could/couldn't get.

Which big name coach (coaches agent) has reached out to Bohn?
 
So because thinking big hasn't worked out for those 3 schools (I wouldn't count Harbaugh/Michigan as not working out) means we shouldn't try thinking big.

How about the schools where thinking big or continuing to think big did work out? Do we just ignore those examples?
Think big all you want. I'm sure you thought you would marry Salma Hayak after watching her first movie too... The problem with dreaming big is that it's just a dream. It isn't reality. The guys who make make this fan base happy aren't available. I have not seen as single big name posted on this board that makes any sense. Not one. At least with Hoiberg there was in fact a Nebraska connection and he was in fact AVAILABLE.
 
Think big all you want. I'm sure you thought you would marry Salma Hayak after watching her first movie too... The problem with dreaming big is that it's just a dream. It isn't reality. The guys who make make this fan base happy aren't available. I have not seen as single big name posted on this board that makes any sense. Not one. At least with Hoiberg there was in fact a Nebraska connection and he was in fact AVAILABLE.
Why do people use terrible analogies to try & prove a point?

It honestly doesn't matter what name is thrown out to you Dingle, your mind is already made up. If I throw out a name your 2 responses will be;

1) Lol, he ain't coming here or
2) Not a big name coach.
 
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Why do people use terrible analogies to try & prove a point?

It honestly doesn't matter what name is thrown out to you Dingle, your mind is already made up. If I throw out a name your 2 responses will be;

1) Lol, he ain't coming here or
2) Not a big name coach.
The mantra is to "think big". Get a big name coach blah blah blah. As I've posted before, I'll let Trev make the call and if Frost is gone I'm not going to sweat about it. The pie in the sky talking points of the guys lobbying to fire Frost though are ridiculous. They throw out Campbell and he's never beaten Iowa for crying out loud. Then it's Kleimann or Leipold who haven't proven anything. Now it's Dantonio who left MSU in a shambles. Malzahn's been fired multiple times in the past decade. Not one stinking realistic name who has shown they can win at the P5 level other than Campbell and he isn't moving to Nebraska with his buyout and our salary commitment to Frost and his staff. It would have to be a guy who is currently out of coaching . That leaves Stoops pretty much and it would take OVER 10 Million/year IF he didn't have his current heart problem and IF his kid wasn't playing for OU right now. It ain't happening. So that takes you back to EXACTLY what Tuco said would happen if we canned Frost.
 
The mantra is to "think big". Get a big name coach blah blah blah. As I've posted before, I'll let Trev make the call and if Frost is gone I'm not going to sweat about it. The pie in the sky talking points of the guys lobbying to fire Frost though are ridiculous. They throw out Campbell and he's never beaten Iowa for crying out loud. Then it's Kleimann or Leipold who haven't proven anything. Now it's Dantonio who left MSU in a shambles. Malzahn's been fired multiple times in the past decade. Not one stinking realistic name who has shown they can win at the P5 level other than Campbell and he isn't moving to Nebraska with his buyout and our salary commitment to Frost and his staff. It would have to be a guy who is currently out of coaching . That leaves Stoops pretty much and it would take OVER 10 Million/year IF he didn't have his current heart problem and IF his kid wasn't playing for OU right now. It ain't happening. So that takes you back to EXACTLY what Tuco said would happen if we canned Frost.
Just think if Bama had the same mindset as we do. The excuses would be something like; Saban left a sweet LSU gig to go to the NFL, only been 2 years with the Dolphins, why would he come back to college ball, he's getting paid $4.5M why would he take a pay cut, etc.

Alabama reached out to Saban, paid him a crazy amount at the time and got it done.
 
Just think if Bama had the same mindset as we do. The excuses would be something like; Saban left a sweet LSU gig to go to the NFL, only been 2 years with the Dolphins, why would he come back to college ball, he's getting paid $4.5M why would he take a pay cut, etc.

Alabama reached out to Saban, paid him a crazy amount at the time and got it done.
He left the Dolphins because it wasn't going great for him there. The players hated his guts and management wasn't that happy with him either. He knew that the NFL stands for "not for long" so he took a good gig in a talent hotbed. As I recall that money wasn't all that crazy. Crazy maybe for that time frame but it was 4 million/year for 8 years for a guy who won a title at LSU. That said, name ONE successful NFL head coach we could get this year. Just one.
 
I'd rather have the mindset of going after a big name coach and failing at that then to say "ho hum, why would any big name coach come to Nebraska" then settle on someone who's just okay.

With that being said I think we did try that with Frost. If we fire Frost then we try it again with someone else.
 
He left the Dolphins because it wasn't going great for him there. The players hated his guts and management wasn't that happy with him either. He knew that the NFL stands for "not for long" so he took a good gig in a talent hotbed. As I recall that money wasn't all that crazy. That said, name ONE successful NFL head coach we could get this year. Just one.
But Alabama didn't know that until they reached out to him. That's the point, they went after a big name coach because they had the right mindset.

No, $4M / yr (what Bama paid Saban) was a crazy amount in 2007. Meyer was $3.25M, Stoops was $3.6M & Ferentz was $3M. No one else was over $3M that year.

Pretend you were a Alabama fan back in 2006. Would you be saying "yes, we should go after Nick Saban" or would it be "name ONE successful NFL head coach we could get this year. Just one.".... I'm guessing you'd say the latter in which you would have been wrong.
 
If you don’t think coaches have their agents put out feelers your naive. Michigan knew Harbaugh was interested. Ohio St knew Meyer was interested etc.

right now, agents are contacting Bohn at USC letting him know if their client has interest in that job. He is also reaching out to the people on his list.

coaching searches are not one sided affairs.
Years ago when the ND job was open my principal/defensive coordinator said he was going to apply, just in hopes that he would get a rejection letter with the ND letterhead so that he could frame it...
 
Dantonio's program was a complete mess when he was fired. I'm not sure why in God's name we would want him at Nebraska. IF it was to be a DC, it would probably be a step down from Chin. People need to chill. At this point if anything happens I expect it would be for us to "adjust" our assistants especially on offense. With all of the speculation about Frost unfortunately I could see schools trying to cherry pick some of our defensive staff. Hopefully that doesn't happen. FSU and MIami are going to have openings.
Dantonio was not fired. He stepped down after a couple of tough 7 wins seasons. He accumulated 114 wins, seven 10 win seasons, three Big 10 championships, and 11 wins vs Ohio State and Michigan. I think any Nebraska fan would kill to have that kind of success. Unfortunately it probably won't be happening anytime soon.
 
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