Huskers Hire Billy Devaney as Executive Director of Player Personnel

I would imagine it is a good hire but I would also imagine it will not help at all with winning more games...so I care about as much as I do about the guy that books the rooms for away games...

 
teachercd said:
I would imagine it is a good hire but I would also imagine it will not help at all with winning more games...so I care about as much as I do about the guy that books the rooms for away games...
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Didn't George Costanza have that job for the New York Yankees?

 
teachercd said:
I would imagine it is a good hire but I would also imagine it will not help at all with winning more games...so I care about as much as I do about the guy that books the rooms for away games...
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Wouldn't any GOOD hire add to the chance of winning more games!!!!

 
I have no strong feelings one way or another about this hire. It's been noted that he has an "NFL pedigree" and also noted that such pedigree is blemished by some epic fails (though those anecdotes may not paint the whole picture).

What I will say is that a guy like this taking over management of the college football roster is a bit disturbing to me. I've heard a lot of chatter about how (similar to BC), Riley doesn't really like the big rosters and would prefer to run a college team similar to how NFL teams are run in terms of roster and practice organization. This move indicates that's probably true.

In my opinion, that's a poor strategy at a program like Nebraska. It failed for Callahan (and took several years to rebuild under Bo). Maybe it won't fail under Riley this time around, but I don't see a lot of evidence that supports a "streamlined roster and practice numbers approach" reaps dividends.

Sort of surprised that a glorified personal assistant is making $300k in Lincoln. Not bad scratch there. I wonder how that compares to DOPPs at NU previously and other DOPPs around the nation.

 
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Well who knows I guess but to me it would seem this hire is to bring in another very experienced set of eyes and evaluator of talent and help in finding more of the same. Anything we can do to locate, evaluate and recruit better football players and student athletes is exactly what almost everyone would agree is critical to raising the Husker football program back to the elite level we all desire. He surely has literally hundreds or even thousands of good contacts with coaches and other insiders in the college and even high school football realm all across the country. He has spent many years in critical football regions of northern and southern California and St Louis and Georgia and perhaps elsewhere. No doubt he has rubbed elbows with many of the football professions best. He may help us recruit coaches' sons and nephews and etc from all over the country. Why not view that as a very worthy asset to possess on the staff. Right now we need every quality coach, staffer, administrator, evaluator, recruiter, friend and 'who's who' of football we can possibly afford and bring in within the NCAA rulebook.

 
cm husker said:
I have no strong feelings one way or another about this hire.

What I will say is that a guy like this taking over management of the college football roster is a bit disturbing to me.
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See, I would argue that "disturbing" is a strong feeling and that everything in your posts suggests you have definitely chosen "one way" over another.

 
"A bit" is an important qualifier. I'm not fired up one way or the other, mainly because I don't know that he'll try to implement "NFL lessons" in performing his new job. Time will tell.

It's not a hugely important position anyway.

 
This is an awesome hire. Nebraska stepping up and becoming a little more like the football operations of other big-time football schools. At the least, it's pretty good pub for such a respected and veteran NFL exec to make a stop here.

It also shows the amount of respect that football people have for both Riley and Nebraska. An incoming recruit signed on in part because an NFL GM who is a family member enthusiastically endorsed Riley. Big inroads in Calabasas because Keyshawn is a former player. Our new DL coach isn't merely a Nebraska alum, but a former Riley player as well. People gravitate towards Mike Riley.

 
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teachercd said:
ColoradoHusk said:
teachercd said:
I would imagine it is a good hire but I would also imagine it will not help at all with winning more games...so I care about as much as I do about the guy that books the rooms for away games...
Click to expand...
Didn't George Costanza have that job for the New York Yankees?
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I think you are correct!
Didn't he also recommend the cotton uniforms?
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Then as long as Devaney isnt found sleeping under his desk during the day we should be good.
 
Devaney will have a big-picture influence as well, said Steve Waterfield, executive associate athletic director for performance and strategic research.


“The plan is for him to see what we have,” said Waterfield, who helps oversee the football program. “Look at the structure — where we’re doing things well, where we can do better — and then see how, organizationally, we can make tweaks, whether it’s changing job duties or focusing job duties in certain areas. We’re looking at where people are structurally.”

Waterfield, in an interview with The World-Herald on Wednesday, stressed that this new position, perhaps one of a kind in college football, was the idea of Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst.

That was a selling point for Devaney. He’s had a long relationship with coach Mike Riley. He has respect for those on the NU staff. And he was impressed by the program-wide environment during a scouting visit to Nebraska in August. All reasons to take the job.

But when your new bosses are the ones who create a position specifically for someone with your skills, that’s an opportunity hard to pass up, Devaney said.
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OWH

 
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That's Ryan Gunderson. Devaney's Executive DPP.


 
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