TonkaSker

2nd Tier of the Big Ten is probably the biggest winner here. Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan State, Michigan, Penn State will frequently represent. Aside from coaching we can be right there alongside. Don't have to get through Ohio State anymore to play a meaningful game in the postseason.

It is but there will be many, many more like it over the next three months.

I don't really hate the idea of Deion for this reason AND he's got a really good support staff around him full of experienced guys. Hard to imagine him outside the ACC/SEC.

Nebraska's got three primary issues that are holding it back right now. I'm not pro-Urban only because the issues wouldn't be solved immediately and he hasn't been in it for the long haul anywhere he's gone. 1. S&C needs a complete overhaul and a 5+-year runway to develop players. I'm not an expert here but that seems to be the consensus among those that are. Urban tried to bring in Chris Doyle at Jax (which would be an A+ hire on paper and a bad hire based on the reaction he got from the players) so he probably has a good sense of what succeeds. His longevity here is a knock against him so I feel like he would be a wash. There are other candidates that would be here to see it through. 2. Recruiting - our classes have been fine but they haven't stayed. Transfers-out have killed depth (see the WRs, OL, and DL). It's easy to portal out of this but recruiting has changed significantly since Urban left OSU and I wonder how he'd be able to handle it. Again, there are guys we could hire that are currently dealing with this at their own programs. There's also the fact that Urban never had to keep his players from transferring to a program with a chance to win a title because he was on the better end of that. At OSU Urban had the luxury of being able to tell kids to go if they wanted. We don't have that. 3. Our coach can't manage a lead. If Frost had the ability to sit on a two score lead late his record would be 21-24 and we'd have gone bowling twice, so he'd possibly be a .500 coach after the UND game. Urban is a great game manager but we have a shot at a dozen others that are too. The question (even if urban is in play, which he's not) is would we want to roll the dice and potentially have to strip it down to the studs when he gets sick of playing in the Guaranteed Rate bowl and wants to return to a contender? Or do we achieve those same results with someone who's willing to commit? Because if Urban can prove himself here there's a high likelihood he dips for greener recruiting pastures as soon as he can wash his reputation.

I’m not a fan of urban but it’s not even worth the comparison. Briles should never be allowed near football again.

Agreed. Top-down this is probably the best shape the program (not the team) has been in since Perlman was hired. COVID put holes in a lot of P5 budgets and Moos did his best to do the same here but we're still on really solid ground as a program.

My gut says Fox is working behind the scenes to generate buzz for his return to their pregame show. Everyone is tuning into either Fox or College Gameday for the first time this weekend and they're trying to win viewership.

Correct. I could see him at ND or Penn State but ND will not open for the forseeable future and Penn State is Matt Rhule's before it's Luke's. Here are Fickell's stops in his career. 1999 Ohio State (GA) 2000–2001 Akron (DL) 2002–2003 Ohio State (ST) 2004 Ohio State (LB) 2005–2010 Ohio State (co-DC/LB) 2011 Ohio State (Interim HC) 2012–2016 Ohio State (co-DC/LB) 2017–present Cincinnati Never once left the state and probably never will. Certainly wouldn't for Nebraska.

The knock on Mullen is that he doesn't recruit. Pass Herman is Frost. I'm fine passing on the entire Urban Meyer tree. Lots of shenanigans Chadwell would be OK but I'd rather someone with a big ten recruiting footprint. He's destined for the UNC job when it opens up. I do like his offense but I think the big ten is the last place that it would work. If we're going option-adjacent I'd rather hire Monken. Fickell won't leave until Ryan Day is coaching in the NFL. In his whole career he's never left the state of Ohio and I don't see Nebraska doing it. Whittingham will retire at Utah.

You're right - they aren't all salary but that's a big piece of it. The last time Aranda had a public salary was when he was the highest-paid assistant coach in the country at LSU (2.5mm) so it definitely speaks to him. We don't know for sure what his Baylor contract looks like but it's estimated at $6m with a large assistant pool. What Aranda has talked about (and why I don't see him leaving unless its an Alabama-tier job) is that he loves the environment he's in and the institutional commitment he receives, so I'll assume he's got a big coordinator pool and they're going to be in the top 20% in football spending at the P5 level. He's seen what LSU is capable of and if he's satisfied it must be a good situation financially. Additionally, Baylor can recruit its backyard (Texas/Louisiana) and has one of the best donor bases in the P5. Campbell's situation is a bit dicier. He was the hot name for years and his shine is wearing off. It's kind of a sh!t or get off the pot deal with him if he wants to move. I really admire the culture he's built at ISU and he's a great developmental coach. I love Heacock, his DC but I could see him staying on as HC there if Campbell dips. Iowa State is a more precarious place to be in the new world order than Baylor because it doesn't have that donor base. I think he leaves soon and he's going to be a target, but he'll be expensive. Probably $7m/6y deal.

I've said this so many times and it drives the point to fire him home. If he was even an AVERAGE coach he would have the longest leash in football. He can't even manage that.

Recruiting is still primarily geographic. If it weren’t maybe the SEC wouldn’t be the SEC. As far as urban’s concerned I'm glad we won’t have to worry about it because the guy is a cancer and Trev would never hire him. He’s not interested in a rebuild for any amount of money. Don’t waste your time on it.

Need a better body of work on Narduzzi before making a judgement. This will be a big year for him since he’s losing Pickett and Whipple. Last year was an outlier until he can prove otherwise. I like his time at MSU as a DC and how well that’s translated. He churns out a ton of NFL talent and has had a pretty hapless program competitive. I don’t like his recent comments in the media. I’ve had enough of that with frost since it obviously doesn’t win any games. He’s got a lot of Pelini in him. I think we can do better.

What makes you think they wouldn't work well together? Is that just your opinion or based on something you actually know?

I think a lot of us have lost sight of the fact that most of the new B1G money is going to be used to subsidize non-football sports and the university itself. Even if it's $20mm more annually after the school takes its slice it will definitely give us a leg up but Baylor is a powerhouse from a booster/donor standpoint. Do not discount the amount of money christian schools like Baylor and Notre Dame bring in outside their TV deals. I'll concede that you absolutely need to call Aranda and make him say no. I'm just pretty confident that he's comfortable where he is based on things I've heard/read.

Aranda's situation isn't the same as he's in a much better spot post-realignment. Baylor is easier to recruit to, has plenty of money via donations, and will be in the hunt annually once Oklahoma is out of the picture. We don't have a realistic shot at him unless they have a bad year or something unforseen. Campbell makes sense and will certainly be tied to the job. Wittingham came in 2nd to Riley but he'd be a perfect fit. Sounds like he's only got a few years left in him at Utah so no shot there. I'm surprised Narduzzi isn't getting any buzz. Pitt is a really hard job and he's done well. This will be a pretty telling year for how he is as a coach but he's a big ten guy. Seems like Pelini 2.0 and we can do better, but I'd like to see him at a major job.

Yeah I agree with you. I could see a situation where a Hafley or Kleiman can establish the program to the point where a blue-chip thinks this is a good opportunity, but they haven't proven it. It's more a sure bet to hire a coach that can make Nebraska the name brand instead of hiring a coach that is. Frankly, our recruiting is the one thing that gives me hope we'll soon be competitive. On paper this should not be a top 25 recruiting program but it is.

Correct, but I was addressing the point that you need to have a top 10 coach in terms of name recognition to recruit competitively. If anything, this proves my point that programs recruit moreso than coaches. When people talk about bringing in a recruiter, its less about bringing in a salesman and more about bringing in a sales operation. That's what coaches learn at Alabama, Penn State, Ohio State, etc. You don't need urban meyer to recruit for us, we just need to invest correctly and win.

Interesting, I had no idea it was that successful. It's obviously not a 1:1 example but when you're up 11 you're taking on a ton of risk you don't need to.

It's like hitting a 19 in blackjack. Common sense will scream at you not to do it, but you could still beat the dealer

Are you forgetting the last two years of the Urban Meyer experience?

I see Fickell leaving but only when Harbaugh or Ryan Day leave. He's done enough to prove himself and his pay is fine. Same goes for Aranda. Edit to add that I just realized he's never coached outside the state of Ohio which makes me even more sure of this. Lol

Who's this unknown commodity? There are plenty of great options this cycle. Feels like a strawman argument to justify bringing in Urban Meyer which is a pipedream anyway. Urban wouldn't be able to bring in a top 10 class consistently even if he were here and could keep it in his pants. It's nebraska and blue chip talent isn't coming. We're a developmental program.

I disagree completely. Ryan Day and Lincoln Riley are two guys that come to mind that had almost no national notoriety before taking on their first big-time head coaching jobs. Both recruit. As for urban, it would probably hurt to try. Guy is completely toxic and he's done coaching anywhere serious after what happened in Jacksonville, where he was sued by players for mistreatment. Sure, people know who he is, but since he left Ohio State it hasn't been for anything good.

This should be a fun thread for the season given that it's likely we'll be in the coaching market. Here's what I think opens up this year: - Auburn: Harsin is either fired or heads back out west. Honestly, he may not be a bad candidate but he's not my first choice. - North Carolina: I think this is Mack's last year as a HC. - Arizona State: Herm is gone this year unless they win 9 games convincingly. They need to hit reset if they want to be on good footing for realignment. - UCLA: The Chip is stale. I think now is the time if they want to hit the ground running in the big ten. - Georgia Tech: Collins is going to be enrolling at Saban Academy. Some that I fear will open up as it will jeopardize our shot at a good hire: - Michigan: Harbaugh and the administration are at an impasse and something will eventually give. He's walking a thin wire and it would be in his best interest to leave before reputational damage. - Penn State: Franklin would absolutely kill it at ASU or UCLA, both of which I consider likely to open. If this opens it's Matt Rhule's. - Florida State: I don't see us having to compete in the same pool for hires but this is a toxic job with bad intangibles. Still a big job and the Bowden tree has lots of branches. - Colorado: I think they give Dorrell another year or two but they occupy the same space as ASU with less the mess. I think a lot of coaches would take this job.