Ranking Big 10 coaches - Bo # 7

[Landlord]

Considering what Fitzgerald and Dantonio has done with their respective programs, I think Bo could be ranked anywhere from 2-4. Hoke did take Michigan to a BCS bowl which is something Pelini has not done but I don't think that puts him above Bo. Any new coach that has not been a HC in one of the "Big" conferences should not be ranked higher.

 

 

5th at worst. An argument could be made for 2nd or 3rd.

 

To date, Hoke has accomplished one thing Bo hasn't; BCS bowl. Definitely an accomplishment, but he's also suffered blowouts, and is yet to win his division. Fitzgerald is good at #2 I believe, but not because he's elite, just because he does the most with the least. Dantonio can't be put over Bo by any logical conclusion, if for no other reason than Bo being undefeated against him and making his team look generally foolish more often than not. Andersen is a wildcard and doesn't have jack for a resume, and O'Brien lost to Bo and also didn't perform as well (sanctions or not) in the one season he's been coaching.

[Count 'Bility]

Who said 7th was generous?

[kchusker_chris]

If we shuffled the B1G, and we could pick any coach we wanted...not considering things like culture etc, I'd take Urban, Fitz, Danotonio, Hoke in that order before I picked Bo. That would be my draft board. After that, and likely even including Hoke (with Mattison he's better than Bo)...I'd say it's very much like recruiting. You've got the top guys that stand out, then the recruits ranked 20-40 in their position are all pretty much the same. Bo's middle of the pack. You can argue whether he's at the top of the middle, or the bottom of the middle...but it doesn't make a whole heck of a lot of difference either way.

[The Dude]

Considering what Fitzgerald and Dantonio has done with their respective programs, I think Bo could be ranked anywhere from 2-4. Hoke did take Michigan to a BCS bowl which is something Pelini has not done but I don't think that puts him above Bo. Any new coach that has not been a HC in one of the "Big" conferences should not be ranked higher.

 

 

5th at worst. An argument could be made for 2nd or 3rd.

 

To date, Hoke has accomplished one thing Bo hasn't; BCS bowl. Definitely an accomplishment, but he's also suffered blowouts, and is yet to win his division. Fitzgerald is good at #2 I believe, but not because he's elite, just because he does the most with the least. Dantonio can't be put over Bo by any logical conclusion, if for no other reason than Bo being undefeated against him and making his team look generally foolish more often than not. Andersen is a wildcard and doesn't have jack for a resume, andO'Brien lost to Bo and also didn't perform as well (sanctions or not) in the one season he's been coaching.

 

Sanctions or not? The myriad of excuses we make for Bo don't begin to scratch the surface of the actual problems O'Brien walked into. And after 5 years of building, Bo has his team on roughly the same level as that gutted Penn State squad. Without that blown call, O'Brien doesn't lose to Bo. Dantonio has a conference title and a couple 11-win seasons under his belt. You have a good point with the head-to-head, but overall Dantonio has done a better job. I agree about Andersen. Too early to say.

[Landlord]

I'd take Bo over any of those guys. Urban and Dantonio are snakes, Fitz is a great guy but it's entirely unknown if he's capable of ever winning anything substantial, and Hoke is just whatever.

 

Bo has proven he can win the games, most of them at least, but way more importantly, has proven he gets Nebraska. This team is his family, these players are his boys, and he's going to turn them into men and make sure they go through here learning respect, integrity and hard work and probably graduating at the same time, all while doing things the right way.

 

That's more valuable than any number in a column or any piece of glass/crystal/wood/metal.

[Saunders]

Kill and Hazell field teams not as prone to as many OL illegal procedure penalties, neither has players with turnover issues like NU, neither have teams that prior to the snap look lost, confused, not aware of their assignments and looking to each other and the sidelines for help as to assignments. Their teams do not have these coaching problems (like NU does). Now... they have lesser players to work with and perform less well than do the Huskers as a result... but not for coaching issues.... but talent issues.

 

The lack of obvious coaching problems at Minnesota and at Purdue relative to the obvious coaching problems at NU make me think that Kill and Hazell are, for their part, at least as good... and likely better than Bo. Neither have the context to recruit like the Huskers do... so that I have left out of the discussion. I simply look at team game preparedness (unresolved continual problems, confusion, turnovers, penalties, losing focus and giving up huge #ers w/o responding in real time to stop the bleeding, etc.) and NU has more problems in that regard than most teams --- and that is, at least largely, a coaching thing.

 

You ask for unbiased... well simply look at the Huskers on the field and you will see many things that the coaches need to fix... the Huskers, as much as I love them and have for 30 years followed them, are of late really undisciplined and have all sorts of fundamental issues to iron out... they do have talent and (at times) play with some real heart.. but there are undeniable coaching issues that transcend those at most places. I do not see those problems as obviously manifest at Minnesote or Purdue (though, admittedly, I have seen each team only several times a year... and so the sample size is small and the assessment anecdotal... but from what I have seen, I have not seen the same level of problems seen at NU).

You have chosen two specific areas, not overall coaching ability. You've also based part of your argument on unquantifiable opinion. I could counter argue with the fact that we've never won less than 9 games under Bo (I know, I know) and that's something only a handful of teams have done during that time frame. He also crafted the best (statistically) defense at Nebraska in like 5 decades. The same type of defense that "looks at each other and the sidelines for help as to assignments." I could also argue that Bo has taken NU to 3 CCG's out of the last 4 years, 2 of which we were severe underdogs. Of course, that argument can be countered with not actually winning one, or the blowouts. Guys like Saban got blown out too when they were learning the ropes and had inferior talent. Kill got blown out by an Iowa team that lost to everybody, and Hazell hasn't even coached a game in the Big Ten.

 

Bo is certainly not the top coach in the Big Ten, but to suggest he's as crappy as your are insinuating is dishonest.

[StPaulHusker]

Considering what Fitzgerald and Dantonio has done with their respective programs, I think Bo could be ranked anywhere from 2-4. Hoke did take Michigan to a BCS bowl which is something Pelini has not done but I don't think that puts him above Bo. Any new coach that has not been a HC in one of the "Big" conferences should not be ranked higher.

 

 

5th at worst. An argument could be made for 2nd or 3rd.

 

To date, Hoke has accomplished one thing Bo hasn't; BCS bowl. Definitely an accomplishment, but he's also suffered blowouts, and is yet to win his division. Fitzgerald is good at #2 I believe, but not because he's elite, just because he does the most with the least. Dantonio can't be put over Bo by any logical conclusion, if for no other reason than Bo being undefeated against him and making his team look generally foolish more often than not. Andersen is a wildcard and doesn't have jack for a resume, and O'Brien lost to Bo and also didn't perform as well (sanctions or not) in the one season he's been coaching.

 

I can agree with you here. I give Dantonio MAYBE a slight edge just because of the history of Michigan St football. Kind of like Northwestern. More with Less. Hoke accomplished 2 things Pelini has not. Went to a BCS AND won. Pelini went to a CCG so Hoke MAYBE gets a +1. O Brien has to prove more in my eyes before anyone can anoint him. It's not like the cupboard was completely empty when he arrived

[Saunders]

Considering what Fitzgerald and Dantonio has done with their respective programs, I think Bo could be ranked anywhere from 2-4. Hoke did take Michigan to a BCS bowl which is something Pelini has not done but I don't think that puts him above Bo. Any new coach that has not been a HC in one of the "Big" conferences should not be ranked higher.

 

 

5th at worst. An argument could be made for 2nd or 3rd.

 

To date, Hoke has accomplished one thing Bo hasn't; BCS bowl. Definitely an accomplishment, but he's also suffered blowouts, and is yet to win his division. Fitzgerald is good at #2 I believe, but not because he's elite, just because he does the most with the least. Dantonio can't be put over Bo by any logical conclusion, if for no other reason than Bo being undefeated against him and making his team look generally foolish more often than not. Andersen is a wildcard and doesn't have jack for a resume, andO'Brien lost to Bo and also didn't perform as well (sanctions or not) in the one season he's been coaching.

 

Sanctions or not? The myriad of excuses we make for Bo don't begin to scratch the surface of the actual problems O'Brien walked into. And after 5 years of building, Bo has his team on roughly the same level as that gutted Penn State squad. Without that blown call, O'Brien doesn't lose to Bo. Dantonio has a conference title and a couple 11-win seasons under his belt. You have a good point with the head-to-head, but overall Dantonio has done a better job. I agree about Andersen. Too early to say.

The blown call with like 8 minutes left in the game? Oh... ok.

 

And yes, dantonio has a couple 11 win seasons and a conference tie title. If we were using the Big Ten rules in the Big 12, we'd have a conference tie title as well.

[Saunders]

Considering what Fitzgerald and Dantonio has done with their respective programs, I think Bo could be ranked anywhere from 2-4. Hoke did take Michigan to a BCS bowl which is something Pelini has not done but I don't think that puts him above Bo. Any new coach that has not been a HC in one of the "Big" conferences should not be ranked higher.

 

 

5th at worst. An argument could be made for 2nd or 3rd.

 

To date, Hoke has accomplished one thing Bo hasn't; BCS bowl. Definitely an accomplishment, but he's also suffered blowouts, and is yet to win his division. Fitzgerald is good at #2 I believe, but not because he's elite, just because he does the most with the least. Dantonio can't be put over Bo by any logical conclusion, if for no other reason than Bo being undefeated against him and making his team look generally foolish more often than not. Andersen is a wildcard and doesn't have jack for a resume, and O'Brien lost to Bo and also didn't perform as well (sanctions or not) in the one season he's been coaching.

 

I can agree with you here. I give Dantonio MAYBE a slight edge just because of the history of Michigan St football. Kind of like Northwestern. More with Less. Hoke accomplished 2 things Pelini has not. Went to a BCS AND won*. Pelini went to a CCG so Hoke MAYBE gets a +1. O Brien has to prove more in my eyes before anyone can anoint him. It's not like the cupboard was completely empty when he arrived

Hoke won that BCS bowl game in the same way that Bo lost the 2009 Big 12 CCG.

[teachercd]

I dont see how Bill OBrian and Gary Andersen can be legitimately ranked ahead of Bo. I dont see how Andersen can be ranked ahead of anyone. He hasnt even coached a game in this conference yet. I dont see it.

To be fair, what O'Brian did with Penn State and what Andersen did with Utah State is at least as impressive as anything Bo has done. Probably more so.

 

I don't see how what BOB did at PSU is so great. Weren't they ranked in the top 10 the year before with most everyone back but their RB? This year, this is the year we see if he can coach.

[Landlord]

Without that blown call, O'Brien doesn't lose to Bo.

 

 

Oh yeah? By what analysis have you arrived at this conclusion?

[StPaulHusker]

Considering what Fitzgerald and Dantonio has done with their respective programs, I think Bo could be ranked anywhere from 2-4. Hoke did take Michigan to a BCS bowl which is something Pelini has not done but I don't think that puts him above Bo. Any new coach that has not been a HC in one of the "Big" conferences should not be ranked higher.

 

 

5th at worst. An argument could be made for 2nd or 3rd.

 

To date, Hoke has accomplished one thing Bo hasn't; BCS bowl. Definitely an accomplishment, but he's also suffered blowouts, and is yet to win his division. Fitzgerald is good at #2 I believe, but not because he's elite, just because he does the most with the least. Dantonio can't be put over Bo by any logical conclusion, if for no other reason than Bo being undefeated against him and making his team look generally foolish more often than not. Andersen is a wildcard and doesn't have jack for a resume, and O'Brien lost to Bo and also didn't perform as well (sanctions or not) in the one season he's been coaching.

 

I can agree with you here. I give Dantonio MAYBE a slight edge just because of the history of Michigan St football. Kind of like Northwestern. More with Less. Hoke accomplished 2 things Pelini has not. Went to a BCS AND won*. Pelini went to a CCG so Hoke MAYBE gets a +1. O Brien has to prove more in my eyes before anyone can anoint him. It's not like the cupboard was completely empty when he arrived

Hoke won that BCS bowl game in the same way that Bo lost the 2009 Big 12 CCG.

Still a win

[Saunders]

Considering what Fitzgerald and Dantonio has done with their respective programs, I think Bo could be ranked anywhere from 2-4. Hoke did take Michigan to a BCS bowl which is something Pelini has not done but I don't think that puts him above Bo. Any new coach that has not been a HC in one of the "Big" conferences should not be ranked higher.

 

 

5th at worst. An argument could be made for 2nd or 3rd.

 

To date, Hoke has accomplished one thing Bo hasn't; BCS bowl. Definitely an accomplishment, but he's also suffered blowouts, and is yet to win his division. Fitzgerald is good at #2 I believe, but not because he's elite, just because he does the most with the least. Dantonio can't be put over Bo by any logical conclusion, if for no other reason than Bo being undefeated against him and making his team look generally foolish more often than not. Andersen is a wildcard and doesn't have jack for a resume, and O'Brien lost to Bo and also didn't perform as well (sanctions or not) in the one season he's been coaching.

 

I can agree with you here. I give Dantonio MAYBE a slight edge just because of the history of Michigan St football. Kind of like Northwestern. More with Less. Hoke accomplished 2 things Pelini has not. Went to a BCS AND won*. Pelini went to a CCG so Hoke MAYBE gets a +1. O Brien has to prove more in my eyes before anyone can anoint him. It's not like the cupboard was completely empty when he arrived

Hoke won that BCS bowl game in the same way that Bo lost the 2009 Big 12 CCG.

Still a win

You're right. Hoke backed into a BCS game vs a crappy VT team, and won a "BCS" game. It's as impressive as OU breaking their BCS losing streak by winning the Fiesta bowl against an 8 win UCONN team.

 

Then he followed it up by losing to all the teams that were on par with UM in 2012.

 

 

Bo isn't an elite coach, but Hoke is overrated, especially considering the talent UM has had on their roster.

[StPaulHusker]

Tell me you wouldn't have been happy with the same result if it were Nebraska instead of Michigan

[Landlord]

Tell me you wouldn't have been happy with the same result if it were Nebraska instead of Michigan

 

 

Because we're biased.