Where will Solich coach next

[DaveH]

ESPN made a very good point last week in stating that teams in colder climates are having extreme difficulties in getting the best players because these players want to play in fun cities where the weather is usually warm.  Ok, so they were talking about Notre Dame.  However, I believe it is just a shift in culture.  The better players are staying down south or on the West Coast to play.  This is why we need a coach that can develop talent from lesser athletes instead of a coach who "needs" the best athletes.  One of the reasons we got a player into NU like a Tommie Frazier was simply because he wasn't heavily recruited as a QB at most schools because they didn't run the option.  I really believe getting away from an offense that most teams don't run is a mistake because you can get the best players that run that offense.  If NU has to go out and recruit against the Florida schools, Texas, OU, California teams, etc. each and every year; we aren't going to lure a lot of the best athletes away from them. 

I still think this "they don't come to northern schools because it is cold" idea is mainly hogwash. Sure, every recruit comments on how it is colder in northern schools, because, well, it is. But for that to be a deciding factor in where a college fooball team should recruit from is ludicrous in my opinion. If a kid wants to sit in the sun and have fun at the beach during college, that's great. Go to a west coast school. If they are actually interested in pursuing their academic and athletic careers they are going to look mainly at what the school has to offer, not what the average temperature is. I have never read "Well, I would have gone to Notre Dame but it was too cold. That's what it came down to." That sounds more like one of those Budweiser Leon commercials.

BTW speaking of, did you catch ESPN's Chris Mortensen's commentary on the almighty Raiders? He said that the Norv Turner is having the same problem that Gruden and Callahan had while at Oakland. They try to lay down the law with players, set fines, etc and they simply aren't enforced. Who is reponsible for that? None other than the worst owner in the history of the NFL, Al Davis. Just something I thought I would throw out there.

I'm afraid this recruiting class coming in could be a ticking time bomb just like Texas had a couple of years ago.  If BC is making playing promises to these guys like Mack Brown did Sims, then we are sitting on a time bomb.  IMO, Mack Brown cost Texas a NC by playing Sims instead of Applewhite.  However, he had made a promise to Sims and his dad and stuck to it.  If BC is promising Beck and Lucky instant stardom next year, then we could be in for a long season once again. 

I am sick of these comparisons to schools like Texas. So every team that goes after the "best" athletes is automatically going to be a Texas? For every Texas there are at least 3 Auburn's, Virginia's, or OSU's that recruit well almost every year and have success. I will talk about comparing Texas to NU and Callahan to Brown in, say 5 years.

The recruits with more talent, the Lucky's and Beck's, will be given their opportunity to play just like everyone else. Others could very well be redshirted. If they make an impact their first year, which I doubt, great. Next year I look for a better season, but not a whole lot. Maybe 3 losses.

With high profile athletes coming to your school, there is always a price.  Just ask Ohio State about how much Claurett is costing them.  We all know Blake can recruit, but we also know how much he gets out of these recruits by looking at his record at OU.

The major assumtion you are making here is that high profile athletes are automatically shady, dumb or self centered. You and I know that isn't true. Also it isn't true that when you go after high profile athletes you have to cheat and break rules. Any kid can come in and be the next Incognito.

 

[Pedro Guerrero]

sounds like he's getting the ohio job. It's a job I guess, I think he deserves better.

What job did he deserve? Notre Dame? Wahington? BYU? Utah? Florida? He must not be that highly regarded other wise he would of got a better offer. UNLV, Army, and Ohio not really big name programs. (except maybe Army back in the black-white era)

 

[DJR313]

ESPN made a very good point last week in stating that teams in colder climates are having extreme difficulties in getting the best players because these players want to play in fun cities where the weather is usually warm. Ok, so they were talking about Notre Dame. However, I believe it is just a shift in culture. The better players are staying down south or on the West Coast to play. This is why we need a coach that can develop talent from lesser athletes instead of a coach who "needs" the best athletes. One of the reasons we got a player into NU like a Tommie Frazier was simply because he wasn't heavily recruited as a QB at most schools because they didn't run the option. I really believe getting away from an offense that most teams don't run is a mistake because you can get the best players that run that offense. If NU has to go out and recruit against the Florida schools, Texas, OU, California teams, etc. each and every year; we aren't going to lure a lot of the best athletes away from them.
I'm afraid this recruiting class coming in could be a ticking time bomb just like Texas had a couple of years ago. If BC is making playing promises to these guys like Mack Brown did Sims, then we are sitting on a time bomb. IMO, Mack Brown cost Texas a NC by playing Sims instead of Applewhite. However, he had made a promise to Sims and his dad and stuck to it. If BC is promising Beck and Lucky instant stardom next year, then we could be in for a long season once again. As far as I'm concerned, college athletes might as well be paid for their services because for most of the better recruits college is just a stepping stone. They don't care about the game, and they don't care about championships. They care about being seen on TV, and they care about their stats. How many people really think the OU freshman would be back next year if the NFL would let him in?

If recruiting for cold weather schools is so difficult, then why are Michigan and Ohio State in the top 10 in recruiting almost every year? Since Ferentz came to Iowa he has had recruiting classes right up around there too. JoePa used to be a lock to have top 10 classes. Cold weather is just one con to weigh out. As far as not being able to lure kids away from Florida or Cali or TX, well, I believe Beck is passing on all Florida schools to come to chilly Nebraska. I don't know if Callahan has made promises to these kids. I think if they watched the games this year, they wouldn't have to have a promise of play to come here. It is obvious that a superior talented player can step in and play quite a bit right away. Well, college is a stepping stone to the NFL, true, but do you think that a guy like Grant Wistrom doesn't care about Nebraska tradition, the blackshirts, winning conference titles? Just because a guy wants to play football for a living later on doesn't mean that he could care less about where he is playing right now.

 

[Utah_Husker]

If recruiting for cold weather schools is so difficult, then why are Michigan and Ohio State in the top 10 in recruiting almost every year?  Since Ferentz came to Iowa he has had recruiting classes right up around there too.  JoePa used to be a lock to have top 10 classes.

Besides Tom Brady (who wasn't all that incredible in college...how did he get so good?), can you name any other elite NFL-caliber quarterbacks that have attended those schools in recent memory? You know, the kind of quarterback Callahan needs to run his offense. Let's see, Kerry Collins...no. Zach Mills...no. Navarre, Krenzel, Drew Henson? In my opinion, no. It seems to me that these teams rely strongly on a power running game to complement their passing game.

 

[Pedro Guerrero]

If recruiting for cold weather schools is so difficult, then why are Michigan and Ohio State in the top 10 in recruiting almost every year?  Since Ferentz came to Iowa he has had recruiting classes right up around there too.  JoePa used to be a lock to have top 10 classes.

Besides Tom Brady (who wasn't all that incredible in college...how did he get so good?), can you name any other elite NFL-caliber quarterbacks that have attended those schools in recent memory? You know, the kind of quarterback Callahan needs to run his offense. Let's see, Kerry Collins...no. Zach Mills...no. Navarre, Krenzel, Drew Henson? In my opinion, no. It seems to me that these teams rely strongly on a power running game to complement their passing game.

Just wondering what being an elite NFL qb has to do with running the WCO in college. Wasn't Kerry Collins an All American his last year at Penn St? I think you need a good COLLEGE QB to run this offense and that is something we didn't have this year.

 

[Blackshirt]

Solich granted second Ohio interview

 

[IrishAZ]

I always liked Coach Solich. He deserves a position worthy of him. With that in mind, however, would taking an assistant posiiton be a good or bad move for him at this point in his career?

Now, run with this idea for a minute...I would *love* to have a guy like Solich at ND for RB or OL coach - and, for Solich, it would give him a chance to get some experience under Coach Weis who is by far one of the best OC's in the NFL. That might help to revamp his stodgy "old-school" offensive image.

Now, how successful Weis will be in the college game is yet to be seen - most of my bretheren have ND in a BCS bowl next year and a NC by 2006 (all this after 2 1/2 years of utter despair and hand-wringing hoplessness...have I mentioned how happy I am to have found some sensible Husker fans again? ).

But, if he can translate what he's done with the Patriots to the Irish, any offensive coach who works with him will have an excellent bullet point on their resume - and I think that's something Frank could use.

As a side note, maybe that's the drawback of the high continuity of coaching at NU had enjoyed - even though coaches have security and the program maintains all that "tribal knowledge" about the scheme, when changes occur it's easy to get pigeonholed and much harder to adapt.

IRISH!

 

[DaveH]

I think he is a good position coach, just not the best head coach. So what you are saying more or less makes sense to me.

I think you'll find that most of us are sensible.

 

[Benard]

sipple said that solich was all but ready to take ohio job and basically has it but now pitt has shown some interest so he's undecided on what to do.

 

[IrishAZ]

It seems that LSU has an opening now as well - ESPN reported that Saban is in the running for the Miami Dolphins job.

IRISH!

 

[DaveH]

ESPN is reporting that Solich is Ohio's new head coach. I got this info off another board, and I can't find a link at ESPN yet.

 

[DJR313]

If recruiting for cold weather schools is so difficult, then why are Michigan and Ohio State in the top 10 in recruiting almost every year?  Since Ferentz came to Iowa he has had recruiting classes right up around there too.  JoePa used to be a lock to have top 10 classes.

Besides Tom Brady (who wasn't all that incredible in college...how did he get so good?), can you name any other elite NFL-caliber quarterbacks that have attended those schools in recent memory? You know, the kind of quarterback Callahan needs to run his offense. Let's see, Kerry Collins...no. Zach Mills...no. Navarre, Krenzel, Drew Henson? In my opinion, no. It seems to me that these teams rely strongly on a power running game to complement their passing game.

that's pretty much besides the point. My point was the fact that these schools are so called "cold weather" schools and they are able to draw big time talent. Those teams don't run the west coast offense so your argument is moot.

 

[Utah_Husker]

If recruiting for cold weather schools is so difficult, then why are Michigan and Ohio State in the top 10 in recruiting almost every year?  Since Ferentz came to Iowa he has had recruiting classes right up around there too.  JoePa used to be a lock to have top 10 classes.

Besides Tom Brady (who wasn't all that incredible in college...how did he get so good?), can you name any other elite NFL-caliber quarterbacks that have attended those schools in recent memory? You know, the kind of quarterback Callahan needs to run his offense. Let's see, Kerry Collins...no. Zach Mills...no. Navarre, Krenzel, Drew Henson? In my opinion, no. It seems to me that these teams rely strongly on a power running game to complement their passing game.

that's pretty much besides the point. My point was the fact that these schools are so called "cold weather" schools and they are able to draw big time talent. Those teams don't run the west coast offense so your argument is moot.

My point was that they can draw the big talent but none of those "cold weather" schools has ever seemed to be able to draw the outstanding quarterback recruits that are needed to run Callahan's offense. I just found it interesting that those schools were mentioned and I couldn't think of an outstanding quarterback that has attended one of them in a while. They seem to draw the big talent, but not to run a PAC-10 or SEC style offense. The fact is no one has ever successfully recruited the personell to the midwest to run the WCO. I'm not saying it can't be done...we'll see.

 

[DJR313]

The fact is no one has ever successfully recruited the personell to the midwest to run the WCO. I'm not saying it can't be done...we'll see.

I will agree with you there. The west coast offense at a college in the midwest hasn't really been done. We will see if the personnel can be put in place, be coached well and have the offense executed.

 

[Pedro Guerrero]

He we go this was just put on espn.com.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1947232

Do you think he will try to bring Turner with him or get some other former Huskers? Looks like some dudes around here have a new favorite team. Good Luck Frankie. Maybe they will schedule the Big Red.