Post by Commissioner on Mar 29, 2018 16:22:31 GMT -5
I thought I'd start a new thread separate from "Bacari Fired," so we can focus just on candidates and criteria, not on the fallout from Bacari's dismissal or Vowels' future or JJ (except as a potential candidate) or Bacari himself.
As I start thinking about this, it seems to me that there are basically 6 groups from which a school like UofD draws its candidates:
1. The Loyal Assistant. This is the simple promotion from within, and the candidate this time around is JJ (though some have questioned whether he's been a loyal assistant. Usually when this is done, it's because the program is doing well, and the top man retires or takes a better job. It's rarely done when things are going poorly. The Titans have done this a couple times in the modern (i.e. Post-WWII) era, with mixed results. Smokey Gaines was promoted when Dick Vitale stepped down, and Gaines had the best two consecutive year W-L record of any Titan coach ever. When Gaines left for San Diego State, we did it again, promoting Willie McCarter, a disaster from which we've never truly recovered.
(Here's a great "what if" for you: Gaines offered to take McCarter with him to SD State as his top assistant. Had McCarter accepted, who would have gotten the Titan job--then one in decent demand, with the team having gotten an at-large NCAA bid and finished the regular season ranked #20 in the nation? Who knows, maybe we'd have never fallen from the ranks of national powers).
2. The High School Coaching Legend. This is a rare hiring but not unheard of. The High School Legend is a HS Coach who is either more or less legendary after a long career, or has at least stunned the state HS ranks with a series of awesome seasons. Usually that will include multiple state titles or final appearances. This person may have a couple years as a college assistant under his belt and that adds to his credentials, but he's coming straight from high school and his success there is the source of his candidacy. Over on the grumpy board, people have suggested Michael Thomas, head coach at Grand Blanc. Thomas is a young guy, but won a couple state titles at Kalamazoo Central, then spent a few years as an assistant at D-III Albion. Another possible candidate from this category is Pat Donnelly, head coach at UD Jesuit High, where he's had enormous success. Donnelly spent 7 years as head coach at D-III Elmira around the last turn of the century, but had an overall losing record of 81-94. Donnelly is an intriguing candidate, but that losing record at Elmira I find worrisome.
The hope is that this type of candidate has the HS and AAU contacts to recruit, and can translate HS success to the college level. Frankly, I'm surprised how many people seem eager for this type of candidate. The step from HS to D-I is a big one, and this is certainly a high risk approach. The Titans have not tried this approach, though they probably should have back in 1969, when they passed over Pershing legend Will Robinson.
3. The High Major Assistant. This is the young assistant coach at a successful high major, ready to take his first top job. The theory is that this candidate has learned how to run a winning program at the side of an established coach. They've probably been recruiting, and been successful at it, given that their high major team has likely been successful. They may have some recruits ready to come aboard, guys who might be at the bottom of the high major pool but the top of the mid-major pool. They tend to be a bit costly, because they're usually payed pretty well at the high major assistant level, and may not want to leave a secure position for the risk of running a mid-major. The Titans have had huge successes, and huge failures here. In the latter category, we have ... hmmm... oh, that's right! Bacari Alexander. Also Don Sicko, who had some success but couldn't get over the hump and left the program in disarray, and Ricky Byrdsong, who never won much at Detroit but did slowly rebuild something of a foundation after the McCarter/Sicko years. On the success side, there's Dick Vitale and Perry Watson, the two coaches who still cast such long shadows over the program. Watson, of course, was also the HS legend (as was Vitale in New Jersey), and a bit older than most, but he still put in his years at UM before coming to UofD. That in itself may be a warning to those wanting to pluck someone directly from high school.
Several names bantered about fit here. Dane Fife and Saadi Washington don't seem at all interested. But Preston Murphy, currently at Creighton, has been mentioned, and also Ryan Peydon at Ohio State. Another is Cornell Mann, currently at Missouri. He's a Michigan guy who has also been an assistant at WMU, CMU, and Oakland, plus several years at Iowa State. One guy who doesn't perfectly fit the profile but who could be a candidate is Lou Dawkins. Dawkins has never been the high major assistant, but he's spent the last several years at Northern Illinois and Cleveland State, where he's been raiding Michigan talent pretty well. Before that he was a high school legend, so he's a bit of a combination of two categories-- not quite a high major assistant, but not right out of high school, either.
4. The Low-Major Boomlet. We shouldn't underestimate the down sides to the Titan job. Aging facilities, low attendance, tight budget. BUT, this is still a better job than probably 100-200 D-I jobs. There is some tradition, and an alumni base waiting to be awakened; Detroit isn't what it once was, but it still isn't a bad recruiting area; it historically pays pretty well. One source of coaches is the successful low-major (or D-II) coach. Often this person has already turned around or taken to new heights one of these smaller programs. He's usually a younger guy, though some, like Scott Nagy at Wright State, had put in quite a bit of time before making the move up.
RB has suggested the Titans shoot for Montana head coach Travis DeCuire. In a post a while back on the grumpy board, I suggested several names more as examples than actual candidates, including Bashir Mason of Wagner (small, private, urban school), Rob Krimmel at St. Francis (difficult job at Jesuit Institution); Bob Richey at Furman, and Casey Alexander at Lipscomb. Another guy in this category, perhaps the most likley? D-II Ferris State's Andy Bronkema.
I'll admit that all things equal, this is my preferred category, where I'd start looking. Green Bay (Linc Darner) and Wright State (Nagy) have recently made NCAA tournaments after this type of hire. YSU also went this route a year ago. The Titans never really have tried this, however.
5. The Retread, Looking for Redemption. The last coach to take Detroit to the NCAA, Ray McCallum, came from this category. This is a group that had success at one time, usually at a mid-major, got the opportunity at a high major, and came up short. He is typically now an assistant somewhere, hoping for another chance. Because this coach has usually won in the past at a mid-major, I like them. Cleveland State's Dennis Felton is in this category, as is the man he replaced, Gary Waters. I'm not seeing many names in connection with the Titan job from this category this time around. Former Titan assistant Ernie Zigler, currently an assistant at Mississippi State, would be one, although Zigler never got the high major head job, and in fact wasn't much successful as a head coach--he did not have a winning season in six years at CMU. Unless I'm missing someone, the Titans haven't gone this route in the past.
A subset of this group is the one time high major star, who has often been set back by scandal--think Rollie Massimino at Cleveland State or Lefty Driesell at James Madison--but I don't see any such candidate in the Titans' future.
6. The Outsider. This is a slim category, but consists of men not currently in college or high school coaching. Broadcasters and professional players or assistants would be in this category. Dan Majerle was this type when hired at Grand Canyon. A couple have been mentioned in connection with the Titan vacancy: Willie Green and Rashad Phillips. I remain leery, as I was two years ago, about bringing back the old star, but Green and Phillips both have their attractions. I'm also leery, though, about hiring someone with no college coaching experience at this point in our program. The Titans did this one time since WW-II--Bob Calihan, our winningest career coach ever (you know, Calihan Hall and all that).
Although I tend to favor candidates from categories 4 and 5, I think we shouldn't rule any one type out, or think we must draw from a certain background. But I definitely like to see results, which is why I like to see guys who have won in low major or mid-major head coaching jobs. Then we've got to look at vision, and that's something most of us won't get to see before the hiring is made.
Anyway, with these categories in mind (have I missed any), what is it we need most in terms of qualifications? Maybe that's too obvious--we need recruiting! But let's hear people's thoughts.
As I start thinking about this, it seems to me that there are basically 6 groups from which a school like UofD draws its candidates:
1. The Loyal Assistant. This is the simple promotion from within, and the candidate this time around is JJ (though some have questioned whether he's been a loyal assistant. Usually when this is done, it's because the program is doing well, and the top man retires or takes a better job. It's rarely done when things are going poorly. The Titans have done this a couple times in the modern (i.e. Post-WWII) era, with mixed results. Smokey Gaines was promoted when Dick Vitale stepped down, and Gaines had the best two consecutive year W-L record of any Titan coach ever. When Gaines left for San Diego State, we did it again, promoting Willie McCarter, a disaster from which we've never truly recovered.
(Here's a great "what if" for you: Gaines offered to take McCarter with him to SD State as his top assistant. Had McCarter accepted, who would have gotten the Titan job--then one in decent demand, with the team having gotten an at-large NCAA bid and finished the regular season ranked #20 in the nation? Who knows, maybe we'd have never fallen from the ranks of national powers).
2. The High School Coaching Legend. This is a rare hiring but not unheard of. The High School Legend is a HS Coach who is either more or less legendary after a long career, or has at least stunned the state HS ranks with a series of awesome seasons. Usually that will include multiple state titles or final appearances. This person may have a couple years as a college assistant under his belt and that adds to his credentials, but he's coming straight from high school and his success there is the source of his candidacy. Over on the grumpy board, people have suggested Michael Thomas, head coach at Grand Blanc. Thomas is a young guy, but won a couple state titles at Kalamazoo Central, then spent a few years as an assistant at D-III Albion. Another possible candidate from this category is Pat Donnelly, head coach at UD Jesuit High, where he's had enormous success. Donnelly spent 7 years as head coach at D-III Elmira around the last turn of the century, but had an overall losing record of 81-94. Donnelly is an intriguing candidate, but that losing record at Elmira I find worrisome.
The hope is that this type of candidate has the HS and AAU contacts to recruit, and can translate HS success to the college level. Frankly, I'm surprised how many people seem eager for this type of candidate. The step from HS to D-I is a big one, and this is certainly a high risk approach. The Titans have not tried this approach, though they probably should have back in 1969, when they passed over Pershing legend Will Robinson.
3. The High Major Assistant. This is the young assistant coach at a successful high major, ready to take his first top job. The theory is that this candidate has learned how to run a winning program at the side of an established coach. They've probably been recruiting, and been successful at it, given that their high major team has likely been successful. They may have some recruits ready to come aboard, guys who might be at the bottom of the high major pool but the top of the mid-major pool. They tend to be a bit costly, because they're usually payed pretty well at the high major assistant level, and may not want to leave a secure position for the risk of running a mid-major. The Titans have had huge successes, and huge failures here. In the latter category, we have ... hmmm... oh, that's right! Bacari Alexander. Also Don Sicko, who had some success but couldn't get over the hump and left the program in disarray, and Ricky Byrdsong, who never won much at Detroit but did slowly rebuild something of a foundation after the McCarter/Sicko years. On the success side, there's Dick Vitale and Perry Watson, the two coaches who still cast such long shadows over the program. Watson, of course, was also the HS legend (as was Vitale in New Jersey), and a bit older than most, but he still put in his years at UM before coming to UofD. That in itself may be a warning to those wanting to pluck someone directly from high school.
Several names bantered about fit here. Dane Fife and Saadi Washington don't seem at all interested. But Preston Murphy, currently at Creighton, has been mentioned, and also Ryan Peydon at Ohio State. Another is Cornell Mann, currently at Missouri. He's a Michigan guy who has also been an assistant at WMU, CMU, and Oakland, plus several years at Iowa State. One guy who doesn't perfectly fit the profile but who could be a candidate is Lou Dawkins. Dawkins has never been the high major assistant, but he's spent the last several years at Northern Illinois and Cleveland State, where he's been raiding Michigan talent pretty well. Before that he was a high school legend, so he's a bit of a combination of two categories-- not quite a high major assistant, but not right out of high school, either.
4. The Low-Major Boomlet. We shouldn't underestimate the down sides to the Titan job. Aging facilities, low attendance, tight budget. BUT, this is still a better job than probably 100-200 D-I jobs. There is some tradition, and an alumni base waiting to be awakened; Detroit isn't what it once was, but it still isn't a bad recruiting area; it historically pays pretty well. One source of coaches is the successful low-major (or D-II) coach. Often this person has already turned around or taken to new heights one of these smaller programs. He's usually a younger guy, though some, like Scott Nagy at Wright State, had put in quite a bit of time before making the move up.
RB has suggested the Titans shoot for Montana head coach Travis DeCuire. In a post a while back on the grumpy board, I suggested several names more as examples than actual candidates, including Bashir Mason of Wagner (small, private, urban school), Rob Krimmel at St. Francis (difficult job at Jesuit Institution); Bob Richey at Furman, and Casey Alexander at Lipscomb. Another guy in this category, perhaps the most likley? D-II Ferris State's Andy Bronkema.
I'll admit that all things equal, this is my preferred category, where I'd start looking. Green Bay (Linc Darner) and Wright State (Nagy) have recently made NCAA tournaments after this type of hire. YSU also went this route a year ago. The Titans never really have tried this, however.
5. The Retread, Looking for Redemption. The last coach to take Detroit to the NCAA, Ray McCallum, came from this category. This is a group that had success at one time, usually at a mid-major, got the opportunity at a high major, and came up short. He is typically now an assistant somewhere, hoping for another chance. Because this coach has usually won in the past at a mid-major, I like them. Cleveland State's Dennis Felton is in this category, as is the man he replaced, Gary Waters. I'm not seeing many names in connection with the Titan job from this category this time around. Former Titan assistant Ernie Zigler, currently an assistant at Mississippi State, would be one, although Zigler never got the high major head job, and in fact wasn't much successful as a head coach--he did not have a winning season in six years at CMU. Unless I'm missing someone, the Titans haven't gone this route in the past.
A subset of this group is the one time high major star, who has often been set back by scandal--think Rollie Massimino at Cleveland State or Lefty Driesell at James Madison--but I don't see any such candidate in the Titans' future.
6. The Outsider. This is a slim category, but consists of men not currently in college or high school coaching. Broadcasters and professional players or assistants would be in this category. Dan Majerle was this type when hired at Grand Canyon. A couple have been mentioned in connection with the Titan vacancy: Willie Green and Rashad Phillips. I remain leery, as I was two years ago, about bringing back the old star, but Green and Phillips both have their attractions. I'm also leery, though, about hiring someone with no college coaching experience at this point in our program. The Titans did this one time since WW-II--Bob Calihan, our winningest career coach ever (you know, Calihan Hall and all that).
Although I tend to favor candidates from categories 4 and 5, I think we shouldn't rule any one type out, or think we must draw from a certain background. But I definitely like to see results, which is why I like to see guys who have won in low major or mid-major head coaching jobs. Then we've got to look at vision, and that's something most of us won't get to see before the hiring is made.
Anyway, with these categories in mind (have I missed any), what is it we need most in terms of qualifications? Maybe that's too obvious--we need recruiting! But let's hear people's thoughts.
