Next PSU Head Coach?

[Sanfran327]

To me, it comes down to only two guys: Urban Meyer and... Bill Cowher. Cowher is so popular in PA that he could make people forget about JoPa in a hurry. Either way, Penn State needs to clean house and remove everybody connected to this program right now and just start over. I also think the NCAA needs to let players transfer after the new coach is brought in without losing a year of eligibility. These are unique circumstances, and need to be addressed as such.

[CSB Jack]

I'd be happy to write a letter of recommendation for Randy Edsall. He's a no-nonsense guy and PA native so there's a connection there. I'd be willing to make that sacrifice for my Terps for the better good of college football and neighborly relations. :thumbsup1: ;)

[crissfan172]

Interesting take on the situation:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/16115355/its-complicated-but-penn-state-cant-hire-best-football-coach

I tend to agree with what they're saying. Signing Meyer might send a bad message. Of course, I think they should get someone that will restore moral credibility above all else. If that's Meyer, great, if it's not, that's good too.

I know some people have said that Meyer won't want to step into this mess, but his daughter goes to school here, so he's already involved on some level. At the very least, there's some motivation to help restore the school's reputation.

[Remember The Alomar]

Why would any big name take this job? Especially since no one will know the extent of the fallout for years to come.

[Birds of B'more]

I go back and forth on where PSU should go with the program, and how quickly they could emerge from this.....from a competitive standpoint, not necessarily a public perception standpoint, although the two are not exactly mutually exclusive. As far as public perception, it's simply going to take time, perhaps a long time.

I'm a MD Terps fan who is old enough to remember well the many years of darkness that hung over the university after Len Bias' cocaine overdose. A lot of people underestimated how long it would take to get past that. Of course part of the problem from a competitive standpoint were the numerous gaffes in coaching hires that they made in the aftermath (namely Bob Wade, but also a number of football coaches who were in over their heads). I also believe the reason NCAA was so harsh (relatively speaking) in the penalties they dealt the basketball program for Wade's violations was in response to the perception of the culture that existed at UM before the violations even occurred, a culture that was exposed in the aftermath of Bias' death. The lesson for PSU: while the NCAA really has no jurisdiction in this matter and probably won't take any action as far as punishment, going forward Penn State had better be running the cleanest program in the country.

Now, I think everyone can agree that what's happened and what continues to come out at PSU is 100x worse and more tragic than the cocaine overdose of one athlete. Given that, it's to be expected that to recover from it will take much longer. And that could very well be right....again, perception will play a big part. Obviously the first step in that recovery is to do a total housecleaning of pretty much every individual currently with the football program....basically, everyone other than the players. That means all of the remaining coaches, trainers, etc. Same goes for the leadership in the athletic department. The new AD should be given full authority to make any replacements necessary. And people who cannot be replaced for whatever legal employment reasons should be reassigned somewhere else. And I would go so far as to not hire PSU football alums to take any of the coaching positions either. I know that doesn't seem fair, but you're talking about changing public perception, and that just won't happen so long as any legacies from the Paterno-era are around and visible.

Obviously the next part is finding the right head coach (where UM failed post-Bias) who can come in and build a program in his image. It doesn't have to be a brand-name guy (and as the article says, it's probably better that it isn't), but someone with a strong and engaging personality, but also possesses the sort of perspective and humility that is appropriate right now. Hiring Paterno's replacement was never going to be an easy thing, even if none of this ever happened. Many capable coaches have failed under the weight of replacing a legacy. The new PSU coach will face similar pressure, albeit for far different reasons....even if the early expectations as far as wins and losses aren't high. I see the point about hiring Meyer as sending the wrong message....as if PSU is saying "we're not going to miss a beat" because of what happened. But like I said, there is an infrastructure there that could make it a quick rebuild on the field.....excellent facilities (although I think I'd demolish the current football building, or at least the showers), a large and passionate fanbase that generates large revenues, being a member of a conference that generates large revenues, and being the flagship school in a state that produces a lot of good football talent.

I really can't say exactly what they should be looking for, much less an actual name. I guess my hope is that they will go in a direction that is both respectful and mindful of the tragedy that has occurred, but also gives the PSU community the chance to eventually turn the page.

[SammyBirdland]

I think many recruits will be embarrassed to attend an institution whose reputation is now "the pedophile school". This tarnished image will have a big impact on getting a name brand coach to come here. After all, they need the best recruits to win, and they need to win to not get fired. I don't know how long it takes Penn State to recover from this.

[Birds of B'more]

I think many recruits will be embarrassed to attend an institution whose reputation is now "the pedophile school". This tarnished image will have a big impact on getting a name brand coach to come here. After all, they need the best recruits to win, and they need to win to not get fired. I don't know how long it takes Penn State to recover from this.

For all his faults, Bob Wade did get some pretty good recruits to come to MD despite its reputation as "the drug addict school" following Bias' OD.

[SammyBirdland]

For all his faults, Bob Wade did get some pretty good recruits to come to MD despite its reputation as "the drug addict school" following Bias' OD.

I bet Penn State would gladly trade their controversy for Maryland's.

[MikeAD]

For all his faults, Bob Wade did get some pretty good recruits to come to MD despite its reputation as "the drug addict school" following Bias' OD.

Big big difference.

And I agree with Sammy. They will get any people they have that are currently in the recruitment process and have gone through some level of commitment. After that it is downhill fast. It will be a long time before they are a place where freshman will want to play again.

Which is another layer of the badness of this. The vast majority of kids who play college football (or any other sport) aren't going to make money in that sport professionally so the name on the piece of paper matters. Now a lot of kids might be pressured to go to a lesser tiered school rather than PSU.

[Birds of B'more]

I bet Penn State would gladly trade their controversy for Maryland's.

Who wouldn't? But in some ways Maryland could still be a blueprint for PSU of "what not to do" in the aftermath. For starters, don't hire a coach who is so in over his head that he ends up cheating and bringing even more shame to the school. That only made things worse for UM and prolonged the process of moving on. And PSU fans could learn something from Maryland too. Namely about maintaining perspective as far as expectations for what essentially has to be a complete tear-down and build-up from scratch. It will take time. Be mindful both of the past and the big picture going forward, and have patience.

[backwardsk]

If you took Bill O'Brien from New England in the pool, you win.

[crissfan172]

If you took Bill O'Brien from New England in the pool, you win.

The staff hasn't been formed yet, but he announced that Larry Johnson Sr is staying. That's a great move because if they lost him, they were probably going to lose more recruits.

[crissfan172]

Contract details:

5 years, $950,000 per year with 5% increase annually. Additional from radio, television, and Nike for 5 years. Performance incentives never to exceed $200,000 each year.

EDIT: With the incentives, he's getting $2.3 million a year, 6th highest in the Big Ten.

[backwardsk]

Contract details:

5 years, $950,000 per year with 5% increase annually. Additional from radio, television, and Nike for 5 years. Performance incentives never to exceed $200,000 each year.

Are your feelings on this closer to the qb's or arrington's?

[Birds of B'more]

The staff hasn't been formed yet, but he announced that Larry Johnson Sr is staying. That's a great move because if they lost him, they were probably going to lose more recruits.

As a Terps fan I can't help but be disappointed. Really hoped that LJ would have been available to team up with Locksley and lockdown the in-state recruits for the Terps. And I can't imagine anyone could be a worse DC than Todd Bradford, who it would appear is staying now. :angryfire: But good move by Penn St in keeping him.

[crissfan172]

Are your feelings on this closer to the qb's or arrington's?

He seems like a good guy, with a strong academic background and high integrity. I think he did a good job taking charge in his press conference and can hopefully get the support he needs from the former players. Whether or not he'll succeed remains to be seen, but he'll get a nice boost in recruiting defensively with LJ staying on. Now he just needs to use his NFL experience to help recruit offensive players and hopefully write a completely new offensive playbook because the old one sucked. No matter what, though, he needs to win because the rest of the school's athletics depends on the football program. If he fails, attendance drops, and so does the incoming flow of money. I really just hope he can do a good job and represent the school the way we've all been taught, with class and honor.

As for LaVar's comments, I understand why he's upset, but he can't say the things he did. About two months ago he stood in front of thousands of students saying that we needed to stand together and support the school. Now he's saying that he wants to cut ties with the school? I'm sure it was more of a heat of the moment rant, though, and he'll back off those comments somewhat. O'Brien has a tough road ahead with replacing Paterno and moving past the scandal, so he needs all of our support. I'm behind him, and I hope everyone else is too. Saying what he did about Paterno during the conference (praised him, said that he always looked up to him, and hopes to meet him soon) is going to get him some support I'm sure. Hopefully it's enough to succeed.