Who Do You Want For Our Next Coach?

[HappyPenguin]

We are just fans and/or alums, so our opinion means squat in terms of who gets hired. At the same time, speculating and having discussions about a new coach is fun. And, would be nice if YSU released a list of the applicants, being YSU is a PUBLIC UNIVERSITY.

With a list of applicants released, we would at least know who has applied for the job. Does not mean there could not/would not be people who had not applied that were on the "wishlist" of Strollo and YSU, but does mean those people would not have yet formally applied for the position. So, while names not on the list would still pop up in the discussion, we'd have the list of people who actually applied to discuss their backgrounds, and likelihood of success if hired.

The longer we sit without naming the candidates and without filling the vacancy, the more unprepared for the transition we really were.

It looks bad on all fronts. Disclosure issue should be taken up by the media...Ed P. if you are still around is this something you can address with administration?

The longer the spot sits empty the more candidates will think they are second, third, fourth choices. With the demands of this position, a winning record overall in the toughest conference at our level still not enough to be retained, the less attractive this job is.

Could even be getting close to being considered a "coach killer" spot.

[Lets_Talk]

Happy Penguin,

Coach Killer spot may be more accurate than alot of people want to admit??

Expectations are very, very high at YSU. And, that is due to the success of Tressel. Prior to Tressel, it is doubtful either coach would have been fired. And, prior to Tressel, people were generally happy if YSU had a winning record. Tressel went on to have great success at TOSU. So, a question to ask is are the post Tressel expectations realistic? YSU all time is basically a 6-5 program... 453-305-17(.585).... Take out Tressel's 15 years, and YSU all time is 318-254-15(.542 wining percentage)... So, how much of what happened in the 15 years was because of him being at YSU, and how much was because of the way Tressel ran the program, they way he got players to buy in, the way the teams played on the field in terms of execution and taking advantage of other teams mistakes...etc? YSU had no where near the quality of facilities they have now. Had good facilities for FCS, but not great. Tressel made about half of what Wolford made..Assistants were not paid very much. An argument can be made that Tressel would have had great success at ANY school he was hired at for his first coaching job. He BUILT a program at YSU. BUILT the culture of expecting to win. Actual crowds when Tressel arrived were maybe 12,000 or so for home opener, and then lucky if more than 5,000 at rest of games. 7,000-8,000 was considered a good sized crowd.

Jon Heacock:
2001 .... 8-3/5-2 but missed playoffs..... 6-3 against D1 teams
2002.... 7-4/4-3 but missed playoffs.... 6-4 against D1 teams
2003... 5-7/2-5 no playoffs .... 3-7 against D1 teams
2004 .... 4-7/2-5 no playoffs... 3-7 against D1 teams
2005 ... 8-3/5-2 MVFC Tri-Champs..... no playoffs... 7-3 against D1 Teams..first year with "money game"
2006 ... 11-3/6-1 MVFC Champions.... FCS Semi-Finals... 10-3 against D1 teams
2007 ... 7-4/4-3 ... no playoffs .... 6-4 against D1 teams
2008 ... 4-8/3-5... no playoffs ... 3-8 against D1 teams
2009 ... 6-5/4-4...no playoffs.... 6-5 against D1 teams
OVERALL 60-44(.578)/35-30.... 50-41(.549) against D1 teams....  1 trip to playoffs...2 MVFC Titles(one shared)... no major issues with NCAA....clean program given the myriad of inane NCAA rules.... solid grad rate for players... winning season 6 of 9 years

Wolford:
2010... 3-8/1-7 .... last in MVFC
2011 ... 6-5/4-4..beat NDSU on road in next to last game....lost last game at home to MSU, and thus no playoffs
2012 .. 7-4/4-4 ... Won at PITT...first win for YSU over FBS school from BCS/Power 5 Conference
2013 ... 8-4/5-3.... no playoffs
2014... 7-5/4-4...no playoffs ... beat SDSU on road, which made playoffs
OVERALL: 31-26(.544)/18-22 ... winning record 4 of 5 years...no major issues with players off the field.. was very good about getting rid of players who caused trouble... solid academically for D1 football

I'm NOT saying either coach was great. NOT saying either coach met the standard expected at YSU. Just pointing out they both ended up with overall records above .500. Heacock made playoffs 1 time, and team was 1st or 2nd team of those left out in at least 2 other seasons. With Wolford, 4 straight winning seasons, and at least 2 of those 4 seasons, YSU was definitely a "bubble team" on selection Sunday.

Not hard to see why alot of current FCS Head Coaches may not be chomping at the bit to take the YSU job. Same with OC's and DC's at top level FCS programs, and OC's/DC's at FBS schools in the "group of 6 Conferences), for whom the HC job at YSU may well be an increase in pay, in addition to an opportunity to be HC.

Just something to think about, as this search drags on, and other than Bo Pelini, none of the names of possible hires at YSU mentioned in the media seem as if they would be an improvement from Wolford.

[HappyPenguin]

Happy Penguin,

Coach Killer spot may be more accurate than alot of people want to admit??

Expectations are very, very high at YSU. And, that is due to the success of Tressel. Prior to Tressel, it is doubtful either coach would have been fired. And, prior to Tressel, people were generally happy if YSU had a winning record. Tressel went on to have great success at TOSU. So, a question to ask is are the post Tressel expectations realistic? YSU all time is basically a 6-5 program... 453-305-17(.585).... Take out Tressel's 15 years, and YSU all time is 318-254-15(.542 wining percentage)... So, how much of what happened in the 15 years was because of him being at YSU, and how much was because of the way Tressel ran the program, they way he got players to buy in, the way the teams played on the field in terms of execution and taking advantage of other teams mistakes...etc? YSU had no where near the quality of facilities they have now. Had good facilities for FCS, but not great. Tressel made about half of what Wolford made..Assistants were not paid very much. An argument can be made that Tressel would have had great success at ANY school he was hired at for his first coaching job. He BUILT a program at YSU. BUILT the culture of expecting to win. Actual crowds when Tressel arrived were maybe 12,000 or so for home opener, and then lucky if more than 5,000 at rest of games. 7,000-8,000 was considered a good sized crowd.

Jon Heacock:
2001 .... 8-3/5-2 but missed playoffs..... 6-3 against D1 teams
2002.... 7-4/4-3 but missed playoffs.... 6-4 against D1 teams
2003... 5-7/2-5 no playoffs .... 3-7 against D1 teams
2004 .... 4-7/2-5 no playoffs... 3-7 against D1 teams
2005 ... 8-3/5-2 MVFC Tri-Champs..... no playoffs... 7-3 against D1 Teams..first year with "money game"
2006 ... 11-3/6-1 MVFC Champions.... FCS Semi-Finals... 10-3 against D1 teams
2007 ... 7-4/4-3 ... no playoffs .... 6-4 against D1 teams
2008 ... 4-8/3-5... no playoffs ... 3-8 against D1 teams
2009 ... 6-5/4-4...no playoffs.... 6-5 against D1 teams
OVERALL 60-44(.578)/35-30.... 50-41(.549) against D1 teams....  1 trip to playoffs...2 MVFC Titles(one shared)... no major issues with NCAA....clean program given the myriad of inane NCAA rules.... solid grad rate for players... winning season 6 of 9 years

Wolford:
2010... 3-8/1-7 .... last in MVFC
2011 ... 6-5/4-4..beat NDSU on road in next to last game....lost last game at home to MSU, and thus no playoffs
2012 .. 7-4/4-4 ... Won at PITT...first win for YSU over FBS school from BCS/Power 5 Conference
2013 ... 8-4/5-3.... no playoffs
2014... 7-5/4-4...no playoffs ... beat SDSU on road, which made playoffs
OVERALL: 31-26(.544)/18-22 ... winning record 4 of 5 years...no major issues with players off the field.. was very good about getting rid of players who caused trouble... solid academically for D1 football

I'm NOT saying either coach was great. NOT saying either coach met the standard expected at YSU. Just pointing out they both ended up with overall records above .500. Heacock made playoffs 1 time, and team was 1st or 2nd team of those left out in at least 2 other seasons. With Wolford, 4 straight winning seasons, and at least 2 of those 4 seasons, YSU was definitely a "bubble team" on selection Sunday.

Not hard to see why alot of current FCS Head Coaches may not be chomping at the bit to take the YSU job. Same with OC's and DC's at top level FCS programs, and OC's/DC's at FBS schools in the "group of 6 Conferences), for whom the HC job at YSU may well be an increase in pay, in addition to an opportunity to be HC.

Just something to think about, as this search drags on, and other than Bo Pelini, none of the names of possible hires at YSU mentioned in the media seem as if they would be an improvement from Wolford.

Nicely put! And with a lot more time and consideration put into the data than I did.

Not exactly an ideal spot for a coach that just got fired at the BCS level.

I would like to see a young, proven HC from limited scholarship FCS or even D2 or D3 who is eager to take on the challenge and would consider this a step up, not a landing point until something better came along.