1 of 1- oldretiredguy
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Head coaches with no prior Experience
I did a little checking, and both Kirby Smart and Lincoln Riley were hired as head coaches with no prior HC experience. I'm not beating the drum for an inexperienced HC, but just pointing out it doesn't always mean a bad hire. Also, a lot of head coaches I wouldn't want are still HCs...wondering what others thoughts are on this.
- Phil
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Re: Head coaches with no prior Experience
I share similar views on the matter. I proven coach with experience is a safer bet. The thing is those types of coaches are hard to come by.
Teams shouldn't get in the rut of thinking that because say Mario was a bad in game coach that another assistant would also be the same. NFL fans and teams get in the same rut when a 1st round QB doesn't work out. A number of fans jump to conclusions that the next pick will be another bust and you rather get a game manager backup type QB in free agency.
- DucksReign
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Re: Head coaches with no prior Experience
For this hire at Oregon I believe it is important but I also want one more caveat, a coach with ties to Oregon.
Part of my reasoning is going into the next season I don't want Oregon to be the only Pac-12 team with a head coach who has no experience...the WSU head coach is not that much further along but he has been an assistant on WSU since 2020.
To that point, Oregon's impending hire is very different than that of Smart and Riley.
In the case of Riley he was the AHC/OC/QB coach at East Carolina before coming to OU where he was for 2 seasons as the OC/QB coach before taking over for Bob Stoops starting in 2017.
Oregon is not making that type of promotion.
Smart was at Alabama for 8-years before going to Georgia(his alma mater) in 2016. So he stayed in the same conference. It is also worth noting he has only won 1 SEC Championship during his tenure.
If Oregon were to hire Wilcox that would be the closest comparison I can think of to Smart.
Otherwise I think a VERY IMPORTANT component of being a head coach beyond all the recruiting hoopla is CAN THEY HIRE WELL? Both Taggart and Cristobal had mixed results. Kelly inherited most everyone and Helfrich bombed on the DC position.
A coach with no head coaching experience is also a coach with no hiring experience (as a head coach).
Oregon has a lot of talent but they are trending downward...Rose Bowl win to Fiesta Bowl loss to Alamo Bowl. Now with all the coaching departures, recruit decommits, transfer portal and all related issues...I want somebody who has experience. If Oregon was 0-12 I might think differently.
- radar1
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Re: Head coaches with no prior Experience
If this guy stays at Oregon it probably will take at least 5 years to even come close to a NC.
This is going to be a long term build. We are going to be a top 1 to 3 PAC team for awhile which isnt all that bad I guess.
- radar1
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Re: Head coaches with no prior Experience
DucksReign wrote:
For this hire at Oregon I believe it is important but I also want one more caveat, a coach with ties to Oregon.
Part of my reasoning is going into the next season I don't want Oregon to be the only Pac-12 team with a head coach who has no experience...the WSU head coach is not that much further along but he has been an assistant on WSU since 2020.
To that point, Oregon's impending hire is very different than that of Smart and Riley.
In the case of Riley he was the AHC/OC/QB coach at East Carolina before coming to OU where he was for 2 seasons as the OC/QB coach before taking over for Bob Stoops starting in 2017.
Oregon is not making that type of promotion.
Smart was at Alabama for 8-years before going to Georgia(his alma mater) in 2016. So he stayed in the same conference. It is also worth noting he has only won 1 SEC Championship during his tenure.
If Oregon were to hire Wilcox that would be the closest comparison I can think of to Smart.
Otherwise I think a VERY IMPORTANT component of being a head coach beyond all the recruiting hoopla is CAN THEY HIRE WELL? Both Taggart and Cristobal had mixed results. Kelly inherited most everyone and Helfrich bombed on the DC position.
A coach with no head coaching experience is also a coach with no hiring experience (as a head coach).
Oregon has a lot of talent but they are trending downward...Rose Bowl win to Fiesta Bowl loss to Alamo Bowl. Now with all the coaching departures, recruit decommits, transfer portal and all related issues...I want somebody who has experience. If Oregon was 0-12 I might think differently.
Excellent post!!
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