Pat Forde grades coaching hires

#52
#52
VOLvo said:
ESPN insider article...

Bret Bielema to Arkansas ranks as offseason's top coaching hire - NCF - ESPN

For those that don't have insider it is an article ranking the coachign hires this offseason. Here is the list:

1. Arkansas
2. Kentucky
3. Western Kentucky
4. Auburn
5. South Florida
6. Texas Tech
7. Wisconsin
8. Cincinnati
9. Tennessee

Butch Jones (former Cincinnati head coach)
AD Dave Hart, in his first football hire at UT, aimed high -- maybe too high. However far down on the list Jones was, perhaps he's at the level Hart should have been targeting in the first place. There's a certain gamble when you've tumbled like Tennessee has. Even a truckload of cash couldn't lure Mike Gundy or Charlie Strong, or others.

Does that mean it's an abysmal hire? No, not really. In fact, it could work, but "could" is the operative word.

Jones, 44, is affable, and he's had only one losing season, his first at Cincinnati, as a head coach. The problem with all those winning seasons is that he has never coached at this level.

He's 0-5 against Top 25 teams and 14-23 versus teams with records above .500. That won't sit well with Tennessee fans who will have Derek Dooley (0-22 versus Top 25 teams, 6-33 versus those above .500) nightmares after reading those numbers. Some are already miffed that Hart hired someone who, gasp, lost to Dooley.

Jones' response this week to whether he's ready for the SEC? Players are players and coaching is coaching, he said, paraphrasing. Let's compare his thoughts now and a year from now. It might be more along the lines of "this takes time."

10. NC State
11. Colorado
12. Southern Miss
13. Purdue
14. Arkansas St.
15. California
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I might be wrong but the way the article was written didn't list them 1-15. It was broken down by "Splashy", Step Up", etc.... He actually graded CBJ higher than four of those above him.
 
#53
#53
VOLvo said:
I applaud your pride and support. However, we are not the program we used to be. Sad to say it but in the last 5 years, we are on par with the Ole Miss and Miss St of the conference. We have a disadvantage in recruiting because of lack of in-state talent. We also have financial issues right now that prevent us from going out and getting a big-name hire.

It is what it is.
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As far as performance on the field I would agree. What I disagree with is any other comparison that might be made. We have far superior facilities, a much larger fan base/booster base, and a monster stadium. The only thing we don't have is an instate recruiting base. Alabama does have a larger instate recruiting base but they also, have to recruit against Auburn and FSU in their back yard. They depend on out of state recruits about as much as we do.

Alabama went through the same stuff as we are and they finaly said enough is enough and went out and refused to settle. I sincerely hope that CBJ is successful but when you hire a coach like CBJ you risk of success is higher than when you hire a proven coach at that level.

As far as the budget, a big hire would have paid dividends immediately. I big name, Sabanesque coach would have caused a huge demand in season ticket sales and donations whereas with a less proven coach will be met with the attitude of "prove it to me" before they open up their wallets. All of the above is JMO. :hi:
 
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#54
#54
Mark Stoops? Is he like Bob (successful) or Mike (failure)? Who knows but he's never coached as a head coach in college before.....give me a break.
 
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#55
#55
Give me an f-ing break. Any opening in the SEC not involving Kentucky, Vandy, Ole Miss, or Miss. St. is one of the Top 10 jobs in college football. The Forbes article on the value of programs and also our overall wins say so much. This is NOT a B+ hire. I'd give it a C+, at best. We should have gotten the best coach out of all the schools changing guard, and it should have been slap-your-face obvious that we did. Hart just sucks.
 
#56
#56
ukvols said:
If those are his rankings, then he's grading on a curve.
He's also being hypocritical. He basically says UT fans shouldn't expect a top, proven coach and then apparently sets the bar very high for us when he ranks the hires. There's no reason to have KY at #2, unless you're grading on a curve and thus placing a very low value on their job. So, what would be a strikeout here is a HR at KY. If we had hired Mark Stoops, Forde would probably have us at #15.
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That's exactly what I was thinking. There's no way the writer thinks Kentucky and some of the others had better hires on the whole. Of all the other hires listed above us, I'd possibly consider the Arkansas hire over Butch. But, even then, I like what I've seen so far.
 
#57
#57
I guess this confirms what my wife has been telling me for years and that is that I don't have a clue because I didn't want Bielema and am actually happier to have CBJ. I was also a Dooley supporter longer than most too though so maybe this just confirms that I'm an idiot. Go Vols!
 
#58
#58
rltw1974 said:
Below is an excerpt from Pat Forde's article on yahoo right now. I dont think it was necessary to call us delusional. I would post link but couldnt get it to work.




Tennessee: Butch Jones.

Last stop: Cincinnati, where Jones was 23-14 in three seasons riding the coattails of program builder Brian Kelly.

Butch Jones speaks during his introductory press conference as Tennessee's head coach. (AP)Why leave: Jones was going somewhere, whether it was Colorado or Tennessee – and given the straits Cincinnati now finds itself in with the implosion of the Big East, his timing was excellent. Nobody can blame him for leaving.

Grade: B-plus. Reality check for Tennessee fans who believe Butch Jones is beneath them: your program has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for two weeks in the last five years. You’re six games below .500 in that time. Tennessee has great tradition and a great following and will regain competitiveness sooner rather than later, but this belief that America’s most proven and attractive coaches are going to come running to Rocky Top is delusional. Get a grip.
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i really hope youre a ranger school trained gi and not just one of those wannabe's i see driving around town acting like one...
 
#59
#59
rltw1974 said:
Below is an excerpt from Pat Forde's article on yahoo right now. I dont think it was necessary to call us delusional. I would post link but couldnt get it to work.




Tennessee: Butch Jones.

Last stop: Cincinnati, where Jones was 23-14 in three seasons riding the coattails of program builder Brian Kelly.

Butch Jones speaks during his introductory press conference as Tennessee's head coach. (AP)Why leave: Jones was going somewhere, whether it was Colorado or Tennessee – and given the straits Cincinnati now finds itself in with the implosion of the Big East, his timing was excellent. Nobody can blame him for leaving.

Grade: B-plus. Reality check for Tennessee fans who believe Butch Jones is beneath them: your program has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for two weeks in the last five years. You’re six games below .500 in that time. Tennessee has great tradition and a great following and will regain competitiveness sooner rather than later, but this belief that America’s most proven and attractive coaches are going to come running to Rocky Top is delusional. Get a grip.
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Dang Pat Forde, can you at least buy us dinner first.... sheesh. Did Tennessee wrong this guy in the past? what a sad little man.
 
#61
#61
"B-plus"?

WTF is that?

He is either trying to say "B minus plus" which makes no damn sense.

Or he doesn't know there is a "+" key, and thinks "-plus" is the same thing.

Anyway, didn't read his assesment after getting my mind blown on that one.
 
#62
#62
Forde is a tool. Like most media, he's trying to sell his 'brand'. I don't like his weekly article because of the sensationalist tone he frequently takes. Plus, it's boring.

Judging our fan base as delusional is near-sighted (at best) and arrogant (at worst). As Butch Jones said in a recent interview, UT has the most wins in college football since 1926 and the 8th most wins overall. Our facilities and stadium are elite, our fan base is loyal, and our traditions are nationally known. Why shouldn't we expect a great coach?

Forde can suck it.
 
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#64
#64
This program is never going to be held in the same regards as a Notre Dame, Ohio ST, Michigan, USC, Oklahoma, or Alabama etc. by the national media no matter what the all time record is or what the Vols are currently putting on the field. You ask any of these talking heads who the royalty of college football is and the Vols will never get a mention.

Even in 1998, they started behind the 8 ball in the rankings because we were replacing Manning and it was a weekly thing of speculating when the Vols were gonna slip up.

I consider us among the royalty of college football but most of the media outside the South doesn't.

Throw in that this program has done nothing major of consequence on the national level in over a decade, and it's just a fact of life that the media downplays our place among the hierarchy of college football.
 
#66
#66
BigPapaVol said:
don't be a retard.

Put oofus and doofus in charge, toss out middle of the road money and you get the backwater of the annual coaching shuffle. That's what we did and it sucks. Couch it as you please, but we did exactly that and barely beat the garbage that produced Dooley.
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Don't want to but I pretty much agree. The only difference is that this coach will be better at inspiring players to do well. He will not call them out in the press.

And he will not look like a crosseyed eagle mad at a seagull.
 
#68
#68
JonGrudensAgent said:
This program is never going to be held in the same regards as a Notre Dame, Ohio ST, Michigan, USC, Oklahoma, or Alabama etc. by the national media no matter what the all time record is or what the Vols are currently putting on the field. You ask any of these talking heads who the royalty of college football is and the Vols will never get a mention.

Even in 1998, they started behind the 8 ball in the rankings because we were replacing Manning and it was a weekly thing of speculating when the Vols were gonna slip up.

I consider us among the royalty of college football but most of the media outside the South doesn't.

Throw in that this program has done nothing major of consequence on the national level in over a decade, and it's just a fact of life that the media downplays our place among the hierarchy of college football.
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We're not royalty. Royalty doesn't produce 5-year records like this. We're a bunch of serfs. Just sit back and enjoy - after a few more mediocre seasons, ticket prices will start to sink and I can bring my family back to the games. We need to adopt Ole Miss's attitude - the party is what matters. They have The Grove, and we have the Vol Navy and Vol Walk. We can be the best party schools in the conference - we just need to stay focused and strive to be the best in these areas. Screw the game.
 
#69
#69
iluvsmesumdooley said:
We're not royalty. Royalty doesn't produce 5-year records like this. We're a bunch of serfs. Just sit back and enjoy - after a few more mediocre seasons, ticket prices will start to sink and I can bring my family back to the games. We need to adopt Ole Miss's attitude - the party is what matters. They have The Grove, and we have the Vol Navy and Vol Walk. We can be the best party schools in the conference - we just need to stay focused and strive to be the best in these areas. Screw the game.
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Sarcasm? I can't tell.:huh:
 
#70
#70
I wished Eric Berry could meet Pat Forde across the middle, I think ole Forde would be all smoke screeny and what not after that LOL!!!! :rock::shades:
 
#72
#72
golfballs said:
It's certainly not money. We were willing to pay Strong a lot more than what Bielema ended up with
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Hart probably expected he would close the deal with Charlie Strong (and from what Charlie Strong said, he was leading Tennessee to believe that he was coming). I think most of us woudl agree Strong>Bielema so that may be why the talks didn't go further.

Of course I'm not convinced that Bielema>Jones, I like what I've seen so far from bUTch, only time will tell which coach can prove it on the field.

Just cause Forde gave the other guy an A, that means nothing. If Forde were such a great evaluator of talent he would be an AD or GM or something. He's a writer, he's just trying to get clicks.
 
#74
#74
iluvsmesumdooley said:
We're not royalty. Royalty doesn't produce 5-year records like this. We're a bunch of serfs. Just sit back and enjoy - after a few more mediocre seasons, ticket prices will start to sink and I can bring my family back to the games. We need to adopt Ole Miss's attitude - the party is what matters. They have The Grove, and we have the Vol Navy and Vol Walk. We can be the best party schools in the conference - we just need to stay focused and strive to be the best in these areas. Screw the game.
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Ok, so basically what you're saying is Bama sucks natioanlly because they were terrible for about 10 years up until Saban?

We live in a society of instant-gratification. It's like Notre Dame; everyone said they were never getting back to their glory days, but now they're playing for the NC. What have you done for me lately... Once the Vols are winning again, all will be well in the world.
 
#75
#75
I agree with Forde....no one really wants to hear the negative but those who are all "orange-colored glasses" are going to see nothing but sunshine and rainbows anyway. Let's be honest that we aren't the same program currently that we should be or could be...and we'll all be better off.
 
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