Walking in to a Div II powerhouse is a lot different than walking in to a disaster Power5 program. Good news is it can only go up from where it is now.
Seems Eastern Washington is plugging along. A few candidates interviewed and seem to be moving onto the next round. Mostly assistant coaches in the mix but some good candidates in the mix.
I didn't mean to imply it won't work. I just think it's an interesting move. Jeff has it great at GVSU who is basically a D1 program in a D2 wrapper and he runs it that way. Soccer is a big deal there, as is athletics in general. I guess a proven D2 coach could be more attractive than an unproven P5 assistant, but I would think there would be some Mid Major targets out there who would be ready for that move. Should be interesting to watch it all play out.
I have met Max who used to work there as an assistant and is now at Boise. He would be a good head coach and I wonder if they are trying to get him back there.
As you all know, a lot of the success of a coach is going to be dependent on how well he or she identifies talent and then recruits that talent. In that regard, Jeff knows the soccer scene in Michigan and throughout the Midwest extremely well and there is a lot of talent in Michigan and throughout the Midwest. His contacts are extensive. I would think that he would do well.
This is my current list of changes so far. If this does not show as a picture, let me know and I will do something different.
I could see someone like Bruce Erickson at Northern Iowa or Chris Citowicki from Montana being a good fit for a job like Wyoming. Both have done well At their respective schools and could maybe look for a new challenge. I would probably go with Erickson though for that particular gig; his facial gruff would make him fit right in with the mountain man stereotype. Citowicki is probably more suited to the baby face demographic of the west coast.
If someone left the university of Montana for Wyoming they should be analyzed for wellness. I spent a weekend at Montana and it’s beautiful. Wyoming is horrific. Awful nowhere dirt plains far from everything. Went to a football game there once and regretted every second of it. My buddies lied to me that it was a great day trip from Colorado. Liars. And he’s winning at Montana. Why leave for another mid major where you’re the bottom of the barrel? Never been to northern Iowa but don’t get how Wyoming would be a step up.
Agree. Montana is about to announce an assistant coach hire. I don't see why you would have someone join your program and then up and leave them without a job again. I said it before and I will say it again: he is not leaving.
I don't know the Montana coach and have no clue if he is on the job search or not. But the timing of coaching searches this year will throw out a bunch of anomalies. It would be irresponsible of him to not replace an assistant coach even if he were looking at potentially moving on. He can't afford to put that hire on a freeze to wait to see if he gets another job. Obviously, that would not be an ideal scenario, but not much has been ideal the past year and a half.
Respectfully disagree. Only two hours away from Denver with the potential to recruit players from Colorado/Utah area. Wyoming is also in a better Conference and the gig could potentially be a stepping stone into a better D1 opportunity
I see both your guy's points but, to me, it comes down to being a destination in a lesser conference vs being the road apple in a better conference. Take Pitt and Syracuse, for example. hey, it's P5, I'll take it!....in reality, coaching graveyards. unwinnable field turf and musty practice bubbles...vs...southern based bermuda grass and climate. As the guy with the buddies ranking on Wyoming said, compare that gunsmoke prarie with the Mountain West locales. With the exception of far flung Hawaii...even Air Force could out-recruit them. It's about how ya compare to your peers. Ws and Ls. Dominate D2, even, you're in the hunt. On the other hand, you get caught up in assuming a gritty low end job in a better conference, you come out looking incompetent. Would Dorrance be Dorrance if he was at Pitt? I watched a vid of the Pitt freshmen once under the previous regime...it was like an interrogation/debrief hype vid...I noticed each answered "why Pitt?" with "chance to play in ACC." or some derivative,...maybe with a cursory "good school and chance to play in the ACC." Nothing definitive about Pitt itself, the team, coaches. All about "chance to play in ACC." The perennial conference bottom feeders get the passed overs...unwinnable. Sad but true. There's not enough girls "talent", compounded by girls put off by the (unnecessary) regimens and choosing sorority life, to create parity. Ergo, the foreign invasion. That's why UConn and a handful of schools dominate basketball.
@Holmes12 obviously you have not seen Pitts soccer facility in a while. I think kids would be interested. Our 🏠 got an upgrade 😏🔗: https://t.co/V4spho50u0#H2P pic.twitter.com/0Y4FLosqkG— Pitt Women's Soccer (@Pitt_WSOC) March 4, 2021
buhehehe....no...no...i mean,the inflatable bubble they have to practice in when the temps plunge to uncomfortable levels. Anyway, back to my point... comparing conference peers?....when parents are "blessed" to be in position to ask these...do they flip a coin?... Pitt...UNC? Pitt...FSU? Pitt...Clemson? Pitt...VTech? Pitt?...Wake Forest? Pitt...UVa? Pitt...Duke? Pitt?...ND?...I don't get the ND "thing"....but the Pitt "facility" doesn't come close to getting over the mystique, bragging rights thing with non-rev pay to play parents. "My daughter committed to Notre Dame." Personally, I'd go Pitt over State (my wife is from Pittsburgh, I do like the place...and I think the Raliegh campus is blah) but it appears climate and, I guess, proximity to Dorrance and other sexy ACC/SEC schools sways the upper crust leftovers to Raleigh. On to the ACC second division...ye skools of less moderate climates and field turf...Pitt's perennial home... Miami (too far flung, too boiling, scary rep for parents, never a contender for second division) Syracuse (too snowy, too bubbly, many parents assume it's public then jaws drop at NYCesque costs) Louisville (pushing distance from I-95 cash corridor, kinda crappy...whomever coach is has been doing great job winning second division). Pitt should inch ahead of these guys with "facility" and I think could compete with BC for perennial second division title (once BC gets somebody competent, although Boston isn't cosmopolitan nor a college town or anything). But given Pitt?...BC?...its probably 40-60, 45-55 in favor of BC. Of course Pitt would do well in their former seven sisters Big East (but would have no money for such soccer refurbishments) and would be mid to lower upper-tier B10 (wth other B10 easterlies due to proximity to I-95 cash corridor) if B10 wanted them, but they don't. However, in the ACC, if the AD is happy with contending for second division instead of being a doormat with the U and SU (is G Tech still in here somewhere?), then the investment is worth it. But due to the coaching tombstones on boot hill in the ACC's second division, and the title doesn't get one into the NCAA tournament, I doubt it. Location, climate, location.