Hot Seat 2023-24

They care just enough to fire the coach but not support the program. I saw a great line by Matt Rhule, Football Coach at Nebraska, that made me think of the NC State Soccer situation. "Never take a job where the expectations outweigh the commitment"

 

https://gomarquette.com/sports/mens-soccer

Marquette goes D2 route. Interesting hire.

 

If anyone has any idea, would a new head coach at this level tend to want to/be able to bring in a staff composed mostly or entirely of their own people, or would money dictate that coaches in his position would tend to retain some or all of the old Marquette staff?

 

I imagine this will prove to be a great hire. Look at what Stewart and Higgins have accomplished in the Big East as former D2 guys. UAB and NC State have also nailed their hires, ETSU has become a great stepping stone program, I imagine they will have a solid list of candidates to become the next coach to use it as a launch point.

 

I would wager a fair amount that the 2024 National Champion will come from the ACC. The ACC tournament has long been considered a more difficult trophy than the NCAA to win, but with the addition of Cal, Stanford, and SMU this theory may well now be a fact.

 

The players at Marquette are fond of the assistant, but I would imagine Coach Korn will have carte blanche to mold this the way he wants.

 

So Korn earned his undergrad degree from Arizona, which doesn't have a men's soccer program. Did he not play college soccer? How many D-I head coaches didn't play college or pro soccer?

 

He was a "standout" at his high school, Canyone del Oro, and then went to AZ. He's been coaching all over the map since 2007.

 

Korn is one of those people who really has been a coach from the outset. It happens in other sports (American football most notably), but perhaps hasn't extended to soccer as much.

He started coaching youth soccer in 2001, which I think was when he was still in high school and achieved a lot of success in youth and HS coaching while a college student. The year he graduated college -- 2007 -- he was named AZ Youth Soccer Coach of the year and was nominated for AZ Boys Youth Soccer Coach of the year in 2003 and 2004. He was also Southern Arizona Youth Referee of the Year in 2003 (Incidentally, I think more than a few college coaches would benefit from referee training and experience!). I don't exactly know why he didn't play competitively in college - could have been injury, finances, or limited options. Arizona is one of those states with very few DI options and zero DIII options and the University of Arizona might have been the best combination of financial and educational path for him and coaching might have helped pay the bills.

In any event, I've often thought the ex-player as coach model, while certainly plausible, is by no means the only way to become a great coach. Indeed, given how much of college coaching now involves tasks off the field, the fact that playing only tangentially prepares someone to manage a group of players, and the increasing sophistication of the youth game and the technical and tactical training as part of the coach licensing and education process, it's surprising there aren't more coaches these days who come from the youth coaching ranks rather than straight from a playing career.

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/unh-soccer-coach-marc-hubbard-234600770.html
I really don't know what to think of this move yet until I find out the money details. Hubbard may have asked for a new deal at UNH and didn't get anywhere. It also depends on how old he is and how long he sees himself coaching. He's going from a low-key situation where he wins and contends for a tourny birth every year to a mega-conference where he'll be fighting for his life.

As for how good a job UNH is the challenge is different than it was a few seasons ago. When I've seen UNH in-person I've been impressed with their ball control abilities but would have liked to see what a more attacking style would have got them. NC St attracted a highly experienced guy for a tough job.

 

This is a fantastic hire, and well deserved. Need to see more hires like thus

 

LeMoyne is a bad hire. A 2017 grad with no d1 experience based on who else was in for the job. winning 2 games deserves a job? Embarrassing

 

Look for NC State and Marquette (UNH and Maryville went that route) to go the international route to compete. You see the pattern for hiring guys with international recruiting experience for the mid-majors but now you will see it more and more in the P2 for men's soccer as well.

 

I didn't look at playing time, but Maryville had about a dozen internationals and a dozen kids from Missouri and the Illinois portion of the STL metro area. That seems smart, striking some kind of balance. Marquette, fwiw, had almost as many internationals this season.

 

"Just a family decision coupled with the opportunity to develop as a professional in the best men's soccer conference in the country," Hubbard said.

Will current UNH players follow Hubbard to North Carolina State University?

"Can't answer that," Hubbard said. "Still too fresh to even think about." Sea Coast Media

Hubbard was 1year into a 6-year deal. Was he bought out or just allowed to leave for an ACC job?

 

I was surprised by this one. Looks like a way to save money to me. Who else was in for it?

 

I think you can expect a fair amount of influx into the NC State program. In terms of buyout, I would imagine there was one and NC State paid a bill. This hire needs to be evaluated in year 3. Kiefer made the tournament in Year 1 at NC State. The proof will be in the ability of the school, department, and staff to build a recipe for long-term success. Remains to be seen if it can be done.

 

D1 head coach
D1 power 5 assistant
D3 ncaa tournament head coach

 

Any news on Drexel?

 

Heard a few interesting names are in the interview process for that. A couple of D2 HC's and a few D1 assistants.

 

I feel like Billy Colton (Gannon), Oliver Twelvetrees (CSU-Pueblo) would be two top D2 head coaches.

For D1 assistants I would think Steve DeMatteo (Penn) and Drew Hutchins (Cornell and Philly Native) should get good looks. Obviously this is all speculation.

 

Was going to say if I were an AD, Oliver Twelvetrees would probably be one of my first calls.

 

The quote above from Matt Rhule ("Never take a job where the expectations outweigh the commitment") also works in reverse.

If you hire a coach who expects you to devote resources to the program, and you don't have the resources to devote to the program, you aren't going to have a succesful relationship.