At tailgate on Saturday a Hullabaloo Huddle fan came up and introduced themselves! (omg peeps actually read this?!) I was just so flattered, that I have plum gone completely off the deep end. It's gone totally to my head.
Mrs. Hullabaloo presents to you today, my very first attempt at a serious X's and O's edition. Yes! Very exciting!
I must preface this post by saying I ain't saying nothing about nobody. I am Just Sayin'.
To be very honest, I want to somehow meet Momma Bobby T and soak up her methods for raising a gentleman. That's a best selling book right there. Because Coach Bobby T has never been anything but a gentleman to us Greenie Dats and his manners are just impeccable in public. and Mrs. Bobby T, well, I just adore her and want to be her when I grow up. Or at least have her hair.
So there were some episodes when he done lost his mind and blamed the fans or the players, but overall in public Coach Bobby T handled himself with dignity. and I appreciate that in this day and age of foolishness.
At the end of the day, we want an amicable parting. Thank you for finding us such talented players, your granddaughter has an amazing singing talent, but our contract has now come to its end and so please leave us Jason Rollins. Go have fun fishing.
Right now there are some members of the Greenie Dat nation who are letting their passion get ahead of themselves and taking to showering some unseemly and vulgar name calling upon Coach and Doddmentum TM, which has not been funny and will come to be regretable. We at Tulane are better than that. This is not Cooter University. Coaching at Tulane post-K, post-Scelfo and post-review was literally the job from hell. So I just can't bring myself to kick Coach T in the behind on his way out the door given the pitifulness we struggle with daily. I mean if it's not Gibson Hall, it's no practice facility. If it's not academic programs, it's no pre-game hotels and busing 7 hours to games. We hand the poor man a bunch of hot garbage and then demand perfection. Every other coach would have been seen running screaming out da Wilson Center by now. So There. I said my piece.
So now for the fun part of my post: My Dream List of Coaches! Exciting, yes?!
Mike Leach - word. ....No discussion necessary. (Shotgun! I volunteer Princess Scott Cody for closet duty!!!!) Well, the downer is the salary requirement. $1.7mil. ouch. I can't wait to read the immature vitriol-laced debates about campus stadium fundraising v. head coach salary. Grab a seat and some truffle parmesan popcorn for that.
Andy Talley - Head Coach at Villanova. Northeast credentials are solid, so will fit in with our alumni base. Winning record everywhere he's coached, he has a long record as a head coach and he leads a championship-caliber spread offense squad at Villanova.
Mark Helfrich - Brightest, young offensive mind in the country. (<-- According to Mrs. Hullabaloo). Think Rich Rodriguez circa 1996, but with QB coaching credentials. No head coaching experience which is a huge unknown and will probably scare Rick Dickson. Also, while he may be used to some level of dreary humidity, he might wilt and die in our heat. None of his coaching experience has been in the nitty gritty south. and I also don't know a thing about his recruiting experience or abilities.
Neal Brown - talk about young. But Josh McDaniels, anyone? Also, he went to Texas Tech via Troy, so he knows the nitty gritty south and will have an aggressive style against our nemesis the Houston Cooters and the Corneaters of Tulsa. Also has northeast credentials with a degree from Umass and some coaching stints at 2A schools up that way. .....Be Agressive, Be, Be Agressive!
Brian Jenkins - Currently a Head Coach, former offense coach (WR) at Rutgers, special teams (!) coaching with the Ragin Cajuns and handled recruiting duties in past posts. Has experience playing CUSA teams. The downer will be the concessions that Scott Cowen will have to swallow in the academics department. That's just my unscientific opinion being thrown out there about the academics thing.
KC Keeler - Kurt Charles "wears his sunglasses at night" and is a minor celebrity in Delaware. Northeast credentials. But I promise we can beat $300g's a year salary. easy peasy. Except for that 10 year contract extension thingie he just signed. Oh well, dare to dream. And he has no experience coaching or recruiting in the nitty gritty south.
Chris Ault - Yes, he's old and in the HOF. But his salary is reasonable, he's been successful with his pistol twist on the spread, and he has the long tenured experience that would make Rick Dickson and Scottie just KVELL at the idea of landing him. Think Lou Holtz. Except that Chris Ault also has some experience as AD which might make Rick Dickson look over his shoulder. Not that he isn't already with Rick Jones...(What!!? Who said that!!? That was so gossipy Mrs. Hullabaloo!!!)
....Whatcha think? Not bad arm chair discussion for a Tailgatress, huh?
Interesting choices. You picked out some of the positives and negatives of each already, but I think most of them would be long-shot candidates for us:
ReplyDeleteLeach - probably too expensive, and would probably demand too much in $$ or academic concessions for Gibson Hall and the faculty to swallow (I think most people miss the fact that it is the faculty and its influence on Gibson Hall that is the biggest obstacle to athletics success, but that's a whole other post). Also, Leach probably more baggage than we could deal with. But it would sure demonstrate a commitment to win.
Talley - like the success, even if a bit up and down. But I think someone who has been someplace 20 years is unlikely to leave voluntarily (even if it is Villanova).
Helfrich - like what I read. a lot, but my gut doubts we could get a BCS school coordinator, especially from a currently successful program like Oregon. He probably thinks he's ready to be a "big-time" HC, or at least wants a better chance at immediate HC success than we could offer.
Brown - Same as Helfrich. I just doubt we could get a BCS coordinator who is not already on his way out.
Jenkins - I'd like to think we are a desirable step-up from Bethune-Cookman, but he is only in his first year there. If we were letting him walk into an already successful program, then maybe.
Keeler - Two main problems: he's at his alma mater (then again, see Conroy, Ed) and the contract is signed thru 2017.
Ault - Not an overwhelming record until this year (though much better over the years than us). Again, his long-tenure there makes me think he'd be a hard get. And I don't think another "old-guy" coach would go over too well with many of the more rabid fans. Does he have the "fire in the belly" for a rebuild job (which we constantly seem to be)?
Who can we get? It's too late in the evening for me to scour the internet for actual names, but I think we will be stuck for the foreseeable future with the types of coaches we have been getting: Young assistants (again, a BCS coordinator is unlikely, though a running backs coach or something would be doable, see Chris Scelfo), coaches at smaller schools where we would be a step up (see Buddy Teevens; or Talley, if he didn't already have the 20 years on the job), or guys currently out of a job and looking to get back into coaching (see CBT).
As for Leach, the only way I see us getting him is if he spends a few more years calling games on CBS College Sports; he's not very good at it, and gave the impression he doesn't really like it.
Anyway, my 2 cents on your 2 cents. And again, love the blog.
Greenie9398
And, if we are going to dream ... How about a coordinator (preferrably an OC) from one of our CUSA rivals? Depending on salary, that might be doable, and would still (probably) qualify as a step up for the coach.
ReplyDeleteOr ... Trooper Taylor. Phenomenal recruiter. But the downside is, he already knows the downsides of Tulane. And he's already assistant HC at Auburn. But as I said, we can dream.
Greenie 9398
Trooper Taylor would be such a dream, but I don't feel that nabbing a BCS coordinator as too much of a long shot if they don't feel that there's any movement and if the offer is attractive.
ReplyDeleteI'm lukewarm about re-treading CUSA coaches as CUSA is currently in such a dearth.
Also, it might be interesting to Mr. Taylor if we sell it as a stepping stone opportunity where they can get some publicity and better offers back in the BCS. I know it will be difficult for the powers that be to get over themselves and want to sell it that way, but we can dare to dream.
Let's get Trooper before Notre Dame does...
OK, I'll amend my comment some. I don't think we can lure a BCS coordinator from a currently successful program. A program having a mediocre or poor stretch, the coordinator might want to jump from that sinking ship onto ours (I kid, with love).
ReplyDelete--Greenie9398