A Sea Of Red

There's a lot of discussion about the next head football coach and who we should go after to fill the position. If you were the athletic director, which of these categories would you pursue? This isn't what you think Liberty would do, but if you were the AD, knowing who we are as a school, our status as FBS Independent, and our financial opportunities, what category would you pursue the most?

Here are the ground rules:

1) You can choose two options.
2) You have to tell us why you chose those options.
3) You have to give us your sales pitch of why said coach would leave his current position for ours.

I'll start. I chose Current P5 Assistant Coach or Current FCS Head Coach. Here's why:

Current P5 Assistant Coach
When I think of this make up and resume, I think of Rocco's resume before he came to Liberty. He'd been in a lot of places and have been given administrative responsibility but not the coordinator responsibility. I think being a head coach is about much more than X's and O's so being a coordinator isn't a make or break for me. If a coach has been given other leadership responsibilities, I think he could be a good head coach. We could likely offer to pay him double what he's making at his current school and it gives him a chance to be a head coach years before he'd get the chance at the P5/upper G5 level.

Current FCS Head Coach
If someone can have success at the FCS level without the resources we have, I think he could have even more success given our resources. It'd be a step up in competition for him and we could likely double his pay. I chose Current FCS Head Coach over Current G5 Head Coach because I don't think a good G5 head coach would leave his program for Liberty. The pay increase wouldn't be enough to justify the step down in success given that he's only a couple years from a higher level G5 or low level P5 position. It'd be a step backwards for that guy. I also chose Current FCS Head Coach over G5 Coordinator because I'd rather have someone who has experience leading a program. This transition is going to be hard enough without a coordinator learning on the job.

You missed a couple: Former NFL Head Coach & Former NFL Player turned TV Commentator

Frankly I don't have a strong preference to the current position of the next coach. What I am looking for is a believer who can motivate and will have an impact in the living rooms of recruits. That doesn't necesarily mean a brand name. It means someone with the energy to build something special. That could be a 60+ former P5 retread or it could be a 32-year-old assistant with fire in his belly. Head Football Coach is one of only two positions in an athletic department where the personality matters as much as Xs & Os.

Why is "stick with current HC" not an option?

Good catch. But I believe it was obvious that we were starting with a loaded premise.

JK37 wrote:Why is "stick with current HC" not an option?

Because that’s not interesting. We’ve had that conversation.

Sly Fox wrote:You missed a couple: Former NFL Head Coach

Good call on that one. I combined it to the retired/fires P5 coach because it’s the same concept.

I have always been a fan of bringing coaches to LU who see it as their ‘Big Break’. Those coaches are usually a little more fearless and a little more innovative
Can’t remember hiring one of those. I would like someone who can put their unique stamp and brand on the program and be the face of the University
Skittle Rainbows and Unicorns a plus

I picked G5 Coordinator and FCS Head Coach.

G5 Coordinator: because for a P5 Coordinator it would be a step down.

FCS Head Coach: because it's a step up for a guy who already knows how to successfully manage a staff and lead a program.

Purple Haize wrote:I have always been a fan of bringing coaches to LU who see it as their ‘Big Break’. Those coaches are usually a little more fearless and a little more innovative
Can’t remember hiring one of those. I would like someone who can put their unique stamp and brand on the program and be the face of the University
Skittle Rainbows and Unicorns a plus

So you want the next Chris Petersen? I'm okay with this.

I'm of the mindset that we need to find an up and coming coach that will be hungry to prove himself. Whether that is a current G5 head coach or P5 coordinator. I think that is where we should look.

Liberty will go with the biggest name that says yes so this discussion is pointless.

I would go after a current P5 head coach who has a national championship ring. If he said no, I would go after a former Big 12 coach, who stepped down just before season started.

Both may relish the challenge of building FBS program at Liberty.

ballcoach15 wrote:I would go after a current P5 head coach who has a national championship ring. If he said no, I would go after a former Big 12 coach, who stepped down just before season started.

Both may relish the challenge of building FBS program at Liberty.

The second is Stoops. Who is this first?

JK37 wrote:G5 Coordinator: because for a P5 Coordinator it would be a step down.

What’s your reasoning of G5 coordinator over P5 assistant? When I think P5 assistant I think of Rocco’s pre-Liberty resume or Streeter’s current resume. Just wanting to learn your thought process.

Coordinators have some experience actually calling plays or managing a staff. There are exceptions. Biggest is Dabo, who went from WR Coach to HC. Generally speaking, position coach to HC just seems like a big and rare leap to me.

I personally like the Elon coach. A Christian school close by that is winning. Elon has never won much of anything. So it's pretty impressive.

Coordinators also have more experience actually making adjustments.

Was Gill ever a coordinator before becoming a head coach?

JK37 wrote:Coordinators have some experience actually calling plays or managing a staff. There are exceptions. Biggest is Dabo, who went from WR Coach to HC. Generally speaking, position coach to HC just seems like a big and rare leap to me.

Makes sense. And to answer your other question, Gill was never a coordinator. Neither was Rocco. Both had Associate Head Coach titles in their resume though. Dabo did as well.

JK37 wrote:I picked G5 Coordinator and FCS Head Coach.

G5 Coordinator: because for a P5 Coordinator it would be a step down.

FCS Head Coach: because it's a step up for a guy who already knows how to successfully manage a staff and lead a program.

Going from P5 coordinator to essentially a G5 Head Coach is not a step down in most situations. Becoming the head guy is always the goal. Now a very successful P5 coordinator who is likely going to be a head guy at the P5 level real soon would be a step down.

I guess it depends on the coordinator or the school. I seem to recall more P5 coordinators becoming P5 HC's of late.

Something I was trying to say in another thread, too: Liberty isn't just a G5 job. Yeah, we all like to talk about the resources and the potential. But this is largely uncharted water. FBS Indy, prognosis is a real struggle the first couple years. It's a real boom-or-bust job. Which I think necessitates a hungry up-and-comer.

Forgot to mention the faith component: has it been proven yet that a football program can win at the highest level and maintain the code of ethics and spirituality Liberty purports to uphold?

BYU and Notre Dame happened a LONG time ago. Now the list gets very short...

Liberty22 wrote:

JK37 wrote:I picked G5 Coordinator and FCS Head Coach.

G5 Coordinator: because for a P5 Coordinator it would be a step down.

FCS Head Coach: because it's a step up for a guy who already knows how to successfully manage a staff and lead a program.

Going from P5 coordinator to essentially a G5 Head Coach is not a step down in most situations. Becoming the head guy is always the goal. Now a very successful P5 coordinator who is likely going to be a head guy at the P5 level real soon would be a step down.

In terms of money most cases it is a step down. Most coordinators make 500k+, plenty make 1mil+. There are like 20 G5 coaches making less than Clemson's strength and conditioning coach.

JK37 wrote:Forgot to mention the faith component: has it been proven yet that a football program can win at the highest level and maintain the code of ethics and spirituality Liberty purports to uphold?

BYU and Notre Dame happened a LONG time ago. Now the list gets very short...

“Have you heard of Jesus?”
“Can you say God without also saying dang?”
“Do you have access to a Bible”

If you can answer Yes to these questions please continue on.

Ewglenn wrote:Would y'all be interested in a coach that runs the triple option? I always hated playing the service academies or GT. They are so efficient and it levels the playing field in terms of talent gap. Maybe a good triple option could cause problems for teams leading to wins?

ballcoach would be a hard NO

To me that fits ‘Putting stamp on Program ‘