While it’s probably too early to pull the plug here (Purdue is still 2-2) the fat lady is warming up. I don’t expect any announcement mid-season but if there were to be one, I don’t see it coming until Purdue is mathematically eliminated from a bowl (e.g. 7 losses).
Should (or when) that comes, Purdue will be looking for a new head coach so to try and handicap it, I tried to pull some names together with pros and cons of each and why they may or may not be a fit. Certainly, this is not an exhaustive list but some names which come to mind, so, here goes:
Purdue Tie-Ins:
The coaching tree as of the last eight years is pretty much a stump. No one coach really distinguished themselves during or after their stint at Purdue which then makes you go back to Tiller’s coaching tree and of those there are very few options:
- Brock Spack – Obviously, the former DC and current HC at Illinois State would be a sentimental favorite and after a largely successful stint as Purdue’s DC, he’s established himself as a capable coach at the FCS level. A couple of knocks against him is that towards the end of his time at Purdue, the defense fell off mightily. He’s also been the beneficiary of FBS transfers to propel his FCS team to a good record and into the playoffs. While he does have a win against Northwestern this season, that win may not have as much luster as it once had. Also, since that win, Spack has gone on a bit of a losing streak losing to Eastern Illinois, Indiana State and NDSU.
- Jim Chaney – Chaney hasn’t been a HC anywhere but has been a sought after OC working at some very high level schools under some high level coaches. He also has a fair amount of experience at the pro level. In addition to his ability to put together a game plan, he was also one of Purdue’s better recruiters when he was here previously, something that will be critical IMHKO for any new HC.
- Kevin Sumlin – Sumlin already has a good job at TAMU and is off to another good start this season at 5-0 but the local scuttlebutt is that should he stumble at all, TAMU may make a move to replace him. Coming from the SEC, he would add some immediate credibility to Purdue’s program and also open up a pipeline to the Texas recruiting grounds.
- Greg Olson - Currently the OC at the Jacksonville Jaguars, he's bounced around the NFL ranks, primarily as an OC or QB coach since he left Purdue (for the 2nd time) in 2003. No indication that he would want to get back to the college game although, he will have 15 years of NFL service at the end of 2016 which I believe will fully vest him in the NFL Pension plan, so he might be open to trying something different. The questions that would surround him would be commitment to the program (e.g. if another NFL team comes calling, does he jump); he hasn't been around the college game for a decade and a half, and; would he try and bring in a NFL offense which may not translate to the college game
Coaches From Non-Power 5 Schools:
While Purdue isn’t at the top of the B10 heap when it comes to facilities and resources, it does have more, especially in the way of TV money, than most if not all non-Power 5 team. This should make it attractive for a non-Power 5 coach who’d been largely successful on a shoestring, to do even better once the money taps get turned off (relatively speaking). In light of Hazell's hiring after one successful season, it probably makes sense to seek out coaches who've had a more sustained program than the "flavor of the month" who's having a great season this year. Some logical players here would include:
- P.J. Fleck, Western Michigan. I’ve personally been enamored with Fleck since Purdue met Western Michigan in Hazell’s 2nd year. Fleck’s been around long enough to see the majority of his team being manned by his recruits and has done well with that group already beating Northwestern and Illinois on the road and currently is undefeated. In regards to his recruiting he’s arguably brought in classes comparable, if not above, five to six B10 teams while recruiting to Western Michigan. He’s worked under Tressell at OSU (GA), Schiano at Rutgers & Tampa Bay (WRs) and Jerry Kill at Northern Illinois (WRs)
- Willie Tagart, University of South Florida. Like Fleck, has built his program up to a point over four seasons where they could compete with just about any team right how. Their only loss on the season is to Florida State on the road. Tagart worked under Harbaugh at Stanford.
- Brian Polian, Nevada. Prior to Purdue’s game with Nevada, I compared his W-L record with Tiller’s at the same point in time at their respective schools. There was but a one win difference. Nevada competed well against ND and again against Purdue this season. The travel may have caught up with them as they were blown out at Hawai’I this past weekend. Still Polian had his team in bowl games two of the last three seasons.
- Bob Diacco, U-Conn. Diacco has not had the type of success that Fleck or Tagert may have had but he is defensive minded, a place where Purdue could use more focus and previously was the DC at ND, where AD Bobinski has ties.
- Jeff Brohm, Western Kentucky. Offensive guru and QB coach. Coached primarily under Petrino and is a Louisville alum. Would likely need to be paired with a good DC to win in the B10. Probably a front runner for the Louisville job should it open up .
- Matt Ruhle, Temple. Has shown steady progression of improvement at Temple, now if 4th season as HC. Has experience coaching on both sides of the ball and does have a year of NFL experience. Spent his teen years in State College before enrolling and walking on the PSU football team as a LB. Would consider him the front runner for the PSU job should it open up.
- Bo Pelini, Youngstown State. Coming in from his DC position at LSU, he was very successful at Nebraska but was never able to win the "big game" even though he never won less than 9 in his 7 seasons at Nebraska. He was often brusque and confrontational at press conferences.
Former HC's:
- Greg Schiano (Current OSU Co-DC, Former Rutgers & Tampa Bay HC). Established college HC at Rutgers with NFL HC experience at Tampa Bay. Defensive minded coach that, say unlike a Lovie Smith, is back in the college game yet has the NFL track record to bolster the resume.
- Brady Hoke (Current Oregon DC, Former Michigan, Ball State HC). After taking a year off following his firing at Michigan, Hoke is currently calling the defense for the Oregon Ducks. Unfortunately, the Ducks are having trouble stopping teams so Hoke may not seem to be a marketable name right now. However, he reportedly was a good recruiter and has a considerable amount of experience in the Mid-West and in Indiana so his learning curve would be pretty steep.
- Lane Kiffen (Current Alabama OC, Former Raider, Tennessee Vol s and USC HC). Good offensive mind but doesn't always mesh well with the fan base. Part of the Pete Carroll coaching tree, he was hired way too soon for the Raider job and left Tennessee in a bit of a lurch to take over the USC position. I would be concerned on his ability to recruit to Purdue
- Butch Davis (Current Radio Host, Former UNC, Miami and Cleveland Brown HC). At the college level, seemed to recruit well and was successful at that level. Impression is that he often worked on the shady side of the street and never seemed far from a scandal, although I'm not sure he was ever implicated.
- Art Briles (Currently unemployed, Former Baylor HC). No question that he could turn around a football program but with the implications of why he was let go at Baylor, he might not be hirable (at Purdue) this year.
- Les Miles (Currently unemployed, Former LSU HC). Michigan alum and reportedly a good recruiter. Biggest criticism is his adherence to a 1980's style of offense. Would instantly create a buzz as he does have a National Championship title but would need to have a major change in style offensively in order to succeed at Purdue.
NFL Coaches:
Ordinarily Purdue wouldn't be tapping the NFL coaching ranks to find a new HC however, there may be one candidate which might be a good fit:
- Bill O'Brien, Houston Texans. While not officially on the "hot seat", reports are that O'Brien may not make it to next season as the Texan's coach. Should he be let go, I don't think he wouldn't automatically be a candidate for another NFL position, like a Shaun Payton might be. With his background in the NFL as well as his ability to turnaround PSU under very difficult circumstances, he would be an ideal candidate for Purdue .
Fired (or soon to be) Coaches:
Most of the college coaching openings will come after the end of the season when teams part ways with their coaching staff. Aside from Les Miles (see above), so far no other high profile, Power 5 coach has been let go but there are some that are truly on the hot seat:
- Charlie Strong, Texas. Strong built a ...umm...strong program at Louisville recruiting well to a Big East/ACC team from the midwest. The demands at Texas are different than for about any other school as there are additional media commitments, etc. Strong didn't forget how to coach or recruit and should bring with him a renewed pipeline to Texas players.
- James Franklin, PSU. Only now getting out from under the scholarship restrictions and without Christian Hackenberg for the first time, Franklin is finally getting the PSU program to probably where he wanted it to be. Beating Minnesota last Saturday probably will generate a little more breathing room but their next two to three games could push him out the door given the wrong outcomes. Again, a good recruiter both at Vandy and at PSU.
- Mark Helfrich, Oregon. Now on a three game losing streak (Nebraska, Colorado and Washington State), it's not necessarily been Oregon's offense that's lost them their games (See Brady Hoke above). Still Helfrich is the captain of the ship. My sense is that if fired, he would stay on the West Coast in some capacity.
Should (or when) that comes, Purdue will be looking for a new head coach so to try and handicap it, I tried to pull some names together with pros and cons of each and why they may or may not be a fit. Certainly, this is not an exhaustive list but some names which come to mind, so, here goes:
Purdue Tie-Ins:
The coaching tree as of the last eight years is pretty much a stump. No one coach really distinguished themselves during or after their stint at Purdue which then makes you go back to Tiller’s coaching tree and of those there are very few options:
- Brock Spack – Obviously, the former DC and current HC at Illinois State would be a sentimental favorite and after a largely successful stint as Purdue’s DC, he’s established himself as a capable coach at the FCS level. A couple of knocks against him is that towards the end of his time at Purdue, the defense fell off mightily. He’s also been the beneficiary of FBS transfers to propel his FCS team to a good record and into the playoffs. While he does have a win against Northwestern this season, that win may not have as much luster as it once had. Also, since that win, Spack has gone on a bit of a losing streak losing to Eastern Illinois, Indiana State and NDSU.
- Jim Chaney – Chaney hasn’t been a HC anywhere but has been a sought after OC working at some very high level schools under some high level coaches. He also has a fair amount of experience at the pro level. In addition to his ability to put together a game plan, he was also one of Purdue’s better recruiters when he was here previously, something that will be critical IMHKO for any new HC.
- Kevin Sumlin – Sumlin already has a good job at TAMU and is off to another good start this season at 5-0 but the local scuttlebutt is that should he stumble at all, TAMU may make a move to replace him. Coming from the SEC, he would add some immediate credibility to Purdue’s program and also open up a pipeline to the Texas recruiting grounds.
- Greg Olson - Currently the OC at the Jacksonville Jaguars, he's bounced around the NFL ranks, primarily as an OC or QB coach since he left Purdue (for the 2nd time) in 2003. No indication that he would want to get back to the college game although, he will have 15 years of NFL service at the end of 2016 which I believe will fully vest him in the NFL Pension plan, so he might be open to trying something different. The questions that would surround him would be commitment to the program (e.g. if another NFL team comes calling, does he jump); he hasn't been around the college game for a decade and a half, and; would he try and bring in a NFL offense which may not translate to the college game
Coaches From Non-Power 5 Schools:
While Purdue isn’t at the top of the B10 heap when it comes to facilities and resources, it does have more, especially in the way of TV money, than most if not all non-Power 5 team. This should make it attractive for a non-Power 5 coach who’d been largely successful on a shoestring, to do even better once the money taps get turned off (relatively speaking). In light of Hazell's hiring after one successful season, it probably makes sense to seek out coaches who've had a more sustained program than the "flavor of the month" who's having a great season this year. Some logical players here would include:
- P.J. Fleck, Western Michigan. I’ve personally been enamored with Fleck since Purdue met Western Michigan in Hazell’s 2nd year. Fleck’s been around long enough to see the majority of his team being manned by his recruits and has done well with that group already beating Northwestern and Illinois on the road and currently is undefeated. In regards to his recruiting he’s arguably brought in classes comparable, if not above, five to six B10 teams while recruiting to Western Michigan. He’s worked under Tressell at OSU (GA), Schiano at Rutgers & Tampa Bay (WRs) and Jerry Kill at Northern Illinois (WRs)
- Willie Tagart, University of South Florida. Like Fleck, has built his program up to a point over four seasons where they could compete with just about any team right how. Their only loss on the season is to Florida State on the road. Tagart worked under Harbaugh at Stanford.
- Brian Polian, Nevada. Prior to Purdue’s game with Nevada, I compared his W-L record with Tiller’s at the same point in time at their respective schools. There was but a one win difference. Nevada competed well against ND and again against Purdue this season. The travel may have caught up with them as they were blown out at Hawai’I this past weekend. Still Polian had his team in bowl games two of the last three seasons.
- Bob Diacco, U-Conn. Diacco has not had the type of success that Fleck or Tagert may have had but he is defensive minded, a place where Purdue could use more focus and previously was the DC at ND, where AD Bobinski has ties.
- Jeff Brohm, Western Kentucky. Offensive guru and QB coach. Coached primarily under Petrino and is a Louisville alum. Would likely need to be paired with a good DC to win in the B10. Probably a front runner for the Louisville job should it open up .
- Matt Ruhle, Temple. Has shown steady progression of improvement at Temple, now if 4th season as HC. Has experience coaching on both sides of the ball and does have a year of NFL experience. Spent his teen years in State College before enrolling and walking on the PSU football team as a LB. Would consider him the front runner for the PSU job should it open up.
- Bo Pelini, Youngstown State. Coming in from his DC position at LSU, he was very successful at Nebraska but was never able to win the "big game" even though he never won less than 9 in his 7 seasons at Nebraska. He was often brusque and confrontational at press conferences.
Former HC's:
- Greg Schiano (Current OSU Co-DC, Former Rutgers & Tampa Bay HC). Established college HC at Rutgers with NFL HC experience at Tampa Bay. Defensive minded coach that, say unlike a Lovie Smith, is back in the college game yet has the NFL track record to bolster the resume.
- Brady Hoke (Current Oregon DC, Former Michigan, Ball State HC). After taking a year off following his firing at Michigan, Hoke is currently calling the defense for the Oregon Ducks. Unfortunately, the Ducks are having trouble stopping teams so Hoke may not seem to be a marketable name right now. However, he reportedly was a good recruiter and has a considerable amount of experience in the Mid-West and in Indiana so his learning curve would be pretty steep.
- Lane Kiffen (Current Alabama OC, Former Raider, Tennessee Vol s and USC HC). Good offensive mind but doesn't always mesh well with the fan base. Part of the Pete Carroll coaching tree, he was hired way too soon for the Raider job and left Tennessee in a bit of a lurch to take over the USC position. I would be concerned on his ability to recruit to Purdue
- Butch Davis (Current Radio Host, Former UNC, Miami and Cleveland Brown HC). At the college level, seemed to recruit well and was successful at that level. Impression is that he often worked on the shady side of the street and never seemed far from a scandal, although I'm not sure he was ever implicated.
- Art Briles (Currently unemployed, Former Baylor HC). No question that he could turn around a football program but with the implications of why he was let go at Baylor, he might not be hirable (at Purdue) this year.
- Les Miles (Currently unemployed, Former LSU HC). Michigan alum and reportedly a good recruiter. Biggest criticism is his adherence to a 1980's style of offense. Would instantly create a buzz as he does have a National Championship title but would need to have a major change in style offensively in order to succeed at Purdue.
NFL Coaches:
Ordinarily Purdue wouldn't be tapping the NFL coaching ranks to find a new HC however, there may be one candidate which might be a good fit:
- Bill O'Brien, Houston Texans. While not officially on the "hot seat", reports are that O'Brien may not make it to next season as the Texan's coach. Should he be let go, I don't think he wouldn't automatically be a candidate for another NFL position, like a Shaun Payton might be. With his background in the NFL as well as his ability to turnaround PSU under very difficult circumstances, he would be an ideal candidate for Purdue .
Fired (or soon to be) Coaches:
Most of the college coaching openings will come after the end of the season when teams part ways with their coaching staff. Aside from Les Miles (see above), so far no other high profile, Power 5 coach has been let go but there are some that are truly on the hot seat:
- Charlie Strong, Texas. Strong built a ...umm...strong program at Louisville recruiting well to a Big East/ACC team from the midwest. The demands at Texas are different than for about any other school as there are additional media commitments, etc. Strong didn't forget how to coach or recruit and should bring with him a renewed pipeline to Texas players.
- James Franklin, PSU. Only now getting out from under the scholarship restrictions and without Christian Hackenberg for the first time, Franklin is finally getting the PSU program to probably where he wanted it to be. Beating Minnesota last Saturday probably will generate a little more breathing room but their next two to three games could push him out the door given the wrong outcomes. Again, a good recruiter both at Vandy and at PSU.
- Mark Helfrich, Oregon. Now on a three game losing streak (Nebraska, Colorado and Washington State), it's not necessarily been Oregon's offense that's lost them their games (See Brady Hoke above). Still Helfrich is the captain of the ship. My sense is that if fired, he would stay on the West Coast in some capacity.
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