Jim Leavitt d/c at the univ. of Colorado. He was on Harbaugh`s staff with the 49ers. Coached for years at USF and was fired over a locker room incident with a player. USF won 95 and lost 57 while he was the head coach. Age 58,received a settlement of 2.75 mil. from USF after they fired him.
For those who would like an older coach with experience
- Thread starter pb1941
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I liked this guy when at USF. Pretty much built the program. Supposedly was in the final 2 or 3 when IU was interviewing for a coach, either after Cam or Dinardo. I think he slapped the punter around at halftime of a game after a bad punt or 2.
You're not necessarily wrong... but are you saying Purdue AD should only look at guys they believe are likely to stick around 10-15 years? Not sure I agree entirely with that. For starters, a coach's desire and/or ability to stick around is entirely nullified if he doesn't perform well enough because he'll get the boot. So conceptually it makes sense, but in practice that's hard to work with because its not all on the coach to decide.
Secondly, you might severely limit your candidate pool by eliminating candidates you think are "too good" or "too up-and-comer-ish" that they might use a few good years rebuilding Purdue to take on something better. Frankly, that is always a hiring risk in any sport unless you're one of the top programs or have a lot of history... and those teams don't struggle to find coaches because there is usually a lot of interest. Point being, that's a risk that's really hard to mitigate at a place like Purdue (short of offering a long contract with a big buy-out which isn't always a good thing...) Just wondering what exactly you meant by "long-term solution" and what you think the implications of that are.
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Wanting someone who is going to stay beyond 5 to 7 years is one thing, getting someone capable and/or willing to do so is another.
We have had football since 1887 and during that time have had 35 coaches and only 9 of those have lasted 5 years or more.
1 for 14 seasons - Mollenkopf '56-'69
1 for 12 seasons - Tiller '97-'08
1 for 9 seasons - Holcomb '47-'55
1 for 8 seasons - Phelan '22-'29
1 for 7 seasons - Kizer '30-'36
1 for 6 seasons - Colletto '91-'96
3 for 5 seasons Elward '37-41, Young '77-'81, and Burtnett '82-'86.
Doesn't seem like expecting coaching longevity beyond 5 to 7 years is statistically a good hiring parameter.
We have had football since 1887 and during that time have had 35 coaches and only 9 of those have lasted 5 years or more.
1 for 14 seasons - Mollenkopf '56-'69
1 for 12 seasons - Tiller '97-'08
1 for 9 seasons - Holcomb '47-'55
1 for 8 seasons - Phelan '22-'29
1 for 7 seasons - Kizer '30-'36
1 for 6 seasons - Colletto '91-'96
3 for 5 seasons Elward '37-41, Young '77-'81, and Burtnett '82-'86.
Doesn't seem like expecting coaching longevity beyond 5 to 7 years is statistically a good hiring parameter.
At this point I would rather have a guy for 5-7 who has experience building and sustainability within a program. A young hot coach more than likely will be gone within 5 yrs with any success. Anyone is better than the 3 clowns running the show now.
My 2 cents worth:
If we go young and get someone from the MAC or similar, then you can't give the guy 6 years at >$2M per year that will keep you hostage regardless of his performance. You give him say $1M with incentives (e.g., WINS) that pay additional. He is unproven and an incentive based contract will help him establish his worth. If we go with an older, more established coach, then you can provide a higher based salary. Giving Hazell the contract he got after only 1 good year at Kent State was a HUGE mistake.
If we go young and get someone from the MAC or similar, then you can't give the guy 6 years at >$2M per year that will keep you hostage regardless of his performance. You give him say $1M with incentives (e.g., WINS) that pay additional. He is unproven and an incentive based contract will help him establish his worth. If we go with an older, more established coach, then you can provide a higher based salary. Giving Hazell the contract he got after only 1 good year at Kent State was a HUGE mistake.
