quote:
Well, what you expect? Should we give him a raise and a new long-term contract if he doesn’t win enough in four years?

By the way, name a coach Alleva could have hired last season that would have been a guaranteed “win now” type of hire. Apparently, you must have one on the tip of your tongue the way that you are acting. Okay, who is it? Who did we miss on? Go ahead, we can take it.

See, the issue is that you are equating "win now," with anything we do. That's a dream for sure. Everyone wants to win. But no, I don't think we expect to win now in a normal hiring process. Most coaches have a "system," they have preferred coaching candidates, they have players that build into a pipeline that matches their system. They develop coaches in areas that make sense for that system. They hire, fire, and recruit to support that singular vision for the field. That doesn't mean that vision doesn't change, however, great coaches, coaches who win championships, generally have an idea of how they want to approach the game. How they develop talent. Sure this is all esoteric stuff, but it's leadership. This is what great leaders do. They have a vision, and they execute on this vision.

This is why we talk about systems. Coaching Trees. Recruiting Pipelines. These phrases are all about creating a predictable engine to drive towards a goal. Even as pieces change, as they always will, the head coach is there to steer, to articulate the vision and build it into the process (yeah there's a reason that word is important. It might be a joke, but it's also very very true), etc.

So, in theory, a great coach comes into a place that has some other vision (hopefully, maybe not a vision at all), and has to build this structure. That's what any leader does. So, no I don't expect a completely new coach to win right away. Honestly, in this situation, a Fisher/Herman probably could have been given a 7-5 first year and I wouldn't run for the hills. I'd trust that they are building for the future. They CAN be given 4 years to make sense and install their system. They can't bomb, but they have some slack.

There's a reason no one talks about O's system. There's a reason O is going to "let the coaches coach." Because coaching isn't his expertise. He also has no vision, and IMO this is a HUGE HUGE Problem long term. He hasn't told me what his brand of football is, because he doesn't know. And if we lose coordinators.....

O was sold as a way to win now, so no, he doesn't get a 7-5ish buffer. If you're sold to win now, then he has to win now. That's why, yes for O 8-4 is the absolute floor, but any real hire in this situation would have been a hire to come in and build a program, to install a new identity, and that requires time. That's the difference.

This post was edited on 5/8/17 at 3:49 pm