rifle was correct.

[i am herdman]

He knows the game and knows the industry. We have a group of us that discuss the game and have for years on Pullman. rifle knows the game. He saw it and called it. Michigan, sisterville, rifle and, myself have had good discussion about the game and sports forever.

rifle was right and some people tried to get on him. But, the things he pointed out have come to fruition. Most every one of them.

Special teams tonight. We had a guy line over center giving them a first down and then they score.

Offensive wows. This is just a terrible offensive football team.

Something is amiss. The O-line coach quit a few days after the biggest win in school history and we have gone to pot.

Sometimes you have to take the green glasses off and look at things objectively.

Frankly, if Marshall were franchise and I owned it Huff would be on a real hot seat. He lost the program in short order.

 

[RhinoD]

One thing about ole rifle... He has a good understanding of how coaching staffs are put together based on guys previous stops, previous success/failures, etc.

He said Huff's staff was not well built, with a lot of guys "failing up" into positions they didn't appear to be prepared for... Right now, it would be very hard to argue against that.

 

[Jartard]

One thing about ole rifle... He has a good understanding of how coaching staffs are put together based on guys previous stops, previous success/failures, etc.

He said Huff's staff was not well built, with a lot of guys "failing up" into positions they didn't appear to be prepared for... Right now, it would be very hard to argue against that.

The military called it “fvck up and move up”.

 

[ThunderCat98]

The military called it “fvck up and move up”.

I know this will shock all of you, but this is also how the federal government works.

 

[BleedsGreen33]

One thing about ole rifle... He has a good understanding of how coaching staffs are put together based on guys previous stops, previous success/failures, etc.

He said Huff's staff was not well built, with a lot of guys "failing up" into positions they didn't appear to be prepared for... Right now, it would be very hard to argue against that.

When you look at his staff it just looks like a guy that has no real connections in the coaching ranks.

 

[herdfan06]

I know this will shock all of you, but this is also how the federal government works.

And corporate America.

 

[W-S HerdFan]

I am as guilty as anyone for drinking the kool aid on Huff. Looking back: The guy who never even rose to a coordinator position gets the job & decides that the best thing to do is hire a OC who has never called a play in live action…..☠️

 

[Marco93]

I was pro Huff, but got to admit when I read Rifles breakdown, it was a concern. Too many guys with on and off the field issues. Didn't always agree with him, but enjoyed his post.

 

[MichiganHerd]

When you look at his staff

can you clarify what you're talking about here in the rifle thread, just to avoid any confusion?

 

[Herdon2]

I've seen this before.... If you are a Browns fan you will remember Freddie Kitchens who rose from a RB coach in the NFL for many years to head coach. The result was a disaster. He wasn't a head coach. He was a position coach. And it showed. The team lost games with flying colors.

 

[MichiganHerd]

I've seen this before.... If you are a Browns fan you will remember Freddie Kitchens who rose from a RB coach in the NFL for many years to head coach. The result was a disaster. He wasn't a head coach. He was a position coach. And it showed. The team lost games with flying colors.

As a G5 program where resources are limited, sometimes taking chances on unproven head coaches is one of your options. Add to it, an associate HC from arguably the biggest coaching factory in the country, Alabama, and on paper, it seems as though you have a more than decent chance at hitting a home run hire. Obviously, it doesn't always work out, but with limited resources, those are the gambles you take. Personally, I've always been in favor (when it comes to smaller G5 programs) of looking at successful coaches at lower division programs. When you look around the national landscape, some programs have had great success in bringing in one of those successful coaches, like a Kansas, like a Kansas State. However, they're also paying those coaches much more than the Herd is paying Huff. On the flip side, when you do hit the home run with someone with Huff's background, you know your time having him is limited, as you saw on this very forum moments after the clock hit double zeros in South Bend.

To paraphrase everything I just typed out:

Hire rifle, and he'll assemble a top notch staff with herdman, myself, sistersville, and we might even take a chance on bringing bleeds onboard as some sort of special teams coach or something. With some decent Big Green money, we might even be able to afford to add Coach Stowers to the mix.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

When you look at his staff it just looks like a guy that has no real connections in the coaching ranks.

That is the EXACT reason you hire a former D1 HC or successful FCS HC.

 

[19MU88]

That is the EXACT reason you hire a former D1 HC or successful FCS HC.

unless they were HC at a start up program.

 

[sluggo72]

When you look at his staff it just looks like a guy that has no real connections in the coaching ranks.

because his agent made all the hires.

 

[oldeherd]

I've seen this before.... If you are a Browns fan you will remember Freddie Kitchens who rose from a RB coach in the NFL for many years to head coach. The result was a disaster. He wasn't a head coach. He was a position coach. And it showed. The team lost games with flying colors.

I think Herd fans have seen this before. Mark Snyder, for one, in football. Dwight Freeman in basketball. Probably more over the yeafs.

 

[TwentyTen]

I've seen this before.... If you are a Browns fan you will remember Freddie Kitchens who rose from a RB coach in the NFL for many years to head coach. The result was a disaster. He wasn't a head coach. He was a position coach. And it showed. The team lost games with flying colors.

Or that time Bowling Green hired a position coach from Notre Dame that went on to become one of the best college football coaches of all time.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

Everyone can point out this school was successful with his hire. Or that school took a chance and won big. It's a crap shoot.
My concern is Marshall not limiting who they will consider and look at all divisions.

there is a reason that there are career assistants. And it's usually not good.

 

[TwentyTen]

Everyone can point out this school was successful with his hire. Or that school took a chance and won big. It's a crap shoot.
My concern is Marshall not limiting who they will consider and look at all divisions.

there is a reason that there are career assistants. And it's usually not good.

yeah one reason is probably that theres 120 something FBS HC jobs and 1200+ assistant coaches.

I agree we can't limit ourselves but you're advocating them limiting who they look at(someone with HC experience)...

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

yeah one reason is probably that theres 120 something FBS HC jobs and 1200+ assistant coaches.

I agree we can't limit ourselves but you're advocating them limiting who they look at(someone with HC experience)...

HC to me is key. They know the ropes. It's limiting to candidates to D1 experience that kills Marshall. Yeah, Mike Furrey supposedly expressed interest and was given an initial interview but fully expect that was just as a courtesy.

Sadly, Huff is gonna be here this year and next. Let's hope any future hiring committee and the BOG do a better job next time around. They have to!

 

[120050143]

HC to me is key. They know the ropes. It's limiting to candidates to D1 experience that kills Marshall. Yeah, Mike Furrey supposedly expressed interest and was given an initial interview but fully expect that was just as a courtesy.

Sadly, Huff is gonna be here this year and next. Let's hope any future hiring committee and the BOG do a better job next time around. They have to!

Why would we want Mike Furrey? Huff has a better career record at this point (10-9) than Furrey does (20-19) not saying it wouldn’t have turned out better, because Furrey is in a Lambert-esque scenario at the moment, but I just don’t see the appeal, this isn’t a shot or anything, I’m honestly just confused

 

[Pioneer_PA]

The hiring of Huff was, and remains to me, much like the basketball hiring of Billy Donovan. We tried to get an elite coach perhaps before he was fully ready for the job. Billy D had two fun but empty seasons at Marshall, went to Florida, won national championships, and now coaches one of the NBA's premier franchises (although they've only been premier with that Jordan guy).

We hired the right guy with Billy D., but Florida got him away before he could have big success here. He left a good team behind, though.

I'm still holding out on Huff because I feel our problems really are limited to two position groups, one in particular. He must fix that next year. Portal, recruiting, all the above... there's no option but to get better up front.

I give Huff his due for his work on the defensive side of the ball. The portal safeties have been great, and even if we get scorched today, it's hard to deny that our DB play has improved. The LB play has improved and the run stoppers in the middle of the DL are 100% credit to Huff. The defense broke down far too often last year. This year it is keeping us in games that the offense doesn't belong in. And where would we be without Laborn?!?

So I confidently give him one more season to fix it. I'm not looking at any financials, simply football. A competent OL would change everything for this team.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

Why would we want Mike Furrey? Huff has a better career record at this point (10-9) than Furrey does (20-19) not saying it wouldn’t have turned out better, because Furrey is in a Lambert-esque scenario at the moment, but I just don’t see the appeal, this isn’t a shot or anything, I’m honestly just confused

We wouldn't want Mike Furrey. He reportedly expressed interest. I guess they gave him an off site interview if the rumors were true. Just posting what was rumored.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

The hiring of Huff was, and remains to me, much like the basketball hiring of Billy Donovan. We tried to get an elite coach perhaps before he was fully ready for the job. Billy D had two fun but empty seasons at Marshall, went to Florida, won national championships, and now coaches one of the NBA's premier franchises (although they've only been premier with that Jordan guy).

We hired the right guy with Billy D., but Florida got him away before he could have big success here. He left a good team behind, though.

I'm still holding out on Huff because I feel our problems really are limited to two position groups, one in particular. He must fix that next year. Portal, recruiting, all the above... there's no option but to get better up front.

I give Huff his due for his work on the defensive side of the ball. The portal safeties have been great, and even if we get scorched today, it's hard to deny that our DB play has improved. The LB play has improved and the run stoppers in the middle of the DL are 100% credit to Huff. The defense broke down far too often last year. This year it is keeping us in games that the offense doesn't belong in. And where would we be without Laborn?!?

So I confidently give him one more season to fix it. I'm not looking at any financials, simply football. A competent OL would change everything for this team.

Unless he hits the portal hard and gets some slam dunk transfers, 2023 could be worse.

 

[Pioneer_PA]

Unless he hits the portal hard and gets some slam dunk transfers, 2023 could be worse.

I agree, but I'm for giving him that chance to fix it. I feel next year has a better chance of him fixing it than a new coach patching the whole thing together. The defense will have big losses this season, so that immediate fix isn't limited to OLine, but that's so glaring it has to be addressed immediately.

And whoever is the best of our freshmen QB's needs to separate from the pack this coming Spring/Summer. Fancher/Harrison/Pennington/Zamora, it doesn't matter. Fancher will have built in experience advantage but the younger guys need a fair shake. Honestly, I'm not against one more senior portal QB, either. I want our best freshman to have 3 years as a starter, so one more year of development.

Obviously the staff will change and likely quite a bit. That will be a big key for Huff, too.

This year is painful, no doubts. We can't fix what ails us in short order I'm afraid. It can not be repeated. But I'm for giving Huff a chance to fix it.

 

[i am herdman]

Our o line played well at Notre Dame.. they won the battle up front.

I still contend something else happened. Hell on the first few drives ar bowling green it looked like we were going to just blow them out.

Something happened when that o line coach left and the chemistry has never been right since the 2nd quarter of the bowling green game. Plus when this team gets smacked a little bit they fold up. Same last year.

 

[Rock98Dog]

Or that time Bowling Green hired a position coach from Notre Dame that went on to become one of the best college football coaches of all time.

Bowling Green went 2-9 in 1999 and hadn’t had a winning record in 7 years. Urban went 8-3 his first year, beating Missouri in his first game. He then went 9-3 the next year before heading to Utah.

If you want to compare him and Huff, we already have enough data to say Huff is no Urban Meyer.

 

[TwentyTen]

Bowling Green went 2-9 in 1999 and hadn’t had a winning record in 7 years. Urban went 8-3 his first year, beating Missouri in his first game. He then went 9-3 the next year before heading to Utah.

If you want to compare him and Huff, we already have enough data to say Huff is no Urban Meyer.

You missed the point. The post I was replying to was saying he knew so and so wouldn't be a good head coach because he was only a position coach for many years before that. My point was that Urban Meyer was also nothing more than a position coach before he came to Bowling Green.