UNCC hires Mike Houston from JMU
- Thread starter HerdFan76
- Start date
That is a huge get for UNCC... Houston is widely regarded as the hottest coaching name in FCS. Has done a great job everywhere he has been.
He's from Western North Carolina and will no doubt recruit the heck out of the Charlotte-to-Atlanta I-85 corridor.
Wow I forgot he grew up in Franklin. Yes this a very good get for UNCC, they may yet be the sleeping giant of the newer echelon of CUSA teams now that they have new AD leadership.
When Marshall loses to a C-USA team: "Doc should be fired for such a disgraceful showing against such paltry competition!"
When a C-USA school hires a new coach: SLEEPING GIANT
When a C-USA school hires a new coach: SLEEPING GIANT
I live in Franklin now... This hire was the talk of the barbershop yesterday... That in itself is good news for UNCC, since so few people around here even know that they play football. lol
A "sleeping giant" refers to something that hasn't fulfilled, even to a minor extent, its potential. A sleeping giant does not mean it is competitive in any way. In fact, it means quite the opposite. It means something that has a ton of potential but hasn't done anything to fulfill it.
In other words, your attempt really doesn't make sense.
And for what it's worth, I don't think Charlotte is a sleeping giant. In 2012, I said on here that North Texas was a sleeping giant. Texas State is even more of a sleeping giant. Charlotte's facilities, though new, simply aren't grand enough to become good for a prolonged period. The Carolinas don't have the talent to keep UNC, South Carolina, North Carolina State, Clemson, Wake Forest, Coastal Carolina, Appalachian State, East Carolina, Duke, etc. all at a competitive level. When a place like Charlotte has about 2/3 of their roster from the Carolinas, they are getting the scraps from the children's table. And with their facilities, history, and conference, they aren't going to beat any of those teams, outside of CCU and in rare cases App State, in recruiting.
There is too much competition for too sparse talent in that region.
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Its going to be interesting to see what he decides to do...
At Charlotte...
Pros – Zero expectations for winning, close to friends and family in WNC, free reign to do whatever he wants with the program.
Cons – Less money, "small time" facilities, sparse fan support.
At ECU...
Pros – More money, program tradition, solid fan support/alumni base, great facilities.
Cons – Unrealistic expectations to win, inheriting a dumpster fire from Scottie Montgomery, Greenville is a dive outside of campus
At Charlotte...
Pros – Zero expectations for winning, close to friends and family in WNC, free reign to do whatever he wants with the program.
Cons – Less money, "small time" facilities, sparse fan support.
At ECU...
Pros – More money, program tradition, solid fan support/alumni base, great facilities.
Cons – Unrealistic expectations to win, inheriting a dumpster fire from Scottie Montgomery, Greenville is a dive outside of campus
UNCC - No fanbase. No expectations. But can you win there? What is the plan? Take the culls after all of the local P5s, ECU, and probably Appy, get their pick? Go the Doc route and get 18th choicers from Florida or Atlanta? And would anybody in Charlotte really care if they did win?
ECU - Larger fanbase, but still just alumni/townies. Huge expectations, perhaps unrealistic ones. May face a money crisis when the TV contracts/realignment come around again.
JMU - Dude is in his late 40s and making $300K. $300K is nice, but if you want to work your way up to the life changing money that P5 coaches make, you need a step between I-AA and that. JMU probably could go I-A but seems to have made a final decision not to. Among the top facilities in I-AA, but it is still I-AA.
ECU - Larger fanbase, but still just alumni/townies. Huge expectations, perhaps unrealistic ones. May face a money crisis when the TV contracts/realignment come around again.
JMU - Dude is in his late 40s and making $300K. $300K is nice, but if you want to work your way up to the life changing money that P5 coaches make, you need a step between I-AA and that. JMU probably could go I-A but seems to have made a final decision not to. Among the top facilities in I-AA, but it is still I-AA.
ECU is the better program than Charlotte.
Flip side, he goes to Charlotte and wins there in a few years. Gets a much bigger job.
ECU has been a death trap for coaches lately. But, his salary would be bigger, more fans, better facilities, better conference. Harder schedules. Gets to the play UNC and NC State on a rotational basis.
Tough call. Either way there are risks and rewards. He would be given more time at UNC Charlotte.
ECU over UNCC by a mile on the football program meter.
ECU would likely pay him over 1Mil as well.
Verdict to ECU.
ECU would likely pay him over 1Mil as well.
Verdict to ECU.
Charlotte withdrew their offer. Supposedly they are now targeting the head coach Will Healy of Austin Peay.
Sounds like Will Healy, Austin Peay's 33 year old coach, is going to get it.
This is an awful hire.
Austin Peay has been historically bad since starting their program. Healy, winless in his first season, jumped on everyone's radar when he led them to an 8-4 record in his second season. He quickly became a media darling when he had one good season at a school that never had one.Then, his follow up was 5-6 this year.
Both the coaches and media predicted Austin Peay to finish 2nd in the conference this year. They finished 7th.
His head coaching record by year:
2016: 0-11
2017: 8-4
2018: 5-6
He has done a great job recruiting there, but having one good year in an average FCS conference is simply not worthy of an FBS head coaching job. I had a buddy interview for a spot there last year. His interview was conducted in a hotel room, with Healy and three other coaches, who all sat around drinking beer after beer during the interview.
My buddy, as best as he could, ended the interview prematurely knowing he had no desire to work for that guy.
This is an awful hire.
Austin Peay has been historically bad since starting their program. Healy, winless in his first season, jumped on everyone's radar when he led them to an 8-4 record in his second season. He quickly became a media darling when he had one good season at a school that never had one.Then, his follow up was 5-6 this year.
Both the coaches and media predicted Austin Peay to finish 2nd in the conference this year. They finished 7th.
His head coaching record by year:
2016: 0-11
2017: 8-4
2018: 5-6
He has done a great job recruiting there, but having one good year in an average FCS conference is simply not worthy of an FBS head coaching job. I had a buddy interview for a spot there last year. His interview was conducted in a hotel room, with Healy and three other coaches, who all sat around drinking beer after beer during the interview.
My buddy, as best as he could, ended the interview prematurely knowing he had no desire to work for that guy.
One would think Charlotte would be a place attractive enough to hire a young, up and coming assistant from a FBS program rather than a mediocre coach from the FBS.
Not with a stadium that seats less than many bigger high schools. I just don't think they are fully committed to football. They have potential. At least that's what I hear.
I was talking more as a place to live, as far as being attractive to a young coach... But I get the concerns about the facilities. I do know that when they build the 15,000 seat stadium that they poured footers to add a second deck on the one side if/when the need arose.
