Official: Head Coach Search Thread

[ValleyTalk]

We should hear more on the search tonight from footballscoop.

@JoeScalzo1: YSU pretty tight-lipped on coaching search but one name I'm hearing is Mike Sullivan. Coached with Tressel in 97-98: http://t.co/71qAqtg8zH

@FootballScoop: Yep. A few things going on…will get to this later today RT @Drew_VanJura: @FootballScoop hearing anything in the Youngstown State job?

[IAA Fan]

He's available.

[CookieMonsterSig]

The update from Football Scoop is below...

As expected, there has been quite a bit of interest from coaches in the head coaching position at Youngstown State. As more than a few guys have said to me, “That’s not a stepping stone job for a guy like me, that’s where I want to go, win and stay.”

I’ll be brief; because this one truly has another week or so to play out and things should become more clear as Ron Strollo, Jim Tressel and crew narrow the field.

To be clear, I don’t believe this to be an exhaustive list; but this is what I’ve heard through a number of sources, culled down to what I believe is real and truly has a shot. There certainly could be others and if those come to our attention we’ll update things on The Scoop.

So, a certain level of interviews have already begun and are ongoing; but I have heard that further, on campus / in person interviews are expected to occur next week. With that said, here is a list of guys that we’ve heard the YSU administration was interested in… (no particular order)

Don Treadwell
Brian Wright
Dave Warner
Mark Snyder
Vince Marrow
Trent Boykin
John Peterson
Rick Shepas

With the compensation package where it is, I don’t think guys like Luke Fickell are truly involved. I was asked tonight about Mike Sullivan’s involvement as well. Might be; but last I had heard he was looking for an NFL opportunity so truly don’t know. This isn't the one for Mark Mangino.

I'd take Wolford back over most of these names. Let's hope someone better is out there.

[ysufan0505]

Don't want anybody on that list. No thanks....

[mvfc penguin]

All of the coaches on that list are better than our current coach!!!
Just Saying

[penguinpower]

Not impressed with this list.  I would probably go after Boykin because he is young and directly contributed to winning here as a player.

I don't know. Wish they would have a someone picked behind the scenes and had it halfway agreed to.....feels like we don't have a list that will be an improvement over what we had.

[ValleyTalk]

Not impressed with this list.  I would probably go after Boykin because he is young and directly contributed to winning here as a player.

I don't know. Wish they would have a someone picked behind the scenes and had it halfway agreed to.....feels like we don't have a list that will be an improvement over what we had.

Not surprised with some on the list but I think one stands out for me:

"Dave Warner enters his second season as the co-offensive coordinator and his eighth overall at Michigan State. Warner, who also coaches the running backs, was promoted to co-offensive coordinator on March 4, 2013. He previously coached the quarterbacks for six seasons."

I would love me some smashmouth football at Stambaugh again!

Also this part of the piece from FootballScoop is very interesting:
As more than a few guys have said to me, “That’s not a stepping stone job for a guy like me, that’s where I want to go, win and stay.”

[GOpenZ]

It is funny to me that:
 - Coach Wolf gets on the hot seat after continued progress season after season...pressure from fans and administration.
 - He continually improves the team (yes, I understand the lack of playoffs...but my eyes see improvement we were losing games on the last play in year 3.  Did he win to quickly and thus 7-5 in year 5 was a bad thing?
 - Less fans in the stands (they don't like the coach and its been cold outside of September)
 - No playoffs and the staff gets the ax.

Now we sit here and ponder a new head coach (and while I have not read one post in the qualifications for a new head coach yet...because I didn't want to jinx our season) it appears now that:
 - Our list does not have a qualified candidate to match. Overqualified, yes.  Lower level experience, check.  Qualified...no.  Now, we aren't the search committee, so I hope they (Strollo and Tressel) are finding something that is aligning better than this forum.
 - The qualifications that seem to be main stream directly align with the guy that was just fired...(young, energetic, FBS level experience).

We are losing valuable time recruiting...I can't recall how long the gap was between John H and Wolf.  I know we want a great product but...
 - Are coaches being fired to quickly? 
 - Is the definition of under-performance to strict (would 5 wins in coach Wolf's year 3, 6 wins year 4, and 7 wins year 5 have led to a different outcome???)? 
 - Should YSU have had a better plan of action (i.e. having a few names salivating for the job that were steps up from the current staff)?  So far the answer to all these seems to be a resounding "NO".

However, do I trust the JT will help find us a great coach...yes!  Will the next coach be the diamond in the rough that he was?  We can only hope.

Z

[FOOTBALLFEVER]

It's funny to think if one or more players make just one play in multiple game's this year and pick up that one win we are in the playoffs and not even having this discussion. I've looked at the list and I'm not impressed. I was split on wolford 50/50..I feel for 250 k  he was a quality coach and great recruiter on this level. Good luck to any coach entering this program and getting that elusive 8th or 9th win to take Y.S.U. to the promise land for 250 k a year because it's not happening any time soon..word to the wise your going to have to bring out the brinks truck to take this program where it wants to go I.M.H.O.!! Lee Owens from Ashland U should be considered. He can recruit Northeast ohio better then anyone and was a former assistant at O.S.U. and as head coach took Akron and Ashland from the basement up..the only downfall is his age..58

[SoupCity]

"It is funny to me that:
 - Coach Wolf gets on the hot seat after continued progress season after season...pressure from fans and administration.
 - He continually improves the team (yes, I understand the lack of playoffs...but my eyes see improvement we were losing games on the last play in year 3.  Did he win to quickly and thus 7-5 in year 5 was a bad thing?
 - Less fans in the stands (they don't like the coach and its been cold outside of September)
 - No playoffs and the staff gets the ax."

Z, what I don't find funny or progress is the fact that his teams went on losing streaks in each of the last 3 seasons that cost him the playoffs.  If that's progress, YSU should do away with its football program.

What I don't find funny or progress is the fact that his failure to develop players is the most glaring weakness of his legacy.  Yes, they weren't losing on the last play.  They just failed to step up when the program NEEDED a single win.  Multiple times, in multiple years and in multiple games. 

What I don't find funny or progress is the fact that less people in the stands had more to do with his lack of winning a big game than who HE is.  Inevitably each year fans knew there would be month where YSU would go 0-fer.  Regardless of how people feel about Eric Wolford's personality, if he won that 1 or 2 games that he needed to each year, this wouldn't be a discussion.  He would still be the head coach.

For the one-millionth time, YSU under Eric Wolford did not progress, nor did it improve as a whole.  When you make the same mistakes every year, lose 3 straight games every year, fail to adjust during games, etc., you get removed.  That is the nature of the beast.

[ysufan0505]

FootballScoop Staff @FootballScoop  ·  16m 16 minutes ago

"Heard two additional very good coaches who I believe are involved w YSU too. Will update once confirmed/appropriate."

[IAA Fan]

Clearly this is blog hearsay, but I am not sure where some of you are coming from about these choices ...they are excellent. I mean Wolf was a run game coordinator at South Carolina. That is a fancy way of saying line and RB coach. Heck his OC and DC were more qualified than he was when he arrived in Youngstown ...YSU gambled and it did not go as well as we had hoped.

I will also remind certain people on this board how adamant everyone was that Strollo keep a "tight leash" on Wolf. Strollo did EXACTLY what you asked.

[Wick250]

Footballscoop just seems to be compiling a long list of coaches who had previous relations with Tressel.  I don't see any "inside" information here.  A few of these are really odd.  For example, Treadwell was fired during the season at Miami; he performed even worse than 0505's favorite coach.  Boykin, if information in internet postings is accurate, had a terrible record at his brief head coaching stint at a very low level program.  Really, only two men know the state of the coaching search at this moment.  Neither are talking publicly, just as it should be.

[CookieMonsterSig]

Joe Scalzo with an update...

As @FootballScoop reported, Mike Sullivan is probably not realistic for YSU. But I'm hearing Mike Tressel is very much in discussion.

 Joe Scalzo (@JoeScalzo1)

[ysufan0505]

I just don't see how Mike Tressel would be a good fit. That makes Jim and YSU as a whole look bad.....