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The Search for a New Head Coach


Jeseph

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1 minute ago, 961819 said:

Also what could possibly be taking so long to find a new coach? Seriously 

Hopefully doing their due diligence.  Maybe someone they are interested in is still playing (Fife please). No crazy rush at this moment. It can't drag on forever, but the wait could be worth it if done wisely.

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Have to assume that Hodgson accepted the assistant coaching offer at Alabama, is no longer employed at Buffalo, and interviewed for the UB job. I’ll bet he still wants that job. I would still consider, as long as he brings on experienced assistants. No different than any other candidate, quite frankly. If you don’t think Lanier, for instance, is all Tennessee all the time (until and unless he is hired away)... 

That said, looking increasingly unlikely that Hodgson is the hire. Which also worries me that we will have another top to bottom rebuild. 

Interesting that almost all the names mentioned (Fife, Lanier, even Whitesell) have failed prior head coaching tenures.

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2 minutes ago, McBulls said:

Have to assume that Hodgson accepted the assistant coaching offer at Alabama, is no longer employed at Buffalo, and interviewed for the UB job. I’ll bet he still wants that job. I would still consider, as long as he brings on experienced assistants. No different than any other candidate, quite frankly. If you don’t think Lanier, for instance, is all Tennessee all the time (until and unless he is hired away)... 

That said, looking increasingly unlikely that Hodgson is the hire. Which also worries me that we will have another top to bottom rebuild. 

Interesting that almost all the names mentioned (Fife, Lanier, even Whitesell) have failed prior head coaching tenures.

Fife has not failed at anything he’s done 

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5 minutes ago, McBulls said:

I guess. The two coaches that followed him had greater success at IPFW. I recognize the program was in its infancy when he was there originally. But I wouldn’t call it a smashing success, by any stretch.

He improved the team’s record every year he was there, and he did it at 25 years old!

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5 minutes ago, McBulls said:

I guess. The two coaches that followed him had greater success at IPFW. I recognize the program was in its infancy when he was there originally. But I wouldn’t call it a smashing success, by any stretch.

10 plus years ago as a young kid. Almost equal to the experience of Hodgson when he took over at the school. Although Fife also played D1 at Indiana under a pretty good coach.

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19 minutes ago, McBulls said:

I guess. The two coaches that followed him had greater success at IPFW. I recognize the program was in its infancy when he was there originally. But I wouldn’t call it a smashing success, by any stretch.

I would. 

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/ipfw/

 

he he took over a team that had just transitioned from D2. They were #292 in Kenpom when he took over. They have no history. They are not a desired school. 

He did a great job there. 

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He may be a great choice. But in his “best season” his team had an RPI in the 180s and beat just one team with an RPI under 212. Again- tenure was fine, just not mind blowing. 

At days end I guess I find Fife a little bland. I’m sure he would be fine- I don’t want fine. It turns me off that he walked away from his head coaching position to become an assistant again. There are 350 or so D1 coaching jobs- if you have one, why give that up for the world? This is your opportunity to showcase your skills. If you are a leader, this is your opportunity to lead, to mold a program as you wish. What kind of coach with big dreams gives that up? I think we all loved Nate Oats for his take-all-comers approach. He was confident that he and his team were prepared for any foe. Do you want a coach who stepped away from a head coaching job after his most successful season?

 

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19 minutes ago, McBulls said:

He may be a great choice. But in his “best season” his team had an RPI in the 180s and beat just one team with an RPI under 212. Again- tenure was fine, just not mind blowing. 

At days end I guess I find Fife a little bland. I’m sure he would be fine- I don’t want fine. It turns me off that he walked away from his head coaching position to become an assistant again. There are 350 or so D1 coaching jobs- if you have one, why give that up for the world? This is your opportunity to showcase your skills. If you are a leader, this is your opportunity to lead, to mold a program as you wish. What kind of coach with big dreams gives that up? I think we all loved Nate Oats for his take-all-comers approach. He was confident that he and his team were prepared for any foe. Do you want a coach who stepped away from a head coaching job after his most successful season?

 

There is a huge difference between UB and Fort Wayne. 

Fort Wayne isn’t going to be a winner.  

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Except that they have been, relatively speaking. They’ve been to four postseasons in the past five years. They won a Summit league regular season title. The coach between Fife and the current staff had a 24 win season.

Argue that Fife laud the groundwork? Fine. But he didn’t light the world on fire and walked off the job for a lesser position.

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19 minutes ago, dutchcountry7 said:

There is a huge difference between UB and Fort Wayne. 

Fort Wayne isn’t going to be a winner.  

There's a massive difference and I've covered both teams. The Mastodons have some of the worst resources in the country. Despite that, their current coach Jon Coffman has gone 95-66 during his five years there, getting a former 4 star transfer from Purdue (Bryson Scott) and has developed John Konchar into one of the top mid-major players in the country and has taken them to the NIT once and CIT three times.

Buffalo is much better in every aspect of building a program. Dane Fife is very highly regarded in Indiana with many believing he'll one day be a head coach at a P5 program. He did very well establishing Fort Wayne as a D1 program. Tony Jasick turned them into a winner and John Coffman has turned them a consistent winner.

Fife would be a very good hire for the Bulls. That said, the best thing on his resume is serving as an assistant coach at Michigan State.

Edited by Big 4 Hoops Blogger
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59 minutes ago, Big 4 Hoops Blogger said:

There's a massive difference and I've covered both teams. The Mastodons have some of the worst resources in the country. Despite that, their current coach Jon Coffman has gone 95-66 during his five years there, getting a former 4 star transfer from Purdue (Bryson Scott) and has developed John Konchar into one of the top mid-major players in the country and has taken them to the NIT once and CIT three times.

Buffalo is much better in every aspect of building a program. Dane Fife is very highly regarded in Indiana with many believing he'll one day be a head coach at a P5 program. He did very well establishing Fort Wayne as a D1 program. Tony Jasick turned them into a winner and John Coffman has turned them a consistent winner.

Fife would be a very good hire for the Bulls. That said, the best thing on his resume is serving as an assistant coach at Michigan State.

Look, Fife clearly comes highly regarded. I will readily admit he stepped into a difficult situation and at least laid a foundation. He has spent seasons learning under one of the games legends. I'm sure he would win some games here. But if we really want to build "the Gonzaga of the East" we can't just put up some 20 wins seasons and compete for the MAC most years. We need to absolutely dominate for the foreseeable future.

Does it not bother anybody else that he walked away from a head coaching position to take an assistant role? The first and most important trait I want my coach to have is a near pathologic desire to compete and a steadfast belief in their own abilities. A coach who walks away from a head coaching gig doesn't sound like my guy. 

I also want an arrogance to match that competitiveness. Nate Oats left because: A) He was offered a lot of money. B) He wants to win championships and C) He believed himself worthy of that job. He may have traveled to Izzo's practices to learn from him, and gleaned any knowledge he could in speaking with and watching other coaches, but he doesn't at heart believe any other coaches are better than him. Think about how he taunted Calipari before that round of 32 matchup. He instilled the same belief in his players. 

That's the fire that makes coaches, players, and institutions great. They have a vision. They have a dream that seems insurmountable in scale. They institute a system and culture to ensure they can achieve these goals, regardless of how massive. Because we're a mid-major, they leave because they can accomplish these goals elsewhere faster. I have no qualms with that. Know thyself. In the meantime they force us to re-assess what we think is possible, to up our expectations.

I'll admit- Hodgson's power plays don't bother me in the least. He wants to be our coach. He is willing to leverage everything he has to get that job. That's the hunger I look for in a hire, manners be damned. So if Fife is the best choice to represent our university, please tell me why you think he will stir the masses and inspire recruits that Buffalo is the institution and team to place their faith in.

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Well Fife would certainly hire a competent staff; that’s for sure. One such assistant coach could possibly be B Drum who currently is in charge of recruiting at S Alabama. I can’t think of a better pair than Fife and Drum to lead UB BB in the future.

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4 hours ago, McBulls said:

Look, Fife clearly comes highly regarded. I will readily admit he stepped into a difficult situation and at least laid a foundation. He has spent seasons learning under one of the games legends. I'm sure he would win some games here. But if we really want to build "the Gonzaga of the East" we can't just put up some 20 wins seasons and compete for the MAC most years. We need to absolutely dominate for the foreseeable future.

Does it not bother anybody else that he walked away from a head coaching position to take an assistant role? The first and most important trait I want my coach to have is a near pathologic desire to compete and a steadfast belief in their own abilities. A coach who walks away from a head coaching gig doesn't sound like my guy. 

I also want an arrogance to match that competitiveness. Nate Oats left because: A) He was offered a lot of money. B) He wants to win championships and C) He believed himself worthy of that job. He may have traveled to Izzo's practices to learn from him, and gleaned any knowledge he could in speaking with and watching other coaches, but he doesn't at heart believe any other coaches are better than him. Think about how he taunted Calipari before that round of 32 matchup. He instilled the same belief in his players. 

That's the fire that makes coaches, players, and institutions great. They have a vision. They have a dream that seems insurmountable in scale. They institute a system and culture to ensure they can achieve these goals, regardless of how massive. Because we're a mid-major, they leave because they can accomplish these goals elsewhere faster. I have no qualms with that. Know thyself. In the meantime they force us to re-assess what we think is possible, to up our expectations.

I'll admit- Hodgson's power plays don't bother me in the least. He wants to be our coach. He is willing to leverage everything he has to get that job. That's the hunger I look for in a hire, manners be damned. So if Fife is the best choice to represent our university, please tell me why you think he will stir the masses and inspire recruits that Buffalo is the institution and team to place their faith in.

Well we found Hodgson’s burner account everyone 

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18 hours ago, BullBoy said:

Really bad look for Hodgson. He is on UB's payroll and he is down in Alabama working for someone else.  I have no interest in this guy being my head coach.

 

What the he!! man?  The guy is wearing an Alabama shirt hanging out with their recruits.  Was Hodgson fired by UB?  I have no idea what the story is here.  There's no way he can be the Bulls head coach.  Not welcomed back here. 

 

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13 hours ago, McBulls said:

Look, Fife clearly comes highly regarded. I will readily admit he stepped into a difficult situation and at least laid a foundation. He has spent seasons learning under one of the games legends. I'm sure he would win some games here. But if we really want to build "the Gonzaga of the East" we can't just put up some 20 wins seasons and compete for the MAC most years. We need to absolutely dominate for the foreseeable future.

And hiring someone with head coaching experience is more valuable than someone who has never lead a program.  And yes, I would say being a head coach of a national level high school program, qualifies someone as having head coach experience.  Nate had the experience.   Hodgson doesn't.  He is a huge gamble.

13 hours ago, McBulls said:

Does it not bother anybody else that he walked away from a head coaching position to take an assistant role? The first and most important trait I want my coach to have is a near pathologic desire to compete and a steadfast belief in their own abilities. A coach who walks away from a head coaching gig doesn't sound like my guy. 

That's what Hodgson did when he got on the private Jet with Nate.  He wasn't focused on the Buffalo job or the Buffalo team.  He was looking at the assistant coaching job.  He wasn't pathologic in his desire to lead Buffalo.

A coach that walks away from Fort Wayne to compete for National Titles at Michigan State is someone who wants to one day win their own National Championships.  Otherwise, we would only be talking about coaches like John Beilein--who has neve been an assistant coach.  If being a head coach is so great, Hodgson would have put his name in for Niagara or somewhere else that was still a reach for him.  That's what someone with a pathological focus on a title would do.   

 

13 hours ago, McBulls said:

I'll admit- Hodgson's power plays don't bother me in the least. He wants to be our coach. He is willing to leverage everything he has to get that job. That's the hunger I look for in a hire, manners be damned. So if Fife is the best choice to represent our university, please tell me why you think he will stir the masses and inspire recruits that Buffalo is the institution and team to place their faith in.

He has not shown he wants to be at Buffalo.  He would have never went to Alabama if he did.  He deserted the team when they were in crisis.  He leaked to the media that he wants the job and that the team will be decimated if they don't hire him.  He has shown a lack of character.  He hasn't been working for UB--who is paying him--since Nate left.

You call it a power play but I see it as much more.  It is unscrupulous.  And I believe that his recruiting and coaching is likely the same.  I don't want someone like that in the program.  I want people with class who can win the right way. 

Fife would be a great hire.  So would Lanier.  And many others.

I am over Hodgson. 

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2 hours ago, promotherobot said:

I thought Hodgson is already working for Bama?

My understanding...

 

Still employed by UB.  Still collecting a check.  Simply went to Alabama on the private jet with Nate and was making the rounds meeting everyone in Alabama.  Just hasn't called recruits for UB since Nate left while Nate has been calling recruits for Alabama, while Hodgson is with him.  Though Hodgson has been calling the media and letting them know that he is the only one that can keep the team together and that he should get the job.

Edit: Just saw the picture above.  The media need to contact UB and ask if he is still employed by UB.

He is still in the staff directory (Nate, of course, is not). 

All of his public facing things seem like he is still coaching UB.  https://twitter.com/ubcoachbryan

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13 minutes ago, dutchcountry7 said:

My understanding...

 

Still employed by UB.  Still collecting a check.  Simply went to Alabama on the private jet with Nate and was making the rounds meeting everyone in Alabama.  Just hasn't called recruits for UB since Nate left while Nate has been calling recruits for Alabama, while Hodgson is with him.  Though Hodgson has been calling the media and letting them know that he is the only one that can keep the team together and that he should get the job.

Edit: Just saw the picture above.  The media need to contact UB and ask if he is still employed by UB.

He is still in the staff directory (Nate, of course, is not). 

All of his public facing things seem like he is still coaching UB.  https://twitter.com/ubcoachbryan

He may be walking a very fine line with violating some sort of NCAA rules. It may be best not to hire him as head coach. Why risk possible sancations?

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1 minute ago, everlast2504 said:

He may be walking a very fine line with violating some sort of NCAA rules. It may be best not to hire him as head coach. Why risk possible sancations?

I don't think UB would be hit with sanctions for him stepping out on... UB

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1 minute ago, Jeseph said:

I don't think UB would be hit with sanctions for him stepping out on... UB

He's a coach in the NCAA who while employeed by UB was actively recruiting against UB. I don't think there would be sanctions against UB, 'Bama actually has the greater risk here. He made of made himself toxic to everyone. 

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