Around the Big Ten

[lineygoblue]

Two questions:

1. Is Kirk Ferentz the "Lloyd Carr" of Iowa? Has he worn out his welcome? Would Iowa actually fire him if he doesn't "retire" in 2-3 years?

2. If Pelini is on the outs at Nebraska, is there anyone on the horizon that might be a good fit there?

[WM Wolverine]

I put Nebraska at the same level as Oregon, who've been awfully successful over the past decade. Obviously Nebraska's history is massive relative to Oregon's but the shift in population and football talent towards the south and southeast have hurt programs in the 'north' like PSU, M, ND & Nebraska. Nebraska can get back to being a top 10 program but it's going to have to make a great if not perfect hire for that to happen.

[WM Wolverine]

Ferentz seat has got to be getting incredibly hot after this season, I don't think he's there next season after seeing what little talent they have on their roster...

I think Bo P is safe barring an really terrible (4-4 in B10) season. Given the B10's lack of competition, I can't see Nebraska being that awful. In fact, I think I might put them as a favorite as anyone to win the 'west.'

[THE_WIZARD_]

Bo is "safe" as long as he wins 9...that is the bar that was set by his boss. Win less than 9 and he will be on the hot seat. As far as who would replace him...I like Chris Peterson at Boise a lot...no more NFL coaches please.

[entropy]

I know you want a return of Osborne's teams of the 90's but I can't see that happening in this environment. You'd need the perfect coach, running the perfect system for that to happen at Nebraska.

Snyder at KSU beat OU. You can do it.

[entropy]

The BIG has to be more committed to recruiting. Period.

[iam416]

I'm a bit concerned about UNL's future as a "power". There's zero doubt they've been every bit the program OSU or M have over the past 40 years and then some. But over the past 10 years, the trend line isn't particularly encouraging. Even forgetting one terrible hire, UNL hasn't been in the national title hunt since 2001. Frankly, there's an argument to me made that UNL has never been the same since 62-36.

I think OSU is a huge name, tradition rich program sitting in talent-rich state. I think Michigan is a huge name, tradition rich program that still has regional and national cache with recruits, despite RichGOD's best efforts to the contrary. I think UNL lacks a bit of the regional and national pull M has in recruiting, and that's why I put them as a 1(b) instead of 1(a). I do agree it's probably not right to put them with Wisky and MSU.

Penn State, of course, HAD huge name value and sat in a fairly good talent area.

Anyway, I guess it really doesn't matter which two or three programs step the fuck up. But this year you just don't have it. It's an anomaly, IMO. Most of the past 10 years, you've had it. But this reminds of the horrid 2000/2001 phase where there was just gads of mediocre shit.

[entropy]

Wisky is really off this year, but the last couple, they were just fine. They did lose some important coaches.

Iowa is done. They are Nebraska without money, history or passion. They have nothing to offset there location.

MSU needs a QB. With a QB, they are probably top ten. It happens.

UNL has always he'd to recruit nationally... And will in the future. They do have things that gave them many advantages.

[hack]

I am rather befuddled as to how this conference has tanked in recent years, and somehow manages to get worse. My gut feeling is that the league does not lack speed and athleticism as many say, but rather a will to implement it. Big Ten teams don't play fast, and they don't play mean. Most everybody else, including the MAC, tries to. As a result we tend to take punches before delivering them.

That sounds entirely like an observation impossible to quantify, but it sounds like something to go on. But I don't think that spread offenses are the answer. I think that the kind of offense you run matters less than the blocking and tackling.

[Hannibal]

One area where the Big Ten has fallen behind badly is in making good coaching hires and paying good money for assistants. I was watching the game between Clemson and Florida State Saturday night, and the OC and DC for Clemson are making over $2 Million combined. Remember how supposedly we were a small five figure per year sum from hiring Jeff Casteel? The Big Ten has had a crop of god awful coaches lately. Paterno hanging around too long, Tiller and Carr hanging around too long, Illinois hiring Ron Zook, etc. Dantonio is a good coach, and ultimately, I've got to give Bielema his props for what he did from '06-'11. But still, those teams should be finishing 4th or 5th in the conference, not on top.

IMHO the cheating around the country has also ramped up lately, and I'd be interested in seeing data on oversigning, and whether that is a relatively recent phenomenon. The Sandusky scandal has made people forget how many programs have been caught cheating lately. Including Oregon, who bribed a friend of a 5* recruit to get that recruit, and then worked with that scout to try and cover it up by putting together some phony scouting reports. Oregon has, very suspiciously, become a national recruiting power lately. That is a perfect example where there should be a smoldering crater instead of a football program for a few years. But I suspect that there won't be. Oregon will get a light slap on the wrist. Something vastly smaller than the competitive advantage that they gained by cheating.

Programs like Penn State, Nebraska, and Michigan need to start cheating on the same level as the programs like Alabama and Auburn. It obviously works, and the NCAA obviously doesn't care.

[hack]

It will be interesting to see if it heads that way. Ultimately if Michigan's approach to the rules starts costing it money (as an expression of interest in and devotion to the product that is Michigan Football), it will happen.

[Hannibal]

I think that head coaches' salaries have finally peaked, and that we are entering a new arms race with assistants. People are finally realizing that sometimes it's a couple of great assistants that make a head coach look good. There's no reason that assistants don't deserve to make something close in compensation to what head coaches make. I can't think of many professions where the guy in charge makes six times as his highest paid direct reports. Most of my bosses haven't made anywhere close to double my salary.

[hack]

I'm on board. I hope that Michigan realizes how central football is to its identity and strategy and spends accordingly. Football is a resource not to be taken for granted, which is what I would fear here, thanks to the hubris at the top.

[Hannibal]

Football is a resource not to be taken for granted, which is what I would fear here, thanks to the hubris at the top.

That's a good way to put it.

I doubt that an SEC AD would ever be out cell phone contact in the middle of a coaching hire the way that Bill Martin was, and I don't think that most ADs would be stupid enough to let a program twist in the wind like Dave Brandon did between the 2010 OSU game and the Hoke hire. Penn State acted out "Weekend at Bernie's" for a decade, but Florida State wisely shunted Bobby Bowden out the door. Minnesota hired a tight ends coach as their head coach. Illinois hired a guy who had been fired in ignominy. Big Ten ADs aren't taking their jobs seriously.

[iam416]

Mattison is a very highly paid assistant.