Tuesday October 21, 2008

The Next Coach

The Next Coach
Usually I write a game worksheet on Tuesdays and might write one later this week but today I wanted to write the first of many blogs on the next coach at Clemson.

Today I want to look at the criteria and analyze what Clemson could or should be looking for with the next hire of its next football coach.

Dabo Swinney, Will Muschamp, Lane Kiffin, Rich Rodriguez, Gary Patterson, Bill Cowher, Jim Grobe, Bud Foster, Bobby Johnson, Brian Kelly or anyone else mentioned in the Clemson search is being mentioned because someone feels they have what it takes to help lead the Tigers back to glory.

I have seen these online dating services where you put what you are looking for in a potential companion and list aspects of your personality as well. I always get a kick out them because I am not sure the information that someone lists about them on a dating service is actually coming from the best source. Most of us don’t quite know how we project ourselves and it is a much better idea to have an ex list our true personality traits.

Anyway, the point is that millions of people pay millions of dollars each year for a computer program to help find their next victim, I mean companion. A person puts all of these traits they are looking for into the profile but I can’t imagine anyone finding the perfect, 100% match like a commercial may tell you.

The same can be said for the next head football coach at Clemson.

When Terry Don Phillips hires a consulting staff or two on the search, he will be asked to list some of the things he is looking for in his next head coach. This is just a guideline to get them to the interview process. Here is a list of some of the criteria that could be considered:

Head Coaching Experience
Some feel this is very important while others downplay the significance. There are examples of big time head coaches that were very successful in big-time programs in their first head coaching position. Bob Stoops at Oklahoma is perhaps the best example. Mark Richt at Georgia is another.

Of the top ten schools in this week’s BCS standings, five head coaches had previous head coaching experience and five did not. Mac Brown, Nick Saban, Pete Carroll, Jim Tressell and Urban Myer were previously head coaching experience. Joe Paterno, Bob Stoops, Mike Gundy, Mark Richt and Mike Leach had not been head coaches before their current gigs.

Last year’s BCS teams were LSU, Ohio State, Southern Cal, Illinois, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Hawaii, Georgia, Virginia Tech and Kansas. Les Miles was 28-21 at Oklahoma State before he took the LSU job. Jim Tressel was very successful at Youngstown State but had never coached at the Division I-A level before he came to Ohio State. Pete Carroll’s 33-31 record in the NFL would not have gotten him into the Hall of Fame. Ron Zook was fired for going 23-14 at Florida in his first head coaching job. Frank Beamer was 42-23 at Murray State before taking over at Virginia Tech. Bob Stoops, Rich Rodriquez, Mark Richt and Mark Mangino were not head coaches before they led their teams to the BCS.

Coordinator Experience
Almost every Division I-A head coach has had experience as a coordinator. It is usually the case because of the natural progression in the industry. In Clemson’s case however, the Tigers most successful coach in school history, Danny Ford, was not a coordinator before he took over as the head man.

Major Division I-A Experience
Some athletic directors would shy away from a guy who has not been around big-time college football. Brian Kelly at Cincinnati is one of the few candidates for some big jobs this year that does not have that kind of experience. He played at coached at Assumption College before moving on to Grand Valley State, Central Michigan and Cincinnati. Some still think he is one of the nation’s top coaches after winning two Division II national titles and he is currently 16-4 in his first 20 games at Cincinnati.

Leadership
I think this is the single most important trait to look for. Leaders are the ones that can inspire people to follow them. Motivation is a big key to success and leading people to go onto to greater things is a key characteristic to me.

Good Recruiter
Recruiting is the life blood to success in college football. I think it is paramount that Clemson hires someone that is noted as a good recruiter. To me the single most important aspect of recruiting is work ethic. I have seen some guys who have little personality go on to become great recruiters because of their relentless work ethic.

Ties to the Region
Some feel this is important but others down play the significance. While I think it is important to have some ties to the area, it is not the most important issue. Relationships take a long time to build but personalities and work ethic can overcome that.

Energetic
There is no doubt in my mind that the next coach at Clemson has to be an energetic leader that is relentless in his pursuit of excellence. The job requires a ton of energy and the next coach needs to be a 14-16 hour a day guy.

Toughness
Because of the perception of this program, I think it is very important that the next head coach bring a sense of toughness. A football team takes on the personality of its coach and this program needs a tougher presence.

Availability
My friend used to tell me that the number one thing he used to look at when sizing up his feelings towards a girl is what she thought about him. He said that it makes no sense to try to talk someone into liking you. There are a lot of candidates out there but I want someone who really thinks this job is one of the top jobs in America.

Financial Commitment
Unfortunately, money is always a factor.

Summary
I am not sure if Clemson will hire someone who has already been a head coach or not. I am not sure if he will have any ties to the region. Who knows if this will be a young man or not. I do think this will be Terry Don’s last big hire. This will be his legacy at Clemson. I think this hire is one of the most important in Clemson history. This program has a lot of things in place to make it a top 15 program but this next hire is the key.

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