The unofficial online home for fans of the Western Michigan University Broncos. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

If you guys want a guy whose all in and here for the long haul, just hire Lester.
His credentials are as solid as Flecks coming in.

Quote:if he moves in 3-4 years so be it. I'd rather have a great coach leave early than a bad coach who stays until we fire him. He still isn't my favorite but I could certainly support it.

Sure, everyone would want a coach like that -- rather than, say, a Cubit who'll average going a game over .500 and tread water in the long run. But I don't see how Crystal Ball is some "big catch". No recruiting ties to the midwest, and with FIU, certainly didn't blaze trails in the Sun Belt with his "massive recruiting". Him being a good recruiter for Alabama... okay, great. He's good at recruiting down south for a Power House. I think FIU would be a better measuring stick. Not to say he Couldn't be a good HC. People learn over time, adjust, etc., and FIU was a newer school (but he had Years there). Still, I don't see what the hype is about him that resonates with Us.

Quote:If they win at WMU, NONE of the candidates will be in Kalamazoo for long. No different from Fleck, Kill, Jones, Kelly, Campbell, Pinkel, Meyer, Walker, Hayes, Schembechler, etc, etc.

I think the problem with PJ was that -- NONE of the candidates were offered what PJ was, and he bolted, even days after he said he was Not going anywhere. If we basically said "We'll bump you to $900k and amp up your performance-bonuses," I totally understand. Offering him around $3m for 10 years (allegedly) -- as KB said we offered him 'more'? That's never happened before with any of them. That's where the gripe comes in. Especially after preaching bringing tradition to WMU and establishing them as a G5 Power, F.A.M.I.L.Y., not-going-anywhere, etc.

Can we get over the "PJ burned us" thing please? The guy was a hot name and got poached by a bigger school, with more money in a bigger conference. It happens. If we are caught by surprise then its our own fault for being so naive. PJ Fleck introduced us all to the modern landscape of college football very quickly. From the self promotion, uniforms, social media aspect to the coaching carousel. This is just what college football is now.

As far as Cristobal goes, if he can recruit in the Southeast then he can certainly recruit in the Midwest. He will make connections quickly and has lots of great existing relationships in the coaching world to draw from. I am not concerned that he is going to be boxed out by any MAC coach. He has national title rings as a player, and a coach. He has put players in the NFL. He can get in the door on his own merit.

(01-13-2017 10:01 AM)Liam9903 Wrote:  As far as Cristobal goes, if he can recruit in the Southeast then he can certainly recruit in the Midwest. He will make connections quickly and has lots of great existing relationships in the coaching world to draw from. I am not concerned that he is going to be boxed out by any MAC coach. He has national title rings as a player, and a coach. He has put players in the NFL. He can get in the door on his own merit.

Disagree, does not necessarily follow. He likely has no contacts in the "six-hour radius" and is unknown here.

There are more D-I Football players in the Southeast by far than in Midwest, and only way you couldn't recruit to Bama was if you were dead.

Mario Cristobal is joining the staff at Oregon.
http://coachingsearch.com/coaching-search-ticker

Yep, like I said, probably Pinkham, Lester/Shafer, or a name that's gone totally unmentioned.

I don't think Drevno is coming.

(01-13-2017 08:51 AM)backinkazoo Wrote:  

(01-13-2017 07:51 AM)MajorHoople Wrote:  Plus his wife is a Miami girl. How long would she want to live here?

It has been my experience that this will NEVER work for more than 1 to 2 years. She will be wanting to move as soon as the first snow flies

Eugene's winters are less severe than Kzoo's obviously. But they still have snow on the ground, high of 37 today.

I think we might be surprised when the hire is finally made... I just home i'm not surprised AND underwhelmed...

(01-13-2017 08:45 AM)kzoorob Wrote:  if he moves in 3-4 years so be it. I'd rather have a great coach leave early than a bad coach who stays until we fire him. He still isn't my favorite but I could certainly support it.

Exactly. If you're a lifer in the MAC you are not quite bad enough to get fired and not good enough to get hired away, i.e. Hawkins. Nature of the biz in this conference. I thought that we would be able to delay the inevitable for a while with new found $$, but not so much.

(01-13-2017 11:58 AM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  Yep, like I said, probably Pinkham, Lester/Shafer, or a name that's gone totally unmentioned.

I don't think Drevno is coming.

I'm betting on "a name that's gone totally unmentioned".

(01-13-2017 08:51 AM)backinkazoo Wrote:  

(01-13-2017 07:51 AM)MajorHoople Wrote:  Plus his wife is a Miami girl. How long would she want to live here?

It has been my experience that this will NEVER work for more than 1 to 2 years. She will be wanting to move as soon as the first snow flies

It is easy to move a Yankee to the south.

However, it is difficult to make a Southerner a Yankee.

That said, Miami, while warm and sunny is not "Southern" in terms of culture. The more north you get in Florida, the more "Southern" you also get.

Doesn't matter who WMU hires. Just like Fleck, they will be gone in a few years after winning a championship or two. The key is winning a championship or two...

Well we all remember what the last coaching hire was like. Kathy hit us with a change-up and hired Fleck. The first we heard about Fleck was the announcement of the hire.

I wouldn't put it past this administration to do the same thing again.

Cristobal apparently going to Oregon

I guess he didn't get offered at his interview by WMU....

(01-13-2017 12:34 PM)broncos1123 Wrote:  I guess he didn't get offered at his interview by WMU....

I'm going to bet he never even interviewed.

(01-13-2017 12:35 PM)flushtheherd Wrote:  I'm going to bet he never even interviewed.

That's my feeling as well.

Media always thinks they can not only name the candidates but hire the coach.

(01-13-2017 12:18 PM)wmubroncopilot Wrote:  Cristobal apparently going to Oregon

Oregon is crazy. He has no recruiting ties to the Pacific Northwest!

Quote:Can we get over the "PJ burned us" thing please? The guy was a hot name and got poached by a bigger school, with more money in a bigger conference.

The main thing is no -- it wasn't really more money in every way (more per year but shorter term, less money altogether). It's not a classic G5->P5 thing, plus, again, him acting like he was NOT at that point. So there's reason to gripe -- but I understand people tired of hearing it. Just saying there's a reason why people would be griping, is all. :)

And also -- Crystal Ball, again, a great recruiter not really demonstrated at FIU. Comparing apples & oranges to a new FBS and Alabama. It'd be like comparing a running back with a monsterous offensive line to one that isn't so great. One wouldn't need to be Barry Sanders to run well with an Alabama offensive line. :)


I shed no tear that we didn't get him. He didn't impress me @FIU (nor impressed FIU). He showed that he had the potential to be a decent coach though, but not a proven big-money-winner.

Word on the street was we we're going to offer up on Cristobal until he went to Oregon

He was a finalist for our HC position, so obviously he was looking to be a HC again.