(01-14-2020 04:37 PM)JMURocks Wrote:  

(01-14-2020 04:12 PM)jmu82 Wrote:  

(01-14-2020 03:30 PM)olddawg Wrote:  Not sure why a successful mid major coach would come here. Maybe when we were a borderline top 10 conference, but lately we have settled comfortably around 18th. The CAA is closer to the top end of the low majors than the low end of the high majors.

Perhaps someone could be persuaded by the new arena and an increase in pay. But our track record as being a career killing job is a real thing. Not one coach since Lou after the '84-85 season has moved on to a better position-they've all been canned.

Honestly can't see a sure fire way of turning the program around without a rainmaker. And I don't see us having the $$ to do that. Remember, we got Lefty cheap. He made 75k from JMU which was supplemented by 75k from Maryland ( the difference in pay between his Madison contract and his Maryland contract still owed him).

Finally. Thank you olddawg. I'm reading this thread and thinking you people sure are optimistic. I get the attraction of a new arena and maybe.....MAYBE...higher pay. But I see a coaches graveyard. Without looking it up (thanks BDK), has any former coach outside of Lefty gone on to another head job....anywhere? Lifetime assistants it seems. I'm not even sure Keener got another gig. Thought he went into insurance or something. I hope the optimists here are right. I'd be all over a Drew hire. But, I'm not sure I'd take the job if I'm a high school coach. I tend to think Bourne's inbox might be pretty thin with resumes.

This is why I'd be onboard with a Pitino (we can dream) or Lonergan type hire. Someone who most view as damaged goods, but really may be a fine coach seeking redemption. That is sort of how we landed Lefty. Pitino is likely way out of budget though, I'm thinking seven digits.

Yeah totally agree. It’s not an attractive job, any untainted coach we feel confident in is going to have safer options. Like we’ve all been saying, Pitino is almost definitely completely unrealistic. Lonergan maybe not. Not sure what other options like that might be out there, and of course you’d only want to consider certain damaged goods.

The other option would be to throw around enough money to outweigh the safer options, but who knows how possible that is. I also don’t really agree on absolutely not wanting an assistant, I think Keener has a lot of people too scared of an assistant. You see plenty of coaches go on to be very successful after some time as an assistant to one of the great coaches. If you tell me “this guy spent 5 years as an assistant to Rick Pitino” I’m gonna feel better about that than “this guy won his D2 conference as a head coach.”