Western Carolina Hires Kerwin Bell

This seems like a home run hire for Western Carolina. As the head coach of the Jacksonville Dolphins he went 66-35 from 2007-2015 and at DII Valdosta State he went 27-7 from 2016-2018 with a 14-0 2018 season and a DII National Title.

I really didn't think the Western Carolina admin had enough in them to make this hire. The big question is will they give Bell the resources to be sucessful or will they expect results on a strapped shoestring budget like they have since the late 1980s.

(04-27-2021 10:20 PM)HerdZoned Wrote:  

Western Carolina Hires Kerwin Bell

This seems like a home run hire for Western Carolina. As the head coach of the Jacksonville Dolphins he went 66-35 from 2007-2015 and at DII Valdosta State he went 27-7 from 2016-2018 with a 14-0 2018 season and a DII National Title.

I really didn't think the Western Carolina admin had enough in them to make this hire. The big question is will they give Bell the resources to be sucessful or will they expect results on a strapped shoestring budget like they have since the late 1980s.

I lived in western North Carolina for 13 years and went to many Western games. I also have friends in positions at the university and supported athletics financially over the years (not a graduate of the university, just friends with enough folks there). I personally met and became acquainted with the last two head football coaches there.

Coach Wagner had a real tough row to hoe due to having to step in when the previous coach had let discipline fall through the cracks in the floor. Dennis' approach to discipline was a complete 180 and the existing players never bought in. Dennis is a good guy, but his approach at the time was a little to dramatic for the players. He never gained confidence of the players, thus his early departure.

Mark was a bit more relaxed and has a better approach, but from my opinion, was not head coach material from the beginning. I met him probably a couple of weeks after he was hired and I was underwhelmed. I was actually more impressed with Dennis than Mark.

Your comment about the administration and support is probably spot on. The difference this time is there is a new AD who came on board last year and the chancellor came on board in 2019. So, there are changes in the university that brought this new approach. As for financial support from the alums and backers, this is a big problem. Having done so poorly in football for so long, only a handful of die hard backers are still around. And if one really likes college football, they drive two hours into Tennessee and watch the Vols play, or two hours south and watch Clemson play. A lot of the money people in that area of the state are not locals and not graduates of Western. These are folks who keep second (even third and fourth) homes in the mountains and spend winters in Florida. They may give some money to the University, but not enough to make a difference. Also, once most of the students graduate, there are skid marks on the pavement in front of the campus because they trying to get out so quickly.

Honestly, I hadn't heard Mr. Bell's name since he graduated Florida. I had no idea he put together such a resume. I like the hire, but what if he turns the program around quickly. Strong chance someone else will pick him up. But, turning this program around quickly is a tall order. Locally (within two to three hours), the area is not a hot bed for high level athletes, or many athletes at all for that matter. It's not a heavily populated area.

He will have to go the way of transfers and junior college players for a quick turnaround. Given the recent NCAA ruling of being able to transfer once without sitting a year, makes this tougher for FCS teams.

Like HerdZoned, I like the hire, but he is spot on about the financial support. That will be tough for the University.

(04-28-2021 06:34 AM)BamaCajun Wrote:  

(04-27-2021 10:20 PM)HerdZoned Wrote:  

Western Carolina Hires Kerwin Bell

This seems like a home run hire for Western Carolina. As the head coach of the Jacksonville Dolphins he went 66-35 from 2007-2015 and at DII Valdosta State he went 27-7 from 2016-2018 with a 14-0 2018 season and a DII National Title.

I really didn't think the Western Carolina admin had enough in them to make this hire. The big question is will they give Bell the resources to be sucessful or will they expect results on a strapped shoestring budget like they have since the late 1980s.

I lived in western North Carolina for 13 years and went to many Western games. I also have friends in positions at the university and supported athletics financially over the years (not a graduate of the university, just friends with enough folks there). I personally met and became acquainted with the last two head football coaches there.

Coach Wagner had a real tough row to hoe due to having to step in when the previous coach had let discipline fall through the cracks in the floor. Dennis' approach to discipline was a complete 180 and the existing players never bought in. Dennis is a good guy, but his approach at the time was a little to dramatic for the players. He never gained confidence of the players, thus his early departure.

Mark was a bit more relaxed and has a better approach, but from my opinion, was not head coach material from the beginning. I met him probably a couple of weeks after he was hired and I was underwhelmed. I was actually more impressed with Dennis than Mark.

Your comment about the administration and support is probably spot on. The difference this time is there is a new AD who came on board last year and the chancellor came on board in 2019. So, there are changes in the university that brought this new approach. As for financial support from the alums and backers, this is a big problem. Having done so poorly in football for so long, only a handful of die hard backers are still around. And if one really likes college football, they drive two hours into Tennessee and watch the Vols play, or two hours south and watch Clemson play. A lot of the money people in that area of the state are not locals and not graduates of Western. These are folks who keep second (even third and fourth) homes in the mountains and spend winters in Florida. They may give some money to the University, but not enough to make a difference. Also, once most of the students graduate, there are skid marks on the pavement in front of the campus because they trying to get out so quickly.

Honestly, I hadn't heard Mr. Bell's name since he graduated Florida. I had no idea he put together such a resume. I like the hire, but what if he turns the program around quickly. Strong chance someone else will pick him up. But, turning this program around quickly is a tall order. Locally (within two to three hours), the area is not a hot bed for high level athletes, or many athletes at all for that matter. It's not a heavily populated area.

He will have to go the way of transfers and junior college players for a quick turnaround. Given the recent NCAA ruling of being able to transfer once without sitting a year, makes this tougher for FCS teams.

Like HerdZoned, I like the hire, but he is spot on about the financial support. That will be tough for the University.

In addition to all of that, they are the CANTAMOUNTS. They can't amount to anything.

Backing up to Gray for a second, I'll be honest, I think he's the best OC in the league. He's made top rushers of mediocre backs like Destin Coates and Tra Barnett. Sorry, but those guys are simply not on the same tier as guys like Matt Brieda, Jalin Moore, and Raymond Calais. There's probably not an offense in the league that's the most compared to the sum of their parts than State's is.

*ducks*

(04-28-2021 06:34 AM)BamaCajun Wrote:  Honestly, I hadn't heard Mr. Bell's name since he graduated Florida. I had no idea he put together such a resume. I like the hire, but what if he turns the program around quickly. Strong chance someone else will pick him up. But, turning this program around quickly is a tall order. Locally (within two to three hours), the area is not a hot bed for high level athletes, or many athletes at all for that matter. It's not a heavily populated area.

He will have to go the way of transfers and junior college players for a quick turnaround. Given the recent NCAA ruling of being able to transfer once without sitting a year, makes this tougher for FCS teams.

Like HerdZoned, I like the hire, but he is spot on about the financial support. That will be tough for the University.

Bell is in the same situation that Lance Leipold is in at Buffalo. They are both great coaches but are both in their mid 50s (Bell 55, Leipold 56). A lot of bigger places see them as to old to hire, most want a younger and maybe more innovative coach. Plus I don't see Bell as a job hopper, I mean he spent 8 years at a Non Scholarship program and 3 years at a DII school and only left after there was nothing left to do. He was fired at Jacksonville because they wanted to kill their program, which they did after the 2019 season. He was 41 when he started at Jacksonville.

As I ask will WCU be willing to give Bell the resources to be successful. They haven't since Bob Waters (1969-1988). And then I don't know if they gave Waters the right resources then. At that time Marshall was in the SoCon along with App and WCU. By 1988 Marshall had turned everything around and had made the IAA national title game in 1987. App was a dominate force and a few years later the SoCon added GA Southern (1992). For the rest of the time Marshall was in the SoCon (1996), those 3 programs separated from the others. And WCU slipped even further. As of right now there is no dominate SoCon programs after App and GA Southern left. Its now a collection of schools mediocre in athletics that just beat up on each other.

If Im Bell I would try and build a program at WCU with HS recruits and only go to JuCo and Transfer Portal when I need to. If you build a house of cards with JuCo's and transfers then you have a more likilyhood of falling and failing.

(04-28-2021 09:51 AM)EigenEagle Wrote:  Backing up to Gray for a second, I'll be honest, I think he's the best OC in the league. He's made top rushers of mediocre backs like Destin Coates and Tra Barnett. Sorry, but those guys are simply not on the same tier as guys like Matt Brieda, Jalin Moore, and Raymond Calais. There's probably not an offense in the league that's the most compared to the sum of their parts than State's is.

*ducks*

Assuming you meant "Glenn" . Cannot disagree. Tra ran for almost 1500 yards and didn't even get a look from the next level at all. We have a superior OL (fully expect Shamarious Gilmore to be in their league next year) and Glenn is outstanding as an OC. He has attracted really great QB and WR talent continuing what Luke Huard was doing under Miles. I would love to see him as our next HC. Unfortunately I think we lose him way before CSE.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

WCU can never just put it all together. Bill Bleil had some talent on his teams but coached in a span where no one was routinely beating Southern, App and Furman.

Heck, when Kent Briggs was their HC he had both Matt Rhule and Geoff Collins on staff and probably had one of their better teams, and couldn't routinely break through GS, App, Furman and Wofford.

Some teams are just that way. I believe GS only lost once in something like 18 games vs WCU.

(04-28-2021 08:57 PM)Eagle22 Wrote:  WCU can never just put it all together. Bill Bleil had some talent on his teams but coached in a span where no one was routinely beating Southern, App and Furman.

Heck, when Kent Briggs was their HC he had both Matt Rhule and Geoff Collins on staff and probably had one of their better teams, and couldn't routinely break through GS, App, Furman and Wofford.

Some teams are just that way. I believe GS only lost once in something like 18 games vs WCU.

That goes back to the admin not supporting or funding the program. When successful programs get close to a goal they invest more to get over the hump. When programs like WCU get close the admin think "See we just needed the right people", without investing any money. WCU had to renovate Whitmire Stadium like 7-8 years ago, basically because it was becoming unsafe. Before that the last renovation was in 1982, not including lipstick updates.

By putting money in a program and getting over the hump, I'll use Marshall's soccer program. From its inception in 1979 to 2013 Marshall men's soccer wasn't horrible but unless they were senior top heavy they hovered around .500. In the early 2010s Marshall said they were going to build a proper soccer stadium. From 1993 to 2012 Marshall played soccer on a field propped up against Joan C Edwards Stadium. In 2017 Marshall's 22 year soccer coach retired, Marshall went out and hired the best DII coach. It just so happened that coach was Chris Grassie and he was only 51 miles away at the University of Charleston. Grassie was 99-20-2 at UC in 6 years with a Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8s, 1 Final 4s and 2 Championship games. Since the 5th week of 2019 Marshall has been ranked in the Top 25 and as high as #8.

That is what happens when you invest rather than just expect things because you think you have the right people in charge.

(04-28-2021 09:07 AM)AppinSC Wrote:  

(04-28-2021 06:34 AM)BamaCajun Wrote:  

(04-27-2021 10:20 PM)HerdZoned Wrote:  

Western Carolina Hires Kerwin Bell

This seems like a home run hire for Western Carolina. As the head coach of the Jacksonville Dolphins he went 66-35 from 2007-2015 and at DII Valdosta State he went 27-7 from 2016-2018 with a 14-0 2018 season and a DII National Title.

I really didn't think the Western Carolina admin had enough in them to make this hire. The big question is will they give Bell the resources to be sucessful or will they expect results on a strapped shoestring budget like they have since the late 1980s.

I lived in western North Carolina for 13 years and went to many Western games. I also have friends in positions at the university and supported athletics financially over the years (not a graduate of the university, just friends with enough folks there). I personally met and became acquainted with the last two head football coaches there.

Coach Wagner had a real tough row to hoe due to having to step in when the previous coach had let discipline fall through the cracks in the floor. Dennis' approach to discipline was a complete 180 and the existing players never bought in. Dennis is a good guy, but his approach at the time was a little to dramatic for the players. He never gained confidence of the players, thus his early departure.

Mark was a bit more relaxed and has a better approach, but from my opinion, was not head coach material from the beginning. I met him probably a couple of weeks after he was hired and I was underwhelmed. I was actually more impressed with Dennis than Mark.

Your comment about the administration and support is probably spot on. The difference this time is there is a new AD who came on board last year and the chancellor came on board in 2019. So, there are changes in the university that brought this new approach. As for financial support from the alums and backers, this is a big problem. Having done so poorly in football for so long, only a handful of die hard backers are still around. And if one really likes college football, they drive two hours into Tennessee and watch the Vols play, or two hours south and watch Clemson play. A lot of the money people in that area of the state are not locals and not graduates of Western. These are folks who keep second (even third and fourth) homes in the mountains and spend winters in Florida. They may give some money to the University, but not enough to make a difference. Also, once most of the students graduate, there are skid marks on the pavement in front of the campus because they trying to get out so quickly.

Honestly, I hadn't heard Mr. Bell's name since he graduated Florida. I had no idea he put together such a resume. I like the hire, but what if he turns the program around quickly. Strong chance someone else will pick him up. But, turning this program around quickly is a tall order. Locally (within two to three hours), the area is not a hot bed for high level athletes, or many athletes at all for that matter. It's not a heavily populated area.

He will have to go the way of transfers and junior college players for a quick turnaround. Given the recent NCAA ruling of being able to transfer once without sitting a year, makes this tougher for FCS teams.

Like HerdZoned, I like the hire, but he is spot on about the financial support. That will be tough for the University.

In addition to all of that, they are the CANTAMOUNTS. They can't amount to anything.

That would be the “CATAMOUNTS”. So maybe they can amount to something. Time will tell.

(04-29-2021 01:40 PM)JoeJag Wrote:  

(04-28-2021 09:07 AM)AppinSC Wrote:  

(04-28-2021 06:34 AM)BamaCajun Wrote:  

(04-27-2021 10:20 PM)HerdZoned Wrote:  

Western Carolina Hires Kerwin Bell

This seems like a home run hire for Western Carolina. As the head coach of the Jacksonville Dolphins he went 66-35 from 2007-2015 and at DII Valdosta State he went 27-7 from 2016-2018 with a 14-0 2018 season and a DII National Title.

I really didn't think the Western Carolina admin had enough in them to make this hire. The big question is will they give Bell the resources to be sucessful or will they expect results on a strapped shoestring budget like they have since the late 1980s.

I lived in western North Carolina for 13 years and went to many Western games. I also have friends in positions at the university and supported athletics financially over the years (not a graduate of the university, just friends with enough folks there). I personally met and became acquainted with the last two head football coaches there.

Coach Wagner had a real tough row to hoe due to having to step in when the previous coach had let discipline fall through the cracks in the floor. Dennis' approach to discipline was a complete 180 and the existing players never bought in. Dennis is a good guy, but his approach at the time was a little to dramatic for the players. He never gained confidence of the players, thus his early departure.

Mark was a bit more relaxed and has a better approach, but from my opinion, was not head coach material from the beginning. I met him probably a couple of weeks after he was hired and I was underwhelmed. I was actually more impressed with Dennis than Mark.

Your comment about the administration and support is probably spot on. The difference this time is there is a new AD who came on board last year and the chancellor came on board in 2019. So, there are changes in the university that brought this new approach. As for financial support from the alums and backers, this is a big problem. Having done so poorly in football for so long, only a handful of die hard backers are still around. And if one really likes college football, they drive two hours into Tennessee and watch the Vols play, or two hours south and watch Clemson play. A lot of the money people in that area of the state are not locals and not graduates of Western. These are folks who keep second (even third and fourth) homes in the mountains and spend winters in Florida. They may give some money to the University, but not enough to make a difference. Also, once most of the students graduate, there are skid marks on the pavement in front of the campus because they trying to get out so quickly.

Honestly, I hadn't heard Mr. Bell's name since he graduated Florida. I had no idea he put together such a resume. I like the hire, but what if he turns the program around quickly. Strong chance someone else will pick him up. But, turning this program around quickly is a tall order. Locally (within two to three hours), the area is not a hot bed for high level athletes, or many athletes at all for that matter. It's not a heavily populated area.

He will have to go the way of transfers and junior college players for a quick turnaround. Given the recent NCAA ruling of being able to transfer once without sitting a year, makes this tougher for FCS teams.

Like HerdZoned, I like the hire, but he is spot on about the financial support. That will be tough for the University.

In addition to all of that, they are the CANTAMOUNTS. They can't amount to anything.

That would be the “CATAMOUNTS”. So maybe they can amount to something. Time will tell.

nope, its cantamount. i have a shirt to prove it.

For those paying attention, Kansas is still without a head coach.

(04-29-2021 02:15 PM)Usajags Wrote:  For those paying attention, Kansas is still without a head coach.

Which means that one of Army, Tulane, La Tech will be hiring soon, too.

Kansas is a terrible job, I think you can get a better job out of Tulane and LaTech then Kansas. Army is probably a better job then Kansas, but it will be a different type of recruiting and they will pay more. Does Lawrence, KS have any large companies that will be looking for some spokespersons they can pay, that could help recruiting.

(04-29-2021 03:40 PM)Usajags Wrote:  Kansas is a terrible job, I think you can get a better job out of Tulane and LaTech then Kansas. Army is probably a better job then Kansas, but it will be a different type of recruiting and they will pay more. Does Lawrence, KS have any large companies that will be looking for some spokespersons they can pay, that could help recruiting.

Have you ever been to Ruston? It sucks and not a job anyone should aspire to.

(04-29-2021 03:58 PM)MelRock Wrote:  

(04-29-2021 03:40 PM)Usajags Wrote:  Kansas is a terrible job, I think you can get a better job out of Tulane and LaTech then Kansas. Army is probably a better job then Kansas, but it will be a different type of recruiting and they will pay more. Does Lawrence, KS have any large companies that will be looking for some spokespersons they can pay, that could help recruiting.

Have you ever been to Ruston? It sucks and not a job anyone should aspire to.

Unless you're looking for a payday you have a better chance advancing as the coach of UL-Ruston than Kansas.

Lol UL-Ruston. Bet that bunches their pants.

Looks like Buffalo is now in the bubble. Word is Leipold is headed to Kansas.

Crap time of the year to need an HC

Probably the only job Leipold would get at his age at 56. And if he wasn't from mid west he probably wouldn't have been a candidate.

This kind really sucks for Buffalo.

Don’t know what he was making at Buffalo, don’t know what he’ll make at Kansas, but I hope it’s in the $3mil range. He can retire from Kansas in 5 years and he has made a financial change for his family for the next couple of generations. If he can get them bowl eligible in any of those 5 years, call his career a success and retire into the good life. Have to believe that is the end game for Leipold with this move.