Thursday, December 4, 2014

Poll results: Which coach(es) should be retained beyond 2014?

Roy Manning (image via Maizeandbluenews.com)
Leading up to last week's game against Ohio State, I asked a question about which coach(es) should be retained after the season. Voters were allowed to pick multiple answers. Here are the results:

Roy Manning (cornerbacks): 51%

Greg Mattison (defensive coordinator/linebackers): 49%

Doug Nussmeier (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks): 18%

Mark Smith (defensive line): 18%

Fred Jackson (running backs): 7%

Dan Ferrigno (tight ends): 5%

Curt Mallory (safeties): 4%

Jeff Hecklinski (wide receivers/recruiting coordinator): 3%

Darrell Funk (offensive line): 2%

Brady Hoke (head coach): 0% (1 vote)

No coaches should be retained: 18%

Hoke has been canned, and defensive coordinator Greg Mattison reportedly cleared out his desk upon learning the news. So the 49% of people who wanted him back will be disappointed, and the one lonely soul who wanted Hoke to return is drinking a beer by himself. The other staff members could possibly be interviewed and retained, but it's unusual to keep on more than one or two guys from a previous regime.

7 comments:

  1. I think the 18% who said nobody should be retained have it right. Flush and start fresh.

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  2. its quite common - and in my opinion a smart move - to retain 1 coach from the outgoing staff in order to ease the transition. it helps with recruiting if someone can offer lay of the land to 8-9 new coaches. but more importantly theres potentially 8-9 coaches walking into meeting rooms with like 75 student-athletes theyve never met so familiar faces def help. whether its S&C staff, training or medical staff, associate ADs, tutors, etc, a holdover can always benefit new coaches by acting as that much needed liaison between parties. the new staff eventually gets everything ironed out and has program humming in their image but the time frames are so compressed now that a liaison or 2 really helps, if only for a year or less. spring ball, winter conditioning, recruiting, early entries - everythings compressed now and coaches need to take advantage of every single day / hour they have. id say keep manning in some capacity, hes young and energentic and hes proven he can really relate to modern players - thats huge, cannot be overstated. i think new staff would be foolish to let him go. but the rest of them are mostly hokes guys from previous stops and can be replaced.

    hopefully they can somehow pull off a miracle with guys like stoops or harbaugh, but if not id prefer kirby smart or similar younger x's and o's type coordinator. the games evolving so quickly and they need sharp, adaptable and aggressive minds in bo's building. cant afford to miss on this hire - and going with some conservative choice would be worse than taking a total flier

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    1. Kirby Smart makes sense. Alabama's defenses have been very very good, and he is an up-and-coming guy who will probably jump at a new opportunity and a big raise. Colin Cowherd's been saying that Michigan will get a surprise candidate, and if CC's right, I am thinking it could be Kirby Smart.

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  3. I'd keep Mattison, especially if I were a guy from the offensive side of the ball, a former OC or quarterback for example.

    I'd keep Manning because the kids on the recruiting trail really seem to like him, but I'd get him the hell away from my CBs.

    I'd think about keeping Smith and as politically impossible as it is on every single level, I'd also think about Hoke at the DL spot. He's a proven DL coach and I think he's a helluva recruiter. You might get a couple kids back in the class and you could maybe say you have the single highest paid DL coach in the history of football.

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  4. I don't understand why people voted for manning. I realize that he is a good recruiter, but our DB's didn't look very good this year

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  5. There's no way Mattison comes back, and that was clear from the start.

    Only people who are worth keeping are Manning (CB), Mark Smith (LB), and Doug Nussmeier. I don't think Nuss will come back, because the new HC will have a strong preference vis-a-vis coordinators. I really like Mark Smith, as the LBs have been consistently good. I like Manning as an up-and-coming coach, who's still very young and can connect with the players. I am not so sure about his work with the CBs this year, as they got burned too many times. All depends on the HC, but I think only Mark Smith and Roy Manning have any chance of being retained.

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  6. You need to keep OC Doug, he has only been with us one season and is a proven winner. If Harbaugh is hired, Mattison will be retained as he is a family friend. Also Mattison has built one of the top run defense in the country.

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