In Reply to: Billy Napier? posted by TheHappyBurgermeister on October 20, 2025 at 12:26:23
Just to name a few: Tom Herman, Jim McElwain, Dan Hawkins, Dirk Koetter, Mike MacIntyre, Luke Fickell, Scott Frost, Kevin Sumlin, and many, many more. People want to think they're getting Meyer or Deboer but they're much more likely to get one of these guys.
Then you have guys like Sonny Dykes, who has succeeded at TCU, but failed at Cal. Some hires just don't seem to fit. I could see Norvell, for example, moving to another job and finding success again (not here).
I subscribe less and less to the idea that head coaching experience is that important*, vs. just looking for factors you want to see in a head coach. Some combination of strong X's and O's on one side of the ball, focus on recruiting, dynamic personal traits/salesmanship, work ethic, and just raw hunger. For example, just run the Dorrell and Foster hires through this rubric and tell me how they would stack up. Their applications would get tossed in about 30 seconds.
I also don't think just randomly bringing in some dude from another region is necessarily a good idea. I'd like someone who has some history with the Big 10 or west coast.
*Don't get me wrong, I'm all for hiring an experienced head coach. It's just that most of the guys I'd want are probably not realistic options. And the options that could be realistic like Fisch still come with a lot of unknowns and a huge price tag. Either that, or they come out of the lower FBS grab bag.
If Myers and Peters do their job right, they should be able to identify a dynamic guy who is more than just a decent resume.