Canales May Be A Good Fit

[SUMG]

In 2008, Clemson made Dabo Swinney their interim head coach. They started out the year 3-2...under him they went 4-4.

In his first full year (last year), they went 9-5.

This year, his second full year, they're 4-4 (with two of the four wins being UNT and Presbyterian). They close out the year with NC State, Florida State, Wake Forest and South Carolina.

I just wonder how Clemson fans feel? Are they happy that they stuck with their interim guy, or do they wish they had done a national search?

I have no clue how they feel. Just pointing out what has occurred with them...in a similar situation.

[cwb]

In 2008, Clemson made Dabo Swinney their interim head coach. They started out the year 3-2...under him they went 4-4.

In his first full year (last year), they went 9-5.

This year, his second full year, they're 4-4 (with two of the four wins being UNT and Presbyterian). They close out the year with NC State, Florida State, Wake Forest and South Carolina.

I just wonder how Clemson fans feel? Are they happy that they stuck with their interim guy, or do they wish they had done a national search?

I have no clue how they feel. Just pointing out what has occurred with them...in a similar situation.

You make a great point. But, and I am not calling for Canales to get the job, what if we get the Texas Tech version of this story? That is what scares the hell out of me.

[GrandGreen]

Obviously, Canales will be considered for the job. NT needs to make a splash with the new hire but it would be stupid not to look at Canales if he continues to get results. This team is much better than Dodge's first three even with the injuries with Riley at QB. So with enthusiastic leadership NT could finish with a couple more wins. Everyone expects NT to up the ante on coaches salaries but just paying more even double although it improves the odds does not guarantee success.

If Canales wins 2 or 3 of the last four then he is going to be considered for a lot of jobs not just at NT. I am hopeful that RV will have a new hc before the KSU game, if NT beats two out of Troy, ULM and the Muts and plays the other close; Canales would get my vote over most of the known hc suspects including Leavitt. In my view, demonstrating winning trumps the bigger name when you are talking about Bower, Leavitt and Fran. I think the Leavitt hc and Canales oc is highly unlikely, just because he worked for Leavitt before does not mean he would do again.

[SUMG]

You make a great point. But, and I am not calling for Canales to get the job, what if we get the Texas Tech version of this story? That is what scares the hell out of me.

I think in their case.....TTech would have been better off if they had kept their interim, Ruffin McNeil (who has East Carolina at 5-3 as their head coach). Instead they went national and brought in Tuberville.

But I do think there are major differences....TTech had an interim replacing a very successful coach. In their case.....they maybe should have tried to keep the same system going (just with a new head coach).

Anyway, just making a few points. But as we all know....we're all just guessing. Canales could be the greatest head coach in our history....and some of the name guys might fail miserably.

[cwb]

I think in their case.....TTech would have been better off if they had kept their interim, Ruffin McNeil (who has East Carolina at 5-3 as their head coach). Instead they went national and brought in Tuberville.

But I do think there are major differences....TTech had an interim replacing a very successful coach. In their case.....they maybe should have tried to keep the same system going (just with a new head coach).

Anyway, just making a few points. But as we all know....we're all just guessing. Canales could be the greatest head coach in our history....and some of the name guys might fail miserably.

I hear you. Too bad it ain't horeshoes or hand grenades.

[oldguystudent]

When I read all this hype about the big name hire, two people come to mind. John Robinson at UNLV and Lou Holtz at South Carolina.

I remember the John Robinson hire most vividly. A four-time Rose Bowl winner and one-time national champion, Robinson was to be the savior of the stagnant UNLV football program. His best season at UNLV was his second, an 8-5 campaign with a Las Vegas Bowl win. Overall, he finished at 28-42 (.400 winning pct.) with only the one bowl appearance.

Lou Holtz, in similar fashion had retired from Notre Dame with a national championship and four bowl wins that are currently in the BCS circuit along with 2 Cotton Bowl wins (then a much bigger bowl than it is now). He came into South Carolina and started off with an 0-11 campaign. He did turn it around somewhat in his 2nd and 3rd seasons with back-to-back bowl wins (in the Outback bowl. Heh. Get the pun?). He lost the momentum though and turned in three mediocre campaigns to finish out. He finished at 33-37 (.471 winning pct, .559 if we discount the first 0-11 year).

While two incidents do not make a proper sampling of data, these two really stick out in my memory and tell me that any given program needs a coach that FITS its environment more than it needs the brand name.

While I've expressed great hope at the win this past weekend, I'm neither endorsing nor ruling out Coach Canales at this time, but nor am I insisting on resurrecting the corpse of Knute Rockne because it'll bring in an extra 5,000 tickets for a season or two.

The proper fit for this program seems to include active community involvement in Denton, a clean program both behaviorally and academically, public speaking skills, fund raising prowess and an ability to rally the players and bring out more than would be expected on the field.

Rick knows damn well what's at stake in this hire. This hire, even more than the new stadium, is going to be his legacy. I imagine the risk assessment in this process will be considerably more involved than it was in 2006. Like Rick said in the podcast. This isn't Southern Miss West, and he doesn't want it to be. He, like most here at GMG, wants more. I have faith that nobody is going to put more thought and effort to bring these hopes into manifestation than Rick will.

[Mean Green 93-98]

In 2008, Clemson made Dabo Swinney their interim head coach. They started out the year 3-2...under him they went 4-4.

In his first full year (last year), they went 9-5.

This year, his second full year, they're 4-4 (with two of the four wins being UNT and Presbyterian). They close out the year with NC State, Florida State, Wake Forest and South Carolina.

I just wonder how Clemson fans feel? Are they happy that they stuck with their interim guy, or do they wish they had done a national search?

I have no clue how they feel. Just pointing out what has occurred with them...in a similar situation.

When Solich was fired at Nebraska in 2003, Bo Pelini was made interim head coach. He led the Huskers to a 17-3 victory over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl. Pelini interviewed for the job, but the Nebraska AD wanted a "big-time" hire. So he hired Bill Callahan, who had just led the Raiders to the Super Bowl one year earlier. The result? Callahan produced the lowest winning percentage by a Nebraska head coach in 46 years, and when Osborne came back as AD he canned him. Then Nebraska hired the man who they should have hired in the first place.

I'm sure there are countless examples both ways. And I really hope we do have a national coaching search. But I don't think a man necessarily needs to be excluded from the national coaching search because he does not coach far away, or even because he's not as well known as some others.

[Mean Green 93-98]

any given program needs a coach that FITS its environment more than it needs the brand name.

THIS.

[saysojoe]

I along with about 75 other fans were at the WKU game. I was impressed with Coach "C" from the warm ups till the game was over. His reaction to us the fans in the stands was "Priceless" and I wish that was caught on tape as well. It was a good moment. Coach C was involved in everyplay of the game Saturday. He cheered and coached the D when needed. He still called plays but was in the game at all times. Great example... calling a time out with 6 seconds to go in the half to force WKU to punt. We could of just went in up by a TD and thats what WKU thought ....they were pissed he forced them to punt but anything can happen when you force the other team to punt out of their own endzone. He called a good time out when our "O" looked confused going to the wildcat. That time out took a possible mistake out of the hands of the guys before it could happned on their 3 yrd line . We scored the next play. It was great game to watch and I hope the team and Coach "C" can make it happned again for the home crowd this weekend. The players seemed to really like Canales and it really showed this game.

GMG

Edited November 1, 2010 by saysojoe

[SilverEagle]

THIS.

Absolutely.

[NorthTexan95]

I just watched Canales' post game conference. Impressive guy. As guys have stated previously a big name hire doesn't guarentee anything. Previous head coaching experience doesn't guarentee anything. Finding the right guy ... getting the right fit ... that's the key. Canales has been with a lot big programs and he's worked with a lot of big name guys. He right when he says it's time for him to be a head coach (whether that's here or somewhere else).

The big money boosters are going to have a say in this and this could be to Canales' benefit. If the team improves over the last of the season Canales could impress the right people and impress the right people with his personality. If the other "big name" coaches come up with warts or demands more than what we are willing to stomach then at the end of the day Canales may be the best choice.

All that being said I don't know if Canales is the best guy for the job. I know he has a very nice coaching background and he seems like he would be a good head coach. However, I'm not around the guy every day. I don't know how his personality and style would play out leading a team over a full year. At the end of the day I'll just trust Rick to make the right recommendation.

[gangrene]

Wow, anything anyone ever needs to know about why UNT is where it is today can be found in this thread.

[untgirl04]

They are probably the worst FBS team in the past five years. They may eventually put things together at this level, but for now they are so hopeless UNT fans feel sorry for them.

Seven people voted down my comment, but none of them gave a rebuttal. Canales will not fill seats. He will not excite the media or casual fans. It would be a mistake to hire him as head coach when name coaches are out there looking for an opportunity.

I disagree, IF Canales wins 3 or 4 more games this season and gets close to or beats Kansas State. If he can put that many wins on the board in a season that has been fraught with injuries and disappointing losses, that will energize the fan base quite a bit. If he's able to do that, he will have made a name for himself, and I think UNT would be stupid for not seriously considering him. Granted, this is a big IF, and I'm not ready to crown Canales the head coach just yet. But, I think all this talk about a 'name' coach being necessary is really limiting. We just need a coach who WINS. I don't care if his name is John Doe as long as he can motivate this team to win.

[MeanGreen61]

I disagree, IF Canales wins 3 or 4 more games this season and gets close to or beats Kansas State. If he can put that many wins on the board in a season that has been fraught with injuries and disappointing losses, that will energize the fan base quite a bit. If he's able to do that, he will have made a name for himself, and I think UNT would be stupid for not seriously considering him. Granted, this is a big IF, and I'm not ready to crown Canales the head coach just yet. But, I think all this talk about a 'name' coach being necessary is really limiting. We just need a coach who WINS. I don't care if his name is John Doe as long as he can motivate this team to win.

Amen. Just want a motivator and winner !

[gangrene]

Amen. Just want a motivator and winner !

Can we afford Tony Robbins or Zig Ziglar?

[LoveMG]

we need a coach who can beat top 50 schools not just bottom 30 schools.

[oldguystudent]

Can we afford Tony Robbins or Zig Ziglar?

The only thing between you and your goals is you...and your goals.

Edited November 1, 2010 by oldguystudent

[SilverEagle]

Can we afford Tony Robbins or Zig Ziglar?

At the end of the coaches show today, there were some "get to know you" questions asked of Coach Canales. One of them was about what non-football things that he did. One thing was "playing golf", the other thing was "read motivational books".

He also stated that he tells his team (and prepares them accordinglhy) that his expectation is that they win every game that they go into...... regardless of the opponent. That's Hayden Fry stuff. And to a great extent, that's Corkey Nelson stuff.

So far, the verbiage sounds good.

[NT80]

I'm beginning to wonder if coach Canales would remain if we were to hire Leavitt. If he won't, then I'm not nearly as interested in Leavitt.

Chico appears to want to be a head coach. I don't know if he would want to step back behind Leavitt yet again.

Canales today on the coach show named 4-5 coaches whom he considered his mentors, Leavitt being one of them.