Sun Belt Coaching Staffs

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Number of years of coaching experience with BCS AQ schools:

North Texas - 119 (McCarney, head coach, 34 years)

Middle Tennessee State - 63 (Palermo, defensive line, 24 years)

Florida Atlantic - 61 (Schnellenberger, head coach, 24 years)

Louisiana - 31 (Saunders, recruiting coordinator/cornerbacks, 10 years)

FIU - 25 (Orlando, defensive coordinator, 12 years)

Troy - 19 (Blakeney, head coach, 14 years)

Arkansas State - 15 (Wommack, defensive coordinator, 8 years)

ULM - 11 (Vice, offensive line coach, 6 years)

WKU - 5 (Taggert, head coach, 3)

Edited July 7, 2011 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

[Mean Green Matt]

Who is Louisiana?

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

These numbers are pretty radical. With McCarney's 34 years with BCS AQ schools and Mike Nelson's 27, we actually have the two most experienced coaches with BCS AQ school level experience in the Belt.

Howard Schnellenberger is third behind them both, tied with MTSU's DL coach John Palermo. Howie put in a good decade or so in the NFL. Palermo spent 16 at Wisconsin alone, including the time McCarney was there.

When I say we made the hire of the past two seasons in the Sun Belt, I mean it. Even when you look past McCarney, we took WKU's most experience coach off of their staff, Clint Bowen, who helped build Kansas into a BCS bowl team in the 2000s.

It's hard not to be excited about this bunch. And, with this much more experience than all of these other coaching staffs, there can't be any excuses. We are 180 degrees in the opposite position of when Dickey was fired and Dodge was hired.

It's time to get this thing rolling!

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Who is Louisiana?

It's what Louisiana - Lafayette wants to be called. I respect that. I don't like people calling us NTSU. Louisiana - Monroe wants to be ULM. So be it.

Edited July 7, 2011 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

[UNT90]

These numbers are pretty radical. With McCarney's 34 years with BCS AQ schools and Mike Nelson's 27, we actually have the two most experienced coaches with BCS AQ school level experience in the Belt.

Howard Schnellenberger is third behind them both, tied with MTSU's DL coach John Palermo. Howie put in a good decade or so in the NFL. Palermo spent 16 at Wisconsin alone, including the time McCarney was there.

When I say we made the hire of the past two seasons in the Sun Belt, I mean it. Even when you look past McCarney, we took WKU's most experience coach off of their staff, Clint Bowen, who helped build Kansas into a BCS bowl team in the 2000s.

It's hard not to be excited about this bunch. And, with this much more experience than all of these other coaching staffs, there can't be any excuses. We are 180 degrees in the opposite position of when Dickey was fired and Dodge was hired.

It's time to get this thing rolling!

Lot of critizism on this board of Nelson in recent years.

That should take off 15 years experience in your equation.

[jimbob]

Lot of critizism on this board of Nelson in recent years.

That should take off 15 years experience in your equation.

With McCarney being a defensive guru I expect Nelson to elevate his game.

On the other side of the ball I can't wait to see what McCarney learned from Urban. He wasn't a bad HC before.

[jimbob]

Number of years of coaching experience with BCS AQ schools:

North Texas - 119 (McCarney, head coach, 34 years)

Middle Tennessee State - 63 (Palermo, defensive line, 24 years)

Florida Atlantic - 61 (Schnellenberger, head coach, 24 years)

Louisiana - 31 (Saunders, recruiting coordinator/cornerbacks, 10 years)

FIU - 25 (Orlando, defensive coordinator, 12 years)

Troy - 19 (Blakeney, head coach, 14 years)

Arkansas State - 15 (Wommack, defensive coordinator, 8 years)

ULM - 11 (Vice, offensive line coach, 6 years)

WKU - 5 (Taggert, head coach, 3)

I'm pretty sure Palermo (MTSU) retired from coaching, so drop MTSU to 39 years. I played college ball with him and heard that from some of our friends that keep in touch with him. He was a good one too; his last stint before MTSU was with the Skins.

Edited July 8, 2011 by jimbob

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

My take on Nelson is this - with the defensive line pretty much ignored in Dodge's initial recruiting class, he was working with what little he had. Still, the DL put up the most sacks since 2004, so he has them turning the corner.

One of the chief criticisms some of us had about Dodge is that he seemed to ignore the fact that the game up here is won and lost in the trenches. There are no secrets at this point in college football. Teams can defend the spread. That was somehow lost of Dodge and Ford.

In fact, I think the pendulum is swinging back the other way a little, not completely, but noticeably. You look at Alabama's grind it out win over Texas in the national title game a couple of seasons ago. What did they throw, five passes all game long? Also:

-Auburn last year, ran 15 more times than they passed, had 250+ yards rushing, and held Oregon's "high-powered" offense to 19 points.

-Florida shut down OU's record setting offense three seasons ago now on the defensive side of the ball, and throwing 14 times fewer than it ran...because they ran for 249 yards and held almost a 10 minute advantage in possessing the ball.

The thing is, if your run game is working, there's no reason to throw a bunch. And, you sure don't need to throw just for the hell of throwing it:

(1) You wear out the defense while resting your own when your run game in ticking, and

(2) You chew up the clock while keeping the opposing offense off the field.

This is all basic stuff...to coaches who are smart enough to play the percentages. The high scoring is sexy to some. But a win is a win whether it's by one point or 50. OU, Texas, and Oregon weren't handed national titles because they had sexy offenses. When it came time to battle it out in the trenches, they lost chances at those title by having their collective asses handed to them by coaches who understood basic football a little better.

Nelson is doing fine. It looks as though McCarney is getting him the bodies he needs as well. I like where AK-47 is now, but let's face it, it's easier if you don't have to start out with 205 pound defensive ends and wait for them to get built up.

[MeanGreenTexan]

My take on Nelson is this - with the defensive line pretty much ignored in Dodge's initial recruiting class, he was working with what little he had. Still, the DL put up the most sacks since 2004, so he has them turning the corner.

One of the chief criticisms some of us had about Dodge is that he seemed to ignore the fact that the game up here is won and lost in the trenches. There are no secrets at this point in college football. Teams can defend the spread. That was somehow lost of Dodge and Ford.

In fact, I think the pendulum is swinging back the other way a little, not completely, but noticeably. You look at Alabama's grind it out win over Texas in the national title game a couple of seasons ago. What did they throw, five passes all game long? Also:

-Auburn last year, ran 15 more times than they passed, had 250+ yards rushing, and held Oregon's "high-powered" offense to 19 points.

-Florida shut down OU's record setting offense three seasons ago now on the defensive side of the ball, and throwing 14 times fewer than it ran...because they ran for 249 yards and held almost a 10 minute advantage in possessing the ball.

The thing is, if your run game is working, there's no reason to throw a bunch. And, you sure don't need to throw just for the hell of throwing it:

(1) You wear out the defense while resting your own when your run game in ticking, and

(2) You chew up the clock while keeping the opposing offense off the field.

This is all basic stuff...to coaches who are smart enough to play the percentages. The high scoring is sexy to some. But a win is a win whether it's by one point or 50. OU, Texas, and Oregon weren't handed national titles because they had sexy offenses. When it came time to battle it out in the trenches, they lost chances at those title by having their collective asses handed to them by coaches who understood basic football a little better.

Nelson is doing fine. It looks as though McCarney is getting him the bodies he needs as well. I like where AK-47 is now, but let's face it, it's easier if you don't have to start out with 205 pound defensive ends and wait for them to get built up.

How 'bout taking an all-conference DE and inexplicably moving him to DT where his production suffered greatly?

He's been in this business for a very long time, so there's no doubt he's good at what he does, but I have my doubts about Nelson. Hopefully his decisions will be augmented by coach McCarney, although I hope that even though coach McCarney is a DLine specialist, he doesn't get bogged down in coaching the DLine.

[GrandGreen]

I made the rash statement on the conference forum that on paper NT made easily the best new HC hire. I am not sure how you can logically disagree with that statement but most of the ULALA and ASU fans strongly disagreed. NT hired a has been coach with a crummy record in their view. Note, I had qualified the statement with "on paper" although I thank NT absolutely made the best hire without any qualifications.

In truth the bottom tier conferences are full of former big time coaches on the decline and young coaches trying to move up. So I am not sure years of experience is all that significant, however if you look at the individual NT coaches bios you have to be impressed. This is by far the most qualified staff ever at NT and I think it will prove to be the best.

[untjim1995]

I made the rash statement on the conference forum that on paper NT made easily the best new HC hire. I am not sure how you can logically disagree with that statement but most of the ULALA and ASU fans strongly disagreed. NT hired a has been coach with a crummy record in their view. Note, I had qualified the statement with "on paper" although I thank NT absolutely made the best hire without any qualifications.

In truth the bottom tier conferences are full of former big time coaches on the decline and young coaches trying to move up. So I am not sure years of experience is all that significant, however if you look at the individual NT coaches bios you have to be impressed. This is by far the most qualified staff ever at NT and I think it will prove to be the best.

I am still surprised Arky State fired Steve Roberts. He beat A&M in College Station, almost had Iowa beat in Iowa City, not to mention winning the SBC back in 2005. I guess its probably for other reasons than we know.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

I am still surprised Arky State fired Steve Roberts. He beat A&M in College Station, almost had Iowa beat in Iowa City, not to mention winning the SBC back in 2005. I guess its probably for other reasons than we know.

Look, the Arkansas State elevation of OC Hugh Freeze is part "mythological creature" hire. He was a high school legend in Tennessee...one of these high school "spread offense" gurus. Sound familiar?

The path he is cutting is somewhat more similar to Art Briles in that he was an FBS-level assistant before getting his head coaching gig. He spent two seasons on the Ole Miss staff as a tight end coach. He then went to NAIA Lambuth, then their OC on a team that barely beat our fourth QB last year.

So, what do you have there?:

(1) High school spread offense "guru", 1992-2004

(2) FBS BCS AQ position coach for two years, 2006-2007

(3) NAIA head coach for two years, 2008-2009

(4) Arkansas State offensive coordinator, 2010

That is a better hire than a guy who coached for over a decade at Iowa, half a decade at Wisconsin, over a decade as head coach at Iowa State, and gained a national title ring as the architect of the Florida defensive line which stuffed OU's "Best Offense Ever" in the 2008 National Title game?

Come on, man. Current rosters aside, nearly everyone of our assistant coaches has more experience at this level than Arkansas State's Hugh Freeze. They've rolled the dice. We rolled the dice in the past. Good luck to them and their dice roll.

Look, they beat us last year 24-19. They were up 21-3 at the 12:31 mark of the second quarter. Whatever "vaunted" offense this Hugh Freeze guy had produced only one field goal in the final 42 minutes and 29 seconds of the game.

They had 328 yards of total offense - not exactly an earth-shattering number. We were down to starting Chase Bain at that point in the season. So, I mean, this is the guy we're supposed to believe is the better hire? We've already got game film of us shutting his offense down.

No hard feelings to our Sun Belt brethren in Arkansas, but again, good luck with your dice roll. You were one game better than our injury-riddled and mid-season coaching change crew with that guy as your OC.

Edited July 12, 2011 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

[All About UNT]

Look, the Arkansas State elevation of OC Hugh Freeze is part "mythological creature" hire. He was a high school legend in Tennessee...one of these high school "spread offense" gurus. Sound familiar?

The path he is cutting is somewhat more similar to Art Briles in that he was an FBS-level assistant before getting his head coaching gig. He spent two seasons on the Ole Miss staff as a tight end coach. He then went to NAIA Lambuth, then their OC on a team that barely beat our fourth QB last year.

So, what do you have there?:

(1) High school spread offense "guru", 1992-2004

(2) FBS BCS AQ position coach for two years, 2006-2007

(3) NAIA head coach for two years, 2008-2009

(4) Arkansas State offensive coordinator, 2010

That is a better hire than a guy who coached for over a decade at Iowa, half a decade at Wisconsin, over a decade as head coach at Iowa State, and gained a national title ring as the architect of the Florida defensive line which stuffed OU's "Best Offense Ever" in the 2008 National Title game?

Come on, man. Current rosters aside, nearly everyone of our assistant coaches has more experience at this level than Arkansas State's Hugh Freeze. They've rolled the dice. We rolled the dice in the past. Good luck to them and their dice roll.

Look, they beat us last year 24-19. They were up 21-3 at the 12:31 mark of the second quarter. Whatever "vaunted" offense this Hugh Freeze guy had produced only one field goal in the final 42 minutes and 29 seconds of the game.

They had 328 yards of total offense - not exactly an earth-shattering number. We were down to starting Chase Bain at that point in the season. So, I mean, this is the guy we're supposed to believe is the better hire? We've already got game film of us shutting his offense down.

No hard feelings to our Sun Belt brethren in Arkansas, but again, good luck with your dice roll. You were one game better than our injury-riddled and mid-season coaching change crew with that guy as your OC.

[UNT90]

Nelson is doing fine. It looks as though McCarney is getting him the bodies he needs as well. I like where AK-47 is now, but let's face it, it's easier if you don't have to start out with 205 pound defensive ends and wait for them to get built up.

And this is why McCoy is moving to DT?

Unless he has put on a TON of weight in the offseason, this move has disaster written all over it and is reminiscent of that infamous move made 2 years ago.

Maybe this is out of desperation because of the line situation, but starting 250 pound DTs is not the way to go about winning FBC football games. *

*If Brandon McCoy has managed to add 45 pounds in the offseason, please ignore this post

Edited July 12, 2011 by UNT90

[untjim1995]

Look, the Arkansas State elevation of OC Hugh Freeze is part "mythological creature" hire. He was a high school legend in Tennessee...one of these high school "spread offense" gurus. Sound familiar?

The path he is cutting is somewhat more similar to Art Briles in that he was an FBS-level assistant before getting his head coaching gig. He spent two seasons on the Ole Miss staff as a tight end coach. He then went to NAIA Lambuth, then their OC on a team that barely beat our fourth QB last year.

So, what do you have there?:

(1) High school spread offense "guru", 1992-2004

(2) FBS BCS AQ position coach for two years, 2006-2007

(3) NAIA head coach for two years, 2008-2009

(4) Arkansas State offensive coordinator, 2010

That is a better hire than a guy who coached for over a decade at Iowa, half a decade at Wisconsin, over a decade as head coach at Iowa State, and gained a national title ring as the architect of the Florida defensive line which stuffed OU's "Best Offense Ever" in the 2008 National Title game?

Come on, man. Current rosters aside, nearly everyone of our assistant coaches has more experience at this level than Arkansas State's Hugh Freeze. They've rolled the dice. We rolled the dice in the past. Good luck to them and their dice roll.

Look, they beat us last year 24-19. They were up 21-3 at the 12:31 mark of the second quarter. Whatever "vaunted" offense this Hugh Freeze guy had produced only one field goal in the final 42 minutes and 29 seconds of the game.

They had 328 yards of total offense - not exactly an earth-shattering number. We were down to starting Chase Bain at that point in the season. So, I mean, this is the guy we're supposed to believe is the better hire? We've already got game film of us shutting his offense down.

No hard feelings to our Sun Belt brethren in Arkansas, but again, good luck with your dice roll. You were one game better than our injury-riddled and mid-season coaching change crew with that guy as your OC.

I really just wondered why they fired Steve Roberts...

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

I really just wondered why they fired Steve Roberts...

My guess is after seeing them struggle against teams fielding fourth team quarterbacks had something to do with it. Still, it's not like they conducted a search for the best available after they canned him. They elevated a guy with one year of experience as a coordinator at the FBS level and two other years as a position coach. That's not too impressive.

[golfingomez]

Number of years of coaching experience with BCS AQ schools:

North Texas - 119 (McCarney, head coach, 34 years)

Middle Tennessee State - 63 (Palermo, defensive line, 24 years)

Florida Atlantic - 61 (Schnellenberger, head coach, 24 years)

Louisiana - 31 (Saunders, recruiting coordinator/cornerbacks, 10 years)

FIU - 25 (Orlando, defensive coordinator, 12 years)

Troy - 19 (Blakeney, head coach, 14 years)

Arkansas State - 15 (Wommack, defensive coordinator, 8 years)

ULM - 11 (Vice, offensive line coach, 6 years)

WKU - 5 (Taggert, head coach, 3)

well, at least we know we'll win one thing this season

[Mean Green 93-98]

I really just wondered why they fired Steve Roberts...

I think it had more to do with his inability to win the games they were supposed to win. They would have the OOC success you alluded to in your other post, come into conference play with high expectations, and then fizzle out. He was kind of the anti-Dickey in that respect.