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2014 WSU Head Coach?

http://www.standard.net/stories/2013/12/05/weber-st-ad-many-candidates-no-names-yet
By Roy Burton
... Meanwhile, the rumor mill spins nearly as quickly as the coaching carousel.

Presented here, in alphabetical order, is a non-exhaustive list of candidates who have been mentioned who may have interest in the Weber State football job or previous ties to the program. Others may join the list, or leave, as the hiring picture becomes more clear.

* Robb Akey, former Idaho head coach and Weber State alum and assistant. Akey had a 20-50 record in six seasons with the Vandals, going 8-5 in his best season in 2009. Akey was an assistant in Ogden from 1988-94.

* Brandon Doman, former BYU quarterback and later, offensive coordinator. Doman was pushed out by Robert Anae's return to Provo for the 2013 season and has since gone into business with family selling sporting goods equipment.

* Matt Hammer, Weber High football coach and former Weber State offensive coordinator. Hammer left WSU last year to take the Weber High job and won five games with a team that hadn't won a game in the previous two seasons.

* Nick Howell, current BYU defensive coordinator. Howell is a former Ben Lomond High head coach who left to become a grad assistant for BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall and has since worked his way up.

* Ed Lamb, Southern Utah coach. The former BYU linebacker has built the Thunderbirds into an FCS playoff team, but is he interested in making a move within the Big Sky Conference or would he wait for an opportunity to jump to the FBS level?

* Kevin McGiven, Utah State offensive coordinator. McGiven was the offensive coordinator at Weber State for three years, ending with the Wildcats' co-Big Sky championship season and run to the FCS quarterfinals in 2008. He went to Utah State as a quarterbacks coach in 2009 with Gary Andersen's first staff, then spent two seasons at Memphis and one at Montana State before returning to Logan this season to become the offensive coordinator.

* Steve Morton, Weber State associate head coach and offensive line coach. Morton's long career includes stints as an assistant at Washington State, Iowa State, USC, Nevada, Stanford and San Jose State.

* Dave Peck, Bingham High coach. Peck has had tremendous success at the high school level, including multiple state championships, but has not coached at the collegiate level.

* Robin Pflugrad, Weber State offensive coordinator and former Montana coach. Pflugrad has said his goal is to return to being a head coach and he recently entered the candidate pool for the North Dakota job, another Big Sky Conference school.

* Eric Price, Tulane offensive coordinator. Price, the son of former Weber State head coach Mike Price, attended Ogden High school. Along with Akey, Price was mentioned recently as a potential WSU candidate by the CoachingSearch.com website.
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Thoughts:

Robb Akey: No!

Matt Hammer: If Hammer came back even as OC again, I'd have to take a break from WSU fb.

Ed Lamb: What would be his incentive for wanting to come to Ogden? Seems like he's doing fine and has a pretty good gig going on in Cedar City.

Kevin McGiven: Probably my front runner and who I'm rooting for from this list.

Eric Price: I can't decide how I feel about Price. I wonder if he has all the tools to be the right HC. I wonder how much of his success is on his own shoulders vs the coattails of father/family?

Robin Pflugrad: Anyone know if he's going after the Weber job too, or is he essentially bailing after his inaugural season (sounds familiar)?
 
I agree. Akey, NO. Hammer, NO.

After that, I don't know enough about who all of the candidates might be to form any conclusions. I do think that having head coaching experience at our level or higher, is a huge advantage for any of the coaches. Next, familiarity with our area and competition will be big. Third, does the personality fit within the Weber State coaching community and the community as a whole?

We don't know who may filter through this process. We hope that our AD has learned from the mistakes of the past. :coffee:
 
From what I've heard...the list in the Sub-Standard is pretty much the list being used.

I agree with Eric Price. I wonder about how prepared he is, but after seeing the turn around Tulane experienced as their OC, I'm a believer. I'm not sure Weber can afford him though. But there are two aces in the hole. One, he is a local and seems like he'd like to return to Ogden. Second, he wants an HC job. Getting less pay, for the chance to become a HC is a decent enough reason to leave an OC gig at an FBS school. Let's be honest too...Tulane pays more than 200K?

Nothing against Hammer, I like the guy, but compared with the list of available coaches...yeah, he doesn't compare. McGiven or Hammer?? Hmmm...yeah, not a hard choice.
 
Doman and Howell...I know a lot of Weber people are anti-BYU, and I can appreciate that. But the people that I know who are connected with the BYU speak highly of these two men. Doman may not be a good X's and O's type of guy, but is has been referred to as 'highly inspirational'. He would probably coach like LaVell Edward did...let the coordinators handle the dirty work while he acted at the main cheerleader. Howell would be more of a hands-on guy, at least on defense, like Bronco Mendenhall.

McGiven--He's been around the Big Sky, and around the state. Probably best equipped to come in and turn the team around right away. But if he succeeds, would he stick around for very long? His history says no.

Ed Lamb--Why leave Cedar City for Ogden? Must want to be closer to family.

Eric Price--Similar situation to what his dad had when he came here. His dad didn't succeed right away, but learned quickly. Like father like son?

Robb Akey--Can anyone succeed at Idaho? Should we hold that against him?

Pflu--Has he been here long enough to learn that this is not Montana?

Dave Peck---This is the wildcard. Hiring a high school coach is risky, but this is a gamble that could pay off.

Don't think anyone else on the list will work...Hammer, Moton...no chance.
 
my opinion:

Pflu--YES!!!
McGiven--yes
Ed Lamb--yes - better program and can make more money.
someone ive never heard of--yes
Eric Price--no
Robb Akey--no
Dave Peck---no
Howell--no
Morton--no
Doman-no
Hammer--no

hire amanda's dad!...uh i mean plugrad.

hire a good coach is all i request. i dont know if it really matters if they are familiar with utah or fcs or mormonism or utah culture. i think urban meyer proved that doesnt matter. but if you mention brent guy it hurts my argument.
 
In my opinion, I like the coaches in the following order. Coach I'd like to see offered the job first:
McGiven: He was an integral part of our recruiting and program success. Under him the Cats became the most prolific offense in the nation. I don't see him bolting very quickly. If Baldwin hasn't been hired away from EWU yet, I don't think McGiven would be taken very quickly. Once a HC, it is really hard to become a coordinator again.
Price: UTEP and Tulane have both flourished under his helm. Tulane was terrible and then Price arrived. He knows the area, understands how to recruit, and is a local kid.
Pflu: His offense was starting to really move at the end of the season. Besides, with another year running his plays the offense will only get better. Who becomes the DC? Morton probably stays on and so does Rascati and Swan and we don't lose a lot of players. Also, Pflu is a recruiting wiz and knows how to win in the FCS.
Doman: Local guy and really learned a lot while he was at the Y. He is a great recruiter. I don't think he is ready to be a HC though. A great opportunity to get an OC at Weber though.
Morton: He has had chances to be an OC before. He seems like he doesn't want it though. Our line hasn't been anything stellar under him, but they have really improved.
Akey: Local kid, knows the university, area, and region. He is hands down the most successful coach at Idaho since the late 90s. 8-5 and a bowl win under his leadership at lowly Idaho says a lot, but he dogged the Cats badly in the past.
Peck: High school coach, tough sell. But he is an intriguing candidate. I say bring him in and see what he has to say.
Lamb: I don't think he will leave Cedar to come to Ogden. Even though we have a lot more to offer.
Howell: Will be a great HC in the future. He isn't there yet.
Hammer: NO NO NO
 
Here is my list in order of preference.

Pflu - We would keep most of the recruits who have committed to us.
Mcgiven - Should have hired him instead of Satan.
Price - His offense has really turned other schools around.
Lamb - Great if we can get him, but he applied to get more money out of SUU.
Morton - same as Pflu, but not as seasoned.
All others - HELL NO!
 
You could argue that Howell doesn't have the experience necessary to be a HC yet, but there's a reason he's already a DC with a quality FBS program after only a few years of coaching. From what I've heard he works his ass off. Bronco raves about the guy. And no one would have more connection to the area and the University. If you're looking for that up and coming guy Howell would be the best candidate, IMO. Plus he probably wouldn't demand as big of a salary.
 
It would be nice to know which of these candidates have actually applied for the job. For all we know some of these guys may have no interest in the job. Since Utah is a public records state, is this public information? That's why the list of applicants for the UND job is known. Wish Burton would do some deeper digging. All the names in his article have already been mentioned here.
 
A couple of thoughts that may/may not interest anyone: after reading Jim Burton's column in Sunday's SE with his own suggested shopping list of Ed Lamb, Doman, Howell, & Jay Hill; if the BYU guys (ie; Doman) have no FCS coaching experience & have enjoyed the resources/recruiting advantages of a BYU (or Utah) only, especially instate recruiting, how effective will they be at the big challenges that a Weber State FCS football program demands? In other words, recruiting for a BYU is a much different thing than for a Weber football program! Also, would Ed Lamb really be interested in changing to a job within conference/FCS level, is there that big of a difference? One commentor on Burton's article made an interesting suggestion, what about Dave Arslanian (former somewhat successful coach at WSU, who had to fight (successfully) to keep the football program at Weber, then made the move to USU (unsuccessfully)? Finally, if McBride isn't interested in returning as HC (as mentioned in another thread), are the decision makers at least asking for his suggestions? My opinion is Ron brought on two good assistants initially (the two Kevin's now OC & DC at USU?) and McBride seems knowledgeable about it and he's still interested in Weber St.'s success (noticed he was at the Sports Complex opening & made supportive comments in the news). :twocents:
 
Still searching

The last time Weber State announced a head football coach hire during a typical hiring cycle (Read: Not in April), John L. Smith's introductory press conference was held on Dec. 6, 2011.

And as Weber State athletics director Jerry Bovee has said, every day without a head football coach is a lost day of recruiting the next generation of Wildcats. Bovee is searching for a successor to Jody Sears, and the clock continues to tick.

Long story short: If history is any indication, expect a new football coaching hire as soon as this week.
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http://www.standard.net/stories/2013/12/08/wildcats-needed-good-test

It will be good to have a coach hired, but it would also be nice to know who is being interviewed for the job. Seriously, why is WSU keeping the list a secret. It would at the least give us something to talk about instead of trying to guess.
 
Weber State (FCS): Sources tell us that Brandon Doman, Aaron Roderick, Justin Ena and Gary Crowton are all being considered by the AD. We'll keep you posted.
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http://www.footballscoop.com/the-scoop" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
SWeberCat02 said:
Weber State (FCS): Sources tell us that Brandon Doman, Aaron Roderick, Justin Ena and Gary Crowton are all being considered by the AD. We'll keep you posted.
Click to expand...

http://www.footballscoop.com/the-scoop" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Click to expand...

I don't think I want to see Gary on the sidelines at WSU. :twocents:
 
Updated:

Weber State (FCS): Sources tell us that Brandon Doman, Justin Ena and Gary Crowton are all being considered by the AD. We'll keep you posted. We had been told that Aaron Roderick was being considered as well; but have heard that he is not interested in the job and is not a candidate.
Click to expand...

http://www.footballscoop.com/the-scoop" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Brandon Doman, Aaron Roderick, Justin Ena and Gary Crowton are all being considered by the AD. We'll keep you posted.
Click to expand...

who is roderick and ena?

isnt crowton still the OC at LSU? i would guess an OC at LSU would make 500k-1mil...
 
catcat said:
Brandon Doman, Aaron Roderick, Justin Ena and Gary Crowton are all being considered by the AD. We'll keep you posted.
Click to expand...

who is roderick and ena?

isnt crowton still the OC at LSU? i would guess an OC at LSU would make 500k-1mil...
Click to expand...
Roderick is an assistant at Utah. Pretty sure he makes $400K at the U. So I don't think he would consider a pay cut to be HC.

Ena is the DC at SUU... Not a bad option... But I would rather have their OC, Steve Clark. SUU's offense is much better than their defense I think. :thumb:

Crowton is now the OC for a CFL team in Winnepeg. Crowton is pretty much a guy looking to retire soon enough. So it's no wonder Weber is interested in him... :thumbdown:

Doman was the fall guy for Bronco's obsession of crappy QBs. I kinda like Doman. But Steve Clark would be my top choice.
 
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