***Coaching Search Thread***

[ManOfVision]

It will be nice to have a halfback or tailback again, especially with the rushing yards we piled up under Walsh. I wouldn't be surprised to see McCaffery move back to that position, if he does I'll be curious to see what he can do.

Hey, that's an interesting thought. Cory has too much talent to not be utilized one way or another.

 

[forestgreen]

Commentary: Portland State's search for coach fair, thoughtful

http://www.oregonlive.com/vikings/index.ssf/2009/12/commentary_portland_states_sea.html

I want to express my sincere gratitude to Portland State University Athletic Director Torre Chisholm, Portland State President Wim Wiewel and the Portland State head football coach search committee. Each person should feel proud of the job they did in finding Portland State's new football coach Nigel Burton.

Portland State took the time to form a diverse search committee, seek out and interview multiple candidates to include qualified minorities and then conducted an exhaustive reference check by speaking with other coaches, players and associates of coach Burton. What they discovered was a candidate that stood out above the rest.

There was a lot of speculation and lobbying by media and others in the community for some of the other finalists. As Chisholm said, "Any of them would have been good choices."

Portland State has come a long way from its last head football coaching search in 2007, one that I have been critical of and that inspired me to champion a new law in Oregon that will require minority interviewing in all head coaching and athletic director positions in Oregon college sports.

Chisholm and I had constructive discussions about this bill and he wrote a letter of support. I also spoke with Chisholm at the beginning of this most recent search. I thanked him for honoring House Bill 3118; even though it doesn't go into effect until January.

Chisholm assured me the search would include minority candidates and have a diverse search group. When I left our meeting I felt confident that Chisholm and the university valued this process and the importance of making it fair, equitable and inclusive.

I was excited about the possibilities, that PSU would hire the best coach available. I also knew that Chisholm would not be influenced by me or anyone else in making the decision that was best for the university.

I think it's important to be critical when the time calls for it and to challenge yourself and others to grow even if it's your alma mater. At the same time it's just as important to acknowledge when those you have been critical of exceed your expectations.

Wiewel and Chisholm weren't here for the last search, but they have been open to discussing this issue at length and ultimately offering their support for House Bill 3118. These hires aren't just about wins and losses; they are about serving as role models and developing young men and woman into productive members of our community and good representatives of our schools.

When Burton was introduced as the new football coach he discussed his five core values: integrity, responsibility, accountability, hard work and perseverance. It seems as though Burton, Wiewel and Chisholm share these same values.

I applaud their efforts.

Go Vikings.

- Sam Sachs, a Portland activist, former college football player and graduate in black studies from Portland State, pushed for the creation of HB3118

 

[forestgreen]

Speckman surprised by PSU's short interview

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200912130312/COLUMN0301/912130337

Surviving in the crazy world of college football sometimes forces you to throw logic out the window. Take Mark Speckman of Willamette University.

Why is he there?

Well, he's there because Oregon coach Rich Brooks took a job with the St. Louis Rams in 1995.

Huh? What does this have to do with Speckman? Patience. Hear me out.

Because Brooks took the NFL job, Mike Bellotti was elevated to head coach of the Ducks. Bellotti hired Chris Petersen to be his receivers coach, snatching him from Willamette's Dan Hawkins, who wanted him to be his offensive coordinator.

So, Hawkins hired Kevin Strasser, who left shortly thereafter to join John Ralston's staff at San Jose State.

Which opened the door for Hawkins to hire Speckman away from Golden Valley High School in Merced, Calif.

Got that? And no, this thread will not eventually be linked to Kevin Bacon.

All of this is relevant because I sat down Friday with Speckman to talk about Portland State.

Speckman, who is nationally known for his innovative fly offense, interviewed for the PSU position, which came open when Jerry Glanville "resigned" in November after three years and a 9-24 record.

On Tuesday, PSU announced the hiring of Nigel Burton, a former Vikings assistant who also spent five years on Mike Riley's staff at Oregon State.

Here, with minor intrusions, is Speckman's story about how the process worked and … and, as always is the case with Speckman, a lot more.

"I think I was a finalist. But I was surprised at the shortness of it. When we interview people here, we spend a whole day with them. It was flattering to get mentioned. It reflects well on the Willamette football program and what we have built here.

"We've won 19 games in the last two years. There is a lot of respect for our program on the West Coast."

Did they take him seriously?

"No, it wasn't serious. If they did the same thing with everybody … that's not a whole lot of face time. To me that was frustrating. A lot of things wound up unsaid.

"There are a lot of misconceptions about recruiting between Division III (Willamette, with no athletic scholarships) and Division I (PSU, with athletic scholarships). You get labeled and people put you in boxes. My offense (complicated, run-oriented). You can't recruit elite athletes. We recruited Steven Jackson (now with the Rams).

"We never tell an athlete you are too good for us.

"I like my job. I like Salem. I don't know what I would have done if it had gotten serious. It might have been a way to meet a new challenge. The idea of building something … that's a big part of what we do.

"I would love to try running this offense with scholarship athletes. That's the only part of it that appeals to me. I don't need the media coverage. I don't need the hype.

"Every year in football is new. It's always a challenge. The problems you face are something you've never faced before. I've never felt bored, never felt that I didn't want to go to work. This is a really rewarding profession. We've got wonderful kids here and wonderful relationships. I could do it for a long time.

"Coaches (can be) unhappy, looking ahead to the next job, and a lot of it is out of your control. Maybe you are right where you ought to be. I've been here a long time (15 years). Nothing has gotten me out of here yet.

"The coaching profession is volatile. You always hear about guys who get new jobs; you don't hear much about the guys who lose them. There's an old proverb: There are two kinds of coaches, those who are fired and those who are about to be fired.

"There is more pressure in Division I, but time-wise there is not a lot of difference. It would be fun to have those toys, fun to have those resources."

Willamette's bye week coincided with the Oct. 31 USC-Oregon game at Autzen Stadium. Speckman went. He saw both teams use facets of his offense. He saw some great players. And he said that the major difference between Ducks-Trojans and a Willamette game is the number of people in the stands.

"It's like music. You can play a symphony and almost no one shows up, but it's still good music."

Postscript: The Rams fired Brooks, who now is head coach at Kentucky. Strasser was rumored to be among the candidates for the PSU job, but he apparently was not a finalist.

Hawkins moved on from Willamette to great success at Boise State and much less success at Colorado. Petersen joined Hawkins at Boise State and has had a great run of his own since replacing Hawkins as the head coach.

Bellotti, after 12 bowl games in 14 years, became athletic director at Oregon. He was replaced by offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, an old X's and O's pal of Speckman's from coaching conventions.

Kelly interviewed Speckman for an assistant coaching position. Mark Helfrich got the job, but Speckman doesn't seem to be unhappy at how things turned out.

That's coaching.