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Potential Head Coaches

The talk of Best's last year has to have a plan to pay off the last year of his contract. Only if he is fired for just cause, however it's worded in the contract. I don't see that happening so boils down to $$$$$. Collins, no doubt, has been trying to figure out where that money will magically appear. I can see those academia's on staff that are anti-sports throwing a fit if that is the University's money even if somehow it is out of Football budget (poor humor). Do we have any donors who collectively could chip in (poor humor).We are in a quagmire (no joke). Collins came here to make a name so he can move up..he's young and hungry and good. Huge challenge and for him to succeed and move on so he needs to fix football as well as other sports. If he turns the Football program around (with the right hire) and gets some facility improvements that mean something in the AD world and he can improve his lot. I like Fisk for sure and his DC coord guided then to #2 overall defense in all of D2. We'd be so fortunate.
 
Obzerver said:
The talk of Best's last year has to have a plan to pay off the last year of his contract. Only if he is fired for just cause, however it's worded in the contract. I don't see that happening so boils down to $$$$$. Collins, no doubt, has been trying to figure out where that money will magically appear. I can see those academia's on staff that are anti-sports throwing a fit if that is the University's money even if somehow it is out of Football budget (poor humor). Do we have any donors who collectively could chip in (poor humor).We are in a quagmire (no joke). Collins came here to make a name so he can move up..he's young and hungry and good. Huge challenge and for him to succeed and move on so he needs to fix football as well as other sports. If he turns the Football program around (with the right hire) and gets some facility improvements that mean something in the AD world and he can improve his lot. I like Fisk for sure and his DC coord guided then to #2 overall defense in all of D2. We'd be so fortunate.
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Shit I'm about to do a kickstarter. Even like $10k would help. Could send it to the NFL guys who didn't like Best. About to do a bake sale at this point.
I feel like another bad season stuff like attendance, tail gates passes, season tickets are going to fall off a cliff. I think it's already bad this year. Like I said I'm a different thread I don't know how to a cost benefit analysis on keeping Best though his contact would be cost effective or not. There are intangibles too like when some people leave, like stop being fans they aren't coming back. There is the stink of being a bad program. I'll see threads on reddit where people are like what happened to EWU they used to be so good.
My opinion is to stop the bleeding. Getting Baldwin back would automatically reinvigorate the excitement around the program. I think a Fisk or Troy Taylor would too not as much though.
 
LDopaPDX said:
I think Best is trying make due with what he can get. We really haven’t figured out how to use the portal at all. We haven’t lost a ton of good players to the portal either, mainly because we never had good players in the first place. Can’t even remember the last big transfer we had incoming…. The talent level just isn’t there for us at all. Even when we get a recruit that looks semi-good out of Hs, we aren’t developing them.

If I’m Best- or whoever replaces him- the guys I’m leaning into are D2 or lower level guys that have shown the ability to play. Taking drop-downs is a messy game, because a lot of those guys wash out because they were never that good to begin with. I can’t remember an impactful drop down we’ve had since Pulu. Maybe there’s someone I’m forgetting, but nothing off the top of my head.

Wu Tang posted about Fisk, and he’s an attractive guy to me if he’s interested. The guys he’s sporting at Central could come to Cheney and instantly upgrade our quality. As I’ve said over and over, I hate the game of a coach leaving and bringing his players with him, but that’s a big part of the hiring decision these days… might as well make it work for us.
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Dishawn Misa isn't doing bad. He's a starter. Probably not living up to his 4 star Boise State recruit hype though. Idk a lot of these FBS players may have been over hyped at belong at the FCS level. Some may have been on the cusp of the line between FBS and FCS, I'm thinking of like a Jusstis Warren.

Best tried copying Chris Petersen's "OKG" (Our Kind of Guy) with his "EKG" (Eagle Kind of Guy) nonsense. OKGs are supposed to be high character guys who get good grades that you develop out of high school. Seems like Best got the guys with good grades but not much else. The obvious difference being Coach Pete actually won games and turned a 6 win team into a championship team where Best turned a championship team into a 4 win team.

Not really relevant to Eastern but there was a noticeable difference between Steve Sarkisian recruits and Chris Petersen recruits. Sark only cared bout talent and getting 5 star players. Sark's players were noticeably more talented and had more skill. But "Six win Sark" could only get six wins a season where Petersen won multiple Pac-12 championships and made it to the CFP. Its a big reason why I think coaching is huge.

Ideal solution is Baldwin comes back, hires Fisk as OC/oline coach. Fisk is heir apparent if Baldwin's health takes a turn or he takes another FBS job. And we fill out the rest of the coaching and player roster with good Central players and coaches. Its not unprecedented that a Central HC becomes an Eastern OC, its what Baldwin and Ian Shoemaker did.
 
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E-Wu Tang Clan said:
Dishawn Misa isn't doing bad. He's a starter. Probably not living up to his 4 star Boise State recruit hype though. Idk a lot of these FBS players may have been over hyped at belong at the FCS level. Some may have been on the cusp of the line between FBS and FCS, I'm thinking of like a Jusstis Warren.

Best tried copying Chris Petersen's "OKG" (Our Kind of Guy) with his "EKG" (Eagle Kind of Guy) nonsense. OKGs are supposed to be high character guys who get good grades that you develop out of high school. Seems like Best got the guys with good grades but not much else. The obvious difference being Coach Pete actually won games and turned a 6 win team into a championship team where Best turned a championship team into a 4 win team.

Ideal solution is Baldwin comes back, hires Fisk as OC/oline coach. Fisk is heir apparent if Baldwin's health takes a turn or he takes another FBS job. And we fill out the rest of the coaching and player roster with good Central players and coaches. Its not unprecedented that a Central HC becomes an Eastern OC, its what Baldwin and Ian Shoemaker did.
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I get that Baldwin is a legend but I really don't think he has what it takes to win at this stage in his career. His Cal Poly teams were awful. He lasted one year at Arizona State and one year as a CFL position coach. I would love to see the team get back to where it was when he was here previously but I don't think he can replicate that success. There are only a few D1 jobs, we will get solid applicants when it opens. Hopefully we select the right coach. As much as I believe we need someone else to lead the program it could be worse. I saw what happened at Idaho State with the Charlie Ragle hire.
 
Kuttaak said:
I get that Baldwin is a legend but I really don't think he has what it takes to win at this stage in his career. His Cal Poly teams were awful. He lasted one year at Arizona State and one year as a CFL position coach. I would love to see the team get back to where it was when he was here previously but I don't think he can replicate that success. There are only a few D1 jobs, we will get solid applicants when it opens. Hopefully we select the right coach. As much as I believe we need someone else to lead the program it could be worse. I saw what happened at Idaho State with the Charlie Ragle hire.
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I'm pretty sure Cal Poly ran the triple option before Baldwin. It probably took some time to get players that fit his scheme especially with the academic standards players have to meet to even be able to play at Cal Poly. It may have been part of the problem at Cal Berkeley when he was OC, that and Justin Wilcox prioritizing defense. Cal Poly seems to be doing a lot better this season which could be due in part to Baldwin recruiting and hiring of coaches. Baldwin is probably why Paul Wulff is head coach.

As far as Arizona State goes he was not given a fair chance. He inherited a shitty offense from the previous coaching staff. They had a ton of injuries at QB and oline, they were down to their third string QB at one point. He was on an entirely new staff. Dillingham took over play calling after 3 games after they failed to score 0 points against Fresno State and he did not do a lot better the rest of the season. They got blown out by Utah, Arizona and Oregon.

I don't see how you see one year in the CFL as a failure. Might want to explain that one. He quit for health reasons, I don't see any reason to think differently. If he stayed he'd literally be coaching Vernon Adams. I don't think that dude needs much coaching. The dude that replaced Baldwin was Dakota Prukop, the QB from Montana State who has significantly less coaching experience.

I don't know this Charlie Rangle and Idaho State situation is. Looking at his record I don't know why you bring him up. He had no head coaching experience or even FCS experience before Idaho State. He never coached at Idaho State before becoming HC. I don't see how he fits into this scenario at all except the dropped down from FBS.

I think a lot more apt analogy would be Bobby Hauck. He went to UNLV for 4 seasons, went 15-48, objectively failed at HC there. Then coached special teams at San Diego State for a few seasons, returned to Montana and is doing great. It did take him a season to turn things around though and get back to the playoffs. The same reasons Hauck is doing well are the same reasons Baldwin could do well coming back. He is a known commodity at Eastern and the state of Washington so he could jump right back into recruiting. He knows the culture, he knows expectations and how things work. At Eastern he would be given the freedom to recruit who he wants away from academic restrictions or the approval of a head coach. If anything his time in the FBS will be an asset. Also, call it what it is, some people just do better at lower levels of competition.

Could Baldwin not work out? That's a definite possibility. But anyone they hire could not work out. If they hired Chris Fisk maybe he can't handle the pressure of D1. Maybe Troy Taylor harasses female staffers at Eastern like at Stanford and has to be fired. Its the risk you take with any hire. Also, I don't have to explain to anyone here that Eastern doesn't have a ton of money to make a big hire either.
 
E-Wu Tang Clan said:
Dishawn Misa isn't doing bad. He's a starter. Probably not living up to his 4 star Boise State recruit hype though. Idk a lot of these FBS players may have been over hyped at belong at the FCS level. Some may have been on the cusp of the line between FBS and FCS, I'm thinking of like a Jusstis Warren.

Best tried copying Chris Petersen's "OKG" (Our Kind of Guy) with his "EKG" (Eagle Kind of Guy) nonsense. OKGs are supposed to be high character guys who get good grades that you develop out of high school. Seems like Best got the guys with good grades but not much else. The obvious difference being Coach Pete actually won games and turned a 6 win team into a championship team where Best turned a championship team into a 4 win team.

Not really relevant to Eastern but there was a noticeable difference between Steve Sarkisian recruits and Chris Petersen recruits. Sark only cared bout talent and getting 5 star players. Sark's players were noticeably more talented and had more skill. But "Six win Sark" could only get six wins a season where Petersen won multiple Pac-12 championships and made it to the CFP. Its a big reason why I think coaching is huge.

Ideal solution is Baldwin comes back, hires Fisk as OC/oline coach. Fisk is heir apparent if Baldwin's health takes a turn or he takes another FBS job. And we fill out the rest of the coaching and player roster with good Central players and coaches. Its not unprecedented that a Central HC becomes an Eastern OC, its what Baldwin and Ian Shoemaker did.
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I don’t think your ideal is realistic. Fisk wouldn’t leave Central to be a coordinator at Eastern. The coordinator job at Eastern is a step down in both responsibility and, likely, pay. It might be tough to attract him even with the head job. The guy is doing very well and probably has options.

I’d agree that Baldwin probably isn’t the answer at this point. He’d be starting at a much lower point now than he did when Wulff left. I think there are some other issues surrounding Baldwin that might make his situation difficult.
 
E-Wu Tang Clan said:
I'm pretty sure Cal Poly ran the triple option before Baldwin. It probably took some time to get players that fit his scheme especially with the academic standards players have to meet to even be able to play at Cal Poly. It may have been part of the problem at Cal Berkeley when he was OC, that and Justin Wilcox prioritizing defense. Cal Poly seems to be doing a lot better this season which could be due in part to Baldwin recruiting and hiring of coaches. Baldwin is probably why Paul Wulff is head coach.

As far as Arizona State goes he was not given a fair chance. He inherited a shitty offense from the previous coaching staff. They had a ton of injuries at QB and oline, they were down to their third string QB at one point. He was on an entirely new staff. Dillingham took over play calling after 3 games after they failed to score 0 points against Fresno State and he did not do a lot better the rest of the season. They got blown out by Utah, Arizona and Oregon.

I don't see how you see one year in the CFL as a failure. Might want to explain that one. He quit for health reasons, I don't see any reason to think differently. If he stayed he'd literally be coaching Vernon Adams. I don't think that dude needs much coaching. The dude that replaced Baldwin was Dakota Prukop, the QB from Montana State who has significantly less coaching experience.

I don't know this Charlie Rangle and Idaho State situation is. Looking at his record I don't know why you bring him up. He had no head coaching experience or even FCS experience before Idaho State. He never coached at Idaho State before becoming HC. I don't see how he fits into this scenario at all except the dropped down from FBS.

I think a lot more apt analogy would be Bobby Hauck. He went to UNLV for 4 seasons, went 15-48, objectively failed at HC there. Then coached special teams at San Diego State for a few seasons, returned to Montana and is doing great. It did take him a season to turn things around though and get back to the playoffs. The same reasons Hauck is doing well are the same reasons Baldwin could do well coming back. He is a known commodity at Eastern and the state of Washington so he could jump right back into recruiting. He knows the culture, he knows expectations and how things work. At Eastern he would be given the freedom to recruit who he wants away from academic restrictions or the approval of a head coach. If anything his time in the FBS will be an asset. Also, call it what it is, some people just do better at lower levels of competition.

Could Baldwin not work out? That's a definite possibility. But anyone they hire could not work out. If they hired Chris Fisk maybe he can't handle the pressure of D1. Maybe Troy Taylor harasses female staffers at Eastern like at Stanford and has to be fired. Its the risk you take with any hire. Also, I don't have to explain to anyone here that Eastern doesn't have a ton of money to make a big hire either.
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Agreed. Hauck/Baldwin is a much more apt comparison.
 
LDopaPDX said:
I don’t think your ideal is realistic. Fisk wouldn’t leave Central to be a coordinator at Eastern. The coordinator job at Eastern is a step down in both responsibility and, likely, pay. It might be tough to attract him even with the head job. The guy is doing very well and probably has options.

I’d agree that Baldwin probably isn’t the answer at this point. He’d be starting at a much lower point now than he did when Wulff left. I think there are some other issues surrounding Baldwin that might make his situation difficult.
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I agree that FIsk isn't coming here as a coordinator, but not sure I share your opinion on the HC job. Unless there's personal reasons, I'm not sure why any D2 coach (especially in the same state) wouldn't compete for the EWU job. When the time comes, there will be tons of good candidates for the AD to choose from.

As for Baldwin, it's probably not likely he'd return, but not completely outside the realm of the possible. He did, after all, take the job t Cal Poly. Health issues aside, I'm not sure why he wouldn't be interested. What else is he doing?
 
LDopaPDX said:
I don’t think your ideal is realistic. Fisk wouldn’t leave Central to be a coordinator at Eastern. The coordinator job at Eastern is a step down in both responsibility and, likely, pay. It might be tough to attract him even with the head job. The guy is doing very well and probably has options.

I’d agree that Baldwin probably isn’t the answer at this point. He’d be starting at a much lower point now than he did when Wulff left. I think there are some other issues surrounding Baldwin that might make his situation difficult.
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It would be a lateral move in pay, D2 HCs and FCS coordinators typically get paid around $100k.

Like I said, Ian Shoemaker literally did it in 2018-19. He was literally Central Washington's head coach then came to be the OC for Eastern. Its up to Fisk but not out of the realm of possibility. He was pretty successful in 2018, Central went 8-3 with one of the losses to Eastern. 11-1 in 2017 with the one loss being in the playoffs.

He'd have to work a little harder than last time he became HC so he wouldn't be interested? Weird logic dude. I don't think he even would have to work harder. Now he has a transfer portal full of players and a proven track record of success at Eastern.
 
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Honestly a big criticism of Baldwin that yall aren't mentioning is that the Big Sky was not as good back when he was at Eastern. The Montana schools were under-performing as well as Idaho. Weber State, Southern Utah and North Dakota were decent I guess. Rest were mid to bad.
 
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