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Rumor Mill

Fire Crompton!! This is absurd. How is this ass clown in that position? He’s killing Wildcat Athletics. Halverson needs to get his house in order! This decision is laughable and pathetic.

The difference between high school football and DI football is enormous. Of course I’ll support Kjar and hope for the best, but regardless, Tim needs to leave!!!
 
The other thing that most are not thinking of is that the HC is largely an administrator/motivator. Most of the actual coaching is taking place with the coordinators and assistants. A really good HC hires the right people and delegates much of the day to day stuff. Yes, they are there and in charge, but they only step in when needed for higher level decisions. Sometimes, it is harder to go from an assistant to HC. The right person for the job is the right person to lead, not micro manage. Deciding who that leader is makes all the difference. Having played the game at both levels gives you the perspective from that end of things, but not from an administrator's point of view. Sometimes leaders are found in unexpected places.
 
The other thing that people are not understanding here is that the selection committee is tasked to weed out the non-starters and give the AD a list, sometimes ranked, of qualified candidates. They may have been asked to rank them or they may have just been asked to select the top 3 or 4. Either way, that information is relayed to the AD, the athletic provost, and the President for final considerations. It isn't like the committee selected someone and then the AD overrides their choice. None of that happens in a vacuum. Multiple people on multiple levels are involved. Ragging on the AD is a bit pointless.
 
If it is Kjar, I’m actually more than cautiously optimistic. I remember being underwhelmed when they announced a special teams coordinator from the U (after going after names like McBride and John L. Smith) and Hill brought an attitude and culture desperately needed…and he shifted the focus to heavy in state recruiting.

I think Mental was in over his head as a an OC in FCS and a fish out of water as a head coach (honestly he looked lost on the sidelines). He concentrated on his comfort zone of recruiting…and it sucked. The talented out of state recruits just flat out don’t care as much. All FBS transfers I can think of have been abysmal, so I think a coach who has ties to the local talent will work out well. I remember seeing Idaho State tear apart the Wildcats and one of their players was from Ogden. It’s understandable losing out on talent to the U, BYU, and USU…but Weber State shouldn’t be losing out on local talent to Idaho State, SUU, or Utah Tech.

Hell, it might even be worth coordinating with BYU and U of U and getting their recruits that will be buried on their rosters and never play with the realization if they do light it up, will be gone in a year or two.

I know some were excited of the Chiverani coach, but I agree with Olds, he didn’t tear it up immediately. I heard Mental’s Notre Dame college is a feeder school to Notre Dame University, and would basically succeed no matter who the coach is, so I don’t classify Coach Chiverani in that boat, but I think he would pretty much give up on local talent and be a risk competing in the best overall FCS conference as he would be completely new to it.

I remember some really good football when Weber State went 2-10 during Hill’s first year because he brought energy and got the most out of his team. Honestly that year was more fun to watch than Mental’s first 6-5 year with inconsistent play and mistake heavy football.

I think Kjar might be in that same mold of Hill and increase the give a sh*t factor, of course this might be a lot of talk over nothing if another coach is named.

Crompton should very much be on a hot seat (like ass on fire hot). Given his history, he went with assistant coaches on staff for basketball and football and they have been awful so far…so if basketball and football don’t turn around quickly, he can retire sooner than he planned. Attendance for basketball is announced at 2,000 level when it once was in the 6,000 level. I didn’t even check football but imagine it’s really low, too. I don’t know if Wildcats athletics has ever been lower for these two sports.
 
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The Desert News just posted an article confirming that Coach Kjar has signed a 4 year deal to be the new head coach at Weber State. I believe that this is a very bold move that contains a significant level of risk. However from what I know of Coach Kjar his drive and dedication will be a welcome change that has been much needed. I have spent a lot of time around the program in the last 2 years and it has been very clear to me that we have been missing that spark. That drive and determination to win and be elite. In My opinion that starts at the top and I believe Coach Kjar will change the culture surrounding Weber State Football. LETS GO WILDCATS!!!
 
Purple People Eater said:
The Desert News just posted an article confirming that Coach Kjar has signed a 4 year deal to be the new head coach at Weber State. I believe that this is a very bold move that contains a significant level of risk. However from what I know of Coach Kjar his drive and dedication will be a welcome change that has been much needed. I have spent a lot of time around the program in the last 2 years and it has been very clear to me that we have been missing that spark. That drive and determination to win and be elite. In My opinion that starts at the top and I believe Coach Kjar will change the culture surrounding Weber State Football. LETS GO WILDCATS!!!
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I agree with you!! Risk in seeing who fills out his staff, but coach Kjar will bring the fire, intensity, dedication, passion, and professionalism to this position that lacked under Mental. I’m all in for this!!
 
This hire is exceptionally risky. I can find very few examples of this happening previously, and the only one that seems successful was Deion Sanders at Jackson State. Almost all head coaches even at the FCS level have coordinator or at least position coaching roles first. Maybe he is just that unique a situation, and WSU was certainly heading in a terrible direction so maybe this is the time to take this kind of risk. I have no doubt he will recruit the state of Utah well, and maybe he is already bringing some top talent with him. How is this hire going to be perceived? Is WSU getting in on the ground floor with someone destined for greatness, or is it that WSU can't get any good coaches with actual college experience to come here? I will certainly support the coach and the team, but to borrow a Cravens quote, this hire "makes me as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs".
 
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GoCatsGo!!! said:
I agree with you!! Risk in seeing who fills out his staff, but coach Kjar will bring the fire, intensity, dedication, passion, and professionalism to this position that lacked under Mental. I’m all in for this!!
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Mental’s teams took the field and were on the sidelines like they were going to a bus stop to wait a half hour. We need some energy! It’s risky for sure, but I like it.
 
I’m actually a little surprised at the overall negative reaction to this hire. I know I have posted a lot of negative on here about what had happened the last couple years (for good reason) but I will applaud this hire for a change. Timmy is the worst AD in college still IMO but this outside the box hire is the right call! The last two HC changes in football and basketball were essentially promotions and look how they turned out??? Duft (beer) has been mediocre at best, and we obviously saw what a complete turd Mental was for the football program. Coach Kjar isn’t a guaranteed win no doubt but we need a spark and I think he will bring that to the program. He needs to retool the staff but I think he can win here folks!
 
Coach Kjar is one of the good guys of high school football. He does things the right way in his program even though he recruits the state very well (some might say that is the wrong way). Personally, I'm wary about the hire while being optimistic. The gulf, divide, canyon between high school football and DI is really wide. This isn't some small stream you can bound over in one bounce. Coach Kjar is going to need a lot of help. My guess, Brent Myers will be staying on (probably one reason why our AD selected Kjar) to provide that much needed assistance. Also, Coach Kjar is going to need to bring in some guys. I don't believe for a second that he doesn't have deep personal relationships with a number of college coaches. He does. His kids are being recruited all over the nation. My concerns are deeper. Does he have the relationships with high school coaches throughout the west? Can he recruit? Can he build a DI coaching staff? What style of offense and defense is he going to employ? Can he keep the guys who are here here? NIL and Revenue Sharing...does he have any experience? Does he understand APR? So much...these are merely a handful of concerns that I am wary about. This is almost like taking a high school principal and making them the university provost. Definitely possible, but a HUGE gulf of knowledge, expertise, and acumen one has to acquire to be able to function. We need someone to succeed. NOT just function.
 
talhadfoursteals said:
Coach Kjar is one of the good guys of high school football. He does things the right way in his program even though he recruits the state very well (some might say that is the wrong way). Personally, I'm wary about the hire while being optimistic. The gulf, divide, canyon between high school football and DI is really wide. This isn't some small stream you can bound over in one bounce. Coach Kjar is going to need a lot of help. My guess, Brent Myers will be staying on (probably one reason why our AD selected Kjar) to provide that much needed assistance. Also, Coach Kjar is going to need to bring in some guys. I don't believe for a second that he doesn't have deep personal relationships with a number of college coaches. He does. His kids are being recruited all over the nation. My concerns are deeper. Does he have the relationships with high school coaches throughout the west? Can he recruit? Can he build a DI coaching staff? What style of offense and defense is he going to employ? Can he keep the guys who are here here? NIL and Revenue Sharing...does he have any experience? Does he understand APR? So much...these are merely a handful of concerns that I am wary about. This is almost like taking a high school principal and making them the university provost. Definitely possible, but a HUGE gulf of knowledge, expertise, and acumen one has to acquire to be able to function. We need someone to succeed. NOT just function.
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These are my concerns spoken with more eloquence than I am capable of expressing. However, decision is made and I welcome and support the new coach.
 
For GoCatsGo, I did not think Baldwin was a good choice but thought that Chiaverini would have been a great choice. I want to see Weber playing for FCS national championships and prefer a coach that can get us there. Playing to be 'ok' is BS! Mental had only one year as a head coach, so not enough track record to know if his experience was good enough. I did not like him when he was just the offensive coordinator. Jay Hill's offenses were always the weak part of his team and they didn't get any better under Mental. I preferred that Chiaverini be hired because he won at the JC level and at D2 level. But he also had years of experience in Power 5 conference as an assistant. He understands high level football and he proven that he knows how to put together a good team. Some may say he had a bad first year at Northeastern, but recognize how far down that program was and it helps to understand how hard it must have been to turn it around in two years. Jay hill had similar results when he cam to WEBER. As for Kjar, I think Crompton chose him because he interviewed well and he has a strong Utah foundation. But as others have expressed here it is a mighty leap from HS success to FCS success. I have been a Weber fan for life and I will continue to pull for them and hope that Kjar will take us to the mountaintop. But I also think that Crompton missed an opportunity to hire someone more experienced and skilled for this level of football. I can for sure say that if Kjar fails Crompton should be fired. he went against 9 others on the committee to hire Kjar over Chiaverini. and the person who wondered why I didn't know about Kjar it was because he was the very last interview and the committee had already decided that Chiaverini was the guy. The Friday interviews were for show to complete the process. But Crompton, all alone, changed all that and didn't decide until after the weekend that he was going with Kjar. He called for a committee meeting only this morning (Tuesday) to tell them of his decision. I knew about it Sunday afternoon.
 
baller said:
For GoCatsGo, I did not think Baldwin was a good choice but thought that Chiaverini would have been a great choice. I want to see Weber playing for FCS national championships and prefer a coach that can get us there. Playing to be 'ok' is BS! Mental had only one year as a head coach, so not enough track record to know if his experience was good enough. I did not like him when he was just the offensive coordinator. Jay Hill's offenses were always the weak part of his team and they didn't get any better under Mental. I preferred that Chiaverini be hired because he won at the JC level and at D2 level. But he also had years of experience in Power 5 conference as an assistant. He understands high level football and he proven that he knows how to put together a good team. Some may say he had a bad first year at Northeastern, but recognize how far down that program was and it helps to understand how hard it must have been to turn it around in two years. Jay hill had similar results when he cam to WEBER. As for Kjar, I think Crompton chose him because he interviewed well and he has a strong Utah foundation. But as others have expressed here it is a mighty leap from HS success to FCS success. I have been a Weber fan for life and I will continue to pull for them and hope that Kjar will take us to the mountaintop. But I also think that Crompton missed an opportunity to hire someone more experienced and skilled for this level of football. I can for sure say that if Kjar fails Crompton should be fired. he went against 9 others on the committee to hire Kjar over Chiaverini. and the person who wondered why I didn't know about Kjar it was because he was the very last interview and the committee had already decided that Chiaverini was the guy. The Friday interviews were for show to complete the process. But Crompton, all alone, changed all that and didn't decide until after the weekend that he was going with Kjar. He called for a committee meeting only this morning (Tuesday) to tell them of his decision. I knew about it Sunday afternoon.
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If what you are saying is true, then I have serious issues with the process. There should never be “for show” interviews. Panel should see all candidates and interviews. I guess it’s the AD’s call, but very bold to go against all members and will probably have consequences if it doesn’t go well.

Coach C has more experience and recent success turning around a program, but I think he would know nothing about local recruiting. After seeing a lot of out of state recruits not live up to expectations or play with less energy, I think it’s more urgent to get the local talent involved to establish a winning culture and up the give a sh*t factor.

I know it’s risky, but I like it compared to the alternatives. Time will tell I guess.
 
Why do we give a high school coach a 4 year contract? I hope there’s an escape clause on the 3rd year. We need to see measurable improvement within 3 seasons. Obviously, Jay Hill only won 2 games the first couple seasons but the progress was easily observable.
 
If true, Crompton violated university and state HR protocol. It is mandatory that all candidates receive the exact same opportunity during a hiring process. I don’t work on campus but do know quite a bit about HR law.
 
There was never going to be another Jay Hill type interested, but this is definitely a big gamble on likely a long rebuild with emphasis on local recruiting. Good luck to Coach Kjar, he'll need it. Hopefully he can find some college experienced staff that provides that need.

Fans are most likely going to have to give it more than the desired time to show great boom or bust. So patience needed & expectations realistic to a rare try. Both men's football & basketball programs right now aren't in a good place, so the fallout if a failure isn't that great. Sometimes a move outside the box is helpful, may this be such!
 
Things I noticed from the press conference:

1. Coach Kjar handles and answers questions so much better than Mental. I know that is a low bar…but it’s so refreshing. He mentioned his run pass breakdown at Corner Canyon. He analyzes the game! His attention to details will matter. My God, Mental had his teams lining up offside on FGs.

2. Recruiting in state won’t be an empty promise. Local kids care…that will show up on the field.

3. We underestimate high school coaches and educators for that matter. He explained his schedule as it is now…big difference will be more time on football.

4. Jay Hill was in attendance. I know that may not se like a big deal, but I’m sure he will be there as a mentor to help with questions. If BYU and Utah have talent that will not see the field due to depth, maybe they will come to Weber State to get playing time. Good to have a coach with connections. I honestly wonder if Mental ever reached out at all.

5. I think he understands Weber State’s past, potential, and possibilities in the Big Sky more than an outside D2 coach would.

6. Toughness both mental and physical will be emphasized.

7. Motivated to prove those who believed in him making the job right.

8. Creating a tight-knit family like program…not lip service.

Honestly, I’m more a believer after the press conference.
 
I feel like this is a damn good hire by WSU and that limp wristed wet noodle known as Tim. I have a family member that Has played for Coach Kjar for the last few seasons, and I have heard nothing but positive things from him and other families with kids that play for Corner Canyon. Kjar has very strong ties throughout the west, and he is VERY detailed and professional on how he runs his program. There is a reason EVERY talented kid in the State wanted to go to Corner Canyon and play for Coach Kjar, his players would run through walls for him. It will be key on who his assistants are, but Kjar will recruit his ass off in Utah and the region. I for one am glad we didn't hire a retread who has been fired at Cal Poly or any other program. Im also really glad WSU thought outside the box on this one for once, although I do think Coach Chiaverini would have been a solid hire as well but I love that Kjar will recruit Utah kids and knows the culture of the area.
 
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