Mike Sanford Jr. To WKU

[woolybug25]

You're giving him the keys to the family mansion. And if you try to renege on that, you are going to look like a completely clueless asshole. Not to mention the damage that might happen to your program in the 2 or 3 years that you are going to have to let him ride before you can get rid of him.

I don't think anyone looked bad when Muschamp didn't end up the UT coach. It's a title, man. I think you're overthinking this.

 

[kmoose]

I don't think anyone looked bad when Muschamp didn't end up the UT coach.

That's because Muschamp left Texas before Brown retired, to take a Head Coaching job. If Mack Brown had retired while the Head Coach in Waiting was still there, and then Texas had hired someone else instead of Muschamp as Head Coach, it would have been a mess.

 

[Blaise]

That's because Muschamp left Texas before Brown retired, to take a Head Coaching job. If Mack Brown had retired while the Head Coach in Waiting was still there, and then Texas had hired someone else instead of Muschamp as Head Coach, it would have been a mess.

I agree with this... It went smoothly because Muschamp left.... Name another head coach in waiting transition that went smoothly? Jimbo forced out Bowden and Bowden still has butthurt feelings about it...

Holgorsen was a complete mess with Stewart at WV.. Never a fan of putting coach in waiting title on someone

 

[phork]

Stanford Cardinal Keller Chryst, Ohio State Buckeyes Mike Weber among college football's next big things

The next Kirby Smart: Notre Dame OC Mike Sanford

After all those years of being a defensive coordinator under Nick Saban, Smart was picky, and it paid off. He got his dream job when Georgia hired him to return to his alma mater as head coach. Sanford has been at Notre Dame for only one season as offensive coordinator, but his name popped up in several job openings this past offseason, including Syracuse and Virginia. Sanford, 34, is widely considered to be one of the brightest offensive minds in the college game and is especially adept at developing quarterbacks. Look at what he did last season with Malik Zaire and DeShone Kizer. The Boise State offense under Sanford was a juggernaut in 2014, and he also coached under David Shaw at Stanford. The Irish had better enjoy Sanford in 2016 because he's destined to land a big-time head-coaching job.

Nice to see some good press, or any press, about our coaches. Not nice to have that feeling that he gone after this year.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

I just want to go on record saying that I understood everything KMoose was saying.

I would say it a little different : "Head coach in waiting makes me think of those guys dressed in lavender dresses. This does not make a nice picture. So can we first retire the cliché? By retire I mean put a bullet in its head.

Next, who knows what deals are really cooked, where? What is the value of negotiating a future promotion to a head spot now with a younger assistant? The only one I can think of is a performance plan.

A performance plan that would include a brain share between the current coach and the younger assistant. One that would require him to meet objectives, that would in turn answer all the questions a short resume may engender.

So then, if you have a smooth transition of information and procedure, and zero doubts remaining about the candidate, what is left?

Making sure everyone is aboard with the plan. UT, UF and most of the big football schools have always been lousy at that. They have alums and mouthy fans to deal with. And sports reporters. All kinds of experts and second guessers. Oh, yeah, and sociopathic motherfuckers in the coaching business. Not all, but higher than the general population average. Enough to 'eff' up situations like have previously been described.

 

[Henges24]

Coaches primed to rise up the ranks in 2016 - Travis Haney Blog- ESPN

The room was full. It was actually more than full, with attendees lining the walls of a partitioned ballroom meant to hold a few hundred people. There were other speaking engagements during a Sunday evening session at the AFCA coaches’ convention in San Antonio, but Mike Sanford was the one that coaches in attendance wanted to hear from.

They wanted to learn how he coaches Notre Dame's quarterbacks, sure, but there seemed to be an awareness, as they hung onto every word while taking notes, that they were listening to the next big thing in coaching.


The 33-year-old Sanford leads our look at coaches on the verge of breakout seasons in 2016.

The material in the conference session was relatively light, more philosophies than X's and O's, but Sanford worked vigorously through his presentation -- at times sprinting around and physically demonstrating things -- and powered through an animated Q-and-A session that lasted longer than the allotted hour.

Sanford is clearly high-energy, and he comes with a great deal of quality experience for a young coach. The son of the Indiana State head coach by the same name, a 30-plus-year veteran in the business, the younger Sanford has already worked with Jim Harbaugh at Stanford, Bryan Harsin at Boise State and now Brian Kelly at Notre Dame. (He also turned down the chance to be Urban Meyer’s offensive coordinator at Ohio State.)

With three high-end returning quarterbacks -- Malik Zaire, DeShone Kizer and Brandon Wimbush -- chances are the Irish's offense is set to make its co-coordinator look pretty good the next year or two. Coaches and ADs think that will lead to Sanford’s first head-coaching job.

 

[BobbyMac]

Sanford has "IT". He worked the room on New Year's Eve like now one else... besides Malik. Very personable. I'm in no way personally connected to the program other than friends and he still approached me in the lobby and we had a brief convo about working Cali and our love of Michiana.

Wish he could stay through the end of '17 but I think he'll take the right gig next year that allows him to return to ND when Kelly goes to the NFL... which could happen at anytime.

 

[rtrn2glory]

Sanford has "IT". He worked the room on New Year's Eve like now one else... besides Malik. Very personable. I'm in no way personally connected to the program other than friends and he still approached me in the lobby and we had a brief convo about working Cali and our love of Michiana.

Wish he could stay through the end of '17 but I think he'll take the right gig next year that allows him to return to ND when Kelly goes to the NFL... which could happen at anytime.

Hope he gets a Tom herman type of gig that does exactly what you said in regards to keeping the door open for his return.

I could be wrong, but I feel like that we're shaping up to be his dream job if we're not already.

Wouldn't be shocked if Purdue comes open soon and he takes a crack at it. Might be too tough of a place to compete, however, in the BIG

 

[irishff1014]

Imagine another bad year for Texas and USC boy oh boy it would be hard for him to turn either of them down. I would be very surprised to see him on the staff for 17.

 

[BobbyMac]

Hope he gets a Tom herman type of gig that does exactly what you said in regards to keeping the door open for his return.

I could be wrong, but I feel like that we're shaping up to be his dream job if we're not already.

Wouldn't be shocked if Purdue comes open soon and he takes a crack at it. Might be too tough of a place to compete, however, in the BIG

As far as jobs to get.... A good MAC job where he can win immediately like BG or Toledo... or maybe Cincinnati if it opened up. Of course I'd have loved it to be Miami but Martin is taking his time rebuilding the Redskins.

Funny you bring up dream job and Purdue. I wish I would have asked him who his team was growing up. He spent all but one year before HS in LA and his dad was on SC's staff till he was in 8th grade...then his dad became the QB coach at ND while he was a freshman and sophomore at Penn Twp. Then it was back to Orange Co for the last two years while his dad was in the NFL. The one year he wasn't in LA or in the Bend? Dad was at Purdue for a year.

Kinda weird thinking he may have grown up an SC fan???

Maybe he's a plant? Conspiracy theorists weigh in...

.

 

[BobbyMac]

(Copied from the Stephen Carr thread)

This is how good Mike Sanford Jr. is...

Stephen Carr and Damian Alloway's QB at Fontana Summit (CA) is a kid named Cade Sparks who put up some Nintendo numbers this year but never rose up the rankings. But he caught the eye of Mike Sanford Jr obviously so Sparks will be playing for Mike Sanford Sr at Indiana State this fall. That's how recruiting works. Good story all the way around.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">After much prayer I have decided to commit to THE Indiana State University <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SycamorePride?src=hash">#SycamorePride</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/1Sam2?src=hash">#1Sam2</a>:30 <a href="https://t.co/U4JvkBKWc1">pic.twitter.com/U4JvkBKWc1</a></p>— Cade Sparks (@CadeSparks) <a href="https://twitter.com/CadeSparks/status/693552170864644097">January 30, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[stlnd01]

I think (hope?) he's the coach after the next coach. Unless he gets a decent head job after 2016, does well, and Kelly sticks around through about 2019. I like Sanford a ton, but I don't think we can or should hire someone without any head coaching experience.

 

[BobbyMac]

I think (hope?) he's the coach after the next coach. Unless he gets a decent head job after 2016, does well, and Kelly sticks around through about 2019. I like Sanford a ton, but I don't think we can or should hire someone without any head coaching experience.

I agree it would be cool if he got a Bowling Green or Northern Illinois type of job for 2-3 years and tore it up and then came back after Kelly left BUT if he was here with Kelly until '19 and he took over then I'd be ok with that, especially if that was the plan and he was training on the job.

I just like the fact that he's a recruiterlike Meyer or Saban were back in their assistant coaching days and he brings that to the table as a skill set. Me saying that isn't meant to say CBK is bad at recruiting. I think he does a very good job considering he didn't cut his teeth at the P5 level out on the road recruiting. His experience was at DII and as a head coach at UCinn where he was basically taking leftovers and coaching them up. That's why I think he does such a great job with his 3 star players but you do have to ask, does his background predispose him to accepting more 3 stars and hinder him from being that dynamic recruiter that pulls in more 4's and 5's?

Once again, that's just a question based on observation, not some condemnation regarding his performance. I think '17 will be a great class and '16 would have been better if OSU hadn't have happened. Hell, I even think this class is better than most think. One more OLB that could have pushed for time next year and I'd have been thrilled.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Warning read at your own risk!

Warning read at your own risk!

Short Article -- Essay on the future of ND coaching and Mike Sanford, Jr.

I can understand everybody's posts on this thread. I think they are very reasonable and well thought out. Especially since, (and it is the one thing everybody everywhere agrees upon), is that Mike Sanford Jr., is on track to be a outstanding, even elite coach.

Coach in waiting

Now about this 'coach in waiting' cliché of a title -- I think my real problem with the concept is two-fold : it is reminiscent of an aristocratic hierarchy, which I rail against; and, aristocratic models just don't work well in the American business model, historically, or practicably in today's climate.

Rambling historical precedence

Historically, the example of the cotton industry in the Antebellum South is a wonderful example. It is the only thing, (including the blatant race and sexism,) that I don't like about the South!

The fact of the matter is the aristocratic model of England was copied precisely to the deep south, and plagued the economy of the South, just as it did in England, until many labor and social reforms took place.

Why go into that detail here? No business, or coaching staff can be successful above a certain level, and size, with such a model in place. The same that is true for business is definitely true for college football coaching.

Lessons learned -- why no 'coach in waiting' will ever be a thing at ND

That, in my opinion (as well as others,) was Brian Kelly's biggest shortcoming as he rose in the coaching ranks. He had to wear many hats in the Division III ranks, fewer but still do a lot in the MAC.

It is interesting to note, as I meet people that worked for or with Kelly at his various stops, that those familiar with him at the smaller schools saw him as genuine, and those that saw him on his quick ascent, generally saw him as egocentric, with airs of superiority.

I believe that was mostly BK's doing, trying to hold on to too much, as his early career taught him. And, Kelly came out and said it in his last press conference, on signing day. He had a whole series of answers to questions that revolved about distributing coaching responsibility, and authority to his assistants. He just talked about it in terms of how with his past experience from actually doing the job, he knows how it needs to be done, and that (now) enables him to do better.

From ND's standpoint KMoose is 100% right on target. ND has been burned by doling out to much to coaches, with no guarantee for return. Weis, Willingham, and Davies, (who was really a coach in waiting, as well as a predator,) all are examples of this phenomena. It is no mistake they didn't have to compete, or answer to anyone for their success. Period. So the Irish administration took a while to come around, but I believe has learned their lesson.

What makes Mike tick?

When you listen to Mike Sanford Jr., you hear a repeating theme. He likes being in South Bend, for his families sake, remember his whole family is here now with his father coaching at a school only several hours away, and loves the culture at Notre Dame. Remember his dad is at a school presently. a thirty year veteran, where he could coach until retirement. None of the above is a wild guess, or a stretch. Mike craves the stability for his family that he didn't have as a youngster, and the stability he really hasn't had yet as a coach, principally because of his meteoric rise in the business.

And I believe if you translate what Sanford said in the few questions he answered or comments he made about selecting ND over other offers (read tOSU,) it was because he saw more opportunity to develop himself as a coach, in line with his own values, more so than at any other career stop available.

Now that assistants are paid competitive salaries, with Notre Dame's recruiting taking leaps and bounds forward, (both a maturing program and the best recruiting talent since the first seven years of the Holtz era,) it affords him a great opportunity, one that he will exploit much like Kirby, now at UGA.

Kirby could have been a head coach much earlier if he wanted. But with hindsight, almost everyone agrees, that his selectivity, before he pulled the trigger, was way the best move for him!

Situation at ND

As far as Notre Dame, and it's next coach, in particular after looking at the staff currently, do you realize, by the end of Kelly's contract, (if not sooner,) there could be five assistants that could advance internally to the head coaching position? And if they did, I could see it as a stabilizing event, and a seamless transition that would do nothing but provide continuity to the program, promote a successful culture, and insure consistent high levels of winning.

I think there are several coaches that implicitly know that they could be promoted to the next boss. And I think Jack the shark knows that too. But, I don't think there is anything official, or even organization to it.

Shameless Opinion and conclusion (Thanks be to Jesus!)

I could even see Sanford staying if he wasn't the head coach. I could see a scenario where Denbrock became the head coach, Sanford assistant head coach, and Denson the running game coordinator. And when Sanford moved up, if he stayed and did, moving Denson to the OC.

So I think to produce the highest level of coaching, there is no official blueprint, instead an atmosphere where there is a kind of friendly competition, where each coach is trying to better himself as a coach. Good for the program, isn't that?

And, I don't see Mike Sanford, Jr., as anything like Bob Diaco, Charlie Molnar, Ed Warinner, or even Tony Alford.
(Tony is much different than anyone else on this list, other than he is primarily driven by becoming a head coach.) No, Mike is much more Kirby Smart!

 

[TheChosen1]

I don't know why but sometimes this thread reminds me of a bunch of grandmothers talking about their grandsons.

 

[NDdomer2]

I don't know why but sometimes this thread reminds me of a bunch of grandmothers talking about their grandsons.

 

[Fbolt]

Reminds me somewhat of the BVG praise after his first year. Similar.

 

[PANDFAN]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Griffin Michael Sanford- 8.2 lbs 20.75". Born at 4:19am after a near 40 hour labor. <a href="https://twitter.com/AMSanford23">@AMSanford23</a> is my hero! &#55357;&#56908;&#55356;&#57340;&#55356;&#57152; <a href="https://t.co/zom70jCJcf">pic.twitter.com/zom70jCJcf</a></p>— Coach Mike Sanford (@CoachSanfordND) <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachSanfordND/status/794496910874640386">November 4, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Irish#1]

Forty hour delivery, ouch! Congrats mostly to mom.

 

[Henges24]

Congrats to the Sanford fam.

How many does that make? It seems like they're a damn baby factory!

 

[Rack Em]

Got a text saying Sanford was headed to WKU. Nothing on Twitter yet to corroborate though so TIFWIW.

 

[Free Manera]

Got a text saying Sanford was headed to WKU. Nothing on Twitter yet to corroborate though so TIFWIW.

Good for him if true. I for one am a big Hilltoppers fan now.

 

[ShawneeIrish]

Homerun hire for the Tops if true.

 

[NDohio]

Got a text saying Sanford was headed to WKU. Nothing on Twitter yet to corroborate though so TIFWIW.

Reliable source?

 

[ShawneeIrish]

Also would be a great move for Sanford and far better optics for ND than if he bails to be an OC somewhere else.

 

[IrishLax]

That was a rumor the day after Brohm left. So when you say you got a text, is it from a first hand kind of source or would it be someone regurgitating that original rumor?

 

[BobbyMac]

Homerun hire for the Tops if true.

Although I think it's a perfect fit (the last three coaches were QB's and very successful) I think Sanford lost the home run status when Ed Warriner's name got thrown in the mix. I think that moved MSjr into a stand up triple. I hope it's true. It keeps the Sanford / Harbaugh matrix growing and we talked on and on about Sanford's need to get a MAC job to take the next step. Well WKU is that job with better recruiting demographics and you are walking into a roster with stocked shelves, unlike taking Kent State lets say.

Half of my family that went to college went to Western so I always keep an eye on them. Congrats to HC MSjr if true.

 

[Rack Em]

That was a rumor the day after Brohm left. So when you say you got a text, is it from a first hand kind of source or would it be someone regurgitating that original rumor?

The former.

 

[Wild Bill]

The former.

Russians? Was it the Russians?

 

[BobbyMac]

Russians? Was it the Russians?

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