Coach of the Year Candidates

[drpnut]

I know this is a very speculative thread and has a lot more variables than POY, etc. But I'm bored and ready for some football! And besides, most of the interesting stuff is already in a thread.

Let's have some fun.

I say pretty strongly that if Western Carolina can win 7 games this year Coach Wagner has a strong chance...

If Lembo can get Elon in the Playoffs he has a chance...

If Buddy Pough can win a playoff game at SC STate he has a legit shot...

If the Coach at Rhoddy wins 6-7 games he will be in the mix...

If Fordham makes it back to the playoffs their coach has a shot...


Any thoughts frm my AGS family?

[JmuSkinsfan]

Doubt it.

If Mickey leads JMU to a CAA title he will win it hands down because of the QB change and youth on the team.

If APP state can go undeafeted in FCS play and win the SOCON Moore hands down.

If SIU can run the table in the MVFC and beat UNI their HC could take it.

If Montana goes undefeated Hauck has a shot.

And UNH head coach has a chance if they can win the CAA, even if it is from the north.

Same with UR and Nova.

I think if anyone runs the table and goes 8-0 in the CAA they'll get it. Actually, if anyone runs the table in any of the major conferences they obviously will likely win haha. so that's not much of a "bold" prediction but at this stage of the game...what else can you do? haha

[drpnut]

SkinsFan

I believe a Coach that has a doormat program and takes a big leap has just as good a chance as a Coach who is already at the top.

[mcveyrl]

SkinsFan

I believe a Coach that has a doormat program and takes a big leap has just as good a chance as a Coach who is already at the top.

While I agree with you in theory. The history of the Eddie Robinson award says otherwise.

[drpnut]

My bad folks... I was not just refering to the ED Rob award, but to the Liberty Award and the other COY accolades that go out.

just was looking for a "wide open" discussion.

Peacexrolleyesx

[blazrdog#1]

Samford IS back to stay !

[GannonFan]

If Delaware has the type of turnaround year that they could have, KC Keeler could find himself moving straight to the front of the line and could be a very viable candidate.

[Redwyn]

If Stony Brook wins the conference and has a winning OOC record coach Priore def deserves a look. He basically hand recruited the squad he has now, so any success he gets is totally to his credit, esp with a first year full scholly program....

[JDC325]

If Delaware has the type of turnaround year that they could have, KC Keeler could find himself moving straight to the front of the line and could be a very viable candidate.

Same with Hatcher at GSU.

[BEAR]

I'll play homer here and say that if Coach Conque can win the conference (unofficially) with losing 95%(qb and WR) of his offense from last year, go to Hawaii and give them a game, beat WKU, and do all this with a team that is still in transition from division II, he should be a top candidate for the COTY. He was SLC coach of the year last year and if he repeats it would be hard to not make a case for him again. There are other deserving coaches of course, but he is sure to be a candidate if all the above happens. Just my opinion of course. xcoffeex

[appfan2008]

I hope coach moore is in the running again... it might take an undefeated year to get the support needed to win but that would be fine with me!

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

Gilmore at Holy Cross has a decent shot.

[biggie]

I hope coach moore is in the running again... it might take an undefeated year to get the support needed to win but that would be fine with me!
With all the preseason hype and preceived talent for App I think it would take an undeafeated season (including ECU) for JM to win it. And still it would be said that its just because of the team/players that he won.

[catbob]

Big Sky:

McBride at Weber State.
Hauck at Montana.
Ash at MSU.
& if the new guy at EWU (I can't remember who that is) wins the conference he should certainly be in the running.

[GoDukes86]

Sounds like everyone is of the consensus that their coach is the leading candidate.

[GannonFan]

If the past winners can be taken as any indication of future winners, unless your team makes the playoffs and is one of the top 4 seeds in the playoffs, then your coach has little to no chance of being COY.

[achrist70]

It is way to early to start discussing this, our ideas this early are about as useful as the pre-season polls, they are fun but what matters is at the end of the year.

[mcveyrl]

With all the preseason hype and preceived talent for App I think it would take an undeafeated season (including ECU) for JM to win it. And still it would be said that its just because of the team/players that he won.

That's not necessarily true. JMU had a lot of talent last year and won a couple of games in amazing circumstances (call it what you want, but it had nothing to do with coaching - MM told Scotty to get out of bounds at Richmond). Matthews still won it.

[biggie]

That's not necessarily true. JMU had a lot of talent last year and won a couple of games in amazing circumstances (call it what you want, but it had nothing to do with coaching - MM told Scotty to get out of bounds at Richmond). Matthews still won it.
Preseason the hype for JMU wasn't there like it is for ASU this year. Beating App last year is what probably got the attention of voters to begin with for MM.

Especially with ASU being the 'face of FCS' in recent years, it's going to make it harder for JM to win COY. Anything less than undefeated in FCS play won't get him a look.

[GannonFan]

With all the preseason hype and preceived talent for App I think it would take an undeafeated season (including ECU) for JM to win it. And still it would be said that its just because of the team/players that he won.

He won it in 2006 when his team was loaded with talent - not sure why he would be prevented from doing so this year. xconfusedx

[mcveyrl]

He won it in 2006 when his team was loaded with talent - not sure why he would be prevented from doing so this year. xconfusedx

Don't bother. It's different. Trust him. ASU is much too talented for their coach to get any credit this year.

(I almost typed the same response, but I'm sure the reply will be that AE was a freshman, only one NC, etc...)

[AppStsGr8]

For honest coaching turnaround, I'd say Wagner at Western if the 'Cats have a winning (or close) season. Unfortunately, the politics of sports says WCU would have to go from cellar to stellar for Wagner to come away with COY honors. I like what he's trying to do anyway.

I'd love to see our own JM win. It would take everything he's done before plus some for that to happen.

[Ronbo]

I assume this is for National COY?

Bobby Hauck is 66-16 in 6 years and he has never been nominated so it won't be him.

That's a yearly average 11 wins, 2.6 losses for six years. But as we all know Bobo the Chimp could coach Montana.

[SUUTbird]

One of the canidates hands down should be Southern Utah's Ed Lamb:

-Came in and won 4 games with a program that had won 0 the year before and maybe one game a season before that

-Got us our first away game win in several years

-Showed we could compete and win against teams in the GWC and beyond

-Already the hype for this year is a winning season, and dare a say a possible GWC championship.

Ed Lamb has hands down turn SUU around in just his first year at the helm and i can only expect more good things to come out of him in the near future! xthumbsupx

[mvemjsunpx]

I assume this is for National COY?

Bobby Hauck is 66-16 in 6 years and he has never been nominated so it won't be him.

That's a yearly average 11 wins, 2.6 losses for six years. But as we all know Bobo the Chimp could coach Montana.

Huh? Hauck has received votes for the Eddie Robinson Award each of the last 3 years. He finished 6th. in 2006.

I think he should get more votes than he has, but he has certainly been nominated before.

[mvemjsunpx]

Big Sky:

McBride at Weber State.
Hauck at Montana.
Ash at MSU.
& if the new guy at EWU (I can't remember who that is) wins the conference he should certainly be in the running.

Beau Baldwin. He replaced ISU's John Zamberlin at Central Washington for one year before the EWU job opened up. He was also Wulff's OC at EWU from '03-06.

[bjtheflamesfan]

I think that Coach Rocco (if LU repeats their 10 win season this year...which I know would have partly be at JMU's expense) would be a good candidate considering the losses. If Coach Nichols at PC can turn them around Im sure if not this year certainly next year he would be someone to consider

[Houndawg]

Doubt it.

If Mickey leads JMU to a CAA title he will win it hands down because of the QB change and youth on the team.

If APP state can go undeafeted in FCS play and win the SOCON Moore hands down.

If SIU can run the table in the MVFC and beat UNI their HC could take it.

If Montana goes undefeated Hauck has a shot.

And UNH head coach has a chance if they can win the CAA, even if it is from the north.

Same with UR and Nova.

I think if anyone runs the table and goes 8-0 in the CAA they'll get it. Actually, if anyone runs the table in any of the major conferences they obviously will likely win haha. so that's not much of a "bold" prediction but at this stage of the game...what else can you do? haha

Dale Lennon did most of that last year with somebody else's players.xnodx

[jmufan999]

If Mickey leads JMU to a CAA title he will win it hands down because of the QB change and youth on the team.

agreed. i think if we go 9-2, we'll probably win the CAA title and he'd win it then. i'm sure they'd hate to give it to someone 2 years in a row (and 3 times overall), but he might force the hand with that record.

that said, i see us as a 6-5 or 7-4 team. 7-4 sounds about right, missing the playoffs. just being honest.

[R.A.]

If Florida A&M Rattlers' Coach Joe Taylor wins a playoff game finally, he deserves Coach of the Year. Coach Taylor I believe has made the NCAA playoffs six times as a coach... Once as a DII Head Coach at Virginia Union, and five times as Head Coach of Hampton, and he has yet to win a single playoff game as a head coach. If Coach Taylor can win one playoff game, he will have earned his Coach of the Year nod.

[BEAR]

Come to think of it, could a coach who's program is in transition be eligible for the award? xconfusedx

[Head Cat]

Clint Conque finished seventh in last year's Robinson Award voting. The winner, BTW, has been the coach of the team that finished ranked No. 1 in the regular season polls in six of the past seven years.

[CrunchGriz]

I know Bobby Hauck of Montana is under the impediment of being the coach of the Griz, who are expected to win every year, but if he was going to win Coach of the Year it would have been for last season, which was, believe it or not, a rebuilding year for the Griz, with underclassmen virtually everywhere on the roster after seeing a raft of seniors graduate in 2007, including 4 to the NFL.

Most knowledgeable Griz fans had them pegged for 8-4 or 9-3 at best last year preseason, with the Big Sky sportswriters having them 2nd in the Sky. And then they proceeded to reel off 11-1 in the regular season and 14-2 overall, making it all the way to the championship game.

It's unlikely that Montana will graduate so many, and so many good, seniors again anytime soon to put them and Bobby in this position of underdog, so his chances of ever being COY seem slim.

[BEAR]

Clint Conque finished seventh in last year's Robinson Award voting. The winner, BTW, has been the coach of the team that finished ranked No. 1 in the regular season polls in six of the past seven years.

True. But how many of you have ever heard of UCA before they came to the FCS? ...let alone Clint Conque? It's just a program not recognized yet..but working on it. Not saying he's the best candidate, but should be thrown in the argument, but that's as I said, my homer opinion..and there are a lot of those on here...xlolx