If Strong is hired, did Mack really move us forward after 16 years?

[Bonefish]

I would of thought we could go out and hire someone much more qualified than Mack was when he was picked. Does his resume look as strong as the other candidates or even Mack's in 1997? Strong has only been a head coach for a few years vs. Mack at the time of his hire. He has coached in a much weaker conference than Mack did at UNC. He has had a couple decent victories but Mack had at least 2 top 10 finishes with his only losses were to FSU when they were dominant. Mack was a great recruiter at UNC (basketball school like Strong) and I don't think Strong's match up at all comparatively. Mack could always handle the spotlight and I am not sure Strong can. In an offense driven conference and state, Strong's off. wasn't that great even with the potential # 1 pick in the draft.

This seems like a reach of a selection even more than Mack was 16 years a go and I was expecting to be able to get a coach that the majority of people would view as a home run. Obviously, if selected, I hope he turns out to be the next great coach but this would feel like we settled when compared to the other candidates.

Just one guys opinion.

 

[Lord Vader]

The landscape of college football, and the world itself, is far far different than 16 years ago. Athletes and coaching have evolved to a point where men like Strong, Snyder, Briles, Dantonio, etc etc can take the guys who were relegated to the lower tier schools and develop them into top tier winners. Its not so much now about where you guy coached as to how he did when he was there.

Anyone who can turn 3 stars into winners is a major upgrade over a man who took 5 stars and had them devolve into 2's.

 

[Davharjac]

Louisville lost ONE game this year....to the team beating the Big 12 champs right now...

 

[monarch]

...oh no, please not again... please...

 

[Bonefish]

Whisenant-don't get me wrong, I think the game has passed Mack by. Also, like many others, I have always been frustrated with the development of our players and the energy they played with consistently.

However, are we really sure we have seen enough of Strong to make him the guy? He has built Louisville into a nice program but against what competition? Can he replace Bridgewater or did he luck out with him? How good of an offensive does he really have after 3 years with Bridgewater? How good has his recruiting been overall even with Bridgewater? I could go on and on.

By the way, I have watched more Louisville games than probably anyone on this site for years because my best friend is a huge Louisville fan and my wife is from there. Also, I know a number of their BMDs and have been to their games every year for the last 5. I think he is a good coach but I am not sure he is a great coach. As much as I have watched him, I am just not sure he compares to our other candidates.

 

[Topstarr]

The landscape of college football, and the world itself, is far far different than 16 years ago. Athletes and coaching have evolved to a point where men like Strong, Snyder, Briles, Dantonio, etc etc can take the guys who were relegated to the lower tier schools and develop them into top tier winners. Its not so much now about where you guy coached as to how he did when he was there.Anyone who can turn 3 stars into winners is a major upgrade over a man who took 5 stars and had them devolve into 2's.

You hit that one nail(BOX 6) on the head and come through the other side. I have been wanting to say that for 12 years now. Hook'em

 

[DocHorn]

I would of thought we could go out and hire someone much more qualified than Mack was when he was picked. Does his resume look as strong as the other candidates or even Mack's in 1997? Strong has only been a head coach for a few years vs. Mack at the time of his hire. He has coached in a much weaker conference than Mack did at UNC. He has had a couple decent victories but Mack had at least 2 top 10 finishes with his only losses were to FSU when they were dominant. Mack was a great recruiter at UNC (basketball school like Strong) and I don't think Strong's match up at all comparatively. Mack could always handle the spotlight and I am not sure Strong can. In an offense driven conference and state, Strong's off. wasn't that great even with the potential # 1 pick in the draft.
This seems like a reach of a selection even more than Mack was 16 years a go and I was expecting to be able to get a coach that the majority of people would view as a home run. Obviously, if selected, I hope he turns out to be the next great coach but this would feel like we settled when compared to the other candidates.

Just one guys opinion.

To me, Mack was a salesman, that allowed him to recruit much better athletes than the teams we typically played. When faced with equal athletes, we often got our azz handed to us, not always but way too often.

Mack has lost his mojo as a salesman and that talent advantage no longer exits for us and now we are just a shade above average on the college landscape.

Yes Strong is an upgrade over what we have. If he comes, no judgements will be able to be made for 2 or 3 yrs. After 3 yrs we should know if we have a great coach. This is true no matter who we hire.

 

[Lord Vader]

Whisenant-don't get me wrong, I think the game has passed Mack by. Also, like many others, I have always been frustrated with the development of our players and the energy they played with consistently.
However, are we really sure we have seen enough of Strong to make him the guy? He has built Louisville into a nice program but against what competition? Can he replace Bridgewater or did he luck out with him? How good of an offensive does he really have after 3 years with Bridgewater? How good has his recruiting been overall even with Bridgewater? I could go on and on.

By the way, I have watched more Louisville games than probably anyone on this site for years because my best friend is a huge Louisville fan and my wife is from there. Also, I know a number of their BMDs and have been to their games every year for the last 5. I think he is a good coach but I am not sure he is a great coach. As much as I have watched him, I am just not sure he compares to our other candidates.

Against "what competition" we have to look at whats there, that can't be helped. He did slap around Florida and Miami.

Bridgewater, in my opinion, is a key ingredient in why I like Strong. That kid was not nearly the QB he is now when he arrived. Under Strong, that kid developed into an elite CFB passer, something which has not been done at Texas in several years.

Bottomline, the only person anyone would be sure of is Nick Saban. I ask folks to look beyond the name and see what each coach did at their respective stops with what was available to them. Did they improve things? Did they have signature wins? Did recruiting as it pertains to that school improve? With Briles, Dantonio, Strong, and Franklin the answers are all yes, and with a guy like Briles, youve got a track record of turning water to wine.

There is going to be a risk with ANY hire, even Nick Saban. Personally, I am comfortable with several guys doing the job here well, because theyve got a track record of doing something with nothing, and we will only ask they do something with everything.

 

[GARCH]

To the op the answer is wtf? Logical nonsequiter or something like that dude. Bring on strong that would be sweet