Moderators: paulpressey25, MickeyDavis, humanrefutation
xTitan wrote:I heard some of Barry on a radio show, he was cracking wise that all the guys he was interested in have jobs now....I just got a strange feeling he already has his guy.
Ill-yasova wrote:xTitan wrote:I heard some of Barry on a radio show, he was cracking wise that all the guys he was interested in have jobs now....I just got a strange feeling he already has his guy.
I heard an interview with Badgers beat writer Jeff Potrykus and he basically said that he believed that Barry already had a coach, but he wouldn't say anything til after the bowl game. He seemed to know more than he said and even admitted that he had suspicions but wouldn't say anything reckless.
BucksRuleAll22 wrote:Calvin Johnson is horrible and not a top WR.
xTitan wrote:Ill-yasova wrote:xTitan wrote:I heard some of Barry on a radio show, he was cracking wise that all the guys he was interested in have jobs now....I just got a strange feeling he already has his guy.
I heard an interview with Badgers beat writer Jeff Potrykus and he basically said that he believed that Barry already had a coach, but he wouldn't say anything til after the bowl game. He seemed to know more than he said and even admitted that he had suspicions but wouldn't say anything reckless.
Barry said he hoped to name a coach by Christmas eve on the same show
xTitan wrote:I think he already has his man and it's Melvin Tucker after his "denial" press conference.
humanrefutation wrote:Melvin Tucker would be an interesting choice, and I don't buy his denial for one minute. It's not like the Jags are in the midst of a playoff run or anything. But, I'd rather have Petersen.
I like Rhoads and Mike Riley, too. Diaco I'm not too familiar with.
LUKE23 wrote:I think it's going to be Diaco.
Remember that Alvarez himself was the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame before he was hired at Wisconsin, and before that Alvarez was an assistant at Iowa.
Bielema was a former player at Iowa. Diaco is a former player at Iowa.
Relationships matter in these things. Connections matter. Culture matters. So keep Diaco in mind.
B5Q: Do you think he can make the step up to head coach and bring in talent to a program like Wisconsin?
ND Blog: I have been asked this question several times by other people and blogs and the answer I have given them is that I think Diaco will be able to do well as a recruiter.
However, I do think his reputation in this role as a recruiter is a little overestimated by many. What I mean by that is I've seen people call Diaco the "lead recruiter" or maybe the "best recruiter" on staff at Notre Dame and I don't think that's true.
If you want to include head coach Brian Kelly, I believe Diaco is probably the 4th best recruiter at Notre Dame behind Tony Alford and Chuck Martin. Now that does kind of speak to the talent Notre Dame currently has on staff and that's not necessarily a knock on Diaco. It's just both Alford (the recruiting coordinator) and Martin have been far more involved with more players, have greater responsibilities across the country in recruiting, and have been named by various places as some of the best in the business.
Diaco may not be far behind but he just doesn't have as large of a role at Notre Dame. He's responsible for the Northeast (he's from New Jersey so it fits him well) and has certainly been the main recruiter on a handful of great players, but it's just not an overwhelming resume where I could say without a doubt that Diaco would be a great recruiter somewhere else.
I do think he will do well because of his energy, enthusiasm, and his ability to relate to players. For all we know, he could be the best recruiter on the staff but largely works behind the scenes or doesn't get the opportunity to shine as much as Alford or Martin because he's stuck scouring the small pool of talent in New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.
Diaco is well known for showing up at Brooklyn, New York's Ishaq Williams house at 4:30 AM to convince him to commit to Notre Dame as he was scheduled to visit Penn State later that morning. This story made Diaco a legend of sorts and he was also primarily involved in securing the verbal pledge from top linebacker recruit Alex Anzalone who was wavering in favor of Florida.
Add it all up and I think Diaco will do just fine as a recruiter. If he's given the resources and power that a school like Wisconsin could provide, I have no doubt he'd keep the fans happy with the talent he brought in.
LUKE23 wrote:I think it's going to be Diaco.
Bucksmaniac wrote:I'm sorry, but I'm starting to sour on Giannis
First while working from home Tuesday morning and then again in the afternoon while watching men’s basketball practice at the Kohl Center, I couldn’t stop thinking about Barry Alvarez’s search for Wisconsin’s next football coach.
Despite the fact some UW fans appear to be in meltdown mode, worrying about recruits/assistants bolting and top candidates resisting the overtures of Alvarez, the search to this point is barely more than a week old and rather mundane.
Here are a few thoughts, based on conversations with people around UW and college football, and, frankly, a hunch or two.
I don’t believe Alvarez wants to see UW endure another significant staff makeover after the Rose Bowl. Bret Bielema hired six assistants in the offseason and that number eventually rose to seven when he fired offensive line coach Mike Markuson after Game 2 and promoted Bart Miller from graduate assistant.
Every new head coach wants to hire “his” people and it would be unwise for any athletic director to order a new coach to retain certain assistants. However, I’ve always believed that given the quality of the assistants Bielema brought in Alvarez sees several candidates that should/need to be retained.
That belief was reinforced Tuesday night. Alvarez, speaking about the assistants during his monthly radio show on WIBA-AM, said:
“They understand what we’re all about. The kids respond to them. They’re committed. They’re smart. I’m really impressed.
“All these guys have job offers. I hope it works out – it’s all about timing – I hope our timing is right where we can hang on to a bunch of these guys.”
Alvarez clearly wants to see the bulk of the staff stay at UW in 2013 and beyond. I have to believe Alvarez will let UW’s next head coach know about the talent on the staff.
I also believe if that next head coach is someone who worked at UW under Alvarez or played for him, we’ll see a large number of the assistants retained.
Retention solely for the purpose of ensuring a smooth transition isn’t wise. But retaining quality assistants and quality people is always wise. And I can’t think of one assistant on the staff who doesn’t warrant strong consideration for 2013.
Alvarez said during the radio show that several candidates from his short list have already been eliminated from consideration at UW.
“With so many openings,” he said, referring to other schools, “a lot of my short list has disappeared.
“I had the right guys. And everybody went after them.”
I am certain those words frightened some UW fans.
However, Alvarez chuckled when he shared that information. Even if you believe Alvarez was being truthful about losing candidates, he didn’t sound like an athletic director who was fearful he was running out of qualified replacements for Bielema.
That reaffirmed a hunch I’ve had for almost a week: Alvarez identified his No. 1 target while sitting in his hotel room in New York City last week. Scratch that. He probably had his No. 1 target identified before Bielema blindsided him with the news he was leaving for Arkansas.
When asked last week what might happen if he couldn’t get his guy to run the program, Alvarez said without hesitation that he would get his guy.
Hunch: Alvarez has his guy and both sides are waiting for the right time to complete the courting process.
Some fans appear to be panicking over the length of the search. Remember, it is one week old and Alvarez was criticized for not conducting a search in 2005 when he tabbed Bielema as UW’s coach-in-waiting.
Alvarez is going to make sure everyone at UW – within the athletic department and on Bascom Hill – knows he conducted a thorough search for the best candidate.
He made that clear during the athletic board meeting on Friday.
So the search continues, at least on the surface.
We’ve heard at least one candidate (Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Mel Tucker) say he isn’t interested in the job.
We’ve heard Alvarez state bluntly he won’t go after former UW offensive coordinator Paul Chryst, who is in his first season as head coach at Pittsburgh.
I might be dead wrong – it wouldn’t be the first time – but in my mind Alvarez’s No. 1 choice is still on his short list.
Alvarez knows how to play the game, doesn’t mind one bit if nuggets of misinformation are floated to the public to take the spotlight off a potential candidate and wants to hand off the keys to his program to someone he knows intimately and trusts completely.
Despite some of the public statements we’ve heard in the last week, I’m not willing to rule anyone out.
Tommy Tuberville's exit from Texas Tech to accept the head coaching position at Cincinnati caught a lot of people off guard, but few were as surprised as Devonte Danzey, a Texas Tech prospect from Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College.
Danzey, along with two other prospects -- lineman Sunny Odogwu and receiver Javess Blue -- and "eight to 10" coaches went to dinner last weekend as part of Danzey's official visit to Texas Tech. Tuberville was included in the group, but according to the offensive line prospect, the former Red Raiders' coach did not finish his meal with the group.
"The waitress brought our food out, and we thought (Tuberville) went to the bathroom, but he never came back to dinner," Danzey told 247Sports.com. "The next thing I know, the next day, he made an announcement that he's going to Cincinnati."
Danzey also said that Tuberville did not show up for his campus tour the next morning, which is when offensive line coach Chris Thomsen -- later named the interim head coach -- told the prospects that Tuberville was set to become Cincinnati's new head coach.
"Everybody was going crazy," Danzey said. "The players were shocked, too. We still had a good time at night, but it was crazy how he just got up and left out of nowhere and left people in the dark and in the shadow."
According to Danzey, Tuberville dodged questions early in the dinner regarding how long he planned to be at Texas Tech. Instead the new Bearcats coach leaned on his long and impressive track record, mentioning time spent at Miami and Auburn.
The three-star offensive lineman told 247Sports he is now considering Baylor, West Virginia, Kansas, Auburn, and Washington State -- awaiting news on Texas Tech's hire before reconsidering the Red Raiders.
BucksRuleAll22 wrote:Calvin Johnson is horrible and not a top WR.
Bucksmaniac wrote:I'm sorry, but I'm starting to sour on Giannis
LUKE23 wrote:Man, Petersen here would dominance for recruiting, IMO. I hope you're right.
Good detective work Riot.
