Does three years at the helm of a P5 school get him a shot at a low-major job or does it move him up a seat or two on a P5 staff?
I am interested to see where he lands.
I am interested to see where he lands.
Where will Rick Ray end up?
- Thread starter olblue.sixpack
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Good question and this is going to sound pretty blunt, but if you're an AD or head coach with limited spots to fill on a coaching staff, what about Ray's last 3 years would convince you that he should be hired? Not trying to be negative... I'm just genuinely not sure at this point as to what he brings to the table
I think he proved he's not capable of being a head coach to every AD in the country but he probably jumped on the radar of and gained a lot of respect from coaches across the country.
Just like Croom went back to being an NFL RB coach, Ray will go back to being an assistant at a P5 school. He is a very nice, humble and intelligent man, and he will have no problem getting an assistant job. That is probably his ceiling though. Nothing wrong with that, some people just aren't cut out to be head coaches.
I don't think he proved he's incapable of being a head coach - he just failed horribly in a tough situation. First off, he took over a program in complete disarray with almost no one returning. He had no experience as a head coach and no one (players or fans) had a clue who he was. So it was hard to build any fan support, and I would expect it was also hard to get the attention of top recruits and their parents. Then the first season was flushed away when half the team tore their ACLs. Then this year two of his starters have back surgery just a few months before the season begins.
I fully supported letting him go because I don't think he would have turned it around in year 4 - but I do think with a fresh start at a lower level, he can develop into a decent head coach. Not sure how good he'll be but I don't think he'll be a lifetime assistant.
I fully supported letting him go because I don't think he would have turned it around in year 4 - but I do think with a fresh start at a lower level, he can develop into a decent head coach. Not sure how good he'll be but I don't think he'll be a lifetime assistant.
That's a fair point, but it's hard for me to ignore just how many games we lost in the second half this season and these 3 years because of bad coaching down the stretch (I'm also taking into account lack of fresh legs, but that wasn't the full story).
It's also hard to ignore the fact that not one player got better.
I'd be very happy if Ray found another landing spot and found success. It must absolutely suck to unexpectedly get fired from a school no one gave you a chance at after putting in the hard work he put in only to see a school have a Cinderella love story with a guy who was fired from UCLA.
Whether he's a bad coach or not, we owe him a lot of respect. He didn't leave because he lost his locker room or got us in a ton of trouble.
It's also hard to ignore the fact that not one player got better.
I'd be very happy if Ray found another landing spot and found success. It must absolutely suck to unexpectedly get fired from a school no one gave you a chance at after putting in the hard work he put in only to see a school have a Cinderella love story with a guy who was fired from UCLA.
Whether he's a bad coach or not, we owe him a lot of respect. He didn't leave because he lost his locker room or got us in a ton of trouble.
And he made $6 million which would have taken him 30 years give or take 5 as an assistant. I really wanted Rick Ray to succeed more than any other coach we've ever had but it all boils down to wins and losses.
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Completely agree. He stepped into a near impossible situation and had a lot of bad luck with injuries. But we just didn't look like a well coached team the times I've seen us play. I like Rick Ray and I hope he goes on to have a great career. He cleaned up a lot of the mess Rick Stansbury left us with. But, like dawgstudent says, the bottom line is wins and losses. And he just didn't win enough games.
Croom sucked at everything, Ray just wasn't a good coach. The comparisons aren't fair unless you're only talking about them being self imposed sections due to anarchy left by the previous coaching staffs. Ray did everything he could to win.
Not buying this. Ray walked into a program without enough players to even scrimmage. He did what he could. And now we have moved on. Why rack this guy over the coals. It's not like he didn't put a product on the floor. It just fell short for many reasons. I wish him the best.
I was talking about Ray. Croom was an excuse making blowhard. Ray is all class. He'll get another job no problem.
as opposed to what...he was besting their knees with iron rods?
of course it was bad luck.
I think after the first year he got a bump and we added another year. So he's getting paid for 2 more years. I'm guessing he made 5.6 to 5.8 million at State.
Looks like I'm wrong about the total. He still made between 4 and 5 million after it's all said and done.
Ray has two years remaining on a contract that pays about $1 million annually. Stricklin said the school will owe "a portion" of that salary, but that the contract is not fully guaranteed.
http://www.foxsports.com/college-ba...ead-coach-rick-ray-after-three-seasons-032115
Ray has two years remaining on a contract that pays about $1 million annually. Stricklin said the school will owe "a portion" of that salary, but that the contract is not fully guaranteed.
http://www.foxsports.com/college-ba...ead-coach-rick-ray-after-three-seasons-032115
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