Took a look at other coaches that have had two plus years of experience in taking over programs that were losing (and Wisconsin, which is was actually winning before Fickell took over) to see where Greg compares. Can't compare UCLA, UW, USC or Oregon because this is their second year in the league. Cignetti does not have two full years of experience, and he appears to be an outlier, so let's leave him out of the discussion.
Schiano (W-L overall//W-L in conference:
29-37 (.439)//13-35 (.271)
4 Years Prior (Ash):
9-39 (.188)//3-36 (.083)
Improvement (+.251//+.206)
Matt Rhule- Nebraska- (W-L overall//W-L in conference:
17-14 (.548)//8-13 (.381)
4 Years Prior (Frost):
15-29 (.311)//10-26 (.228)
Improvement (+.237//+.103)
Comparison to Greg- Rhule took over a program that was in better shape, and as of now, he has not elevated Nebraska as much as Schiano has from Ash error.
Bret Bielema- Illinois- (W-L overall//W-L in conference:
33-24 (.578)//20-20 (.500)
4 Years Prior (Lovie):
14-31 (.341)//10-26 (.278)
Improvement (+.237//+.153)
Comparison to Greg- Bret took over a program that was in better shape, and as of now, he has not elevated Illinois as much as Schiano has from Ash error. However, there are indications in their beating ranked opponents that Bielema is doing better than Greg. Would that perception differ had Rutgers beat Illinois last year but for the freezing the kicker move?
Luke Fickell- Wisconsin- (W-L overall//W-L in conference:
14-17 (.451)//8-13 (.381)
4 Years Prior (Chryst):
30-17 (.341)//20-13 (.606)
Improvement (-.110//-.225)
Fickell has been a disaster, especially considering that he was 57-18 at Cincinnati prior to taking the Wisconsin job. An example of a case of you never know what might happen when a school hires a "sure thing" head coach. What is Paul Chryst doing now?
Ryan Walters/Barry Odom- Purdue- (W-L overall//W-L in conference:
7-23 (.233)//3-18 (.143)
4 Years Prior (Brohm):
36-34 (.514)//26-25 (.510)
Regression (-.281//-.367)
Some may balk at merging 2 coaches records, but included Purdue because Jeff Brohm had elevated Purdue nicely from the awful Darell Hazell years. Walters is a solid DC (now at UW, and he did a good job against Rutgers Friday night) but did terrible as a head coach. Odom is showing signs of improvement in terms of margin of victory, etc., but too early to tell how it will turn out. Purdue has had a difficult time building a winning football program for many years, like Rutgers.
Looking at the W-L records, including the B1G records, which matter the most, Greg is arguably doing better than his "peers," however, Greg is in year 6, while other coaches have had a shorter tenure. However, at year 6, many fans reasonably expect at least one win, if not 2 wins against teams like Washington, Minnesota and Iowa. Now it is up to Greg and the staff to find a way to win 3 games. All of the sudden, Penn State appears to be winnable. And Purdue and Maryland are winnable too, but nothing is a given in this league and with the coaching staff and the defense.
Finally, this was in no way a shot at propping up Greg or his record. If I left a team out, add it to the list with the data.
Schiano (W-L overall//W-L in conference:
29-37 (.439)//13-35 (.271)
4 Years Prior (Ash):
9-39 (.188)//3-36 (.083)
Improvement (+.251//+.206)
Matt Rhule- Nebraska- (W-L overall//W-L in conference:
17-14 (.548)//8-13 (.381)
4 Years Prior (Frost):
15-29 (.311)//10-26 (.228)
Improvement (+.237//+.103)
Comparison to Greg- Rhule took over a program that was in better shape, and as of now, he has not elevated Nebraska as much as Schiano has from Ash error.
Bret Bielema- Illinois- (W-L overall//W-L in conference:
33-24 (.578)//20-20 (.500)
4 Years Prior (Lovie):
14-31 (.341)//10-26 (.278)
Improvement (+.237//+.153)
Comparison to Greg- Bret took over a program that was in better shape, and as of now, he has not elevated Illinois as much as Schiano has from Ash error. However, there are indications in their beating ranked opponents that Bielema is doing better than Greg. Would that perception differ had Rutgers beat Illinois last year but for the freezing the kicker move?
Luke Fickell- Wisconsin- (W-L overall//W-L in conference:
14-17 (.451)//8-13 (.381)
4 Years Prior (Chryst):
30-17 (.341)//20-13 (.606)
Improvement (-.110//-.225)
Fickell has been a disaster, especially considering that he was 57-18 at Cincinnati prior to taking the Wisconsin job. An example of a case of you never know what might happen when a school hires a "sure thing" head coach. What is Paul Chryst doing now?
Ryan Walters/Barry Odom- Purdue- (W-L overall//W-L in conference:
7-23 (.233)//3-18 (.143)
4 Years Prior (Brohm):
36-34 (.514)//26-25 (.510)
Regression (-.281//-.367)
Some may balk at merging 2 coaches records, but included Purdue because Jeff Brohm had elevated Purdue nicely from the awful Darell Hazell years. Walters is a solid DC (now at UW, and he did a good job against Rutgers Friday night) but did terrible as a head coach. Odom is showing signs of improvement in terms of margin of victory, etc., but too early to tell how it will turn out. Purdue has had a difficult time building a winning football program for many years, like Rutgers.
Looking at the W-L records, including the B1G records, which matter the most, Greg is arguably doing better than his "peers," however, Greg is in year 6, while other coaches have had a shorter tenure. However, at year 6, many fans reasonably expect at least one win, if not 2 wins against teams like Washington, Minnesota and Iowa. Now it is up to Greg and the staff to find a way to win 3 games. All of the sudden, Penn State appears to be winnable. And Purdue and Maryland are winnable too, but nothing is a given in this league and with the coaching staff and the defense.
Finally, this was in no way a shot at propping up Greg or his record. If I left a team out, add it to the list with the data.
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