Coach Prime or Brian Kelly?
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We have some here who would vomit at hiring Kelly because they care about some long dead moral value. Not that he is coming here anyway
He's a grifter. Dude doesn't do his job without guardrails like he had at ND.
We need someone younger and hungry for wins. Even if it has to be an HC from the FCS I would rather that then a name-brand former coach.
Willie Fritz is older than Kelly and did a nice job at Tulane and double digit win season and beat USC in a NYD bowl game and then gor Houston ranked and double digit wins in his 2nd season there.
It all depends on the person and if they still have the bug and fire. As a fan I can’t judge what’s going on inside a person, especially if you don’t interact with him. You can just judge the resume’
It all depends on the person and if they still have the bug and fire. As a fan I can’t judge what’s going on inside a person, especially if you don’t interact with him. You can just judge the resume’
Was listening to a pod with Mandel, Feldman and Russo and Kelly’s name was brought up should Schiano get fired and they don’t see it as unrealistic. Russo said he had asked around about what Zinn and Tate thought of Kelly and he said they thought he was a good coach.
Like I said it’s never a guarantee but he would fit the bill for multiple reasons. His resume is very good. He’s a high profile name regardless of whether you make fun of him with the memes or don’t like his personality. That kind of attention can be helpful for selling and marketing. You can structure a favorable but reasonable contract while paying off a buyout for GS because he’s still owed 50M from LSU for the next 5 years or so. Franklin and Rhule contracts were backloaded iirc and I’m not sure you have to even be as generous as those were. If that’s the case and you give him 3 years (GS’ contract runs about that much longer) you’ll be out from under GS’ deal and just have what might be left of BKs more reasonable contract should he not workout.
No way to know for sure but if he’s still got the fire and passion to coach I don’t think he can be picky.
If a guy like him was checked out and didn’t want to coach anymore why would he bother to come back at all. He’s made 90-100M just off LSU, not including whatever he made at ND. There would be no reason for him to set foot on a sideline again unless he’s still got the bug to coach.
BK isn’t a guarantee, no one is. But “tired retreads” can work too just as much as they can fail. Bielema is a retread after a bad fit Arkansas stint. Diaz a retread after a perfect fit but not so great Miami stint How about retread Jim Mora when he went to UConn, don’t think he coached at all in east before that. Those retreads have done well so far in places that aren’t so easy to win and none of them has close to the resume of Kelly. Even old Mack Brown did a half decent job at UNC. You never know, I’m open to a lot of different options.
IMO, Mack Brown was just meh at UNC. What's funny about Mack is that he did not do THAT badly at Texas, and they had to go through Charlie Strong and Tom Herman to get Sarkisian, who had a rough start for two years before getting Texas rolling.
BK is a "safe bet," and the quality of that bet depends on how much he "needs" or "demands" to coach again. If he has the bug to coach, he obviously wants to seal his legacy as an excellent coach, and that is one thing that may make him think that Rutgers is not a good place to do that.
Mack was meh that’s why said half decent but it wasn’t some absolute disaster. The other retreads I mentioned did well in hard to win places.
Kelly isn’t likely to have much better options than RU if he wants to come back to the P4. Are BC or Maryland any better? Back to Cincy?
Like I said I don’t know how picky he can be if he really wants to coach, just like Bielema, Mora and Diaz probably couldn’t be so picky either.
I'm not a bettor, but I willing to bet a lot that Keli and Tate at least have a discussion with him.
if Zinn gets Kelly…just to argue…at some point she’ll have to prove she can conduct a REAL coach search and not just dip into the easy L$U bag of tricks
No it has to be a reasonable market rate salary.
It doesn’t have to be 6-7 million but probably could be 3-4 million and backloaded.
No way we are giving that commitment. There is only a handful of schools that have that pool of funds.
Kelly is done - hit the wall with LSU. Plus he had a 10 yr contract for almost a 10 million a year + goodies at firing. Over the three years and 10 months Kelly held the job, LSU paid out $38,618,333 and owes Kelly 54,048,334 . He's older, lost his spark, has a ton of money and wont work cheap if at all. RU cant have another coach that turns-up lame and expensive. Indiana showed the way, Get an actual head coach (no overrated coordinators) getting an affordable promotion with RU. The overpriced coaching divorcees approaching 70 are not known for much aside from a few like Urban Meyer. Imagine Brian "Spittles" Kelly at Indiana. Dead end.
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Well he’s a good example of tons of baggage. I’d say more than Kelly and Deion put together but he took Ole Miss to heights they’ve never seen before.
So imo it’s do you believe the person has what it takes to get the job done. If so then don’t worry about the ancillary things and focus on the crux of the problem.
Hello, I left this site when Schiano was rehired, which I was firmly against and posted a statistical analysis WHY I believed he would fail. I was not going to debate with the Schiano cheerleaders and I was hoping that I was woefully wrong about him. Seeing that several cheerleaders are abandoning him now, I will add my 2¢ on this subject moving forward.
Brian Kelly would be slightly better than Schiano, but both his Notre Dame and LSU teams have traditionally been considered soft. I think he is an 8-4 coach here that will consistently lose to Ohio State, Penn State, and others. Most RU alumni and fans would be fairly happy for two or three years before getting restless and wanting a change.
Deion Sanders would bring attention to the program, but success isn't likely to follow. He is 1-3 in bowl games and 1-2 at Jackson State when he had a couple FBS caliber players on his roster. He is not really a successful coach and I expect Northwestern to defeat Colorado on the 19th. (Deion fans, feel free to rub this in if I am wrong.)
Some names that I would consider.
Charles Huff, Memphis. May not be ready quite yet, but has been successful entering his 6th year as a head coach in his 3rd stop in the last 3 years (Marshall, Southern Miss, Memphis). His only losing record was 6-7 with Marshall in 2023 after losing the Frisco Bowl. I like Memphis to win at Boise State this Saturday and doing so will likely get Memphis into the playoffs unless they self-destruct during the midseason stretch against @Tulane, ECU, Army, @USF, @Navy.
G.J. Kinne, Texas State. Former college QB who runs an exciting offense. His coaching resume is likely too light to be attractive to RU. Has never had a losing record in 4 years and is 35-18 (19 including this year's loss at Texas) at Incarnate Word (12-2) and Texas State. Texas State was 10-26 the three years before he took over (he's 8-5, 8-5, and 7-6 there). Is 3-0 in bowl games, which is also Texas State's all-time bowl record in FBS.
Spencer Danielson, Boise State. Feels like a cheat since you can always justify hiring a Boise State head football coach, despite being in his 4th season as HC. The preseason "sexy pick" to get the G6 playoff spot. A home win against Memphis on Saturday, followed by a home win against Texas State on Halloween is needed to help them earn the spot. I expect they will play SDSU in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
P.J. Fleck, Minnesota. A name we are all likely familiar with. I liked him as a player at NIU as well as a coach. In 14 seasons as a head coach he has 4 losing seasons, but two of those we his first seasons at Western Michigan (1-11 followed by 29-11 over his last three seasons there) and Minnesota (5-7 followed by 61-37 over his last 9). I don't think he'll lead RU to the Promised Land, but would likely have RU in the top half of the B1G nearly every year here. He could be the "spring board" if RU can get "the guy" afterward.
Glenn Schumann, Defensive Coordinator, Georgia. Still very young (36) with no head coaching experience. While Kirby Smart gets nearly all the accolades of Georgia's success with good reason, Schumann was the first guy Smart brought to Georgia from Alabama. Would likely benefit from being the HC at a G6 program. My wife is a UGA alum and we watch their games together. I have been very impressed with him.
BTW: To identify how little I know about the game, I will leave a prediction. RU over BCU 42-32 tomorrow as long as the defense learns to tackle and hold the point of attack this week. An injury to the wrong starting QB leads us to naming the correct QB as the starter and neither team appears to have much of a defense. Over 54.5 seems like a gimme wager, but I am not a betting man.
Brian Kelly would be slightly better than Schiano, but both his Notre Dame and LSU teams have traditionally been considered soft. I think he is an 8-4 coach here that will consistently lose to Ohio State, Penn State, and others. Most RU alumni and fans would be fairly happy for two or three years before getting restless and wanting a change.
Deion Sanders would bring attention to the program, but success isn't likely to follow. He is 1-3 in bowl games and 1-2 at Jackson State when he had a couple FBS caliber players on his roster. He is not really a successful coach and I expect Northwestern to defeat Colorado on the 19th. (Deion fans, feel free to rub this in if I am wrong.)
Some names that I would consider.
Charles Huff, Memphis. May not be ready quite yet, but has been successful entering his 6th year as a head coach in his 3rd stop in the last 3 years (Marshall, Southern Miss, Memphis). His only losing record was 6-7 with Marshall in 2023 after losing the Frisco Bowl. I like Memphis to win at Boise State this Saturday and doing so will likely get Memphis into the playoffs unless they self-destruct during the midseason stretch against @Tulane, ECU, Army, @USF, @Navy.
G.J. Kinne, Texas State. Former college QB who runs an exciting offense. His coaching resume is likely too light to be attractive to RU. Has never had a losing record in 4 years and is 35-18 (19 including this year's loss at Texas) at Incarnate Word (12-2) and Texas State. Texas State was 10-26 the three years before he took over (he's 8-5, 8-5, and 7-6 there). Is 3-0 in bowl games, which is also Texas State's all-time bowl record in FBS.
Spencer Danielson, Boise State. Feels like a cheat since you can always justify hiring a Boise State head football coach, despite being in his 4th season as HC. The preseason "sexy pick" to get the G6 playoff spot. A home win against Memphis on Saturday, followed by a home win against Texas State on Halloween is needed to help them earn the spot. I expect they will play SDSU in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
P.J. Fleck, Minnesota. A name we are all likely familiar with. I liked him as a player at NIU as well as a coach. In 14 seasons as a head coach he has 4 losing seasons, but two of those we his first seasons at Western Michigan (1-11 followed by 29-11 over his last three seasons there) and Minnesota (5-7 followed by 61-37 over his last 9). I don't think he'll lead RU to the Promised Land, but would likely have RU in the top half of the B1G nearly every year here. He could be the "spring board" if RU can get "the guy" afterward.
Glenn Schumann, Defensive Coordinator, Georgia. Still very young (36) with no head coaching experience. While Kirby Smart gets nearly all the accolades of Georgia's success with good reason, Schumann was the first guy Smart brought to Georgia from Alabama. Would likely benefit from being the HC at a G6 program. My wife is a UGA alum and we watch their games together. I have been very impressed with him.
BTW: To identify how little I know about the game, I will leave a prediction. RU over BCU 42-32 tomorrow as long as the defense learns to tackle and hold the point of attack this week. An injury to the wrong starting QB leads us to naming the correct QB as the starter and neither team appears to have much of a defense. Over 54.5 seems like a gimme wager, but I am not a betting man.
Thank you for your post.
I’ll be shocked if Rutgers scores 6 touchdowns tomorrow. That would likely mean 3-5 touchdown throws for AJ which would permanently bench Dylan and ironically reinforce the view Greg is a lousy coach for choosing Dylan ahead of AJ as QB1 a few weeks earlier.
Will young stud SEC coordinators on 7 figure salaries take the Rutgers head coach job after seeing what Ash and Greg 2.0 - both talented college football coaches on paper before taking the job - could not accomplish?
How about a high performing FCS coach such as Brent Vigen who has coached winners wherever he has coached? In other words, take the chance Brent is the next Cignetti or just somewhere close to that. Brent would be happy to come to Rutgers plus it would solve the buyout non-issue Greg sycophants invoke for keeping Greg forever. Keli could offer Brent a 15x raise from his current Montana State salary and give Brent a staff and expense budget in line with B1G norms. This would fully fund the 2.0 buyouts.
I’ll be shocked if Rutgers scores 6 touchdowns tomorrow. That would likely mean 3-5 touchdown throws for AJ which would permanently bench Dylan and ironically reinforce the view Greg is a lousy coach for choosing Dylan ahead of AJ as QB1 a few weeks earlier.
Will young stud SEC coordinators on 7 figure salaries take the Rutgers head coach job after seeing what Ash and Greg 2.0 - both talented college football coaches on paper before taking the job - could not accomplish?
How about a high performing FCS coach such as Brent Vigen who has coached winners wherever he has coached? In other words, take the chance Brent is the next Cignetti or just somewhere close to that. Brent would be happy to come to Rutgers plus it would solve the buyout non-issue Greg sycophants invoke for keeping Greg forever. Keli could offer Brent a 15x raise from his current Montana State salary and give Brent a staff and expense budget in line with B1G norms. This would fully fund the 2.0 buyouts.
Very rational and well-reasoned post. Please hold while I try to connect you to Keli Zinn's direct line. . . . . .
Speaking of Charles Huff. Not sure Rutgers fans could fathom the concept of a RU HC that makes adjustments. 
(different "adjustments").
(different "adjustments"). Don't forget that Cincinnati rushed for 256 yards and 3 TDs. RU had a good running game the past few seasons which didn't make it to the field last week. I think we rush for 3 or 4 TDs and pass for 2 or 3. We don't really know how good BC's pass defense is because Cincinnati only attempted 15 passes the entire game.
I've mentioned Kinne and Huff the last year or two as names to keep an eye on. I like them both, especially if they continue with another good year this year.
Huff's name I've seen attached to Maryland or FSU potentially. Got another big matchup at Boise St this weekend. If he can notch 2 big wins out west at UNLV and Boise St that would be a big feather in his cap and also put Memphis in pole position for the G6 playoff bid.
I like Eck or Monken a little more out of the G6 but they're all worthy of a chance names.
Eck, 3 straight FCS playoff appearances at Idaho in his 3 years there, after they had like 2 winning seasons in the 22 years prior. Played Oregon on the road and put a scare into them as a FCS school, down 3 in the 4 ultimately losing by 10. Then in year 1 at NM with 73 new players (most in the FBS) he gets share of the MAC regular season title and has done things there that hadn't been done in a long time or ever. Lost his starting qb this year, not sure how long, and still beat CMU last week 38-7 using I think multiple qbs. I think his offense is more run based (Wisconsin background) using motions and misdirections and play action. If he can have a solid year this year, he's going to up some charts if he's not already there.
Monken has just a really solid long track record. I suspect he wouldn't bring the option here and would adapt to being up a level, similar to Ken N changing offense at SJSU.
Schumann is a name I see often too but I always wonder about assistants from high status schools and can they adapt to a lower status one if they haven't been coaching at a lower status one in a position of power (coordinator/HC) for a good period of time. Can they adapt when they don't have everything at their fingertips. Smart and Lanning have done well but they took over UGA and Oregon, not Maryland, RU, Duke or the like. It might especially be hard for someone who hasn't been a head coach before.
If you're going to go the coordinator route, I like Cignetti's guys better like Shanahan or Haines. They came up with him through the lower levels so might be more used to the not having it all at your fingertips situations. They might have a similar trajectory as Mike Elko who came up alongside Dave Clawson from the lower levels He has done a nice job since he stepped up. He was coordinator down at the lower levels for longer than Haines and Shanahan but their paths are somewhat similar.
As to Brian Kelly, been reading stuff about retreads and sounds like him and Fisher want to get back in. Fisher, I wouldn't touch but Kelly has been saying its hard not being on the sideline after decades. Also have read that while he's working tv he's seeing how others run things with regards to NIL, player acquisition etc.. If he's not the best recruiter then help him out with good GM who can help identify solid players.
No one is a guarantee but if we end up on the market, I think there are a good number of solid options worth of an opportunity.
Keep these going. I always laugh how schools waste lots of money on recruiters to find coaches. Keli can just read this thread and get on the phone with agents for coaches listed here.
You're darn right this board should be listened to instead of so called experts in the industry.
Terry Shea came with the legendary Bill Walsh's seal of approval and Urban Meyer's recommendation helped the Ash-can't get the job.
I suggest Madhat be the one this board tells Keli to listen to when she needs to be told who should be the one that replaces Schiano !!!!!
That is >if this board can get past my numerous posts on this board supporting the return of the Schiano before his return .
Or remember that , years ago, on another RU forum I constantly said on their basketball forum: " give Freddie Jr a chance, he'll prove to be a good one "
The seal of approval of any "legendary" coach is the kiss of death.You're darn right this board should be listened to instead of so called experts in the industry.
Terry Shea came with the legendary Bill Walsh's seal of approval and Urban Meyer's recommendation helped the Ash-can't get the job.
I suggest Madhat be the one this board tells Keli to listen to when she needs to be told who should be the one that replaces Schiano !!!!!
That is >if this board can get past my numerous posts on this board supporting the return of the Schiano before his return .
Or remember that , years ago, on another RU forum I constantly said on their basketball forum: " give Freddie Jr a chance, he'll prove to be a good one "
If Kelly wants it get him here tomorrow. Assuming he takes reduced salary due to LSU $. Doubtful he would come. Navy coach sounds like a good option
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