Was Flood a bad coach ?

AreYouNUTS

Heisman
Aug 1, 2001
124,711
58,794
113
Flood was a coach, kid would run thru a brick wall for. oh ?

Really? Says who? More like:

- quit in the middle of a season
- conspire to commit crimes
- fail a theater appreciation class

..and so on and so on. Also, as far as records go, please, stop. He won, what, 2 games versus teams with winning records? Never beat a ranked team. Went 1-3 on HC with 3 ridiculously embarrassing losses. Got blown out more times than you can count on 2 hands and, yeah, had "championship" season with Greg's loaded-on-the-way-to-the-NFL defense.
 

Extra Point_rivals157299

All-Conference
Aug 9, 2001
13,166
4,692
0
What I hated was the rotation of the running backs, and ironically the lack of rotation of the quarterbacks in the first half of the season. Flood wasn't able to recruit very well. I think Flood was a step up from Schiano in terms of game day coaching and letting his DC and OC do their thing without interfering but Schiano was a better recruiter.
 

Kbee3

Heisman
Aug 23, 2002
43,724
35,255
0
,
The bar is set and Flood comes in 5th in "Modern times" (+1950)
Burns.........78-43-1= 63%
Harman.....74-44-2 = 61.7%
Steigman....22-15=59.5%
Bateman....73-51=59%
Flood.....27-24=53% win ratio
Schiano....68-67=50.4%
Graber....29-36-1=43%
Anderson....27-34-4= 41.5%
Shea......11-44=20%
As for Flood as a coach his old school ways rubbed many here the wrong way. Staying with a Sophomore QB to help him develop and grow will be a great help next year but the "play Hayden crap" was over done by the PMS crowd (Professional Mud Slingers) And it saddens me to hear/see all the sheep that follow these diarrhea journalist.
Flood was a coach, kid would run thru a brick wall for. BUT his love of mankind was his down fall. He was hustled by an expert (barnwell) into believing his personal quagmire in the spring prevent him for getting a passing grade in Dance, YEA right! Flood fell hook line and sinker. His belief that all his players were like Quentin Gause making the honor role or at least trying to get there, was his downfall. His inspector Clouseau act was beyond explanation? All he had to do is speak to Scott Walker who is there for just that purpose Why oh Why play 007?

You've got to be kidding with the first four names on your list ? That was back when Rutgers was pretending to be an Ivy League school....with a similar schedule....Columbia, Lehigh, Princeton, Boston U., Colgate, Bucknell, and Quantico Marines. I'm pretty sure we only started playing a real schedule when they booted Burns and brought in that Lurch look-alike from Happy Valley.
And of all the head coaches since that day, Flood has the best winning percentage. Of course that doesn't mean he was the best head coach here....IMO Schiano wins that one by a mile. But it does make it hard to make a case for him being the worst...or one of them. THAT'S what the guys were telling me last night
They were also ranking on some of the stuff I was telling them some of the posters here were saying. Like there was ever gonna be a RU coach who could keep lots of the top NJ kids home playing for Rutgers. Or that RU could compete for a National Title. Or that RU could ever play a run of games vs. Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nebraska and not get blown out of most of them..."and dazed and limping" I think one of the boys said. They also loved the part about Flood not playing the 2nd string quarterback...who was "obviously superior" to Laviano.
But then these were not message board fans I was drinking with last evening. They like whoever they decide to lay some money down on. And they mostly like Rutgers when we cover the spread. Although they did enjoy the tailgating aspect of Rutgers football when I brought them to games. And they wondered why RU kept the awesomeness of that experience such a secret from most of the people in the state....for which I had no answer.
Anyway, they seemed to like the Ash hiring. It's just that their expectations as to what he can do with this program are a little more modest than most here have expressed.
 

lighty

All-Conference
Aug 13, 2003
9,935
4,221
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Recruiting is part of a head coach duties and I think Flood was well over his head in that department. That alone would make me say he was a bad coach. The record you point to is heavily skewed because of using recruits from Schiano. This past season was closer to what the future was going to be under Flood recruits imo.

This why Flood was better then Schiano.
Flood knew his shortcoming so he made it a point to surround himself with talent Fridge is a perfect example. Where Schiano was such a micromanager he had to have input on everything . On the offense that is where he failed.
Yes one good OC in McNutly (sp) who left too soon.

Sorry, bad comparison. Flood had ONE YEAR where he hired a capable OC. ONE. All of the other years had bad OC and bad DC coaches.

In no shape or form was Flood better than Schiano. None at all.
 

studiokane

Senior
Sep 5, 2008
482
512
0
I feel like we are finally in the B1G, two weeks after his departure. I never felt like it the entire time he was here. And no, not even after crushing UNC in the bowl game last year. There was never a sense of competence with him, or his staff. His coachspeak redefined coachspeak, his stubbornness redefined stubbornness, and his strategy on both sides of the ball and lack of adjustments was just mind-numbing (and if it wasn't his, shame on him for not stepping in).
 
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koleszar

Heisman
Jan 1, 2010
37,698
59,485
113
This why Flood was better then Schiano.
Flood knew his shortcoming so he made it a point to surround himself with talent Fridge is a perfect example. Where Schiano was such a micromanager he had to have input on everything . On the offense that is where he failed.
Yes one good OC in McNutly (sp) who left too soon.
It's funny how you leave out Cohen and Rossi from all your discussion. How did Rossi work out for you great defender of all things Rossi related. You once called me an idiot for not wanting a DC whose resume read 1Yr RU/ ST coach and 2yrs Maine DC. You said his players had all types of accolades there and who wouldn't want this guy. Your guy lead the NCAA with 89 plays of over 20+ yds. and a defense ranked 112th. But I'm the idiot. You sir have no idea what you are talking about when it comes to football.
 
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theRU

All-American
Dec 17, 2008
11,135
5,798
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This why Flood was better then Schiano.
Flood knew his shortcoming so he made it a point to surround himself with talent Fridge is a perfect example. Where Schiano was such a micromanager he had to have input on everything . On the offense that is where he failed.
Yes one good OC in McNutly (sp) who left too soon.
Whaaaat?

So flood being so bad that he was cheap enough to hire another high caliber coach makes him better than the coach whose recruits he lived off of???

Schiano was great. He built a program. He made it strong enough to survive a dud. He was also as a result compensated more which made hiring better staff a challenge for RU. If schiano had the budget he would go get quality OC's.
 
Last edited:

Hondo77

Senior
Nov 18, 2001
2,804
957
0
Talking to some guys last night...not Rutgers fans... and they claimed that Flood really wasn't that bad as a head coach and that the off-field stuff is really what doomed him. They claimed the same thing doomed Graber back in the day....something about a Sears on rte. 1
So I went and checked...you know...the bottom line....wins and losses.
And it turns out that Flood had a better won-loss record than any Rutgers head coach in the last thirty five years....or since we started playing a Big Boy schedule. I was kinda surprised.
Flood.....27-24
Schiano....68-67
Shea......11-44
Graber....29-36-1
Anderson....27-34-4

Now just for the record, I am fine with Flood's canning, I think it was the right move, and I hope that Ash takes RU to the top and many National Championships. But those guys last night were right about Flood being one of the better coaches here at RU. The bar really wasn't set that high when he got here.
 

RU MAN

Heisman
Oct 29, 2001
23,651
10,253
113
Talking to some guys last night...not Rutgers fans... and they claimed that Flood really wasn't that bad as a head coach and that the off-field stuff is really what doomed him. They claimed the same thing doomed Graber back in the day....something about a Sears on rte. 1
So I went and checked...you know...the bottom line....wins and losses.
And it turns out that Flood had a better won-loss record than any Rutgers head coach in the last thirty five years....or since we started playing a Big Boy schedule. I was kinda surprised.
Flood.....27-24
Schiano....68-67
Shea......11-44
Graber....29-36-1
Anderson....27-34-4

Now just for the record, I am fine with Flood's canning, I think it was the right move, and I hope that Ash takes RU to the top and many National Championships. But those guys last night were right about Flood being one of the better coaches here at RU. The bar really wasn't set that high when he got here.
I don't care what guys you talked to and what records you're showing. Elmer Fudd was a HORRIBLE coach. HORRIBLE! He never should have gotten the job in the first place. He was a lifer position coach, and when TP panicked and picked Fudd, Fudd hit the mini lottery for himself.
 

Extra Point_rivals157299

All-Conference
Aug 9, 2001
13,166
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I don't get why the OC didn't try running an option play or running a wild cat once or try having a tight end faking falling down and then running wide open. Our OC had no creativity at all. The one reverse we ran was great and it worked.
 
Jan 30, 2007
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But wait: he was really good at writing down notes on his index cards after each successive bad play. How many coaches are as good a stenographer as KF?
 
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KnightFan

All-Conference
Dec 30, 2008
1,831
1,845
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Apparently he was such a great head coach, that his name has come up for numerous head coaching slots since we stupidly let him go


Only if numerous=0

Funny how our amazing ex head coach hasn't been mentioned for any position anywhere

Guys, let it go.. He sucked. He sucked as a recruiter, he sucked as a game day coach, and he sucked as someone who was supposed to mold kids into men..
 
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TMCB

Senior
Jul 25, 2001
7,592
575
0
Never ever felt we had a coaching advantage in ANY game. Nice guy and good OL coach.
 

bigbirdru

Junior
Mar 6, 2010
2,295
394
83
To play devils advocate, we haven't played a gauntlet like the last two seasons since 2003, the last year of VT and Miami. I doubt GS would have fared much better against the top B10 teams. The indictment of Flood is the lousy 2013 year and how he played against winnable B10 teams this year (PSU, Nebraska, Maryland) and Wazzu.
 

bac2therac

Hall of Famer
Jul 30, 2001
250,677
179,737
113
is this thread for real....who were the guys that the OP were talking to? were they even football fans..if you watched the games and you watched his consistency in not changing QBs you would see the same thing over and over and over from him. Mistakes galore in preparation and management. Over his head at this level. It wasn't one thing, it was across the board stuff. He went 2-20 against schools with a winning record so it means diddly squat that his overall record is one of the best at a program that has a sorry history
 

bac2therac

Hall of Famer
Jul 30, 2001
250,677
179,737
113
To play devils advocate, we haven't played a gauntlet like the last two seasons since 2003, the last year of VT and Miami. I doubt GS would have fared much better against the top B10 teams. The indictment of Flood is the lousy 2013 year and how he played against winnable B10 teams this year (PSU, Nebraska, Maryland) and Wazzu.


what gauntlet was there in 2013? how about the collapse in 2012 losing to Kent State, Pitt, and Va Tech..solid teams but no gauntlet. He couldn't beat teams with a winning record and that's all you need to know
 

RUsSKii

Senior
Nov 10, 2009
28,780
755
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This why Flood was better then Schiano.
Flood knew his shortcoming so he made it a point to surround himself with talent Fridge is a perfect example. Where Schiano was such a micromanager he had to have input on everything . On the offense that is where he failed.
Yes one good OC in McNutly (sp) who left too soon.

You lost most of this board with such a ridiculous first statement. You're right about one thing, though: Flood had to surround himself with great talent at offensive and defensive coordinators, because that was literally his only chance at experiencing any success as HC here. Schiano built a Rutgers football program into one B1G-entry from 1-aa level scratch, could win games with his brand of defense and special teams alone, was hired as an NFL head coach, and is now going to lead the defense at NC-caliber Ohio State. Let me know when Flood does even one of those things.
 

RUschool

Heisman
Jan 23, 2004
49,944
14,023
78
Schiano filled the stadium from 20,000 to 50,000 over his stay and Flood was going to empty it from 50,000 to 25,000 fans during his stay.

Flood had no expertise in football. He was just a nice guy.
 

RU31trap

Senior
Sep 30, 2010
3,143
959
0
The kids loved Flood, but I'm not so sure they respected him. I stand by what I said at the end of the season. If you factor in no suspensions and no arrests Rutgers (at full strength) would have beaten WSU, MD and most likely would have bested MSU and Neb. Call me crazy but 8-4 was a possibility. Even those who hated Flood said 7-5 under the same scenario. At the end the day coach Flood created his situation, his kumbaya (sp) relationship with players created an aura of reckless behavior. He simply lost control of the team, and unfortunately he took down Julie Herman down with him.
 
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Bill 86

Heisman
Jul 25, 2001
13,443
14,221
113
What I hated was the rotation of the running backs, and ironically the lack of rotation of the quarterbacks in the first half of the season. Flood wasn't able to recruit very well. I think Flood was a step up from Schiano in terms of game day coaching and letting his DC and OC do their thing without interfering but Schiano was a better recruiter.

The rotating of the RBs worked out very well. There were different times during the season where fans would swear either Martin, Hicks, or James was our best back and needed more carries. It also kept them fresh and sharp.
 

Bill 86

Heisman
Jul 25, 2001
13,443
14,221
113
At the end the day coach Flood created his situation, his kumbaya (sp) relationship with players created an aura of reckless behavior. He simply lost control of the team, and unfortunately he took down Julie Herman down with him.

Good post, but partially true, it was the lack of secondary depth he inherited (aside for the first year where he had Ryan, Jones, Cooper, and Harmon) that lead to his on field demise. After that year he was forever playing catch up trying to fill the secondary holes with talent that could play right away. He tried flakey Ian Thomas, then he quit. Bryan Gross Armiento and Knight..never played a down here. He tried bringing in a 5th year transfer in Lewis Toler who broke his arm perhaps in his first game, then the Tyree situation, even Tejay Johnson who started at corner...later mover to safety and was horrible at that....teaming with Deering as perhaps our worst 2 safeties ever.

Which brings us to 2014 where we at least had Glashen and Cioffi as solid players. Glashen then graduated and Cioffi moved to safety....which left us with these these characters for 2015... Barnwell, Stephenson, Boggs, Daily, Peele. All had character issues but Flood had no choice but to count on them. When they let him down, it immediately affected our on field play...and the rest is history.
 

yesrutgers01

Heisman
Nov 9, 2008
122,716
38,489
113
Regardless of if he was good or not, here is the question I ponder. Watching Barchi and Hobbs vs Barchi and Herman, would any coach have success with that relationship?
I don't know if the fault lies with Barchi, Herman or both but it became toxic.
 

Kbee3

Heisman
Aug 23, 2002
43,724
35,255
0
Recruiting is part of a head coach duties and I think Flood was well over his head in that department. That alone would make me say he was a bad coach. The record you point to is heavily skewed because of using recruits from Schiano.

Now THAT is an excellent point. Recruiting is the most important part of being a D1A college football coach. In his time here Flood gave absolutely no indication that he could recruit to the level folks here had come to expect.....Schiano level. Sure he could recruit with Shea, Graber, or Anderson. But Rutgers fans had come to expect GS-type recruiting...and Flood didn't look capable of that.
Hopefully, Ash can.
 

JQRU91

All-Conference
Apr 6, 2013
1,855
1,386
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Flood was a bad coach. The defense never seemed to get better under him, and the offense only really improved the one year when he had Fridge as his OC. And it's not like he was a great recruiter. But you can't blame him for taking the job. Time to let it go and move on.
 

withoutregard

Sophomore
Feb 6, 2014
691
172
0
easy answer, not good at all, bad in almost every aspect of his duties, his record is misleading since he had very good teams in the beginning that underperformed because of him, but this year showed how far the team has fallen and would continue if he was allowed to stay
 

jmc11201

Heisman
Dec 16, 2005
11,753
16,952
113
To me, the arrests and email issue indicate that the discipline within the program was eroding and thus, on the field results were likely to follow (as we saw this year). I think GameDay stuff he was average as indicated by his record. Stubborn to a fault at times, but generally winning the games he should. I do think the program was trending lower, however, and that a change was necessary to put things on a firmer foundation.
 
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ClassOf02v.2

Heisman
Sep 30, 2010
13,886
15,396
103
Flood had possibly the worst OC in football IMHO. I think the DC was fine except for the lack of defensive players.

I don't get why the OC didn't try running an option play or running a wild cat once or try having a tight end faking falling down and then running wide open. Our OC had no creativity at all. The one reverse we ran was great and it worked.
Is your position seriously that the offense was the biggest problem?
 

red_sky

Junior
Aug 12, 2001
251
207
0
You forgot to mention that he was terrible at assembling a coaching staff. Anyone still remember Damian Wroblewski? I still remember when Flood called him "the best OL coach I know". The fact that Flood had to use a search firm to hire his assistants should have been an immediate red flag.
 

LotusAggressor_rivals

All-American
Oct 11, 2003
16,414
8,287
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In retrospect the one good thing I'll say is that the kids played hard even in games they were way behind. You don't make comebacks like Md in '14 and Indiana in '15 unless you have a belief in what the coaches are telling you and they're keeping you focused.

Other than that I got nothing.
The real issue is that RU shouldn't have fallen way behind either of those teams in the first place.
 

knightfan7

Heisman
Jul 30, 2003
96,715
70,478
113
The real issue is that RU shouldn't have fallen way behind either of those teams in the first place.

I knew someone would say this ^^^^. It's really not the point. The point is despite falling so far behind, they came back to win on the road no less.
 

RUBigFrank

All-Conference
Jun 9, 2003
2,869
1,790
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comparisons seem silly - Flood was a mediocre/ average coach, where expectations were not met. Comparisons above like Rich Kotite - now that was an awful coach. The expectations of some board members is just silly - where even the slightest dislike gets designated "the worse". Really - where has the intellectual discussion disappeared to ?
 
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