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How big of a factor is the head coach with respect to results from the last 25 years and future?

Poll ended at Fri Nov 17, 2023 10:13 am

It is the only thing holding us back!
1
4%
There are some externalities but with the right guy...sky's the limit!
14
54%
Even with the right coach, having a top 3 or 4 MW program over more than 3 years will be very difficult.
6
23%
The non-coaching factors are too big for all but the top 2-5% of coaches out there.
3
12%
Nick Saban couldn't win at Wyoming!
2
8%
 
Total votes: 26
307bball
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What do you all think?
307bball
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Also..I wonder how the BOT would answer this question.
307bball
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How would Joe Glenn answer this .. Ha!!
OrediggerPoke
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I’m puzzled that some think the coach is such an overwhelming factor in the NIL and portal environment. The vast majority of kids who can will be chasing the money.
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Poke in New England
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For me, looking at the 2016 roster answers this question pretty easily.

Losing six football games with that team is criminal. Don't know that I'll ever get over it either.
cowpoke pride
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Poke in New England wrote: Mon Nov 13, 2023 1:52 pm For me, looking at the 2016 roster answers this question pretty easily.

Losing six football games with that team is criminal. Don't know that I'll ever get over it either.
With 3 of those losses being all too familiar Bohl tenure type losses.
1) at Eastern Michigan- granted, that was probably the best Eastern Michigan team ever (that's still not saying much). Turnover plagued, no rhythm offense, never had the lead.
2) at UNLV- terrible loss. Defense couldn't get a stop in the 2nd half, offense had to make miracle plays to force OT.
3) at New Mexico- nothing to play for with CCG spot clinched, game over before halftime. Lobos rushed for like 250 yards in first half.
307bball
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OrediggerPoke wrote: Mon Nov 13, 2023 1:34 pm I’m puzzled that some think the coach is such an overwhelming factor in the NIL and portal environment. The vast majority of kids who can will be chasing the money.
I'm in the minority as well...but it explains the anger people feel I suppose. People seem to feel like we are a coach away. I see no evidence that is the case but hope springs eternal I guess.
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phxpoke
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I’m all for a change, but if we win 8 or 9 games this year, nothing will happen..
ragtimejoe1
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Success needs to be quantified. Is it....

7 wins +/- and a conference champ every 4 years, 5, 8?

8 wins +/- and a cc every 3, 4, 5, x years?

9 wins +/- and cc every x years?

If 8 wins and cc every 4 years, then odds of finding a coach that does that will be small.

Bohl's current record just a cc every 5-10 years, I'd guess at about 20-30% chance

Worse than Bohl? Id put at about 50-60% chance.

Not advocating keeping Bohl.
WYO1016 wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2023 8:10 am I'm starting to think that Burman has been laying the pipe to ragtimejoe1's wife
Insults are the last resort of fools with a crumbling position.
DamThatRiver22
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I don't think anyone realistically expects a championship appearance every year (or even every other year, or even every three years) or perennial 9/10 win seasons.

I genuinely believe that 8 win seasons could be the norm, along with at least a championship appearance every 4 years. Maybe hit 9 wins every few years?

That's basically 10-15% better than Bohl? Like, Bohl has us right there...but it's painfully obvious that he's not willing or able to do the simplest things to get us that extra tiny bit. He's hit a hard ceiling. This year has made it obvious.

You cannot tell me that there is not a single coach in the world that is willing and able to do what Bohl does, get paid as much or more than anyone else in the MWC, recruit on the same level (statistically, according to sites like 247, Bohl has only marginally recruited better than DC the majority of his time here), and simply take a slightly different approach to offense and in-game decisions. Hell, we're only looking at someone that's able to do slightly better than 16-39 on the road...how many times would just one or two more road wins have gotten us there?

We're not that far off, and the the issues with Bohl are small but laughably blatant.
ragtimejoe1
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DamThatRiver22 wrote: Tue Nov 14, 2023 7:58 am You cannot tell me that there is not a single coach in the world that is willing and able to do what Bohl does, get paid as much or more than anyone else in the MWC, recruit on the same level (statistically, according to sites like 247, Bohl has only marginally recruited better than DC the majority of his time here), and simply take a slightly different approach to offense and in-game decisions. Hell, we're only looking at someone that's able to do slightly better than 16-39 on the road...how many times would just one or two more road wins have gotten us there?

We're not that far off, and the the issues with Bohl are small but laughably blatant.
I'm sure there is lightning in the bottle but the question is how likely it is to find it. Unlv looks like they may have finally found something good... lots of years. csu and UNM? Still searching.

A LOT also depends on realignment. If we end up with bsu, Fresno. osu, and wsu, the chances of finding someone to semi-consistently challenge that group will decrease. If we end up with a bunch of also rans, Bohl will likely be able to achieve the level of success you are asking for. Other coaching options probably could too.

I'm just saying the past quarter century says odds of finding someone who will do better than Bohl are smaller than finding someone who will do worse. At this point, without a major university overhaul, I don't care if a change is made or not.
WYO1016 wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2023 8:10 am I'm starting to think that Burman has been laying the pipe to ragtimejoe1's wife
Insults are the last resort of fools with a crumbling position.
cowpokeguy
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Cody Tucker putting some of this thinking more into the public consciousness, don't think that's happened much from the media in the past:
https://7220sports.com/tucks-take-craig ... rossroads/
307bball
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DamThatRiver22 wrote: Tue Nov 14, 2023 7:58 am I don't think anyone realistically expects a championship appearance every year (or even every other year, or even every three years) or perennial 9/10 win seasons.

I genuinely believe that 8 win seasons could be the norm, along with at least a championship appearance every 4 years. Maybe hit 9 wins every few years?

That's basically 10-15% better than Bohl? Like, Bohl has us right there...but it's painfully obvious that he's not willing or able to do the simplest things to get us that extra tiny bit. He's hit a hard ceiling. This year has made it obvious.

You cannot tell me that there is not a single coach in the world that is willing and able to do what Bohl does, get paid as much or more than anyone else in the MWC, recruit on the same level (statistically, according to sites like 247, Bohl has only marginally recruited better than DC the majority of his time here), and simply take a slightly different approach to offense and in-game decisions. Hell, we're only looking at someone that's able to do slightly better than 16-39 on the road...how many times would just one or two more road wins have gotten us there?

We're not that far off, and the the issues with Bohl are small but laughably blatant.
The bar you describe....averaging 8 wins/season and appearing in a conference championship game every 4 years is interesting to me. I looked at results of our conference mates since 2000 excluding the covid year (Sorry SJSU). I gave credit for conference champions (regardless of conference) and took the three year average win totals for each year and found the following:

Gold Standard:
Boise State - pretty much the entire stretch
SDSU - since about 2012...may fall off going forward though
Fresno - since about 2013 with a little lull in 2016

Clearing the bar at times:
Hawaii - from '07 to '10, definitely struggling lately
USU - barely makes it over the bar...really only since 2019
AFA - Lots of wins but only one championship game appearance and no titles
NEV - '09-'12 was the glory years...average or below since then.

Not getting over the bar:
UNLV - Could get a chip this year but is it a flash in the pan?
SJSU - Sorry...be good when it's not Covid
UNM - Even the heights weren't that good
CSU - Could actually put them in the above category. Was actually the conference champ in 2000 and won some games in the years following but has pretty much been bad since then.
WYO - What can I say....we all know why the pokes are here

All this to say, I think it's much harder to clear that bar than you are letting on. Of the current MW membership, nearly half have not been above that bar this century .... 2 more have barely been over the bar and those years are firmly in the rear view (NEV, and HAW). AFA wins a lot but has not won a championship or even appeared in a championship game except for 2015. Of the group at the bottom...maybe UNLV claws it's way out but I bet they don't...even if they win a championship this year ....it would be predictable for them to get thier coach poached and slide back, never clearing the bar. Boise is the gold star with Fresno and SDSU right there with them but if SDSU doesn't turn it around...well it's easy to slide down.

We spend a lot of time analyzing why Wyoming can't get over the hump...why can't UNM? CSU? Why have Hawaii and Nevada languished and been unable to maintain what they were doing when they were competitive with Boise? There are probably some differences but I think a lot of the answers to those questions don't have as much to do with the coaching ability of the head coach as people answering this survey seem to think.
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