As much as I like Darrell Hazell, Purdue should have had better options they could have pursued. They stated in the search they were looking for a QB-friendly offensive head coach. There were better options available than Hazell. A school like Purdue is not going to recruit itself. But that's ok, because several schools have become successful without the advantages of natural recruiting bases, blue blood tradition, and/or large metropolitan areas of an Ohio St, USC or Texas. Texas Tech did it in Lubbock with Mike Leach. Mike Riley is doing it in Corvallis and Mike Gundy is doing it in Stillwater.
In every conference, you have the "haves" and "have-nots". But just because Purdue has historically been a have-not, does not mean they must accept that position. The key is to get the right guy to lead the program, and then put the resources (more than just money) in place to have success.
Mike Gundy's wide open offense would have been a perfect fit for Purdue, and he has proven he could recruit to a place like Stillwater, Oklahoma. His relationship with Oklahoma St AD Mike Holder "reportedly is not what it once was." Did anyone at Purdue even call to inquire? Has anyone at Purdue noticed the job Dan Mullen has been doing at Mississippi St, the most "have-not" of SEC have-nots? His QB-based spread attack would go over very well in West Lafayette. Purdue could financially afford to raise his $2.6m, as well as Mississippi State's $1,990,000 assistant salary pool. If Butch Jones was their guy, they should have been able to sign him quickly, before Tennessee was turned down by everyone from Gruden to David Cutcliffe and UT was forced to overpay Jones at $3m/yr.
One coach Purdue absolutely could have hired was Bobby Petrino. The guy is an offensive savant who won the Orange Bowl at Louisville, the Cotton Bowl at Arkansas, and took the Razorbacks to their only BCS bowl game. He had good recruiting classes at Arkansas (a "have-not" in the SEC) recruiting against LSU and Alabama. He made a stupid decision regarding a girl, but he doesn't have any NCAA issues. He has won 74.2% of his games as a "have-not" everywhere he's been. He just got hired by Western Kentucky for $850,000, which is even less than Danny Hope made in 2012. His contract could easily have been structured to include a large buyout if he leaves and major penalties for Petrino if any significant NCAA or moral issues pop up. You want to claim the moral high ground? That's fine. But what was the reaction of the WKU Hilltoppers players regarding his moral missteps? "So what? He's a good coach." Think 17 year old boys would want to play for him at a BCS school? Of course they would.
Purdue's hire of Hazell reminds me of Illinois's hire of Tim Beckman. 2 or 3 years at a MAC school with about a 60% winning percentage. Beckman has looked to be in over his head in every head coaching aspect from game management to recruiting and media relations. Mike Leach would have been an inspired hire where he could draw talent from Texas and Chicago. (See a lot of speedy receivers around Pullman, WA, do you?) His air raid offense would be a smash at Illinois and he's proven he can win on a national level, despite the stigma of a certain millionaire dad with the ESPN mouthpiece who hired a PR firm.
I like Hazell. He did a great job as the receivers coach at OSU for years. But I wish he had 2 more 10+ win seasons at Kent before becoming a Big Ten head coach. Imagine a Big Ten leaders division with Urban Meyer (OSU), Bill O'Brien (PSU), Chris Peterson or Jim Tressel (Wisc), Mike Leach (Ill), Bobby Petrino (Purdue), and Kevin Wilson (Ind). Now, give that group of coaching talent 3 years to build programs and see how competitive we are on January 1st, 2016.
Sorry. This started out as a comment on an article and got way too long. Didn’t have time to include links for everything the way one would for a blog post. So…to the forum we go!
Whether or not you call it hypocrisy, Mike Leach is not Big 10 coaching material. He has revived 1 doormat school and may or may not be in the process of reviving another.
Leach recruits academically floundering kids + JuCo guys. That's fine at Tx Tch which has a poor academic reputation and Wazu, which has the worst academics in the Pac except maybe ASU, and has put up with the JuCo strategy since at least the time of Mike Price.
No Big 10 school would or should hire Leach in my opinion
Could not disagree more. Especially with the suggestion of hiring Petrino. Hazell is a fantastic coach and will do well.
Agree.
He may be a good coach. We don't know yet. That's why another 2 years of 10+ wins would have been so valuable. As a former Buckeye assistant and current Big Ten coach, I'll be pulling for him like crazy. I hope he leads Purdue to repeated BCS/playoff appearances and goes undefeated against SEC teams every January.
Lol Jim Tressel coaching Wisconsin... In what world would you see this as a possibility?
Admittedly, it would be a long shot. But the only penalty they would face is a suspension for Tressel in the first 5 games and bowl game of the first season. Name another coach who could do a better job coaching Wisconsin than him. Even Peterson hasn't accomplished what Tressel did, albeit with fewer resources.
Totally disagree on this one. I understand you're points, but you're basing some of the reasoning for you're stance on this issue by comparing Hazell to Beckman. Not a good comparison IMHO... For one thing, I will give Beckman another year before judging him too harshly & for another, I see Hazell as a hell of a good coach who I believe will excel at Purdue quickly. Everybody has to start somewhere so bringing in an up & comer from the MAC was not a bad idea...the MAC was actually a pretty damn good conference this year.
Also - agree with poster above about Petrino. He can stay the hell out of the B1G as far as I'm concerned.
The world is full of kings & queens who'll blind your eyes & steal your dreams - it's heaven & hell - Ronnie James Dio.
I'm still holding out judgment on Beckman since his days at Toledo. I liked that he brought the team up, and they seemed like contenders in the MAC during years 2 and 3. However, the defense was pretty abysmal during his time, which is odd considering that he's got a defensive background, but the offense was pretty explosive. I'm still watching him and Matt Campbell, now UT's head coach and offensive coordinator while Beckman was there, trying to figure out who really made UT succeed.
Also, when you pull a guy from a bad school like Kent State who just went 11-2 and lost to NIU in double overtime (whose coach also just got a much better head coaching position), then it's a quality grab. As a school that isn't on the top tier, I think picking up these up and coming coaches is the best thing you can do, and hopefully you can keep them there for a while. There are no guarantees that he'll be a great coach, but many great coaches have come from the same path (see: UFM).
EDIT: Nice story I just found on Campbell: http://espn.go.com/college-football/bowls12/story/_/id/8744419/toledo-ro...
I agree with you about Beckman plus we have to remember that he walked into a train wreck at Illinois although he must have some progress next year. Also many many great coaches have come from Mac schools.
Deshaun, are you from Ohio? Do you know how bad Kent State is historically? What Hazell has done there is of siesmic proportins. He will be a great coach someday.
They probably got Hazzell and one hell of a bargain compared to a "big name" coach. I don't have any animosity towards Purdue but I just don't think they are ever going to be an elite football team. Sure they are going to have their big time players (Drew Brees) but I think there is a reason why they have more Astronaut alumni then NFL all pro's.
Leroy Keyes
I'm sorry, this is one of the worst things I've read in a long time. You'd rather see a school hire a big name coach with tons of baggage than a young, up and coming coach who took a typically doormat MAC team to a domnating season? That makes absolutely no sense. Purdue is what you said it is...a have not of the B1G. They don't attract big name coaches now.
Petrino got hired at Western Kentucky because of his awful background. All you did is allude to a "mistake" that he made with a girl. The mistake isn't that he was having an affair. The mistake is that he was blatently lying about it. He has been a compulsive liar everywhere he went. No major school, at this point, is going to want to hire someone like that. Western Kentucky can because, let's be honest, what do they have to lose? They have to take shots like this on coaching staffs and hope that the staff can turn them around in 2-3 years before any success causes them to bolt.
Then you mention Mike Leach? Someone already posted the reasons why his recruiting methods won't work in the B1G so I won't get into that. But he does have questionable character issues. I know Wazzu said there is nothing of substantial evidence to show misconduct by the staff, but after multiple accusations, you have to start wondering. Granted, the first time was from the son of a jackhole, but still...
And lastly, Tressel to Wisconsin? Really? Do you think for any second that any major program would hire Tressel with a 5 year show clause on him right now? They'll have sanctions against them immediately and the "no one is truly clean" mantra will ring true as the NCAA will be hanging around to see if there are any screw ups.
I'm really not sure what type of dream you're living in, but come back before you go all Inception on everyone and get stuck there...
Petrino is toxic right now. If he weren't, he would of been the new head man at Tennessee. The guy knows how to win football games, despite being a lousy human being. He could bring Tennessee back, the fact they didn't hire him and one of the worst teams in America last year past on him in UK, is telling. No one wanted to touch Petrino. Now, in 2 years when he is ready to leave WKU and big programs want him again, perhaps he lands at Illinois or Minnesota or one of the B1G jobs that will surely be open by then.
Purdue made a fantastic hire and I can see Hazell staying there until Urban opts to leave Ohio State. If he does choose to stay at Purdue for a few years, I believe he can take them to a higher level than Tiller did. We'll see I guess. I absolutely think Purdue hit a homerun though. Much better higher than the other candidates like Butch Jones they were discussing.
I hope you're right! I just he were more of a proven commodity at this point.
With what they have and what they pay, which proven commodity do you see the Riveters bringin in DeShaun?
Beckman's a very good coach. Illinois is simply a very large mountain to climb.
Why does Illinois have to be such a large mountain to climb? They have the funding and natural recruiting base (Chicago & St Louis) to be successful.
Illinois has Wisconsin and Nebraska poaching their kids from 1 side and Michigan from the other, with tOSU & NDame alternating every other year in stealing the best in-state kid. With a resurgent Northwestern (higher ranked and way more expensive + closer to Chicago) plus Missouri/Purdue/MSU stealing some good kids, Illinois is screwed.
Deshaun while I see your point that Purdue didn't hire a big name coach like you would have liked to see for the conference, Hazell is extremely talented. He turned Kent State around in 2 years and almost qualified them for a BCS bowl (they haven't been to a bowl game since the 70s). I get that Hazell is not a big name coach now, but he will be in a few years. I would give the man a shot before you make quick judgements because if he turns Purdue around he could very well be OSUs number one target to replace Urban when he decides to retire.
I'am sorry but this post is ridiculous.
I just wish that D. Hazell would have stayed at Kent... Mostly because it is my alma mater and I am selfish... I loved seeing the Golden Flashes with a winning record, let alone being ranked, winning the MAC, going to a bowl game for the first time in 40 years, having a shot at a BCS bowl... But I digress. Yeah, Hazell is a pretty great football coach and I wish him the best.
Tom Crean listens to Nickelback...
Using your logic, OSU never should've hired Tressel because they should have had better options than a D1-AA coach.
Tressel worked out (though I think he stopped 'working out' pretty fast - more on that in a sec), but his hire didn't exactly inspire Urban-level excitement. Sure, he got everyone fired up when he promised he'd beat Michigan (sorry, I'm a huge OSU fan, but I don't do the ttun crap). Had he not delivered, had he gone roughly .500 over 3 years, he'd been fired and many would be saying that it takes more than AA to prepare one to coach at Ohio State.
Also, worked out great, for about 5 years. He stopped working out on Jan 8, 2007, and he never got it back. Yes, maybe he would have gotten it back if he didn't get himself fired, but given his commitment to the Walrus I doubt it.
Here's what I mean by not working out: I'm not satisfied with stomping on a weak league year after year, only to be handed embarrassing losses on the big stage. Beating Oregon and Arkansas STARTED making up for the beatdowns from Florida and USC, but there was a long way to go. Personally, I believe the game had passed Tressel by (http://www.elevenwarriors.com/2009/09/on-tresselball.html , http://www.realclearsports.com/2009/09/14/the_grisly_demise_of_039tresse...).
Various bowl records
Bear Bryant 15-12-2
Woody Hayes 6-6
Jim Tressel 5-4
Joe Paterno 12-12(6 wins were vacated I took those out)
Tom Osbourne 12-13
Nick Saban 7-6
Bo Schembechler 5-12
Your right though let's beat up on Tressel for having basically the same standard of excellence as a list that I think are basically some of the greatest coaches in the last 50 years.
I always like to say Tressel was 6-4 in bowls. I watched that Sugar Bowl & OSU won it. The fact that a few of the players had sold shirts, rings, gold pants, & gotten tattoos will never make me discount that game....but your point is well taken & a good one.
The world is full of kings & queens who'll blind your eyes & steal your dreams - it's heaven & hell - Ronnie James Dio.
Good point, then again I took six wins off of joe pa too(obviously different circumstances but I decided to say what the ncaa said was a win). Plus something has to be said for consistency, only two years did Jim Tressel coached teams not go to a bcs bowl game think about that it's incredible.
Damn... You have insomnia too?
The world is full of kings & queens who'll blind your eyes & steal your dreams - it's heaven & hell - Ronnie James Dio.
I upvoted you because everything you said was true. I again was never a Tressell fan and I believe relationships is the only thing that kept my OSU Buckeyes from getting in more trouble. Im sorry but the history of the automobiles certain players drive is a dead give away. We criticize other teams recruiting practices for less. The tattoo thing in my mind was minor in the sense of what the players were receiving but major on two other fronts 1. Tressell lying is a major character flaw 2. Players monetarily was somewhat minor but again character is diminished
Most important Tressell built his teams to beat Michigan which quite frankly during that time frame didnt have the same luster as beating Michigan in the 70, 80 or 90's.
lastly I want to put out an observation I had of Tressell the first 25 offensive plays of the game always seemed to be well scripted especially in the big games. This was fine as long as there wasnt a flaw in the plan. Problem was I think his GAMETIME coaching lacked. Example the game Teddy Ginn went down on the kickoff Tressell didnt recover and looked horrible because his scripted plays included Ginn and he reacted very slow how to adapt. I know I am prepared for the down votes but I was one that found it very difficult watching Tressell Ball
I lot of people seem to be calling your post ridiculous and negging you, so since I can't seem to upvote you (maybe I'm too new or haven't posted enough myself?), I'll comment supporting you. With one caveat: I don't know much about Hazell, and Purdue actually seems like exactly the kind of school who should be scouting MAC-level schools for coaching talent. Like Utah with UM, for example. So I'm willing to give Hazell a chance. Come to think of it, I'm still willing to give Beckman a chance too, though he's on an extremely short leash. There had better be a LOT of improvement next season, or he starts reaching Tim Brewster territory.
That said, I couldn't disagree more with all the commenters who are saying coaches like Petrino and Mike Leach are somehow "beneath" the B1G. Guess what? If those coaches DIDN'T have problems (and I'm not even sure Leach's problems are of his own making), B1G schools outside of OSU, UM, and PSU wouldn't be sniffing near them in the first place. Certainly not a school like Purdue. Think Petrino is just TOO toxic right now? Fine, but saying "if he's too toxic for Tennessee, he's definitely too toxic for Purdue" is just silly.
Look, B1G fans just can't have it both ways. If you want the conference, as a whole, to be the best (i.e. comparable to the SEC), there is a LOT of catching up to do in on-field performance. Right now the SEC has at least 3 (Bama, Florida, LSU) schools that have all matched OSU's/UM's best runs IN THEIR HISTORY, all in the LAST DECADE. With a little bit of a stretch, you could maybe claim that OSU is playing at that level now as well. Certainly UM in nowhere near. Want to compare Wisc/PSU/Iowa/etc to Auburn/Georgia/SCAR/Arkansas/etc? Even if you think they haven't been as far apart as ESPN claims over the last decade, it's hard to argue that they're not going in opposite directions in the last five years or so.
On the other hand, you don't want the B1G to compromise its academics/principles? Great! There already is a league that used to be the best in the country in football, but decided they weren't willing to compromise its ways to maintain that. It's called the Ivy Leauge. Let go of top tier football, and our institutions can focus on their academics. We don't have to give up football completely, just the pretence that we're trying to be the best.
But we can't have both. The SEC has shown you what it takes to win MNC after MNC and place 3-5 teams in the top 10 year after year. Time to get serious about catching up or stop pretending.
I stopped reading your post as soon as you said Jim Tressel "stopped working out" after five years. Wow. Quite possibly one of the worst things I've heard on this site. I guess you forgot about the Rose Bowl win over an outstanding Oregon team or hammering a highly ranked SEC team in the Sugar Bowl?
We can't stop here; this is bat country...
Your right let's completely compromise all academic integrity. I just don't understand posts like this.
Purdue isn't exactly a dream job. They've been mediocre for a long time.
"YOLO" = I'm about to do something extremely ignorant/stupid & I need an excuse to do it.
If there was one coach that they could have reached out to it would have been Sumlin not Gundy. I think that Hazell will be a great hire.
This post reminds me of the people who make a post about a game before it ends. Gotta let it play out first
Wherever you are, there you be!
jim tressel to wisconsin wouldn't ever happen. jim tressel could get back into coaching but i don't see it happening in the big ten.
I agree that he's not much of a proven commodity yet, but let's give him a chance. Sometimes, hires like Hazell wind up being a homerun, and hiring a big name (like Rich Rod) turns out to be a mistake. And it can go the other way, too. OSU hiring Urban - obviously that has worked out tremendously. Beckman at Illinois did much worse than I thought he would, though let's give him a chance to see if he can start turning it around.
Purdue could use a good up-and-comer like Hazell. I think he's the right guy right now. And if 3 years down the line Purdue has continued to suck, point me back to this post and I'll gladly admit that I was wrong.
Class of 2010.