Dino Babers

[BGSUFanatic7]

Something that hasn't been brought up that is worth mentioning: Babers was the recruiting coordinator at both Baylor and UCLA.

[TG1996]

Something that hasn't been brought up that is worth mentioning: Babers was the recruiting coordinator at both Baylor and UCLA.

Yep. I had seen that in a post somewhere online, just couldn't remember where enough to cite it here.

I'm excited about Coach Babers. Heard great things about him from an EIU football alum, with the caveat "He's going to leave in two years for something bigger." As long as he keeps the shelves stocked and passing their classes, that's not necessarily a horrible problem to have. Not ideal, but we've been in worse spots.

As for the concerns over utilizing running backs... this --> http://www.eiupanthers.com/custompages/ ... AMCUME.HTM

EIU had a 1,500+ yard rusher and ran the ball 611 times vs. 608 passes. A lot of that balance may come from winning a lot of lopsided games and winding clock in the second half, but they are numbers that are awfully close to what BG did on the ground this year. And to think of making a defense spread out to cover four receivers all game, then giving the ball to Greene? More please.

[Globetrotter]

Something that hasn't been brought up that is worth mentioning: Babers was the recruiting coordinator at both Baylor and UCLA.

Yep. I had seen that in a post somewhere online, just couldn't remember where enough to cite it here.

I'm excited about Coach Babers. Heard great things about him from an EIU football alum, with the caveat "He's going to leave in two years for something bigger." As long as he keeps the shelves stocked and passing their classes, that's not necessarily a horrible problem to have. Not ideal, but we've been in worse spots.

As for the concerns over utilizing running backs... this --> http://www.eiupanthers.com/custompages/ ... AMCUME.HTM

EIU had a 1,500+ yard rusher and ran the ball 611 times vs. 608 passes. A lot of that balance may come from winning a lot of lopsided games and winding clock in the second half, but they are numbers that are awfully close to what BG did on the ground this year. And to think of making a defense spread out to cover four receivers all game, then giving the ball to Greene? More please.

Agreed. Maybe it's barbers for two years here then durkin or stud.

[Flipper]

my biggest concern with that kind of offense is wear and tear on the defense because they tend to be on the field more and teams that run the spread can sometimes struggle when they're faced with those 3rd an 4th and short situations where you need to shift gears and muscle up

[lookimrory]

I was unsure of the hire at first, but now that I do more research, I really think this was the best possible hire.

"Think of it this way -- Bowling Green was the only team to score more points against Northern Illinois in 2013 than Babers' squad did. And Eastern Illinois didn't do it at a neutral site, either; they put up 39 points on NIU in DeKalb.

The Panthers never scored fewer than 34 points in any game. They averaged over 48 points and 589.5 yards per game. They finished the season with 8,253 yards of total offense, which was good for nearly seven yards per play. Babers' offense featured a passer who accounted for over 5,000 yards and a 53:9 ratio of touchdowns to interceptions. Those numbers earned Jimmy Garoppolo the Walter Payton Award -- the FCS equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. Did I mention they also had a 1,500-yard rusher plus another guy who ran for 988 yards (and both scored double-digit touchdowns)? Their top two receivers accounted for (get this) 208 catches, 2,849 yards and 32 touchdowns. Their next two receivers had 99 catches for 1,617 yards and another 17 touchdowns."

Even if this is a stepping stone for him, it was a stepping stone for Clawson, and he left the program in much better shape when he moved on. If Babers can make it even better when he leaves...watch out.

[TG1996]

my biggest concern with that kind of offense is wear and tear on the defense because they tend to be on the field more and teams that run the spread can sometimes struggle when they're faced with those 3rd an 4th and short situations where you need to shift gears and muscle up

And we've seen that cause problems for us in the past, for sure. Just have to force 3-and-outs everytime. Easy, right?

[Redwingtom]

I hope he is involved in some capacity with bowl prep

No. At most he will meet the team, but he should let the current staff do their thing and then he takes over the next day. Would lead to conflict otherwise.

And what negative effect would that conflict cause. It certainly wouldn't outweigh the potential good

Really? You see no harm whatsoever with a guy none of the players know sticking his nose into the game preparation a week from the game? What about the effect on the current coaches with somebody looking over their shoulder?

[Globetrotter]

I hope he is involved in some capacity with bowl prep

No. At most he will meet the team, but he should let the current staff do their thing and then he takes over the next day. Would lead to conflict otherwise.

And what negative effect would that conflict cause. It certainly wouldn't outweigh the potential good

Really? You see no harm whatsoever with a guy none of the players know sticking his nose into the game preparation a week from the game? What about the effect on the current coaches with somebody looking over their shoulder?

Then we lose a meaningless exhibition game. Plus you just put up a strawman. He doesn't have to storm in and change everything from day one. He can simply just be present.

[Flipper]

This is not a meaningless exhibition game...this is an opportunity to beat Pitt on national TV...Pitt...that's Dan Mariono, Anthony Dorsett and Larry Fitzgerald's alma mater. This is an opportunity to finish the year ranked and possible start next year ranked as well. That's huge...

Coach Scheier and the rest of the guys who didn't leave immediately have earned the right to coach the game without having a guy who doesn't know the schemes they run or the players who run them sticking his nose in. Coach Babers has enough on his plate without having to throw him into doing game prep with a team he knows nothing about.

[Globetrotter]

Im pretty sure if he takes over the next day he cant talk to his players for about 3 months. Seems like a bad idea.

[tvosra87]

Overall I think its a good hire, his EIU team this past season almost beat NIU at home, beat SDSU and most of their FCS opponents by 21+. I'd like for us to make some nice runs like the CMU and NIU teams of the past 5-6 yrs, possibly make some major bowl games.

[hammb]

Something that hasn't been brought up that is worth mentioning: Babers was the recruiting coordinator at both Baylor and UCLA.

Yep. I had seen that in a post somewhere online, just couldn't remember where enough to cite it here.

I'm excited about Coach Babers. Heard great things about him from an EIU football alum, with the caveat "He's going to leave in two years for something bigger." As long as he keeps the shelves stocked and passing their classes, that's not necessarily a horrible problem to have. Not ideal, but we've been in worse spots.

As for the concerns over utilizing running backs... this --> http://www.eiupanthers.com/custompages/ ... AMCUME.HTM

EIU had a 1,500+ yard rusher and ran the ball 611 times vs. 608 passes. A lot of that balance may come from winning a lot of lopsided games and winding clock in the second half, but they are numbers that are awfully close to what BG did on the ground this year. And to think of making a defense spread out to cover four receivers all game, then giving the ball to Greene? More please.

And I would tell anyone to go take a look at what Baylor has done in recruiting.

Keep in mind this is freaking BAYLOR. The doormat of the Big 12. They went 14 straight losing seasons before Briles got there (and Babers with him). They struggled for the next couple years and have recruited their way into quite possibly the best program in Texas.

Obviously we don't play in a conference as prestigious as Baylor, but turning that team into the powerhouse of Texas is pretty much the equivalent of turning BG into a powerhouse of Ohio. Baylor started at the bottom of the barrel leapfrogged over Texas, TCU, Texas Tech, and put them on the same plane as where A&M is today. That's ridiculous given the history of that program.

And it's been done with recruiting. Look at the talent that Baylor has been funneling into the NFL. Josh Gordon, RGIII, Phil Taylor, Terrance Williams, Kendall Wright, etc. A program that was as down in the dumps as can be suddenly started throwing 1st rounders into the NFL. Kudos to what Briles has done, and if Babers was a recruiting coordinator major kudos to him there as well. As far as his coaching goes, he was the QB/WR coach there for RG3, Gordon, Williams, Wright as well...so it's not like he didn't do anything to help develop these guys.

And oh yeah, since taking over EIU he's taken a dismal team to their conf. championship 2 years running, including this year dominating the competition (they're also still alive in the playoffs). Tough to see how well he'll sustain things since he was only there 2 years, but he has helped develop their QB into a surefire NFL draft pick. I've seen him ranked around the 3rd round or so.

Nobody heard of this guy, until I saw the thread on him here. But when you look at his resume and body of work you really can't complain. I love the offensive philosophy and I love the track record both in recruiting at Baylor and as a HC at EIU. I wonder why it took so long for him to get a HC job, but you can't argue with the results he's had since he got it.

I'm ready to watch what he does for this offense. We've been boring and unimaginative for the past 5 years on that side of the ball. I cannot WAIT to see how he uses Ronnie Moore, Greene, Johnson, and Gallon. The QB picture will be pretty interesting to watch as well, because I think Knapke is probably a better fit for what Babers wants to do with physical tools than Johnson, but boy has Johnson improved and played VERY well this year.

[Schadenfreude]

This argument about whether or Dino Babers should be allowed to "stick his nose in" seems silly. Kingston is choosing him because, presumably, he believes Babers is the best guy to manage the program. If Kingston is right, I have to think Babers is smart enough and self aware enough to know the degree to which he needs to participate in bowl prep.

And, let's not kid ourselves. This game is huge.

[Globetrotter]

This argument about whether or Dino Babers should be allowed to "stick his nose in" seems silly. Kingston is choosing him because, presumably, he believes Babers is the best guy to manage the program. If Kingston is right, I have to think Babers is smart enough and self aware enough to know the degree to which he needs to participate in bowl prep.

And, let's not kid ourselves. This game is huge.

Winning or losing this game will have no affect on the future of this program. Recruits don't care that you won your bowl game they care that you went to a bowl game.

Beating a 6-6 Pittsburgh team is meaningless to the future of the program. Now if it was a more highly ranked BCS team it may matter but Pittsburgh, Blah.

I agree with you on Babers. I actually agree with most of what people said about him coming in and changing too much too soon, however I think the most foolish thing he could do was not take part in practices and get to know his team this week leading to the bowl game.

[mscarn]

As the dust has settled this looks like an excellent hire. We know what Babers brings on paper. Can you imagine how good he must be in a 1-on-1 setting to beat out the parade of qualified coaches who wanted this job and had better conncections?

The offense has the potential to be dominant, the likes of which have not been seen since the days of Omar. Think that will help with fan interest? The defense will be fine and his history as a recruiting coordinator shows he can bring players in. The 2013 EIU recruiting class had players from Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Ohio, Texas, Idaho, California and (ding ding ding) Florida.

This is going to be fun to watch.