How will history remember Coach Brandon?

[1987alum]

I'm sure TG can add some needed perspective here, but it struck me that if/when BG gets a bowl invite, that Coach Brandon could/would be the first BG coach to ever lead the Falcons to three bowl games. I know that with the glut of bowl games, that may not be a great accomplishment in some people's eyes, but the bottom line is, he will be the first BG coach to do that.

Some other factoids ...

Total wins: Right now, Brandon has 38 wins. That leaves him at #6 on the all-time list, just two behind Warren Steller. Don Nehlen is number 4 with 53.

Winning pct.: Right now, Brandon is at .622, placing him fourth all-time behind Doyt, Urbie and Bob Gibson.

Length of tenure: Hard to believe, but Coach B has been at BG as long as Moe Ankney. BG has had four coaches last a decade (Whittaker, Steller, Perry, Blackney), while Nehlen and Stolz both lasted nine years.

Winning seasons: Coach B has as many winning seasons as Gary Blackney and Denny Stolz (Stolz also had a .500 season mixed in).

I know that there's the whole "riding the Urban wave" and the modern era of bowl gluttony, but the numbers are what they are. This is not an endorsement for a lifetime contract, just me wondering out loud how people 20 years from now might place Coach Brandon in the discussion of BG coaches.

[TG1996]

I'm running out the door right now, but my initial thought is this:

Coaches seem to be remembered for how they finished rather than how they started. Blackney is remembered as much or more for 1996-2000 as he is 1991-94. Denny Stolz is remembered for bailing on the team before the bowl game in '85, not so much for the 11 games before that.

[JohnnySwoop '85]

I think he is at a cross-roads....up until now he would probably be remembered as a guy who won a couple of bowls with Urban's recruits.

Now, he could go forth as the coach who won BG the most Bowl's (period)

[Jacobs4Heisman]

I agree with TG about the finishing stretch. I don't thing Brandon becomes a lifetime coach here no matter what happens. Either he keeps producing seasons like this one and better, and eventually gets a bigger gig, or he reverts back to 05/06 form and gets canned. How he will be remembered by the majority of Falcons will be based on which of those two things happens. I sure hope it's the former.

[1987alum]

Good points. Seems like a no-win situation to a degree.

Leave for a "better" (up to interpretation, of course) gig: Urban Meyer, Denny Stolz. Both are reviled for how they left BG.

Get shown the door: Moe Ankney, Don Nehlen, Gary Blackney. Not a lot of love for that group, outside of Nehlen, who gets something of a pass just because the circumstances of his exit our clouded by history.

The only way to "get some love" is to be a lifer an keep winning, I guess!

[rc_ziggy84]

Good points. Seems like a no-win situation to a degree.

Leave for a "better" (up to interpretation, of course) gig: Urban Meyer, Denny Stolz. Both are reviled for how they left BG.

Get shown the door: Moe Ankney, Don Nehlen, Gary Blackney. Not a lot of love for that group, outside of Nehlen, who gets something of a pass just because the circumstances of his exit our clouded by history.

The only way to "get some love" is to be a lifer an keep winning, I guess!

Or to be a lifer who weighs a metric ton (think Bancroft High)

[Falconfreak90]

While this is a cool thread, I prefer to keep my eyes on the present...and presently we are heading to a bowl game for the 3rd time in Coach B's 5 years as head coach. One stinking play away from 4 bowls if we beat UT in 2005...

[hammb]

I don't think the book is yet written on Gregg Brandon's tenure at BG. If he builds on this bounce back season and wins a MAC championship, then moves on to greener pastures, he could go down as one of the better coaches in our history. If we follow it up with another 8 win season next year and again fall short of the MAC championship? Who knows.


I know from watching the team the past 5 years I would not cry if he were to leave tomorrow for another job. At the same time, I'm not sure it's guaranteed that we can do better, either. Looking at the entire body of work, I think we've found our Lloyd Carr. Consistently among the best in our conference in talent, and usually good enough to put together a winning season. Unfortunately still get outplayed & outcoached in enough big games to not win championships.


The real question is, in this age of escalating salaries is that the best BG can hope for from any coach who won't be leaving within 2-3 years?

[Schadenfreude]

I know that there's the whole "riding the Urban wave" and the modern era of bowl gluttony, but the numbers are what they are. This is not an endorsement for a lifetime contract, just me wondering out loud how people 20 years from now might place Coach Brandon in the discussion of BG coaches.

I think we'll end up seeing him like Don Nehlen.

I'm not predicting that Brandon, post BG, gets another job, builds a powerhouse from near-scratch and lands in the Hall of Fame or anything. But, the way people have been riding him, I do wonder if he will eventually get canned despite a fairly good run here.

That's what happpened to Nehlen. If the MAC had had access to more bowl games, Nehlen's teams probably would have gotten some. He mostly turned in winning records. But he could never get the Falcons all the way to the top of the mountain, and that eventually caught up with him.

(And imagine how we'd be riding Brandon if he miscounted the number of downs in a tight game at Miami. Nehlen once did that, and it was the beginning of the end, from what I understand.)

So, anyway, I do wonder, if years later, we would wax a bit nostalgic for the Brandon era.

I suppose the pessimistic alternative is that we will end up viewing him like Blackney. This is year four of the Brandon era, and it's been a pretty good four years.

Blackney's first four years were great -- but the next six?

And that, I suppose, is the difference. Brandon would never last another six years if they turned out like the late 90s did for Blackney. The leash is clearly shorter.

Anyway, I think Brandon is a good coach. In some ways, these kids have overachieved this year. This is a pretty young team.

[Flipper]

I don't get this whole "riding Urban's wave" thing...Meyer went 8-3 and 9-3, but that 9-3 team gave him the worst run of his career, losing three of four at the end. Meyer's squads were an improvement over what Blackney had done prior to that, but it's not like either of those teams were championship teams. They were good teams that played to their potential, but they didn't have that extra push to get them over the hump.

The team Brandon took over had closed out it's season on a down note and then had its coach bolt on them literally hours after saying he was staying. That team's self-confidence had to have taken a real beating from that. The smart money might have figured on that team taking a step back, but Brandon pulled them together and got more out of them than Meyer had. IMHO, he does not get nearly the credit for doing that that he deserves.

So...we had a pair of very good years, one mediocre year and one bad year. From my perspective, Brandon did a worse job in 2005 than he did in 2006, that team was complacent and when Omar went down they were directionless. I think the onus is on the coach when that happens Seasons like 2006 happen to everyone in the MAC...there isn't a program in the league these days that wins every year. Compared to places like UT, Miami and NIU, our "down" time wasn't so bad....


This year's team did well ... the coaches did well. The team learned how to handle adversity and they improved as the season wore on in spite of some key injuries. ..the challenge going forward will be to raise their expectations beyond just winning against Toledo and having a winning record. They have the talent to be a very special team, but that just means they'll have to work even harder. It will be up to the coaches to get them to understand that.

I really do not know how history will judge Brandon... I really do not care.
I will say that there isn't another coach in the MAC that I would take in his place.

[BGDrew]

Brandon took his players that he recruited and coached them to an 8-4 season and a share of the MAC East title. With the parity in the MAC this year, an 8-4 season is pretty special. Then, to go on a 4 game win streak to end the season to clinch a bowl? I don't see how you can't give the guy an extension. Every year he improves as a coach and we're lucky to have the offensive mind that he possesses. He's gotten us 2 bowl victories, numerous division titles, and has put some players into the NFL.

Our administration has supported the program with the Sebo and Doyt renovations and this will only continue to strengthen our program. The worst thing you can do is remove a coach that the players like and respect. He's a likeable, intense guy. He likes meeting with fans (ask Freak) and I think legitimately likes BG. If he didn't he would have left after that 04-05 season.

Now, I'm not saying we offer Brandon a 10 year deal. But, I think he's at least deserved an additional 2 years on top of his current deal.

[Schadenfreude]

I will say that there isn't another coach in the MAC that I would take in his place.

This was a fine sentence to end a fine post.

Well put. This really made me think. And I think I agree.

[BGSUFootballFan]

I don't think the book is yet written on Gregg Brandon's tenure at BG. If he builds on this bounce back season and wins a MAC championship, then moves on to greener pastures, he could go down as one of the better coaches in our history. If we follow it up with another 8 win season next year and again fall short of the MAC championship? Who knows.


I know from watching the team the past 5 years I would not cry if he were to leave tomorrow for another job. At the same time, I'm not sure it's guaranteed that we can do better, either. Looking at the entire body of work, I think we've found our Lloyd Carr. Consistently among the best in our conference in talent, and usually good enough to put together a winning season. Unfortunately still get outplayed & outcoached in enough big games to not win championships.


The real question is, in this age of escalating salaries is that the best BG can hope for from any coach who won't be leaving within 2-3 years?

I agree with this almost entirely. The part I would change is that I would be crying if he left. Only because my answer to that last question is yes. I don't think BG could find a better coach, who is in it for the right reasons, and would be willing to stay at BG.

[Jacobs4Heisman]

Every year he improves as a coach

Well, this year he showed some improvement as a coach. He certainly has not steadily improved since he got the job - quite the opposite until this year.

Brandon has the potential to be a very good coach at this level. He can clearly recruit well, and he is a great offensive guy. That's what makes him so frustrating at times. He coaches some games so well, and other games he, and by extension the team, look completely lost.

If he continues to allow the offense to be what it was the last 5 games (diverse), and if he can somehow improve on his in-game adjustments, he could be special. He was more aggressive with his risk-taking in the latter part of the year, and that is a necessary and welcome improvement.

I agree with the folks that aren't sure we could do better at the price. Still, the leadership and accountability thing bugs me, and I'm not sure that can be improved.

[Lord_Byron]

(And imagine how we'd be riding Brandon if he miscounted the number of downs in a tight game at Miami. Nehlen once did that, and it was the beginning of the end, from what I understand.)

Inside the Miami 10 yard line with time running out in the fourth quarter.

Thanks alot for digging that one up. Now I'll re-live it all day.

I've been through a lot of the guys mentioned above. There's more to it in my mind than just the record on the field. What's the relationship with the University? The students? Has he become part of the community? Is he an embarrassing sleeze-ball who wins?