Babers to go Knight Fast

[slashba33]

First off, EVERYONE on the team as well as the fan base has to know Babers is gone after this season with 20 job openings out there. This team is just a few years removed from Clawson leaving and has seen other MAC coaches come and go.

Given his coaching background, ability to create quality QBs and offensive prowess, don't you think he could land a job at a P5 school?? UCF made some sense if the plucked Kingston, but really?? He has been a proven head coach unlike so many hot coordinator names floating around out there.

[jpfalcon09]

First off, EVERYONE on the team as well as the fan base has to know Babers is gone after this season with 20 job openings out there. This team is just a few years removed from Clawson leaving and has seen other MAC coaches come and go.

Given his coaching background, ability to create quality QBs and offensive prowess, don't you think he could land a job at a P5 school?? UCF made some sense if the plucked Kingston, but really?? He has been a proven head coach unlike so many hot coordinator names floating around out there.

UCF has the student body, alumni base and funds to make the jump to a power conference. I wouldn't be shocked if the Big 12 or ACC come calling soon.

[Schadenfreude]

First off, EVERYONE on the team as well as the fan base has to know Babers is gone after this season with 20 job openings out there. This team is just a few years removed from Clawson leaving and has seen other MAC coaches come and go.

Given his coaching background, ability to create quality QBs and offensive prowess, don't you think he could land a job at a P5 school?? UCF made some sense if the plucked Kingston, but really?? He has been a proven head coach unlike so many hot coordinator names floating around out there.

UCF has the student body, alumni base and funds to make the jump to a power conference. I wouldn't be shocked if the Big 12 or ACC come calling soon.

This is very comparable to Denny Stolz going to San Diego State or Urban Meyer going to Utah.

[hammb]

First off, EVERYONE on the team as well as the fan base has to know Babers is gone after this season with 20 job openings out there. This team is just a few years removed from Clawson leaving and has seen other MAC coaches come and go.

Given his coaching background, ability to create quality QBs and offensive prowess, don't you think he could land a job at a P5 school?? UCF made some sense if the plucked Kingston, but really?? He has been a proven head coach unlike so many hot coordinator names floating around out there.

UCF has the student body, alumni base and funds to make the jump to a power conference. I wouldn't be shocked if the Big 12 or ACC come calling soon.

Yup.

Much like Utah people are selling the UCF job short. They're not in a P5 conference but they likely will be, and certainly have a program that could be.

The team won a BCS bowl, beat multiple top 10 teams, and had a top 5 pick QB just 2 years ago.

[Beaker]

If BG wins this week I'll be happy with whatever goes down.

Yes. And this appears to be a depleted Northern Illinois team. I'm not panicking.

That's what scares me about this one. They are going to be that proverbial wounded animal. I wonder how serious the team is preparing for this one, given that NIU appears to be less than 100%? That, combined with the distraction of the coaching situation, has me not panicked, but at least somewhat concerned. Confidence is a good thing, as long as it doesn't turn into over-confidence.

[BGSU33]

Or to put it another way... don't hate the player, hate the game.

So far as the distraction of Dino's next stop on the merry go round being made public.... is it really that much more distracting than five days of speculation about where his next top is going to be? It's out in the open... no need to obfuscate or lie to your team. Tell them they have one game left together and that you'll give them 100% for that game. You start the year wanting a title... that goal is still there.

IMO, I think it's much more distracting this way. Sure everyone (players, fans, alums) likely expected him to land somewhere after this season, with "after" being the key word here. It also leaves open the possibility of him returning, although it was a very remote one. But to have this news dumped on the team the week leading up to their biggest game of the year, yeah, it's distracting. Two years ago this week Clawson wasn't fending off talks about going to Wake Forest. Yes he got asked some questions about his future, but the Wake Forest job was news after the MACC. That likely may have been a done deal by then too, but it didn't break the week leading up to the MACC. The talk and focus all week then was on winning the MAC Championship and playing NIU. That was THE focus for our team. They all likely knew he was going to be gone then too, but it was on the back burner. This year's team doesn't have that luxury, they're dealing with the distraction front and center. And right now the MACC seems almost secondary to our program at the moment, and that's my concern.

[jpfalcon09]

Or to put it another way... don't hate the player, hate the game.

So far as the distraction of Dino's next stop on the merry go round being made public.... is it really that much more distracting than five days of speculation about where his next top is going to be? It's out in the open... no need to obfuscate or lie to your team. Tell them they have one game left together and that you'll give them 100% for that game. You start the year wanting a title... that goal is still there.

IMO, I think it's much more distracting this way. Sure everyone (players, fans, alums) likely expected him to land somewhere after this season, with "after" being the key word here. It also leaves open the possibility of him returning, although it was a very remote one. But to have this news dumped on the team the week leading up to their biggest game of the year, yeah, it's distracting. Two years ago this week Clawson wasn't fending off talks about going to Wake Forest. Yes he got asked some questions about his future, but the Wake Forest job was news after the MACC. That likely may have been a done deal by then too, but it didn't break the week leading up to the MACC. The talk and focus all week then was on winning the MAC Championship and playing NIU. That was THE focus for our team. They all likely knew he was going to be gone then too, but it was on the back burner. This year's team doesn't have that luxury, they're dealing with the distraction front and center. And right now the MACC seems almost secondary to our program at the moment, and that's my concern.

I think you're not giving the players enough credit here. Many of these guys went through this with Clawson and understand it's part of the business, albeit a crappy one. There's enough senior leadership to get the guys focused, it's ultimately the players who have the chance to win two MAC titles in three years, not the coach, and this needs to be stressed. Guys are emotional and will say/tweet things that may look bad on the surface, but they will ultimately get over this like they did with Clawson. The biggest concern with all this will be the players Babers recruited and how many will honor that and not de-commit or transfer.

[Falcon137]

Or to put it another way... don't hate the player, hate the game.

So far as the distraction of Dino's next stop on the merry go round being made public.... is it really that much more distracting than five days of speculation about where his next top is going to be? It's out in the open... no need to obfuscate or lie to your team. Tell them they have one game left together and that you'll give them 100% for that game. You start the year wanting a title... that goal is still there.

IMO, I think it's much more distracting this way. Sure everyone (players, fans, alums) likely expected him to land somewhere after this season, with "after" being the key word here. It also leaves open the possibility of him returning, although it was a very remote one. But to have this news dumped on the team the week leading up to their biggest game of the year, yeah, it's distracting. Two years ago this week Clawson wasn't fending off talks about going to Wake Forest. Yes he got asked some questions about his future, but the Wake Forest job was news after the MACC. That likely may have been a done deal by then too, but it didn't break the week leading up to the MACC. The talk and focus all week then was on winning the MAC Championship and playing NIU. That was THE focus for our team. They all likely knew he was going to be gone then too, but it was on the back burner. This year's team doesn't have that luxury, they're dealing with the distraction front and center. And right now the MACC seems almost secondary to our program at the moment, and that's my concern.

I think you're not giving the players enough credit here. Many of these guys went through this with Clawson and understand it's part of the business, albeit a crappy one. There's enough senior leadership to get the guys focused, it's ultimately the players who have the chance to win two MAC titles in three years, not the coach, and this needs to be stressed. Guys are emotional and will say/tweet things that may look bad on the surface, but they will ultimately get over this like they did with Clawson. The biggest concern with all this will be the players Babers recruited and how many will honor that and not de-commit or transfer.

Agreed. I think (hope) most guys committing to MAC programs know this is part of the deal. IMO, Babers recruited well while here, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

I keep seeing people worried about James Morgan transferring. He's not going anywhere and with a new coach will likely start.

The 2016 recruiting class is the biggest concern. You are going to lose recruits in a coaching change, likely some to UCF. Hell, Campbell offered a UT recruit hours after taking the ISU job.

Top to bottom, I think Babers leaves the roster in a better position than when he found it.

[jpfalcon09]

Babers has his weekly press conference at 11:30am.

UCF's VP of Communications confirms that nothing has been agreed to with anyone at this time.

[Flipper]

UCF has an enrollment of 60,000...US News & World Report rates them as one of the top up and coming Universities in the country. Given the location, I'd say it's a better gig than most of the P5.

[BGSU33]

I was just at UCF last year and it's a very odd university in a way. The campus is essentially built inside a circle. There is an access road that runs all the way around the university and most of the core buildings are inside of this access road loop. Pull it up on google maps and you'll see what I mean. At the very inner core of the circle I believe was the student union which sits on almost a little marsh/wooded area that has boardwalks. That part was cool. But it very much has the look and feel of a commuter-type school although I don't know how many students live on campus. It reminded me of and had a similar feel to USF although I liked UCF better than USF.

The athletic complex is outside of the circle but right on the side of it. UCF is not a Power Five school nor does it have the look and feel of it from the athletic facilities. The football stadium is still relatively new but when you examine it closely it's a relatively cheaply-looking built stadium. It's essentially a bowl of aluminum bleachers. It beats when they had to play off campus and it's not a bad stadium by any means, it's just a very bland and basic for such a new facility. The press tower on it is pretty nice though.

All in all, I didn't really like UCF but I did appreciate getting to see it.

[Flipper]

UCF...with the backing of State and local governments wants to build a $200million campus in downtown Orlando. They hope to emulate what AZ State has done in Phoenix. If they become a P5 member or continue to grow..it might make sense to return to the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. They "only" put$50 million into the current stadium 10 years ago...but it might make a nice soccer pitch

[jpfalcon09]

Dino today at his press conference - "I'm not going anywhere."

Digging a rather deep hole for himself if he does leave...

[Flipper]

Truthfully...I'd love to have him back, but if he passes on a gig like UCF, Missouri or even Houston...he. should have his head examined.

[Falcon137]

Dino today at his press conference - "I'm not going anywhere."

Digging a rather deep hole for himself if he does leave...

Thomas Schmeltz -
On if the mindset changes (about jobs) after the season, Babers said, "Of course it does."