2022 Transfer Portal

[Flipper]

Truthfully ...If I'm a guy like Loeffler with NFL and P5 connections like he seems to have, I'd be looking to get out of here. More money to be made elsewhere and he apparently des not have the skill set needed to succeed here

[roguewarrior]

Maybe I am Naive: if the players had confidence in the coach, staff and future…. If the scheme were good and they were kicking ass every week…. If a MAC title and Bowl game were attainable and teed up for them next year…. I don’t think you lose more than a select few.

[jpfalcon09]

Truthfully ...If I'm a guy like Loeffler with NFL and P5 connections like he seems to have, I'd be looking to get out of here. More money to be made elsewhere and he apparently des not have the skill set needed to succeed here

I believe this is why Sean Lewis left Kent. There's no upside to coaching at this level anymore. Time and effort spent in good players will be for naught when they bolt. P5 programs aren't even hiring G5 head coaches any longer unless they have prior P5 experience. Quite frankly I see it as a waste of time.

[hammb]

Truthfully ...If I'm a guy like Loeffler with NFL and P5 connections like he seems to have, I'd be looking to get out of here. More money to be made elsewhere and he apparently des not have the skill set needed to succeed here

I believe this is why Sean Lewis left Kent. There's no upside to coaching at this level anymore. Time and effort spent in good players will be for naught when they bolt. P5 programs aren't even hiring G5 head coaches any longer unless they have prior P5 experience. Quite frankly I see it as a waste of time.

If your goal is head coaching at the highest levels of college football a MAC HC gig is about as much a dead end as anything. Really your only chance of getting there from the MAC is exactly what lewis did. Leverage single phase success as a MAC HC into a coordinator slot (not that CU is big time, but they're trying). The next HC step from the MAC are career suicide positions like Syracuse, Minnesota, Wake Forest. They're great for making a good deal of cash but you basically hold on waiting to be fired. Nearly impossible to succeed enough for the big boys to come calling. The blue bloods have really stopped caring if you've got prior HC experience and they have the cash to steal coordinators from wherever they want, even the NFL if they desire.

The MAC is a worthwhile stepping stone to making a lot of money to be fired somewhere but that's probably about it, imo.

[hammb]

I have no ill will toward any kids doing what they think is best for themselves. Even if they end up ultimately regretting their decisions, it's not on me to tell them otherwise.

What I will say though is I believe this current portal situation makes "program building" at the MAC level a pipedream. You can't really count on your roster from year to year so I don't really think an ability to build a long term plan is the most important asset for a coach.

This new environment places the ultimate value on a coach who is a teacher and keeps things simple enough that a roster can master it in a single off-season cycle. It places a premium on game planning to maximize the talents you do have.

It's no longer enough (or even important) to maximize HS recruiting, red shirting guys, playing guys for development, etc. Just know that the guys that do develop will leave. The ones who don't develop you'll likely run off to replace with your own transfers anyhow. Instead the focus should always be on today. Keep things simple, and be flexible enough to maximize the talent you do retain.

Maybe the COVID rules will expire and it won't be as wild west crazy as these past 3 yrs but ultimately in I think this is the future of MAC football. And it pains me because I think these skills/qualities that will be valued are the absolute weakest parts of Loeffler's skillset.

No program building anywhere really. Big time schools are promising big NIL benefits to players from other big time schools. The MAC and the like have become development leagues. Take 2-3 stars and make them 4-5 stars so they can get poached. Year to year is going to have so much variability at this level now, which sucks for us because the players we're going to come to enjoy are bound to take off.

It'll be a thankless job to coach at this level going forward because maintaining success is going to be nearly impossible.

No argument here, but there is still a major dynamic shift here. Forever the biggest advantage we had in competing with the big boys was that our best players would usually stay here allowing us to occasionally develop upperclassmen led teams of talented guys. Guys that could have developed and been good enough for the big ten, but weren't good enough in HS. Meanwhile the best players at the blue bloods rarely saw their senior seasons, often times turning redshirted guys into 2 yr players who would leave for the NFL.

Now those elite level talents will likely still stay out for 3 years and that's going to make them the longest tenured players on a lot of rosters. The depth players on p5 programs will continue to bounce around looking for more PT. The top players will not the g5 and lower p5 programs so the blue bloods replace their depth with guys who started elsewhere.

The MAC and g5 is going to become AAA baseball. A garbage developmental league.

And sustained success will be entirely based on a coaches ability to develop and install a system quickly. Something flexible enough to succeed no matter what types of players stick around. Most importantly, they need to be able to sell the recruits on instant success in this system/style so they can move on (as all kids will want to do).

Realistically sustained success in the MAC was never really a thing anyhow. I just think this makes it even more difficult, as anybody with a good mind for Xs & Os likely has better options than MAC HC

[roguewarrior]

You would think there are skilled coaches not obsessed with moving “up” or beyond, that would be content with making 3-4-500k annually and building a sustained winner for a decade ? No? I think a few championships, great seasons and a 10-15 year run gets you immortalized with a statue at BG.

[pdt1081]

You would think there are skilled coaches not obsessed with moving “up” or beyond, that would be content with making 3-4-500k annually and building a sustained winner for a decade ? No? I think a few championships, great seasons and a 10-15 year run gets you immortalized with a statue at BG.

There are coaches who are content with that. Until someone slides a piece of paper in front of them with an "m" instead of a "k." Suddenly, they're not content.

[Globetrotter]

I think there is a ton of catastrophizing going on here. It's really just a paradigm shift. You have to
1. Have a fun system people want to play in.
2. Build a team of players who want to play together.
3. Shop local so people want to play in front of friends and family. They should be bringing in 5 Northwest Ohio players every year. The best 5 they can get even if they aren't deemed as D1 players yet. Knowing that by year 4-5 they will be making an impact.
4. Have a unique system where you choose the tweeners and let them shine....Think Steelers running a 3-4 when everyone else was running a 4-3
5. Understand that the Xfer stuff isn't going away and celebrate it. Recognize your players when they transfer. Sell your program as a great place to get a degree AND a stepping stone to major college football.
6. Build like the patriots and basketball builds. Find players who aren't stars but have roles. The Bulls didn't need 12 Michael Jordans. They had Michael Jordan.
7. Get that power 5 player who was the 5th rb on a team of all Americans and let him run. Know who is out there...who isn't playing....give them a chance to play and be the centerpiece of offenses.
8. Don't sign headaches. Players don't want to play with them and will want to leave. This goes back to #3. You build your special teams with local try hards that creates the fabric of the team.

You need to be a meticulous builder. You essentially need a GM who knows all the pieces. For every Broden moving up there is a guy moving down....we literally have gotten that guy the last 2 years. If Osborne is back we will be fine at WR without Broden. Ibrahim just had a 1000 yard season.

[Globetrotter]

You would think there are skilled coaches not obsessed with moving “up” or beyond, that would be content with making 3-4-500k annually and building a sustained winner for a decade ? No? I think a few championships, great seasons and a 10-15 year run gets you immortalized with a statue at BG.

This is why I think you go after a Frank Solich, Paul Chryst type. They may want to coach but not want everything that goes with it at Wisconsin. Here you won't even have 1 media person asking you any questions.

[jpfalcon09]

I think there is a ton of catastrophizing going on here. It's really just a paradigm shift. You have to
1. Have a fun system people want to play in.
2. Build a team of players who want to play together.
3. Shop local so people want to play in front of friends and family. They should be bringing in 5 Northwest Ohio players every year. The best 5 they can get even if they aren't deemed as D1 players yet. Knowing that by year 4-5 they will be making an impact.
4. Have a unique system where you choose the tweeners and let them shine....Think Steelers running a 3-4 when everyone else was running a 4-3
5. Understand that the Xfer stuff isn't going away and celebrate it. Recognize your players when they transfer. Sell your program as a great place to get a degree AND a stepping stone to major college football.
6. Build like the patriots and basketball builds. Find players who aren't stars but have roles. The Bulls didn't need 12 Michael Jordans. They had Michael Jordan.
7. Get that power 5 player who was the 5th rb on a team of all Americans and let him run. Know who is out there...who isn't playing....give them a chance to play and be the centerpiece of offenses.
8. Don't sign headaches. Players don't want to play with them and will want to leave. This goes back to #3. You build your special teams with local try hards that creates the fabric of the team.

You need to be a meticulous builder. You essentially need a GM who knows all the pieces. For every Broden moving up there is a guy moving down....we literally have gotten that guy the last 2 years. If Osborne is back we will be fine at WR without Broden. Ibrahim just had a 1000 yard season.

How many of these personalities realistically exist and how many would find themselves in the MAC? Sean Lewis probably comes closest in recent history but even he said to hell with it.

[Flipper]

Ibrahim had a 1,000 yd season in the FCS in 2021. He played 5 games in 2022 and had 13 catches. I would rather have Broden

[Tony4BG]

Jalen Grant to the portal

[Globetrotter]

Ibrahim had a 1,000 yd season in the FCS in 2021. He played 5 games in 2022 and had 13 catches. I would rather have Broden

He outpaced Hilaire that season

[Globetrotter]

I think there is a ton of catastrophizing going on here. It's really just a paradigm shift. You have to
1. Have a fun system people want to play in.
2. Build a team of players who want to play together.
3. Shop local so people want to play in front of friends and family. They should be bringing in 5 Northwest Ohio players every year. The best 5 they can get even if they aren't deemed as D1 players yet. Knowing that by year 4-5 they will be making an impact.
4. Have a unique system where you choose the tweeners and let them shine....Think Steelers running a 3-4 when everyone else was running a 4-3
5. Understand that the Xfer stuff isn't going away and celebrate it. Recognize your players when they transfer. Sell your program as a great place to get a degree AND a stepping stone to major college football.
6. Build like the patriots and basketball builds. Find players who aren't stars but have roles. The Bulls didn't need 12 Michael Jordans. They had Michael Jordan.
7. Get that power 5 player who was the 5th rb on a team of all Americans and let him run. Know who is out there...who isn't playing....give them a chance to play and be the centerpiece of offenses.
8. Don't sign headaches. Players don't want to play with them and will want to leave. This goes back to #3. You build your special teams with local try hards that creates the fabric of the team.

You need to be a meticulous builder. You essentially need a GM who knows all the pieces. For every Broden moving up there is a guy moving down....we literally have gotten that guy the last 2 years. If Osborne is back we will be fine at WR without Broden. Ibrahim just had a 1000 yard season.

How many of these personalities realistically exist and how many would find themselves in the MAC? Sean Lewis probably comes closest in recent history but even he said to hell with it.

Every team has them. We have 2. Chris Haase and James Carolan

[Flipper]

Ibrahim had a 1,000 yd season in the FCS in 2021. He played 5 games in 2022 and had 13 catches. I would rather have Broden

He outpaced Hilaire that season

Not really meaningful ...but OK