YoungBloodAggie wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 12:25 pm

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:56 am

newhouse9 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:36 am

It would sure be nice to have a football coach that could build a perpetually successful program that wouldn't up and leave. But I don't know that we'll ever have that here.

Sure and it shouldnt be a consideration for that reason. You should always hire the best guy available.

I agree that you hire the best guy available, but there is something to be said about the appearance of long-term stability. Coaches can't appear to be job-hopping when they are trying to convince recruits (and mom/dad/others) that they should play football for them. Yes, you definitely sell the school and the program, but HC stability matters to a ton of guys that are in our stratosphere of recruiting.

If you get one, maybe two guys that are here for a couple years and jump after a good run that isn't a problem. If your school becomes a revolving door (and I don't think USU could ever be consistently good enough to earn every coach a P5 gig after just a couple years, so maybe this is all moot), recruits will notice.

I also think there is a connection that can develop between a coach and fans over the course of time, but that probably has to do more with the "program identity" than the actual coaching personality (most of them are generally going to behave the same way).

Ok but you just never know. A coach can promise you he will be at usu for 20 years and then get a good p5 offer and be gone quickly or the supposed safer long-term bet just isnt a good coach. We gave Mick dennehy 5 years. Im sure he would have stayed 15 had we let him, but it wouldn't have led to winning.

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 1:06 pm

3rdGenAggie wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 12:40 pm

I agree. Obviously you'd have to know the end from the beginning and that's impossible, but if that was the case I'd rather have an 8/10 coach for 10 years+ (probably even a 7/10 coach) than a 10/10 coach for 3 years.

I don't really blame the GA 2.0 hire...at the time I could see it as being a shot at the 7 or 8/10 forever, rather than a 10/10 for a few years. I'm just glad Hartwell fired him quick when it clearly wasn't working.

If a 10/10 is an undefeated season with a conference championship and a ny6 bowl, sign me up for a short term 10/10. I dont think any Utah fans would trade their 2 years of urban meyer.

That's definitely fair. I guess it still depends on what happens after. If USU hires a stinker after the 10/10 leaves that changes the calculation. If they hire a Kyle Whittingham after he leaves, then I definitely take the short-term 10/10.

aggies22 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:59 am

newhouse9 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:36 am

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:25 am

3rdGenAggie wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 9:17 am

If he had success, there is little doubt Aranda would have moved elsewhere. That was likely the reason Laub pushed for GA over Aranda...even with success GA would likely have stayed until he retired and been our football Stew Morrill. (Obviously that didn't work out as planned, so it is super obvious Aranda would have been a better choice, but...hindsight.)

Yes aranda would have been a short term hire. He left for Baylor after LSU won the national title a year after we hired Gary. He either would have left for Baylor from usu or left for another p5 job that opened up pretty quickly. His usu stint would have been short. I see their logic but it was wrong. Gary has never been at one place long and has never had sustained success anywhere. The idea that Gary was going to come in and build a long term stew like program was faulty.

It would sure be nice to have a football coach that could build a perpetually successful program that wouldn't up and leave. But I don't know that we'll ever have that here.

Is going to bowl games 6 out of 7 years successful?

Of course. Who did that that stayed? Or are you saying that having good coaches hired behind those that leave can still be a good model if we have success in their respective wakes? I think that's what our goal is today.

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:56 am

newhouse9 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:36 am

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:25 am

3rdGenAggie wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 9:17 am

If he had success, there is little doubt Aranda would have moved elsewhere. That was likely the reason Laub pushed for GA over Aranda...even with success GA would likely have stayed until he retired and been our football Stew Morrill. (Obviously that didn't work out as planned, so it is super obvious Aranda would have been a better choice, but...hindsight.)

Yes aranda would have been a short term hire. He left for Baylor after LSU won the national title a year after we hired Gary. He either would have left for Baylor from usu or left for another p5 job that opened up pretty quickly. His usu stint would have been short. I see their logic but it was wrong. Gary has never been at one place long and has never had sustained success anywhere. The idea that Gary was going to come in and build a long term stew like program was faulty.

It would sure be nice to have a football coach that could build a perpetually successful program that wouldn't up and leave. But I don't know that we'll ever have that here.

Sure and it shouldnt be a consideration for that reason. You should always hire the best guy available.

That makes sense, given where we are.

newhouse9 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 1:17 pm

aggies22 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:59 am

newhouse9 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:36 am

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:25 am

3rdGenAggie wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 9:17 am

If he had success, there is little doubt Aranda would have moved elsewhere. That was likely the reason Laub pushed for GA over Aranda...even with success GA would likely have stayed until he retired and been our football Stew Morrill. (Obviously that didn't work out as planned, so it is super obvious Aranda would have been a better choice, but...hindsight.)

Yes aranda would have been a short term hire. He left for Baylor after LSU won the national title a year after we hired Gary. He either would have left for Baylor from usu or left for another p5 job that opened up pretty quickly. His usu stint would have been short. I see their logic but it was wrong. Gary has never been at one place long and has never had sustained success anywhere. The idea that Gary was going to come in and build a long term stew like program was faulty.

It would sure be nice to have a football coach that could build a perpetually successful program that wouldn't up and leave. But I don't know that we'll ever have that here.

Is going to bowl games 6 out of 7 years successful?

Of course. Who did that that stayed? Or are you saying that having good coaches hired behind those that leave can still be a good model if we have success in their respective wakes? I think that's what our goal is today.

Also, as I said originally, for me it would be nice to have a coach that stayed.

newhouse9 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 1:17 pm

aggies22 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:59 am

newhouse9 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:36 am

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:25 am

3rdGenAggie wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 9:17 am

If he had success, there is little doubt Aranda would have moved elsewhere. That was likely the reason Laub pushed for GA over Aranda...even with success GA would likely have stayed until he retired and been our football Stew Morrill. (Obviously that didn't work out as planned, so it is super obvious Aranda would have been a better choice, but...hindsight.)

Yes aranda would have been a short term hire. He left for Baylor after LSU won the national title a year after we hired Gary. He either would have left for Baylor from usu or left for another p5 job that opened up pretty quickly. His usu stint would have been short. I see their logic but it was wrong. Gary has never been at one place long and has never had sustained success anywhere. The idea that Gary was going to come in and build a long term stew like program was faulty.

It would sure be nice to have a football coach that could build a perpetually successful program that wouldn't up and leave. But I don't know that we'll ever have that here.

Is going to bowl games 6 out of 7 years successful?

Of course. Who did that that stayed? Or are you saying that having good coaches hired behind those that leave can still be a good model if we have success in their respective wakes? I think that's what our goal is today.

I feel like not being treated well by our fanbase led to Matt Wells departure. He wasn't without faults and he wasn't above criticism but I think he was met with unrealistic expectation because he had the misfortune of following a guy that had two 4 and 8 seasons and won 6 games in year 3 with a roster that had 13 NFL dudes on it.

newhouse9 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 1:20 pm

newhouse9 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 1:17 pm

aggies22 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:59 am

newhouse9 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:36 am

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:25 am

3rdGenAggie wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 9:17 am

If he had success, there is little doubt Aranda would have moved elsewhere. That was likely the reason Laub pushed for GA over Aranda...even with success GA would likely have stayed until he retired and been our football Stew Morrill. (Obviously that didn't work out as planned, so it is super obvious Aranda would have been a better choice, but...hindsight.)

Yes aranda would have been a short term hire. He left for Baylor after LSU won the national title a year after we hired Gary. He either would have left for Baylor from usu or left for another p5 job that opened up pretty quickly. His usu stint would have been short. I see their logic but it was wrong. Gary has never been at one place long and has never had sustained success anywhere. The idea that Gary was going to come in and build a long term stew like program was faulty.

It would sure be nice to have a football coach that could build a perpetually successful program that wouldn't up and leave. But I don't know that we'll ever have that here.

Is going to bowl games 6 out of 7 years successful?

Of course. Who did that that stayed? Or are you saying that having good coaches hired behind those that leave can still be a good model if we have success in their respective wakes? I think that's what our goal is today.

Also, as I said originally, for me it would be nice to have a coach that stayed.

It might be a pipe dream BUT I feel the same way as you my Aggie brother!

I think Wells was always going to leave for more money. Honestly, he was well on his way to a big raise in 2015 after the Boise St. win. Then it all fell apart for him and he finished 6-7 that year. 2016 was an absolute train wreck. We lost so many games with boneheaded mistakes from coaching. He clawed his way back from this pit and had a brilliant 2018 season that finally got his named called. That 2018 season was a very lite schedule too. I remember listening to Wells talk before 2018. He was giddy knowing that he had the right coordinators and talent in place to get the big pay day. If things had gone differently in 2015, I think Wells would have been a short timer (3 years) just like most successful coaches here at USU.

aggies22 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 3:28 pm

newhouse9 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 1:17 pm

aggies22 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:59 am

newhouse9 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:36 am

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:25 am

3rdGenAggie wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 9:17 am

If he had success, there is little doubt Aranda would have moved elsewhere. That was likely the reason Laub pushed for GA over Aranda...even with success GA would likely have stayed until he retired and been our football Stew Morrill. (Obviously that didn't work out as planned, so it is super obvious Aranda would have been a better choice, but...hindsight.)

Yes aranda would have been a short term hire. He left for Baylor after LSU won the national title a year after we hired Gary. He either would have left for Baylor from usu or left for another p5 job that opened up pretty quickly. His usu stint would have been short. I see their logic but it was wrong. Gary has never been at one place long and has never had sustained success anywhere. The idea that Gary was going to come in and build a long term stew like program was faulty.

It would sure be nice to have a football coach that could build a perpetually successful program that wouldn't up and leave. But I don't know that we'll ever have that here.

Is going to bowl games 6 out of 7 years successful?

Of course. Who did that that stayed? Or are you saying that having good coaches hired behind those that leave can still be a good model if we have success in their respective wakes? I think that's what our goal is today.

I feel like not being treated well by our fanbase led to Matt Wells departure. He wasn't without faults and he wasn't above criticism but I think he was met with unrealistic expectation because he had the misfortune of following a guy that had two 4 and 8 seasons and won 6 games in year 3 with a roster that had 13 NFL dudes on it.

I agree. I had a great relationship with Matt. He was a great Aggie, in my opinion, and became a really good head coach. I was sad to see him go, but understood why he did. Thanks for clarifying for me!

aggies22 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 3:30 pm

newhouse9 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 1:20 pm

newhouse9 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 1:17 pm

aggies22 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:59 am

newhouse9 wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:36 am

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:25 am

3rdGenAggie wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 9:17 am

If he had success, there is little doubt Aranda would have moved elsewhere. That was likely the reason Laub pushed for GA over Aranda...even with success GA would likely have stayed until he retired and been our football Stew Morrill. (Obviously that didn't work out as planned, so it is super obvious Aranda would have been a better choice, but...hindsight.)

Yes aranda would have been a short term hire. He left for Baylor after LSU won the national title a year after we hired Gary. He either would have left for Baylor from usu or left for another p5 job that opened up pretty quickly. His usu stint would have been short. I see their logic but it was wrong. Gary has never been at one place long and has never had sustained success anywhere. The idea that Gary was going to come in and build a long term stew like program was faulty.

It would sure be nice to have a football coach that could build a perpetually successful program that wouldn't up and leave. But I don't know that we'll ever have that here.

Is going to bowl games 6 out of 7 years successful?

Of course. Who did that that stayed? Or are you saying that having good coaches hired behind those that leave can still be a good model if we have success in their respective wakes? I think that's what our goal is today.

Also, as I said originally, for me it would be nice to have a coach that stayed.

It might be a pipe dream BUT I feel the same way as you my Aggie brother!

Amen...but I know change can be good sometimes. Even Stew was done!

YoungBloodAggie wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:44 am

I am sure that someone reached out to Dave Aranda, and that between him and his agent they agreed it would be a good idea to interview, and that he may have even had some positive feelings about coming back to Logan after his success here. There is no doubt in my mind someone in our AD spoke to Aranda about this job, and he wasn't dismissive of it.

I am also sure he never would have left LSU for a paycut and less prestige. In the grand scheme of earning a P5 head coaching gig, LSU DC is higher up the totem pole than USU HC. Aranda was in that rarefied space with Brent Venables and maybe one or two other coordinators that were considered for every HC gig and are waiting for the right spot to appear. Aranda was considered golden at Wisconsin, and was held over on the LSU staff between regime changes because of how valuable he was to that defense.

So while I'm sure we've heard really cool things from our AD and some "in-the-know" boosters about how close we were to getting Aranda, I'm going to go ahead and throw his name into the Graham Harrell box of candidates that we were never going to get.

I'm glad you can be so sure. I wish the rest of us could be so sure without legitimate sources.

AggieFBObsession wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 6:28 pm

YoungBloodAggie wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:44 am

I am sure that someone reached out to Dave Aranda, and that between him and his agent they agreed it would be a good idea to interview, and that he may have even had some positive feelings about coming back to Logan after his success here. There is no doubt in my mind someone in our AD spoke to Aranda about this job, and he wasn't dismissive of it.

I am also sure he never would have left LSU for a paycut and less prestige. In the grand scheme of earning a P5 head coaching gig, LSU DC is higher up the totem pole than USU HC. Aranda was in that rarefied space with Brent Venables and maybe one or two other coordinators that were considered for every HC gig and are waiting for the right spot to appear. Aranda was considered golden at Wisconsin, and was held over on the LSU staff between regime changes because of how valuable he was to that defense.

So while I'm sure we've heard really cool things from our AD and some "in-the-know" boosters about how close we were to getting Aranda, I'm going to go ahead and throw his name into the Graham Harrell box of candidates that we were never going to get.

I'm glad you can be so sure. I wish the rest of us could be so sure without legitimate sources.

There are 65 G5 head coaches. Do you know how many of them were SEC coordinators immediately before getting hired as head coaches? TWO. Chip Lindsey at Troy (Auburn OC), and Tyson Helton at WKU (Tennessee OC). Not exactly common for SEC coordinators to take G5 jobs.

Oh, Aranda wants to be a P5 head coach (which he is now)? There are 65 P5 jobs. Do you know how many of those were Mountain West HC? Three. Matt Wells, Nick Rolovich, and Bryan Harsin. So if you either want to coach at Wazzu or think that USU is as reputable as Boise and can win as many games on a consistent basis...then yeah you should become a MWC HC on your way to the top. Wells and Harsin didn't exactly land at similarly impressive spots. Wells is working for a school that has won one (shared) conference championship in the last 45 years.

All of this and we haven't even mentioned that Aranda was not a run of the mill SEC coordinator. He was widely considered one of the two or three best in the country during his time at LSU.

Aranda had legit interest for a few reasons: (1) He wanted to be a HC, (2) He believed he knew how to win here, and (3) he wanted to get away from Ed Orgeron in the worst way.

Whether USU could’ve paid him enough to leave in the end will never be known because they never got to the point of talking $$.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm a big Dave Aranda fan this weekend.

So, who would you guys say pursued USU harder? Dave Aranda in 2018 or Graham Harrell in 2020?

AgMac wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 8:21 pm

So, who would you guys say pursued USU harder? Dave Aranda in 2018 or Graham Harrell in 2020?

I think Dave pursued (briefly) and Graham played.

AgMac wrote:So, who would you guys say pursued USU harder? Dave Aranda in 2018 or Graham Harrell in 2020?

Look. It’s fine you don’t have to believe it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Agmac, either you've conveniently forgotten or just don't know.

Besides the ones you mentioned.
Gary Patterson, HC TCU
-former Utah State assistant
Chris Peterson, former Washington HC
-former Boise State HC
Dino Babers, HC Syracuse
-former SDSU and Hawaii assistant
Bronco Mendenhall, HC Virginia
-former New Mexico assistant
Dave Aranda, HC Baylor
-former Utah State assistant
Matt Wells, HC TTU
-former Utah State assistant and HC
Mike Locksley, HC Maryland
-former New Mexico HC
Herm Edwards, HC Arizona State
-former SJSU assistant
Justin Wilcox, HC Cal
-former Boise State assistant
Jonathan Smith, HC Oregon State
-former Boise State assistant
Done Williams, HC USC
-former Nevada and SJSU assistant
Jimmy Lake, HC Washington
-former Boise State assistant
Mark Stoops, HC Kentucky
-former Wyoming assistant
Lane Kiffin, HC Ole Miss
-former Fresno State and Colorado State assistant
Ed Drinkwitz, HC Missouri
-former Boise State assistant
Josh Heupel, HC Tennessee
-former Utah State assistant

Certainly not many of the current list were HCs in the MWC but if you look further into history you can find a lot of examples.

YoungBloodAggie wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 7:33 pm

AggieFBObsession wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 6:28 pm

YoungBloodAggie wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:44 am

I am sure that someone reached out to Dave Aranda, and that between him and his agent they agreed it would be a good idea to interview, and that he may have even had some positive feelings about coming back to Logan after his success here. There is no doubt in my mind someone in our AD spoke to Aranda about this job, and he wasn't dismissive of it.

I am also sure he never would have left LSU for a paycut and less prestige. In the grand scheme of earning a P5 head coaching gig, LSU DC is higher up the totem pole than USU HC. Aranda was in that rarefied space with Brent Venables and maybe one or two other coordinators that were considered for every HC gig and are waiting for the right spot to appear. Aranda was considered golden at Wisconsin, and was held over on the LSU staff between regime changes because of how valuable he was to that defense.

So while I'm sure we've heard really cool things from our AD and some "in-the-know" boosters about how close we were to getting Aranda, I'm going to go ahead and throw his name into the Graham Harrell box of candidates that we were never going to get.

I'm glad you can be so sure. I wish the rest of us could be so sure without legitimate sources.

There are 65 G5 head coaches. Do you know how many of them were SEC coordinators immediately before getting hired as head coaches? TWO. Chip Lindsey at Troy (Auburn OC), and Tyson Helton at WKU (Tennessee OC). Not exactly common for SEC coordinators to take G5 jobs.

Oh, Aranda wants to be a P5 head coach (which he is now)? There are 65 P5 jobs. Do you know how many of those were Mountain West HC? Three. Matt Wells, Nick Rolovich, and Bryan Harsin. So if you either want to coach at Wazzu or think that USU is as reputable as Boise and can win as many games on a consistent basis...then yeah you should become a MWC HC on your way to the top. Wells and Harsin didn't exactly land at similarly impressive spots. Wells is working for a school that has won one (shared) conference championship in the last 45 years.

All of this and we haven't even mentioned that Aranda was not a run of the mill SEC coordinator. He was widely considered one of the two or three best in the country during his time at LSU.

Both of USU's 2 most recent head coaches went on to 8 figure paydays at P5 schools, one of those a legit top 25 program.

Recent history shows that success at USU leads to a big payday at a P5.

Hi, I’m a poster on USU fans. I like inside information in a demanding sort of way —-unless I disagree with it, and then I will tell you how it’s impossible and all the reasons that you’re wrong.
I will support Gary Anderson no matter what he says or does. Because I’m embarrassed about being excited and publicly supporting 2.0 I will never believe Aranda would want to come back and coach the best qb in USU history.
Thank you

bull wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:01 pm

Hi, I’m a poster on USU fans. I like inside information in a demanding sort of way —-unless I disagree with it, and then I will tell you how it’s impossible and all the reasons that you’re wrong.
I will support Gary Anderson no matter what he says or does. Because I’m embarrassed about being excited and publicly supporting 2.0 I will never believe Aranda would want to come back and coach the best qb in USU history.
Thank you

Made me laugh out loud! Thanks my Aggie brother!

3rdGenAggie wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 10:57 pm

YoungBloodAggie wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 7:33 pm

AggieFBObsession wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 6:28 pm

YoungBloodAggie wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:44 am

I am sure that someone reached out to Dave Aranda, and that between him and his agent they agreed it would be a good idea to interview, and that he may have even had some positive feelings about coming back to Logan after his success here. There is no doubt in my mind someone in our AD spoke to Aranda about this job, and he wasn't dismissive of it.

I am also sure he never would have left LSU for a paycut and less prestige. In the grand scheme of earning a P5 head coaching gig, LSU DC is higher up the totem pole than USU HC. Aranda was in that rarefied space with Brent Venables and maybe one or two other coordinators that were considered for every HC gig and are waiting for the right spot to appear. Aranda was considered golden at Wisconsin, and was held over on the LSU staff between regime changes because of how valuable he was to that defense.

So while I'm sure we've heard really cool things from our AD and some "in-the-know" boosters about how close we were to getting Aranda, I'm going to go ahead and throw his name into the Graham Harrell box of candidates that we were never going to get.

I'm glad you can be so sure. I wish the rest of us could be so sure without legitimate sources.

There are 65 G5 head coaches. Do you know how many of them were SEC coordinators immediately before getting hired as head coaches? TWO. Chip Lindsey at Troy (Auburn OC), and Tyson Helton at WKU (Tennessee OC). Not exactly common for SEC coordinators to take G5 jobs.

Oh, Aranda wants to be a P5 head coach (which he is now)? There are 65 P5 jobs. Do you know how many of those were Mountain West HC? Three. Matt Wells, Nick Rolovich, and Bryan Harsin. So if you either want to coach at Wazzu or think that USU is as reputable as Boise and can win as many games on a consistent basis...then yeah you should become a MWC HC on your way to the top. Wells and Harsin didn't exactly land at similarly impressive spots. Wells is working for a school that has won one (shared) conference championship in the last 45 years.

All of this and we haven't even mentioned that Aranda was not a run of the mill SEC coordinator. He was widely considered one of the two or three best in the country during his time at LSU.

Both of USU's 2 most recent head coaches went on to 8 figure paydays at P5 schools, one of those a legit top 25 program.

Recent history shows that success at USU leads to a big payday at a P5.

Love the sample size of two.

YoungBloodAggie wrote: ↑

October 14th, 2021, 7:10 am

3rdGenAggie wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 10:57 pm

YoungBloodAggie wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 7:33 pm

AggieFBObsession wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 6:28 pm

YoungBloodAggie wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 11:44 am

I am sure that someone reached out to Dave Aranda, and that between him and his agent they agreed it would be a good idea to interview, and that he may have even had some positive feelings about coming back to Logan after his success here. There is no doubt in my mind someone in our AD spoke to Aranda about this job, and he wasn't dismissive of it.

I am also sure he never would have left LSU for a paycut and less prestige. In the grand scheme of earning a P5 head coaching gig, LSU DC is higher up the totem pole than USU HC. Aranda was in that rarefied space with Brent Venables and maybe one or two other coordinators that were considered for every HC gig and are waiting for the right spot to appear. Aranda was considered golden at Wisconsin, and was held over on the LSU staff between regime changes because of how valuable he was to that defense.

So while I'm sure we've heard really cool things from our AD and some "in-the-know" boosters about how close we were to getting Aranda, I'm going to go ahead and throw his name into the Graham Harrell box of candidates that we were never going to get.

I'm glad you can be so sure. I wish the rest of us could be so sure without legitimate sources.

There are 65 G5 head coaches. Do you know how many of them were SEC coordinators immediately before getting hired as head coaches? TWO. Chip Lindsey at Troy (Auburn OC), and Tyson Helton at WKU (Tennessee OC). Not exactly common for SEC coordinators to take G5 jobs.

Oh, Aranda wants to be a P5 head coach (which he is now)? There are 65 P5 jobs. Do you know how many of those were Mountain West HC? Three. Matt Wells, Nick Rolovich, and Bryan Harsin. So if you either want to coach at Wazzu or think that USU is as reputable as Boise and can win as many games on a consistent basis...then yeah you should become a MWC HC on your way to the top. Wells and Harsin didn't exactly land at similarly impressive spots. Wells is working for a school that has won one (shared) conference championship in the last 45 years.

All of this and we haven't even mentioned that Aranda was not a run of the mill SEC coordinator. He was widely considered one of the two or three best in the country during his time at LSU.

Both of USU's 2 most recent head coaches went on to 8 figure paydays at P5 schools, one of those a legit top 25 program.

Recent history shows that success at USU leads to a big payday at a P5.

Love the sample size of two.

In the past 30 seasons, USU has had 8 head coaches: Weatherbie, Smith, Arslanian, Dennehy, Guy, Andersen (x2), Wells, and Anderson. Weatherbie, Smith, Andersen, and Wells all moved on to higher paying jobs. During the 1990s, there was no such thing as P5, and in some ways Weatherbie's move to Navy was considered somewhat of a lateral move. But Smith (Louisville), Andersen (Wisconsin), and Wells (Texas Tech) all moved on to schools that are much higher profile than USU, are current P5 schools, for significant pay raises. USU is clearly a place where if you can produce a winning season or two, doors will open up for better paying and higher profile jobs.

AggieFBObsession wrote: ↑

October 13th, 2021, 9:18 pm

Agmac, either you've conveniently forgotten or just don't know.

Besides the ones you mentioned.
Gary Patterson, HC TCU
-former Utah State assistant
Chris Peterson, former Washington HC
-former Boise State HC
Dino Babers, HC Syracuse
-former SDSU and Hawaii assistant
Bronco Mendenhall, HC Virginia
-former New Mexico assistant
Dave Aranda, HC Baylor
-former Utah State assistant
Matt Wells, HC TTU
-former Utah State assistant and HC
Mike Locksley, HC Maryland
-former New Mexico HC
Herm Edwards, HC Arizona State
-former SJSU assistant
Justin Wilcox, HC Cal
-former Boise State assistant
Jonathan Smith, HC Oregon State
-former Boise State assistant
Done Williams, HC USC
-former Nevada and SJSU assistant
Jimmy Lake, HC Washington
-former Boise State assistant
Mark Stoops, HC Kentucky
-former Wyoming assistant
Lane Kiffin, HC Ole Miss
-former Fresno State and Colorado State assistant
Ed Drinkwitz, HC Missouri
-former Boise State assistant
Josh Heupel, HC Tennessee
-former Utah State assistant

Certainly not many of the current list were HCs in the MWC but if you look further into history you can find a lot of examples.

In addition there is historic precedent for coaches in WAC/MW schools to move into higher paying jobs.

Urban Meyer went from Bowling Green to Utah, to all sorts of places.

Dennis Franchione to UNM to TCU (a divided WAC school at the time) to Alabama and Texas A&M.

Brady Hoke from SDSU to Michigan

Dan Hawkins from BSU to Colorado

Houston Nutt from Boise to Arkansas

Mike MacIntyre from SJSU to Colorado

Dick Toney from Hawaii to Arizona

But other than those, plus the ones listed above, and 4 of the last 8 USU coaches, none have moved up.

(Actually, I am probably missing some, that is just off the top of my head.)

@NowhereLandAggie


Thank you for sharing that list. I'm sure there's a lot more.

How many of those guys were considered the best or second-best DC in college football when they took the MW/WAC job?

YoungBloodAggie wrote: ↑

October 14th, 2021, 11:43 am

How many of those guys were considered the best or second-best DC in college football when they took the MW/WAC job?

Are the goalposts moving here?

Jim McElwain was the offensive coordinator at Alabama from 2008-11. He won two national championships there and then moved on to coach Colorado State.

He then was hired by the University of Florida. I forgot to put him there.

If you are going by that, Mike Bobo was the offensive coordinator at Georgia for over a decade.

Craig Bohl was the defensive coordinator at Nebraska and then went to FCS school NDSU.

Dave Christensen was the offensive coordinator at Missouri and became head coach at Wyoming.

Norm Chow was a coordinator all over, but moved from Utah (PAC-12) to Hawaii.

It happens all of the time. Not all succeed in the MW/WAC (G5) when they come, some get fired, some move to higher paying jobs.

NowhereLandAggie wrote: ↑

October 14th, 2021, 12:12 pm

YoungBloodAggie wrote: ↑

October 14th, 2021, 11:43 am

How many of those guys were considered the best or second-best DC in college football when they took the MW/WAC job?

Are the goalposts moving here?

Jim McElwain was the offensive coordinator at Alabama from 2008-11. He won two national championships there and then moved on to coach Colorado State.

He then was hired by the University of Florida. I forgot to put him there.

If you are going by that, Mike Bobo was the offensive coordinator at Georgia for over a decade.

Craig Bohl was the defensive coordinator at Nebraska and then went to FCS school NDSU.

Dave Christensen was the offensive coordinator at Missouri and became head coach at Hawaii.

Norm Chow was a coordinator all over, but moved from Utah (PAC-12) to Hawaii.

It happens all of the time. Not all succeed in the MW/WAC (G5) when they come, some get fired, some move to higher paying jobs.

Yeah and Lane Kiffin left from Alabama where he he was part of a staff that had only lost 1 game in two years to take a paycut at FAU in a lower conference than the MW. I also could buy Aranda being restless. Was DC at Hawaii where they won the conference in 2010, he was a successful DC for USU in 2012, successful coordinator at Wisconsin for 3 years, and successful DC at LSU for 3 years (by December of 2018) and hadn't gotten a Head Coaching job yet.

To be fair, it worked out well for Aranda. His next season at LSU they go 15-0 and win the national title and a few days later he gets the Baylor job.

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑

October 14th, 2021, 12:44 pm

NowhereLandAggie wrote: ↑

October 14th, 2021, 12:12 pm

YoungBloodAggie wrote: ↑

October 14th, 2021, 11:43 am

How many of those guys were considered the best or second-best DC in college football when they took the MW/WAC job?

Are the goalposts moving here?

Jim McElwain was the offensive coordinator at Alabama from 2008-11. He won two national championships there and then moved on to coach Colorado State.

He then was hired by the University of Florida. I forgot to put him there.

If you are going by that, Mike Bobo was the offensive coordinator at Georgia for over a decade.

Craig Bohl was the defensive coordinator at Nebraska and then went to FCS school NDSU.

Dave Christensen was the offensive coordinator at Missouri and became head coach at Hawaii.

Norm Chow was a coordinator all over, but moved from Utah (PAC-12) to Hawaii.

It happens all of the time. Not all succeed in the MW/WAC (G5) when they come, some get fired, some move to higher paying jobs.

Yeah and Lane Kiffin left from Alabama where he he was part of a staff that had only lost 1 game in two years to take a paycut at FAU in a lower conference than the MW. I also could buy Aranda being restless. Was DC at Hawaii where they won the conference in 2011, he was a successful DC for USU in 2012, successful coordinator at Wisconsin for 3 years, and successful DC at LSU for 3 more years (in December of 2018) and hadn't gotten a Head Coaching job yet.

To be fair, it worked out well for Aranda. His next season at LSU they go 15-0 and win the national title and a few days later he gets the Baylor job.

Yes. In his case it is probably the best thing that he didn't become coach at USU. Still it makes me wonder what may have been.

Having said that, Blake Anderson seems to have started something nice and will probably be around a few seasons. He isn't a hot commodity right now, but he has seen the team progress from where they were.

Yeah we will see how the season plays out, but I believe we got a good one in Anderson and our program is back on track. Even if we go 4-3 the rest of the way(we could obviously do better) that is 7-5 and a bowl bid in year one after the disaster of last year. With how we are recruiting, we are doing just fine. Obviously would have loved to have Aranda even if for a short time.

AgMan21 wrote:On a somewhat related note, did Laub withdraw all his support of Aggie athletics? I noticed there wasn't a single CVE ad in the stadium when I was there for the BYU game.

Other than the headsets, the south endzone, the suite in the nez complex, and the 4 rows of seats behind me he has.


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YoungBloodAggie wrote: ↑

October 14th, 2021, 11:43 am

How many of those guys were considered the best or second-best DC in college football when they took the MW/WAC job?

Sorry, I know this has been hashed over many times, but this is probably the very best example that came to my mind in my life outside of the message board as I was getting things done today.

Gus Malzhan was the highest paid assistant coach in the country and winner of the Broyles Award as the top assistant, offensive or defensive, in the country. He won a National Championship with Auburn in 2011 and was named the top recruiter in the SEC. He turned down Maryland and Vanderbilt, and raises of his $1.3 million salary to stay at Auburn.

He then took a job in the Sun Belt Conference at Arkansas State University where he made $850,000 per year. (Less than what Blake Anderson makes) There were no guarantees of any future openings when he moved to Jonesboro it could have been a multi-year gig or he could have even been fired and had a smaller buyout. He took a big pay cut to go from an assistant in the most powerful conference in the country to arguably the weakest conference just to be a head coach. He had ties to the state so that also played a role.

https://www.businessinsider.com/gus-mal ... te-2011-12

The rest is history, Gene Chizik was fired, he was hired back as the head coach at Auburn after a 9-3 season with the Red Wolves, and took them to the BCS title game again. He was let go last year, has a $21 million buyout, and is now head coach at future Big 12 member Central Florida.

The idea of Dave Aranda coming back to Logan wouldn't be as big of story as this one. There are only 130 FBS jobs available, and if you pass on one, there is no guarantee of a future offer.

Look at what would happen if Aranda was still in Baton Rouge. Assuming the team is in the same shape as it is with him calling the defense, the staff will all be looking for new positions in the next few weeks. Not a single one will likely end up head coach anywhere on their next stop, even though many of them are very good coaches and knowledgeable about the game. You strike when your stock is up and his was at the time.

Yeah there would be nothing crazy about Aranda or a big time coordinator coming to Logan other than the money but sometimes that is the risk you have to take to prove yourself as a leader. Coordinators leave big time programs all the time to be Head Coaches. Looking back, Graham Harrell probably has serious regrets of not taking the Aggie job considering the trainwreck USC is this year. His job prospects look a lot worse now than they did a year ago.

Right in a lot of ways the only way you can control your own destiny in the world of coaching is to become a head coach.


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Aggiefan33 wrote: ↑

October 11th, 2021, 10:26 am

somewhat related note: I have never subscribed to the Athletic, but it is sounding like it is worth it. Does anyone have any referral codes for someone looking to test the waters on this? I was thinking that in the past people had them, but maybe they were more of a limited time offer thing.

For the tread on hand - I'm sure plenty of people know, but all we seam to get is angry tweets from 'never was an Aggie' kids and people saying they can't share.

I subscribe but I never remember to open the app and just browse. I see links on message boards or Facebook or Twitter and open those.

Had a dandy on AState having four hirings in four years.