TSN's Dienhart ranks this year's coaching hires

**dsouth** · 02-06-2007, 09:26 AM

i would say brian kelly is the guy you would have to wonder how long he would be around, given how he was job shopping during playoffs and taking a job before a bowl game. sorry the article was written by a tool.

**isuno1fan** · 02-06-2007, 09:29 AM

Brian Kelly is a great coach that can do the most with less. The problem is if ISU would have hired Kelly, that is exactly what he would have to do. Use his schemes to better more talented teams.

I believe that although Gene may have some head coach learning to do (hopefully not to the extent of MAC since MAC was still learning after 12 years), he gives us the best chance to have Big 12 talent on the field week in and week out.

**CyCloned** · 02-06-2007, 09:43 AM

This is a typical know it all sports guy that will come back in one or two years and point to the 3 or 4 guys he listed that have great sucess, telling us all how clever he is. Of course he won't mention the 3 or 4 that flop, and there will be that many on this list. Time will tell who made the great hire.

**cycloneworld** · 02-06-2007, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by benjay

Well in a sense, he is right. Kelly is more of a "known" quantity than Chizik. Hiring him just wouldn't have caused a ruckus like Chizik's hire.

Just because he is more of a "known" quantity or has head coaching experience doesn't make him better than Chizik.

**Johnny8** · 02-06-2007, 09:48 AM

The reason we hired Chizik is because our goal is to win championships, and if anyone on that list knows how to win championships at the highest level it's Gene Chizik. It's as simple as that.

**CyBobby** · 02-06-2007, 09:53 AM

Originally Posted by mjones34

Screw that guy, we got the best damn guy in the country!!

Chizik was my guy before anybody around here even knew that Gene Chizik was a football coach. If Pollard is willing to pay the guy one million bucks a year, Chizik must be the real thing in my humble opinion.

Iowa State is easy to dump on because we've been patsies for the last 29 years!

To all the naysayers...I'm buying season tickets are YOU?

**benjay** · 02-06-2007, 10:00 AM

I hope you didn't take my comment as naysaying. I love the Chizik hire. I'm just saying it's not out of left field for a so-called "objective" analyst to rate Kelly higher.

And of course I have season tickets. I'm a Cyclone Fanatic.

**garn91** · 02-06-2007, 10:13 AM

I don't intend to starting a pi$$ing match here, but after reading and re-reading Dienhart's list, he has has something negative to say about everyone on that list execpt Kragthorpe, Saban, and perhaps Davis.

So let me ask you guys this, if you were writing that piece instead of Dienhart, what would you list as positives about the Chizik hire?

Good recruiter? No question about it. However, having coaches who are execellent recruiters isn't a luxury anymore, it's a must have in this day and age of big time college football.

Great defensive coach? No question about it.

Championship Experience? No question about it.

One of the things I found ironic in the Chizik blurb is that Dienhart bought up the tendency of Chizik to move around alot, after all this will be Chizik's 4th stop since 2001 (Central Fl., Auburn, Texas, and now Iowa St.).

Correct me if i'm wrong, but wasn't "job jumping" on the list of your negatives regarding Jay Norvell?

I'm sure my last question will open a can of worms, but I found it ironic that Dienhart would question "job jumping" when you guys were doing the same thing during the Norvell interview.

Regardless of who was going to be named HC at Iowa St., the new guy is going to have weapons on offense (Meyer, Blythe, etc.) to work with, something that most new head coaches don't have the luxury of when they arrive at their new school.

**ISUFan22** · 02-06-2007, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by garn91

Correct me if i'm wrong, but wasn't "job jumping" on the list of your negatives regarding Jay Norvell?

That was only one of the reasons.

Jay was never promoted at the same school. Each time he moved up, he had to leave his current job.

Jay also appears to be a "puppet" in the offensive system at Nebraska has he doesn't even call the plays.

And - the fact Callahan was working desperately to "sell" him just doesn't give me the warm-n-fuzzies. Coaches don't go well out of their way to draw attention to their assistants for other jobs. Did Norvell get one of the many head coaching jobs? Nope. Maybe if he asks real nice, Dorrell will let him call a play or two at UCLA. Like on 4th and 25...well...maybe.

Dienhart doesn't say anything here that isn't clearly obvious. However, he's had it in for ISU ever since they decided to go with Chizik instead of his golden boy Kelly. Both Chizik and Kelly have their pros and cons...for the most part being rather even. I personally like the move ISU made as it's a bigger name and a Big 12 guy. I can give my personal opinion - because I'm on an internet message board and don't write for a publication.

Dienhart on the other hand is using his article as a way to projectile vomit his personal love for Kelly and ill-will toward ISU for not hiring him.

**ChrisMWilliams** · 02-06-2007, 10:32 AM

I was shocked when I read that. I talked with Tom a lot during the coaching search and he was always really high on Chizik. Wow...I really can't believe what I just read. I'm not really angry about it, just surprised.

**Clonefan94** · 02-06-2007, 10:33 AM

One thing I wouldn't say is, "Do you think he'll be around long if he has success?" I think that is a question for any coach. And truly the only thing people can bash ISU on with this hire. It's their way of saying, "You got a good guy, but, you are still ISU, so don't be happy for long!" I mean really, with the Saben hire, I don't think any young coach can be said for sure they will remain somewhere. What about Calahan, will he really remain at NU forever if he has some success? Or is it possible he could move on to a better payday or back to the NFL? I'd say that's an option for him as well. Also, as mentioned by Cybone and Dsouth, why would Kelly have been a great hire as far as sticking around. He wouldn't be lured by a bigger paycheck or a more prestigious program? Maybe he can take Saben's place at Bama when another team hires him away from there. I suppose this guy has inside information that even with great success, Kelly would have stuck around ISU forever. Why is Kelly any less inclined to move on? It's a stupid argument that is true everywhere, yet, somehow only get's mentioned with ISU and Chizik. For crying out loud, you'd think we were the ******** of Division 1 football the way people sometimes talk about us. And continually berate any moves we make to attempt to improve. We're just trying to bring some success to our program. Can't people just let it be at that?

**cycloneworld** · 02-06-2007, 10:38 AM

Originally Posted by garn91

One of the things I found ironic in the Chizik blurb is that Dienhart bought up the tendency of Chizik to move around alot, after all this will be Chizik's 4th stop since 2001 (Central Fl., Auburn, Texas, and now Iowa St.).

How can you fault 2 of 3 of those moves? If Auburn comes calling you while you are at Central Florida, how do you not leave?

I'm not sure why he left Auburn for Texas but I suppose you could call that a lateral move.

He leaves Texas for Iowa State to become a Head Coach. How can you fault him for that?

Norvell's recent past took him from the Colts WR coach to OU WR coach...I would call that a step down. He then went to Oakland to be the WR coach (a step up). He was then fired by Oakland (obviously a big step down). He lands at Nebraska. Then goes to UCLA for the same job (a lateral move at best).

See the difference?

**cydsho** · 02-06-2007, 10:41 AM

Regarding "job jumping", I think Chizik had said the reason he didn't pursue a HC position after Auburn was that he wanted to experience a different style of coaching before moving on. Maybe that is spin but I don't think he went to texas because nobody wanted to hire him.
I think learning has been a big thing for him so getting more experience at different places isn't a bad thing and is part of his MO. He did also use his own time to learn the Bucs def while at CFU.