Some Thoughts On Potential Coaching Hires

[ShotgunDawg]

First off, today is a terrible day. As bad as it is for Cannizaro, it's even worse for the assistant coaches that had the opportunity to coach at MSU, did a good job, & were on their way to building a career themselves, before their selfish boss derailed their career when they were doing good jobs & everything right.

That being said, here are my thoughts on who MSU should target in the coaching search:

- While I think Cannizaro was a good hire from a profile standpoint (recruiter, energy, etc), I'm don't think Cohen can afford to go down the same road again of getting an inexperienced head coach who has never been the "the guy". He has to go get a sitting power 5 head coach that he can trust to nurture the program.

That being said here are the names I would consider:

Safe Hire

Butch Thompson - I would make Butch the odds on favorite because Cohen will want someone he can trust. Butch isn't sexy, but he'd do a quality job. The program would lack ceiling but it would be steady.

Tier 1

Dan McDonald - Throw a bunch of money at McDonald & make him say no. He probably will say no.
Jim Schlossnagle - Throw a bunch of money at Scholss & make him say no. He will probably say no.

Tier 2: The likely hires if he does not just hire Butch

Tim Tadlock - Texas Tech - Tadlock has done a hell of a job & has a great staff. The Texas Tech staff has done a better job than most anyone in America at finding grinders & underrated players across America that can play. You could make an argument that the new Dudy Noble will take care of national recruiting & that the most important thing may be to have a coaching staff that isn't scared to take a chance on non-famous players. Texas Tech is the Wisconsin/ Michigan State/ Mississippi State when comparing college football to college baseball. Not sexy but we'd win big.
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Nick Mingione - Nick is Cannizaro but more grounded. KY is building a new stadium & Nick has a good program there. Not sure he'd leave.

Brad Bohannon - Coach at Alabama. May be one of the best evaluators of 14-15 year old boys on the planet. As early recruiting more a part of college baseball, Bohannon could make some sense.

Tony Vitello - Tony is maybe the best recruiter in America. Head coach at Tennessee now & finds underrated players. He built & is responsible for Arkansas' roster. High energy but is risky due to potentially having another Cannizaro situation.