John Cohen's Hires

[BrunswickDawg]

Cohen is much more qualified to hire a coach than the cheerleader was. He will get input from the money guys and Keenum on the hire as well. It's not like he acts alone. The Cheerleader was told to hire Howland- he didnt lead a search and make the hire. It was set up for him.

Cann was a good hire. He was successful in his 1 year. Him going nuts over a co-worker couldnt have been predicted. Ask Petrino, Wimp Sanderson, and many other coaches across this great nation. Hell, Mullen was lucky his antics got cover.

JoMo seemed like a decent hire but the guy wasnt ready for the South. Some of that should have been picked during interviews up in my opinion. Jury still out on Leach but it was an outside the box hire. We will at least compete for bowls under Leach without the drama and lack of discipline of JoMo

If we dont make the Tourney- might want to watch for a retirement by Howland.

To me, I don't think any of the Big 4 hires have been questionable. All have been hires who had all the credentials and credibility you look for -it's not like they were Rick Ray. I know from my own experience hiring can be the ultimate crap shoot - you really just don't know how someone is going to perform until they do or don't. Just look at how many big name college and pro coaches look all world at one place and like the second coming of Croom at the next. And don't give me the "good AD's know" speech. Mal Moore was one of the best and he hired Mike Price and Mike Shula. Mitch Barnhardt is considered one of the best - and he hired Joker Phillips. The key is knowing when things aren't working and taking measures to correct them.

From that perspective, I think Cohen has been very strong. He nipped the Cann thing in the bud when a lot of AD's would have waited until either the season was lost or wait the entire season. He fired the guy 3 games in, saving the season, named a great caretaker and then made the right hire for the long-term (instead of taking the easy route of just naming Hendo HC). He understood the negative impact Mullen's job hunts and the Country club recruiting was having and told him to shit or get off the pot - that's ballsy and was the right call for the health of the program. Firing JoMo was right for the health of the program. If rumors are accurate, he handled the Vic situation correctly, and made a hire that definitely checked all the boxes.

I'm not stating this as a "pro-Cohen" post - I think there are some legit criticisms on marketing, personnel levels, and some gameday operations issues that need to be addressed.