Utah's next coach

[Donuthole]

Even Gonzaga is now beeing put in its proper place.

Is that the latest buzz?

[Top Ute]

My biggest thing is that whoever it is needs to have previous head coaching experience.

Neither Giacoletti nor Boylen had been The Man before. It is nice to take a flyer on a guy, but only once has Hill hired a guy with no head coaching experience before who had success, and that guy is Whittingham, someone who had been with the program for 95 years* before he was finally hired.


*Coaching years are like dog years

Giacoletti was the HC at Eastern Washington. But I get your point. Majerus, Foster and Gardner all had HC experience prior to coming to Utah, and Pimm was to hoops like Whittingham was to football -- a loyal assistant who had been around a very long time.

Giacoletti made it to a Sweet 16, but the failures on Utah's end (Archibald, Boylen) were career assistants before coming to Utah. Obviously, there's something to be said about previous HC experience.

[Top Ute]

Why do you say that about Connor?

He's been either passed over or flat-out ignored for the opening twice in the last six years. What has Connor done to change perception of his ability? And now Utah is in the Pac-10, and will draw interest from coaches who may have had second-doubts about the job in the past.

[Top Ute]

By this logic, Washington State or Oregon State would be an upgrade for Mark Few? Pretty myopic for a Ute fan to even bring up the name Dave Rose in a coaching discussion.

We've hired HCs from the MAC and Big Sky. No coach from an inferior conference like the WCC is in a position to look down on Utah, save for maybe Mark Few. And he's only 1-1 against Utah.

[scottie]

He's been either passed over or flat-out ignored for the opening twice in the last six years. What has Connor done to change perception of his ability? And now Utah is in the Pac-10, and will draw interest from coaches who may have had second-doubts about the job in the past.

I know that in 2006 Connor interviewed for the Idaho State job. I don't know if it was ever offered to him.

[SeattleUte]

Utah needs a home run hire like Arizona's last hire. Connor would not be a home run hire.

[Goatnapper'96]

We've hired HCs from the MAC and Big Sky. No coach from an inferior conference like the WCC is in a position to look down on Utah, save for maybe Mark Few. And he's only 1-1 against Utah.

I think Dave Rose looks down upon the Utah job. But it is probably important to him that you don't think he is in a position to do that. I don't know if it will influence him away from looking down on Utah, but I am pretty convinced it will cause him to think a little bit more about it before returning again to looking down upon the Utah job.

But Dave Rice might not look down upon the Utah job. I think he is going to make a fabulous HC some day! You might want him before UNLV picks him up.

[Top Ute]

The more I see and hear about Boylen's Utes the more I'm convinced that he doesn't have what it takes to develop any kind of offensive game for his team. I don't think he will turn things around at Utah, and I believe that within a season or two Dr. Chris Hill will be out looking for a new coach. Again.

Who do you Ute fans think is on the short list? I keep reading Ute fans talk about Dave Rose, and there are more than a few that think it a foregone conclusion that Rose would very interested in a move to Utah. I'm sorry, but I don't see it. Yes, the new conference affiliation might be attractive, but when it comes to the coaching discussion, these same fans forget what they spend most post-game evenings talking about - the abysmal state of the overall program. Attendance, marketing, support, etc.

You won't see Dave Rose out begging for people to come to the games. Rose has a good thing going at BYU, and I don't see him deciding to leave for a job at Utah.

I want someone who can recruit top talent. Xs and Os are almost secondary -- that's what good assistants are for. You can only go so far in the Pac-10 by placing an emphasis on schemes -- UCLA is seeing it right now, and Washington State was a poster child for that under Dick Bennett's kid earlier this decade.

I've been saying his name for years, but Gib Arnold would be a great hire for Utah (Disclaimer: We have faint ties from the mission field, so I consider him a borderline acquaintance). Yeah, SeattleUte and LAUte will wretch over the idea of hiring Frank Arnold's son, but it's a slam-dunk, IMO. We can keep Barret Peery on staff (the two coached together at College of Southern Idaho, when Gib was HC) and keep our JUCO ties intact -- the only thing that's worked for us in the last five years, recruiting-wise.

And Gib has recruited the Pac-10 and California for a wide range of schools. That he's LDS immediately makes us a player in-state. He has the requisite HC experience as well. If he can get Hawaii to 17-18 wins by next year, you know the man can coach, as Hawaii was in worse shape than Utah was before Boylen arrived.

[Goatnapper'96]

Utah needs a home run hire like Arizona's last hire. Connor would not be a home run hire.

I agree. Lucky for Utah they have an AD who has never indicated that he is the great maestro for identifying brilliant gems in the coaching rough and he would never say that "great coaches don't come to Utah but Utah makes great coaches."

Saying all that, great hires are frequently as much about luck as anything else and that alone should change for Hill/the Utes sometime. The good doctor might not be the genius he was a decade ago, but luck can make anyone look real smart!

[Goatnapper'96]

I want someone who can recruit top talent. Xs and Os are almost secondary -- that's what good assistants are for. You can only go so far in the Pac-10 by placing an emphasis on schemes -- UCLA is seeing it right now, and Washington State was a poster child for that under Dick Bennett's kid earlier this decade.

I've been saying his name for years, but Gib Arnold would be a great hire for Utah (Disclaimer: We have faint ties from the mission field, so I consider him a borderline acquaintance). Yeah, SeattleUte and LAUte will wretch over the idea of hiring Frank Arnold's son, but it's a slam-dunk, IMO. We can keep Barret Peery on staff (the two coached together at College of Southern Idaho, when Gib was HC) and keep our JUCO ties intact -- the only thing that's worked for us in the last five years, recruiting-wise.

And Gib has recruited the Pac-10 and California for a wide range of schools. That he's LDS immediately makes us a player in-state. He has the requisite HC experience as well. If he can get Hawaii to 17-18 wins by next year, you know the man can coach, as Hawaii was in worse shape than Utah was before Boylen arrived.

I think Gib is going to be a pretty solid HC someday. My brother and he were quite chummy when he was in Twin Falls. I think he has recruited some really solid talent over to Hawaii. This is a really good idea.

[Non Sequitur]

I wouldn't be surprised if Utah took a look at Dave Rice. Rice will eventually be a head coach and I think a pretty good one. And he knows he will never be the head coach at BYU.

[Blueintheface]

Lost in this discussion is how respectful Boylen has been with his principle rival. He's understood the importance of the games but has never made the mistake of degrating his rival as others have. Instead he's chosen to be respectful and always complimentary.

Maybe that, more than anything, is why Ute fans want him gone despite an obvious team improvement this year?

I also think that tirade directed at Gordon Monson earned him at least a 2 year extension.

[U-Ute]

Lost in this discussion is how respectful Boylen has been with his principle rival. He's understood the importance of the games but has never made the mistake of degrating his rival as others have. Instead he's chosen to be respectful and always complimentary.

Maybe that, more than anything, is why Ute fans want him gone despite an obvious team improvement this year?

I also think that tirade directed at Gordon Monson earned him at least a 2 year extension.

You are way off base on all of this. At least from my perspective.

Yes, the team is improved this year, but by bringing in good JC talent. Boylen has not shown the ability to develop the talent from the HS level, which you need to do to compete.

The biggest complaint I've heard from Ute fans is that our offense looks like a schoolyard playground. Where's this 3" thick playbook? Where is the inside presence? None of that stuff has developed in the time Boylen has been here.

I don't think Ute fans are concerned about whether or not Boylen calls BYU the "team down south" or not.

[Goatnapper'96]

I wouldn't be surprised if Utah took a look at Dave Rice. Rice will eventually be a head coach and I think a pretty good one. And he knows he will never be the head coach at BYU.

Many a good brother found the LDS Church to get laid, is wanting to be the HC at BYU any less honorable a motivation?

[Blueintheface]

You are way off base on all of this. At least from my perspective.

Yes, the team is improved this year, but by bringing in good JC talent. Boylen has not shown the ability to develop the talent from the HS level, which you need to do to compete.

The biggest complaint I've heard from Ute fans is that our offense looks like a schoolyard playground. Where's this 3" thick playbook? Where is the inside presence? None of that stuff has developed in the time Boylen has been here.

I don't think Ute fans are concerned about whether or not Boylen calls BYU the "team down south" or not.

I agree that winning trumps everything, including pettiness, but Boylen had no choice with the defections/dismissals last year and found a real gem at the 11th hour.

I also agree that he may not know what to do with that admittedly short-term solution but at least the talent is currently better, right? That has to count for something. Of course I'm a fan of a historically mediocre team so...