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The Next Coach
Usually I write a game worksheet on Tuesdays and might write one later this week but today I wanted to write the first of many blogs on the next coach at Clemson.

Today I want to look at the criteria and analyze what Clemson could or should be looking for with the next hire of its next football coach.

Dabo Swinney, Will Muschamp, Lane Kiffin, Rich Rodriguez, Gary Patterson, Bill Cowher, Jim Grobe, Bud Foster, Bobby Johnson, Brian Kelly or anyone else mentioned in the Clemson search is being mentioned because someone feels they have what it takes to help lead the Tigers back to glory.

I have seen these online dating services where you put what you are looking for in a potential companion and list aspects of your personality as well. I always get a kick out them because I am not sure the information that someone lists about them on a dating service is actually coming from the best source. Most of us don’t quite know how we project ourselves and it is a much better idea to have an ex list our true personality traits.

Anyway, the point is that millions of people pay millions of dollars each year for a computer program to help find their next victim, I mean companion. A person puts all of these traits they are looking for into the profile but I can’t imagine anyone finding the perfect, 100% match like a commercial may tell you.

When Terry Don Phillips hires a consulting staff or two on the search, he will be asked to list some of the things he is looking for in his next head coach. This is just a guideline to get them to the interview process. Here is a list of some of the criteria that could be considered:

Head Coaching Experience
Some feel this is very important while others downplay the significance. There are examples of big time head coaches that were very successful in big-time programs in their first head coaching position. Bob Stoops at Oklahoma is perhaps the best example. Mark Richt at Georgia is another.

Of the top ten schools in this week’s BCS standings, five head coaches had previous head coaching experience and five did not. Mac Brown, Nick Saban, Pete Carroll, Jim Tressell and Urban Myer were previously head coaching experience. Joe Paterno, Bob Stoops, Mike Gundy, Mark Richt and Mike Leach had not been head coaches before their current gigs.

Last year’s BCS teams were LSU, Ohio State, Southern Cal, Illinois, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Hawaii, Georgia, Virginia Tech and Kansas. Les Miles was 28-21 at Oklahoma State before he took the LSU job. Jim Tressel was very successful at Youngstown State but had never coached at the Division I-A level before he came to Ohio State. Pete Carroll’s 33-31 record in the NFL would not have gotten him into the Hall of Fame. Ron Zook was fired for going 23-14 at Florida in his first head coaching job. Frank Beamer was 42-23 at Murray State before taking over at Virginia Tech. Bob Stoops, Rich Rodriquez, Mark Richt and Mark Mangino were not head coaches before they led their teams to the BCS.

Coordinator Experience
Almost every Division I-A head coach has had experience as a coordinator. It is usually the case because of the natural progression in the industry. In Clemson’s case however, the Tigers most successful coach in school history, Danny Ford, was not a coordinator before he took over as the head man.

Major Division I-A Experience
Some athletic directors would shy away from a guy who has not been around big-time college football. Brian Kelly at Cincinnati is one of the few candidates for some big jobs this year that does not have that kind of experience. He played at coached at Assumption College before moving on to Grand Valley State, Central Michigan and Cincinnati. Some still think he is one of the nation’s top coaches after winning two Division II national titles and he is currently 16-4 in his first 20 games at Cincinnati.

Leadership
I think this is the single most important trait to look for. Leaders are the ones that can inspire people to follow them. Motivation is a big key to success and leading people to go onto to greater things is a key characteristic to me.

Good Recruiter
Recruiting is the life blood to success in college football. I think it is paramount that Clemson hires someone that is noted as a good recruiter. To me the single most important aspect of recruiting is work ethic. I have seen some guys who have little personality go on to become great recruiters because of their relentless work ethic.

Ties to the Region
Some feel this is important but others down play the significance. While I think it is important to have some ties to the area, it is not the most important issue. Relationships take a long time to build but personalities and work ethic can overcome that.

Energetic
There is no doubt in my mind that the next coach at Clemson has to be an energetic leader that is relentless in his pursuit of excellence. The job requires a ton of energy and the next coach needs to be a 14-16 hour a day guy.

Toughness
Because of the perception of this program, I think it is very important that the next head coach bring a sense of toughness. A football team takes on the personality of its coach and this program needs a tougher presence.

Availability
My friend used to tell me that the number one thing he used to look at when sizing up his feelings towards a girl is what she thought about him. He said that it makes no sense to try to talk someone into liking you. There are a lot of candidates out there but I want someone who really thinks this job is one of the top jobs in America.

Summary
I am not sure if Clemson will hire someone who has already been a head coach or not. I am not sure if he will have any ties to the region. Who knows if this will be a young man or not. I do think this will be Terry Don’s last big hire. This will be his legacy at Clemson. I think this hire is one of the most important in Clemson history. This program has a lot of things in place to make it a top 15 program but this next hire is the key.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Comments:

Great blog Mickey. I don't think ties to the area is important. There has been many coaches that weren't tied to where they are now and they are succcessful. I think the most important things are: being an energetic motivator, atleast coordinator experience, and most of all, leadership.

Posted by orangepaw7 on October 21, 2008 at 12:01 PM EDT #

Clemson football is not broke.
We need someone just like Bowden except...
More Fire
More Personality

Posted by you on October 21, 2008 at 12:18 PM EDT #

Leadership and someone that can instill toughness is what is needed.

Posted by garegit on October 21, 2008 at 12:49 PM EDT #

Mickey, I think you should add Mark Mangino (Kansas) to your list and maybe we should even try to go after Paul Johnson (GT).

Posted by tigerdonl on October 21, 2008 at 12:57 PM EDT #

Maybe "ties to the area" for some people is another way of saying "relating to the region". In other words, a southern guy who's lived and coached in the south might be able to relate better with recruits and fans in SC, GA, NC, and FL.

Maybe this attribute was more important 30-40 years ago. I tend to think that a west-coast or midwestern guy would not have much trouble these days.

Posted by mhuyser on October 21, 2008 at 12:57 PM EDT #

Ties to religion????

Are you saying that a person must be religious to hold this certain state job??

A coach is hired to win football games, not lead a bible study.

I understand where you are coming from Mickey but the question "Are you Christian? or a tamborine playing Baptist" better not be anywhere on TDP's list of questions.

Posted by CUwRx on October 21, 2008 at 01:33 PM EDT #

USC has shown us the results of hiring "proven" hall of fame caliber, coaches. I believe in the "hire for attitude" approach. Big shots usually come with big egos and are likely to love themselves a heck of a lot more than they will ever love Clemson. Give me a young charismatic LEADER who loves Clemson. What does loving Clemson have to do with it? Staying here once some success has been achieved. Golly... where in the world would we find one of those? "That Boy" Swinney comes to mind. I agree we need to look around. Just let's not forget to look under our noses.

Posted by Airport4 on October 21, 2008 at 01:39 PM EDT #

CUwRx: You read it wrong. Micky said Ties to the region not religion. Recruiting ties is what he was talking about.

Posted by Orange on October 21, 2008 at 02:00 PM EDT #

Great blog Mickey! All those qualities you mention seem to fit Dabo well except being a coordinator. I liked your point that even Danny Ford was not a coordinator when he got hired which I did not even know. I just assumed he was a coordinator. That almost makes my mind up but I do still want to see how we look for the rest of our games. Dabo has already changed a lot in his first week and I like every thing he's said so far. I'm ALL IN!

Posted by Orange on October 21, 2008 at 02:03 PM EDT #

Posted by Orange on October 21, 2008 at 02:14 PM EDT #

CUwRx: You read it wrong. Micky said Ties to the region not religion. Recruiting ties is what he was talking about.

Posted by Orange on October 21, 2008 at 02:14 PM EDT #

CUwRx: You read it wrong. Micky said Ties to the region not religion. Recruiting ties is what he was talking about.

Posted by Orange on October 21, 2008 at 02:14 PM EDT #

I live in Austin, Texas home of the number one ranked Longhorns. The fans out here don't settle for not winning Big 12 championships and being in the hunt for BCS bowls. They got Mack Brown and he became a Longhorn instantly. You would have sworn when he got the job that he was born in the UT campus infirmary. Clemson won't get there with Dabo, as much as we like him right now. Dabo will want to keep all the coaches that he has now, which will be his demise. So, I recommend to look at all conferences for an outstanding coach and let him bring in his new staff.

Posted by tenniswarrior56 on October 21, 2008 at 02:57 PM EDT #

Tenniswarrior,

Umm, Dabo did not keep Rob Spence, so I see no reason why you would assume he would keep everyone else on the staff. We ALL agree he should keep Napier, but I would be shocked if he did not shake things up if he gets the job. The bottom line is that Dabo wants to win and be successfull, and if that means sending some of the staff down the road, then I have no doubt he would do it, just because he sees the big picture and knows what must be done must be done. I think that is the main difference between him and Coach Bowden.

Posted by Locotiger on October 21, 2008 at 03:40 PM EDT #

Preferably someone who loves Clemson and it pains them to see the program in the shambles its in right now. They would take it personally after every loss and instill that quality into their players.

Completely opposite of Bowden who would always rationalize a loss by saying stupid stuff like "Well LSU and USC lost today, half of the games have a loser..." BS like that just lets the players know that you are OK with losing. They should hate to lose.

Posted by drock4484 on October 21, 2008 at 03:43 PM EDT #

Dabo is Tommy's mini-me.

Posted by dawk2 on October 21, 2008 at 04:22 PM EDT #

Mickey you need to pick up the pace. You have to get a coach in here pretty quick. Tick-Tock

CUwrx - Please put the bottle down and join a 10 step program.

Posted by GWC on October 21, 2008 at 04:23 PM EDT #

I have a lot of faith in TDP's decision. He did hire OLIVER PURNELL and we all know that is going well. Also, the HEAD COACH doesn't have to have ties to the region, but some of the coaches he hires under him better, if we want to keep recruiting top notch athletes.

Posted by Alans24 on October 21, 2008 at 04:27 PM EDT #

Here are my questions for next year that I feel like are as important as any coaching changes.

Our offensive line is still as terrible halfway through the season as it was the beginning. There is no excuse for that at this point. AM I WRONG TO ASSUME OUR OFFENSIVE LINE IS GOING TO SUCK AGAIN NEXT YEAR?????

I love Korn as much as anybody because he gives us hope but he seems awful fragile to me. AM I WRONG TO ASSUME THAT HE WILL NEVER ACTUALLY MAKE THROUGH AN ENTIRE GAME MUCH LESS AN ENTIRE SEASON??????

Our super frosh running back with his big size and speed has only proven to me that he fumbles the ball way too much.

Maybe these kids will learn the fundamentals but they need some serious Favre toughness and maybe just divine intervention on fundamentals.

In the meantime I will keep going to games, but instead of keeping whiskey in my flask, I will have to keep substituting Malox.

Posted by tiger7272 on October 21, 2008 at 04:34 PM EDT #

Lane Kiffin meets 7-out-of-8 of Mickey's criteria, only missing out on ties to the region. But at USC he was considered the best recruiter in the country-- and he should be even more attractive to recruits now that he's been an NFL head coach. If he were to retain some guys like Swinney & Napier, he'd have some built-in regional recruiters. Talk to Kiffin now and see if he'd be willing to keep Swinney & Napier (and possibly some others). Seems ideal.

Posted by Razzmatazz on October 21, 2008 at 08:27 PM EDT #

We have to keep both Swinney and Napier if an outside coach is hired. We have to do something now to retain and/or get new recruits this time of the year. If we wait till Dec, we will lose many good recruits. So tell Swinney and Naper NOW that they will be around irregardless of whom is the new coach.

Posted by jerryclem on October 21, 2008 at 08:46 PM EDT #

Is Mickey writing the resume for Dabo or what ?

Posted by DocHolliday on October 21, 2008 at 09:22 PM EDT #

Why do you think this will be Terry Don's last big hire? Is he planning to leave/retire?

Posted by Tigergal85 on October 21, 2008 at 10:38 PM EDT #

Brian Kelly!

Posted by Clemson_Orange on October 22, 2008 at 02:03 AM EDT #

Is everybody forgetting Chris Petersen at Boise Sate...clean program, a bcs win and another this year, and several conference championships? Surely we could sway him with the lure of bigger facilities/prospects/$. His offensive mind with a solid DC would spell success.

Posted by polychrome on October 22, 2008 at 05:22 PM EDT #