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Coaching rumblings

Haha -- if it was so obvious in coming, why are you seemingly butt hurt about it? You had plenty of time to prepare yourself.

Butt hurt? Tell you what, Mr Horn, if you took the time to read my prior post, perhaps it might make a little more sense to you. Meanwhile, try to get your facts straight.[/QUOTE]

I read it. Did Herman piss you off the way he left? If so, you went from love to hate.
 
I want to know what happened to Petrino becoming the head coach. I'm also still waiting for the MWC invite.
Guess we have to fast forward to this time next year for the coaching change but if Kugler and staff miraculously pull off a winning season he will get a new 5 year contract, no doubt. The conference affiliation might change but it will not likely be to the MWC. Can't see then going past 12 members and UTEP's athletics are not a hot item right now. Not even lukewarm.
 
In what parallel universe would Sabin possibly fire the offensive coordinator of a team that would probably finish second in the NFL East this year? With a pure freshman at QB (from Texas, no less)? Kiffin and Les Miles are squarely in the mix for UH HC. Applewhite's got some pretty serious baggage, may/may not be welcomed back in Austin with Herman. DC Orlando probably a more likely choice if process stays internal. In any event, money will not be an issue in the next hire.

BTW, not just sour grapes, but Herman pissed off a TON people, not because he left for the Evil Empire, but the manner in which it came down. Absolute worst case of false strategic leaks, political intrigue, and back-stabbing. Just killed the team in final game v Memphis, Herman left skeleton staff for UH bowl game, now he's poaching Houston commits. That karma thing is real...

I'm guessing, knowing the arrogance of UT, they wanted him to start now. The announcement could've waited until afterwards. Can't stand that school.
 
Look, in two seasons under Herman, Houston won 22 football games (1 left to play) over the past two seasons and went 6-0 against Top 20 teams, including wins over #8 Florida State, #3 Oklahoma, and #3 Louisville. It's been a good run and UH returns 80% of it's two deep roster next season, so the best is probably yet to come. It's a business, I totally get that. But here's a nugget, Herman did NOT leave Houston for money! Again, that's his prerogative, except that he previously told his boss and his boss's boss at UH that he would not leave if Houston matched an offer. They did, he lied, then he left.

Now, if you like conspiracy theories, several weeks earlier, B12 decides NOT to expand after literally months of intrigue and jerking multiple schools around, including Houston, who is as qualified on and off the field as many/most of the schools currently in the B12. ESPN upped the $, so B12 stands pat despite every indication that expansion was inevitable and in their long-term financial interest. Now, Texas KNEW Herman had a $5 million bonus waiting and would likely sign a long-term deal IF UH joined a P5 conference. Sooo, within 6 weeks, Houston is denied entry into the B12 and Herman is the new football coach at Texas. Of course, Strong did his part at the end of the season to make this happen, but there's a lot to unpack here.

Now, if was known the UT president was pro-Strong, even with the Kansas and TCU losses. So, on Thanksgiving night, during the nationally televised AnM/LSU game, ESPN CONTINUOUSLY leaked the lie spread by Herman's agent and UT boosters that Herman had met with LSU officials and was ready to sign a contract by the end of the week, his agent was trying pit UT against LSU in a bidding war for Herman. (BTW, keep in mind, Houston and Herman are that moment in Memphis getting ready for a game the following day.) Senior UT officials see their dream coach ready to sign with LSU and stuff REALLY starts to happen. After TCU loss, boosters/officials convince UT president that Herman is the answer and is slipping away, time is short. Within hours, Herman signs a contract with Texas. Ironically, LSU opted for Orgeron after they killed AnM on Thanksgiving, LSU AD said his decision made easier when Herman's agent reportedly tried to jack up the price using Texas as leverage. So, Herman goes to Austin, leaves a skeleton staff to coach UH in it's bowl game, and immediately starts trying to poach Houston recruits (e.g. QB from Tyler).

Much more info than you need on a UTEP board, I know, but in response to your comment about Texas, this is largely the story behind Herman's departure from Houston to Texas. Rest assure he leaves with our best wishes.

BTW, latest word is Texas is now attempting to "negotiate" Herman's $2.5 million buyout. If you believe in karma, Oklahoma's opening game beatdown against Houston is the reason the B12 will not have a representative in this year's CFP, costing the conference millions.

Sorry for the long...
 
Seems like Paul Petrino is on the radar for WKU. Some WKU fan says they are targeting Charlie Strong. Probably will not get him but you can't blame the AD for setting their goals high.
 
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Haha -- if it was so obvious in coming, why are you seemingly butt hurt about it? You had plenty of time to prepare yourself.

Butt hurt? Tell you what, Mr Horn, if you took the time to read my prior post, perhaps it might make a little more sense to you. Meanwhile, try to get your facts straight.[/QUOTE]

So is Kiffin Houston's man? If so, do you like the hire?
 
One thing that I heard differently than you, Laser. Herman did meet with LSU but he flat out denied doing so. Alleva, LSU's AD, was upset enough about the situation that he went to press with it saying that they had indeed met and that Herm had agreed in principle to a deal and was supposed to put it in ink within 24 hours. When CTH's agent called and told Alleva they needed more time because they were meeting with UT, and said, "oh by the way we're gonna need to up the cash on that contract we already agreed upon", Alleva said, "Deal is off. I'll take the guy who wants the job, not the guy who is all about the money" and hung up on his ass. Of course that 'more money' was just a play at leveraging more $$$ outta Horn. Herm was always gonna go to UT, but his agent made one last ditch effort to up that meager 5 mil/year.

(This was Alleva's claim. I tend to believe him over anyone else. He even risked losing his backup plan, Orgeron, by doing coming forward with this info)
 
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Yes, very close accounts, with a couple of small but important adds.

First, it is unclear if it was Herman, his agent, or both (or neither) that met with Alleva before the game at A&M (somebody knows the truth!). That's significant IMO because I do not believe Yurechek was informed or gave LSU permission to speak with TH or his agent - he was still under contract. And if Herman DID personally meet with Alleva that week, that was even worse IMO because 1) he was getting ready for an important game at Memphis, and 2) he did so without permission and behind the UH AD's back - and then lied about it. In any case, ESPN was only too happy to run with the planted story about Herman's plans to sign with LSU the day after UH/Memphis game. Horn bigs started to panic, as was the intention.

Second, consensus opinion is that key UT boosters were ALSO pimping the LSU/Herman story in hopes of generating a last minute run at Herman by UT, since the UT president was still waffling on Strong. Meanwhile, Herman's agent was thick in the background, pulling strings, leaking info, and leveraging LSU against UT. Herman was leaving, just a question of where and how much.

Our stories are spot on regarding Alleva. After AnM blowout, LSU nation really wanted Orgeron, but Alleva wanted Herman. And yes, Herman's agent tried to jack it up the price the second time around, making Alleva's decision easy. With all the pre-game noise, Orgeron easily could have told Alleva to pound sand before the AnM game, Alleva damn well could have lost both coaches. Now THAT would have been karma, mi amigo...

To be clear, I am NOT advertising myself as a UH insider, but this is an accurate description given to me by knowledgeable UH people of key events leading to Herman's departure. No te preocupes, Coogs will be fine. Herman? We'll see...
 
Yes, very close accounts, with a couple of small but important adds.

First, it is unclear if it was Herman, his agent, or both (or neither) that met with Alleva before the game at A&M (somebody knows the truth!). That's significant IMO because I do not believe Yurechek was informed or gave LSU permission to speak with TH or his agent - he was still under contract. And if Herman DID personally meet with Alleva that week, that was even worse IMO because 1) he was getting ready for an important game at Memphis, and 2) he did so without permission and behind the UH AD's back - and then lied about it. In any case, ESPN was only too happy to run with the planted story about Herman's plans to sign with LSU the day after UH/Memphis game. Horn bigs started to panic, as was the intention.

Second, consensus opinion is that key UT boosters were ALSO pimping the LSU/Herman story in hopes of generating a last minute run at Herman by UT, since the UT president was still waffling on Strong. Meanwhile, Herman's agent was thick in the background, pulling strings, leaking info, and leveraging LSU against UT. Herman was leaving, just a question of where and how much.

Our stories are spot on regarding Alleva. After AnM blowout, LSU nation really wanted Orgeron, but Alleva wanted Herman. And yes, Herman's agent tried to jack it up the price the second time around, making Alleva's decision easy. With all the pre-game noise, Orgeron easily could have told Alleva to pound sand before the AnM game, Alleva damn well could have lost both coaches. Now THAT would have been karma, mi amigo...

To be clear, I am NOT advertising myself as a UH insider, but this is an accurate description given to me by knowledgeable UH people of key events leading to Herman's departure. No te preocupes, Coogs will be fine. Herman? We'll see...
 
Yes, very close accounts, with a couple of small but important adds.

First, it is unclear if it was Herman, his agent, or both (or neither) that met with Alleva before the game at A&M (somebody knows the truth!). That's significant IMO because I do not believe Yurechek was informed or gave LSU permission to speak with TH or his agent - he was still under contract. And if Herman DID personally meet with Alleva that week, that was even worse IMO because 1) he was getting ready for an important game at Memphis, and 2) he did so without permission and behind the UH AD's back - and then lied about it. In any case, ESPN was only too happy to run with the planted story about Herman's plans to sign with LSU the day after UH/Memphis game. Horn bigs started to panic, as was the intention.

Second, consensus opinion is that key UT boosters were ALSO pimping the LSU/Herman story in hopes of generating a last minute run at Herman by UT, since the UT president was still waffling on Strong. Meanwhile, Herman's agent was thick in the background, pulling strings, leaking info, and leveraging LSU against UT. Herman was leaving, just a question of where and how much.

Our stories are spot on regarding Alleva. After AnM blowout, LSU nation really wanted Orgeron, but Alleva wanted Herman. And yes, Herman's agent tried to jack it up the price the second time around, making Alleva's decision easy. With all the pre-game noise, Orgeron easily could have told Alleva to pound sand before the AnM game, Alleva damn well could have lost both coaches. Now THAT would have been karma, mi amigo...

To be clear, I am NOT advertising myself as a UH insider, but this is an accurate description given to me by knowledgeable UH people of key events leading to Herman's departure. No te preocupes, Coogs will be fine. Herman? We'll see...

Spot on! LSU in pursuing Herman, should've known mi amigo Texas was going to pull the trigger, so to speak, on trying to grab him sooner, than later. The whole "...we'll evaluate Strong at the end of the season" was an appeasement to Strong and a stall tactic. They wanted Herman and Herman being every bit the capitalist was going to play one against the other. LSU knew they'd lose a bidding war against Texas. When the price or whatever bonuses Texas offered exceeded LSU's coaching salary budget - game over.

LSU may be slightly sour, but they got a good man in Coach O. He's a loyalist who isn't going to try and bounce that job for another. Even more, he's a hellava recruiter and he's going to get those kids coached up. Herman got what he really wanted, Texas and the Twisted Horns finally got their man (since they' didn't get Saban several years ago).

What would've made this holiday season a really good one would've been if UTEP was participating in a hi-octane coaching search. They're not, so I'll go back to my super spiked egg nog.
 
Guess we have to fast forward to this time next year for the coaching change but if Kugler and staff miraculously pull off a winning season he will get a new 5 year contract, no doubt. The conference affiliation might change but it will not likely be to the MWC. Can't see then going past 12 members and UTEP's athletics are not a hot item right now. Not even lukewarm.

You know it! In all seriousness, he literally, and I mean literally would have find a stud player that makes his offense pop, even if Jones comes back. His power run oriented base offense is just not getting the job done against CUSA opponents. He said he is keeping one scholarship for a transfer from a P5 conference (he didn't give any other details to the media). But then again, Plinke was that type of player and Kugler did utilize him until the second half of the season. He spent the entire season reorganizing the O line and players who were on the sideline not getting used that this easy schedule led to another bad season. It just makes one ponder WTF is he doing? At least you could see the logic of the offense with Nord and Price from the bleachers or TV. Kugler just makes fans facepalm the entire game.
 
You know it! In all seriousness, he literally, and I mean literally would have find a stud player that makes his offense pop, even if Jones comes back. His power run oriented base offense is just not getting the job done against CUSA opponents. He said he is keeping one scholarship for a transfer from a P5 conference (he didn't give any other details to the media). But then again, Plinke was that type of player and Kugler did utilize him until the second half of the season. He spent the entire season reorganizing the O line and players who were on the sideline not getting used that this easy schedule led to another bad season. It just makes one ponder WTF is he doing? At least you could see the logic of the offense with Nord and Price from the bleachers or TV. Kugler just makes fans facepalm the entire game.

It's almost like watching someone trying to change a water pump with a pair of pliers. Painful.
 
Just throwing a name out there for fun... Beau Baldwin HC at Eastern Washington. 73-30 record, runs a fun offense to watch, beat Oregon State when it was ranked #25 and beat Washington State this year which is pretty impressive when you compare the size/budget of Eastern Washington to Pac 12 schools. They had the Washington Huskies on the ropes in the forth quarter last year or the year before too.
 
Again coming from Oregon this guy from eastern Washington is great!!! He has given the PAC 12 fits from time to time and gave Oregon Vernon Adams who was really really good.... Oregon got willie taggert as Hc can't be more thrilled!!
 
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Petrino seems like a good name now that it's all said and done. 9 wins and a bowl win at Idaho. UTEP should have swung for him. With Idaho dropping to FCS he might have come on board. Another failed opportunity.
 
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Petrino seems like a good name now that it's all said and done. 9 wins and a bowl win at Idaho. UTEP should have swung for him. With Idaho dropping to FCS he might have come on board. Another failed opportunity.

You got a head football coach right now who can't recruit the state of Texas for dick, you wanna bring in a guy from Idaho? Please, I need a couple of Motrin...
 
You got a head football coach right now who can't recruit the state of Texas for dick, you wanna bring in a guy from Idaho? Please, I need a couple of Motrin...

He turned a 1-11 team to a 9-4 team winning a bowl game in 4 years.
 
UTEP is not going to be successful recruiting Texas. There is too much competition. We are falling further behind every other FBS school in the state. Why would recruits from Houston and Dallas want to come to El Paso when they can stay at a local school like UH, SMU, UTSA, Texas St and N Texas. The parents and family can drive to see the kids play every home game. Instead of having to fly into El Paso or take a really long road trip. It don't matter we are stuck with Kugs for at least another season. Hopefully he gets it done with the local kids. I'm really cheering for him to get us some national relevance.
 
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He turned a 1-11 team to a 9-4 team winning a bowl game in 4 years.

Petrino has had one winning winning season in four years at Idaho. Good for him, but please explain exactly how that translates to UTEP? Why is the concept of having SOME sort of recruiting inroads in San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and the DFW Metroplex so foreign to some people on this board? Do you think Sean Kugler is stupid? He's not, but even going into his fifth year, he just can't convince quality HS football players to play for him at UTEP. He's getting out-talented almost every week, even in C-USA. So why would you bring in a guy with no recruiting ties to Texas? Why?
 
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Petrino has had one winning winning season in four years at Idaho. Good for him, but please explain exactly how that translates to UTEP? Why is the concept of having SOME sort of recruiting inroads in San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and the DFW Metroplex so foreign to some people on this board? Do you think Sean Kugler is stupid? He's not, but even going into his fifth year, he just can't convince quality HS football players to play for him at UTEP. He's getting out-talented almost every week, even in C-USA. So why would you bring in a guy with no recruiting ties to Texas? Why?

Read JCoron's post above me because he explained it VERY well.

Kugler has yet to beat a D1-A opponent that has finished with a winning record. All Kugler beat were teams that weren't very good.
 
One winning season but he improved his win total every season. Im all for progressing. As slowly as it is as long as we move forward. While yes a recruiting in road to the Central Texas cities along with Hoston and Dallas would be nice it still doesn't answer the question of what El Paso offers that their home cities don't. What coach would you recommend that has ties to Texas, that is willing to take the UTEP job and can convince top Texas recruits to come play in the desert?

Edit: forgot to mention that I saw Kugler get out coached not out talented.
 
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