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Coaching rumblings

Minerforlife

MI Hall of Famer
Sep 11, 2013
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I was going to keep this under wraps until our bowl hopes were gone. Now that they are two people have told me Paul Petrino is the heavy favorite to be the next head coach at UTEP. He is the brother of Bobby and head coach at Idaho.

Word is at least one abd maybe both of Mike Price's sons will be on the staff. Stull does not want to fire Kugler but is under pressure from Natalicio to make a move. Two prominent boosters are demanding a change. With the state legislature set to make huge cuts to higher ed in the legislative session, Natalicio cant risk losing the support of two key donors.
 
120406_bobby_petrino_neck_brace.nbcsports-story-612.jpg
 
It would be a decent hire minus Price's sons. His record is 12-33 but he has shown improvement in every season, and is on pace to win 8 games this year and a bowl game. He has been a very good OC throughout his career, and he runs an exciting offense and will throw the ball alot. A Petrino hire wouldn't be flashy but it wouldn't be a bad hire either since he has 3 years head coaching experience.
 
Maybe there isn't. Just think who would want to be Head Coach of this mess?

Not really a mess. Winning coaches dont get fired. This program has no ncaa issues no apr issues and full cupboard of players. This reminds me of the end of the Nord era. There is alot of talent on this team, probably talent wise best posistion we have been in since 2005. Thats the most frustrating part of this season. Its not an issue of talent, its scheme. This is not a bad situation to walk into. This team could be turned around pretty quickly.
 
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Not really a mess. Winning coaches dont get fired. This program has no ncaa issues no apr issues and full cupboard of players. This reminds me of the end of the Nord era. There is alot of talent on this team, probably talent wise best posistion we have been in since 2005. Thats the most frustrating part of this season. Its not an issue of talent, its scheme. This is not a bad situation to walk into. This team could be turned around pretty quickly.
But why would Petrino be a condideration? Has an awful resume..We're better off with Kug.
 
There's always a nice list of coaches. Wasn't Dirk Koetter's name thrown out there when Price stepped down?
 
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But why would Petrino be a condideration? Has an awful resume..We're better off with Kug.
Petrino may not be the best hire, in fact I would take the SHSU coach before him. Petrino is taking Idaho, who is dropping to FCS after next season, to their 1st bowl game in a long time. He has a well known last name and an exciting offense that fans would like. Does he know Texas recruiting?
 
In today's day and age I can only imagine the sh*t storm that would accompany an Art Briles hire. I can't imagine Natalicio would sign off on that hire as a female given what happened under his watch.
 
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You have to begin any search by considering that UTEP may be a tough sell for any new coach. Not the City of El Paso (I've always thought EP at could actually be a plus), but the situation on and off the field at UTEP will be a challenge for several reasons.

First, at his age and with his track record, getting somebody to work for this AD may be a challenge. At 71, Stull could retire (or be asked to retire) tomorrow, then as HC where would you be? Any new AD will ultimately want "his boy" as HC, so somebody's not going to get anywhere near four years to make it happen this go-round. Any coach worth a damn knows this will be a stepping stone job, and that's totally okay! Look at what Houston has done with top notch assistants they hired: Briles, Sumlin, Herman. Just gotta get the right one. Knowing that, you gotta convince somebody that if they're good enough, they can be successful in this job, that it's not a graveyard gig. Stull has been on cruise control for the past decade and the program has deteriorated to dangerous lows, and you can believe that will be a factor in the thinking of any prospective coach.

Second, some posters on this board seem to feel that this roster is chocked full of talent. It ain't. Jones and Plinke are gone next year and it's not like there's some high caliber ammo left in the clip. Focusing recruiting on EP is not a bad idea IF you can get the top quality players to stay at home, but constantly signing 2-star recruits will get you fired.

Third, it would almost be a prerequisite to hire a coach who has run and recruited to some form of read option offense. And NOT because it's fun and entertaining for the fans. You do it because it's fun and entertaining for the players. So guess what? You have a better chance of recruiting quality footall players because that's probably what they've run their entire HS careers. And it's more fun to play! Kugler ihas insisted on playing Woody Hays football and you just cannot recruit to that style of football in this era.

Fourth, ever consider hiring a high powered coach from the defensive side of the ball? Go ahead, consider hiring the next Gary Patterson. There really are some really impressive FBS defensive coordinators out there ready to make the next step. Ask around. Andre Patterson was available and wanted the job last go-round, frankly he would have been my pick, but everybody wanted to drain the damn swamp. Well, welcome to the future. Patterson would not have been a sexy hire but he could recruit, had coordinator experience at both the collegiate and professional level, would have hired and managed a stable and competent staff, and provided strategic direction for a program.
 
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Idaho Vandals (Sun Belt Conference) (2014–present)
2014 Idaho 1–10 1–7 T–9th
2015 Idaho 4–8 3–5 T–5th
2016 Idaho 6–4 4–2
Idaho: 12–33 8–14

So far, the Vandals have played 3 of their 10 games at home. They have won 6 including a 47 to 14 win over Texas St. in San Marcos. That said I'd rather have Briles. We need a guy that can recruit and relate to players.
 
As a father of two girls I would never set foot inside the Sun Bowl if UTEP hired a man who willingly knows and covers up rapes. F*#t that! I'll take slow progress from Petrino who every year has shown improvement over selling my soul to the devil for some cheap football victories.
 
No knock on him, but I'd like to see an expanded list. As for Petrino, he's boxed in at Idaho and I'm sure he's looking for more room to spread his arms. What he's done at Idaho has been impressive given the school's position. But I'd still like to see an expanded list
 
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Sounds like a guy with extensive and deep recruiting roots in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and the Golden Triangle area of Texas. Look up the definition of insanity...
 
Assessment directly from the Peppers Hamilton report...

"In short, the culture that coach Art Briles created and presided over prioritized football over campus safety, and keeping players on his roster over following federal mandates and adhering to the criminal process."

All that said, comparing Briles to Sandusky and Bliss (for different reasons) might be a reach for some people. We can all agree that the situation at Baylor is a mess and a half...
 
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Briles has daughters of his own. He will get a second chance someday. We need to win immediately. We can't afford another 5 years of mediocrity. At least bring him in and see what he would do differently if the situation presented itself here.
 
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I'd rather have Kugler any day of the week over these guys. Kugler brought back some respect to the program and is helping these guys graduate from college and become men and make the right choices in life. Sometimes there's bigger things in life than wins and losses. I really hoped Kugler would have the miners winning constantly at this point in his career but it hasn't happened. It most definitely gets frustrating seeing the miners lose year after year but so would the baggage someone like Briles would bring. I am in no way accepting a losing program but just take a look at the winning percentages of the guys before Kugler. If the administration decides to give Kugler another year I really hope he finds the winning formula to success.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTEP_Miners_football
 
Briles would be a tough sell. The majority of the community would be outraged and we would have all the pundits outraged as well. I would love for UTEP to win as much as the next guy and I respect the fact that UTEP gave someone like Mike Price the chance to redeem himself. But given what happened under his watch, I dont think a lot of people can justify the hire. I think Briles needs a little more time away from football so the dust can clear before anyone looks at him as a seriously head coaching candidate.
 
good one MFL. you almost had me until you came up with "but is under pressure from Natalicio to make a move". C'mon man everyone knows UTEP doesn't fire anybody, they just wait out contracts and make the good fans suffer.

but if hell were to freeze over, put me down for Bob Stitt.
 
How about Coach Bro once ttu gets tired of him stealing their money and shagging their coeds?
 
Honestly, Art Briles is every bit as disgusting as Jerry Sandusky, Dave Bliss and Joe Paterno.

Thank you. I guess no one has read the additional crap Briles kept hidden from Baylor? The dude was crying to keep his job according to sources because he knew he was in deep poop and tried to cover most of it. Second, rumors in Big XII is the Millennial "I gotta wear shades" coach Kinsbury is on the way out if he doesn't become bowl eligible and Tech boosters are hot on Briles.....let'em have him.

I was going to keep this under wraps until our bowl hopes were gone. Now that they are two people have told me Paul Petrino is the heavy favorite to be the next head coach at UTEP. He is the brother of Bobby and head coach at Idaho.

Word is at least one abd maybe both of Mike Price's sons will be on the staff. Stull does not want to fire Kugler but is under pressure from Natalicio to make a move. Two prominent boosters are demanding a change. With the state legislature set to make huge cuts to higher ed in the legislative session, Natalicio cant risk losing the support of two key donors..

Huh uh, meet our new offensive coordinator for next year, "Lil Joker"

 
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I know I'm probably going to take a beating for this (a lot of people may say Kugler and him have similar backgrounds) but do you think Brian Young would be a candidate if the job opens up? He a young guy with NFL experience.
 
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I know I'm probably going to take a beating for this (a lot of people may say the background is too similar to Kugler) but do you think Brian Young would be a candidate if the job opens up? He a young guy with NFL experience.

I would take Robert Rodriguez over Brian Young.
 
I know I'm probably going to take a beating for this (a lot of people may say Kugler and him have similar backgrounds) but do you think Brian Young would be a candidate if the job opens up? He a young guy with NFL experience.

Young can leave a great legacy for UTEP as a benefactor, not a coach. How about an unknown from who knows where like a certain assistant from UMass decades ago?

Isn't it ironic that two successful coaches in UTEP major revenue sports are from UMass?
 
to quote a movie line, "[Art Briles] couldn't tie his shoes without permission." As disgusting as the allegations are, Briles wasn't blocking alone. I know what the report stated about who knew what, but just like the debate over what Paterno knew or didn't know was occurring at Penn St., it's the same at Baylor. Starr, Briles and that athletic director were immediate firing line bodies. Other mucky-mucks knew as well. Is Briles too toxic? 2016 maybe, 2017, maybe not so much. I'm sure his name is going to be in discussions among several programs looking to make a change in their coaching staff's.

Stull and his crew have a hard decision to make.
 
Brian Young? Robert Rodriguez? This is getting silly now! That said, like 2 step posted, I guess no one read the latest bile on Briles, about 2 weeks ago. The cat is scum, no way!
 
Do we really think Stull makes a change this year? IDK if he does, I think we have Kugler at least another year unfortunately
 
What about Todd Graham he about to get fired at ASU?He runs a great offense that puts up a lot of points. Its just defense have been crappy.
 
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