(11-29-2017 06:54 AM)GE and MTS Wrote:  I don't know what we expect to change when we don't change the coaching staff. Our targets for head coaches probably declined coming here so we stuck with Gill until better candidates are available next year. And not a change to the defensive side of the ball? Unreal. I guess if you have one year left, I guess he figures it is easier or better to tweak the current system than install a whole new one.

I want Gill to succeed, but he is what he is at this point and that's not the bar I want for Liberty. I expect better.

It is worth noting we are about to be allowed another coach. Jan 1 each team will be able to have 10 coaches. Currently we have 9 (5 on offense 4 on defense). The added coach will absolutely be on defense. I'm thinking we hire a new DC and demote our current one to d-back. That seems to be the thoughts from people in the know. I could be wrong but it looks like that's the thought process.

(11-29-2017 07:56 AM)Ewglenn Wrote:  

(11-29-2017 06:54 AM)GE and MTS Wrote:  I don't know what we expect to change when we don't change the coaching staff. Our targets for head coaches probably declined coming here so we stuck with Gill until better candidates are available next year. And not a change to the defensive side of the ball? Unreal. I guess if you have one year left, I guess he figures it is easier or better to tweak the current system than install a whole new one.

I want Gill to succeed, but he is what he is at this point and that's not the bar I want for Liberty. I expect better.

It is worth noting we are about to be allowed another coach. Jan 1 each team will be able to have 10 coaches. Currently we have 9 (5 on offense 4 on defense). The added coach will absolutely be on defense. I'm thinking we hire a new DC and demote our current one to d-back. That seems to be the thoughts from people in the know. I could be wrong but it looks like that's the thought process.

That is the best move that can be made given the current situation.

(11-29-2017 06:54 AM)GE and MTS Wrote:  I don't know what we expect to change when we don't change the coaching staff. Our targets for head coaches probably declined coming here so we stuck with Gill until better candidates are available next year. And not a change to the defensive side of the ball? Unreal. I guess if you have one year left, I guess he figures it is easier or better to tweak the current system than install a whole new one.

I want Gill to succeed, but he is what he is at this point and that's not the bar I want for Liberty. I expect better.

The lack of changes to the defense baffles me. How much worse would the defense have to be to deem changes necessary?

(11-29-2017 10:42 AM)NewTimes Wrote:  

(11-29-2017 06:54 AM)GE and MTS Wrote:  I don't know what we expect to change when we don't change the coaching staff. Our targets for head coaches probably declined coming here so we stuck with Gill until better candidates are available next year. And not a change to the defensive side of the ball? Unreal. I guess if you have one year left, I guess he figures it is easier or better to tweak the current system than install a whole new one.

I want Gill to succeed, but he is what he is at this point and that's not the bar I want for Liberty. I expect better.

The lack of changes to the defense baffles me. How much worse would the defense have to be to deem changes necessary?

See my comment above

(11-29-2017 12:18 PM)Ewglenn Wrote:  

(11-29-2017 10:42 AM)NewTimes Wrote:  

(11-29-2017 06:54 AM)GE and MTS Wrote:  I don't know what we expect to change when we don't change the coaching staff. Our targets for head coaches probably declined coming here so we stuck with Gill until better candidates are available next year. And not a change to the defensive side of the ball? Unreal. I guess if you have one year left, I guess he figures it is easier or better to tweak the current system than install a whole new one.

I want Gill to succeed, but he is what he is at this point and that's not the bar I want for Liberty. I expect better.

The lack of changes to the defense baffles me. How much worse would the defense have to be to deem changes necessary?

See my comment above

This is one of those unique times when all here seem to agree.

(11-29-2017 12:20 PM)NewTimes Wrote:  

(11-29-2017 12:18 PM)Ewglenn Wrote:  

(11-29-2017 10:42 AM)NewTimes Wrote:  

(11-29-2017 06:54 AM)GE and MTS Wrote:  I don't know what we expect to change when we don't change the coaching staff. Our targets for head coaches probably declined coming here so we stuck with Gill until better candidates are available next year. And not a change to the defensive side of the ball? Unreal. I guess if you have one year left, I guess he figures it is easier or better to tweak the current system than install a whole new one.

I want Gill to succeed, but he is what he is at this point and that's not the bar I want for Liberty. I expect better.

The lack of changes to the defense baffles me. How much worse would the defense have to be to deem changes necessary?

See my comment above

This is one of those unique times when all here seem to agree.

I think there is going to be a change at DC. The added coaching position will open up a way for Gill to make the change but maintain friendships.

(11-29-2017 07:56 AM)Ewglenn Wrote:  

(11-29-2017 06:54 AM)GE and MTS Wrote:  I don't know what we expect to change when we don't change the coaching staff. Our targets for head coaches probably declined coming here so we stuck with Gill until better candidates are available next year. And not a change to the defensive side of the ball? Unreal. I guess if you have one year left, I guess he figures it is easier or better to tweak the current system than install a whole new one.

I want Gill to succeed, but he is what he is at this point and that's not the bar I want for Liberty. I expect better.

It is worth noting we are about to be allowed another coach. Jan 1 each team will be able to have 10 coaches. Currently we have 9 (5 on offense 4 on defense). The added coach will absolutely be on defense. I'm thinking we hire a new DC and demote our current one to d-back. That seems to be the thoughts from people in the know. I could be wrong but it looks like that's the thought process.

Has anyone ever demoted a coordinator and it turn out well? Every other time I can remember, teams fire their coordinators because retaining them would create problems with the newly hired person. Who knows if the coordinator will try to undermine his replacement or if the players will fully buy in on the new coach with the old one on staff. I'm speaking hypothetically as I don't want to accuse our current DC of these things since I don't know him.

I guess Gill is choosing to go down with the ship he knows rather than the ship he doesn't. To be honest, I don't know why someone would want to come be a DC if he knows he may only last a year until they clean house and get rid of everyone. He is probably hoping to do well enough and make connections to get the head coaching position.

(11-30-2017 05:30 PM)GE and MTS Wrote:  

(11-29-2017 07:56 AM)Ewglenn Wrote:  

(11-29-2017 06:54 AM)GE and MTS Wrote:  I don't know what we expect to change when we don't change the coaching staff. Our targets for head coaches probably declined coming here so we stuck with Gill until better candidates are available next year. And not a change to the defensive side of the ball? Unreal. I guess if you have one year left, I guess he figures it is easier or better to tweak the current system than install a whole new one.

I want Gill to succeed, but he is what he is at this point and that's not the bar I want for Liberty. I expect better.

It is worth noting we are about to be allowed another coach. Jan 1 each team will be able to have 10 coaches. Currently we have 9 (5 on offense 4 on defense). The added coach will absolutely be on defense. I'm thinking we hire a new DC and demote our current one to d-back. That seems to be the thoughts from people in the know. I could be wrong but it looks like that's the thought process.

Has anyone ever demoted a coordinator and it turn out well? Every other time I can remember, teams fire their coordinators because retaining them would create problems with the newly hired person. Who knows if the coordinator will try to undermine his replacement or if the players will fully buy in on the new coach with the old one on staff. I'm speaking hypothetically as I don't want to accuse our current DC of these things since I don't know him.

I guess Gill is choosing to go down with the ship he knows rather than the ship he doesn't. To be honest, I don't know why someone would want to come be a DC if he knows he may only last a year until they clean house and get rid of everyone. He is probably hoping to do well enough and make connections to get the head coaching position.

There's another reason assistant coaches get the ax from the coach. When the coach is on thin ice and alumni and fans are irate, it's a way to attempt to deflect blame or poor play away from the HC. Don't believe we are there yet however the howling will come in 2018 without some sign of improvement, which is unlikely with the transition. This just seems like a poor decision to remain pat and the ideal time to make a major change.

If I can get inside McCaw's head for a minute, this is how I imagine his train of thought:

- The 2018 season will have a ton of excitement due to moving up to FBS whether or not a new coach is hired.
- Hiring a coach for 2019 will keep the excitement high as the school looks to be bowl eligible for the first year.
- Hiring a new coach and finishing the transition in 2018 would condense two years worth of excitement into one and not maximize the publicity and excitement.
- 2018 will be a tough season for anyone as we don't have an FBS caliber roster. It should be better in 2019 as some underclassmen start playing more and were FBS recruits as opposed to the FCS recruits ahead of them. Having the new coach go 5-7 his first year in 2018 could hurt his image as it is worse than the 6-5 in 2015 and 2016. Average fans probably won't be able to tell the difference (us posting on a messageboard clearly are more involved than the average fan so we obviously know the difference. I'm talking about the t-shirt, Walmart fans. The people who think Buckshot Calvert was a Civil War general and not the starting quarterback).

That's my brainstorm for now. We'll see how Gill in '18 goes and hope that someone can "Make Liberty Great Again."

(12-02-2017 09:50 AM)GE and MTS Wrote:  If I can get inside McCaw's head for a minute, this is how I imagine his train of thought:

- The 2018 season will have a ton of excitement due to moving up to FBS whether or not a new coach is hired.
- Hiring a coach for 2019 will keep the excitement high as the school looks to be bowl eligible for the first year.
- Hiring a new coach and finishing the transition in 2018 would condense two years worth of excitement into one and not maximize the publicity and excitement.
- 2018 will be a tough season for anyone as we don't have an FBS caliber roster. It should be better in 2019 as some underclassmen start playing more and were FBS recruits as opposed to the FCS recruits ahead of them. Having the new coach go 5-7 his first year in 2018 could hurt his image as it is worse than the 6-5 in 2015 and 2016. Average fans probably won't be able to tell the difference (us posting on a messageboard clearly are more involved than the average fan so we obviously know the difference. I'm talking about the t-shirt, Walmart fans. The people who think Buckshot Calvert was a Civil War general and not the starting quarterback).

That's my brainstorm for now. We'll see how Gill in '18 goes and hope that someone can "Make Liberty Great Again."

I was adamantly against Gill staying but I've changed my opinion a little over the last week or so. The guy is a good guy and runs a clean program. I did say some things that were in question but nothing was proven so you have to give him the benefit of doubt. I think Gill will bring in a decent class that will help lay a decent foundation for the next coach. One thing I think we haven't discussed is what this does for the program when we try to hire the next coach. This is a strong statement from Jerry and IM that they will allow a coach a fair shot at getting things together. It is extremely rare to find a school that will look past failures and still stick with you. The next candidates have to think this is a positive with Gill because they know one bad season won't cost them their job. Trying to lure another G5 coach to LU with limited history of success will be difficult. I think how this is going with Gill is actually a good thing for the coaching search next year or the year after. I still expect next season to go at least 3-9 probably 4-8 or 5-7.

(12-02-2017 09:50 AM)GE and MTS Wrote:  If I can get inside McCaw's head for a minute, this is how I imagine his train of thought:

- The 2018 season will have a ton of excitement due to moving up to FBS whether or not a new coach is hired.
- Hiring a coach for 2019 will keep the excitement high as the school looks to be bowl eligible for the first year.
- Hiring a new coach and finishing the transition in 2018 would condense two years worth of excitement into one and not maximize the publicity and excitement.
- 2018 will be a tough season for anyone as we don't have an FBS caliber roster. It should be better in 2019 as some underclassmen start playing more and were FBS recruits as opposed to the FCS recruits ahead of them. Having the new coach go 5-7 his first year in 2018 could hurt his image as it is worse than the 6-5 in 2015 and 2016. Average fans probably won't be able to tell the difference (us posting on a messageboard clearly are more involved than the average fan so we obviously know the difference. I'm talking about the t-shirt, Walmart fans. The people who think Buckshot Calvert was a Civil War general and not the starting quarterback).

That's my brainstorm for now. We'll see how Gill in '18 goes and hope that someone can "Make Liberty Great Again."

In addition, I could see Gill's contract as part of the reason IM kept him. Let him play out 2018 and save some money by not buying out his contract.

What if he goes 5-7 or better next season? What then?

I am hopeful for great success for the team next year. I hope we can fill the expanded stadium. I think we will.

(12-02-2017 07:47 PM)army56mike Wrote:  What if he goes 5-7 or better next season? What then?

I am hopeful for great success for the team next year. I hope we can fill the expanded stadium. I think we will.

I think 5-7 will keep him another year to see what he can do. 4-8 is eh 3-9 would be really hot and 2-10 he would be gone.

I've come to terms with it. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. The money buyout is one issue, but probably not primary, in my opinion. I think it comes down to needing to build a foundation before we can hire the coach we want. Stated differently, it wouldn't surprise me at all that we were (or would be) rejected by all the coaches we pursued, assuming we did in fact test the waters and are going for a homerun hire (relative to G5 standards).

I think TG is a C- coach, at either FBS (throwing out Kansas) or FCS. It wouldn't surprise me if TG gets 2-3 years to help transition our C- FCS squad into a C- FBS squad. There has to be a big difference for a future coach to take over a team that has at least 3 years of FBS recruits, even if it isn't ideal. If we can average classes of 20% 3* and 40% 2*, we'll have a team composite of 15-20 3* and 30-40 2* (just spit balling the math).

As the FBS transition starts to lose it's newness, we'll be in a position to spike interest from the fans by hiring a new HC in our 3rd year. And, perhaps, have a lot more bargaining power by offering from the position of a C- FBS vs. FCS squad.

I'd like to think TG can get 5 wins, each of the next two years, given that two of those are FCS. But if we pull a coastal 2-10, a real possibility, that's more reason why our ideal coach isn't going to walk into a year one nightmare and trash his record. I think we are playing the long game.

(12-04-2017 12:20 PM)Willflop Wrote:  I've come to terms with it. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. The money buyout is one issue, but probably not primary, in my opinion. I think it comes down to needing to build a foundation before we can hire the coach we want. Stated differently, it wouldn't surprise me at all that we were (or would be) rejected by all the coaches we pursued, assuming we did in fact test the waters and are going for a homerun hire (relative to G5 standards).

I think TG is a C- coach, at either FBS (throwing out Kansas) or FCS. It wouldn't surprise me if TG gets 2-3 years to help transition our C- FCS squad into a C- FBS squad. There has to be a big difference for a future coach to take over a team that has at least 3 years of FBS recruits, even if it isn't ideal. If we can average classes of 20% 3* and 40% 2*, we'll have a team composite of 15-20 3* and 30-40 2* (just spit balling the math).

As the FBS transition starts to lose it's newness, we'll be in a position to spike interest from the fans by hiring a new HC in our 3rd year. And, perhaps, have a lot more bargaining power by offering from the position of a C- FBS vs. FCS squad.

I'd like to think TG can get 5 wins, each of the next two years, given that two of those are FCS. But if we pull a coastal 2-10, a real possibility, that's more reason why our ideal coach isn't going to walk into a year one nightmare and trash his record. I think we are playing the long game.

Just a correction CCU is 3-9. They actually didn't do terribly, minus the WIU game, considering their head coach was out for the entire year. Other than that I agree with everything you said.

(12-05-2017 07:45 AM)Ewglenn Wrote:  

(12-04-2017 12:20 PM)Willflop Wrote:  I've come to terms with it. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. The money buyout is one issue, but probably not primary, in my opinion. I think it comes down to needing to build a foundation before we can hire the coach we want. Stated differently, it wouldn't surprise me at all that we were (or would be) rejected by all the coaches we pursued, assuming we did in fact test the waters and are going for a homerun hire (relative to G5 standards).

I think TG is a C- coach, at either FBS (throwing out Kansas) or FCS. It wouldn't surprise me if TG gets 2-3 years to help transition our C- FCS squad into a C- FBS squad. There has to be a big difference for a future coach to take over a team that has at least 3 years of FBS recruits, even if it isn't ideal. If we can average classes of 20% 3* and 40% 2*, we'll have a team composite of 15-20 3* and 30-40 2* (just spit balling the math).

As the FBS transition starts to lose it's newness, we'll be in a position to spike interest from the fans by hiring a new HC in our 3rd year. And, perhaps, have a lot more bargaining power by offering from the position of a C- FBS vs. FCS squad.

I'd like to think TG can get 5 wins, each of the next two years, given that two of those are FCS. But if we pull a coastal 2-10, a real possibility, that's more reason why our ideal coach isn't going to walk into a year one nightmare and trash his record. I think we are playing the long game.

Just a correction CCU is 3-9. They actually didn't do terribly, minus the WIU game, considering their head coach was out for the entire year. Other than that I agree with everything you said.

Thanks for the correction. It also looks like 6 of their losses were within 8 points, so it'll be interesting how they improve in 18.

Brian Bohannon from Kennesaw State is a great coach that has done what Gill can’t. Would he be an option to replace Gill if he incorporated a more balanced offensive attack?

(05-15-2018 06:19 PM)Ewglenn Wrote:  Brian Bohannon from Kennesaw State is a great coach that has done what Gill can’t. Would he be an option to replace Gill if he incorporated a more balanced offensive attack?

A good coach will put his players in a position to succeed. We are not built to run a triple option offense so I would hope we avoid any coach committed to that style. What Bohannon has done is impressive and I would give him a look should we have an opening. We're likely to get in line as teams will line up if he has another great year.

Doesn’t Gill have one season left on his contract? If so, I see a new coach coming in just in time for the 2019 season. I wouldn’t be surprised if it will be Hugh Freeze, especially since he didn’t get a job with Saban. Maybe the SEC commissioner’s fear of having Freeze as part of a SEC team may be a blessing for us to have a P5 coach. Yes, we will be criticized by media critics but eventually they’ll get tired and the commotion will eventually die down. Freeze can definitely produce a dominant program here in Hill City and will gradually grow support. One other thing I will like to point out, was Hugh Freeze visit to the ‘Burg for convocation just a coincidence?

(05-26-2018 08:10 PM)cruzan_flame13 Wrote:  Doesn’t Gill have one season left on his contract? If so, I see a new coach coming in just in time for the 2019 season. I wouldn’t be surprised if it will be Hugh Freeze, especially since he didn’t get a job with Saban. Maybe the SEC commissioner’s fear of having Freeze as part of a SEC team may be a blessing for us to have a P5 coach. Yes, we will be criticized by media critics but eventually they’ll get tired and the commotion will eventually die down. Freeze can definitely produce a dominant program here in Hill City and will gradually grow support. One other thing I will like to point out, was Hugh Freeze visit to the ‘Burg for convocation just a coincidence?

Hugh Freeze would be toxic. The only worst hire would be Art Briles. The SEC basically told it's members to not hire him. We continue to be roasted for McCaw and don't need further crap slung our way.