Post by Mr. Ho on Nov 21, 2014 19:30:25 GMT -6
Running the risk of being redundant - well I am being redundant, but don't really care. The new coaching hire can go either way. We can pretend that we need to find the "right fit" which is code for not getting our first choice. I hate that term "right fit". The "right fit" is someone who can not only win, but dominate at Troy. Someone that can bring back our swagger - on both sides of the ball. The "right fit" will not take 3 or 4 years to do this - they will do that in year one.
In my eyes, there are only two candidates that can do this beginning December 1st. Two recruiting giants. Two extreme motivators. One is Coach O. The other is Brick Haley. But what does Mr. Ho know? Nothing, really other than from doing extensive research and from what I saw on the sidelines over the past 30 years.
And one more point, before continuing my rant, I worry that John Hartwell might not understand our history of greatness. He sees it in the media guide, but might not get it - (see "Coach"). I might be wrong, but have we participated in a bowl game under Hartwell? The best record under his watch has been 6-6. The last two years have been just god awful. And don't kid yourself, this hire (win or lose) will determine his future. I am sure he has been inundated with calls from Mississippi and Mississippi State - he gets a check from Troy, but his heart is in Oxford. He wants to find a home in the SEC and only knows the Troy that hasn't won a Sunbelt Conference, gets owned by SEC schools and has marginal support at best - I am sure he wasn't around for the greatest Trojan Walk of all time (through the Canal Street Marriott - for those of you there, you know what I am talking about).
Epic. The Lobby exceeded the fire code by like 4,000 people. One of which was The Red Wave who stiffed me with our 6 hour Lobby Bar tab.
Mr. Ho has digressed. Back to the coaching search.
No offense to Neal Brown, who was the play caller at the above-mentioned game, but he really was a benefactor of Tony Franklin having set the table for him. AND our defense still played somewhat decent - with two future NFL starters at DE and two at CB. I think he is a brilliant mind. But he really didn't go crazy at Texas Tech and the jury is still out at Kentucky. Quite frankly, I don't think he is leaving Kentucky and even if he did, we could only expect him to stay 3 or 4 years at most. He certainly won't be much help on defense.
That brings me back to Brick Haley. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. He is an incredible coach, motivator and mentor. But don't let me tell you that, let the players he has played with and coached and his bosses tell you that. Now this is redundant:
From dothantrojan97 in an earlier post
From a former TMTDM player:
Former LSU player and NFL player Bennie Logan
Former #1 Recruit in the Nation, Anthony "Freak" Johnson recalling the first meeting when Haley sized him up then cut him down to size.
John Chavis, Defensive Coordinator at LSU and Brick's former coach at Al. A&M:
More Chavis:
LSU Defensive Lineman/Chicago Bear Ego Ferguson:
Chicago Bears Fan
I have reached out to some pretty big names for some quotes and will post them to this thread as they come in. You might get tired of it, but Neal Brown won't get this much response.
In my eyes, there are only two candidates that can do this beginning December 1st. Two recruiting giants. Two extreme motivators. One is Coach O. The other is Brick Haley. But what does Mr. Ho know? Nothing, really other than from doing extensive research and from what I saw on the sidelines over the past 30 years.
And one more point, before continuing my rant, I worry that John Hartwell might not understand our history of greatness. He sees it in the media guide, but might not get it - (see "Coach"). I might be wrong, but have we participated in a bowl game under Hartwell? The best record under his watch has been 6-6. The last two years have been just god awful. And don't kid yourself, this hire (win or lose) will determine his future. I am sure he has been inundated with calls from Mississippi and Mississippi State - he gets a check from Troy, but his heart is in Oxford. He wants to find a home in the SEC and only knows the Troy that hasn't won a Sunbelt Conference, gets owned by SEC schools and has marginal support at best - I am sure he wasn't around for the greatest Trojan Walk of all time (through the Canal Street Marriott - for those of you there, you know what I am talking about).
Epic. The Lobby exceeded the fire code by like 4,000 people. One of which was The Red Wave who stiffed me with our 6 hour Lobby Bar tab.
Mr. Ho has digressed. Back to the coaching search.
No offense to Neal Brown, who was the play caller at the above-mentioned game, but he really was a benefactor of Tony Franklin having set the table for him. AND our defense still played somewhat decent - with two future NFL starters at DE and two at CB. I think he is a brilliant mind. But he really didn't go crazy at Texas Tech and the jury is still out at Kentucky. Quite frankly, I don't think he is leaving Kentucky and even if he did, we could only expect him to stay 3 or 4 years at most. He certainly won't be much help on defense.
That brings me back to Brick Haley. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. He is an incredible coach, motivator and mentor. But don't let me tell you that, let the players he has played with and coached and his bosses tell you that. Now this is redundant:
From dothantrojan97 in an earlier post
I was fortunate enough to be on the sidelines during the time Coach Haley was there. Simply put, he would be a great hire. It was a sad day when he left TROY. He has all the tools, just needs the chance to prove it as a HC. I have the utmost respect for the man (and not just as a football coach).
In my opinion we need a defensive minded coach. We need to get back that toughness we once had when we went to other schools (the big boys) and punched them in the mouth (like going up to the bully on the playground and telling him you aren't afraid of him). We may not have always win the fight, but they dang sure are gonna know they have been in a fight if they are led by Brick Haley. There would be no quit or surrender in a TROY team with him as the HC. No disrespect intended for Neal Brown, but I would much more prefer Brick Haley as our next head coach.
In my opinion we need a defensive minded coach. We need to get back that toughness we once had when we went to other schools (the big boys) and punched them in the mouth (like going up to the bully on the playground and telling him you aren't afraid of him). We may not have always win the fight, but they dang sure are gonna know they have been in a fight if they are led by Brick Haley. There would be no quit or surrender in a TROY team with him as the HC. No disrespect intended for Neal Brown, but I would much more prefer Brick Haley as our next head coach.
From a former TMTDM player:
He loves his guys. I do agree he'd have a massive impact on recruiting! A big thing we have to do is to keep AL talent here!...And, there's no doubt Brick is qualified to be our HC!!
Former LSU player and NFL player Bennie Logan
He really is hard on you from the first day you meet him. But he cares about the players as much as he cares about his family. He's always calling us, always checking on us.
Former #1 Recruit in the Nation, Anthony "Freak" Johnson recalling the first meeting when Haley sized him up then cut him down to size.
He likes to dip and he just spat and said 'I'm not calling you Freak until I see you make a play
John Chavis, Defensive Coordinator at LSU and Brick's former coach at Al. A&M:
Coaching is teaching. That means communicating with kids, motivating kids getting them ready to play hard and at a high level. He's a great teacher, fundamentally sound in everything he does and he brings great enthusiasm.
More Chavis:
His ability to recruit is a big factor when you think about people to fill that position. There's not a better recruiter. You don't always get that combination. He does a tremendous job of recruiting and evaluating talent. He's got a great personality. Kids migrate to him and love being around him
LSU Defensive Lineman/Chicago Bear Ego Ferguson:
He'll bring out his phone and show us his Hall of Fame picture from Alabama A&M and tell us we could never have played in his era.
"He's always on us. He never let's us get complacent.
"He's always on us. He never let's us get complacent.
Chicago Bears Fan
Lovie (Smith) is hiring people with kickass names to compensate for his
I have reached out to some pretty big names for some quotes and will post them to this thread as they come in. You might get tired of it, but Neal Brown won't get this much response.