2 Candidates

sealhall74 · Tue Dec 29, 2015 11:01 am

In fairness, here is a little clip with Rob Ash.

http://xlcountry.com/7-questions-with-coach-ash-video/

rocki · Tue Dec 29, 2015 11:04 am

Might just be me, but I'm hoping these are the two "initial" candidates and there will be more campus visits. When Leatherneck57 said there was interest among former 'Neck players and coaches, I was thrilled. I'd like to see some of them progress further in the search, as it seems they would not only have the coaching experience (maybe not HC experience) but also the ties to the program from back in the day. I would think that could only help in getting other football alumni re-interested in the program. With IL in the shape it's in, we need all the help we can get.

I guess time will tell, eh?

Tue Dec 29, 2015 11:05 am

meganeck wrote:I agree with Scott, am hoping there are more candidates with visits scheduled. These 2 seem pretty good candidates but hoping for some more. I know we are behind the 8-ball on this, but for getting over 100 applicants seems to be a quick narrowing down.

I don't have a ton of experience in hiring people, but if the applications were anything like how it was when I was a store manager, you can pretty much immediately eliminate 80-90% of the candidates. A lot of people will toss their name into the hat, even if they aren't fully "qualified", just to see if they can get a chance, or even an interview so they can work on improving those skills. That still leaves you with 10-20 decent candidates, but it's much easier to narrow down and "rank" candidates at that point.

Also, here's a comment from a Montana State person on AGS about Ash:

Ash is a solid coach. He is from Iowa, he knows the area, and perhaps his biggest strength is his ability to surround himself with solid assistant coaches. He runs a clean program and very much is a guy who wants the players to succeed in life after football, and in the classroom. He isn't a guy who is going to rebuild a program, go around doing the rah-rah booster stuff. He is a Xs and Os kind of coach, low intensity but high passion.

Despite being fired from MSU for under performing, Ash is not a losing coach. At Drake, in 18 seasons he only had 2 losing records, and only 1 at MSU, last year. His all time HC record is 247-137-5.

I think he would do well at WIU. He is in good health and still has a passion for the game, to be a HC.

wiu51 · Tue Dec 29, 2015 11:10 am

I went over to the MtSU board and there were several posts from people says they hope the university doesn't regret this move in a few years. He had 8 season of over .500 football and gets fired after his first losing season. I would have loved to have winning seasons the last 8 years. I would be ok with 1 5-6 season after all the good years.

sealhall74 · Tue Dec 29, 2015 11:25 am

On the lighter side, no doubt we could have pretty damn good rendition of the National Anthem with Rob Ash as HC.

http://www.kellyashmusic.com/

Neckfansince71 · Tue Dec 29, 2015 11:28 am

I hired a lot of people in my 26 years as a department chair. As time went on I had more and more pre-interviews with candidates which allowed me to narrow it down to 2 or 3 candidates for school visits max!

jc

MSUBooster · Tue Dec 29, 2015 11:30 am

Kelly does a great job at signing the Anthem.

MSUBooster · Tue Dec 29, 2015 11:33 am

wiu51 wrote:I went over to the MtSU board and there were several posts from people says they hope the university doesn't regret this move in a few years. He had 8 season of over .500 football and gets fired after his first losing season. I would have loved to have winning seasons the last 8 years. I would be ok with 1 5-6 season after all the good years.

You'll also find a good deal of fans and Boosters who felt Rob had peaked and was no longer helping the program grow. Most don't post since he was fired and we see no need to reassert our belief he needed to go. Rob Ash is a nice person, runs a clean program, we wish him success.

sealhall74 · Tue Dec 29, 2015 11:42 am

In a weird sort of way, a Rob Ash hire would be very similar to what USD did when they brought Joe Glenn back. You pretty much know it will be his last gig before riding off into the sunset. Rob does not have the alma mater ties that Joe did but still kind of weird. Might work. I have said it before and will say it again: No GOOD coach that we hire (regardless of age) will be here more than 3-4 years.

Tue Dec 29, 2015 12:10 pm

sealhall74 wrote:In a weird sort of way, a Rob Ash hire would be very similar to what USD did when they brought Joe Glenn back. You pretty much know it will be his last gig before riding off into the sunset. Rob does not have the alma mater ties that Joe did but still kind of weird. Might work. I have said it before and will say it again: No GOOD coach that we hire (regardless of age) will be here more than 3-4 years.

This is true. If they're successful and are looking to keep coaching for a while, then they're likely going to be getting some serious consideration for assistant/coordinator positions at FBS schools or possibly HC positions at some of the G5 FBS schools.

The other options essentially are:
an older HC looking to finish out his career (likely Ash's situation)
a HC that doesn't end up doing well and gets fired or contract not renewed

If we can get successful coaches that end up moving up after 4 years, then that's ok with me, because it means that we're having a great deal of success more often than not.