If Northwestern hires Braun how disappointed would you be?

[CoralSpringsCat]

So let me get this straight.

You just joined rivals to post - it says you are "New Member".

Then you ask "what do you guys think?"

Then after we respond you lambaste a coach who has done a solid job in difficult cirumstances.

All the stuff you write could be written about any new first time coach. And a lot of it is nonsense. "Built connections to High Schools" so what? You get hired you build them and by the way his former school recruited nationally. Just in the first few kids I see Florida, Texas, Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin and even New York.

https://gobison.com/sports/football/roster

You have a right to your own opinion of course, but are you Urban Meyer's agent or something because you really seem to not like a guy who might turn out to be the right man for our job.

Urban’s agent is @EvanstonCat

 

[corbi296]

We all know how this is going to turn out. Braun doesn't get hired as HC, leaves and takes over as HC at another school working his way up to another Big Ten school as HC where he will beat Northwestern every year.

Braun may make a fine head coach one day but he won’t be a head coach next year unless NU chooses ro hire him. He most likely will be a DC at NU or somewhere else.

 

[DaCat]

Braun may make a fine head coach one day but he won’t be a head coach next year unless NU chooses ro hire him. He most likely will be a DC at NU or somewhere else.

No one knows at this point. Several different scenarios could play out, depending on how the rest of this season goes.

For example, he wins two more games and goes to a bowl game. If NU doesn’t offer him a head coaching job, in this scenario there will be other schools who would be interested, MAC schools for example or even some P5 programs.

 

[corbi296]

No one knows at this point. Several different scenarios could play out, depending on how the rest of this season goes.

For example, he wins two more games and goes to a bowl game. If NU doesn’t offer him a head coaching job, in this scenario there will be other schools who would be interested, MAC schools for example or even some P5 programs.

There is zero chance that any D1 program other than NU hires as him as head coach next year.

 

[DaCat]

There is zero chance that any D1 program other than NU hires as him as head coach next year.

LOL

 

[No Chores]

I'll go back to the original post and the question to provide my answer:

No, I would not be disappointed if Braun was hired as the HC. In fact, I would be very happy, as I think we would be getting a young, promising HC who checks most of the boxes in what I would look for. (I think I posted my list on a separate thread on The Rock.)

And in terms of your premise, I disagree: I do not think that hiring Braun would show that the administration is not serious about athletics. If anything, hiring Braun would show that the administration is considering the players' perspectives - based on the team's comments throughout this season, I am fairly certain he would be their choice to be HC going forward. This would be an improvement, as far as I am concerned, in the administration's consideration of the players' needs. Especially when it comes to Gragg - he doesn't appear to care about the players at all. (As an aside, I don't think going after an established name to be our HC would indicate anything about the administration being serious about athletics.)

Whether Braun is "qualified to run a Big Ten program" is a matter of opinion. My opinion is that experience is somewhat over-valued and potential is under-valued in terms of coach hiring decisions, both at the NCAA and the pro levels. This is how someone like JON was able to have the career he had, even though he was pretty much a failure at each team. Teams get tunnel vision and only want to hire conventional candidates. I would much rather that NU think outside of the box.

The biggest knock on Braun's resume to be HC is probably the recruiting aspect, but I would argue that the facts that he retained a good number of players after Fitz's firing and has been successful so far in recruiting for the 2024 class shows that he has potential in this regard. The parents, like the players, seem to be a fan. I would argue that this projects well for the "living room conversations" that are critical in recruiting.

I think Braun's handling of press conferences is stellar. His impact on the defense has been clear. I think if he were elevated to HC, one of his priorities (in addition to recruiting) would be to fix the offense by replacing Bajakian with a young, innovative OC. Overall, I think Braun's potential and ceiling are high, so he is my front candidate for the HC job.

Having said all that, I don't think he should be hired by default. A national search should be conducted. He should be interviewed along with other candidates and given a fair chance. (Going through the proper process to find our HC would actually be what would make the administration look somewhat serious about athletics.) If a clearly superior candidate than Braun is identified, so be it. But no, I would definitely not be disappointed if he were chosen.

(I just don't have a lot of faith in the administration to make the right decision and to do it through the right process.)

I would agree with all of this, with the exception that I don't think a national search should be conducted. I would promote Braun to head coach at the end of the season, failing which most of our good players with remaining eligibility will leave. The players and their parents love Coach Braun, and the players are our best recruiters. Give him 5 years as GCG suggests, at a relatively modest annual salary by BIG standards, with potential bonuses and modest buyouts. This, in my view, is the only way to maintain continuity and avoid an awful situation going forward

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

I would agree with all of this, with the exception that I don't think a national search should be conducted. I would promote Braun to head coach at the end of the season, failing which most of our good players with remaining eligibility will leave. The players and their parents love Coach Braun, and the players are our best recruiters. Give him 5 years as GCG suggests, at a relatively modest annual salary by BIG standards, with potential bonuses and modest buyouts. This, in my view, is the only way to maintain continuity and avoid an awful situation going forward

I’ve come around on this as well. Modest buyout is a must. If things really deteriorate over the next couple of seasons, NU can pull the plug and look to hire an up and comer who will have the recruiting benefit of playing in a new stadium.

 

[TheC]

Interesting that you say that when Fitz's modus operandi was to win games by a slim margin, and Braun is accomplishing that despite the talent level being at a nadir.

Despite a relatively small sample size, already can tell that Braun has a better FB IQ than Fitz and makes fewer bone-headed decisions.

Also, Braun being able to account for 1/2 of the X's and O's is a big, big plus.

Much easier to only need to hire a good (or at least competent) coordinator for one side of the ball.

IU football has been back to its usual place ever since they lost their 2 talented coordinators (both HCs now).

Even Clemson hasn't been the same ever since Dabo lost his 2 long time assistants.

I hate to say it, but the talent level isn't at a nadir yet. Next year and probably for the next couple of years after that will be the nadir.