FB: American Rivers Conference

[davedevine]

"How much input do you guy's think Willis will have on selecting a new coach???" 

My guess is almost all of it.  President Ohle is an old football coach himself so he knows a little bit about it as well. But, this will mainly be Willis' decision.  Kind of like K-State, Snyder had a huge say in their new coach. 

For my two cents worth on possible candidates: (Note, these are all former coaches/players at WB: sorry if I've forgotten someone, I'm sure WH will catch it..these also are in no particular order..)

1) Jack Ginn-  Old Off. Coor at WB: now Head Coach at NC Wesleyan- won't leave there as they have started a new program that has done really well and that's where he is from..

2) Matt Mitchell- Old LB Coach/Def. Coord at WB:
now LB coach  at Powerhouse D2 Grand Valley ST(playing in their 4th championship game in last 5 years)   aspirations of coaching at the D1 level..

3) Mike Tressell- Old Line coach/off coord at WB:
now LB coach at U of Cinncy.  Don't see this happening..

4) Eric Koehler-current offensive coordinator.. possible front runner... no head coaching experience which is  a possible slight dis-advantage for him? Although, Willis was an asst. before coming to WB .

5) Chad Klunder -former player @ WB- has been asst coach at Harvard, Minn, now director of football operations at Notre Dame... can't see him leaving there with what they have going on and they will continue to be dominant with Weiss. also, no previous head coaching experience..

6) Current D3 head coach.. there will be quite a bit of interest I would guess from some coaches.. so this is a good possibility...

I can't think of anyone at UNI off the top of my head either..

[SJU92#57]

DD, you sure you guy's dont' want Tice.....He's a great coach and the players love him..

[DutchFan2004]

SJU92#57

I don't think we need Tice here.  We need to teach our young men how to be men not how to take advantage of the positions they have now attained, or take advantage of women on cruised on Lake Minetonka.   

Warthog,  You make alot of sense with your comments.  I think it will be a defensive minded person as well.  Wasn't Willis a d-man himself.  I think it will be someone in his image. 


Davedevine,  You have your head to the ground with the alums it seems.  I think it may be important to find that man that bleeds Orange.  Wartburg is a family just as much as the Dutch are.  I think this may be on Willis' mind.  There will be a big search I'm sure and no stone left unturned.  Coach Willis has built a great tradition there and won't want anything to happen to his baby.  (which goes without saying that anyone would feel that way). 


Good luck in finding a replacement.

[SJU92#57]

Tice is just pissed that he wasn't invited Anyways, with the quality of players and coaches that have passed thru Wartburg, I'm sure who ever they get will be great.

[the_wing_t]

Just got done looking at the Wartburg athletic renovations - this is shaping up to be a battle of facilities between Wartburg and Central.  First, the dutch renovate their fieldhouse and build a new weight facility - then Wartburg goes to the Fieldturf.  Now, with the Dutch going to FieldTurf and WB going with a new fieldhouse facility - this is getting intense.  How's Wartburg going to match the new indoor football practice facility that Central is building, though? 

[SJU92#57]

Seems to me it's going to benefit the conference as a whole. Competion is good for everybody, gotta keep up with the Jones' ya know. Better chance of keeping in-state recruits and getting out-staters....maybe you'll be as tough as the WIAC someday(or as tough as they think there conf. is), just had to throw that out to stir the pot a little.

[sportsknight]

Regarding the question of how much Willis will play into the decision to hire the next coach, I would say that it will be somewhere between 75-95% his decision.  Obviously, he'll have to get Ohle's OK on anything and it wouldn't surprise me for him to include Gary Grace (ex-AD) in the process as well.

I think Dave's list is pretty representative of the people that will pop into mind first, and I'd say that his estimation of which of those gentlemen are most likely to leave their current jobs is also right-on.

As far as UNI providing some potential candidates, I'm not sure that any of their current assistants have the experience/D3 connection needed for this job.  And with the success they've been having in Cedar Falls these past couple seasons, I doubt any of them would be real quick to get out the door.

Someone that is probably a long-shot to even apply, but would be a great fit for the program would be Reese Morgan.  He's an alum (played with Warthog and current RB coach Jerry Albert) and would bring a lot of experience to the program.  He'd also be someone that would have the players' respect right away.  Waving around a couple of Big Ten championship rings will do that.

Another big name that may not be very likely a candidate is Don Knock.  I know he's a Central alum, but he does have a son that is a student-athlete here at Wartburg and there have been a lot of people saying that he wants to be a head coach again soon.

While it would surprise me to see the job go to someone completely unconnected with Wartburg, let's not overestimate the importance of being an alum or former assitant coach.  Willis was neither of these things and he turned out OK.

[SJU92#57]

I hear Gary Barnett is out at Colorado, maybe you could get him and the Vikes could come to Iowa to party.

[SJU92#57]

3 more and I can go to bed

[coocooforcoekohawk]

I can't think of anyone at UNI off the top of my head either..

How about D.J. Vokolek,  he played for Kearney State and his father used to coach a DIII sport.  He is now an assistant coach at UNI.  He understands the quality of a DIII organization.

[Walston Hoover]

I don't think the change will have much negative, if any effect on recruiting. Unless Bill Belichek (sp) or Norm Chow comes in, I'm sure Eric Koehler will be the new head coach at Wartburg and would be VERY surprixed if that did not happen. This whole scenario playing out right now was talked about throughout the Wartburg community since this past Summer. About the only names I can see that would make the hiring committee think twice would be Don Knock or Matt Mitchell. Those are the only ones I could realistically see applying for the job. Mitchell I believe would use this as a stepping stone to the next level and success here would mean we'd be looking for a new coach in 5 years (no knock to him, he is shooting for something more).
Knock would be a very good coach, but my vote goes to Koehler.
He relates to the players very well and will be (is currently) an excellent recruiter. He is a d3 guy at heart and will be around for a lot of years if he gets the job.
He'll certainly be one of the youngest head coaches around, which hopefully means a lot of good years ahead of him.
He's extremely competitive, almost to the point where its a flaw, but his attitude is contagious and the players seem to really respond to it.
That being said, my resume's in the mail. We'll see what my one year as an offensive line coach at Dowling Catholic will get me.
Recruiting hasn't missed a beat, the assistants are still on the road visiting schools as we speak.
Did anyone see the new wellness center.
check out http://www.go-knights.net

[Bisondad]

Speaking of a new coach for Wartburg, a friend of mine, Roger Britson, coached there, then moved on to Moon Valley, AZ, as a high school coach and has had great sucess there.  I wonder if he will be applying???

[The Show]

Congratulations to Jesse Schmidt for being selected to play WR in the Aztec Bowl! The kid's amazing and the Mexico DB's could be in for a long game...

Any Wartburg or Central players make it?

[Mr_Slappy]

Tom Power from Wartburg, and I think Johnson (OT) from central was invited.  Not sure though. 
WH you got my vote for Wartburg's new head coach!!!

[Confused77]

I guess I will join in on the Wartburg speculation.

If I could hire anyone, it would be Jack Ginn, but I know he will not leave a new program and the area that he grew up in...I would just love to hear "come on now honey, get to the sideline and run, run, run"

It sounds like the main target is the current OC. I don't know him at all..I am just not sure what to think about him as a HC....Just not sure if it would be the right guy for the job.

Matt Mitchell is a name that pops into my head, but I am not sure he is quite ready to be a HC. I know he is a hell of a LB coach though.

Don Knock-- I don't believe would be interested. There are several good reasons he didn't take the Central job, and I think those reasons would pop up again at Wartburg. Seriously, why would he leave the great job at ISU to take the reigns of his Alma mater's rival?


Chad Klunder- I really like the guy. He has a ton of experience and I am not sure I have met a guy that bleeds Orange and Black more than him. I think he would be a great choice.

Cheese--I am sure he would make the rollerdog business in Waverly what it used to be. Most certainly would not turn the program into a debacle.