FB: American Rivers Conference

doolittledog · February 22, 2010, 07:45:43 AM

Wasn't Willis also a finalist for a D2 job in Minny a couple of years ago???

If I'm an opposing coach recruiting against Wartburg, I would certainly bring up the fact that Willis has been looking around. Just like Big Ten coaches keep bringing up to kids that Ferentz might leave Iowa...though Ferentz hasn't actually been looking around

Though, like Ferentz, this really doesn't mean anything in the end. Willis has proven over time to be a good coach. And has been around Wartburg longer than any other coach in our conference. If he moves on then we will see what happends.

It does seem interesting to me that Willis went 6-2, 6-2 over his initial last 2 years at Wartburg, but got a conference championship. Then Koeler came in and went 6-2, 7-1 but did not win a conference championship and Wartburg fans said he wasn't getting the job done. Now, Willis comes back and goes 7-1, 5-3...but gets another conference championship and he is held in high esteem that Koeler never got.

footballdaddy · February 22, 2010, 09:22:01 AM

Quote from: doolittledog on February 22, 2010, 07:45:43 AM
Wasn't Willis also a finalist for a D2 job in Minny a couple of years ago???

It does seem interesting to me that Willis went 6-2, 6-2 over his initial last 2 years at Wartburg, but got a conference championship. Then Koeler came in and went 6-2, 7-1 but did not win a conference championship and Wartburg fans said he wasn't getting the job done. Now, Willis comes back and goes 7-1, 5-3...but gets another conference championship and he is held in high esteem that Koeler never got.

I would like to hear who was saying that Koehler wasn't getting the job done. I'm sure it wasn't anyone in the Wartburg camp. He was respected by coaches,players, and parents. The face he ended up at a prestigous D2 school known to be a gateway to D1 should be enough testament to his abilities.

As far as Willis, the fact he is in contention for the jobs already mentioned shows the respect for his abilities, unlike some in the IIAC who didn't get jobs at the school where they already had a coahing position.

sc_stormchaser · February 22, 2010, 11:12:23 AM

Didn't he interview for the St. Cloud State job? So that's at least 3 interviews in the last few years.

Quote from: footballdaddy on February 22, 2010, 09:22:01 AM
Quote from: doolittledog on February 22, 2010, 07:45:43 AM
Wasn't Willis also a finalist for a D2 job in Minny a couple of years ago???

It does seem interesting to me that Willis went 6-2, 6-2 over his initial last 2 years at Wartburg, but got a conference championship. Then Koeler came in and went 6-2, 7-1 but did not win a conference championship and Wartburg fans said he wasn't getting the job done. Now, Willis comes back and goes 7-1, 5-3...but gets another conference championship and he is held in high esteem that Koeler never got.

I would like to hear who was saying that Koehler wasn't getting the job done. I'm sure it wasn't anyone in the Wartburg camp. He was respected by coaches,players, and parents. The face he ended up at a prestigous D2 school known to be a gateway to D1 should be enough testament to his abilities.

As far as Willis, the fact he is in contention for the jobs already mentioned shows the respect for his abilities, unlike some in the IIAC who didn't get jobs at the school where they already had a coahing position.

Willie University · February 22, 2010, 11:33:54 AM

Quote from: sc_stormchaser on February 22, 2010, 11:12:23 AM
Didn't he interview for the St. Cloud State job? So that's at least 3 interviews in the last few years.

Quote from: footballdaddy on February 22, 2010, 09:22:01 AM
Quote from: doolittledog on February 22, 2010, 07:45:43 AM
Wasn't Willis also a finalist for a D2 job in Minny a couple of years ago???

It does seem interesting to me that Willis went 6-2, 6-2 over his initial last 2 years at Wartburg, but got a conference championship. Then Koeler came in and went 6-2, 7-1 but did not win a conference championship and Wartburg fans said he wasn't getting the job done. Now, Willis comes back and goes 7-1, 5-3...but gets another conference championship and he is held in high esteem that Koeler never got.

I would like to hear who was saying that Koehler wasn't getting the job done. I'm sure it wasn't anyone in the Wartburg camp. He was respected by coaches,players, and parents. The face he ended up at a prestigous D2 school known to be a gateway to D1 should be enough testament to his abilities.

As far as Willis, the fact he is in contention for the jobs already mentioned shows the respect for his abilities, unlike some in the IIAC who didn't get jobs at the school where they already had a coahing position.

So, that is at least 3 jobs he applied for and didn't get. I will concede he has done an excellent job while at Wartburg. Sure, he has gotten some help from the financial aid office

but, he has still been successful.

What I wonder is:

* Why so persistent in wanting to leave

* He has been in the top 4 for 3 jobs but what is preventing him from getting hired?
* It should concern current players and recruits about the uncertain future of their head coach

* What is going on behind the scenes at Wartburg that we don't know about? Financial difficulties has been brought to the surface but what else

Willie University · February 22, 2010, 11:37:18 AM

Quote from: doolittledog on February 22, 2010, 07:45:43 AM
Wasn't Willis also a finalist for a D2 job in Minny a couple of years ago???

If I'm an opposing coach recruiting against Wartburg, I would certainly bring up the fact that Willis has been looking around. Just like Big Ten coaches keep bringing up to kids that Ferentz might leave Iowa...though Ferentz hasn't actually been looking around Though, like Ferentz, this really doesn't mean anything in the end. Willis has proven over time to be a good coach. And has been around Wartburg longer than any other coach in our conference. If he moves on then we will see what happends.

It does seem interesting to me that Willis went 6-2, 6-2 over his initial last 2 years at Wartburg, but got a conference championship. Then Koeler came in and went 6-2, 7-1 but did not win a conference championship and Wartburg fans said he wasn't getting the job done. Now, Willis comes back and goes 7-1, 5-3...but gets another conference championship and he is held in high esteem that Koeler never got.

The difference is, if Ferentz wanted another job, he would have it. There would be no "decision" to make on who to interview or hire. Ferentz isn't looking as you mentioned, Willis is.

Alfredeneumann · February 22, 2010, 12:53:18 PM

My THOUGHTS on Rick Willis - A couple of those looks where while he was AD and NOT football coach. He is a football coach doing the AD thing too and while he's doing doing both the quality of either is not as good if there he was FB coach and someone else was AD.

NewKnightDad · February 22, 2010, 01:04:49 PM

Willie, you seem to have a certain level of desire to see Wartburg lose their coach and obviously recruits. I guess if you can't beat them hope for the worst for them right?

I guess I will go with Willis was contacted about the open coaching positions and went through with the interviews intead of him actively looking for the oppurtunities and for a way out of town. How are you sure that he was not offered the jobs and turned them down? I sure don't have any proof that he was just like you don't have any to the contrary.

Do I have orange sunglasses on? You bet I do

.

I hope Willis stays for a long time and continues as head coach. My son was recruited by Koehler but never got the chance to play for him. We never thought he was under achieving and the fact he is at Grand Valley State now would seem to support that.

I am looking forward to another competitive IIAC football season this fall and can't wait for it to get started. For those of you that travel to Waverly for games this year please stop by our tail gate in the park across the street from the stadium and say hi. We will offer you food and drink and great company, and probably some good ribbing.

footballdaddy · February 22, 2010, 01:35:03 PM

Maybe Willis looking to move up is a good thing. Unless you are Gene Chizik, you don't get to move up if your record stinks. So as long as Wilis is looking, Wartburg will be at the top of the IIAC.

Willie University · February 22, 2010, 01:38:59 PM

I would think it is a pretty fair assumption that if he was contacted by each of those schools about the job opening by the schools administration itself encouraging him to apply, he certainly would have been offered at least one of those jobs.

Regardless, it's the off season and this is a hot topic of conversation right now. With so many Wartburg posters on here always bragging about how good they are and how bad everyone else is or bringing up "hot topics" similar to this about other schools, it is certainly nice to have the shoe on the other foot

I, with my blue and white sunglasses on

Willie U

BB · February 22, 2010, 02:38:15 PM

From my point of view (which will have a little bias), Willis is an outstanding coach and would be a good hire for any job out there. Another thing that is worth thinking about is the number of assistants under Willis that have also moved on to bigger/better jobs in DII or DI. Turnover within the assistant coaching positions is another transition that programs go through. Some schools can handle this type of turnover, others have a hard time adjusting. Just my 2 cents...

the_mayne_event · February 22, 2010, 03:50:29 PM

Quote from: footballdaddy on February 22, 2010, 01:35:03 PM
Maybe Willis looking to move up is a good thing. Unless you are Gene Chizik (or Lane Kffen), you don't get to move up if your record stinks. So as long as Wilis is looking, Wartburg will be at the top of the IIAC.

footballdaddy · February 22, 2010, 04:00:44 PM

Thanks for fixing that for me.

warthog · February 23, 2010, 01:06:40 AM

Mrs. Warthog and I have been watching the Olympics off and on for the last ten days. I find it interesting that uniforms for the real Dutch are black and orange.

AZDutchman · February 23, 2010, 07:35:53 AM

Quote from: Klompen on February 18, 2010, 09:22:45 AM
Quote from: spurrier on February 17, 2010, 11:42:29 AM
for the first time in years, ud did not send a representative to the football recruiting fairs in florida. . .i find that most interesting. . .shame on vince for bringing all those florida kids to iowa. . .hope the spartans can get it done with local kids, but i suspect the best iowa kids will choose central and wartburg over ud; the best wisc kids will play in the wiac, seems to me the chicagoland area is the most furtile recruiting area left. . .that's where birmingham got them back in the day. . .
I don't know why a school would give up on a recruiting area where they have already had a measure of success, but different coaches do different things. Maybe the intensity of this winter with all the snow hit them hard with retention. If I was from Florida, I would have to question why I decided to go to school in Iowa with a year like this one. We have great schools, but this year is a little much for those of us "seasoned" to it, I can't imagine what the warm weather kids must be thinking.

It's been awhile since I've been on the board. Hope everyone is doing well!

"Warm weather kids." Why would they go to such a cold place like Iowa?
Just the other week I was talking to my son in New York. "Dad, its 1 degree out here with the wind chill!" It just so happen to be 80 degrees here in Arizona.

It's the school that makes a parent send their son/daughter to the cold. My son in New York had many choices of where to go. It came down to two schools. One in beautiful warm California or one in bitter cold New York? So as a parent I weighed which one would be better for him as a person. New York was/is the better place for him. The same decision came for my son in Iowa.

I didn't always live in Arizona (20 years). I am a Chicago native. I know what the cold is all about. Living in any other climate that you're not used to takes adjustment. Try living here in the summer, average temp 115 degrees. Oh yeh, it's a dry heat. Talk to the kids that decide to go to school over here. Ask them how "dry" the heat is. One of the things my son said when discussing colleges was....I don't want to play ball in the heat any more.

Again, if you're wondering what brings a warm weather kid to the cold, it's the school! For a son that's never seen snow before going to Iowa, I think he's weathering it just fine!

Here's a little tid bid for you. The school that there speaking of is the school my son went to here in Arizona. I'll try to stop in more. I miss Warthogs thoughts for the day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3TWqwljguE

doolittledog · February 23, 2010, 07:55:09 AM

AZDutchman, well done. I will have to copy and paste your response on to our computer for future reference. Our kids are still young, but my wife often talks about wanting our kids to stay close to home for college. While I think it would be great if our kids did find a school that fit them within a 4-5 hour drive from us, what is important is that the school is right for them. I just have to keep reminding myself that!!!