FB: American Rivers Conference

[sc_stormchaser]

I just looked at Simpson's website, and they list Lounsberry as associate head coach. Could it be that they will interview candidates that will not take the job and then just give it to Lounsberry? Just idle speculation on my part.

Lounsberry was the associate head coach for the entire year, so it wasn't a post-Niemann resignation move. I've heard that he really wants the job, but there are no indications that he will even get an interview.

Over Thanksgiving, my cousin that's a former Simpson player told me that Lounsberry is really lobbying the alumni players to try to get an interview for the job, but nobody seems to be backing him up on it.

I think the Simpson job is the more intriguing of the two openings in the conference right now.  Does Sirriani try to get somebody that will make the alums happy, or hire a coach that has no ties to the school, but a good shot to take them back to the level of success they saw in 2003 or even back in 1997/8.  Obviously those are the extremes, and there might be a candidate out there that could fit both bills.  I think that Simpson has to get somebody with college coaching experience, at the D3 level if possible, and has been successful.  As great a high school coach as Swenson is, there are just some guys whose styles don't translate well to the college game, even at this level.

From what I've heard, your cousin is exactly right. It sounds like he has been trying to get the alumni players to back him, but I don't think he has the support that he thought he would have. It sounds like some of them were a bit offended because he hadn't been on campus or done anything for the school for almost 30 years (until he came in two years ago) and now he's wanted them to fight for him. But I did hear a few of the alums are in support of him, but probably not enough to make much of an impact. Although it is interesting, he was the top candidate for the job back in '02 and turned it down. He was on staff at South Carolina and they had just won the Outback Bowl. I was told he said the timing just wasn't right. Ten bucks says that if he hadn't come two years ago, he would be at the top of Sirianni's wish list. Funny how things happen. From talking to people close to the program, I would be very, very surprised if they offer the job to him.

[DutchFan2004]

Wow,

There sure are a lot of politics involved with a decision like this.  Do you think he may get the job be default if they can not find any one else that wants the job?

[footballdaddy]

From my dealings with Lounsberry I'd have no problem trusting my son to him. Maybe he wants to rock the boat too much and that's not helping his cause?

[HoosierinIowa]

I think this is a huge hire for Simpson. They have has some really good success in the past twenty years and some down times as well. Nieman's record wasn't that bad so obviously in firing him they are expecting the next coach to be a consistent contender for the conference title. Simpson has the facilities, tradition and support to do this if they make the right hire.
The conference is in state of flux. McMartin has been great but Central loses a ton of great players. Wartburg has been good but to me, Koehler hasn't shown he can get it done like Willis could. Simpson could be a great opportunity for the right guy.

[sc_stormchaser]

From my dealings with Lounsberry I'd have no problem trusting my son to him. Maybe he wants to rock the boat too much and that's not helping his cause?

I've talked to Paul a couple of times and he seems like a very nice guy who is truly sincere. His resume obviously speaks for itself. As I've said before, I'm not very close to the program, but my sense is that he isn't even the "default" candidate. I'll be interested to see if they have someone hired within the next few weeks.

[The Show]

Show...Looks like Jefferson had some good kids.  I hope they lean the Storm Lake way.

Where we were good, we were really good.  Where we were bad, we were pretty bad.

[doolittledog]

Was Lounsberry the OC???  Because I thought one of the knocks on the Storm this year was they never made any halftime adjustments to their offense and they would do nothing in the second half of games.  I would think that might be a strike against him as well. 

[dutchfan1]

Hey, Dutchie!

Great clip. Thanks for the link. We watched it and said, "We were there!" when we saw that pond and the little bridge. You do have a nice campus, and it's cool that you got the publicity.

Are you getting sick of the politicians yet?

Hey coco -- Long time, no see! Hope to see your Cats in the playoffs soon! Linfield has an amazing campus, too!

Eh....the politicians are helping to keep the air warm in Iowa -- can you imagine how cold it would be if they weren't here right now?? Brr...

[oldbeake]

McMartin has been great but Central loses a ton of great players.

Next season is where the rubber hits the road for McMartin.  His recruits really start to enter the picture next fall.  Rich Kac's success declined severely after Schipper's recruiting prowess graduated.  Flux will be interesting indeed. 

[oldbeake]

How did a guy with a name like Harry Smith end up at Central?  Or was his name Harry VanderSmith?

He came to party, of course.

That's Harry lying down in the front.

[BeaverOfYore]

What positions do the Jefferson guys play?

The SOB kids would likely be penciled in as follows:
1 OL
2 DL
2 DB
1 WR/P
1 FB/LB
1 ?

One thing I forgot to mention earlier--apparently BV has a new $3k grant available to kids from around 20 or 30 counties in western Iowa.  Since that's the amount the average kid at Northwestern or Morningside gets for athletics, it may help BV attract a few more athletes from the area.

1 two-time 1st Team All-State DB, but could also play WR and Punts
1 two-time All-State OL and can long snap
1 Michael Irvin type LB, also FB
1 RB (All-State)/DE, but could see him as a college SS

Is Greene county in that list of western Iowa counties?

I don't know exactly which counties are included.  If I had to guess, I'd say it includes the western 1/4 to 1/3 of the state, all the way north to south--but that's purely speculation.  All I've heard about it is secondhand information that my brother has gotten from Jay.  Apparently it's one of his main selling points over the phone.

I am sure that they could/will be some exceptions made to that rule.  I am sure if you get a kid wanting to come over from Dubuque, you they will make sure he is taken care of. 

Show...Looks like Jefferson had some good kids.  I hope they lean the Storm Lake way.  Just tell them about M-town and that should seal the deal 

I agree about there being exceptions to the rule.  I doubt it will actually be $3k cheaper for those kids than it would have been without the grant, but it sounds like a good way to get kids on campus for a visit.  My guess is the grant would replace some of those other mystery scholarships that would magically appear on your financial aid when you enrolled. 

[luvd3football]

From my dealings with Lounsberry I'd have no problem trusting my son to him. Maybe he wants to rock the boat too much and that's not helping his cause?

I've talked to Paul a couple of times and he seems like a very nice guy who is truly sincere. His resume obviously speaks for itself. As I've said before, I'm not very close to the program, but my sense is that he isn't even the "default" candidate. I'll be interested to see if they have someone hired within the next few weeks.

From what I've heard, they've had several very good interviews and they are close to getting someone hired.  I also heard Lounsberry will not be the head coach and may not even be around next year.  He does have an impressive resume on the surface but dig alittle deeper ......  I've heard he's an excellent recruiter but his play calling over the past 2 years was been questionable at times (I'm trying to be nice  ).  Many of the kids in the program don't respect him 

[KCDutch]

From my dealings with Lounsberry I'd have no problem trusting my son to him. Maybe he wants to rock the boat too much and that's not helping his cause?

I've talked to Paul a couple of times and he seems like a very nice guy who is truly sincere. His resume obviously speaks for itself. As I've said before, I'm not very close to the program, but my sense is that he isn't even the "default" candidate. I'll be interested to see if they have someone hired within the next few weeks.

From what I've heard, they've had several very good interviews and they are close to getting someone hired.  I also heard Lounsberry will not be the head coach and may not even be around next year.  He does have an impressive resume on the surface but dig alittle deeper ......  I've heard he's an excellent recruiter but his play calling over the past 2 years was been questionable at times (I'm trying to be nice  ).  Many of the kids in the program don't respect him 

I've also heard Lounsberry will not be the next coach.  Very close to hire, but until there is an announcement, I guess, anything can happen.

[DutchFan2004]

McMartin has been great but Central loses a ton of great players.

Next season is where the rubber hits the road for McMartin.  His recruits really start to enter the picture next fall.  Rich Kac's success declined severely after Schipper's recruiting prowess graduated.  Flux will be interesting indeed. 

Well this class was all MacMartins with the exception of Baethke as he was a fifth year senior as he had a medical red shirt.  So last year would have had most of any hold overs from the Kac era. 

[Floyd in Iowa City]

I just looked at Simpson's website, and they list Lounsberry as associate head coach. Could it be that they will interview candidates that will not take the job and then just give it to Lounsberry? Just idle speculation on my part.

Lounsberry was the associate head coach for the entire year, so it wasn't a post-Niemann resignation move. I've heard that he really wants the job, but there are no indications that he will even get an interview.

Over Thanksgiving, my cousin that's a former Simpson player told me that Lounsberry is really lobbying the alumni players to try to get an interview for the job, but nobody seems to be backing him up on it.

I think the Simpson job is the more intriguing of the two openings in the conference right now. 

It is shocking that someone from Wartburg might say something like that!

For others that might actually be interested , Luther has had 3 interviews this week.  One interview will still happen this week while the other is early next week.  

I have heard that at least a few players already think the top choice should be a certain coordinator finalist rather than a current head coach.  The coordinator has been at a really good program in recent years and has six years of previous head coaching experience at two small colleges.

There is another assistant coach still to be interviewed that interests me as well.

There are no Luther coaches or ex-Luther coaches among the five candidates interviewing.