Coaching Carousel

[Ejay]

Dennison down two coaches now.  Ouch.

[casualfan]

Loras coach announced today. https://duhawks.com/news/2020/3/17/mccarthy-tabbed-to-lead-mens-soccer-program.aspx

Anybody know much about him? No offense to him, but figured there would be a hire with more experience/credentials.

Best of luck to him though!

[midwest]

On Denison, word is that they will be announcing the new head coach soon, and that the new coach is bringing an assistant with him. McCarthy knew at some point he was not getting the Head Coach job and either could not, or would not, stay to work under the new coach. This is positive momentum for Denison to have a fresh start with new leadership.

[WUPHF]

Brandon Bianco leaves Case Western Reserve, becomes the next head coach at Denison.

Interesting.

https://athletics.case.edu/sports/msoc/2019-20/releases/20200318ppi9ek

[midwest]

Yup, here is Denison's announcement. https://www.denisonbigred.com/sports/msoc/2019-20/releases/20200318lu0lea

[Ommadawn]

Coach Bianco leaving Case (and the UAA) for Denison seems like kind of a big deal.  I would be interested in hearing what this community's Ohio denizens (pun incidental) and affiliates such as Domino and PaulNewman think about the situation.  Did Coach Bianco depart Case for soccer-related, financial, family, quality of life, or other issues?  I wonder if limitations associated with Case's facilities played into his decision.  And who are the odds on favorites for taking over at Case?

[PaulNewman]

Coach Bianco leaving Case (and the UAA) for Denison seems like kind of a big deal.  I would be interested in hearing what this community's Ohio denizens (pun incidental) and affiliates such as Domino and PaulNewman think about the situation.  Did Coach Bianco depart Case for soccer-related, financial, family, quality of life, or other issues?  I wonder if limitations associated with Case's facilities played into his decision.  And who are the odds on favorites for taking over at Case?

Just seeing this and could use a distraction from the misery we are all going through. 

Here are my thoughts, which are 100% speculative.

On its face, this does seem like an odd move.

1)  Denison must have made a monster offer, which I can believe, because sports means a lot at Denison (and as one example, hiring away a Kenyon guy to take over the swimming program a number of years ago and although Kenyon had the edge this year Denison overall has taken over as the top swim program in the country with a string of national titles over the past 6-8 years).  Denison does have money, and Denison SHOULD be right there with Kenyon and OWU in men's soccer.  This is not only a boost for Denison but also for the NCAC.  Denison is a very attractive school, and should have advantages akin to Conn Coll and Trinity (CT) although the latter to be be kind has not done well.

2)  Perhaps Bianco saw limitations at CWRU...maybe financially but perhaps also competitively.  The UAA is a gauntlet as we all know.  He did a great job there and had a tremendous breakthrough season in 2018.  Unfortunately that did not translate into a good year this year.  As odd as its seems, he may have seen a better chance for ongoing success at Denison.

3)  The wild card....Did Bianco learn or figure out that he is NOT next in line at OWU???  Or, is he in line, and Denison is somehow one step closer???  I tend to believe the former more than the latter.  Two moves within five or so years wouldn't look great, and you would think Denison would be smart enough to factor in that possibility.   Travis Wall, anyone?

4) To repeat, this is good for the NCAC, even if making things a little tougher for my Lords.  One can imagine a NCAC where Kenyon, OWU, Denison and DePauw are all powerhouses, with Wabash pushing into the mix, Wooster improving (with a Denison guy coincidentally), and a good name with Oberlin (even tough Oberlin struggles to be consistently competitive).  Add Centre and suddenly the NCAC could potentially be a top 5-6 conference. 

5)  At this point, and I'm surprised that a thread hasn't started about this, I would speculate that the 2020 season is unlikely.

6)  Bianco wouldn't have been a bad choice for the Tufts job.

7)  To underscore the biggest point....superb hire by Denison.

[Ommadawn]

Thank you for your keen insights, Paul!  That is just the sort of discussion that I think a coaching change of this magnitude deserves.  I agree with your assertion about Coach Bianco being a good choice for Tufts had they gone in that direction.

[PaulNewman]

Thank you for your keen insights, Paul!  That is just the sort of discussion that I think a coaching change of this magnitude deserves.  I agree with your assertion about Coach Bianco being a good choice for Tufts had they gone in that direction.

Thanks.  I'd be interested in your thoughts as well.

I think this move also provides insight on another thread issue about what goes into the development of strong programs and how much a coach can make a difference.  Expect Denison to be nationally competitive quickly.  From a distance, Bianco is the kind of person/coach who I would have gladly entrusted with a kid of my own or a grandkid lol.  Tremendous temperament, very positive but still very competitive, and someone who seems to genuinely care about his players.

[Shamrock]

PaulNewman, is the NCAC adding Centre?

[PaulNewman]

PaulNewman, is the NCAC adding Centre?

No.  Just think would make some sense for the NCAC and for Centre.  Distance is an obvious issue but not worse in most cases from current conference.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

PaulNewman, is the NCAC adding Centre?

No.  Just think would make some sense for the NCAC and for Centre.  Distance is an obvious issue but not worse in most cases from current conference.

Since i follow a lot of this ... NCAC is full. They are not interested in new members from everything I've been following. There was a lot of talk where Thomas More might head when they were kicked out of the PAC ... NCAC, OAC, and others were basically no-gos because they were not interested in growing any larger.

Centre being a member of the SAA is in a pretty solid group of academic institutions. Many part of the SCAC when it was a far larger conference (SCAC still has it's conference offices in the Atlanta area). Remember, DePauw was a member of the that same SCAC before joining the NCAC ... and then the SCAC split into the SAA and what is now the smaller version of the SCAC (which has grown a little since the split).

I don't think Centre has any interest in joining the NCAC, either. At least, I have never gotten that sense when talking to people in and around the regions.

That all said ... I've been following conference changes for years ... I've seen stranger things.

[Ejay]

Any updates on the CAC teams/future?

[PaulNewman]

Sorry if there was any confusion.  Thought I clarified that Centre is NOT joining NCAC.  Never suggested that either the NCAC or Centre are interested in each other.  Just filling time without any active sports to engage in some fantasy conference changes from my perspective only.  That said, Centre consistently has been playing at least two NCACs on a regular basis (Kenyon, DePauw and often OWU), as well as several other Great Lakes opponents.  So as many as 5-6 matches with Great Lakes foes every year.  And of course until just a few years ago Centre was affiliated with the Great Lakes region.

As a side note, Danville, KY to Jackson, MS (Millsaps) is almost 9 hours.  8.5 hours to Conway, AR (Hendrix).  Furthest NCAC from Danville?  Allegheny at 7 hours.  Most NCACs within 3.5 to 5 hours.   Most SAAs 5.5 hours or more.  There is a reason why Centre's non-conference schedule is so Great Lakes heavy.

[midwest]

@PaulNewman -- great thoughts about the Bianco hire at Denison. On the swimming and diving program though, the Denison coach, Greg Parini swam for Kenyon in the '80s but has coached at Denison since the late '80s. So, when Denison Men broke Kenyon's grip on the national championship, Parini had been the Denison coach for 20+ years. I don't know enough about the program to know whether a change in assistants contributed to Denison's ascent or if, as Denison became better known academically, it was able to recruit more competitive classes. But, as a Denison family, we hope that Bianco is able to find a way to break into the top 2 in the NCAC.