DISQUS

Fanblogs.com: Skip Holtz to Syracuse

  • Clemson_Joe · 12 months ago
    Fantastic hire by the Orange.

    If East Carolina gets Bud Foster, that will be a great hire for them as well. I think the Hokies without Foster will be a much different team, and I don't think they'll be playing in the conference title game for quite some time with him gone.
  • FSU_Ben · 12 months ago
    Oh we can only hope Bud goes to East Carolina where I will wish him much luck and success.

    Congrats to East Carolina on a great year and sorry you lost your coach so soon.

    Congrats to Syracuse I think he may just be the national recruiter you need.

    I hope I get to congratulate Bud Foster on his new job soon.

    Kevin, Recruit within New York? He needs to cross into Pennsylvania at least and draw on southern talent. Any schmo should be able to recruit in New York. All the programs except MAC- Buffalo are lower division and he is at THE BCS (AQ) school in the state. I look for improvement in the first year and perhaps a bowl. I expect the Orange to not be the joke of the east for long.
  • Clemson_Joe · 12 months ago
    Correct me if I'm wrong, especially since I don't know much on this topic, but isn't success in recruiting in New York the way that Rutgers and Connecticut have been able to have successes on the field in recent years? Syracuse just needs to get those kids back to get a good start.
  • Kevin @ Fanblogs · 12 months ago
    DING! DING! DING!
  • FSU_Ben · 12 months ago
    Rutgers has S. Fla connections as I am sure you are well aware. They recruited quite a bit of thier talent out of our state. I am not certain of UConn but they aren't a good team and thier success says more about the overall weakness of the Big East than it does anything else. Aside from that Uconn would be the only NE FBS school aside from BC and even with BC's success I still think a BE team has edge in recruiting being 1 of 8 mediocre to weak teams.
  • FSU_Ben · 12 months ago
    11 NY players on Rutgers roster as opposed to 15 from FL. 11 is not that unnatural I wouldn't think. There are like 2-3 from cal and like 8 from states outside PA. NY NJ the massive bulk of the team is NJ (one canadian). I don't find that especially unusual considering you can practically throw a rock and hit new york city from Newark (coincidently the city of Orange is also nearby!).

    Uconn is a very nationally recruited team and only has like 2 players from New York (and considerably more from Florida).
  • Clemson_Joe · 12 months ago
    A lot of Rutgers' successes a few years ago can be attributed to these 2 running backs, Ray Rice, and Brian Leonard, both from New York.
  • FSU_Ben · 12 months ago
    And Syracuse messed up getting Rice who had committed to them by firing a coach. I remember Leonard I thought he was a full back. Yeah I would agree with your point but losing two recruits (13 total on both teams or so) shouldn't be a game breaker. Florida's crop of quarterbacks alone will go on to play on 11-12 (FBS) teams each year many more wide recievers will etc. so on. I doubt seriously there will be any problems recruiting in New York but still my point was you will need to recruit outside the state as both the teams you mentioned have done.
  • Clemson_Joe · 12 months ago
    Right, but what I'm saying is that Rutgers had success when their backfield featured 2 backs out of NY. Right now, they have players from other states and the Scarlet Knights are not good by any stretch of the imagination. If Syracuse can keep those players in NY, that will be the solid foundation that they need to create in order to jump start a return to prominence.
  • Tyler_Tech · 12 months ago
    Losing a coach like skip so soon is like getting kicked in the gut for ECU....
  • FSU_Ben · 12 months ago
    I'm sure they knew they were a transitional school when they hired him.
  • USC1801 · 12 months ago
    At least he will be leaving ECU with a much stronger program than what he took over, so they can't say his moving on is a total loss.
  • FSU_Ben · 12 months ago
    And if they get Bud Foster Not only will that do a lot to have Virginia Tech in thier appropriate place (2nd or 3rd Coastal) but ECU will have a terrific coach. Thier success can continue. I think one problem they have is the direction in the front of thier name. Geographic references does not seem to lead to success, half the game is marketing! Just Kidding, Sort of. Maybe they could change to Carolina! It's not that unheard of to change names a bit!
  • Tyler_Tech · 12 months ago
    Agree Bud foster is a good coach. It is alot better than having no coach at
    the moment...... :/
  • Kevin @ Fanblogs · 12 months ago
    Holtz confirmed his interest in Syracuse and would not deny that he may be the next coach, but told ESPN that no deal is in place.

    Holtz said Sunday he has had no formal meetings with Syracuse and called an NFL Network report that he was to be introduced as the new coach Monday "inaccurate." Holtz, however, didn't rule out replacing the fired Greg Robinson.

    "I would like to have the opportunity to talk to [Syracuse AD] Daryl Gross," Holtz said. "But at this point, no, I'm not going through an interview process. I've made that very clear."


    As far as denials go, this one sounds kinda fishy to me. Perhaps NFL Network (again WTF?) jumped the gun on the story, but it certainly seems like there is mutual interest, at the very least.
  • FSU_Ben · 12 months ago
    Yeah... it does seem fishey. Perhaps Holtz is using Syracuse to bag a better offer from some other school? What is still open that is decent... Just Washington right? I would want Syracuse for available jobs but Washington is a real close second (If I was a football coach).
  • Tyler_Tech · 12 months ago
    AUBURN is open.....
  • FSU_Ben · 12 months ago
    I have a suspicion Auburn already has the guy they want and that he will be announced very soon or after his teams bowl. Auburn, to me, is not a good job. Syracuse has decent facilities, a good shot at the BCS (much better than Auburn), a good recruiting ground, good history and no downsides like crappy fans in a hyper competetive conference. Washington shares all those as well but again the expectations are realistic and the conference is weak (both are less than 12 teams too).
  • War_Eagle_Atlanta · 12 months ago
    I can assure you that Auburn does not yet have their guy. Our AD is in NY today interviewing Turner Gill and the Ball State coach.

    If Auburn already had their guy but was maintaining some sort of ruse, I'd say that guy was Jimbo Fisher.

    I think you meant to say that Syracuse has an easier shot at the BCS...
  • FSU_Ben · 12 months ago
    Yeah well I won't be too suprised if Jimbo leaves and I'm thinking he probably shouldn't wait for Joe Pa to die. I wish one of them would give up and be #2.
  • War_Eagle_Atlanta · 12 months ago
    Death match, baby! No tapping out!!
  • FSU_Ben · 12 months ago
    HAHA. Well I think Sr. Hip Replacement will peter out first. Bobby still seems to possess his mind and Joe Pa seems vacant. Now I will get blasted by some PSU fan!
  • 4cornerz · 12 months ago
    Thats f up what happened to Turner Gill or other top Div 1-AA coaches who are successful with less talent and facilities
  • FSU_Ben · 12 months ago
    I'm betting some of them will get jobs. Two great stories are Tressel and Johnson.
  • Zac · 12 months ago
    I don't know. I mean; clearly, this is not the best Syracuse can do. Why shouldn't they go after Bud Foster? OK, if he won't leave the South, then, why not go after Chris Petersen? It doesn't get any colder nor any more snow in Syracuse than it does in the State of Boise.

    I'll give Holtz this much: He does have the trend going in his favor. ECU won 5 his 1st year, 7 the next, 8 last year, and this year he already has 9 and could win a 10th against 6-6 KY. He does have "signature" wins against VA Tech & WVU. I have to wonder if he has what it takes to bring ECU to the "next level". That said, again I ask, why take a chance on him. Why not pick up Tommy Bowden instead? So, again I say, I don't know.

    One thing is for certain, whether he stays or goes, if the Big East doesn't expand by picking up this squad, there won't be a Big East, as its teams will be divided up among the rest of the conferences within a few years. Remember; you heard it here 1st.