Alright so it's official. Let's get the news conference done and then the Hawk has to hit the ground running. We got a football program to turn around! ITS DIVISION 1 FOOTBALL!!!!
Congratulations to Kevin Blue as well! Blue gets it; he took the time when he was first hired to explore the unique values and history of Aggie Athletics. He learned about Jim Sochor and listened to his family, current and past coaches, and many others and came to understand what Aggie Pride is all about. You can see that he valued the input of former coaches and players in advising him about choosing a new coach.
Blue is a very impressive young man. I hope he sticks around long enough to see the program return to greatness.
I'm betting the current and future Aggies are fired up!! (Though I thought I read a Bulldog fan saying they may try to cherry pick "athlete" and UCD commit Perryman.)
This could be UUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGG!!!!
Can Hawk bring in an innovative OC like Troy Taylor? I hope he can resist the temptation to bring his son Cody along ... we don't need distractions.
I believe Hawk is TIGHT with Foster, so he probably already knows the skinny... and Foster doesn't beat around the bush.
Key questions: Do we need to nail down a 5th QB? Can CJ Spencer (or Brock Dale) get us to 5 or 6 wins next year? (Two of our QBs will be newbies.)
I don't care if he brings his son along. His son was a very smart QB at Colorado who played his ass off. It's very common for HC's to bring their son's along, and his son is far more qualified that many of those I've seen in the past at other schools. Nate Hackett's rise in the NFL certainly benefited from daddy's connections. It's part of the coaching game. Foster will likely stay on in some role, but I don't think he wants to be a full-time coach let alone a coordinator. What I like is that we have a guy who won't take crap from the administration or media. Time for a tough guy to get us where we want to go. Every programs looks to have 4 QBs for spring, and brings in a freshman, so I would anticipate us looking for a JC transfer and a freshman in this year's class. We may very well need a new QB to run the offense if the new offense doesn't fit our current QB's skill set. Lots of exciting stuff in the coming weeks.
We already have a Frosh QB committed. He is one of the four.
I wouldn't mind if his son were a lower-level assistant. NOT the OC or QB coach ... we don't have that luxury, and his coaching resume is thin. "Connections" are a different universe.
i believe this has been in the works for some time. i know dan had concerns the last go-around about facilities, salaries, support, etc., so maybe some prominent alum ponied up some bucks to get that taken care of. at the causeway, there were many of our teammates (dan and i played together one year) that i hadn't seen in quite some time, some of whom had contributed big bucks to the stadium effort. not too surprising that they were there in retrospect.
my only concern is that he's been out of college coaching for 5 years. he's was the head coach of the US national team at some World Championships, and the offensive coordinator of a team in Vienna down in Australia but away from NCAA for a bit. he'll bring alot of energy, a more innovative offense, and hopefully some experienced coaches. and, hopefully, alot of support from some alum/donors. he does come in with eyes wide open -> realizes the changes that need to be put in place to succeed at this level (more than good old 'Aggie Pride').
his son has been coaching (did a stint at Ohio State as a grad assistant, was an OC at an oregon high school, worked with Dan at numerous overseas clinics). wouldn't be surprised to join the Aggie staff, but, hopefully not in a high profile job (like OC).
Dr. Mike, question. I know that Hawk benefited from having Chris Peterson as an OC... is Hawk himself sharp on offense?
I'm sure Blue knew that unless Coach Gould got 6 or 7 wins, he likely was gone. Blue has great timing, he has had some relatively easy administrative "wins".
I don't think he will be the OC, but he may be a good QB coach. Played a high level, grad assistant at a high level, and with the right OC supervising him, it could be just fine. It's a non-issue until it's an issue.