Big Sky Coaching changes after 2010?

[weberwildcat]

Idaho St is the top candidate for a new coach.

they are 1-4, 0-3 and since sept 2006 under the current coach they are 7-38. Only 5 of the wins are against DI.
after last season when the coach was 6-34 he got a contract extension for 2 yrs. last season also included a DII home loss.

Anyone else?

I think UNC's coach's seat is medium hot right now if not hot. Most the other coaches are doing well or have been doing good or are new coaches.

[SloStang]

Idaho St is the top candidate for a new coach.

they are 1-4, 0-3 and since sept 2006 under the current coach they are 7-38. Only 5 of the wins are against DI.
after last season when the coach was 6-34 he got a contract extension for 2 yrs. last season also included a DII home loss.

Anyone else?

I think UNC's coach's seat is medium hot right now if not hot. Most the other coaches are doing well or have been doing good or are new coaches.

I would have thought this might be the last season for ISU's coach, but if he got a 2 yr extention last year I do not see ISU having the money to buy him out of his contract.

[BigSkyBears]

I think Downing has to win at least 2 more games this year to keep his job. I'm not sure who those two wins will be against, but that's my opinion.

[weberwildcat]

Idaho St is the top candidate for a new coach.

they are 1-4, 0-3 and since sept 2006 under the current coach they are 7-38. Only 5 of the wins are against DI.
after last season when the coach was 6-34 he got a contract extension for 2 yrs. last season also included a DII home loss.

Anyone else?

I think UNC's coach's seat is medium hot right now if not hot. Most the other coaches are doing well or have been doing good or are new coaches.

I would have thought this might be the last season for ISU's coach, but if he got a 2 yr extention last year I do not see ISU having the money to buy him out of his contract.

they probably cant afford to get rid of the coach but think what that means for recruiting.

[NAU_Alum10]

JEROME SOUERS, HAS GOT TO GO. I really hate bringing up the idea of anybody getting fired but time and time again he has proved that he cant get his teams ready to win big games and frankly im sick of it. The last few years the teams have fallen apart towards the end of the season and this season has probably the most talented group and again cant win the big one. Souers is a good person but in college football its all about the W’s and he hasn’t got it done.

[free7694]

Idaho St is the top candidate for a new coach.

they are 1-4, 0-3 and since sept 2006 under the current coach they are 7-38. Only 5 of the wins are against DI.
after last season when the coach was 6-34 he got a contract extension for 2 yrs. last season also included a DII home loss.

Anyone else?

I think UNC's coach's seat is medium hot right now if not hot. Most the other coaches are doing well or have been doing good or are new coaches.

Scott Downing's seat SHOULD be roughly the same temperature as the sun. The incompetent loser is 8-43 in his career. If our AD doesn't have the guts to fire him, the AD should be fired.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Idaho St is the top candidate for a new coach.

they are 1-4, 0-3 and since sept 2006 under the current coach they are 7-38. Only 5 of the wins are against DI.
after last season when the coach was 6-34 he got a contract extension for 2 yrs. last season also included a DII home loss.

Anyone else?

I think UNC's coach's seat is medium hot right now if not hot. Most the other coaches are doing well or have been doing good or are new coaches.

Scott Downing's seat SHOULD be roughly the same temperature as the sun. The incompetent loser is 8-43 in his career. If our AD doesn't have the guts to fire him, the AD should be fired.

Maybe you guys could have V-Jax come coach the team, you know, since he isn't playing or anything right now.

[weberwildcat]

ISU's coach has 1 or 2 yrs left. unc's coach has 2 or 3 yrs left. souers is safe in flagstaff.

[SuperHornet]

Here's my take. I don't care who the team is, I don't like midseason firings. It completely disrupts chemistry and continuity. However, any season in which a change is contemplated should be reviewed within a month or so after the season ends. If a decision is made to change coaches, the decision should be made quickly and executed in early January. Christmas firings suck, so the actual firing should be done after the Holidays. But there absolutely MUST be a new guy in place before MLK Day to give the new guy a chance to assemble a staff and have a playbook ready for installation in time for spring ball. These things also affect recruiting, so it's got to be done quick. If one screws around with it and doesn't pull the trigger until, say, March, one is looking at a shot season.

[NAU_Alum10]

ISU's coach has 1 or 2 yrs left. unc's coach has 2 or 3 yrs left. souers is safe in flagstaff.

What makes you so sure that Souers is safe. No wins against Montana, only 3 against Eastern (in 13 seasons), only one conference shared title, two playoff births. The AD had a chance to restructure his contract and did not offer him anything past this season. All this with what I think is a great school location to pick up good players from metro areas such as Phoenix and SoCal. Recently the program has had high hopes and increased fan interested only to lose momentum with season let downs. If the program ever wants to get out of the current rut changes need to be looked at. There have been multiple write ups in both Flagstaffs Arizona Daily Sun and the student paper The Lumberjack about the possibility of Souers having to earn his contract extension by having a good showing this season. Hes already lost test #1 to EWU and now has MSU and UM comming up. The Skydome is shutting down after football season for renovations which include luxury boxes for boosters, which need to be filled by happy fans and alums. All this to me adds to him being on the hot seat this year. Again Souers is a great man personally, but if the programs gonna move forward changes need to be explored.

[free7694]

ISU's coach has 1 or 2 yrs left. unc's coach has 2 or 3 yrs left. souers is safe in flagstaff.

Scott Downing does not have 2 or 3 more years left at UNC, it's closer to 2 or 3 more games. IMO, we should've left him in Sacramento.

[mtjack]

ISU's coach has 1 or 2 yrs left. unc's coach has 2 or 3 yrs left. souers is safe in flagstaff.

What makes you so sure that Souers is safe. No wins against Montana, only 3 against Eastern (in 13 seasons), only one conference shared title, two playoff births. The AD had a chance to restructure his contract and did not offer him anything past this season. All this with what I think is a great school location to pick up good players from metro areas such as Phoenix and SoCal. Recently the program has had high hopes and increased fan interested only to lose momentum with season let downs. If the program ever wants to get out of the current rut changes need to be looked at. There have been multiple write ups in both Flagstaffs Arizona Daily Sun and the student paper The Lumberjack about the possibility of Souers having to earn his contract extension by having a good showing this season. Hes already lost test #1 to EWU and now has MSU and UM comming up. The Skydome is shutting down after football season for renovations which include luxury boxes for boosters, which need to be filled by happy fans and alums. All this to me adds to him being on the hot seat this year. Again Souers is a great man personally, but if the programs gonna move forward changes need to be explored.

Careful what you wish for as you just may get it. Change does not always equate into glory/success. The grass isn't always greener. Yadda, yadda.

I've been a Lumberjacks fan since the mid-late 1980s. I remember some dark, dark days at the Skydome. I'll take what Souers has done over a lot of the past Lumberjacks coaches. I remember a time in Flagstaff in the 90's when an NAU football player was in the city/campus police report way too often. I don't wear any rose-colored glasses and know bad stuff still has to go on but in general his players keep their noses clean, play hard and per team APR seem to be doing better in the classroom than Jacks teams of past. Us fans get impatient and greedy for glory but these three previous issues for players are more important in the grand scheme of life....no matter how much I'd love to win the conference and get playoff bid after playoff bid.

Guess that puts me in the "pro-Souers" camp? But if Souers is let go following another middling finish, then I understand why as well.

*side note* Luxury boxes aren't going to bait the community into attending. They just don't care. Never have in my time up there and it seems to be worse now. The students bring the support better now than when I was in school, though. Props to them.The allure of Cardinas/Suns/Sundevils/Wildcats/Pac-10 garners what little local sports market attention there is. The average local I met in Flagstaff is more likely to spend a Saturday afternoon on a hike or bike ride instead of at a football game. Nothing wrong with that either, as quite often I'd choose to hike or camp on a good weekend, but it's just how it is.

[NAU_Alum10]

What makes you so sure that Souers is safe. No wins against Montana, only 3 against Eastern (in 13 seasons), only one conference shared title, two playoff births. The AD had a chance to restructure his contract and did not offer him anything past this season. All this with what I think is a great school location to pick up good players from metro areas such as Phoenix and SoCal. Recently the program has had high hopes and increased fan interested only to lose momentum with season let downs. If the program ever wants to get out of the current rut changes need to be looked at. There have been multiple write ups in both Flagstaffs Arizona Daily Sun and the student paper The Lumberjack about the possibility of Souers having to earn his contract extension by having a good showing this season. Hes already lost test #1 to EWU and now has MSU and UM comming up. The Skydome is shutting down after football season for renovations which include luxury boxes for boosters, which need to be filled by happy fans and alums. All this to me adds to him being on the hot seat this year. Again Souers is a great man personally, but if the programs gonna move forward changes need to be explored.

Careful what you wish for as you just may get it. Change does not always equate into glory/success. The grass isn't always greener. Yadda, yadda.

I've been a Lumberjacks fan since the mid-late 1980s. I remember some dark, dark days at the Skydome. I'll take what Souers has done over a lot of the past Lumberjacks coaches. I remember a time in Flagstaff in the 90's when an NAU football player was in the city/campus police report way too often. I don't wear any rose-colored glasses and know bad stuff still has to go on but in general his players keep their noses clean, play hard and per team APR seem to be doing better in the classroom than Jacks teams of past. Us fans get impatient and greedy for glory but these three previous issues for players are more important in the grand scheme of life....no matter how much I'd love to win the conference and get playoff bid after playoff bid.

Guess that puts me in the "pro-Souers" camp? But if Souers is let go following another middling finish, then I understand why as well.

*side note* Luxury boxes aren't going to bait the community into attending. They just don't care. Never have in my time up there and it seems to be worse now. The students bring the support better now than when I was in school, though. Props to them.The allure of Cardinas/Suns/Sundevils/Wildcats/Pac-10 garners what little local sports market attention there is. The average local I met in Flagstaff is more likely to spend a Saturday afternoon on a hike or bike ride instead of at a football game. Nothing wrong with that either, as quite often I'd choose to hike or camp on a good weekend, but it's just how it is.

mtjack-Not saying the boxes will make people show up, but wins will. Everywhere I go in this town (restaurants, bars ect) during the weekend there are tv’s on with games on. There are plenty of sports fans in Flagstaff, just not NAU followers. Wins would help change all that, which is the point im trying to get at. I also know how important intangibles are to coaching, I played for a coach in high school that had 80% of his players go on to college while at the same time winning 11 state titles. So you can have high character guys and win too. Again as ive said in my posts above, Coach Souers is a great man just needs to win.

[BigSkyFootball]

The Idaho State situation is pathetic: very liitle fan support, facilities are bad. I'm not sure a coaching change (unless Nick Saban is interested) would help that program. They might need to drop down a division and try to work its way back up. As far as NAU goes, they have been average over the past few years. Even bringing in a high-profile QB two years ago (Michael Herrick) has not elevated their position in the conference or attracted more fan support or better recruits. Granted, their "off-the-field" issues have been reduced in the Souers era, but it might be time to go in another direction in Flagstaff. If you're going to win at the highest level in your conference, the program needs more and different energy and, frankly, Souers does not provide that. I think all the other Big Sky Programs are on the rise and moving in the right direction.

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

It could be me, but following UNC from the outside, it sure seems like they are improving every year and it wasn't that long ago you moved up. Initially they weren't that competitive, but appears to be like they are getting better and better.

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

The Idaho State situation is pathetic: very liitle fan support, facilities are bad. I'm not sure a coaching change (unless Nick Saban is interested) would help that program. They might need to drop down a division and try to work its way back up. As far as NAU goes, they have been average over the past few years. Even bringing in a high-profile QB two years ago (Michael Herrick) has not elevated their position in the conference or attracted more fan support or better recruits. Granted, their "off-the-field" issues have been reduced in the Souers era, but it might be time to go in another direction in Flagstaff. If you're going to win at the highest level in your conference, the program needs more and different energy and, frankly, Souers does not provide that. I think all the other Big Sky Programs are on the rise and moving in the right direction.

I am pretty sure I've seen nicer airplane hangers in Sun Valley than where ISU plays.............

[dbackjon]

Souers - needs to get to the playoffs. With the talent base he can draw on, 6-5 doesn't cut it.

[free7694]

It could be me, but following UNC from the outside, it sure seems like they are improving every year and it wasn't that long ago you moved up. Initially they weren't that competitive, but appears to be like they are getting better and better.

Counterpoint: Scott Downing's career record is 8-43.

8-43.

Time to go, Scott.