If they are seriously considering Ash why not look at Diaco? Ex D coordinator for ND, head coaching experience, young and energetic, played in Big 10 at Iowa and is from NJ and recruits the area. Not saying this is what I want but if this is the route they are heading...
Ash vs. Diaco
- Thread starter RobotHunter
- Start date
I haven't gotten the sense Diaco is a real possibility, but it wouldn't be a bad hire at all. Only two years as an HC (8-16 at UConn) is very Gene Chizik-y, and I don't think we're recruiting the next Cam Newton anytime soon.
Diaco also won the Frank Broyle's award for being top Asst Coach (2012), as well as recruiting NJ for years under Kelly and Al Groh. Now he has 2 years of HC under his belt at UConn, taking them to a bowl, after resurrecting the program from the depths of the PP era. I too , would take Diaco in a second over any Off Coord who has never been a HC, especially one who's never recruited NJ.
OSU, Mich, MSU, Penn St all took proven Head Coaches. We should too, or our new HC won't have 'stain'.
OSU, Mich, MSU, Penn St all took proven Head Coaches. We should too, or our new HC won't have 'stain'.
I agree 100%. They are very close candidates. For me it would come down to their interview. Diaco is from the Brian Kelly coaching tree and has two years of head coaching experience while Ash is from the Urban coaching tree has a national championship. It was rumored that Diaco has already interviewed but who knows...
I'd take either Ash or Diaco over Golden.
As for Diaco's 8-16 record, it needs some clarification. He was 2-10 (1-7) in his first year and 6-6 (4-4) in his second year including a likely bowl appearance for the first time in 5 years for UConn. UConn also has a Top 20 defense, and they knocked off Houston and almost beat Mizzou.
I agree about Ash or Diaco - either of them would be miles ahead of Al Golden, which has Charlie Weis at Kansas written all over it.
while you do have a point, here some things to consider:
1 - Urban > Brian - i think they are both great coaches, but Urban's system is a proven NC winner in 2 different schools. Brian is not there yet and he has ND resources at his disposal. and don't give me that ND has stricter entrance requirements crap. they will sell their soul to win a NC. FB made that school.
2- when Ash was at ARK, Smith was the boss. what if he couldn't do what he wanted because Smith wouldn't let him?
3- you cannot discredit last 2 years of his time at OSU. like Herman, Ash learned and dissected Meyer's system. he must have learned a lot. it is reported that Urban had a very specific D he wanted to run and found the exact guy to run it and that was Ash. the result? they won a national championship. their D last year was scary. the only doubt i have is that he had OSU talent. we don't.
4- he wants to run spread attack like OSU offense at his next stop as a HC. that would be good here.
5- OSU fans are aware of what happened when Herman left. Warriner fixed that problem. they are worried if Ash leaves because they don't have the same confidence in Fickell.
6- learning from the best in the business is valuable
i think i like Warriner better though
I like Ash better than Diaco. Diaco comes across as a weird dude.
Between the 2, I'll take Ash. Diaco's defense has done a decent job being 18 total and 34 scoring but the offensive numbers are putrid.at 120 total 118 scoring. Nice win against Houston but some of the other wins are nothing to write home about and the scores aren't either. What made up trophy is he going to come up with for PSU, lol. I don't particularly care for a coach concerning himself with making up trophies.
Diaco on paper is better, but I don't know if he's more inclined to be interviewing for RU, just to secure an extension from UConn.
Ash is coming from a coaching tree under Meyer that includes guys like Dan Mullen, who has never been a head coach prior to landing at Miss State. Meyer's offense under Tebow was not the same once Mullen left and Florida eventually lost to Bama in the SEC title game.
Hermann went from no experience as an OC to 3M and lifelong security at Houston in less than 12 months. If Ash is half as good as Hermann, RU has a chance to improve it's defense, which Diaco or Ash should be able to do quickly.
RU is a decent defense away from being very good (8-4 type of seasons), they have the running game and improving offensive lineman. QB is a gaping hole, but I would like to think that the best player, not the most connected player to the Head Coach will start. As much as Diaco appears to be like Ash, I still see him as one of the types of coaches that would play politics because he's from here and knows people in NJ.
I'd rather have someone with zero influence of connections in NJ, to avoid catering to people that just don't support RU while claiming they do. Win games first and foremost and Ash appears to me to be more inclined to just focus 100% on football and not the landscape of NJ.
Ash is coming from a coaching tree under Meyer that includes guys like Dan Mullen, who has never been a head coach prior to landing at Miss State. Meyer's offense under Tebow was not the same once Mullen left and Florida eventually lost to Bama in the SEC title game.
Hermann went from no experience as an OC to 3M and lifelong security at Houston in less than 12 months. If Ash is half as good as Hermann, RU has a chance to improve it's defense, which Diaco or Ash should be able to do quickly.
RU is a decent defense away from being very good (8-4 type of seasons), they have the running game and improving offensive lineman. QB is a gaping hole, but I would like to think that the best player, not the most connected player to the Head Coach will start. As much as Diaco appears to be like Ash, I still see him as one of the types of coaches that would play politics because he's from here and knows people in NJ.
I'd rather have someone with zero influence of connections in NJ, to avoid catering to people that just don't support RU while claiming they do. Win games first and foremost and Ash appears to me to be more inclined to just focus 100% on football and not the landscape of NJ.
Greg Schiano's resume in 2000 was better than Ash's today....just think about that for a minute....RU was so lucky to get Schiano back then. 15 years later it looks like RU is unable to get serious interest from a coach with a resume equal to GS in 2000...It's a sad state of affairs...
Have much more of a preference for Diaco. He has a 2 year head start as a Head Coach and works with talent at UConn that is at best similar to Rutgers talent, if not worse. He built a staff, recruited as a HC and is gaining experience. His offense was a horror show last year, however, watching a little this year it has improved considerably. His defenses play hard even when they were losing last year. Yes, he was weird about the trophy game against UCF, but he has more experience and UConn is on the right track.
My concern with Ash is coaching to the ability of his talent. His 2 years at Wisconsin as DC, his total defense was ranked 15 each year, which is really good. When he left for Arkansas, Aranda came in and made the defense a top 10 defense for each of his 3 years. I also really like Aranda.
My concern with Ash is coaching to the ability of his talent. His 2 years at Wisconsin as DC, his total defense was ranked 15 each year, which is really good. When he left for Arkansas, Aranda came in and made the defense a top 10 defense for each of his 3 years. I also really like Aranda.
That's my thing on Ash. If you are going to seriously consider him, how can you not contact Aranda. The picks of Ash and Warriner just seem so amateur and simplistic - I honestly hope we didnt pay an analysis firm too much to identify two Urban Meyer assistants.
Well that's the thing with search firms IMO, I'm sure they have networks of agents they have ties with and then will push those clients to prospective employers. It doesn't necessarily mean they're casting a wide and thorough net. If your agent is part of the network you might get your name brought up and if not well...Which is why I like an AD who has that athletic department experience because through their own networks they can have people they know to tap and can use a search firm to vet those candidates after. I'm okay with Ash but everyone knows my opinion on who I like better.