Barry Alvarez, friendly with Greg Bown, is a big fan of Ash. That reccomendation probably made a impact.
Barry Alvarez stamp of approval
- Thread starter ScarletStateofNJ
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Yea I mentioned a tweet by one of the NJ.com guys saying Brown was tight with Alavarez. Was kinda surprised by that. Was hoping Barry might send us his current DC instead of his old one but it's okay, lol.
I'd be suspicious if Alvarez sent his current DC. Why would he want to weaken his own team and strengthen Rutgers, unless he was looking to replace his DC anyway. But it makes sense for him to recommend Ash, if he wants to get Ash out of OSU. While he may not want to strengthen Rutgers, there is more immediate benefit to him by weakening OSU.
I wouldn't have expected him to for the reason of not wanting to weaken his own team but I wouldn't be suspicious for the reason of trying to help a friend in the coaching profession take the next step up. HCs help their assistants and give counsel in helping their assistants so while it would be a little different coming from an AD, I wouldn't view it with a suspicious eye.
Walsh, who had zero ties to east coast football recommended Shea who had zero ties to east coast football, to Rutgers, an east coast school. Conversely, Barry Alvarez, a great big ten coach/AD, recommended Ash who is from Iowa and coached at two major big ten programs, to Rutgers who now plays in the big ten.
Apples and oranges.
Barry Alvarez also recommended Al Golden to Donna Shalala - h how did that work out? He is a complete assclown.
And Shea is still coaching at a high level all these years later. Was Bill Walsh wrong to recommend him, or was Rutgers impossible to win at in those days?
Rick Pitino recommended Kevin Willard to Hobbs for SHU. I take these recommendations with a grain of salt to a degree. It's nice but especially if they're friends/mentors of the prospect what do you expect them to say? Take it into account but not a heavy emphasis in my opinion and you still have to do your due diligence.