Hey, I get it. Dan is a great offensive coach. He was a great coordinator and enjoyed a lot of success working for Urban. I’m sure he felt that he would one day be where Urban is….at the pinnacle of college football. The obvious way to get there would be to follow Urban’s example and work your way to the top.
Everything was going according to plan when he was hired by State to lead the program. As a first time head coach he worked hard and had success and in his sixth year he got the team to No. 1. State was the first team to be No. 1 in the new playoff ranking system. Now was the time to take the next step and move on to a bigger, high-profile program. Only problem was, the phone didn’t ring. Word on the street is that his agent then picked up the phone and starting putting out feelers…..no takers. What the hell?
The problem for Dan was that State recognized the writing on the wall and decided not to be a stepping-stone. By paying Dan $4 million dollars per year coupled with what I can only imagine is a healthy buyout clause, State is saying Dan is our man.
The problem for State is that it appears that Dan is not happy being “stuck” at State and that attitude is showing up on the field.
So, where do we go from here? I really believe that we have to let this season play out and then the new A.D. has to have a heart-to-heart with Dan and be brutally honest. Let him know that mediocrity and anything other than his best effort are not acceptable.
If Dan doesn’t believe he can be happy here then we should let him go…..with no financial penalty to the University. He can go get a coordinator job at a high-profile program or a head coaching job in a mid-tier conference and reset his career path and State can hire another feisty up and comer who’s ready for a challenge. Everyone wins.
Bottom line….if Dan doesn’t want to be here then we don’t want him here.
Everything was going according to plan when he was hired by State to lead the program. As a first time head coach he worked hard and had success and in his sixth year he got the team to No. 1. State was the first team to be No. 1 in the new playoff ranking system. Now was the time to take the next step and move on to a bigger, high-profile program. Only problem was, the phone didn’t ring. Word on the street is that his agent then picked up the phone and starting putting out feelers…..no takers. What the hell?
The problem for Dan was that State recognized the writing on the wall and decided not to be a stepping-stone. By paying Dan $4 million dollars per year coupled with what I can only imagine is a healthy buyout clause, State is saying Dan is our man.
The problem for State is that it appears that Dan is not happy being “stuck” at State and that attitude is showing up on the field.
So, where do we go from here? I really believe that we have to let this season play out and then the new A.D. has to have a heart-to-heart with Dan and be brutally honest. Let him know that mediocrity and anything other than his best effort are not acceptable.
If Dan doesn’t believe he can be happy here then we should let him go…..with no financial penalty to the University. He can go get a coordinator job at a high-profile program or a head coaching job in a mid-tier conference and reset his career path and State can hire another feisty up and comer who’s ready for a challenge. Everyone wins.
Bottom line….if Dan doesn’t want to be here then we don’t want him here.
