Valpo Football: Why didn't WE hire John L. Smith?

[Valposter]

Why didn't Valpo hire John L. Smith???:   Former Big 10 (Michigan State) and SEC (Arkansas) football coach John L. Smith has just been hired as a football coach for a bad DIII football program in Colarado....................

John L. Smith will take over at tiny Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo., after being let go as Arkansas' football coach.

Smith will start his new head coaching assignment on March 1, the school announced Wednesday. He inherits a Skyhawks team that went 0-10 last season.

Now, instead of coaching against Southeastern Conference squads like national champion Alabama, Smith will face teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference such as nearby Adams State.

The former Michigan State and Louisville coach was hired away from Weber State last April to step in for ousted Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino, just weeks after a scandal that erupted following Petrino's motorcycle accident that involved his mistress.

The Razorbacks struggled to a 4-8 record and the John L. Smith era came to a close.

http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2013/01/16/former-arkansas-coach-john-l-smith-takes-over-at-fort-lewis-college-in-colo/

[covufan]

I thought we had a coach, or at least someone taking up the position.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Plus he owes people A LOT of money...

[NuPudge]

The reason why is simple, we are not committed to winning and looking outside the box for building the football program.. How much is Valpo interested in building their football program like their basketball program.. If you bring in a new coach he would then expect the AD to commit to addressing and handling/resolving certain things. Why can't we be like Northwestern and bring recruits in with the hope of getting a great education? I think we need to come up with another way/game-plan of getting the type of recruits who want to win..

Even Northwestern slightly lower their standards to allow marginal kids to get in..

In a nutshell, we should had went after this coach and paid Carson salary for a year and get the rebuilding program started for this year.. My buddy who plays on the team said that there are some freshmen on the team and RS freshmen that will start and get lots of playing time in the coming 2013 season.

Carson supposedly started a new weight lifting program for the team because we were getting our butts handed to us every game.. I am hearing that we lost some football players because they hated losing and transferring to another school.. That's very sad.

[bbtds]

I am hearing that we lost some football players because they hated losing and transferring to another school.. That's very sad.

Can you name these players that are transferring from Valpo? I'd like to know the quality of the players that are leaving the team. Or are these just rumors?

[valpotx]

I would also be interested to know, as most often, the people that transfer are those that are not playing.  To compare our football program to Northwestern is not applicable.  A more fair comparison would be us to Drake or Dayton, since they are in the same D-1AA non-scholarship classification and also have good academics.  The players can be mad all they want, but the simple fact is that the losing is on THEM as much as it is the program.  Just because we don't have the best facilities does not mean that is what is preventing our CURRENT players from winning games.  I have said it before, but everyone takes a visit to campus and sees the facilities beforehand.  I do not feel bad for any players that come into a program already knowing about the facilities.  Now, to get better recruits that can WIN games, we would need to do something on this end.

[NuPudge]

Can't share names but wait until you see the spring football roster or listing.. It's not a rumor.. Kids didn't come back...

[IndyValpo]

John L Smith - debt....http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8402782/arkansas-razorbacks-coach-john-l-smith-bankruptcy-shows-257m-debt

[NuPudge]

I see part of your point but when a person leave a situation it usually for more then one reasons.. Winning is a big reasons..

Maybe Northwestern was a reach.. I was comparing us to them because they had a losing and recruiting problem that wasn't fixed until they changed their coach and their marketing of their school.. What do we have that would get a kid to come here.. Look at the other Valpo sports and they are getting great Recruits.. I saw that we landed a top PG (Keith Carter).. We are landing top players in other sports why? They have better fields, or hope for one coming down the road.. Why not get better uniforms that is what other schools are doing to help with their recruiting..

[NuPudge]

I didn't say Smith was a saint.. :-)

Most coaches at that level runs into problems somewhere down the road.. I don't want him as a investor.. I am looking for a coach who know how to build a winning program.. The school in Colorado knows about these issues and decided to go with him.. Why them and not us?

[valpotx]

I understand what you are saying about recruiting future talented people, I get that and would agree that we need to step up in that area to match our competition.  However, my whole point is that the CURRENT players cannot complain about losing or facilities.  They are the ones responsible for the losing, and knew about our facilities coming in. 

[NuPudge]

You are probably 1000% correct but the school still have a responibilies to always improve on what we currently have. Be it coaches, field, facilities, weight room etc..

If you want better then you must have something better to offer that others may not have.. How a out new uniforms, shoes, workout gear, new field and scoreboard, that is what bring in the recruits..

[valpotx]

The scoreboard is only a few years old, so they won't be replacing that anytime soon.  The other stuff I can agree with

[willy]

I understand what you are saying about recruiting future talented people, I get that and would agree that we need to step up in that area to match our competition. However, my whole point is that the CURRENT players cannot complain about losing or facilities. They are the ones responsible for the losing, and knew about our facilities coming in.

I agree that the current players cannot complain about the facilities as they saw them before they committed.  As for the losing I believe only a reasonable amount of blame can be laid at there feet. These young men men have to have a leader to show them how to win!  Turn arounds happen all the time with the right leadership.  Kent State won the MAC conference championship in 1972, their first and last championship until this year and the arrival of Darrel Hazell.  In two years Hazell turned around a program with an all time winning percentage of .394% into undeafeated Mac east champions. I don't think the roster magically transformed average players into great ones in two years.  He turned it around with some other coaches recruits!

[vu72]

I understand what you are saying about recruiting future talented people, I get that and would agree that we need to step up in that area to match our competition. However, my whole point is that the CURRENT players cannot complain about losing or facilities. They are the ones responsible for the losing, and knew about our facilities coming in.

I agree that the current players cannot complain about the facilities as they saw them before they committed.  As for the losing I believe only a reasonable amount of blame can be laid at there feet. These young men men have to have a leader to show them how to win!  Turn arounds happen all the time with the right leadership.  Kent State won the MAC conference championship in 1972, their first and last championship until this year and the arrival of Darrel Hazell.  In two years Hazell turned around a program with an all time winning percentage of .394% into undeafeated Mac east champions. I don't think the roster magically transformed average players into great ones in two years.  He turned it around with some other coaches recruits!

You are probably 1000% correct but the school still have a responibilies to always improve on what we currently have. Be it coaches, field, facilities, weight room etc..

If you want better then you must have something better to offer that others may not have.. How a out new uniforms, shoes, workout gear, new field and scoreboard, that is what bring in the recruits..

[/b]

OK pudge, you are really showing your lack of knowledge on the subject. New uniforms, shoes, workout gear? Valpo signed a new deal with Nike in 2010 and had a couple of years to wind down on other contracts. The uniforms are all new since that time. Valpo also introduced an entirely new brand in the fall of 2010. These image changes are all incorporated into the field and uniforms so obviously everything is very new.

New field and scoreboard?  Brand new in 2008.  Let's be real here, players and coaches win games, not uniforms, workout gear and scoreboards.

[usc4valpo]

The reason why is simple, we are not committed to winning and looking outside the box for building the football program.. How much is Valpo interested in building their football program like their basketball program.. If you bring in a new coach he would then expect the AD to commit to addressing and handling/resolving certain things. Why can't we be like Northwestern and bring recruits in with the hope of getting a great education? I think we need to come up with another way/game-plan of getting the type of recruits who want to win.. Even Northwestern slightly lower their standards to allow marginal kids to get in.. In a nutshell, we should had went after this coach and paid Carson salary for a year and get the rebuilding program started for this year.. My buddy who plays on the team said that there are some freshmen on the team and RS freshmen that will start and get lots of playing time in the coming 2013 season. Carson supposedly started a new weight lifting program for the team because we were getting our butts handed to us every game.. I am hearing that we lost some football players because they hated losing and transferring to another school.. That's very sad.

\
Please do not compare Valpo's situation with Northwestern.  They are doing it the right way and have an awesome coach.   You may be right that Northwestern slightly lowers their standards for some of their players, but you can say that for almost every school, even - Lord forbid me if I say it - Notre Dame.  I am sure Mante Te'o is an academic scholar.  I would still bet that the average entrance scores for the Northwestern football team are still very impressive, and their "less than marginal" standards are higher than almost every college program out there.

[usc4valpo]

Bring in Lane Kiffin!!!

[usc4valpo]

I see part of your point but when a person leave a situation it usually for more then one reasons.. Winning is a big reasons.. Maybe Northwestern was a reach.. I was comparing us to them because they had a losing and recruiting problem that wasn't fixed until they changed their coach and their marketing of their school.. What do we have that would get a kid to come here.. Look at the other Valpo sports and they are getting great Recruits.. I saw that we landed a top PG (Keith Carter).. We are landing top players in other sports why? They have better fields, or hope for one coming down the road.. Why not get better uniforms that is what other schools are doing to help with their recruiting..

Northwestern came around primarily because of two folks:  Gary Barnett, who was a miricle worker there, regardless of what happened in Colorado, and Pat Fitzgerald, who was a tremendous leader as a player and now as a coach.  What Barnett did as a coach in 1995 taking Northwestern to the Rose Bowl may have been the greatest coaching accomplishment ever for one season. 

[VULB#62]

I would also be interested to know, as most often, the people that transfer are those that are not playing.  To compare our football program to Northwestern is not applicable.  A more fair comparison would be us to Drake or Dayton, since they are in the same D-1AA non-scholarship classification and also have good academics.  The players can be mad all they want, but the simple fact is that the losing is on THEM as much as it is the program.  Just because we don't have the best facilities does not mean that is what is preventing our CURRENT players from winning games.  I have said it before, but everyone takes a visit to campus and sees the facilities beforehand.  I do not feel bad for any players that come into a program already knowing about the facilities.  Now, to get better recruits that can WIN games, we would need to do something on this end.

Sexy facilities are great for recruiting. Valpo has pretty much enough basic stuff to help players grow and improve.  Could they use more and better stuff?  Of course. However, once on campus all the players actually need is a playing field, uniform, pads, cleats, a helmet and a football.  At that point it's: can you play the game or not at this level?  The coaches just need a field, a football and players.  At that point it's: can you coach the game and your kids at this level or not?

I poke around in the Mercer and Steton FB sites on occasion, because I'm curious to see how they are going about building their programs from scratch.  Today I checked the Stetson 2012 roster.  Approximately 90+ true freshmen and 1 redshirt freshman. No sophs, jrs or srs. That means with the 2013 class that will be announced in May, they'll take the field for their first game with probably no one older than 20.  I'm thinking Mercer is similar (their roster does not list class).  They'll be the only PFL teams with a legit explanation for a loss -- youth.

[vu72]

OK, back to facilities and we all think things could be better. Still some programs at Valpo are succeeding and others aren't. Does basketball have the best facilites in the Horizon? Not even close. Are attracting the level of player that is higher than other programs? Absolutely?  Are we winning? Sure.  How about baseball? I doubt valpo tx would say our baseball facilities are the best in the conference yet we win.  Softball? We win. Volleyball?  Soccer? All very successful.  It can only fall to the coaches and their ability to recruit, maintain and coach. At this point it doesn't look good, but one more year will seal it one way or another.

[VULB#62]

I'm with you on that 72.  When the University of South Florida started their BCS football program, they barely had a practice field.  Still made some people take notice.  Have come to the conclusion, despite my own facilities fixation, that you just have to play good, tough football.  A competitive/winning program, will justify bells and whistles down the road.  Just win baby.  The rest takes care of itself.

[valpotx]

Yes, our baseball stadium is below par, even in the HL.  It is good to have the clubhouse and hitting facility, and the overall field condition has improved since I was playing.  The hitting facility was put in just before I arrived, while the clubhouse was put in my last 2 years I believe.  Our field used to be the absolute worst in absorbing any moisture, so we had a lot of canceled games regardless of how much dirt we added on those rainy days.  It seems that with some of the recent improvements, we have had less canceled games, so that is a positive.  Our stands are still bad, as well as the press box.  Whenever they build a new stadium, I am sure that it will be much improved overall  .  We will never have a stadium like ORU, but to get something like WSU or UIC would be great for our league. 

[historyman]

I was looking at the baseball field situation while walking from the ARC to my car (going by Kroencke Theater) and that field is either going to be a lot lower than the ARC or it's going to take a lot of filling with dirt. It also looks like they will need to take most or all of the parking lot between Kroencke and Guild/Memorial. There just isn't enough space there without most of the parking lot.

I know some older guys that used to live in army style barracks when they were students at Valpo in the 1940's on that parking lot.

[VULB#62]

I was looking at the Kroencke BB location schematics in the 30 year plan graphics almost immediately when they came out.  It could be a fantastic location for a diamond -- it could be set in a bowl with stands but also grassy berms down the baselines.  The schematics did not, however, as I recall, show indoor batting cages, a full club house or any of the bling a stadium like that deserves.  My guess is that those infrastructure components would be built into the field house (based on the diagram).  But that stuff would be so far removed.

Speaking of 'deserves' and what I wrote below about FB facilities:  Baseball has a long tradition of competitiveness going back to Em Bauer who was also my co-head FB coach back in the early 60s (with Walt Reiner, who, BTW, was the 'real HFC'). Thus, Em Bauer Field.  And now baseball certainly has done enough to 'deserve' a top flight facility. 

TX -- grass or turf (ala UIC)?

BTW have we just hi-jacked this thread?

[VULB#62]

BTW have we just hi-jacked this thread?

I think we did, but it was relevant to the general idea of "if you build it they will come" versus "if you win, you will be rewarded."