Cecchini PFL Coach of the Year ....AND NOW FCS Reg. 4 COY

[valpofb16]

LaBarbra said Cecchini is signed, He has been tweeted having in-home visits with recruits, We have two commits first week of December, Constantly uses we and us, Wife is the tennis coach, First winning coach in 17 years.

He's going nowhere in 2017

Side Note: San Diego, Drake, Dayton, Butler all have coaches who have been successful at some point and stayed. I think the offers we'd have to worry about are Lehigh and an FBS school

[VULB#62]

I concur and those programs you cited have all been much more successful over time.

[JD24]

If Dave was leaving currently, he'd have already done so or we'd be hearing more about potential interest from specific schools. While he's garnering awards, which is great, it's not like the team went 10-1 and was a playoff team. Dave himself may want to enjoy a more successful season or two prior to stepping right back into a rebuild situation. Family life could certainly affect any decision as well. He may not wish to uproot his children until they are out of HS.

[talksalot]

I'm sure that's what the coach that lost to Middle Tennessee State last night was thinking ... right up to the point the 7th digit was added to the left of the decimal point.

[bbtds]

As a quick follow-up, on the PFL Fan Board there was a comment that mentioned that Dave was already being rumored for HC jobs elsewhere.  I haven't heard that rumor out here in the Midwest, but with Dave's deep FB roots on the east coast (Lehigh, Harvard, Citadel) that could be where those rumors are originating.

But rumors like this pop up all the time after a coach does something notable.  I'm pretty sure that any offer would come from another school that has had a long-time miserable record, and that would mean the new coach would be back in the rebuild-from-scratch mode, and I don't think anyone would want to make a career of that. Dave has some unfinished business here at Valpo and doesn't seem to be the carpetbagger kind of person.

If that were true why didn't Dave C stay in the east in the first place? Does he have any kind of Midwest ties?

[VULB#62]

Yes he does.  He graduated from Jefferson HS, Bloomington, MN in 1990.  He was enshrined in the Jefferson HS HOF in 2016. After graduating from Jefferson, he enrolled at Lehigh and was an All-American receiver in his senior year.

[vu72]

Yes he does.  He graduated from Jefferson HS, Bloomington, MN in 1990.  He was enshrined in the Jefferson HS HOF in 2016. After graduating from Jefferson, he enrolled at Lehigh and was an All-American receiver in his senior year.

Wow!  Didn't know that!  Having lived nearby Jefferson for many years, I know lots of grads, great school. 

[VULB#62]

I knew Dave was a midwesterner.  I asked him what prompted him to come to the Midwest when I first met him at the UWM alum event in MKE right after he was hired.  Couldn't remember the exact details so I Googled him.  What I, and most people, never knew was his induction into the JHS HOF last year.  Nothing was made of it.  That says something good about his values.

[vu72]

I knew Dave was a midwesterner.  I asked him what prompted him to come to the Midwest when I first met him at the UWM alum event in MKE right after he was hired.  Couldn't remember the exact details so I Googled him.  What I, and most people, never knew was his induction into the JHS HOF last year.  Nothing was made of it.  That says something good about his values.

One of the guys who brought down Flight 93 on 9/11 was a Jefferson High School grad and ex-football player.   Wonder if he knew him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Burnett

[VULB#62]

There was a 9 year delta in age. Burnett graduated in 1981 and Dave in 1990.   Burnett also played FB at JHS and led the Jaguars to the Minnesota State championship game in 1980.  So, Might have known "of him."

[valpotx]

How close is Jefferson HS to Marshall HS in MN?  My father graduated from small town Marshall around 1970, before going to St. Olaf to play football, basketball, and baseball.

[vu72]

How close is Jefferson HS to Marshall HS in MN?  My father graduated from small town Marshall around 1970, before going to St. Olaf to play football, basketball, and baseball.

Marshall is a small town in southwest Minnesota, about 150 miles from Minneapolis where Bloomington (where Jefferson is located) is a south suburb.

[valpopal]

Cecchini, Valpo Announce Contract Extension


Valparaiso University Director of Athletics Mark LaBarbera has announced that head football coach Dave Cecchini has agreed to a contract extension that runs through the 2020 season.


Cecchini has lifted Valpo football to new heights during his time in charge, turning a program that had won just three total games in the four seasons prior to his arrival – all against the same opponent – into one that finished with its first winning season since 2003 in 2017, Cecchini's fourth year....


http://valpoathletics.com/football/news/2017-18/17871/cecchini-valpo-announce-contract-extension/

[VULB#62]

Interesting that it is for THREE seasons — not two, not four. I wonder which side pushed for that odd (as in unusual) duration or was it a compromise? A two year extension might be viewed as a lukewarm endorsement, yet on the other side, a four year extension might be perceived by Dave as being locked in for too long and limits his flexibility to pursue higher level coaching opportunities if he continues to be increasingly successful.

[VU2014]

Honest question: Does anyone think he'll still be here by the of the contract extension? If he keeps the momentum going he'll probably get some bigger job offers after he rebuilt the program here. I'm not trying to be a pessimist but more of a realist.

He's a very good coach and I'm glad he signed an extension.

[JD24]

Interesting that it is for THREE seasons — not two, not four. I wonder which side pushed for that odd (as in unusual) duration or was it a compromise? A two year extension might be viewed as a lukewarm endorsement, yet on the other side, a four year extension might be perceived by Dave as being locked in for too long and limits his flexibility to pursue higher level coaching opportunities if he continues to be increasingly successful.

I thought he was signed for 5 years originally which would make the 2018 season the final one on the original contract. That would make the extension 2 years. If his original deal was a 4 year deal he would have been, in effect, working without a contract since the season ended presuming he didn't sign before the season ended and the school just didn't announce it.

[VULB#62]

MLB told me after the Dayton game at the Victory Bell that the extension was already done. I would assume the old contract ended 12/31/17 (4 years).  Past experience with Carlson and the continuing situation with WBB makes me think MLB would be reluctant to go with more than 4 years.

If, as you suggest, 24, it was a 5 year contract that extends to 2020, wouldn't that then translate to a lukewarm endorsement?  The enthusiasm of the release says otherwise.

But ya nevah know what the details are. Just glad Dave is committed to us through the 2020 season.

[JD24]

MLB told me after the Dayton game at the Victory Bell that the extension was already done. I would assume the old contract ended 12/31/17 (4 years).  Past experience with Carlson and the continuing situation with WBB makes me think MLB would be reluctant to go with more than 4 years. If, as you suggest, 24, it was a 5 year contract that extends to 2020, wouldn't that then translate to a lukewarm endorsement?  The enthusiasm of the release says otherwise. But ya nevah know what the details are. Just glad Dave is committed to us through the 2020 season.

I thought the same..that a 2 year extension wasn't a glowing endorsement but I also thought it weird that he would have gone into and, apparently, partially through the 2017 season as a lame duck. Maybe the contract was signed earlier in the year when things looked a little better but the team was still losing to Drake and Campbell which gave Valpo admin a bit of pause to go longer.

I'm with others who really don't think it is particularly binding at this level. If a strong FCS or FBS program comes calling he may very well leave.

[VULB#62]

MLB told me after the Dayton game at the Victory Bell that the extension was already done. I would assume the old contract ended 12/31/17 (4 years).  Past experience with Carlson and the continuing situation with WBB makes me think MLB would be reluctant to go with more than 4 years. If, as you suggest, 24, it was a 5 year contract that extends to 2020, wouldn't that then translate to a lukewarm endorsement?  The enthusiasm of the release says otherwise. But ya nevah know what the details are. Just glad Dave is committed to us through the 2020 season.

I thought the same..that a 2 year extension wasn't a glowing endorsement but I also thought it weird that he would have gone into and, apparently, partially through the 2017 season as a lame duck. Maybe the contract was signed earlier in the year when things looked a little better but the team was still losing to Drake and Campbell which gave Valpo admin a bit of pause to go longer.

I'm with others who really don't think it is particularly binding at this level. If a strong FCS or FBS program comes calling he may very well leave.

I'm thinking "it all depends."  Assuming a buy-out clause of some type, few FCS programs except maybe the biggies - e.g., NDSU, YSU, etc. - have the finances to do a buy out, and there is no way, given Dave's current record as a HFBC, that the biggies would go after him right now (3 years from now might be a different story).  As for FBS schools, my guess would be an OC offer at that level, not HFBC. And even there, I doubt that a FBS program would do a buy out for an OC.

Having speculated, I still believe he will complete the next 3 years and grow his resume. After the 2020 season is when things might happen.

[JD24]

More of a point of interest:

There's little info on PFL coaches contracts available. One piece of info available online is Rob Tenyer's MSU contract. $115k per year plus some incentives, none of which he met (this was the contract through 2016). In terms of buyout, the only monetary penalty for leaving the program early was a maximum of $400 per recruit at MSU who then went to Tenyer's new school.

[VULB#62]

More of a point of interest:

There's little info on PFL coaches contracts available. One piece of info available online is Rob Tenyer's MSU contract. $115k per year plus some incentives, none of which he met (this was the contract through 2016). In terms of buyout, the only monetary penalty for leaving the program early was a maximum of $400 per recruit at MSU who then went to Tenyer's new school.

That's kinda funny. Each recruit had a price on their head.  Bet they spent more than $400 a piece on each just to recruit them.

[JD24]

More of a point of interest: There's little info on PFL coaches contracts available. One piece of info available online is Rob Tenyer's MSU contract. $115k per year plus some incentives, none of which he met (this was the contract through 2016). In terms of buyout, the only monetary penalty for leaving the program early was a maximum of $400 per recruit at MSU who then went to Tenyer's new school.

That's kinda funny. Each recruit had a price on their head.  Bet they spent more than $400 a piece on each just to recruit them.

...and the recruit had to end up at the school Tenyer did.

[valpofb16]

From what I've heard original contract was for 5, so 2 year add on

Honestly if a coach went 6-5 at drake San diego, or Dayton (I know their record this year) the fans would be up in arms

Dave has exceeded expectations in a lot of ways so far but he's building a contender next year the team should be really good , the following year the team will lose a lot of seniors let's see how he responds

Well deserved extension,  amazing coach but Dave is just getting his program started

[valporun]

It will be nice to see the success, and continued renewal of players coming back, instead of running away to another program, or just staying in school, but giving up football. These players have built real trust and confidence in what Dave is doing, and that's what had been missing for many years.