Lehigh Football Head Coach

vu72 · December 16, 2018, 08:31:50 AM

Quote from: VULB#62 on December 15, 2018, 08:17:59 PM
While our offense has been mostly respectable in PFL competition, some on this board have had concerns about our ability to stop opposing offenses.

A famous Bear Bryant quote: Offense sells tickets; defense wins championships.

True enough, however, wouldn't you agree that college football has evolved into a wide open, throw it all over the field, kinda thing? How many times does our QB actually take a snap under center? When I played, leather helmets aside, I don't remember ever taking a direct snap. Witness some of the scores in the league. Record setting stuff.

As a result, the defense needs more athletes who can move. The days of the big, slow, stop the run because that's all there is are gone. So are three yards and a cloud of dust!

usc4valpo · December 16, 2018, 08:56:24 AM

Valpo football, and their athletics in general, need to be proactive with change rather than reactive. All teams get new uniforms and better locker room facilities. What else should be done to enhance the overall experience to bring quality student athletes in?

JD24 · December 16, 2018, 09:20:23 AM

Quote from: vu72 on December 16, 2018, 08:31:50 AM

True enough, however, wouldn't you agree that college football has evolved into a wide open, throw it all over the field, kinda thing? How many times does our QB actually take a snap under center? When I played, leather helmets aside, I don't remember ever taking a direct snap. Witness some of the scores in the league. Record setting stuff.

As a result, the defense needs more athletes who can move. The days of the big, slow, stop the run because that's all there is are gone. So are three yards and a cloud of dust!

The general statement of throwing it all over the place is true, I'm just not sure how true it is in the PFL. The League features two teams which are triple option teams, one of which nearly never throws the ball. A couple of more teams which run it more than throw it. A couple of more teams which split it nearly down the middle and a couple of teams which throw it more than run it....one of which is Valpo. So, in the PFL, you'd better be able to shut the run down.

PFL stats are telling. Valpo was 8th in total defense and 9th in total offense. 6th in rushing defense; 8th in pass defense; 8th in both rushing and passing offense. Keep in mind that Valpo was fortunate in not having to face San Diego last season which may have made the defensive stats look worse.

Valpo had the least number of rushing attempts in the league last season which I felt, and vocalized during the season, was a mistake. Valpo's defense was on the field for the most plays in the PFL last season. Valpo's offense running the ball more often would have likely changed that. Throwing the ball as often as Valpo did while completing only 50% of their passes was foolish.

vu72 · December 16, 2018, 09:39:23 AM

Quote from: usc4valpo on December 16, 2018, 08:56:24 AM
Valpo football, and their athletics in general, need to be proactive with change rather than reactive. All teams get new uniforms and better locker room facilities. What else should be done to enhance the overall experience to bring quality student athletes in?

A good question. What I don't understand is why a kid would ever play D3 when he could play D1 at Valpo. First, the quality of the education is first class. Second, most if not all D3 football is comprised of short bus rides to opponents. Valpo plays a national schedule akin to Notre Dame, at least from a travel standpoint. I certainly would find flying to Florida or California pretty appealing as opposed to busing to Layfayette.

Our weight room has everything that Notre Dame has, just on a smaller basis.

We do draw kids from all over the country (15 different states). Presuming that the talent is there, success can be tied to coaching. Having said that, a new system has been in place for three years now and if juniors and seniors were playing then there would be no excuses. However, at the beginning of the year we had 1 RS Fr on the two deeps. By the end we had 2 True Fr and 3 RS Fr on the two deeps. Those guys were not Juniors and seniors.

I guess I don't have any answers beyond the injuries for a lack of success. Perhaps if we had an in-door practice facility it might be more appealing particularly as the fall moves into winter and practice can be pretty harsh.

VULB#62 · December 18, 2018, 07:20:49 PM

According to the PFL Board Dave interviewed with Lehigh yesterday.

VUCRUSVU · December 18, 2018, 10:55:25 PM

Quote
Quote from: VULB#62 on December 18, 2018, 07:20:49 PMAccording to the PFL Board Dave interviewed with Lehigh yesterday.

Not surprising. He nearly got the Lehigh job before the previous Lehigh HC. We'll have to see where this goes, even following a poor season. Cecchini has a good track record as a coordinator there.

historyman · December 19, 2018, 06:29:48 AM

Quote from: VULB#62 on December 18, 2018, 07:20:49 PM
According to the PFL Board Dave interviewed with Lehigh yesterday.

Interesting. I saw him walking out of the WBB game on Sunday. I suppose he could have traveled to PA on Monday.

JD24 · December 19, 2018, 10:50:29 AM

Quote from: historyman on December 19, 2018, 06:29:48 AM
Quote from: VULB#62 on December 18, 2018, 07:20:49 PMAccording to the PFL Board Dave interviewed with Lehigh yesterday.
Interesting. I saw him walking out of the WBB game on Sunday. I suppose he could have traveled to PA on Monday.

I always take the "inside information" reports with a grain of salt.

VUCRUSVU · December 19, 2018, 12:42:21 PM

I heard it was a phone interview.

JD24 · December 19, 2018, 01:10:25 PM

Quote from: VUCRUSVU on December 19, 2018, 12:42:21 PMI heard it was a phone interview.

Maybe an exchange of emails, a couple of texts or even a tweet or two.

At any rate....this site is pretty reliable and was when Cecchini was being hired by Valpo:
http://footballscoop.com/the-scoop/

"Lehigh (FCS – PA): Per source, Elon (FCS – NC) offensive coordinator / quarterbacks coach Drew Folmar is a strong candidate to become be the new head coach at Lehigh. However, we understand that no deal is in place yet. We will keep you posted as things develop."

usc4valpo · December 19, 2018, 08:11:17 PM

I was getting worried about hearing the "Shields Up" slogan a second time.

JD24 · December 21, 2018, 05:01:29 PM

footballscoop.com says no offer has been extended and other candidates besides Folmar are still under consideration. Reads more like Lehigh is having difficulty getting the coach they seem to want which makes a Dave candidacy possibly more realistic. This, naturally, depends on how interested he'd be in heading back to Pennsylvania.

valpotx · December 22, 2018, 12:23:32 PM

I've seen stranger things, such as Gene Chizik being given the Auburn HC job after 3-9 and 2-10 seasons at Iowa State.

NWIGuy · January 08, 2019, 11:41:01 AM

1/8/2019 9:36:00 AM
Lehigh Names Tom Gilmore Head Football Coach...

lehighsports.com/news/2019/1/8/lehigh-names-tom-gilmore-head-football-coach.aspx

Looks like DC will stay at Valpo

VULB#62 · January 08, 2019, 01:45:22 PM

Welcome to the Fan Forum NWIGuy.

I took the liberty of reposting your link with an active address:

https://lehighsports.com/news/2019/1/8/lehigh-names-tom-gilmore-head-football-coach.aspx

Tom Gilmore has quite a long resume that goes back to 1986. He was HFBC at Holy Cross for 13 years and spent 7 years on the staff at Dartmouth. His tie to Lehigh is 4 years on the staff there (2000-2003)

NWIGuy · January 08, 2019, 10:49:06 PM

Thanks... been lurking for long while, decided to dive in.

Tried to post the active link, kept telling me that I could not... maybe a newbie deal?

VULB#62 · January 09, 2019, 10:25:32 AM

I believe you need 5 posts in order to post an active link -- you're right, it's to prevent spammers from screwing up the board.

Anyway, glad you made the plunge. Welcome.