I don’t think it was a coincidence that MC OC Florence came on board (after being the OC at Wittenberg) in the 2022 season and things changed dramatically. In 2021 MC was 4-6. With Florence in place they went 6-4, 8-2 and 8-3. If he comes along with Waddle, Valpo should be the beneficiary of a consistent offensive system proved over time.
Let's not discount D-III football, either the talent or the coaching. We have a nice case study - St. Thomas was historically one of the better D-III teams in the country, and in their four years in the PFL they have finished third, second, first and third.
I took a step back after reading the recommendation posts (paying close attention to the sources) and re-reviewing MC stats for Waddle in the context of the upcoming season and, more immediately, the necessary recruiting and offseason efforts within the PFL context.
1) Five schools need to replace their HCs (Davidson, Drake, Butler, Stetson, and Valpo). The first three listed were in the top half in the 2024 standings..
2) The league will undergo some meaningful change at the top as a result.
3) Valpo is the first to sign a new coach.
4) It might be a minuscule advantage, but starting today, Waddle can put the pedal to the floor and go after a) retaining current Valpo players and unsigned Valpo players in the portal b) potential transfers, and c) new HS recruits.
5) RJ was Fox’s Co-DC and recruiting coordinator and was in the mix as an applicant. If retained, he gives Waddle a quick leg up in recruiting and is a solid link to continuing our strong emphasis on D and STs.
6) Waddle brings with him a fully developed football culture, a demonstratedly effective overall college FB program including a proven offensive system and a strong defensive background. There are no apparent gaping holes in the package we bought into. Valpo will have that over any of the other four that hire from within or bring in a first time HC from outside.
7) Oh, and BTW, he also brings long-time access to a rich Ohio HS FB pipeline.
That’s not a bad way to start things off.
Yes the OAC is a powerhouse conference with Mt. Union, John Carrol, Ohio Northern and Baldwin Wallace. Ohio Northern gave Dayton a game during Dayton's prime 20 years ago. Enough said on Mt. Union, they would own the PFL or at the very worst, have no issues on offense most years. Marietta is a baseball school and not much in the way of resources's. This guy is prolly worth a shot, if was able to make Marietta competitive of late in a great conference. They were really a dog before he arrived. The guy that just resigned at Davidson, was a winner at the D3 level before.
Best of luck to this guy trying to win here -an uphill battle that im not sure Belichek could win
I see he also has a corny acronym much like the previous coaches ... FIGHT ...These things are silly Fox had 3600 and guys before him touted other types of psuedo motivational tactics that do not translate to wins or losses...
Both coordinators are coming from Marietta , RJ and Jarnigan, Bosch are being “retained” (most retained leave at this level with a coaching change)
Givens is gone to NIU. A few more big portal entries on offense. Think this thing is going to get torn down to the studs and rebuilt. Which is unfortunate, because we have grown accustomed to competitive PFL football.
Waddle and his crew could zag and have an awesome year next year. But with a 5 new head coach sample size post 1990 that type of quick flip does not happen at VU
Givens was probably gone anyway. Good for him in landing where he did.
Assistant coach contracts typically run through some time in the spring. So that's the real "deadline" with them.
@valpo15 Yeah, FIGHT is kind of a cliche, but it pretty clearly states his program values - things you build a culture around. And, more importantly, he laid out more than just those 5 concepts in his introductory presser.
He seems like someone who doesn't take no from the admin as an answer. Hopefully he is given a lot of creative control over how to run the program. He has the resume to back it up. His assistants from Marietta were in attendance at the presser for today.
He seems like someone who doesn't take no from the admin as an answer. Hopefully he is given a lot of creative control over how to run the program. He has the resume to back it up. His assistants from Marietta were in attendance at the presser for today.
If he doesn't take an admin "no" he will not last long...no admin in the country will let a d3 coach dictate what happens-he isn't Saban
He seems like someone who doesn't take no from the admin as an answer. Hopefully he is given a lot of creative control over how to run the program. He has the resume to back it up. His assistants from Marietta were in attendance at the presser for today.
If he doesn't take an admin "no" he will not last long...no admin in the country will let a d3 coach dictate what happens-he isn't Saban
Rez, how did you conclude he won’t take “no” from the administration?Valpo15’s got a point. No one makes progress by going loggerheads with their bosses.
If you are extrapolating from his FIGHT mantra, it is clearly internal to the football team and staff only. Its directions are both inward as a team and outward toward game day opponents. After hearing his interview and reading Paul’s account, I actually concluded, based on his faith, family, football philosophy, that he will collaborate with whomever he can cobble together to achieve program growth/success objectives. The administration at Marietta loved him and he returned their faith in him.
To be honest, he just had that air around him. I trust he wont clash heads with the admin around decisions, but it seems to me like he is going to want to run this program his way, with a staff that he trusts and has full creative control to build, barring no expense. Even if it is going to cost a little more money to staff those men. I fully expect his staff (OC and DC) to be joining him.
@rezynezy I gotcha ya. Based on his record you would expect confidence, and he has it. He wouldn’t have gotten the job otherwise. But ego and confidence are two different things. I didn’t see/hear arrogance or ego in this man. He means it: faith, family, football. In some ways we might have found a FB coach similar to Roger on the BB side. If you read the Marietta AD reference statement, his theme was love.
They did love him there and were surely sad to see him go. Perhaps I am just projecting my want for the new HC to have a little more control over the coaching office than in year's past, but to me he just seems like we wants to take the wheel and drive the whole roadtrip for lack of a better term.
I wish him and the program well. I don’t think the cupboard is as bare as post Carlson. With NIL and transfer portal it is possible to turn things around quickly. J
