New UNC Football Coach?

[devilsadvocate85]

Larry Fedora? Really?

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7326721/larry-fedora-agrees-become-north-carolina-tar-heels-coach-source-says

[CameronBornAndBred]

Why the question mark? I don't know much about him other than he appears to be a winner. A quick look around the 'net shows him to be scandal free and a respected offense minded coach that has been bowling 4 straight years. Also looks like a major recruiter, which will make things that much tougher on Cutcliffe and company. Looks like a solid get for the heels.

[Newton_14]

Why the question mark? I don't know much about him other than he appears to be a winner. A quick look around the 'net shows him to be scandal free and a respected offense minded coach that has been bowling 4 straight years. Also looks like a major recruiter, which will make things that much tougher on Cutcliffe and company. Looks like a solid get for the heels.

Mrs Newton_14 is not real happy about this. She is holding out hope that he won't leave, but the Southern Miss beat writer pretty much confirmed it on local radio this morning..

[devildeac]

Larry Fedora? Really?

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7326721/larry-fedora-agrees-become-north-carolina-tar-heels-coach-source-says

Hats off to him/them if the reports are true.

[devilsadvocate85]

Why the question mark? I don't know much about him other than he appears to be a winner. A quick look around the 'net shows him to be scandal free and a respected offense minded coach that has been bowling 4 straight years. Also looks like a major recruiter, which will make things that much tougher on Cutcliffe and company. Looks like a solid get for the heels.

I just found it interesting that both the AD and FB coach hires came very quietly and without a lot of "big" names being mentioned. I firmly believe that had Butch Davis left without the scandal, the names involved and potentially the actual hires would have looked quite a bit different.

[MulletMan]

I just found it interesting that both the AD and FB coach hires came very quietly and without a lot of "big" names being mentioned. I firmly believe that had Butch Davis left without the scandal, the names involved and potentially the actual hires would have looked quite a bit different.

You've gotta think that this is a good route for the Heels to go with this hire. There is sheer insanity out there in the college coaching ranks. AD's have lost their minds and are looking to make any name hire by throwing a ton of money at guys. Granted, if you're tOSU and you need a coach, you're going after Urban Meyer (and that's been in the works for years anyway), but the really good hires for mid-level (and sometimes upper-level) BCS schools are BCS assistants/coordinators or proven FBS (or even FCS) coaches. UNC isn't getting Chris Pettersen without throwing a whole boat load of money... not when Texas, Texas A&M and UCLA are knocking... so why not go ahead and get a good solid guys who is clean and knows what he's doing?

Good hire, methinks. Too bad for us.

[OldPhiKap]

Hats off to him/them if the reports are true.

Yup. Looks like a bowler.

[devildeac]

Yup. Looks like a bowler.

And you can't top (t)hat...

[A-Tex Devil]

Hats off to him/them if the reports are true.

I see what you did there. :cool:

[Bob Green]

I just found it interesting that both the AD and FB coach hires came very quietly and without a lot of "big" names being mentioned. I firmly believe that had Butch Davis left without the scandal, the names involved and potentially the actual hires would have looked quite a bit different.

You are probably correct, but Butch Davis left with a huge scandal which changed the entire climate at UNC. "Big" names can come with "big" baggage. I applaud the university on their selection.

[A-Tex Devil]

You've gotta think that this is a good route for the Heels to go with this hire. There is sheer insanity out there in the college coaching ranks. AD's have lost their minds and are looking to make any name hire by throwing a ton of money at guys. Granted, if you're tOSU and you need a coach, you're going after Urban Meyer (and that's been in the works for years anyway), but the really good hires for mid-level (and sometimes upper-level) BCS schools are BCS assistants/coordinators or proven FBS (or even FCS) coaches. UNC isn't getting Chris Pettersen without throwing a whole boat load of money... not when Texas, Texas A&M and UCLA are knocking... so why not go ahead and get a good solid guys who is clean and knows what he's doing?

Good hire, methinks. Too bad for us.

I agree this is a good hire. Recruiting will be a question mark because it always is when someone upgrades conferences like that. Some guys like Urban Meyer can hack it, others, like Dennis Franchione, could not.

I'll preface this next point by saying I do not want us to let go of Cutcliffe right now -- but if Duke has to hire a new coach in the near future, I hope they go with a guy like this or Kevin Sumlin. I realize this year with all of the openings that this would be tough considering the barriers to success at Duke. But all I would ask for is a young guy (under 45) with 3-5 years of successful (see: winning record) head coaching experience, whether its at a non-qual school or even an FCS school (see Coach London). We haven't made a hire like that since ?? Does Spurrier even fit that bill? I think it's a pretty decent gauge on potential success.

Anyway, with all the openings, I am all for a Coaching Carousel thread if a mod wants to make one. It will be an interesting month. Watching the Keystone Cops at A&M handle the Sherman firing, emasculation of their Ath Dir and their subsequent hiring process sure has been good popcorn fodder over here.

[whereinthehellami]

I like him for UNC because i think UNC could have got somebody better and they settled for him. There was an article listed on the IC board that i can't locate that broke down his time at Southern miss and his record outside of this year is not that impressive. Southern Miss lost alot of games they should have won, games in which they had more talent. IIRC outside of this year, he has lost at least 5 games a year, including 3 in a row to UAB. i also saw that he has alot of JUCOs (around 6 a year) on his teams and that won't fly at UNC. Lastly on Packpride they were mentioning that Southern Miss self reported around 20 violations this past year.

[OldPhiKap]

And you can't top (t)hat...

Suddenly, I'm hungry for porkpie.

[arnie]

You are probably correct, but Butch Davis left with a huge scandal which changed the entire climate at UNC. "Big" names can come with "big" baggage. I applaud the university on their selection.

Yea it's a good fit - According to a Hattiesurg sports writers on radio, Fedora's real strength has been recruiting JUCO talent. That should mesh well with the upper level Swahili course offerings.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Yea it's a good fit - According to a Hattiesurg sports writers on radio, Fedora's real strength has been recruiting JUCO talent. That should mesh well with the upper level Swahili course offerings.
From WRAL's writeup about the impending hiring....

Perhaps equally appealing to UNC as his on-field success is Fedora’s commitment to the academic achievement of his athletes. In 2009, Southern Miss was one of 39 FBS schools recognized by the American Football Coaches Association for their Graduation Success Rate. Graduating over 90 percent they joined the likes of Duke, Rice, Navy, Northwestern and Boston College among others.
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/unc/story/10473550/
Of course he was hired in 2008, so all those guys who graduated were someone else's recruits. I wonder where they came up in 2010 and '11.

[tele]

Nice hire for unc-chapeau hill.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Fedora would be a very good fit for Carolina at this time..... but there will come a day when "Momma calls," to borrow from Bear Bryant. He's a Texas guy from College Station. That's a strong gravitational pull.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Fedora would be a very good fit for Carolina at this time..... but there will come a day when "Momma calls," to borrow from Bear Bryant. He's a Texas guy from College Station. That's a strong gravitational pull.
Oh I would so love to see him become a Longhorn, what a lovely history that would set up.

[DukieInKansas]

Fedora would be a very good fit for Carolina at this time..... but there will come a day when "Momma calls," to borrow from Bear Bryant. He's a Texas guy from College Station. That's a strong gravitational pull.

Is he a Texas guy or a College Station guy? I'm not sure the two mix well. ;)

[shoutingncu]

...his record outside of this year is not that impressive. Southern Miss lost alot of games they should have won, games in which they had more talent.

So it took a new coach three years to build a winning program? I can live with that.

On a side football note, found this list amusing. I guess Butch doesn't qualify as he was only "coaching" before spring practice... the week before, but before, none-the-less.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/16350206/mcmurphys-law-coaches-with-the-highest-salaries-dont-always-pay-off

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Is he a Texas guy or a College Station guy? I'm not sure the two mix well. ;)
State of Texas...I understand that he owns a home in College Station where extended members family reside.

[Olympic Fan]

Decent hire, but nothing to be afraid of.

He took a good program -- Southern Miss had had six consecutive winning seasons and played in 10 bowls in 11 years before his arrival -- and made it better (four bowls in four years and their first conference title in eight years).

He could do well at UNC -- depending on what happens next month when the NCAA delivers its verdict on the Butch Davis cheating scandal. If the Heels end up with a slap on the wirst (which is what they've been telling recruits) UNC could get back to the 8-9 win mark rather quickly. If the punishment is more severe, Fedora may have a tough job withstanding the penalty years.

UNC SHOULD be a plum job. Great facilities ... can get anybody in school (Dwight Jones was rejected by Clemson, but got admitted to UNC) ... a huge, passionate (if a bit of front-running) fan base. The one negative is that it's a basketball-first school.

So far, nobody has been able to turn that into a powerhouse. Mack Brown came close, but never won a conference title or played in a major bowl. Butch Davis, for all his cheating, never won more than eight games in a season (if he'd been at an SEC school he wouldn't have been hired for the cheating but for not winning enough).

Let's hope they continue to tantalize their fans with more mediocrity (and, yes, I realize that as a Duke fan, we'd kill for their brand of mediocrity).