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Your Reaction to Ash Hiring

I was optimistic. Then again, I was optimistic when Terry Shea was hired! I guess there's no sure thing. I was shocked how badly they played in game 1 under Ash. I believe we fell behind to a weak opponent before coming back to win. (Sound familiar?) Then the season went downhill. I appreciated that he was a harder worker and more of a disciplinarian than Flood. I was somewhat hopeful in season 2, but after the Kansas debacle last year I couldn't bear going back to the stadium. Still hopeful for some competitive games this season, but the Iowa game looked like it's the same-old same-old.

Shea was highly recommended by someone well respected, and was a big factor in being chosen

forgot who that was
 
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At the time of hire, I thought it was a good move.

Young defensive minded guy, credibility from a national title, experience on great staffs in the Big Ten. Seemed like more than just trying to catch lightning in a bottle. He had a vision and sold it as knowing what a championship culture looks like and how you need to build that.

In year two I thought we saw signs of progress in beating Purdue, Maryland, I. Since then its been a dumpster fire. I'm man enough to admit I was totally wrong.
 
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I like Norvell and Litrell top of my list for this year’s availables.... just don’t know how realistic they are that’s why I dig deeper. Candle, Leipold, Clark etc all solid names which are more realistic I just prefer some coordinators than them.

Also what would you think about coordinator paired with a former HC as coordinator on other side of the ball or as AHC/position coach. Heupel at UCF has a setup like that with Shannon. If Harrell has a good year at USC...I’ve mentioned a hypothetical of him and Leavitt or someone like him as DC.

I like what I've seen the past ~14 games with Heupel thus far. Two years as a HC while taking over the best G5 program may not translate well to RU, but did a good job after losing Milton.

There are good coordinators out there. I think Leonhard could be a great head coach. A walkon with 0 FBS offers who becomes a starter on a ranked team before earning a scholarship, goes undrated and plays 10 years in the NFL, is a DB coach for one year before becoming the DC and has the #2 Defense in the country his first season as DC. This guy's an overachiever. I wouldn't "hate" the hire, but I wouldn't have him at the top of the list just yet.
 
I like what I've seen the past ~14 games with Heupel thus far. Two years as a HC while taking over the best G5 program may not translate well to RU, but did a good job after losing Milton.

There are good coordinators out there. I think Leonhard could be a great head coach. A walkon with 0 FBS offers who becomes a starter on a ranked team before earning a scholarship, goes undrated and plays 10 years in the NFL, is a DB coach for one year before becoming the DC and has the #2 Defense in the country his first season as DC. This guy's an overachiever. I wouldn't "hate" the hire, but I wouldn't have him at the top of the list just yet.
Oh I wasn’t suggesting Heupel.. he’s got a 10M buyout...just the setup of first time HC and former HC DC in Shannon is what I’m referring.

Leonhard isn’t name I’m for even though I’m okay with coordinators and he’s a good DC but his only exposure is to a Wisconsin style offense and I don’t like that for us.
 
Can he recruit was my first reaction. So I go on the Main Board and ask some fellas I've talked shit with over the years who were OSU fans and a majority of them said NO......MY HEART SANK
 
Can he recruit was my first reaction. So I go on the Main Board and ask some fellas I've talked shit with over the years who were OSU fans and a majority of them said NO......MY HEART SANK

Interesting to hear. I worried about this myself as he was a mid-west boy. x10 he's not from northeast. x100 he wasn't a jersey boy.

I believe his pitch was- I'll get kids from mid-west overlooked by the big boys because of my roots/contacts there. They'll play at RU to show their hometown schools what they missed. We all see how that worked out. The BIG middle weights (Iowa, etc) were already doing that.
 
At the time of hire, I thought it was a good move.

Young defensive minded guy, credibility from a national title, experience on great staffs in the Big Ten. Seemed like more than just trying to catch lightning in a bottle. He had a vision and sold it as knowing what a championship culture looks like and how you need to build that.

In year two I thought we saw signs of progress in beating Purdue, Maryland, I. Since then its been a dumpster fire. I'm man enough to admit I was totally wrong.

Smoke and Mirrors. Both teams throwing into endzone at end of game. Could have easily been 2-10.
 
2nd. Should have been NC.

Yes, Miami actually won the next year after schiano left. And they should have won again but the phantom pass interference call against Ohio state .
People forget butch davis left for the nfl very late and it was after schiano took the rutgers job . Schiano actually almost went back to Miami then like Diaz just did . But he didn’t and Miami elevated Coker, who was kinda like a flood that won a national title . Obviously, a much better flood !
 
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He also only showed the posts after Ash was already announced as hired. Of course most would be on board. I think the better discussions were pre hiring announcement. Hire kinda cane out of the blue.
From my scan of the 2015 pre-hire threads I would say you are correct. Virtually no one said Ash is the best choice. There was more pro and cons given for Golden, who was also a rumored candidate. People were kind of grasping at what an Ash hire might mean and seemed to be searching for justifications more than listing their preferences for Ash.

Caliknight was definitive, for one... definitively against. I believe he said: "DC with no HC experience? No thank you."

From my survey it just does not seem like people were campaigning to hire Ash... but tried to accept it and give him support once hired. But in the period after he was hired.. and he worked the bowl game rather than reporting to work here? He began to lose people right away. Then he seemed to fair to make progress on a number of fronts.. and right away. In the next year he would lose a lot of support... largely through his own actions and inaction and what he showed us.... and is still showing us. His 4th down punts in 4-down territory.... people do not like this.
 
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Smoke and Mirrors. Both teams throwing into endzone at end of game. Could have easily been 2-10.

The last two games of that season were totally uncompetitive blowouts against IN and MSU so whatever good will he gained by winning those three of four B10 games was lost due to the pathetic finish.
 
From my scan of the 2015 pre-hire threads I would say you are correct. Virtually no one said Ash is the best choice. There was more pro and cons given for Golden, who was also a rumored candidate. People were kind of grasping at what an Ash hire might mean and seemed to be searching for justifications more than listing their preferences for Ash.

Caliknight was definitive, for one... definitively against. I believe he said: "DC with no HC experience? No thank you."

From my survey it just does not seem like people were campaigning to hire Ash... but tried to accept it and give him support once hired. But in the period after he was hired.. and he worked the bowl game rather than reporting to work here? He began to lose people right away. Then he seemed to fair to make progress on a number of fronts.. and right away. In the next year he would lose a lot of support... largely through his own actions and inaction and what he showed us.... and is still showing us. His 4th down punts in 4-down territory.... people do not like this.

This fits my memory of the time, as well.

As for myself, I had low expectations for the hire from the jump. I knew we weren't going to hire a proven HC, or a big name, or whatever - and I knew we weren't going to shell out much money, so we'd still be at the bottom of the conference in HC spending. I felt it was either going to be a G5 HC or a P5 Coordinator with no HC experience - and I didn't have a dog in the fight. There was no one I was really sold on or really excited about, so I was just waiting for the news.

When Ash was named, I felt the hire was at the top end of my lowered range of expectations, better than I thought we'd hire. Sort of an "about as good as we were going to get" scenario - years of B1G experience as a coordinator, strong defensive bona fides, worked under a couple of successful people like Meyer and Alvarez, a NC ring to flash about on the recruiting trail... lots of upside potential, especially if he was a detail-oriented workhorse in the mold of Schiano.

Then came a string of bad decisions (the OSU bowl game, the delayed start at RU, the hiring of Mehringer, then of Niemann, of no experienced hand on the offensive side of the ball at all...) then the awful play on the field the first season, with the 2nd year's crop of recruits already having plans of heading out of state... I felt that there was a one year opportunity to strike while the iron was hot and find success at Rutgers, and he had missed it. At the start of the 2017 season, I was already telling friends that I felt we were going to have a new coach by 2020.
 
It leaked out on a Saturday, because I was out to lunch. I remember getting a text from a friend and I almost lost said lunch.
I came home and posted the famous “ash will get us smashed” thread .
I believe the hire was made official Monday. Not sure what day the introductory press conference was when ash confidently said “we need better players.” That was petty neat of him to say

And Ash has proven he can compete with Toledo and Bowling Green for Recruits.
 
The last two games of that season were totally uncompetitive blowouts against IN and MSU so whatever good will he gained by winning those three of four B10 games was lost due to the pathetic finish.

Last 3 games.
2017 was nowhere close to encouraging.
I really dont understand why so many people had/have this idea.
We had one of the worst offenses in all of FBS - which was actually on purpose.

Our points scored by game:
14 - Wash St.
13 - E Mich
65 - Morgan State (W)
17 - Neb
0 - OSU
35 - Ill (W)
14 - Pur (W)
31 - Maryland (W)
6 - PSU
0 - Indiana
7 - MSU

18.0ppg for the season (#121 out of 130)
2 games over 20pts is pathetic.
Winning the Nebraska game scoring 14pts is the definition of a fluke (unless you play Rutgers).

Unsurprisingly, in 2018 and now 2019 we are still not scoring points and we keep losing games.
 
We beat him twice while he was DC at Arky. That was enough for me. And he was coDC at OSU. Never had job to himself. And lousy personality.
Oh for God's sake, for the millionth freaking time, Ash was at Arkansas for one freaking year--2013. How the hell did "we beat him twice while he was DC at Arky"?????
The misinformation and crap that continually gets posted on this board to support someone's narrative is nauseating.

2012- pre-Ash: 35 points and 525 yards of offense.
2013- Ash-- 21 offensive points, 400 total yards of offense, Arkansas had 1 INT and two fumble recoveries. Seems like a vast improvement in defense when Ash took over, doesn't it.
 
I didn't like it then. Still don't like it now.
LIAR! You started several threads including one titled:

"I'm HAPPY with Coach Ash as our Head Coach"

It's time to come together and move forward as a program and a fanbase!

On to the next chapter of Rutgers Football!
article-2508444-19748DDC00000578-127_634x462.jpg


:cool2::cool2::cool2: I'm HAPPY! :cool2::cool2::cool2:



[banana][banana][banana][banana][banana][banana][banana][banana][banana]

And then, within 2 weeks you start this thread:

Frankly, the Ash regime is very risky and uncertain - We need to give HCCA Time
    • He's not hiring name guys.
    • Recruits are decommiting (I think we've had 3 and Russo should be a fourth after the OC hired)
    • He's bringing in a spread offense that does not fit our personnel.
    • It's seems he's shying away from building connections inside NJ and instead is choosing to recruit nationally (OC could probably recruit TX).
    • He's a new HC so will be making the new HC mistakes like in game time management, TOs etc.
It's very risky since it's all new stuff that hasn't been done here before. We're breaking new grounds. It can either turn really good or really bad. With new philosophies on both sides of the ball I think as a fanbase we need to be all in on this and have faith in his approach or this is doomed to failure (not calling for his head when something goes wrong). This will be a multi-year building process.

We need to give him the time he needs to completely overhaul the program. I hope our fanbase and the media is up to the task. No one wants RU to be another coaching carousel of mediocrity.
 
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I wasn't on this board then, so I have no history to back it up. I remember really wanting Dino Babers but then being OK with the hire. I thought Rutgers could use a change in offensive style. He talked like he knew what a power spread was.

Didn't start having real doubts until the UW game when he surrendered by punting inside plus 50 a bunch of times and kicked that meaningless field goal. I do remember watching the teams warm up pregame and thinking, "uh oh", but that was more a reflection of Washington than Rutgers.

I still wanted to give the guy a shot for four or five years, but that all went out the window with Kansalo last season.
 
I wasn't on this board then, so I have no history to back it up. I remember really wanting Dino Babers but then being OK with the hire. I thought Rutgers could use a change in offensive style. He talked like he knew what a power spread was.

Didn't start having real doubts until the UW game when he surrendered by punting inside plus 50 a bunch of times and kicked that meaningless field goal. I do remember watching the teams warm up pregame and thinking, "uh oh", but that was more a reflection of Washington than Rutgers.

I still wanted to give the guy a shot for four or five years, but that all went out the window with Kansalo last season.
I don't recall anyone pushing for Dino Babers in 2015. I know you said you weren't on the board, but you'd think you'd have company.

oops.. I stand corrected...

I want Babers.. - Spare130

Bowling Green must have been on TV that day.. yep. they were beating Northern Illinois on ESPN2 when thread was made. The ROUND TABLE had Babers mentions as well.

And here was people saying nice things when it was rumored he'd go to UCF

and another example of that... yes, it looks like several posters here wanted Babers...

Perhaps we should collect the handles of all those who wanted Babers and allow them to pick the next coach. oldCabbagehead.. rutgersguy1.. you are on deck.
 
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I don't recall anyone pushing for Dino Babers in 2015. I know you said you weren't on the board, but you'd think you'd have company.

oops.. I stand corrected...

I want Babers.. - Spare130

Bowling Green must have been on TV that day.. yep. they were beating Northern Illinois on ESPN2 when thread was made. The ROUND TABLE had Babers mentions as well.

And here was people saying nice things when it was rumored he'd go to UCF

and another example of that... yes, it looks like several posters here wanted Babers...

Perhaps we should collect the handles of all those who wanted Babers and allow them to pick the next coach. oldCabbagehead.. rutgersguy1.. you are on deck.
Really @vkj91 was big on him..I liked him though just not the top of the list for me...mainly for the reasons I still state now...I want offense offense offense but can that top offensive coach create a mediocre defense to go with that offense. If he can I'm on board especially if there's also a demonstration of more with less...just look at what Leach has done with Grinch and now Claeys. I wonder what Norvell might be able to with Fuller on board this year...we'll see if Fuller can make a difference.

I've posted a couple summaries and snippets in other threads from some articles from the Athletic about Leach, his disciples and the "air raid" philosophy not the x/o but just the theme of it (KISS and perfection through endless repetition) and the more I read the more I want someone off that tree or at least close to it. I always made those KK hypotheticals and his biggest reason for failure there...reverse of here (no defense).... although his offenses were much better than our defense. So get me an "air raid" guy like a Harrell with Leavitt by his side at DC...I'll take my shot with a combo like that or similar if we can't names higher up the food chain.
 
I've posted a couple summaries and snippets in other threads from some articles from the Athletic about Leach, his disciples and the "air raid" philosophy not the x/o but just the theme of it (KISS and perfection through endless repetition)

Read that in the other thread.. really like the idea. Simple concepts, practiced to perfection with option at the LOS. Heck.. a QB could be allowed the call the plays in that situation. I really like that idea.. that the players on the field could be given control over what they run. They would have instant buy-in on running that play.

While a smart defense can scheme against limited options.. at least we wouldn't be beating ourselves by failing to execute plays.
 
Read that in the other thread.. really like the idea. Simple concepts, practiced to perfection with option at the LOS. Heck.. a QB could be allowed the call the plays in that situation. I really like that idea.. that the players on the field could be given control over what they run. They would have instant buy-in on running that play.

While a smart defense can scheme against limited options.. at least we wouldn't be beating ourselves by failing to execute plays.
All Leach's "children" and "grandchildren" have their spins on it but the philosophy of simplicity and perfecting is a theme they all took away from their time with him. Heck they said he's still running the some of the same stuff as 20 years ago and it's still working today lol.

KK also mentioned Leach instilling confidence in them and being allowed having free rein from day one to check the play at the LOS...just have a reason for it. He said he played in the spread in high school but never had that freedom to see the defense and if there's a better play change it. He said no one at the time in was doing in the B12 and probably not the country either.

Leach's tree is a tree we should have been shaking all these years for OCs...and there's no way we'd have the kind of ineptitude we've seen. I can't think of any of the better branches not having at least some flashes of success if not consistent success on offense. Now if we need a HC I say look in that direction and have the budget for a strong DC to come on board. It's a realistic option if none of the better names are available.
 
LIAR! You started several threads including one titled:

"I'm HAPPY with Coach Ash as our Head Coach"



And then, within 2 weeks you start this thread:

Frankly, the Ash regime is very risky and uncertain - We need to give HCCA Time
    • He's not hiring name guys.
    • Recruits are decommiting (I think we've had 3 and Russo should be a fourth after the OC hired)
    • He's bringing in a spread offense that does not fit our personnel.
    • It's seems he's shying away from building connections inside NJ and instead is choosing to recruit nationally (OC could probably recruit TX).
    • He's a new HC so will be making the new HC mistakes like in game time management, TOs etc.
It's very risky since it's all new stuff that hasn't been done here before. We're breaking new grounds. It can either turn really good or really bad. With new philosophies on both sides of the ball I think as a fanbase we need to be all in on this and have faith in his approach or this is doomed to failure (not calling for his head when something goes wrong). This will be a multi-year building process.

We need to give him the time he needs to completely overhaul the program. I hope our fanbase and the media is up to the task. No one wants RU to be another coaching carousel of mediocrity.

Nice catch. I stand corrected... :Wink:
Thanks for keeping me honest! :)

I will say that I started to sour on him when he chose to stay at OSU for their bowl game (when they already had another DC) rather than recruit for RU.

If you look at the timestamp of those posts they were made prior to the OSU bowl game.

Now we have given him more than enough time to see some kind of upward trajectory (4 years) and it's just not there.

By now, I had expected our defenses to be the strong part of our team. That hasn't really been the case. Recruiting doesn't bode well for the next couple of years either.

He is a dud.
 
He was unknown to me but when I read about his background, it seemed like he could be a decent coach. The loss to Michigan on national tv during the recruiting event of the year did it for me. What a dumb ass move and a terrible coach. I said at the time, no body recovers from that. The man's credibility and reputation were crushed during that game.
 
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