2 cents, either Fisher or Johnson would make me happy, i don't care which one Fowler is going for as long as he's going for one of them and offering that candidate what it takes to bring'm here...

in my mind, getting either of them would go a long way towards repairing his image from the coaching search fiasco...

12/4/2006 6:53:53 PM

^you mean offering them what they want AND giving them what they NEED to keep good assistants

12/4/2006 6:57:20 PM

yes, i know it's potentially a pipedream with fowler... but still...

[Edited on December 4, 2006 at 6:58 PM. Reason : .]

12/4/2006 6:58:30 PM

^^ money wasn't the reason why chuck couldn't keep assistants.. numerous articles talk about how hard it was to work under Chuck.. it was his way or the highway for him

12/4/2006 7:25:38 PM

if they are planning on firing fowler and he knows this why would he help us find a coach

12/5/2006 7:34:41 AM

Ah... now people are beginning to realize why I would have rather seen them fire Fowler first and have the new AD take care of the Amato situation.

12/5/2006 7:40:43 AM

because you were the only one talking about that.....

12/5/2006 8:15:07 AM

Paul Johnson's being interviewed today.

First official interview. Pretty big step.

12/5/2006 8:16:28 AM

^link?

12/5/2006 8:17:20 AM

Yeah...wait...lemme get that link for you....




































































There is no link. This search is being handled privately and we won't hear anything from the media until a coach is hired. So take this information any way you'd like, but don't expect any "sources".

12/5/2006 8:34:11 AM

ok nice rumor then.

12/5/2006 9:27:00 AM

More stuff concerning LSU's Jimbo Fisher's interest in the Pack...

Quote :

"LSU assistant Fisher shows interest in Pack Caulton Tudor and Chip Alexander, Staff Writers Add Louisiana State offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher to the list of those interested in the N.C. State football coaching vacancy. Fisher, contacted Monday, said he would be "very interested" but quickly added that he has received no contact from the Wolfpack or NCSU athletics director Lee Fowler. "That's a heck of job, a very good job," Fisher said. "I'd be interested. How could you not be interested in that situation?" The Wolfpack, 3-9 in 2006, has been without a head coach since Chuck Amato was fired Nov. 26. Fisher, 41, is in his seventh season at LSU. A native of Clarksburg, W.Va., he previously worked as quarterbacks coach at Auburn and Samford. Fisher was also interested in the Wolfpack offensive coordinator job when Marc Trestman was hired after the 2004 season. Earlier in the NCSU search, Tennessee offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach David Cutcliffe expressed an interest. Cutcliffe, 52, and the Southeastern Conference coach of the year in 2003 at Mississippi, could not reached Monday. Nor could his agent, Memphis, Tenn.-based Jimmy Sexton, who also represents Fisher. Fowler did not return phone calls Monday. James L. Oblinger, the NCSU chancellor, said during a recent interview that professional integrity would be a high priority in the process to find a new coach but would not discuss specific targets. "What am I looking for in a football coach? I am looking for integrity," Oblinger said. "I'm looking for commitment to the student-athlete. I'm looking for commitment to graduation rates and ... I'm looking for a proven record of performance." With the Division I-A regular season finished, the interview process could quicken this week. Among the possible candidates, other than Cutcliffe and Fisher, are Paul Johnson (head coach, Navy), Norm Chow (offensive coordinator, Tennessee Titans), Steve Logan (offensive coordinator, NFL Europe's Rhein Fire) and Mike Sherman (assistant head coach/ offense, Houston Texans). But Fisher said Monday that "lots of coaches" could be on Fowler's shopping list. The school has enlisted the assistance of consultant Chuck Neinas of Boulder, Colo., to help in the search. Atlanta agent Jack Reale, who represents Johnson, said Monday that he could not comment on his client's position. "Anything of that nature would have to come from N.C. State," Reale said. Navy finished 9-3 with wins over East Carolina, Duke, Stanford, Eastern Michigan, Connecticut and Air Force among others, and will face Boston College in the Dec. 30 Meineke Car Care Bowl at Charlotte. The Middies use a wishbone offense and attempted only 104 passes (45 completions) in the 2006 season. However, they averaged 327.4 rushing yards per game. Chow, 60, who worked as Amato's first offensive coordinator in 2000, has been mentioned as a potential candidate for job openings at Arizona State and Stanford, which fired second-year coach Walt Harris on Monday. "

12/5/2006 10:47:14 AM

Hahaha, ill go to the tire bowl if PJ is coaching there and he's coming to state.

and i will wear a shirt that says, "I fucked cathocutie"

[Edited on December 5, 2006 at 10:50 AM. Reason : ]

12/5/2006 10:50:09 AM

12/5/2006 11:03:18 AM

^^ Somehow I doubt that if PJ was coming here that they would announce it before the Bowl Game.... I am sure he is classy enough to finish things with his current program and go out in style if that is the case... (like Cowher)

I like the guy alright, but I think he is the biggest risk on the list, am I the only one?

12/5/2006 11:07:19 AM

^ i'm with you. it really all depends on how much his gameplan differs based on the abilities of his quarterback. if he never passes at navy b/c he can't get a good qb, then fine, but if he never passes at navy b/c he never passes.. that's a problem.

12/5/2006 11:17:06 AM

Yeah I dont think that PJ would be as able to land and develop our next Rivers-esque QB, whereas Fisher, Chow, and even Cutliffe would immediately attract attention from the top QBs coming outtof HS and are proven QB specialists (but i guess so was trestman).

Now ~ would I trade a great QB for a top notch running game + top notch D?
yes and fill in the blank with an average QB who doesnent need to win the game for us...

But, the guy has never coached against the kind of teams we are set to play in the coming years and that makes me skeptical....
Will his scheme work in the ACC?

[Edited on December 5, 2006 at 11:27 AM. Reason : trestman]

12/5/2006 11:25:55 AM

I think any of the coaches on that list would be an improvement.

12/5/2006 11:31:25 AM

Quote :

"Will his scheme work in the ACC?"

that is the question, and i think the biggest factor to it working or not is definitely how much he passes. we have burke and beck both ready next year (not to mention wilson as a freshman), and they're both supposed to be studs. if he adjusts his offense to them.. it could probably be the money. then again, he may be a huge flop, and then again maybe his 'triple option flexbone' will work just fine in the acc.

regardless... fisher for HC, amirite?!

12/5/2006 11:34:08 AM

^ werd

12/5/2006 11:37:46 AM

^^^^I'm with you.

I really think its important for a coach to be able to recruit in NC, we dont have to get all the blue chippers out of the state but 4 or 5 every year and we'd be doing damn well. I think that is one plus to Logan, they guy straight knows NC and gets it done recruiting and developing QBs.

I don't know enough about Fisher and recruiting. But I'd love to see either coach bring back Anthony Barbour as a coach and then hire one of the best coaches from a top NC High School program to help build a pipeline.



[Edited on December 5, 2006 at 11:47 AM. Reason : ..]

12/5/2006 11:46:57 AM

^^^ I definitely agree with that as well.

And also the rumors are that Burke is trying to opt out now that his mentor (trestman) got the axe along with Chuck....(sorry no link, but it definitely makes sense)...

Also I am sure you have heard rumors that Andre wants out due to lack of success and splitting carries with Baker. Hiring PJ would definitely help keep Andre here in the meantime, whereas I could see Burke warming to a coach like Fisher....

[Edited on December 5, 2006 at 11:47 AM. Reason : ^]

12/5/2006 11:47:22 AM

Quote :

"And also the rumors are that Burke is trying to opt out"

a loss for sure, but word is beck is better, not to mention already transferred once, so he's basically stuck here =P

i really hope brown doesn't leave, though.

12/5/2006 11:53:04 AM

North Carolina State's search for a new football coach has focused on Navy's Paul Johnson, sources close to the situation said early Tuesday.

Johnson, who has guided the Midshipmen to an unprecedented four consecutive bowl games, has spoken with Wolfpack athletics director Lee Fowler and Chuck Neinas, the coach head-hunter hired by the school to help identify fired coach Chuck Amato's successor, the source said.

Johnson hasn't been offered the N.C. State job. The source said Wolfpack officials hope to hire a new coach by the end of the week.

Johnson, who hasn't been contacted by Alabama officials about the Crimson Tide's coaching vacancy, is mulling over an extension to a six-year contract with Navy that pays him more than $1 million per season. The contract includes a buyout of less than $500,000, a source close to Johnson said.

Johnson, 49, has a 37-24 record at Navy, including a 35-13 record the past four seasons. His first Midshipmen team went 2-10 in 2002, but each of the last four squads have won at least eight games, a first in academy history. He was named the 2004 Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year after guiding Navy to a 10-2 record.

Johnson is a native of Newland, N.C., in the northwestern part of the state, and received a bachelor's degree from Western Carolina and a Master's degree from Appalachian State in North Carolina.

Navy went 9-3 this season and swept Army and Air Force to win the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy for the four straight season.

The Midshipmen play Boston College in the Dec. 30 Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, N.C.

Johnson was hired at Navy in December 2001 after leading Georgia Southern to a 62-10 record in five seasons and winning two consecutive NCAA Division I-AA national championships in 1999 and 2000.

A former offensive coordinator at Hawaii and Navy, Johnson has earned a reputation of an offensive guru, running a pass-happy spread formation with the Rainbows and triple-option running attack with the Midshipmen. Navy led the country in rushing in three of the last four seasons.

LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher also has expressed interest in the NC State job, although he hasn't been contacted by Neinas or Fowler. East Carolina coach Skip Holtz and Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow, a former Wolfpack assistant, also have been mentioned among candidates to replace Amato. Tennessee offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe hasn't been contacted by the Wolfpack.

Amato, who was fired Nov. 26 after compiling a 49-37 record in seven seasons at his alma mater, had an annual salary of about $995,000 at N.C. State. The school will pay him more than $1.15 million to buy out the remaining three years of his contract, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by ESPN.com. The buyout includes a $600,000 annuity that was established for Amato by The Wolfpack Club, the school's booster organization in January 2002.

12/5/2006 11:57:17 AM

^WOW, yeah that definitely seems to be the notion amongst alumni, faculty, and msg boarders now.

I pose yet another Question:

1) Are good HCs made from the great programs they tenure?
OR
2) Are great programs made from those good HCs?


While I think it is a mix of both, I cant help but lean towards the programs making the HCs. I cant help but feel like having a great HC is what you obviously want, but you still need the talent to do anything worthwhile (as far as state fans are concerned, we want to win something big for once).

Miami will almost always outrecruit us because they are Miami no matter who we have as coach or who they have as coach. The top talent knows that they have NFL stuff and they want to go through an NFL machine to better assure themselves a ticket to the bigs.

That being said ~ I dont think Fisher would necessarily recruit better than PJ. NC state is still the deciding factor for most players, and not who is the HC. Both of these coaches dont have the credentials to make NCSU a more attractive "get me to the NFL ASAP" school.

On the other hand, Chow or Cowher would instantly recruit like wildfire ~ why? because they know what it takes to get to the bigs and they have been there. NFL > NC State and in these cases the HC could help power our mediocre attractiveness when compared to Miamis, VA techs, FSUs, etc..
(Sidney Lowe is proving that in basketball recruiting right now)

So, while I feel like Fisher *may* be a less risky option, he and PJ are roughly the same in the recruiting dept. as neither has the NFL cred of a Chow or Cowher. I can definitely see why the guys at the top would favor PJ over Fisher.

Hopefully, this is all speculation and going through the motions because we have had Cowher locked up and he is just being classy and waiting for his steelers tenure to end before announcing his true intentions



[Edited on December 5, 2006 at 12:07 PM. Reason : sp]

12/5/2006 12:04:31 PM

^^http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2687000

Quote :

" is mulling over an extension to a six-year contract with Navy that pays him more than $1 million per season."

sounds familiar...

[Edited on December 5, 2006 at 12:06 PM. Reason : .]

12/5/2006 12:06:14 PM

i much rather have jimbo(if he brings that DC in) than PJ..just seems better when it comes to recruiting and play calling in DIV-1A

12/5/2006 12:13:24 PM

Quote :

"I cant help but lean towards the programs making the HCs. I cant help but feel like having a great HC is what you obviously want, but you still need the talent to do anything worthwhile "

I'm not neccessarily disagreeing with you, but here's a counterpoint. Steve Spurrier at Duke. Took them from crap to glory, then after he left, back to crap. An excellent head coach can turn a talent-sparse team into a good/mediocre team, then get better recruits and turn the team into a great team.

All that being said, I'm just using Spurrier as an example, the man gets results. But for the record, I hate Steve Spurrier, he's a giant bag-o-douche and a complete asshole.

12/5/2006 12:38:11 PM

Quote :

"A former offensive coordinator at Hawaii and Navy, Johnson has earned a reputation of an offensive guru, running a pass-happy spread formation with the Rainbows and triple-option running attack with the Midshipmen. Navy led the country in rushing in three of the last four seasons."

See he does what the offensive talent has to work with. He threw the ball at Hawaii like they always do and ran the option at Navy. Not sure what he did at GSU, but he is only 49, so he is not real old.

I still like Cutcliffe the best. Man turned UT around this year. Made Ole Miss a contender for first time in years as a HC. He is 52 and has good recruiting ties in the Southeast.

12/5/2006 12:41:46 PM

the only thing about Johnson that scares me is can he recruit? Especially with Davis 30 miles west of him...what can Johnson say to get a recruit to pick NCSU over UNC...

12/5/2006 12:43:42 PM

thats is why we need fisher..he is a good recruit and can bring SEC style football to the ACC and he recruits some out of florida

12/5/2006 1:04:08 PM

Bill Cowher.

12/5/2006 1:12:52 PM

if a guy can convince someone to come play football at Navy, he could probably sell a ketchup popsicle to a lady in white gloves on a hot day

12/5/2006 1:13:25 PM

do they go into the navy then play football or do they go into the navy to play football

i don't know how that works

12/5/2006 1:14:51 PM

Quote :

"Johnson hasn't been offered the N.C. State job. The source said Wolfpack officials hope to hire a new coach by the end of the week."

12/5/2006 1:25:29 PM

Quote :

"what can Johnson say to get a recruit to pick NCSU over UNC..."

"We're not gay"

12/5/2006 1:27:14 PM

Quote :

"I still like Cutcliffe the best. Man turned UT around this year. Made Ole Miss a contender for first time in years as a HC. He is 52 and has good recruiting ties in the Southeast."

that's actually a very good point, i don't know why cutcliffe isn't getting more buzz, unless it's b/c he isn't interested (or the scare that he's going to die at the age of 55).

12/5/2006 1:28:08 PM

Well he is interested, there have been articles about his interest in the job...

12/5/2006 1:29:57 PM

Quote :

"Johnson's teams also have discipline. The Midshipmen have committed less than four penalties per game over the past four seasons."

per the Wolfpacker

I do like that about Johnson.

12/5/2006 1:45:54 PM

cutcliffe has health issues

[Edited on December 5, 2006 at 1:47 PM. Reason : .]

12/5/2006 1:47:31 PM

Quote :

"do they go into the navy then play football or do they go into the navy to play football "

your 1st obligation is to the Navy/Marines.

12/5/2006 2:02:57 PM

Quote :

"Quote : "Johnson's teams also have discipline. The Midshipmen have committed less than four penalties per game over the past four seasons." per the Wolfpacker I do like that about Johnson."

Wouldn't you think that the reason they are much more disciplined might have something to do with the fact the players are in the damn Navy and are on a little more rigorous college lifestyle when compared to us.

He did do good at Hawaii but their defense sucked, it does no good to put up 30-40 pts in a game if u still dont win.

All in all I wish we could have confirmation on the other candidates being talked to like we have with Johnson. They seem to be much more qualified, especially with them all having "big program" experience at this level.

12/5/2006 2:24:44 PM

^ I agree with you, the reason that they are more disciplined is the fact that they are in the Navy. I doubt that he will have as good of luck with penalties here.

I still think that Fisher is our best option. He seems interested and has the recruiting tools and experience we need. Johnson looks like the best Secondary coaching candidate.

Forget Cutcliffe, old man is about to croke!

12/5/2006 2:34:56 PM

Quote :

"He did do good at Hawaii but their defense sucked, it does no good to put up 30-40 pts in a game if u still dont win."

Offense rules college football. I guarantee if we put up 30-40 points a game we would not be losing too many. Defense comes second in college football.

[Edited on December 5, 2006 at 2:42 PM. Reason : a]

12/5/2006 2:40:11 PM

i would love for johnson to be our next coach.

12/5/2006 2:41:49 PM

Quote :

"He did do good at Hawaii but their defense sucked, it does no good to put up 30-40 pts in a game if u still dont win."

He was the OFFENSIVE coordinator, he had nothing to do with defense.

^^^He is 52, he isn't old. Ive been watching his teams play for years b/c I am a UT fan 2nd. He would do well here.

[Edited on December 5, 2006 at 2:43 PM. Reason : ^^^]

12/5/2006 2:43:12 PM

Quote :

"Fisher, 41, has been LSU's offensive coordinator for seven seasons. In that time, the Tigers have won 69 games, two SEC titles and the 2003 national championship. Fisher's offenses have set 13 school records, including points in a season (475 in 2003), total yards (5,857 in 2003) and passing touchdowns (30 in 2003). He also is considered an excellent recruiter. Fisher is a native of Clarksburg, W.Va., and a graduate of Salem (W.Va.) College."

Quote :

"A source close to Fisher said the coach initially was approached by Neinas, which allowed him to continue to deny "contact from N.C. State," but that Fisher expects to hear directly from Fowler for the first time very soon. LSU, which completed its 10-2 regular season on Nov. 24, next will face Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 3. "

HIRE FISHER

http://html.wral.com/sh/blogger/2006/12/johnson-fisher-talking-wolfpack.html

[Edited on December 5, 2006 at 3:19 PM. Reason : HIRE FISHER]

12/5/2006 3:18:58 PM

I'd rather have Johnson, but can't we all agree that if we get Paul Johnson or Jimbo, it's pretty much a solid hire and that they're both very good picks?

12/5/2006 3:20:48 PM

agreed

12/5/2006 3:21:43 PM

^^^from today in comments by glenn:

Quote :

"Based on my morning e-mail, this is worth repeating. The sentence below is included in the blog post, but apparently some are choosing to ignore it. "It is not clear how many other candidates have been contacted for the Wolfpack by Neinas and/or Fowler." This is very, very important to remember. We have confirmation that many, many coaches are interested in the NCSU vacancy. We also have confirmation that the interest is being reciprocated in at least two cases. But that does NOT necessarily mean they're the only candidates, and in fact I would be absolutely shocked if they were. Only a few people have ALL the pieces of this puzzle, and nobody in the media is in that group."

[Edited on December 5, 2006 at 3:22 PM. Reason : .]

12/5/2006 3:21:59 PM