OT: D1

[IUP24]

Curt's name is surfacing as a candidate at Florida -- should Lane say no.

Money talks, obviously. But at his age, I would be hesitant to take that on. You got your payday. You got P5 job. Going from IU, where they'd be happy with 5-6 wins every year, to Gainesville, is a headache and a half.

Florida is a great job. Extremely fertile recruiting ground. Nice history and tradition. Resources galore. But the fact that Dan Mullen was fired there after a pretty successful tenure, would push me away. But I wish Curt the best if he pursues something like that.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Money talks, obviously. But at his age, I would be hesitant to take that on. You got your payday. You got P5 job. Going from IU, where they'd be happy with 5-6 wins every year, to Gainesville, is a headache and a half.

Florida is a great job. Extremely fertile recruiting ground. Nice history and tradition. Resources galore. But the fact that Dan Mullen was fired there after a pretty successful tenure, would push me away. But I wish Curt the best if he pursues something like that.

I imagine it comes down to his own level of confidence, which should be sky high right now. I think if you’re an ambitious person you’re always looking to move up when you can. Of course, one could argue that Indiana is currently a better program than Florida (hard to believe I just typed that). I’m with you though. I think he’d be better to stay a bit where I imagine they’d love to have him for the foreseeable future. There’s not a ton of pressure to win national championships in football there.

[Chuck Norris]

I imagine it comes down to his own level of confidence, which should be sky high right now. I think if you’re an ambitious person you’re always looking to move up when you can. Of course, one could argue that Indiana is currently a better program than Florida (hard to believe I just typed that). I’m with you though. I think he’d be better to stay a bit where I imagine they’d love to have him for the foreseeable future. There’s not a ton of pressure to win national championships in football there.

I don’t think Curt embarked on his head coaching journey with dreams of winding up in Bloomington Indiana. He’s not a young guy, professionally speaking. If he gets a shot at the SEC I can’t imagine he wouldn’t take it. You can always go back to a program of Indiana’s stature if it doesn’t work out.

[IUP24]

I imagine it comes down to his own level of confidence, which should be sky high right now. I think if you’re an ambitious person you’re always looking to move up when you can. Of course, one could argue that Indiana is currently a better program than Florida (hard to believe I just typed that). I’m with you though. I think he’d be better to stay a bit where I imagine they’d love to have him for the foreseeable future. There’s not a ton of pressure to win national championships in football there.

It's interesting you mention the "ambitious person" aspect of this conversation. He was on Adam Brenneman's podcast (which is a great podcast for those who have never listened) and spoke about his progression in the coaching industry. I don't want to say he didn't speak highly of his time at IUP, but the overall tone of the conversation wasn't what I was expecting. His intentions were never to just follow in his dad's footsteps and be a legendary coach for IUP (which I never thought to be the case, but I guess I always assumed there were more familial components regarding that decision than was the actual case).

He was pretty clear that he took a significant pay cut to become the IUP head with the sole purpose of using the position to advance his career. Now, he went on to discuss the advantage of going that route was that he was afforded the patience from his bosses in his "learning" to be a head coach. He said there were definitely mistakes he made coaching while at IUP that would have been treated differently at a higher level or larger program.

[IUP24]

I imagine it comes down to his own level of confidence, which should be sky high right now. I think if you’re an ambitious person you’re always looking to move up when you can. Of course, one could argue that Indiana is currently a better program than Florida (hard to believe I just typed that). I’m with you though. I think he’d be better to stay a bit where I imagine they’d love to have him for the foreseeable future. There’s not a ton of pressure to win national championships in football there.

Was also thinking about this...

Just looking at everything objectively, if you are Florida, I think you really need to let things play out with Indiana football before you make a decision like that. And that's nothing at all against the job Curt's done there.

FIU, Western Illinois, UCLA (real bad team), Charlotte, Maryland, and Northwestern. That's the road to 6-0 for the Hoosiers. They are going to play Nebraska, Michigan, and Ohio State. The other three games are manageable. I don't believe Michigan is that great of a team either, but they still have upper end talent on the roster and will be a very formidable opponent.

I guess my point is, they could very well end up as an 8-4 team. That's not to say that's not a fantastic job in year one at Indiana. I just wonder if in the big picture that makes his candidacy for Gainesville less likely. Now.. He finishes 10-2 with a big win in there, that's a different conversation. Again though, I wish him the best.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Was also thinking about this...

Just looking at everything objectively, if you are Florida, I think you really need to let things play out with Indiana football before you make a decision like that. And that's nothing at all against the job Curt's done there.

FIU, Western Illinois, UCLA (real bad team), Charlotte, Maryland, and Northwestern. That's the road to 6-0 for the Hoosiers. They are going to play Nebraska, Michigan, and Ohio State. The other three games are manageable. I don't believe Michigan is that great of a team either, but they still have upper end talent on the roster and will be a very formidable opponent.

I guess my point is, they could very well end up as an 8-4 team. That's not to say that's not a fantastic job in year one at Indiana. I just wonder if in the big picture that makes his candidacy for Gainesville less likely. Now.. He finishes 10-2 with a big win in there, that's a different conversation. Again though, I wish him the best.

The Gators need splash. Curt isn't splash.

Splash and winning don't always go hand in hand, of course. They've been through a couple what I'd call 'Curt types'.

They will throw Fort Knox at Kiffin. We'll see what he does.

Your boy in Boulder will probably want a new job after the season. Prime is a splash, for better or worse.

[Chuck Norris]

Utah QB Cam Rising has been declared out for the remainder of the season and will be granted an 8th season of eligibility next year should he and Utah decide to use it.

[IUPNation]

Curt's name is surfacing as a candidate at Florida -- should Lane say no.

He’s turning into a job hopper.

[IUPNation]

It's interesting you mention the "ambitious person" aspect of this conversation. He was on Adam Brenneman's podcast (which is a great podcast for those who have never listened) and spoke about his progression in the coaching industry. I don't want to say he didn't speak highly of his time at IUP, but the overall tone of the conversation wasn't what I was expecting. His intentions were never to just follow in his dad's footsteps and be a legendary coach for IUP (which I never thought to be the case, but I guess I always assumed there were more familial components regarding that decision than was the actual case).

He was pretty clear that he took a significant pay cut to become the IUP head with the sole purpose of using the position to advance his career. Now, he went on to discuss the advantage of going that route was that he was afforded the patience from his bosses in his "learning" to be a head coach. He said there were definitely mistakes he made coaching while at IUP that would have been treated differently at a higher level or larger program.

Like the fluke losses to Mon Valley U?

[IUPNation]

Utah QB Cam Rising has been declared out for the remainder of the season and will be granted an 8th season of eligibility next year should he and Utah decide to use it.

He’ll be collecting social security soon!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

He’s turning into a job hopper.

Curt's stock - at this moment - is sky high. If the Gators were to come calling, I don't know how he could turn it down. If it doesn't work after a couple years in Gainesville ... he's just going to retire regardless. He'll certainly have a very large pile of coins.

He's a savior in Bloomington. You start 0-1 in Gainesville and they are ready to fire you. Big difference. Their last several coaches were all 'red hot' when they hired them. Time is not your friend rebuilding those programs.

[Ram040506]

Curt's stock - at this moment - is sky high. If the Gators were to come calling, I don't know how he could turn it down. If it doesn't work after a couple years in Gainesville ... he's just going to retire regardless. He'll certainly have a very large pile of coins.

He's a savior in Bloomington. You start 0-1 in Gainesville and they are ready to fire you. Big difference. Their last several coaches were all 'red hot' when they hired them. Time is not your friend rebuilding those programs.

I could see him backdooring his way into one of those tier below Gainesville jobs. Say Ole Miss loses Kiffin to the Gators, I could see him in that domino effect filling a spot at Ole Miss or even if Stoops left Kentucky perhaps him landing there as well.

I still think he should have stayed at JMU for another year or so. They have a path to the playoff as a G5 team, and that would have been much easier to the playoff than trying to will Indiana there.

[IUPNation]

Curt's stock - at this moment - is sky high. If the Gators were to come calling, I don't know how he could turn it down. If it doesn't work after a couple years in Gainesville ... he's just going to retire regardless. He'll certainly have a very large pile of coins.

He's a savior in Bloomington. You start 0-1 in Gainesville and they are ready to fire you. Big difference. Their last several coaches were all 'red hot' when they hired them. Time is not your friend rebuilding those programs.

In the 8 years since he departed IUP...he's held 3 more jobs. He was at Elon for a year....he jumped over to rival James Madison for 6 year and now at Fake Indiana.

I think he'd have a better chance making the Hoosiers a contender in the BIG than jumping into the See Everyone Cheat Caldron..far more competition to get to the top...everyone down there will spend like crazy just for a slight upper hand. It is wild the money spent down there in states that are one foot away from being third world dumpster fires.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I could see him backdooring his way into one of those tier below Gainesville jobs. Say Ole Miss loses Kiffin to the Gators, I could see him in that domino effect filling a spot at Ole Miss or even if Stoops left Kentucky perhaps him landing there as well.

I still think he should have stayed at JMU for another year or so. They have a path to the playoff as a G5 team, and that would have been much easier to the playoff than trying to will Indiana there.

He got a six-year deal at Indiana (total value in the range of at least $27m).

He was making $555k/year at James Madison. His salary at Indiana is $4m/year + incentives

[IUP24]

In the 8 years since he departed IUP...he's held 3 more jobs. He was at Elon for a year....he jumped over to rival James Madison for 6 year and now at Fake Indiana.

I think he'd have a better chance making the Hoosiers a contender in the BIG than jumping into the See Everyone Cheat Caldron..far more competition to get to the top...everyone down there will spend like crazy just for a slight upper hand. It is wild the money spent down there in states that are one foot away from being third world dumpster fires.

Indiana will never be a contender in football in the B1G. As I mentioned yesterday, his path to 6-0 includes FIU, Western Illinois, UCLA, Charlotte, Maryland, and Northwestern. So the conversations of him being a God-like figure there are a bit overblown in my opinion. I'm glad he's having a successful start to his tenure, but I think perspective is in order. He has to still play Nebraska, Ohio State, and Michigan. Now... I believe their games against Nebraska and Michigan are actually winnable. I think Michigan is an average team this year. Nebraska is good, but they certainly aren't "great" or unbeatable. If he goes 2-1 there, that is a massive win for his program.

To your point in the larger conversation, the benefit of the expanded B1G is that the schedule arrangements won't always require you to play Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State every year. Penn State is obviously a huge beneficiary of that pertaining to OSU and Michigan specifically, but considering Oregon too (given Franklin's track record against higher end teams). Oregon is in that same tier of the three I mentioned. For Curt, you really look at 4 teams who are likely losses every time you line up against them most years. Again, they aren't going to have to play all of them every year, which is a benefit to him.

The problem for Curt and the Hoosiers is that there is a likely cap to what he can do there just in the overall pecking order with regards to some of the resources available. It'll be challenging to ever see them in the next tier of teams in the conference. Nebraska, Washington, and Michigan State are in that tier (simply based on resources and commitment from the administration), and its hard - for me at least - to think that Indiana will ever be in that tier for football.