Craig Bohl is in Frisco, Texas, today for the FCS title game press conference with Sam Houston State head coach Willie Fritz. Now that it appears all available FBS jobs are filled, the question is: was Bohl ever in the discussion anywhere?
The answer is obviously yes. You don’t go 27-2 over a two-year period, be the FCS Coach of the Year and not be part of some talk with athletic directors. This last month only reaffirmed that going from an FCS position to a BCS school is just not part of the modus operandi of the big conference schools. Again, the last FCS coach to get a high quality position was Youngstown State’s Jim Tressel to Ohio State a few moons ago.
The last month also reaffirms that Bohl is not real interested in the MAC because if he were, Western Michigan had something going for it. It was suspicious that Western went just over a month before hiring a coach, fueling the thought the school was waiting for NDSU’s season to end. In the end, WMU got a 32-year-old NFL assistant it could have had three weeks ago.
If Bohl was keenly interested in getting a top BCS position, going to Western Michigan would have made sense in that it is a program that is capable of winning quick, apparently has some talented players returning including a quarterback and the pay is a hike at around $400,000. The theory is go there, win like Northern Illinois’ Dave Doeren, and next thing you know, you’re making a couple million leading a BCS school. At 54 years old, perhaps Bohl isn’t interested in the stepping stone approach anymore.
The Wisconsin opening was interesting in that the Badgers have an athletic director in Barry Alvarez whose last coach won with a hard-nosed physical approach to football in the same manner as NDSU. You would have to believe Alvarez knew all about Bohl’s success and Nebraska background. The Badgers won with Wisconsin high school kids, a state NDSU recruits well. There is no doubt in my mind that assistant coach Tim Polasek and his cheese head roots would sign 95 percent of the in-state players he wanted. There is no doubt in my mind Craig would win at Wisconsin with the same NDSU West Coast style and the same Tampa 2 defense. But the politics of selling BCS boosters to an FCS coach must be too much in that hiring game.
About the only way of really finding out the entire story of Bohl and FBS jobs is obvious: the next time the head coach makes an appearance on the BIson Media video blog, we’ll have Big E take the head coach to the verbal house.
Yes Yes, I agree…Big E is the right man to find out answers for these type of questions.
On a serious note. We love coach Bohl and his leadership here in Fargo
The Big E can ask all he wants. But Bohl has said numerous times that he doesnt discuss that topic with the media.
Coach Bohl has done a great job at NDSU…great is even an understatement, but money talks and his pay of around $300k a year with National Championship incentives is on the low end of FBS program coaches.
A jump to a FBS program in a major conference could bring him $2-3 million a year and even a lower end FBS program would bring around $500k to $1 million. It’s tough to turn a blind eye on the coaching pay discrepency between the two levels of Division I football.
Does his wife have strong family ties to the Red River Valley area which may help him stay at NDSU?
I propose giving Coach Bohl a life time contract; if that doesn’t keep him at NDSU, give his wife a life time contract where ever she works.
Bohl is one of the best paid FCS coaches in the nation. NDSU right now is a premier FCS job. As long as we keep paying him at or near the top of the FCS pay scales, we should be safe. Also we need to continue to pay the great coaches he hires well. If a team like Wisconsin or Nebraska would offer him a head coaching job, I would be happy for him. It doesn’t get much bigger.
I think when he first started out a BCS job is what he wanted. I think that has changed. He’s in the process of building a dynasty here. He has a formula that works. He’s the closest thing to a rock star in the FM area and anyone who lives here knows the FM area grows on you quickly and it becomes home. Going the Appalachian State route like Jerry Moore would be the stability most coaches dream of.
Craig Bohl is one of the best paid FCS coaches in the nation. NDSU right now is a premier FCS job. As long as we keep paying him at or near the top of the FCS pay scales, we should be safe. Also we need to continue to pay the great coaches he hires well. If a team like Wisconsin or Nebraska would offer him a head coaching job, I would be happy for him. It doesn’t get much bigger.
I think when he first started out a BCS job is what he wanted. I think that has changed. He’s in the process of building a dynasty here. He has a formula that works. He’s the closest thing to a rock star in the FM area and anyone who lives here knows the FM area grows on you quickly and it becomes home. Going the Appalachian State route like Jerry Moore would be the stability most coaches dream of!
Maybe the Bison end up moving up to FBS in 2 or 3 years if all the other top schools do and that gets coach to the FBS level with a good program.
Jeff and Dom, what is the minimum number of years you think Coach Bohl would have to be at a MAC school before getting an offer to a BCS school?
If he goes to a MAC school that is down it will take a while to build it up. It will also be about 3 or 4 years before the players are his recruits. So 4 years at a MAC school gets him to 58 or 59 yrs old and then the BCS schools say he is too old to be their choice as head coach.
I think the best thing for Coach is to stay at NDSU which is a school that provides excellent support for the football program. He can keep winning national championships and go down as the Tom Osbourn of NDSU.
The Mac is a BCS conference. All FBS conferences are BCS conferences. The difference is it’s not an auto qualifying conference like the SEC or Big 10. MAC teams do not receive automatic bids unless they are ranked in the top 15 of the BCS standings.
Come on Gabe, you know the MAC isn’t the Big Ten, Big XII, SEC, PAC 12 or ACC.
As for the should NDSU schedule 12 games discussion:
NDSU brings back almost everyone from a possible repeat national championship team. The Bison will be one of the favorite teams to win the 2013 national championship. These playoff runs end up making the Bison play 15 games if they get a bye for the 1st round.
Knowing this I think you only play 11 games next year because chances are they will be playing 15 games anyway.
If they do make it to the national championship game again next season that will be 45 games in 3 seasons minimum.
Interesting discussion. Rumor has it Western Carolina will not come to Fargo and buy out the contract. That means we will have 2 less games than most teams. Here’s my only concern. We start the season at Kansas State and at home vs Montana State. Those are very lose able games and if we drop both we may miss the playoffs with our best team ever unless we run the table. I would book an easy game like Prairie View. Take the money we received from the buyout and offer someone a deal they can’t turn down.
Where did you hear this rumor?
Sam Houston State played two FBS programs this year and seem to still be doing alright in 2012-13 season.
Kansas State and Montana State are a lot weaker schedule than Baylor and Texas A & M.
BIGTIME K-State is a very good program at the BCS level. Montana State is a good program at the FCS level.
The Southland Conference is not as deep and strong as the Missouri Valley Conference is. The Southland also only has 8 teams.
Jeff,
Mike London was hired as the head coach at Virginia in late 2009, after he won the national championship that season at Richmond.
Also, Chip Kelly was hired as the offensive coordinator at Oregon in 2007 and was then promoted to head coach in 2009.
So..there is president, both for coordinator and head coach.
Perhaps Bohl will end up going to Wisconsin, as defensive coordinator? He’d still probably make half a million.
I was aware of London to Virginia, and it’s debatable, but I don’t think you can put Virginia in the major BCS discussion despite its conference affiliation.
On the other hand, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a forbes top 10 worth type of program to get Bohl to leave Fargo.
We may only need to be talking about a middling to even basement dweller, but in a major conference.
That might even more more realistic for 1) grabbing an FCS coach (with Virginia as the precedent) and 2) providing an interesting challenge for Bohl vis-a-vis what Synder did with Kansas St these last couple years.
Coach has some strong ties to Fargo now. His wife is a radio personallity in town, family is involved in the community, and his son came up from Nebraska and is going to Moorhead State to play football. I doubt he will go anywhere for 2-3 years.
Just when you think it’s safe to say someone’s staying or going, the opposite happens. You never know about the coaching fraternity and network. Those are bigger, thicker, and harder to see through than any blizzard in the Red River Valley.
Utah State is open, last I heard. I don’t know if Texas Tech is going to hire their interim coach (Chris Tomsen). Maybe they did and I missed it.
My thought is as long as Gene Taylor stays, Bohl has a better chance of staying. I believe those two work well together and that’s critical. Taylor hired Bohl and stuck with him through the mediocre FCS years. If Taylor stays, that’s a big factor in Bohl staying. If someone else knows Bohl and is willing to stick with him at another school (who knows where) Bohl might go and we’ll all be surprised. But I doubt that for now. I think the possibility somewhere in the future is NDSU going FBS in a small conference and growing some more. I have to think Taylor and Bohl have discussed that possibility and my speculation is that’s envisioned.
Again, my speculation.
I’m more worried about keeping a good group of assistant coaches. Some of those guys are going to end up leaving after this year. If I’m Gary Anderson, don’t you think you’d put Tim Polasek on your speed dial? And bring your checkbook? Same for Fuchs. Klieman’s the defensive coordinator or assistant coach of the year in FCS. That attracts attention to him. He’s also very good.
Somebody please help me with the award he won along with Bohl being coach of the year. It’ll be a bigger challenge this off-season keeping the assistant coaches than the head coach. It’ll also be a bigger challenge keeping Taylor. That’s what I think. Now that I’ve said that I’ve jinxed everything.
A question: Would USC promote Hazelton to defensive coordinator? I haven’t looked to see what they’ve done now that Monte Kiffin’s stepped down.
Selfishly, it is great for us that he didn’t get the Wisconsin job. If he wanted it, then I feel bad for him as he deserved it. Either way, we all know how lucky we are to have him and I hope he wants to stay!
Coach Bohl staying at N.D.S.U. YIPPEE ! , It is a wonderful life.
Every talented man makes up his own mind as to where he is going to work and with the pay he receives working there.
The Fargo, North Dakota and Minnesota-South Dakota-Wisconsin surroundings are simple places with ordinary hard working people who want to get ahead in life; they wish to prosper but not be rich-rich-rich with all the baggage.
Coach Craig Bohl with all of this very capable assistant coaches WIN WITH THE BISON in ONE OF THE TOUGHEST I-AA FOOTBALL CONFERENCES. WHILE THIS IS WORK … IT HAS TO BE FUN TO WIN AND WIN AND WIN. I doubt that the same pleasure could be had in many other places. Yet the choice is always theirs to make. Where did other NDSU former coaches end up?
Texas Tech hired Kliff Kingsbury their former starting QB as head coach.
If NDSU’s coaches don’t have ties to the new coach at Wisconsin I doubt he even looks at them.
How about NDSU go fbs and pay him a $500/k lifetime contract and goto the MAC or MWC like now. Heck C USA.
NDSU boosters can donate more, there’s 3 charters at $1450/pop to frisco. Don’t tell me NDSU boosters wont donate, you need new blood in teammakers ndsu admin. $2million for shac completion ?? Why isnt that done !
Because billy big wheels isn’t capable of putting his money where his mouth is. Volunteer your time and hit up some donors.
You really need to get some new material.
$500K a year for a FBS coach is peanuts…need to step it up closer to the seven digits if you want to have a top-tier coach stay. Money talks…and [the other stuff] walks.
You do need new material Lakes. The MAC and CUSA and Sunbelt are conferences in which you play in a game no one watches, although N Illinois will get killed in their BCS bowl appearance this year. Is that really where you think NDSU should be, playing for a conference championship that gets you in a nothing bowl game? Now, if the MWC was available, that might be a conference that this TeamMaker could support, but not the other three.
Still not sure about the move to FBS. The biggest question is where do you go? The MAC doesn’t sound appealling, sorry. Conf. USA has some teams leaving to fill the void in the Big East, then will be combining with the MWC to form some huge mega Conf. to have lots of Teams, but no more power or prestige. Does the WAC even survive as a Conf.? My first wish is that the Summit League and Missouri Valley Conf. combine for survival as I’m sure there will still be loses of Teams from both Conferences in this massive shift going on. The ultimate dream would be Big 12 or Big 10, where there would be many dark losing years in all sports, but that would also be the toughest as facilities will play a huge part in that. We are already wondering if the FargoDome is big enough, and still waiting on the renovation of the BSA.
May be we should wait until our enrollment is between 20-22 thousand. As of now we have 14 thousand. Just a thought
I think there are public schools in FBS now with smaller enrollments than NDSU. Not 100% sure.
I am 100% sure there are private schools in FBS now with much smaller enrollments than NDSU (Wake Forest, for example).
bisonation is right, NDSU already dominated the fcs. Its time for Fargo to grow up and strap it up for the FBS. Basketball arena would actually get pushed to get done then and the NCAA tourney money could be ear marked for that. I dont know why people whine about the MAC, their champ is in the orange bowl and i guarantee NDSU would take 20,000+ to florida
why is my comment ‘awaiting moderation’ what are you guys afraid of at the forum?
It’s a “I have no idea why that happens” thing. We’ve alerted the techies, and I’m not sure they know why every 1 out of every 25 to 50 comments sit there awaiting moderation.
bisonation is right, NDSU already dominated the fcs. Its time for Fargo to grow up and strap it up for the FBS. Basketball arena would actually get pushed to get done then and the NCAA tourney money could be ear marked for that. I dont know why people whine about the MAC, their champ is in the orange bowl and i guarantee NDSU would take 20,000+ to florida
Boy, patience seems to be at a premium with some of you. I would hardly call one national championship “dominating the FCS”. To say things that insinuate that it’s easy to win an FCS national championship really insults the incredible hard work the NDSU coaches and players have done. Getting to the NC game is HARD. With all the realignment, moving up to FBS is certainly something to keep an eye on, but to call for NDSU to move up right now because some people think there’s no challenge in the FCS is a really primitive way to think about this situation.
It doesnt insult anybody, it honors everybody with the idea we have room to grow, and we do.
One championship and we are dominating? People need a grip on reality. Not only do we need to sustain excellence IN FB but our other programs as well. Then you have the academic requirement which is even more important.
What conference will we fit in and who would invite us. Just because we have a winning FB team right now doesnt necessarily make us attractive for an invitation for conference affiliation.
Its allright Jeff its gonna be a looong 2 weeks before gametime. Can everyone please wear GREEN so us ndsu fans stand out on ESPN. Please we need to coordinate this
Over the generations there have been some great football coaches at NDSU. Coach Bohl is the latest in that long line carrying on the winning tradition and history of football greatness.