Outside Hire vs Hiring from Within

[AppHoops]

Last year when Doug hired Drinkwitz, I agreed with the notion that the program was ready to inject some new ideas into a program with such a strong foundation and culture. Sometimes, in order to bust through the glass ceiling and continue to elevate your program on and off the field, it's valuable to bring in someone that's had success at a program with a "higher profile".

This year's coaching search is a little bit different.

I still think that there is major value in having experience that isn't "home grown" in our football program. That being said, the nature of going through a coaching transition in back to back seasons calls for a decision built more around stability. That's why I am in agreement with the players in that Shawn Clark should be the guy this go round. Clark is a consistent presence through both transitions, he understands the players/culture and can really help limit roster and recruiting turnover. That's critical for us right now. He's also a great coach.

I have no doubt that Doug has received a ton of interest from capable coordinators & other candidates from the P5 level. I'm sure there is probably even more than there was last year.

I think there will be a time that we need to explore bringing in an outside voice and experience in again, but right now, I think the best thing for the program is to stabilize the program amid yet another transition. To do that, we need to promote from within.

[Stonewall]

We can actually do both-promote Shawn who will bring in at least some new assistants , some of our guys and some from outside.

[97APP]

I'd like to see Coach Clark as HC. I agreed with looking outside after Satt, as I thought we were in danger of becoming too inbred with our coaching staff. However, with y'all I believe that stability is a major concern now and Shawn will provide that better than an someone with no direct ties to our current program.

[MountaineerChemist10]

I was impressed with the coach recruiting Gillen did along with Drink for the '19 season. But this year will definitely be a little different. I say to Doug "Give the players what THEY want, not what YOU want". Shawn is a true Mountaineer & definitely knows how to pump our guys up.

With impressive victories & an excellent FBS record, we shouldn't have any trouble hiring assistant coaches.

[ViewCrew87]

Another possible concern would be learning a new O scheme (3 in 3 years). Hopefully that's not the case especially with what we have coming back.

[FTE_rawr]

We learned this year what hiring outsiders on our limited athletic Budget will do to us, regardless of the level of success.

Clark deserves his shot at HC. Gasparato deserves assistant/full DC. I wanna see men that are fully dedicated to the Mountaineer way.

[AZAppGrad]

After spending over 30 years in the corporate world and being involved in several mergers and/or acquisitions I can assure everyone that the driving force for success is establishing and nourishing a winning culture. If you are fortunate to have the right culture in an organization you should fight anyone or anything that may alter that culture. Our football program has a very special special culture which I believe is the driving force for our success. Yes, it is always good to bring new ideas into a culture but only if they can be assimilated and enhanced to work with the culture, not change it. Force feeding ideas that are contrary to the existing culture will ultimately cause the organization to fail.

I don’t personally know our coaches but I do know that our next coach needs to be someone who can support and maintain the current program culture. In the past, as I have hired leaders for organizations that were already successful, I focused on developing a pool of qualified candidates then made sure that the person I chose was the one best suited to maintain and enhance the culture that was already in place. In the case of a struggling organization, I made sure the candidate hired was one that could infuse the organization with a winning culture. If you look at the quality of young men on our team, the passion with which they play for each other and they way the represent the school you will have all of the evidence you need to know that Coach Moore and Coach Satt had it right. Just as Dabo, coach O and others are doing it now.

Learning new plays and schemes can be done, however none of them will work without proper execution. It has been my experience that the best execution comes from folks that have bought in to the culture, support the goals of the organization, and have the passion to focus on the team and their contribution to its success.

Regardless of what happens next, it is always a Great Day to be a Mountaineer!