XFL Houston HC Possibilities

XFL Football discussion.
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MikeMitchell
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Re: XFL Houston HC Possibilities

Post by MikeMitchell »

MikeMitchell wrote: Thu Apr 18, 2019 11:34 pm

An outside the box hire would be June Jones. He recently accepted a demotion in The CFL. Stepped aside as HC for Orlando Steinauer. Jones is the OC for The Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Jones has Texas ties. Coached SMU. Head coach in the NFL and CFL. He actually has the distinction of coaching for The Houston Gamblers in The USFL and coaching with The Houston Oilers. Jones has always been a strange bird and an outside the box type coach.
We guessed everyone under the sun. Sooner or later, one of us would land on a potential candidate. This hire does make a lot of sense. The Gambler/Oiler connections.
downbylaw2020
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Re: XFL Houston HC Possibilities

Post by downbylaw2020 »

How about one ..ONE big name coach like the names we and nfl fans swirl around.

One Rex Ryan, Martz, bring back Cowher for the spring.

Give the casual fan a name coach so they get all the quotes & ESPN clips from and can relate and KNOW it's not minor league football.

Hardcore fans like the names mentioned and hired, casual fans are still looking for names to recognize.

Coach is a good, inexpensive way to bridge that gap.
Tank55
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Re: XFL Houston HC Possibilities

Post by Tank55 »

Well, all the spots are now filled, so that ship has sailed. Stoops IS that major name, although NFL-only fans probably couldn't tell him apart from Bob Shoop. I'd argue that those aren't the type of fans that are going to matriculate to the XFL regardless; it's where the NFL and College fan bases overlap that you're going to make headway. And for those fans, there's a lot to get excited about here.
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GDAWG
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Re: XFL Houston HC Possibilities

Post by GDAWG »

downbylaw2020 wrote: Mon May 13, 2019 5:20 pm How about one ..ONE big name coach like the names we and nfl fans swirl around.

One Rex Ryan, Martz, bring back Cowher for the spring.

Give the casual fan a name coach so they get all the quotes & ESPN clips from and can relate and KNOW it's not minor league football.

Hardcore fans like the names mentioned and hired, casual fans are still looking for names to recognize.

Coach is a good, inexpensive way to bridge that gap.
Cowher would have already been back coaching in the NFL by now if he really wanted to coach again
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MikeMitchell
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Re: XFL Houston HC Possibilities

Post by MikeMitchell »

downbylaw2020 wrote: Mon May 13, 2019 5:20 pm How about one ..ONE big name coach like the names we and nfl fans swirl around.

One Rex Ryan, Martz, bring back Cowher for the spring.

Give the casual fan a name coach so they get all the quotes & ESPN clips from and can relate and KNOW it's not minor league football.

Hardcore fans like the names mentioned and hired, casual fans are still looking for names to recognize.

Coach is a good, inexpensive way to bridge that gap.
The XFL probably would have pursued Martz if they weren’t in negotiations with other coaches. Martz hasn’t coached in the NFL for almost 10 years.

The rest of the coaches you named. If they would have shown interest. They would have been considered. Not for the money that they would have asked for. The XFL is not paying coaches 10 million a season. They won’t be able to have a league if they do that.
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johnnyangryfuzzball
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Re: XFL Houston HC Possibilities

Post by johnnyangryfuzzball »

GDAWG wrote: Mon May 13, 2019 6:18 pm Cowher would have already been back coaching in the NFL by now if he really wanted to coach again
Plus, big-name coaches don't necessarily mean big attention. The UFL had Dennis Green, Marty Schottenheimer, Jim Fassel, and Jim Haslett, yet it languished in relative obscurity. Yet the original XFL's use of names like Al Luginbill, Rusty Tillman and Ron Meyer were the least of the league's issues.

I'd say the XFL did a very good job with picking coaches. Bob Stoops is a big name, and even NFL fans would recognize him, since college ball has such an integral role with the draft. Marc Trestman is one of the CFL's best coaches, and if they want to go wide-open offense, he's a perfect fit. June Jones was fairly successful in the CFL and has NFL experience. Kevin Gilbride is great with wide-open offenses. There are a few that might not really be up to that par (Pep Hamilton, for example) but even then, there was some rationale. I think the biggest name they had a chance at getting was Jeff Fisher, and that didn't work out... while the AAF fiasco really threw a wrench into things or else we might have seen Steve Spurrier (who I think would be a perfect fit) or some of the others like Martz or Singletary.

The XFL chose coaches that would implement the kind of systems they want to see in the league, just the way the Arena Football League did in the 1980s by hiring Mouse Davis. It went far beyond just recognizable names, though they do appear to have tried to fit coaches to places where they have some connections.
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