[StanUSwagU]

Who among the current assistants would you like a new coach (even an interim coach) to retain? Let's assume that none of them are tapped to be the head guy.

Done deal and real no-brainer that April is the interim coach. No other option, really. I suspect he will keep just about everybody for continuity and then the real drama comes after the season when we have to decide what to do next. The one assistant I would not want to retain for 2025 is Thompson. The big immediate question is what the heck to do about offensive coordinator. Real nightmare for a creep to make himself indispensable as head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach.

I think the answer to your question depends a lot on what happens this fall. If we win nine games I'd want everybody back. If we win zero I'd probably want nobody back. Moreover, there is probably a level of success at which April gets to keep the job for another year but it's not clear what that level is. 

All that being said, I felt like the two coaches who had proven the most through two years of Taylor were D'Onofrio and Gregory.....and we let both of them go. I suppose if I had to name who I like most among the remaining, maybe Kolodziej, Williams, and Osborne? 

My bottom line is the permanent coach needs to have the authority, presumably in close consultation with Luck, to hire his own staff. Maybe a guy or two stay on for 2026 but I'm not so worried about that. Main thing is getting the head coach hire right and empowering the new regime. Again, all tentative/to be determined based on how 2025 goes. Maybe April shocks the world!

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For what it's worth, I am actually somewhat nervous the Niumatalolo idea could gain steam. A well-respected San Jose State coach will always be a candidate for the Stanford job. Just too easy of an association to make and convenient for all involved. I don't love him. He inherited a very respectable Navy program from Paul Johnson (#52 three year median) and in a gigantic sample, 15 years, basically treaded water with a median of #61, with a disastrous end of tenure that ended his time there (three year median of #97 to finish). It's too early to judge at San Jose State but so far he is treading water there too. I think he's an ok coach but I'd like to do better than ok. There are coaches out there at the Group of Five level who do well and I'd look to those guys first. I probably would favor either Monken or Calhoun over Niumatalolo if we were to go the service academy route.

If we really wanted to explore the successful at difficult places to win thing, Clawson deserves some thought. He fits my ideal of succeeding at multiple schools in multiple contexts - Fordham, Richmond, Bowling Green, Wake Forest - but has faded from the scene because he failed the last two years at Wake in the face of this new environment in college football. This could be a buy low/reclamation opportunity for a coach who before the last two years would have been very, very high on my list of the most ideal coaches for Stanford. Two years is not a long track record of failure and one could maybe make the case Stanford is easier/more institutionally supported to compete in this landscape going forward than Wake was from 2023-2024. Clawson is only 57. The idea of giving him a year to recharge and orient to how he can compete in this landscape, with the support of a very high-profile AD, is not one I hate.

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Hi Matt.

It would be a long shot, but what would your feelings be if Stanford, reached out to KyleWhittingham (Utah) ..and he seemed to give an indication that if 'Admissions & NIL money could be a little more favorable at Stanford, & if he & all his staff in 'real dollars adjusted for the BayArea ' could make 10% more than they're making in SLC, . and.that he wouldn't mind a 'new challenge & change of scenery' since he has been at Utah for close to 20years.

Would this be a Head Coaching candidate Stanford should pursue ?

[StanUSwagU]

Who among the current assistants would you like a new coach (even an interim coach) to retain? Let's assume that none of them are tapped to be the head guy.

Done deal and real no-brainer that April is the interim coach. No other option, really. I suspect he will keep just about everybody for continuity and then the real drama comes after the season when we have to decide what to do next. The one assistant I would not want to retain for 2025 is Thompson. The big immediate question is what the heck to do about offensive coordinator. Real nightmare for a creep to make himself indispensable as head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach.

I think the answer to your question depends a lot on what happens this fall. If we win nine games I'd want everybody back. If we win zero I'd probably want nobody back. Moreover, there is probably a level of success at which April gets to keep the job for another year but it's not clear what that level is. 

All that being said, I felt like the two coaches who had proven the most through two years of Taylor were D'Onofrio and Gregory.....and we let both of them go. I suppose if I had to name who I like most among the remaining, maybe Kolodziej, Williams, and Osborne? 

My bottom line is the permanent coach needs to have the authority, presumably in close consultation with Luck, to hire his own staff. Maybe a guy or two stay on for 2026 but I'm not so worried about that. Main thing is getting the head coach hire right and empowering the new regime. Again, all tentative/to be determined based on how 2025 goes. Maybe April shocks the world!

---

For what it's worth, I am actually somewhat nervous the Niumatalolo idea could gain steam. A well-respected San Jose State coach will always be a candidate for the Stanford job. Just too easy of an association to make and convenient for all involved. I don't love him. He inherited a very respectable Navy program from Paul Johnson (#52 three year median) and in a gigantic sample, 15 years, basically treaded water with a median of #61, with a disastrous end of tenure that ended his time there (three year median of #97 to finish). It's too early to judge at San Jose State but so far he is treading water there too. I think he's an ok coach but I'd like to do better than ok. There are coaches out there at the Group of Five level who do well and I'd look to those guys first. I probably would favor either Monken or Calhoun over Niumatalolo if we were to go the service academy route.

If we really wanted to explore the successful at difficult places to win thing, Clawson deserves some thought. He fits my ideal of succeeding at multiple schools in multiple contexts - Fordham, Richmond, Bowling Green, Wake Forest - but has faded from the scene because he failed the last two years at Wake in the face of this new environment in college football. This could be a buy low/reclamation opportunity for a coach who before the last two years would have been very, very high on my list of the most ideal coaches for Stanford. Two years is not a long track record of failure and one could maybe make the case Stanford is easier/more institutionally supported to compete in this landscape going forward than Wake was from 2023-2024. Clawson is only 57. The idea of giving him a year to recharge and orient to how he can compete in this landscape, with the support of a very high-profile AD, is not one I hate.

***************

Hi Matt.

It would be a long shot, but what would your feelings be if Stanford, reached out to KyleWhittingham (Utah) ..and he seemed to give an indication that if 'Admissions & NIL money could be a little more favorable at Stanford, & if he & all his staff in 'real dollars adjusted for the BayArea ' could make 10% more than they're making in SLC, . and.that he wouldn't mind a 'new challenge & change of scenery' since he has been at Utah for close to 20years.

Would this be a Head Coaching candidate Stanford should pursue ?