TOB ouster speculation begins

A Twitter account called Football Rumor Mill (link) attached to this website posted a few items today that we re-tweeted. Haven’t had time to blog much the last few days — letting our message forums carry the heavy load — but wanted to share the tweets.

Multiple sources indicate NC State is likely to dump head coach Tom O’Brien

Early NC State names include Southern Miss head coach Larry Fedora and Alabama AHC Sal Sunseri.

Expect former New Mexico coach Mike Locksley to the on staff at NC State, whoever is named the new head coach.

I don’t know where in the hell the Locksley stuff comes from. I need to go back to re-fresh myself some…but, I seem to remember reading some really ‘interesting’ stuff about him about a year ago that left me with an odd taste in my mouth. The takeaway from the reading is that the guy was a real ass-hole. Of course, I could be 100% incorrect and need to re-affirm my memory. On a related note, Backing the Pack said the following (link):

Maybe Sunseri should be added to the POAPS list, even if this is a dubious source. Locksley is the former head coach at New Mexico, who was fired early in the year for general ineptitude and also because a UNM recruit was pulled over and charged with a DWI in a car registered to Locksley. Locksley was an assistant at Maryland from 1998-2002 before moving on to Florida, Illinois, and then New Mexico. So there is a Debbie Yow connection, though I find it hard to believe we would touch Locksley right now.

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96 Responses to TOB ouster speculation begins

  1. Wolfman 9806 11/14/2011 at 10:17 PM #

    What about the Fridge!

  2. TOBtime 11/14/2011 at 10:25 PM #

    If Locksley comes there better be somebody holding him on a shorrt chain. Read up on the guy. It isn’t pretty.

    Haven’t seen anything about Fedora I didn’t like. USM plays some good football and he isn’t afraid to tell you if you aren’t.

    CHris Petersen to the hole? Now THAT would be interesting. How many cocahes have lived to tell the tale after leaving the blue field?

    We need someone who can come in and utilize the talent we have while bringing in what he needs. No more of this “when he gets his players” crap. How long exactly did it take Paul Johnson to reach the ACC Championship game?

  3. choppack1 11/14/2011 at 10:25 PM #

    Fridge ain’t working for Yow again. She tried to run him out a couple of years ago but couldn’t.

  4. BJD95 11/14/2011 at 10:26 PM #

    Any name we can get will be a random dart toss. Won’t be anybody that makes any money. Won’t be anybody with real options in the job market. That’s the sad, shitty truth.

  5. leewolf 11/14/2011 at 10:32 PM #

    Fedora was able to take the back-slide that occurred at the end of the Bower era at USM and has now built them into a top CUSA program back to where Bower had them at the beginning of the 2000s. I think that is impressive, but if others disagree, I get it.

    Fedora and Sumlin will likely be the two hottest commodities coming out of the Non-BCS ranks this year. There are no guarantees that a guy like Fedora would even come here if offered. He will likely have other opportunities this year or next (should he choose to wait), and some of those will be at least equal to or better than our job.

    I think James Franklin is probably the leading candidate due to his ties to Yow if he is interested and willing to bounce from Vandy after one season. Beyond that, who knows.

  6. ryebread 11/14/2011 at 10:53 PM #

    Vandy is loaded. There’s no way we’d be able to outbid them even if Franklin were willing to entertain offers. My guess is we’d get Beamered.

    Sumlin is fantastic, but is going to end up at a really high profile program making a change. He’s the red hot name and should be given actual head coaching success. He’s not coming to NC State.

    I’d love the S. Miss coach. That’s a tough place to coach, IMHO. I’m not convinced Mississippi turns out high quality football talent, and if they do, Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Arkansas, Georgia, Ole Miss and Mississippi State all get to them before S. Miss does. If we could make this change, I’d be all for it, but I think he’ll end up some place where the grass is a little greener.

    I think we’re going to be looking at a FCS staff from the region. I’ve heard the ODU and Liberty coaches names tossed around. I think that’s something we can afford and honestly something that makes a lot of sense.

    I’d much rather go with a coach from a smaller college than some hot shot assistant. It’s a totally different situation being the one actually running the program and making all the calls. We’ve wasted far too many years with our revenue programs paying coaches to do on the job training.

  7. Pack1998 11/14/2011 at 11:12 PM #

    Only name I have heard is Petersen from Boise State.

    But seriously. TOB had 9 wins last year. He beat UNC 5 years in a row. He would have to lay 2 eggs to get fired. Likely scenario is coordinator changes, if even that.

    My gut says TOB is safe.

    This is noise – carry on.

  8. gotohe11carolina 11/14/2011 at 11:21 PM #

    I think Debbie’s got good feel for the pulse of our fans. we were all clamoring for one of the names in basketball, but she went out and got us a coach that fits our personality. I gotta say I’m lot more comfortable with any decision she decides to make in terms of a hiring decision. that said would anyone feel bad about being Kirby smarts stepping stone? I’m not sure who really fits our schools personality but I see a guy like mike gundy as a state kind of guy (I don’t mean him specifically but a guy with that kind of attitude) I feel like we need someone who isn’t gonna swallow every word the n&o shoves down this states pie hole.

  9. MickQ 11/14/2011 at 11:38 PM #

    Fact of the matter is, State Football is what it has always been…middle of the road (well, I’m stretching it). We have high times (due to emotional wins over the Holes) and low times (like this season in general). Graduation rate sucks, and we can’t beat Boston. Pathetic. TOB is a nice enough type of guy until he starts lambasting the players. But his coaching skills (as well as the staff) leave much to be desired. NCSU will soon enough hire another coach, but the results will be the same. We are NC State.

  10. PackFanInLA 11/14/2011 at 11:38 PM #

    Mike Leach!

    The dude coached at the Texas equivalent of ECU, and he never had a losing season. Remember – this guy shared the big 12 south with Stoops OU teams and Brown Texas teams at their peak. You put two top ten national-title contending programs on your schedule, and you still get 8+ wins consistently and get your team in the top-25. Not bad. Let’s face it. There is nothing even close to those Texas or OU teams here in our division of the ACC. He could do great at NC State.

    Bring on the excitement!

  11. Mike 11/15/2011 at 12:45 AM #

    Franklin at Vandy is a good choice. He worked for Youw before, and seriously, what is Vandy going to do in the SEC? Based on academic requirements, Vandy will always be an also-ran – 8 wins for Vandy is an awesome year.

  12. cWOhLFrPAiCKs 11/15/2011 at 12:51 AM #

    Agreed, Pack1998. I don’t see a change being made this year, maybe Archer is let go, maybe Bible is asked to retire (I doubt it), but TOB will most likely be the head coach next year. To be honest, I’m happy to give him 2012, especially with coordinator changes. But that’s it.

  13. mak4dpak 11/15/2011 at 1:04 AM #

    TOB will never ever change coordinators, he is too stubborn to do that, thus his demise. Wisdom goes a long ways.

  14. Go Army 89 11/15/2011 at 1:33 AM #

    TOB has not met my overall expectations. BUT lets consider mitigating circumstances:
    1. HE IS NOT A CHEATER!
    2. HE has beaten the enemy straight-up five consecutive times, despite well documented rampant cheating by them.
    3. He gets rivalries and goes to bat when we are publicly attacked by the enemy.
    4. He is loyal.
    5. He has had a horrible round of luck with injuries.
    6. We have a lot of folks back next year and some talent coming in.
    I say he as earned at least another year. If we miss a bowl twice then let him and Glennon move on together.

  15. Pack Mentality 11/15/2011 at 1:34 AM #

    A head coach of another BCS school in good standings will not leave that school to coach at NC State, FOR DAMN SURE. TOB was feeling heat at BC and wanted to leave, so that is not an argument. At least I don’t think that State fans fail to see our football program for what it is in relation to the rest of the BCS schools (as opposed to basketball).

  16. travelwolf 11/15/2011 at 1:38 AM #

    I totally support giving TOB at least 2 years. To compare him with “The Chest” is doing him a disservice. He’s a great coach and runs a clean and respectable program. He helps players excel and reach their full potential. His problem is that he isn’t getting good enough recruits to rival VT and FSU. He consistently beats UNC, which has much better recruits. I definitely think that we need to give him at least a couple years more. I may be in the minority, but that’s what I think. Starting rumors like this really isn’t helping things for us (and it’s helping everyone else who we are recruiting against).

    If we win the last 2 games, then everyone will be ‘happy’ at least until the next season. I don’t believe his future depends on one game – it needs to be determined over at least a few seasons. We owe him that.

    I believe we’ll be much better next year… Glennon will have more experience, hopefully we’ll have fewer injuries, and I believe we’ll have more experienced players (not sure about that). I definitely think we should wait for next year AT LEAST.

  17. eas 11/15/2011 at 1:47 AM #

    I don’t see TOB making any major changes. A slim to none with Archer and no way he let’s his boy Bible go. I don’t see him canning his coaches just to save his on a$$. Will he be back next year? Hard to say but his seat is very hot. I still see him getting one more year (which I think would be crazy). I wish the same as everyone for a hungry and somewhat younger coach. With our normal cheap Pay scale I don’t see it happening.

    As for Gott, he is certainly hungry and man is that nice to see in Raleigh!

  18. Wufpacker 11/15/2011 at 2:18 AM #

    I can’t believe no one has mentioned Cowher. Not that I think he’d take the job. I just really can’t believe none of you have mentioned him.

  19. dempseyg18 11/15/2011 at 3:48 AM #

    I am among those who would gladly trade wins over UNC for 8+ win seasons and decent bowl games. TOB has had 5 years, which is an eternity in CFB for someone who has had such little success. I think its accurate to call TOB a stand up guy and a good football coach, but for some reason his plan just hasn’t worked at NC State. In my opinion, if you want to keep beating UNC and settle for 5-7 to 7-5 range seasons, then you can stick with TOB. If you want a chance to compete for ACC titles and get to BCS bowls, we need a coaching overhaul. People talk about maybe keeping TOB and replacing Archer or Bible, but I think you need to start over from the top down. Get a young coach in here with some passion and enthusiasm. NC State plays with no heart, and I truly believe the coaches are to blame. Every week, TOB gives us lame excuses on the radio or on his TV show Sunday night. He never lays blame on himself or his coaching staff. Any coach who has a 5-5 team in a mediocre AQ conference who can’t take any blame for himself needs to leave. Just my opinion.

  20. jrsr 11/15/2011 at 7:12 AM #

    Pack 1988, I agree, TOB is safe unless we loose to Clemson and Maryland each by 30.
    We had 9 wins last year, have a new QB this year.
    I do hope DY applys some pressure for staff changes,

  21. Packfan28 11/15/2011 at 8:07 AM #

    There have been a ton of coaching jobs open since Mike Leach was fired. Which one of them did he get, and why?

    I’m also waiting for the obligatory “what about Bill Cowher” question. That one always makes me chuckle.

    I agree with BJD. It will be a dart toss. We have neither the money nor the football heritage to get a name coach.

    And for someone to think TOB’s job is safe, that’s just crazy talk.

  22. Rochester 11/15/2011 at 8:27 AM #

    Choice seems pretty obvious to me now that Butch MF Davis is available.

  23. wolfbuff 11/15/2011 at 8:51 AM #

    This speculation needs to stop; there is no positive that can come from it, only negative. TOB is our coach and we need to stand behind him. I agree that he needs to shake his staff up. But ultimately, that’s his decision. He’ll be held responsible for the program’s performance, and if DY decides to make a change, she’ll let us know. Until then, don’t make the man’s job harder with this board monkey nonsense.

  24. BJD95 11/15/2011 at 8:58 AM #

    On a gloomy day, I think NC State football is Iowa State with better weather. On my most optimistic day, I think it’s Purdue with better weather.

    We only got a coach as accomplished as Tom O’Brien because he was desperate to leave BC and his crazy-assed AD. Then he comes here and fails. To me, that says much more about NC State football than it does Tom O’Brien. The only black mark on his resume is his time in Raleigh.

    One should also realize that coaches don’t have the mentality (well, good ones don’t at least) that the ACC is more attractive because the competition kinda sucks. They are strivers, who want to coach at the highest level. And the ACC is not the highest level. We are a mediocre job in a bad conference. Coaches will choose a mediocre (or even downright bad) job in a power conference any day of the week.

    So…we will get somebody who’s desperate for ANY BCS-level job. Because that’s our status in the pecking order. The only shot we would have at a proven commodity is one with lots of question marks who had a rotten experience in a bigger job and is comfortable with the ACC based on past experience – Rich Rodriguez. And I doubt we offer him enough $$ to get him to take a chance on us.

  25. UpstateSCWolfpack 11/15/2011 at 9:21 AM #

    Chad Morris at Clemson, or unemployed Rich Rod.

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