The Official "Who Will Be The Next Lehigh Head Coach?" Thread
Re: The Official "Who Will Be The Next Lehigh Head Coach?" Thread
This is all premature. While I am sure Folmar is a candidate. Phone interviews are being conducted this week and they are scheduled through Friday. On campus interviews will begin next after Christmas. We are not going to likely have a new head coach named until 2019. Maybe possibly the end of next week although not likely. My understanding is that there will be 12-15 phone interviews with 4-5 likely on campus. I do not know who all 15 phone interviews are but I can tell you some not all from LFN list are on there. Some surprise names as well which I am not at liberty to say.
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Re: The Official "Who Will Be The Next Lehigh Head Coach?" Thread
That is correct. Still in phone interview stage.
My last point was that we need someone that will be here for more than 3 years. I actually used Higgins and Coen as examples of long standing coaches, that had success. Everyone knows that coaches want to move up.
Hire someone that will be here for a while, 5 years minimum. Someone that knows how to recruit our type of athlete. FBS/FCS recruiters, without the academic priorities, will FAIL miserably at Lehigh. You have to be able to recruit with the Ivy League schools, which is a small pool of candidates. You also have to be able to convince kids to come to Lehigh, as walk-ons, or partial scholarships, which no FBS or FCS Scholarship schools have to do ( or at least most, I can't claim to know all FCS schools situations).
What Colgate and HC are doing is figuring out how to work around the 60 scholarships and the additional players without being able to give financial aid to the non-scholarship guys. WE play in a very different pool than most leagues in FCS. Need someone who knows how to navigate it.
My last point was that we need someone that will be here for more than 3 years. I actually used Higgins and Coen as examples of long standing coaches, that had success. Everyone knows that coaches want to move up.
Hire someone that will be here for a while, 5 years minimum. Someone that knows how to recruit our type of athlete. FBS/FCS recruiters, without the academic priorities, will FAIL miserably at Lehigh. You have to be able to recruit with the Ivy League schools, which is a small pool of candidates. You also have to be able to convince kids to come to Lehigh, as walk-ons, or partial scholarships, which no FBS or FCS Scholarship schools have to do ( or at least most, I can't claim to know all FCS schools situations).
What Colgate and HC are doing is figuring out how to work around the 60 scholarships and the additional players without being able to give financial aid to the non-scholarship guys. WE play in a very different pool than most leagues in FCS. Need someone who knows how to navigate it.
Re: The Official "Who Will Be The Next Lehigh Head Coach?" Thread
Ah well fans are allowed bouts of premature speculation.
Wish timing were a bit faster but dead period goes to 1/10. The process tho remains time sensitive. A staff has to be assembled and an overall gameplan developed for team before Sring practice.which is only 4 months from now.
Wish timing were a bit faster but dead period goes to 1/10. The process tho remains time sensitive. A staff has to be assembled and an overall gameplan developed for team before Sring practice.which is only 4 months from now.
Re: The Official "Who Will Be The Next Lehigh Head Coach?" Thread
5 years minimum? I think the majority of quality candidates that can relate to the incoming generation would have to be younger and ambitious. And probably taking their first D1 head coaching job. And would look at Lehigh as a stepping stone. If they can give us 3 to 5 great years proving you can still do it here, I'll sign on for that right now. And maybe they decide they really like it here and stay a lot longer. Like Brett Reed. I'd much rather have that than a retread or someone looking for a place to camp out. On the academic priorities I wholly agree. I doubt anyone not so inclined will apply.Lehigh4Life wrote: ↑Wed Dec 19, 2018 3:43 pm
Hire someone that will be here for a while, 5 years minimum. Someone that knows how to recruit our type of athlete. FBS/FCS recruiters, without the academic priorities, will FAIL miserably at Lehigh. You have to be able to recruit with the Ivy League schools, which is a small pool of candidates. You also have to be able to convince kids to come to Lehigh, as walk-ons, or partial scholarships, which no FBS or FCS Scholarship schools have to do ( or at least most, I can't claim to know all FCS schools situations).
What Colgate and HC are doing is figuring out how to work around the 60 scholarships and the additional players without being able to give financial aid to the non-scholarship guys. WE play in a very different pool than most leagues in FCS. Need someone who knows how to navigate it.
Re: The Official "Who Will Be The Next Lehigh Head Coach?" Thread
Not directly germane to this topic, I heard from a local Lehigh Valley guys with both college and high school football connections that Higgins is leaving WFU to become the director of football and first head coach at Keystone College??!!! I was shocked to hear this and have not seen it 'official' anywhere, but ask if anyone else has heard this?
Re: The Official "Who Will Be The Next Lehigh Head Coach?" Thread
No. But, I will ask around. That makes no sense. If he were seeking to move, why not here?
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Re: The Official "Who Will Be The Next Lehigh Head Coach?" Thread
Starting a program has to be pretty exciting. Building a program to last could beat "been there done that" even if they money isn't there. Higgins already did that here.
Maybe these Higgins talks were well under way before AC resigned. And maybe JS is farther along than we think in finding an AC successor.
All speculation. ... kind of like looking at some of these signees.
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Re: The Official "Who Will Be The Next Lehigh Head Coach?" Thread
Former Lehigh defensive assistant Justin Higgins is the new head coach at Keystone! Keystone College is literally 5 minutes down the road from me. They're a major sponsor for our local high school sports broadcasts on WQMY. A few weeks ago Higgins and the new football program were highlighted during halftime of one of the district playoff games.ngineer wrote: ↑Wed Dec 19, 2018 9:08 pm Not directly germane to this topic, I heard from a local Lehigh Valley guys with both college and high school football connections that Higgins is leaving WFU to become the director of football and first head coach at Keystone College??!!! I was shocked to hear this and have not seen it 'official' anywhere, but ask if anyone else has heard this?
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Re: The Official "Who Will Be The Next Lehigh Head Coach?" Thread
I tend to agree, but ... given Lehigh's challenges the past couple of years (it could take another complete makeover on D), it might take four or five years to build a resume a bigger program would jump at.jimk72 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 19, 2018 4:42 pm 5 years minimum? I think the majority of quality candidates that can relate to the incoming generation would have to be younger and ambitious. And probably taking their first D1 head coaching job. And would look at Lehigh as a stepping stone. If they can give us 3 to 5 great years proving you can still do it here, I'll sign on for that right now. And maybe they decide they really like it here and stay a lot longer. Like Brett Reed. I'd much rather have that than a retread or someone looking for a place to camp out. On the academic priorities I wholly agree. I doubt anyone not so inclined will apply.
The new coach will have a huge challenge battling the likes of perennial studs Colgate, a resurrected HC and up-and-coming G-town.
I'd like to see a high-character new coach build a program that will last, with high expectations and outcomes in FCS, and several assistants prepared for the top spot. Ideally, we'd have a program-builder like Higgins.
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Re: The Official "Who Will Be The Next Lehigh Head Coach?" Thread
Off-topic fun fact(?): Wikipedia says when it was founded, Keystone was the only high school between Binghamton and Scranton. I guess it later became a college. Keystone's press release on Higgins says Christy Mathewson played football and baseball there for three years (high school at the time). He also played at Bucknell, which named the football stadium after him.Go Lehigh TU Owl wrote: ↑Wed Dec 19, 2018 10:47 pmFormer Lehigh defensive assistant Justin Higgins is the new head coach at Keystone! Keystone College is literally 5 minutes down the road from me. They're a major sponsor for our local high school sports broadcasts on WQMY. A few weeks ago Higgins and the new football program were highlighted during halftime of one of the district playoff games.ngineer wrote: ↑Wed Dec 19, 2018 9:08 pm Not directly germane to this topic, I heard from a local Lehigh Valley guys with both college and high school football connections that Higgins is leaving WFU to become the director of football and first head coach at Keystone College??!!! I was shocked to hear this and have not seen it 'official' anywhere, but ask if anyone else has heard this?
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