2019 College Track & Field Open Coaching Positions Discussion

I think coaching track and field is something that is especially unhealthy in the fact that you need to accept that the sport you work with will always be at the bottom of the totem pole and you essentially need to accept that what you do is considered less than most other coaching professions. Even at your big programs you will always be paid significantly less than coaches in other sports no matter how well your team does. Not to mention that the majority of coaching jobs that are full time don't pay much yet require several years of experience (normally done for little or no wages) and at minimum a college degree. The amount of qualifications you need in-order to get a full time job would get you 2 times the pay in any other occupation. That being said, as a coach I always make it a point to make it a great experience for my athletes, because nothing compares to the feeling you get when they reach their goals or finally realize their potential. If you are in coaching for the money or recognition then stay away from track, because we will always be at the bottom of the ladder in every Athletic Department. However, if you want to help change lives and find joy and purpose in helping individuals become better athletes and people then stick around and do your best to drown out all the negative noise.

Be honest here wrote:

I know everyone will roast this comment, but:

UVA will see less success under Lanana than under Fetz.

Vin is going to sink all scholarships into sub elite distance runners and fail to compete with the big dogs doing the same scholarship model.

Fetz built UVA into a field event powerhouse and was racking up all Americans.

Give this hire a couple years and you’ll see a washed up Vin focusing on administrating and not winning.

UVA was probably the only school willing to make him a Director/AD and that program will suffer for it.

But in reality, it’s track and field, and no one cares outside of this message board.

Sad day for the hoos...

It will be interesting to revisit this post in 2-3 years to see how it ages. I'm not sure how UVA could be characterized as a Field event power at this time, but if you knew Vin at all, you'd know that he doesn't do anything half assed. I'm not saying the Hoos will be a perennial power, but their rise will certainly be imminent.

I wonder if Vin is a bit out of touch. His last 2 stops were at the greatest institutions for track and field with regards to recruiting, funding, and probably tradition (in distance). He has been getting paid by at least 3 separate entities for years so I don't think they'd have to pay through the nose for him. But an above poster was right that he will be successful. I just think it will take more time. By most accounts, Fetzer had concentrated on field events and more well-rounded teams. Not sure what Vin will think of current staff, but they will probably get the season to show their stuff. Not sure transfer portal activity? As scared as the current staff may be, I bet Vin already has targeted the head AD or President's position too.

Wims to SC State

https://www.scsuathletics.com/staff.aspx?staff=221

Questionable1 wrote:

3 yrs tops wrote:

Oklahoma will hire new coaches in 3 years or less

New experienced Head Coach will be in place immediately after this season.

You do realize the interim head at OU, has been a head at 2 other DI programs, right?

yeah but he's black so doesn't matter. he and the rest of his staff were hired based on their ancestry not their own actual life experiences.

yeahbut6969 wrote:

yeah but he's black so doesn't matter. he and the rest of his staff were hired based on their ancestry not their own actual life experiences.

Hopefully that was sarcasm. Dude built kids that nobody else wanted into All Americans and National Champions, with very little resources and almost no support from admin. What's that got to do with his ancestry? He's an excellent coach and deserved the shot he got.

Huh47 wrote:

Questionable1 wrote:

New experienced Head Coach will be in place immediately after this season.

You do realize the interim head at OU, has been a head at 2 other DI programs, right?

By experienced I mean at a major program, with success. Langford has had success with a couple of individuals, not much team wise. I understand he had limitations at SC State. Directing a major Power 5 program with 100+ kids is a whole different ball games than a small school, with a small roster, in a small lower level DI conference. I don't understand or have knowledge why Ronnye Harrison wasn't named head coach. He also has head coach experience and has been on staff at OU for years.

Questionable1 wrote:

By experienced I mean at a major program, with success. Langford has had success with a couple of individuals, not much team wise. I understand he had limitations at SC State. Directing a major Power 5 program with 100+ kids is a whole different ball games than a small school, with a small roster, in a small lower level DI conference. I don't understand or have knowledge why Ronnye Harrison wasn't named head coach. He also has head coach experience and has been on staff at OU for years.

Can someone explain this to me?? The rationale that a mid-major coach who excelled at that school with minimal resources and brand-name recognition will be unlikely to succeed at a school with tons of $$ and huge recruiting pull doesn't make much sense to me. I've never coached at the P5 level but I never understood this idea. Would love some insight.

Let me elaborate:

#1 Zero experience as an athlete or coach at the big time level.

#2 Different expectations from administration, alumni and parents. Much more scrutiny

#3 Power 5 have different rules than non Power 5 schools (CARA and RARA)

#4 Recruiting and securing big time Blue Chip athletes

#5 Managing much more student-athletes, coaches, managers and support staff

#6 Managing track and cross country camps

Not saying he will not be successful, but he lacks the experience of seasoned Power 5 and other major DI head coaches. Adding Coach Darden, from Southern University, doesn't add anything to areas where he lacks experienced in. Good Luck.

Questionable1 wrote:

Let me elaborate:

#1 Zero experience as an athlete or coach at the big time level.

#2 Different expectations from administration, alumni and parents. Much more scrutiny

#3 Power 5 have different rules than non Power 5 schools (CARA and RARA)

#4 Recruiting and securing big time Blue Chip athletes

#5 Managing much more student-athletes, coaches, managers and support staff

#6 Managing track and cross country camps

Not saying he will not be successful, but he lacks the experience of seasoned Power 5 and other major DI head coaches. Adding Coach Darden, from Southern University, doesn't add anything to areas where he lacks experienced in. Good Luck.

Agreed 100% with the Darden hire. Good luck micromanaging that one.

#1- The "big time" level? Top level mid-major teams are just as "big time" as 90% of P5 schools. IE NAU. Also mid-major coaches often have P5 athlete experience.

#2- This can be a fair point.

#3 - Would love to know more here. Genuinely don't know the specifics.

#4 - If a mid-major is beating a P5 (ie NC A&T) with terrible brand recognition and facilities then the only thing that will happen is that they will now have a much better brand name behind them to recruit with and likely better facilities. Highly likely that greater success will follow.

#5 - Irrelevant. There are large mid-major programs. Only difference may be staffing/support staff. But in this case I would take the option of having someone run my home meets for me rather than doing it all myself and then still being required to out-recruit, out-coach, and out-perform a P5.

#6 - Also irrelevant. Some of the biggest camps out there are unaffiliated with big schools. Plenty of coaches outside the P5 schools have experience with this.

I see this shtick as confirmation of the perceived systematic P5 haughtiness.

Spot on reply.

Questionable1 wrote:

#3 Power 5 have different rules than non Power 5 schools (CARA and RARA)

.

No, they don't. They (CARA/RARA) apply to all NCAA Division I track and field programs.

TonyTonyTony wrote:

Hey Tony, what do you think of this hire??

https://soonersports.com/news/2019/9/9/sooners-add-darden-to-track-cross-country-staff.aspx

Quite unbelievable really. "Club Coach"... She doesn't even seem to have experience with coaching distance runners. How does this stuff happen?

How does Ondrasek get thrown aside for this?

Jerry Maguire wrote:

TonyTonyTony wrote:

Hey Tony, what do you think of this hire??

https://soonersports.com/news/2019/9/9/sooners-add-darden-to-track-cross-country-staff.aspx

Quite unbelievable really. "Club Coach"... She doesn't even seem to have experience with coaching distance runners. How does this stuff happen?

How does Ondrasek get thrown aside for this?

I never trust people that get "Certifications".

utefan wrote:

Utah? wrote:

What's going on with University of Utah? The hiring seems like it should go fast but no word.

Why do you say that ? Is there an obvious candidate? I know the season is upon us, but it's only been 10 days since the job posted.

Ok, now I'm asking the question too. Anyone have any idea whether the Utah position has been filled or, if not, whether they intend to fill it this fall?

He could be a great coach at Oklahoma, but I wouldn't expect him to last long. This is a stop-gap fill by Oklahoma if they care at all about track. They will go after a big name next year. If they do not, it means that they are giving up on track and just want someone they can control.

As far as the guys ability at a power 5. There isn't much of a difference at non-power 5 and power 5. It's a marketing campaign. If you can recruit and coach, you can recruit and coach. The difference is higher expectations (and higher support) at power 5's generally.

But the hiring of a distance coach with no real credentials means he's going all-in on the track side. He better hope he can recruit some sprinters, jumpers, and/or throwers there. That will be hard when he has to recruit TX against A&M, UT, Houston, Tech, Baylor, etc. who all go heavy in those same areas.

For distance, OU basically recruits against OSU and UT. Tulsa goes foreigners.

This differs from the last successful strategy at OU (Martin Smith went heavy on distance). We'll see if it works out.

Stormie seems to have a decent background, but that is the worst write up I have ever seen in my life. The sentence about her intending to stay her full two years and then jumping right into the family thing is weird. Did she stay the full two years? why is there a line about after 6 months occurring. So weird Congrats to her on getting the job. Northern is a cool place hope they do well.