Vin is the best. McDonnell’ success was limited to one school. Vin has had success at four schools.
and of course Vin KOed Brosnan, so there is that
Vin is the scum of the NCAA. Fired from Stanford and Oregon. I’ll let the one time rule apply, but when he keeps getting caught it’s time to walk away. And McDonnell walks circles about Vin. Not even close
The only one that MIGHT have been overaged was Godfrey, but I’m not even sure about that. OverGROWN would be Consiglio, but that’s a story for another day.
he was also tampering w tryin to get other athletes from other schools before this whole NIL era made it somewhat more acceptable. Ask me how I know….
His best distance runners were always overaged foreigners. Dan Lincoln and Jason Sandfort was always his best home grown type runners.
Are you serious?? First of all, Lincoln was a walkon. Home grown: Joe Falcon, the Reinas, Stanley Redwine, Roddie Haley, Seneca Lassiter, Brandon Rock , Teddy Mitchell - if I thought about it I could go on and on. The jumpers were world-class. He created an environment that expected excellence and achieved it. By any metric he was the most successful track coach in NCAA history. Who else had teams that were great in all disciplines in track and field??
John was a Dbag. He treated athletes as numbers, not like people. He cheated with scholarships and with outside money coming in to his athletes.
Now was John the best college coach ever? Yes, it isn’t close. Arkansas was a hell hole back then, no one wanted to live there, and he won. He never lost an SEC XC title. Second place trophies were used as door stops and not displayed. Think about how good your program has to be to put NCAA trophies in a closet if they weren’t the National Championship.
Love him or hate him; he was better than you in every way.
He was great but not the best. My school went to Arkansas and BEAT ARKANSAS in a dual meet on their home soil (the first school to do so) DURING their NCAA dominance.
I marveled at the gathering for John’s funeral. Former athletes ranging from their late 20s to over 60 years old. There were jumpers, throwers, sprinters and distance guys. Multiple nationalities and races. A true melting pot. Those guys went on to be successful in life in most every discipline you can think of. That is John’s true legacy.
My comment is concerning the OP's handle ".....or just a good recruiter"
Recruiting is a major, if not "THE" major part of coaching. Give the top coaches like McDonnell 5:15 men and 5:40 women and give me the sub 4:05/4:50 athletes and I will beat them soundly. However, give us equal talent and they will crush me.
"Just a good recruiter" is every bit as important as training plans, mental approach, etc., There are many good coaches that are lazy in one area and recruiting is one of those areas for many. The fact that it is a part of the job that many dislike does diminish it's importance to building a big-time program.
So, I would say McDonnell was an outstanding coach worthy of consideration of best ever and exceptional recruiting prowess helped his cause.
He was great but not the best. My school went to Arkansas and BEAT ARKANSAS in a dual meet on their home soil (the first school to do so) DURING their NCAA dominance.
Emphasis mine. Great for you and your school (seriously!), but when you say Arkansas was so dominant that a single dual meet loss is highly significant, that's a point in the opposite direction than you want it to be.
He was great but not the best. My school went to Arkansas and BEAT ARKANSAS in a dual meet on their home soil (the first school to do so) DURING their NCAA dominance.
How much higher did y'all place than Arkansas at NCAAs that year?
My comment is concerning the OP's handle ".....or just a good recruiter"
Recruiting is a major, if not "THE" major part of coaching. Give the top coaches like McDonnell 5:15 men and 5:40 women and give me the sub 4:05/4:50 athletes and I will beat them soundly. However, give us equal talent and they will crush me.
"Just a good recruiter" is every bit as important as training plans, mental approach, etc., There are many good coaches that are lazy in one area and recruiting is one of those areas for many. The fact that it is a part of the job that many dislike does diminish it's importance to building a big-time program.
So, I would say McDonnell was an outstanding coach worthy of consideration of best ever and exceptional recruiting prowess helped his cause.
Flying chairs also stimulate stronger performances. Sometimes, a little encouragement is needed.
He was great but not the best. My school went to Arkansas and BEAT ARKANSAS in a dual meet on their home soil (the first school to do so) DURING their NCAA dominance.
This has nothing to do with anything, limp take as usual.