There has been some discussion about who was the better coach, Dan Hawkins or Bo Pelini. Obviously Pelini has only one year as a head coach but pulled a 9-4 season out last year much to the surprise of many.
The claim to fame for Hawkins was his awesome record at Boise St 53-11 (83%) which sounds impressive. But a closer look dispels this claim to fame.
Dirk Koetter took over the reigns at Boise back in 1998 and took his lumps in his first season going 6-5. He turned it around and went in 1999 (10-3) and 2000 (10-2). So overall he was 26-10 , 20-5 (80%) his last 2 years.
He then went to Arizona State where he went 40-34 54%) against the big boys which indicates it was a big transition as far as competition and coaching goes.
Dan Hawkins took over the reigns at Boise following Koetter having served as Koetters asst since 1997. He took over Koetters team and went 8-4 in 2001. He then went on to post a 53-11 (83%) record. He left Boise and went to Colorado in 2007 posting a 2-10 record in 2006, 6-7 record in 2007, and a 5-7 record in 2008 so he is 13-24 (36%) in his three years at Colorado.
There is a comparison to be drawn as it is apparent that both Koetter and Hawkins had trouble making the transition as they moved up to play teams with more talent and better coaching. Combined their post Boise records tell the story as they stand at 53-58 (48%) with Koetter holding up the stats for Hawkins.
Obviously, these facts were overlooked by the Hawkins supporter and it is easy enough to run down a first year coach although he took over a team who had gone 5-6 the prior year. I say Hawkins has had three years to do something positive and now he is losing players and asst coaches as his program is falling apart around him.
I just wanted to demonstrate that with 15 minutes of research the Hawkins supporter would or could have done a little bit of homework before voicing such an adament opinion and comparison. Some people on here do their homework before they speak and others just speak.
Now in light of the fact that Hawkins has been quoted saying that this years team would go 10-2 would be taken by many on here as a voice of futility spoken by someone who will wind up hearing those numbers for the rest of his life. Bo Pelini may go on to coaching greatness and maybe not, but at least his team plays legitimate teams, a legitimate schedule, and he took over a team that was down. Building up Hawkins is one thing, running down Pelini is another.
I feel much better for having gotten the above out of my system.
The claim to fame for Hawkins was his awesome record at Boise St 53-11 (83%) which sounds impressive. But a closer look dispels this claim to fame.
Dirk Koetter took over the reigns at Boise back in 1998 and took his lumps in his first season going 6-5. He turned it around and went in 1999 (10-3) and 2000 (10-2). So overall he was 26-10 , 20-5 (80%) his last 2 years.
He then went to Arizona State where he went 40-34 54%) against the big boys which indicates it was a big transition as far as competition and coaching goes.
Dan Hawkins took over the reigns at Boise following Koetter having served as Koetters asst since 1997. He took over Koetters team and went 8-4 in 2001. He then went on to post a 53-11 (83%) record. He left Boise and went to Colorado in 2007 posting a 2-10 record in 2006, 6-7 record in 2007, and a 5-7 record in 2008 so he is 13-24 (36%) in his three years at Colorado.
There is a comparison to be drawn as it is apparent that both Koetter and Hawkins had trouble making the transition as they moved up to play teams with more talent and better coaching. Combined their post Boise records tell the story as they stand at 53-58 (48%) with Koetter holding up the stats for Hawkins.
Obviously, these facts were overlooked by the Hawkins supporter and it is easy enough to run down a first year coach although he took over a team who had gone 5-6 the prior year. I say Hawkins has had three years to do something positive and now he is losing players and asst coaches as his program is falling apart around him.
I just wanted to demonstrate that with 15 minutes of research the Hawkins supporter would or could have done a little bit of homework before voicing such an adament opinion and comparison. Some people on here do their homework before they speak and others just speak.
Now in light of the fact that Hawkins has been quoted saying that this years team would go 10-2 would be taken by many on here as a voice of futility spoken by someone who will wind up hearing those numbers for the rest of his life. Bo Pelini may go on to coaching greatness and maybe not, but at least his team plays legitimate teams, a legitimate schedule, and he took over a team that was down. Building up Hawkins is one thing, running down Pelini is another.
I feel much better for having gotten the above out of my system.
