Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Blog Blitz: Let's Talk Greg Roman of Stanford

Stanford's OC Greg Roman seems like a good guy. Is he the right coach for Vanderbilt? Well, let's see what we know about him.

He's had an awesome run at Stanford and as a result is currently a Broyles Award finalist. He could potentially bring insight into the formula for success at a "similarly situated" school. He's never been a head coach though... He coached as an assistant in the NFL for 13 years prior to moving to Palo Alto. I trust Jim Harbaugh's judgment -- he calls him a "phenomenal teacher" with "fresh ideas" and raves the he is "aces." Roman appears to be able to coach kids beyond what the recruiting services would say is their ceiling, and he has experience coaching seemingly every position on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

Will an NFL-style offense play at Vanderbilt? Is Vanderbilt ready to hire someone who's never been a head coach? Can he surround himself with a great staff? Can he recruit?

These and many other questions in the air. Discuss at will.

12 comments:

A.J. said...

I'm in favor of anyone who is "aces" or calls people "aces."

Drewski said...

I think that Roman would be a great pick. Who else would model the type of academic-first football program that Williams wants so bad? Should we be concerned that he has no head coaching experience? Or, is this the type of coach we are looking for? New, fresh face please sir.

Anonymous said...

I'm starting to think that Temple's Al Golden would be a great choice. I've been reading about him and I'm impressed. Definitely more proven than Roman.

Seamus O'Toole said...

According to Joe Schad, Al Golden is no longer in the running for the Vandy job. Of course, coming from Joe Schad, this could very well mean that Al Golden will be the next head coach at Vanderbilt.

Seth said...

Golden seems like a better choice than Roman. I don’t know if Roman has the chops to coach in the SEC just yet. I am for someone with who has proven he can put together a staff and is an effective head coach.

I’ve said it before, but I’m surprised no one has mentioned Rick Stockstill. East Carolina and Memphis came to him last year and he turned down both jobs. If he wins on Sat, it will be the 3rd time in his 5 years at MTSU they have been bowl eligible. He’s a class act, good coach, and lengthy resume. Success follows Stockstill wherever he goes and I’d be suprised if Vandy didn’t look into him.

Anonymous said...

Golden - never beaten a MAC opponent with a winning record at season's end. Seems like a perfect fit for Vandy.
Since we're talking reaches - ie, Mike Leach - what about Jon Gruden? His contract is up with MNF. He came from a school with an academic bent, ND, and coached 3 Commies on the TB defense. Worth a shot?

Stanimal said...

Roman is the only choice I agree with from the rest of the VSL contingent's viewpoint. I like the pro-style offense and the smashmouth football nature. Also didn't realize that Roman handles recruiting for Stanford in Alabama and Tennessee. In my opinion, he would be a solid coach to build the program back....is he ideal? I don't know.

Ex Player said...

Let's move to the Big East.

Anonymous said...

Mike Sanford, former Utah and Stanford OC needs a look.

Utah was 21-2 when he was there.

Anonymous said...

Mike Sanford was also 16-43 at UNLV as a head coach. If VU's not going to get serious about Tommy Bowden, then they certainly don't need Sanford. At least Bowden won everywhere he was at.

Roman or Dana Holgorsen would be good choices if Vanderbilt went the assistant route.

foster said...

Would we want a guy that has led one of the best offenses in the country at the hardest place to get players admitted academically, 2 heisman trophy finalists in his 2 years running the offense and an NFL pedigree? Hmmmm...

Anonymous said...

Vince Lombardi would have gone 16-43 at UNLV in football.

Most people think they don't even have a football team, just hoops.