Why Rutgers Should Not Hire Tom Bradley
by Brandon C. on Feb 3, 2012 4:21 PM EST
in Rutgers football
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PrintThere has been a lot of speculation about the possibility of Rutgers hiring Tom Bradley as their new defensive coordinator, and the majority of Rutgers supporters out there seem very excited about that possibility.
I am not excited at all by the possibility of Bradley joining Flood's staff.
First of all, let me explain that this has nothing to do with him as an actual coach, as I know he is terrific at his job.
Now, onto the reasons.
Bradley Wants to be a Head Coach- What's the point of hiring Bradley if the entire time he'll be looking out for other opportunities? Rutgers is a F.A.M.I.L.Y. and Bradley cannot be a part of that if he's half in and half out of the door.
Bradley Would Challenge Flood's Status- I worry that Bradley would challenge new coach Kyle Flood too much, to the point that Flood is focused more on keeping his job than actually winning games. Flood would likely know Bradley wants to be the Head Coach, so the added pressure is not needed.
Leave Us Alone, Penn State- I do not want any of Penn State's problems trickling into Rutgers territory. I don't know if he's clean, but if Bradley had anything to do with anything involving the Sandusky case, we're going to hear a lot about it. That's not going to be fun.
Keep It Inside- Rutgers hired their Head Coach from within, so why not hire the defensive coordinator from within? It all goes back to the F.A.M.I.L.Y. saying, if they really mean it they should promote from within.
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RU Should Hire the Best
RU should hire the best coaches that can coach and recruit the RU way. Can’t worry that if someone does a good job they will leave. I’d be more worried if they did a poor job and wanted to stay.
Absolutely Agree we should hire the BEST
On The Banks, you need to be realistic here…
Tom Bradley is an excellent coach. He has nothing to do with the Penn State situation, and if it wasn’t for the Penn State situation – he’d probably be a Head Coach right now. I am certain that the administration picked the most moral, clean-cut guy to step into the interim position in that debacle.
You may think he has one foot in and another out, but maybe not. Bradley’s going to certainly appreciate that Rutgers will give him this opportunity. Plenty of other DC’s stick with a program, especially if we can keep the salary going up.
But Flood has 0 defensive experience. 0! A guy like Bradley is an expert. vs. if you insist on promoting from within, you could get someone that really isn’t ready for the position and squanders the talent.
It’s a tough call, but I think the points On The Banks points out, don’t really make a lot sense.
1) Bradley’s wanted to be a HC for awhile, did it happen? Maybe he shows loyalty to RU.
2) If Flood can’t handle a DC and maintain his leadership of a team, then he doesn’t deserve to be a HC. it’s as simple as that. Flood will also have the backing of everyone else, and Bradley’s easy to work with.
3) Bradley’s clean, and the Penn State debacle is cooling anyway.
4) be honest, who would remotely compare to Bradley’s experience and talent within our staff?
that is ridiculous
the reason we SHOULD look at tom Bradley is for the exact reasons you mention
With a first time head coach – he needs as much help as he can get. Cignetti was hired with the knowledge that he stays nowhere longer than 2-3 years and would jump at a head coach position and that worked out pretty well.
More importantly – from EVERYTHING I can read- Bradley is respected by fellow coaches, players, past players and is a class act.
Similar to the Pitt guys – he is a victim of circumstance – and Pernetti has shown himself to be quite adept at taking advantage of Pennsylvania cast-offs – this is EXACTLY what Rutgers needs at the current moment
I don't think Tom Bradley is an option
in theory though, Rutgers does need to land a few big name assistants. Gambling in some respect or another may be a necessity.
Big name that would want to stay, Bradley would want to get out ASAP
Follow me on twitter @nyybrandonc
Co-Manager/Writer for Pinstripe Alley, Editor/Writer for Blueshirt Banter, Writer for On The Banks
Finding a big name that wants stay is near impossible in college football anymore. Greg Schiano leaving Rutgers is proof of that. Bottom line is this: it is better to have a good coach be on staff a couple of years and leave for a better opportunity than have a coach who sucks but pledges to stay forever (See: Kragthorpe, Steve). Coaches will always come and go.
There isn't a single good argument in this post
I don’t know if Rutgers could or would actually hire Tom Bradley as their Defensive Coordinator, or whether he’d even be interested in the job. But the reasons posed in this article to not do so are ridiculous.
1) The idea that Bradley specifically wants to be a head coach is speculation, beyond the idea that all football coaches eventually want the head job. In that regard, Bradley having head coach as a career goal doesn’t differentiate him from any other candidate.
2) “Bradley Would Challenge Flood?” This statement is inane on every level; essentially you’re just making this up. You have no idea how Bradley would behave if hired by Flood, but the idea that he would challenge the MAN WHO HIRED HIM is moronic. One doesn’t thank the person who gives them a job by being a burr in their saddle.
3) Being from Penn State: there’s some validity to this, from the standpoint that if Bradley were be called as a witness in Sandusky’s upcoming trial, it would interfere with his duties. As far as the concern that Bradley would be implicated in any way (which likely would have happened already, but you never know) and having it negatively reflect on Rutgers, it’s reasonable to assume that would come out in the interview process. Incidentally, the same would have been true for Greg Schiano had he stayed.
4) Limiting the scope of your candidate search would be stupid. Flood needs to hire the best DC it can get. There is no one currently on Rutgers’ staff who is qualified to be a defensive coordinator. We know this because every time Schiano wasn’t running the defense, the performance suffered. Rutgers needs a top-flight defensive coordinator now that our Head Coach is an offense guy. They’re going to have to go outside to get one.
In addition, the F.A.M.I.L.Y. stuff is just a silly platitude, which anyone paying attention to Rutgers over the last week should know. Coaching is a business. People come and go in a manner that best suits their career goals. If it weren’t, Rutgers wouldn’t be searching for new coaches right now. Adding new blood and new ideas has risks, but it also can have great rewards for a program. We saw that last year with Cignetti. By all accounts, Tom Bradley is an excellent defensive coordinator and could really do great things with Rutgers’ defense.
The real, unspoken reason the author opposes Bradley is simple: he’s from Penn State. Rutgers fans have long harbored a deep rivalry/inferiority complex towards PSU, and it’s showing here. Tom Bradley could, perhaps, be an excellent option as a Defensive Coordinator for Rutgers, but the author opposes him for no other reason than where he comes from. It’s for this reason, and this reason alone, that Rutgers should not hire Bradley: too many of their fans would never accept him.
Penn State is my favorite non-Rutgers school actually, so you’re off on that haha.
Bradley was calling for other jobs while HC at Penn State, so he’s not the most loyal guy ever (called the Colts to try to get a job there)
I misworded he would challenge Flood, I mean he would give added pressure Flood doesn’t need because he’d be an obvious replacement if Flood isn’t good enough
Follow me on twitter @nyybrandonc
Co-Manager/Writer for Pinstripe Alley, Editor/Writer for Blueshirt Banter, Writer for On The Banks
IF
If it actually becomes a possibility, it will all come down to whether Flood and Bradley are on the same page and have a workable understanding.
I am enjoying all of the new contributers
I dislike Penn State and want nothing to do with them. Especially a Penn State lifer. And it has nothing to do with an inferiority complex. I have disliked Penn State before I ever watched college football or decided to go to Rutgers. I have always disliked them because before the scandal fans blindly followed the football team like a religion and treated Paterno as a god. I am a religious man and try my best to follow this saying, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” I’m not saying that everyone that went to Penn State felt that way however as a whole that is how it appeared (before the scandal obviously). I am not asking for an argument, I just wanted to share my perspective.
Overthinking this wayyy too much
Look at the product Bradley put on the field while at Penn State. They didn’t call it Linebacker U for nothing, and the D is the only reason the team lasted as long as they did this year. If hes going to drag along all this Penn State drama with him, then why would anyone want to hire him? They wouldn’t. He isn’t going to drag anything with him, he wants to be out of it just as much as any other innocent person in Happy Valley. You can’t place the blame on every single person for a few actions. And to say hes not loyal is a bit of a stretch. He had the AD job in the bag if when the time came at Happy Valley until all of this came up and they rid of everybody. There’s a difference between making some calls because you’re stuck behind the greatest coach of all time and there’s no chance to move up until he passes away (or unfortunately the way things actually went down), and making some calls because you want to explore your options before your time runs out. This is exactly the coach we need on the staff, even more so if Schiano plucks a few more guys from the Program. Someone wish some defensive stability as a coach, and stability in general incase the Flood thing doesn’t work out. Recruits look nice and fancy and all, but they need to be coached to their potential. Bradley knows how to do that.
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This would be a no Brainer
There is no one to hire from within that can do the job. We need experience. As much as I did not like GS as HC, he one one of the best DC’s in the countery. The PSU risk is small given the the upside of getting someone of Bradley’s caliber. This is all about of whether Flood feels comfortable with him as the DC. If Flood and Brandley can come to a working arrangement, this would be a no brainer.
Yes
The are a lot of factors – and the Flood / Bradley agreement would be above all else – and would center on a few specifics -
probably #1 – Bradley will have to have figured out what he wants – he is 55/56 years old – so, is he determined to crown his career with a run as a HC somewhere? if yes, he may want to get to work on that now….(because time is not in his favor – he does not have the “luxury” of embedding himself into a program as a DC for 4-5 years as a means to “rehab” his image) … or… Really – he has to have a different set of priorities at this point – ones that would mean that he could obtain a sense of total fulfillment and satisfaction as a DC on a rising program. He would have to look Flood in the eye and say “I will give you my word that I will give you a minimum of 3 excellent years and I will develop coaches that could take my spot”
Factor #2 would simply be – could Rutgers genuinely afford him? – not just some “deal” because of the unique circumstances – but could RU come anywhere close to affording what Bradly’s credentials should command in the open market? Far too often people say “I’ll sell myself at 1/2 price to get back into the game” …. and then a little ways down the road they begin to have a real hard time with the fact that they are only getting half of what they are really worth.
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