Dec 4 / Rob

JMUSB Pod: Moving on From Coach Houston

This was a tough one folks. We love doing the pod, but after a disappointing loss to Colgate to crash out of the playoffs, and the official departure of former head coach Mike Houston, there wasn’t a ton of great news to discuss. Obviously we touch on the game and Houston’s decision to move on to ECU. Trigger warning for the most fervent anti-Noochers: we don’t string him up, so feel free to skip this episode if that’s what you want. We do discuss his struggles in what we believe is an objective manner though. But it’s not all doom and gloom, as we also discuss how excited we are for the next year’s squad. It’s loaded folks.

As always, the JMUSB Podcast is brought to you by Pale Fire Brewing. Stop by the brewery for a beer and let them know JMUSB sent you and you’ll go home with a free pint glass.

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2 Comments

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  1. Bobby Rome / Dec 6 2018

    I wish Chris Beatty was in consideration for the next Head Job at JMU.

  2. CJ / Dec 7 2018

    Prediction contest: Colgate vs NDSU. There’s no way Colgate wins, the only question is by what margin NDSU dominates. I say NDSU 44 Colgate 10.

    Back to JMU business, our athletic director really needs to hit a home run with this head coach search. JMU is in a very good position of strength and needs to parlay that to its advantage. We offer top pay, top facilities, and basically a do it yourself kit for a championship team. It’s tough to nearly run the table like Mike Houston did in 2017, but With the right coach, Our program/team has all of the tools lined up to have championship run right out of the box in 2019. I guess what I’m trying to say is this: We don’t need another Lou Rowe coaching choice in this situation. We should be taking the best of the best in FCS head coaching candidates. If anyone’s reading this post, I’m expecting great things, just as all Dukes fans should be.

    Our only disadvantage is probably our location. I know many of you will argue that Harrisonburg is the greatest place in the world, but I think the reality is that the location has limited resources and limited market value. Just like the most ardent NDSU fans believe
    that Fargo ND is a great place to live and work, we understand that Fargo may be a negative factor for recruiting players and coaches. Overall, however, we offer a very good opportunity to prospective coaches…the most alluring of which is the stepping stone to bigger things.

    Looking forward to next year, WVU will be a very tough opponent. They’re no SMU or ECU, any FBS team would have its hands full with the Mountaineers. We have two gimmes lined up after that with St Francis and Morgan. I think the first true measure of our head coach’s worth will be that game against Chattanooga. Following that, we’ll see how we can fare in the CAA. Hopefully no 2-6 teams will be cooking us like UNH did this season.

    Eventually JMU will be moving up to FBS, but I for one am in absolutely no rush to see that happen. I love watching the Dukes contend for a national championship every season. When we move up to FBS, we’ll never be an Alabama or a Clemson. Maybe after a decade or so our pinnacle will be making it to the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl or something. They can keep that, I’ll take Frisco.

    Nevertheless, I’d trade our football program’s success for an equally successful basketball program. It’s much easier for a mid level program to make a run in basketball than in football.

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