Mike Houston Reportedly Set to Become Head Football Coach at JMU (Updated)
Sources tell FootballScoop Mike Houston is expected to accept the head coaching position at JMU https://t.co/sNnVtycOD5
— FootballScoop Staff (@FootballScoop) January 18, 2016
Update: Maybe Football Scoop jumped the gun a bit.
Second Update: It’s official and he plans on running the spread offense apparently.
According to FootballScoop.com Mike Houston is going to be JMU’s newest head football coach. Houston will be coming to JMU from the Citadel, where he won 14 games in his two years as the coach. Last season, he led the Citadel to a 9-4 record. His team won the Southern Conference and earned a playoff bid, in addition to knocking off in-state FBS rival University of South Carolina. Prior to the Citadel, Houston coached at Lenoir-Rhyne in Division II. He took over a program that had only 17 wins in the four years prior to his arrival, and managed to get them all the way to the National Championship in 2013. Houston is supposedly a defensive minded coach. However, his teams have run the triple option under the direction of offensive coordinator Brent Thompson who was with Houston at the Citadel and Lenior-Rhyne. The triple option can be, and was, a great equalizer at place like the Citadel where it’s tough to attract top talent. It’s unclear if Houston plans to utilize the same offensive philosophy at JMU. We’ll obviously need to wait and see how things play out, but at first glance, this seems like a really good hire. With rumors of JMU going after former assistants like Jeff Durden or guys with mixed track records and questionable backgrounds like Bobby Hauck, this was a better pick. Houston is a guy on the way up and doesn’t strike us as a guy looking for the first bus out of town. The guy won at the Citadel. There’s no telling what he can do at a place like JMU.
The irony of college football
Two weeks ago: our coach is leaving us to take a job at the next level after only two years what a jerk!
Today: our coach is coming to us after spending two years at a lower level school what a great guy!
Agree with everything but the last part. He’s only been at his current job for two years, so he may not stay long at JMU either.
Seems like an unimpressive group of candidates. I wouldn’t touch Hauck with a 10 foot pole.
Thought we had one of the premiere coaching opportunities in FCS, and we are considering Hauck? No FBS assistants interested? Could I see the list please?
Future headline: Jan. 2019 Jmu hires candidate xyz to replace recently departed head coach.
Curt Dudley just posted that Houston is the one. If he has a teeny weeny amount of class, which I think he does, he will be sooooo much better than Dithers. Great Choice even if we have to have some growning pains, he brings new light that Dithers extinguished . He might even be nice to Matt Jones!!! Go Dukes!!
what the Harrisonburg Junior High Coach couldn’t get out of his contract?
What a yawner of a hire. did they at least make a run at defillipo before settling for this guy? if not they can make another pitch in two years when they are searching again.
Do we have to wait until the hire is official to start the “Houston, we have a problem” jokes? he should do well in continuing to move the program towards mediocrity, a journey blithering withers accelerated for us. Triple option, what a joke.
@Cory- Prior to Mickey we had new coaches every 2-5 years. Seems as though we have returned to that cycle as our norm . I guess we all just got used to having one head coach for 15 years. Who knows maybe Houston can thrive and stay on for 15 too. I’ll hope for that.
GO DUKES!
Wow…it’s incredible to hear how cynical people can be. Guy hasn’t been HC for more than a few hours and we are already doubting his abilities and making assumptions. I for one am excited about the possibilities that this new coach will bring to the table and am willing to give him a fair shake before immediately taking the express train to Gloomville
I like the hire. He did well at el Cid; and with more resources and more talent; the sky’s the limit. Our defense can’t do much worse, I just hope our offense doesn’t regress…
@88 ‘Houston we have a problem….” I really hope that doesn’t get worn out.
@88 It has been reported that he will not run the triple option at JMU. From what I’ve heard, NOT running the triple option was a condition of the hire. I think the athletic department knew JMU fans didn’t want to see that.
I think the hire was about as good as we could do at this stage of the game. All of the other guys on Carr’s wishlist were probably settled in to new positions already, so we’re lucky we even got Houston. Apparently he’s a defensive-minded guy, which is exactly what we needed. All in all I’m cautiously optimistic
You guys need to quit hating on the triple option. Navy ran it this year to an 11-2 record and was one quarter away from a BCS bowl… and we probably have more talent on our roster than they do.
If the man wins games, I don’t care if he runs the Walter Camp Dead-T.
@shrowder, to your comment —
“I think the hire was about as good as we could do at this stage of the game”
I think this statement is accurate, and all things considered the hire is probably the best of a bad situation. However the hire reflects a stark contrast to those on this board who just a few weeks ago said JMU is an “elite” program that will have its choice of a number of high level candidates.
Truth is, the program isn’t elite by any stretch. Nice facilities, yes, but a mediocre program competitively who plays in a competitive conference.
This hire should quiet any and all talk of FBS migration and even temper those who think FCS playoffs are a reality in the next few seasons. We just hired a coach who has more high school victories than college — it’s going to take some time.
@88 you need to relax just a tad. Who did you want JMU to hire???? What exactly do you think the market is for FCS head coaches?
Houston has stated JMU will continue to run and aggressive, spread offense. At DII and Military schools you are typically down some on explosive offensive talent so the TO makes a lot of sense and can be quite effective. As long as you gets W’s and don’t let the other team hang 40+ on you I am good with whatever.
Also this guy has a proven track record of success as a HC. He brings FAR more wins in his belt than when JMU brought EW to town….EW was not a proven winner and in fact was about to get fired at OSU.
From my 7 minutes of research on Friday I think I like the hire at this point. He has won big everywhere he has been.
Although, I am hoping he brings a lot of “juice” I have no idea what that means but I know the last guy wanted everyone to have a lot of it!
@88: Why do you think it’ll take some time, considering it didn’t take him any time to turn around programs at Lenoire Rhyne and The Citadel? The cupboard is a lot more full in Harrisonburg. After reading his phone interview, watching a few youtube videos, and looking at his previous results as a HC, I love this hire.
I think we took a huge step up the ladder in quality of the head coach with regard to this hire. My concern is that Jeff Bourne was in on the selection process, and his ineptness during his tenure and being a part of the selection makes me cautiously optimistic. This guy has already come in with much more class than, “We have to blow it up” Withers. Coach Houston is inheriting a program that Withers has left in disarray, with a horrible defense. We need to be patient. If you are able to win at the Citadel, you are a good coach.
@Rob (not that one)
Loved the ‘juice’ comment.
“Although, I am hoping he brings a lot of “juice” I have no idea what that means but I know the last guy wanted everyone to have a lot of it!”
Thinking I like this hire the more I see and read.
Let’s go Dukes!
I think JMU made a good choice. He has done well other places and we need to be positive and give him a chance. This guy will brings wins against good teams not just the poor ones. I think he will get us to where we need to be defensively. I am staying positive and GO DUKES!!!!!
@2004 Duke
Besides the aesthetics of it, I think that the problem a lot of fans have with the triple option is it’s limited success in winning national championships. I think most fans think JMU, given all of its advantages, should be contending for national titles every year. And while the TO may lead to winning records, it doesn’t really win national championships anymore. As best I can tell, the last time an FCS team won the national title with the triple option was Georgia Southern in 2000. The last time an FBS team won the national title with (a variation of) the triple option was Nebraska in 1995. So I think a lot of JMU fans would question whether that offensive style would put us in a position to be where we think we should be.
LOL… you guys are great.. JMU is not in disarray… we won 18 games in the last 2 seasons..went to the playoffs and College Gameday was in town..
COOLLLLEEGGGEEEE GAMMMEDDDAYYYY (say that 5 times for me)
What more can you effin’ want??!! ah hah
Houston will bring a lot of “Juice” and will take this program to that next notch. Withers was brought on because we needed that excitement back at JMU and he did.. now on to someone who can take advantage of our resources/momentum and win some damn games.
GO DUKES!!!
I agree with 2004 Duke. Fans shouldn’t be telling a head coach what kind of offense or defense to run. It’s his neck on the line, and as long as he’s winning, that’s all that should matter.
I went to the press conf. today. He was very impressive and said a lot of things that made sense. He actually answered Matt Jones’s questions. Class guy who has a history of winning. Good hire.
Good Hire. People who were impressed with Withers running up the score on such weak opponents and failing to beat any opponents of equal or better quality, plus losing 2 home playoff games against lesser opponents are kidding themselves. Withers led the team backwards, and blew up a good defense. Some positives about Coach Houston: 1. First Class Guy! His introductory press conference was professional, respectful, and not a sign of arrogance. 2. His wife will be a good addition to the JMU Nation. We don’t have to worry about her getting intoxicated during the games and badmouthing the players from the club seats like Withers’ wife did. 3. Reading the comments and blogs about Coach Houston from the people at The Citadel show what type of an impact he had on their program and what type of person he is (the only positives out of Columbus when Withers came to JMU was good riddance). 4. I was most impressed with how Coach Houston took the time to acknowledge and thank his previous administration at The Citadel. Given a chance to clean up the mess created on defense, he should be a welcome addition to the JMU Nation, and it appears he and his family will be a great addition to the community. Go Dukes!
@michael, are you sure you aren’t everett dithers? just kidding.
in my opinion college gameday was great for the university, not for the football program. it was a lot of hype which was what dithers was all about but guess what wasn’t there on gameday — a victory. guess what hasn’t been there in our 18 wins the last two seasons — a playoff victory. perhaps you are okay with beating up on the “little sisters of the poor” teams just to put w’s in the record but then losing the games that matter. i am not.
I prefer substance under the veneer; focus less on the glitz of uniforms to attract recruits (get rid of the disgusting looking white helmets for starters) and focus on playing football, plain and simple. i hope houston brings that mentality to the program.
>88
Couldn’t agree with you more! One thing we fail to recognize. Withers sure could clap. Dishing out his crap to anyone who would listen, and clapping on the sideline incessantly pretty much sum up what he did. 0-2 in the playoffs, with losses to Liberty and Colgate.
Coach Houston has a superior playoff record in FCS (1-0 vs. 0-2). Good hire!
4-2-5 shell on defense; @2004 Duke, isn’t that what MM ran when LeZotte was in the defensive backfield?
After listening to the press conference yesterday and talking to Herb, who attended, I think this is a great hire for JMU. I particularly like the statement about being here a long time. I think we will see a different defense next year. He sounds like the type that will build a great defense instead of just trying to out score everyone. Matt Jones should be happy. He won’t be getting anymore ” I have to watch the film” answers. I think Mickey ran a 4-4-3 at first and later switched to a 4-3 if I am not mistaken.
so Houston is the hire, and we can all be okay with that — but does anyone know (or will we ever know) if there was a serious run at anyone else?
in particular I’d like to know if defillipo was in the conversation. As of last weekend he was unemployed, an alum, and considering taking a demotion to be a “passing game coordinator”. Okay, it’s at the NFL level, but seriously, passing game coordinator over head ball coach of your alma mater?
also, I’m not connected to much local media, but what’s the reaction from recruits? many jumping ship or are they swayed by Houston to stay committed to jmu?
@83 Duke, that’s funny, but true. What a clapper – the lights must go on and off in his house constantly (Clap ON, Clap OFF).
What do you think about telling Coach Houston — Charles Haley for Defensive Coordinator; Gary Clark for Offensive Coordinator and Scott Norwood for Special Teams Coordinator. You probably went to school with Gary and maybe Scott? I was there with Charles. Not a recruit in the country that couldn’t get behind that staff.
@Tidewater Duke, I am in Tidewater too, and am impressed with what I am reading and hearing. I think you are on point with building a defense rather than trying to outscore the opponent. If I am not mistaken. I believe Coach Matthews initially started with a defense called the Straight Eight or something 8, and then made adjustments over the years.
@88 Hadn’t thought about the clapper. Must have had plenty of practice clapping “Off” so he could make his mad dashes out of town every 2 years or so!
I am not sure if anyone else has picked up how his previous employers speak so highly about him not only as an outstanding coach, but as an even better person. He has already made himself more available to the media and JMU Nation. I personally am very excited to see the Dukes on the field in 2016.
The goal is to win the CAA?
Just watched the JMU Football Facebook page video and saw the coach saying the goal is to win the CAA.
Don’t we have higher aspirations than that?
I think the point there is that the primary goal is to ALWAYS win the CAA title and then you set your next season goal from there…if you win the CAA title you put yourself in a good position going forward to achieve your next goals…1) win playoff game 2)win again ….and so on until NATIONAL CHAMPS. You can’t fault the guy for not coming straight out of the gun and saying that anything less that a national championship is a failure unless I happened to stumble onto a NDSU message board on accident.
I understand the measured approach, but are we really ever happy with that? We accomplished winning a share of the CAA this past season. Was anyone really happy with that? Think how you felt after we lost to Colgate.
I’d rather finish 2nd in the CAA sometimes but advance well into the playoffs each year and get a shot at the national championship. If we win the conference 10 years in a row but lose our first playoff game each time, is that a big success?
He’s not at the Citadel anymore and we need to let him know we have higher aspirations.
@just sayin’ — I agree with your points, but have to take exception to saying we won a share of the league title. I know the CAA touts that, but it’s BS, pure and simple. We finished with the same record as two other teams, both of whom kicked our ass — that equates to third regardless of the CAA’s stupid tiebreaking protocol that doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. This is college football not youth soccer — everybody doesn’t get a frickin’ trophy.
but I’m with you on aspiring to loftier goals. Although if you win the CAA every year, you are a perennial FCS playoff participant which implies a goal of playing in the FCS playoffs.
“Eagles hire DeFilippo to coach QBs”
…so, an alum stays at the nfl level where he’ll coach Bradford (if he stays in philly), mark sanchez, and possibly griffin iii.
if he wanted to coach college level talent why didn’t he take the JMU job!!
When creating team goals each season whether you are pro/college/HS I think winning your league/district is always on that list of goals. It does not mean you don’t have more goals each season…..but typically if you are gonna make a deep run in the playoffs you set yourself up best to do so by first winning your league/district.
Our goal should be to make a deep run into the playoffs on a regular basis and hopefully grab another championship. I have read that from the posts of many of you every week during football season. I know we are in the honeymoon phase with the new coach, but if we don’t demand “better” we will never get “better”. Teams rarely reach lofty goals if they remain unstated.
Heck, just look back at the SB articles and readers’ posts from past seasons. If you want, all you have to do is look at Rob’s SB season ending article from Dec 6. It read as follows:
“JMU Goes One and Done in the Playoffs…Again
Another winning season, another playoff bid, and another year of going home after one game for JMU. The Dukes went 9-2 in the regular season and earned both a seed and an opening round bye for the playoffs. For the second year in a row however, they were upset at home. The playoffs were over practically before they even started. Last year it was to Liberty. Yesterday it was to the Colgate Raiders from the Patriot League. Colgate played well and earned the win. Make no doubt about it though, the Raiders 44-38 win was an upset.
We gave ourselves a much needed cooling off period after the game. The hope was that we’d gain some sort of perspective that could better sum up the disappointing end to the season. We didn’t. We’re still as frustrated and confused about what happened yesterday as we were when the final seconds ticked off the clock. But there’s no sense putting it off any longer. In no particular order here are some thoughts on the loss and the program in general.
Upset? Epic Choke? Just an Ugly Loss?”…
http://jmusportsblog.com/?p=8250
We absolutely wish the new coach the best. He came from a place where just winning was considered quite an accomplishment. JMU is already used to winning. We have invested enough money and effort so that we should be competing for national championships. If we aren’t willing to
state these goals outright, then I see us having little chance to dethrone NDSU, etc.
Bryan Stinespring JMU’s new OC? Hopefully he brings some of his recruits with him ala Vad Lee
welcome home coach Stiney! ’86 alum I believe. saw he was joining the staff, but didn’t see OC listed, considering he did that job previously at Tech he is probably a good fit.
I saw a tweet that had him as OC then it switched to an undisclosed position. I also saw we picked up Virginia State’s HC. Seems like Houston is doing a decent job recruiting a staff.
Are the blog writers still alive?
@Charles Haha. We’re alive. I was just out of town and then I returned to a blizzard. Getting back on the blogging horse tonight.