Head Coach Mike Desormeaux

[Bandwagon King]

I get it. He checks all the boxes Maggard had set up. He's a tough competitor which really doesn't have anything to do with coaching. He's of high moral character which I will not debate and I love Des and from all accounts is a great guy and he's a family man. Again, much of this does not have to do with results on the field. Did Maggard have boxes to cross in regards to head coaching or coordinator experience? Relationships with outside coaches etc..? Maybe Des steps in and just kills it and obviously I hope he does but it doesn't mean that there shouldn't be questions asked of this hire, especially since none of us know who the other candidates were.

What I would like to know is did they discuss who Mike would look at in future assistants & coordinators & who would assist him in recruiting so he wouldn't have to recruit 1/3 of his next class by himself.

[Bandwagon King]

He did mentioned that internal and external candidates were interviewed.

But you said he flew out to meet with candidate(s). If an AD is flying out to meet with a candidate, that is a pretty serious date. We saw what happened when Stricklen flew out to meet with Billy. They then thee wed.

[ULGrad@HOU]

No you’re not entitled to that information. Failed candidates are never officially outed.

Supporters are entitled to know.

[Bandwagon King]

Thats not any of your business. A decision has been made. And before you start this crap of you don’t know, yes I do know. As I knew about Mike.

Who were they?

[CajunEXPRESS]

I’m hoping some of these questions will be posed to Maggard at the football presser. Other questions to Mike about his vision and plans to achieve the vision.

Some of y’all want things that Maggard will never divulge. Applicants, and why not those specific applicants were not hired. We also don’t know if the applicants were affordable.

For example Golding already makes over a million dollars a year. Are we going to outbid Alabama? Not likely. Another top coordinator is going from Georgia to OU I heard. One at Michigan State some weren’t impressed here. Ole Miss offense coordinator we don’t actually know. Those are the names I have heard here.

I know Marshall is bringing a stable coaching staff and team. We’ve got early departure plus senior departure. Going to be very tough to beat a good Marshall. Hopefully Mike can compartmentalize like Billy did. There’s lots of moving parts.

[ULGrad@HOU]

It shouldn't be a surprise. I mentioned 2 months ago on the South Alabama game thread that the next UL coach was already on the staff. Guys listen to JMV every once in a while. I personally am not that close to the sources, but I have a podna who is as close to the source as can be. This has been in the making for a while. Dr. Maggard is a smart man and has folks lined up ready to take over if needed. Post 306 of this thread if you don't want to go back that far. Listen to me other external candidates were interviewed. Dr. Maggard even flew to meet a few.

I will make sure, when I communicate to Dr. Savoie, as I have done in the past, what I think of picking out a coach before a proper selection process is done.

[Boomer]

22 of those guys are gone Dec 19... don't really help you in 2022 now does it

…..How about a starting line up for next year?….got the punter and place kicker back ……RBs…..WRs and TEs check….Off line problems……Can somebody help on Off line and def positions?

[Crawfish]

Cajun Express is correct on all points. If there are any details about the search that Dr. Maggard can reveal, he may or may not divulge. No professional hiring manager would reveal the names of people interviewed for a particular position. He may say something like "I interviewed several candidates for this job" but he will not and should not be more specific than this. One thing about Napier is that it seems that he was a process-oriented coach. I base this on some of the statements he has made. Those skills can be transferred, and I suspect that Mike was a good student. Combined with a knowledge of football, this could explain why Napier recommended him. I suspect that this cULture stuff is what makes up Napier's quality management system. Fans need to give this a chance to work.

[Bandwagon King]

Cajun Express is correct on all points. If there are any details about the search that Dr. Maggard can reveal, he may or may not divulge. No professional hiring manager would reveal the names of people interviewed for a particular position. He may say something like "I interviewed several candidates for this job" but he will not and should not be more specific than this. One thing about Napier is that it seems that he was a process-oriented coach. I base this on some of the statements he has made. Those skills can be transferred, and I suspect that Mike was a good student. Combined with a knowledge of football, this could explain why Napier recommended him. I suspect that this cULture stuff is what makes up Napier's quality management system. Fans need to give this a chance to work.

It's not just about the process. It's also about who is in the process. I would like to know IF Mike discussed assistants with Maggard. I would also like to know how many candidates were considered & interviewed. Not interested in knowing who, but at least how many were interviewed. Mike recruiting 1/3 of all the incoming candidates is great, but as HC he simply won't be in a position to do that. So who is he looking to & who does he trust to assist him to that end. And knowing who is going to be the defensive coordinator is going to be, or who is targeted is more important for this program at this point than ever. This team is led by the defense no matter what anyone says. This defense won this team its championship.

[mxpxfr690]

Supporters are entitled to know.

Well usually coaching searches are kept quiet to protect the candidates and the schools….The only way you might find out is if you ask Maggard directly. Besides that Des is your coach and it is time to rally behind him. At this point we need to keep this train rolling. All the anti Des people on this board don’t want him as head coach because he came from UL and that he has not coached anywhere else in college. Point to me in the rules of hiring a college coach that the coach you hire must have bounced around the college ranks to be a credible candidate. This guy has been in the Napier system “Franchising the Process”. If this dude follows the recipe he can be successful. If Maggard and Napier think this dude should be the guy then I am all on board with that. Time to strap it up and let’s see what happens.

[Clutch0364]

Golding was caught on tape groping bama cheerleaders. I will pass.

That wasn’t golden. It was GA who’s GF is the cheerleader.

[CharlieK]

Maggard, Napier, the team and staff vs some dudes on RP.

Tough call I know.

Everyone has doubts and questions, as there would be with any hire. What the past four years and this hire have taught us is that some people are just incapable of not latching onto the negative and beating them into the ground, regardless of the positives. It’s got to be a hard way to go through life.

Maggard has made his choice. It comes with lots of upside but some risks. Right now what’s best for the program is to pull for the upside. If it doesn’t work, there will be plenty of time for I told you so’s.