Head Coach Mike Desormeaux

[JayWalker]

So cheap you said it yourself we have some budgetary concerns. This is a way to save face while saving money aka Dr.A aka USL

Sorry, sir. You know not from whence you speak on this one. The salary for the new coach was always going to be in the 750 range, the same as Billy.

No way you're going to start a head coach at 1.5 million or anything like that. That's not because of budgetary concerns, either. That's just being smart.

[VObserver]

Yep. It's ok to have questions and/or concerns. It is NOT ok to judge this before he's coached his first game.

I disagree with "none of us are wrong." I think those who have already decided "we USL'd this one" are dead wrong.

Now as far as salary is concerned, Billy's original salary was 750 plus incentives. He earned the raises he got. I would expect Mike's salary to be somewhere in that range, give or take 100K.

I agree that it is wrong to judge at this time; but it is neither right nor wrong to express concern.

As to the "none of us are wrong", perhaps I was a bit more general than I should have been. I agree with you as to those who have already decided we have "USL'ed" this hire. Those who fear we might have done so are likely old farts like me who have seen us do so far too many times.

For the record, I am not one who thinks we might have "USL'ed" it. I do have concerns about experience and knowledge necessary to make good staff hires. That said, Mike has never been a "Me" guy. I firmly believe that if he is uncertain about something he will reach out to Dr. Maggard, Billy and/or other more experienced folks that he knows and trusts for advice, then make his own decision.

I trust Dr. Maggard to have done his due diligence. More importantly, I trust Mike to give his absolute best effort to this job. I firmly believe that, even if there are some stumbles along the way, Mike will make us all proud of him. He always has.

[Scott Malkinson]

Sorry, sir. You know not from whence you speak on this one. The salary for the new coach was always going to be in the 750 range, the same as Billy.

No way you're going to start a head coach at 1.5 million or anything like that. That's not because of budgetary concerns, either. That's just being smart.

Maggard said salary would be 1.2 if that candidate warranted it .... so um

[cjr3888]

I'll go full MAT on you jack-wads! If you're complaining and saying Dr Maggard USLed this, go home and pound sand, or eat rocks, or whatever clean way of saying to ____! Having concerns is one thing but downing the hire and saying it won't work a few hours after the hire is announced shows that you're just hear to b---h. You guys are idiots who need to stay at your damn house and keep your mouth shut! You shouldn't call yourself Cajun fans. You should turn in your red, go to your local Wal-Mart, and start wearing purple.

[SlappyCajun]

Sorry, sir. You know not from whence you speak on this one. The salary for the new coach was always going to be in the 750 range, the same as Billy.

No way you're going to start a head coach at 1.5 million or anything like that. That's not because of budgetary concerns, either. That's just being smart.

If he starting salary was always going to be around $750K. Then I think it’s fair to say that many of the names we saw in here were not real candidates because we certainly couldn’t have gotten them at that price.

[CharlieK]

I'll go full MAT on you jack-wads! If you're complaining and saying Dr Maggard USLed this, go home and pound sand, or eat rocks, or whatever clean way of saying to F-Off! Having concerns is one thing but downing the hire and saying it won't work a few hours after the hire is announced shows that you're just hear to b---h. You guys are idiots who need to stay at your damn house and keep your mouth shut! You shouldn't call yourself Cajun fans. You should turn in your red, go to your local Wal-Mart, and start wearing purple.

The ville bringing the heat!

[IHateLaState]

All of you people need to chill out. We are all 100% invested in Mike being successful as head coach of our Louisiana Ragin Cajuns. The fact that some of us have legitimate concerns about his readiness for the job does not equate to us "hating" him or even the hire. I have not seen one person here express doubt about Mike's character or work ethic or commitment to the job at hand. What I have seen are concerns very similar to those which a proud parent might have were their beloved child to receive a sudden and unexpected promotion to a position at work.

Every on of us wants him to succeed. We all want him to be as good as or better than his coaching parent CBN. Some of us are mothers who can see no wrong in their offspring; others are fathers who believe wholeheartedly that he CAN do the job, but see the possibility that he might have needed more time and experience to fully equip himself to handle it.

None of us are wrong.

Great post and it is how I feel. I am 100% behind Mike and I trust Dr M. My only post on the topic so far has been to compare Napier pedigree when he was hired. I will not be one critical of the new coach when we lose our first game nor second guess. All I am saying is that I was expecting more but that’s why I sit in the stands while the good Doc makes the decisions. Excited about the future

[SlappyCajun]

Now, we all hope that Mike Desormeaux is to Cajuns football what Brad Stevens was to Butler basketball.

The hires are very similar to me.

[CajunVic]

Now, we all hope that Mike Desormeaux is to Cajuns football what Brad Stevens was to Butler basketball.

The hires are very similar to me.

When I saw Brad, I thought it was going to be Brad Boyd . . .

You know, he may be next . . .

[ManAboutTown]

My guy VOB is on the right track here. We have to keep this all in perspective.
The very LAST thing we need to be right now is a circular firing squad. The LAST thing we need right now is to all retreat to our corners and __________ post about the hire, or choke on Vermilion & White ding dong to back the hire.
Mike Des shouldn't be a polarizing thing. But he is, and we all need to accept it. I can tell you, I had (and still have) some concerns. But the more you think about it, the more you talk to people involved intimately with the hire, the more it makes sense, in my view. I will not argue with people that worry about sustaining staff members and hiring into the future. It is a legitimate thing to worry about. Des will prove that he can build a staff. Or he won't. Any hire would have inherent risk. I promise you, Maggard wanted to know his plan, his relationships and his potential incoming staff. It was a big part of Napier's hire. But again, the pro-Des camp can't castrate the people with concerns; the Des-curious camp can't trash the hire. We can discuss and SHOULD discuss it. But maybe let's try to meet in the middle on this one. The fact is, Mike will be questioned by plenty enough people. Maybe more than ever, this coach needs the diehards to support him in a fierce way.

I hope I don't get in trouble for this but ____ it. Seems like an appropriate time. GA assistants were interviewed. Glen Schumann and Lanning. Can't confirm Lebby, but the information that I got came from trustworthy place. Supposedly, he was interviewed (or was scheduled to interview). There were 2 others. Don't know the names. Mike Desormeaux just flat out blew the interview out of the water. He was recommended by Rob Sale (from what I understand, our first call) and by Billy Napier. We were able to keep our staff mostly in place because we retained Mike. Our current kids all support the hire and our recruiting class will stay in tact, relatively speaking, because we kept the staff. Toney and Juluke will hurt and they'll take some kids with them. But our relationships in state (because of Mike in large part), are in the best shape they've ever been. The infrastructure is in place. Ask App St how hiring from within has worked out. Ask Bama, Clemson, and Georgia how promoting from within goes. Good organizations breed good people. We have it.

But, the most immediate line of business: judging the Des hire on the Bowl game is completely unfair, IMO. So many moving parts to all of this right now. Marshall is a quality team and NOLA is NOLA. I hope we win the game, but I'm not going to say he "failed an exam." C'mon..

[zephyr]

My guy VOB is on the right track here. We have to keep this all in perspective.
The very LAST thing we need to be right now is a circular firing squad. The LAST thing we need right now is to all retreat to our corners and __________ post about the hire, or choke on Vermilion & White ding dong to back the hire.
Mike Des shouldn't be a polarizing thing. But he is, and we all need to accept it. I can tell you, I had (and still have) some concerns. But the more you think about it, the more you talk to people involved intimately with the hire, the more it makes sense, in my view. I will not argue with people that worry about sustaining staff members and hiring into the future. It is a legitimate thing to worry about. Des will prove that he can build a staff. Or he won't. Any hire would have inherent risk. I promise you, Maggard wanted to know his plan, his relationships and his potential incoming staff. It was a big part of Napier's hire. But again, the pro-Des camp can't castrate the people with concerns; the Des-curious camp can't trash the hire. We can discuss and SHOULD discuss it. But maybe let's try to meet in the middle on this one. The fact is, Mike will be questioned by plenty enough people. Maybe more than ever, this coach needs the diehards to support him in a fierce way.

I hope I don't get in trouble for this but ____ it. Seems like an appropriate time. GA assistants were interviewed. Glen Schumann and Lanning. Can't confirm Lebby, but the information that I got came from trustworthy place. Supposedly, he was interviewed (or was scheduled to interview). There were 2 others. Don't know the names. Mike Desormeaux just flat out blew the interview out of the water. He was recommended by Rob Sale (from what I understand, our first call) and by Billy Napier. We were able to keep our staff mostly in place because we retained Mike. Our current kids all support the hire and our recruiting class will stay in tact, relatively speaking, because we kept the staff. Toney and Juluke will hurt and they'll take some kids with them. But our relationships in state (because of Mike in large part), are in the best shape they've ever been. The infrastructure is in place. Ask App St how hiring from within has worked out. Ask Bama, Clemson, and Georgia how promoting from within goes. Good organizations breed good people. We have it.

But, the most immediate line of business: judging the Des hire on the Bowl game is completely unfair, IMO. So many moving parts to all of this right now. Marshall is a quality team and NOLA is NOLA. I hope we win the game, but I'm not going to say he "failed an exam." C'mon..

Certainly can't judge the hire on the bowl game results either way. It's going to be a ____ storm of media and focus on transition in this time so who knows what to expect. I agree that we should have discussions about the hire. One question I have is you mentioned Des's recruiting in the state. This is one of my main concerns, overall recruiting. To be honest, I don't know who has done the bulk of our recruiting over the past few years so I'm looking for some guidance there. Has Des, in fact, been a big reason for the players we've brought in? If so, which areas does he focus on (I'd assume the state but..)?

[cjr3888]

The ville bringing the heat!

Damn straight! I will support Mike the same way I supported Bustle, Hud, & Napier. He may come from Admiral Doyle, but we’re all Cajun brothers once we step on campus!