Matt Viator

[Turbine]

We all know the success that McNeese State has had in the past at the 1-AA level.

It should be noted that Matt Viator, has head coach, has never won a playoff game at the 1-AA level. This includes the year that they went 11-0 in the regular season.

This year McNeese was 6-5 and for the second time under Viator, failed to qualify for the playoffs.

You interview him out of respect and future recruting considerations. . . . if you get my drift.

If he doesn't win a certain recruiting battle latem UL history might be different.

igeaux.mobi

[J-Town Cajun]

I was told by someone who has spoken to Viator about his interview yesterday, and I was told that Viator felt he had a very good interview and he liked the way things went. As for as money that UL is offering, I won't give exact details out of respect for Coach Viator and the UL administration, but the amounts mentioned here on this board is very close to being accurate.

[cajun4life]

_ Maybe so .. But lets face it - we are not going to get a top asst from a big time program with the little money we are offering and as I stated before Viator has proved that he can build a better program than we have with a lot less resources and we can afford him and we can ____ of the folks in Lake Charles .. Seems like a win win win win situation... _

There are only around 15 assistants in the country making the same amout that we are going to offer. There are only about 10 making more than we will offer, so I do not get where you think that an assistant won't come here because of pay.

They may not come here because the administration has not done enough to change the history or perception of the program. I'd buy that as a reason, but not money.

[Gumbeaux]

You also need to consider that there are many AQ assistants making roughly 10-15% less than what we offer, and I'd think that a 15% raise would be a bare minimum in trying to lure someone from a current coordinator position at a "larger" school to UL.

I mean, I know I wouldn't be interested in such a significant promotion unless it came with a significant pay raise. Especially if my job were one as scrutinized as a HC position is, and at a place with a less-than-stellar track record.

Frankly, I would prefer not to hire a FCS coach, but if the best qualified person is a FCS coach, lets roll.

[mr. cajun]

_ There are only around 15 assistants in the country making the same amout that we are going to offer. There are only about 10 making more than we will offer

WOW ... JUST WOW ...

[ATXCajun]

THE BEST POINT YET. If He was so good why didn't ULM or Tech look at him.

PLEASE GOD NO on this one. I can't believe he would leave his Alma Mater and want to Coach us, since there is no love between our Universities ALUM.

GEAUX CAJUNS

...or Ark St or N Texas or anyone else that has been looking for a new coach recently.



igeaux.mobi

[Red Tide]

I have many questions in my mind that I can not answer or may not have the best perspective. First of all, with Urban Meyer resigning at Florida it would seem that Dan Mullen would be a logical choice as the next HC at Florida. Perhaps, even Steve Spurrier, but Mullen is, by all rights, a "hot" commodity as an SEC coach.

That changes the dynamic and the time frame for one Mark Hudspeth. How will that affect UL's horizion for a new coach with recruiting looming so large and in full swing? Will Hudspeth actually commit to UL and then bolt if given the chance as OC at Florida?

Joe Deforest wants the job and has the blessings from his head coach and a program that he has worked hard at for many years.

Mike Sewak is a close friend of Scott Farmer's and would bring in a new offense that does not fit the players that we have on the roster. My personal feeling is that Sewak would dismantle the program and start from scratch making that $450K salary something that will not be truly earned until 4 years later. That is about the "time" it would take to get "his" players into "his" system. We experienced the same thing with Bustle and then extended his contract.

And we have Viator who is probably in full swing of recruiting and could hit the ground running but would most certainly bring a lot of his coaching staff with him.

Based on the opinions of others, it really looks like we are down to really just 2 choices right now that can move on our time frame. . . .Joe DeForest and Matt Viator. And, as far as I know, DeForest has not had a face to face interview. What's up with that?

Am I wrong, or does someone see what I am seeing?

[ATXCajun]

Can someone explain to me why this thread is still alive?

Because the fact that he actually got an interview scares the crap out of people.

igeaux.mobi

[RCAJUN90]

_ We all know the success that McNeese State has had in the past at the 1-AA level.

It should be noted that Matt Viator, has head coach, has never won a playoff game at the 1-AA level. This includes the year that they went 11-0 in the regular season.

This year McNeese was 6-5 and for the second time under Viator, failed to qualify for the playoffs. _

Isn't he a great recruiter? Maybe we can add him to the new staff just not as head coach?

[J-Town Cajun]

_ Isn't he a great recruiter? Maybe we can add him to the new staff just not as head coach? _

I would say recruiting may not be his strong suit (mainly because he has been at McNeese) but that is what you bring in a good recruiting coordinator for. Viator's strong suit his attention to detail, X's and O's, game management, organizational and management skills, easy to like, and non-polarizing. He has been successful at every stop including turning each HS around Vinton, Jennings (state championship), Sulfur, McNeese as a position coach (LB and WR), McNeese as a OC (2 D1AA runner-ups), and McNeese HC (2 time SLC coach of the year).

Personally I think his recruiting would be much improved at UL just because he will be at a D1 program and coaches in Louisiana will want to now push their kids to UL because Viator is here, where as in the past because of Bustle's lack of communication around the state (also looked at as someone who prefers to recruit Florida kids instead of home grown) kids were steered away.

[cajungrad00]

I have heard Matt Viator's interview was a "Courtesy" interview to appease some big money boosters..... Why would he NOT be getting serious consideration?? Viator has SUCCESSFUL head coaching experience at McNeese. (They are consistently in the top programs in their division each year.) He has very strong and successful recruiting connections in Louisiana and East Texas. Viator has done it all with a much smaller budget and worse facilities than we have.

There are a number of successful programs nationwide who have found great coaches at smaller schools in their back yard.

[Rebel02]