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Messages - GoBlue61

#1
From my perspective (former Bowdoin parent) -- it appears that Trinity's administration, alumni, etc. are committed to having a top football program.  They bring in great players and do a great job coaching and supporting them academically, helping with internships, jobs, etc.  I give them credit for running a successful program within the league rules.  Over my four years following the NESCAC, I heard all the anecdotal stories about players who wanted to go to Bowdoin to play football, but could not get in.  Some of it is probably true, but the bottom line is...if you are going to field a team and want to compete with the top teams in the NESCAC , then do what is required to be successful.  Otherwise, don't bother fielding a team or just stop complaining about it.
#2
In my view, a good start for Coach Hammer is to beat Bates and Colby next year -- which is realistic -- and go from there.  Otherwise, being competitive in the rest of the games into the 4th quarter is a good goal.  Last year, the Middlebury and Amherst games were competitive into the 2nd half, the rest were typically over early.  (Colby was a 3 to 0 game at half time, which turned on a few brutal turnovers.)
#3
Lumbercat/FirstDown --

As a Bowdoin football parent who went to every game the past four years, I have posted previously that I believe Wells should have been given one more year.  However, I like Coach Hammer's background and hope he gets a chance to succeed.

I agree that Wells had things moving in the right direction and would have fared better last year if he had not lost a some key players on offense.  Also, I believe the strength and conditioning program was fine.  The team worked out 5 days per week in the off season, including running at 6:30 am two days per week.  Plus, the team often had captain's practice on Sat am to run agility drills.  My son gained 40 lbs in four years in the strength program (including his summer program at a local training facility in the Boston area).  My two complaints about the Wells tenure -- 1) he never seemed to have a game plan to take advantage of the other team's weaknesses; we were way too predictable on both offense and defense; 2) he never seemed to make any in game adjustments; the team would typically fall apart in the second half of games (see Middlebury, Hamilton and Colby games in particular).

In my view, Coach Hammer can win 2 or 3 games next year with the talent on hand.  Bowdoin has more returning talent than Bates, Colby and Hamilton.  We will see what happens with the incoming recruiting classes.  Besides keeping his key players healthy, Coach Hammer needs to resolve the QB position.  No team is going to win with the QB averaging 2 plus interceptions a game.  (See the 5 turnovers in the Hamilton game and the 3 killer turnovers vs Colby -- two fumbles inside the 10 yard line.)

#4
Best of luck to the new Bowdoin football coach.  I like that they went out of the region for the new coach.  There is enough talent on board to be respectable quickly.
#5
As I have posted previously, unless the AD at Bowdoin had someone in mind for the job, he should have kept Wells for another year.  To start from scratch with a search firm seems like a CYA move.  I know D3 is different, but ADs typically keep a list of candidates for their high profile jobs like football and basketball.  The search process being described seems like a Mickey Mouse operation.  Probably indicative of why Bowdoin's football program had a losing record for a 100+ years.  Sorry for the vitriol, but I just spent 4 years watching Bowdoin football.  A disservice to the players and parents who committed the time to be involved.  I hope I am wrong and they come up with the right person for the job!
#6
Not sure why a search firm is required to better position the Bowdoin job.  It is not like they are trying to lure Urban Myer or Jim Harbaugh.  It is a brand name school with nice facilities (now) in a good location that pays pretty well (my understanding).  Just identify an up and coming Patriot League or Ivy League Assistant Coach, who is looking to run his own program.  Obviously, they have a 100 year+ losing history.  So it will not take much to improve on the recent record.  Win 3 or 4 games a year and you will be a hero.
#7
Interesting stats on the head-to-head NESCAC records...obviously, a clear separation between the top, middle and bottom of the league.  You would probably see something similar in the Big Ten or SEC.  When was the last time Indiana beat Ohio State/Michigan or Vanderbilt beat Alabama/LSU?  The first job for the new Bowdoin coach is to beat Colby, Bates and Hamilton.  There is enough talent coming back to do that in 2019.  Then he can work on being competitive with the middle of the league.  Forget about Trinity; they have whole different level of athlete at this point.  (We can debate why that is so, but I don't think anyone who has seen the teams play can dispute that point.)  Admissions is the key.  Bowdoin needs to admit the 4 or 5 players each year who are going to make a difference.  If not, their record will remain the same, regardless of who they hire.
#8
Fritz Crisler brought the winged helmet to Michigan from Princeton in 1938.
#9
polbear73 -- my brother is a Michigan football alum, Class of 1989...a great place...the other end of the spectrum from the NESCAC...the status of Michigan football would require a seperate board/blog, however...

#10
polbear73:  Hopefully, there is a surprise in the works for Bowdoin football HC.  I agree that mid-coast Maine is a great location, in particular compared to the other NESCAC schools (Hartford, Somerville, Middletown, etc.?).  I still believe that Bowdoin could be a good situation for the right coach.  Win the CBB on a regular basis, beat some of the middle of the league teams, and be competitive with the tops teams; 3 or 4 wins a year would seem reasonable.  Admissions needs to let the 4 or 5 key players in per year to make a difference.
#11
Hey Lumbercat...not too enthused about the names connected to the Bowdoin football HC search...the Bucknell OC has a good background but am not impressed with the 1 win season in 2018...if the Tabor HC was such a hot name at Dartmouth why did he end up at an ISL school and is not exactly lighting up that league BTW?  I know the Bowdoin job is tough one with all the disadvantages discussed widely on this site (admissions, location, losing history, etc.), but I would like to believe that they had someone in mind when they let Wells go.  Otherwise, I would have stuck with Wells for one more year.
#12
Hey Lumbercat -- Regarding the Bowdoin coaching change...I have heard that the new coach will get to pick his OC and DC...the rest of the coaches will be around for at least the next year for continuity purposes.  It was the same deal when Caputi left...they kept the assistants around to keep recruiting and Wells brought in a new OC and DC after he was hired. 

My son played the last four years for Coach Wells and thought he was a good guy and a good coach.  Obviously, he did not win enough games to satisfy the folks making the decisions up there.  BTW...I was told before the Bates game that the decision had made to let him go, so I am not sure beating Colby would have saved his job.

The new coach will need to find a QB and find a way to keep his best players on the field.  Last year, Bowdoin lost 15 players and the prior year it was 19 players.  I know every team gets injuries, but no team can survive that many losses.  With all their players, Bowdoin was in the game vs Middlebury and Amherst in the 4th quarter.  Once they started to lose their offensive skills players, the wheels fell off.  I agree that the next coach will benefit from Well's recruiting.  Last year, there were only 4 or 5 seniors who started or got significant playing time, so it is a young team.
#13
NESCACMAN -- Can't argue with you on the Bowdoin Head Coaching position.  History backs your POV for sure.

BTW...has anyone seen the NEWMAC teams like MIT play?  I saw that they got blown out in the D3 Playoffs by Johns Hopkins.  Too bad the NESCAC does not let their champion go to the playoffs like the rest of the sports in the league.  Gotta believe that Trinity or Amherst would make a good showing.
#14
PolarBear 73 -- I agree on the depth issue.  When Bowdoin had all their players vs Middlebury and Amherst earlier in the season, they were competitive with a chance in the 4th quarter.  Fast forward to later in the year (vs Wesleyan,for example) and we had no one left on offense.  Injuries are going to happen to all teams, but the Trinity's and Amherst's have players who are ready to step up.  In Bowdoin's case, too often the backups are freshman who aren't ready to play.  I wish Coach Well's good luck going forward.  Hopefully, Bowdoin hires the right coach and makes a commitment to do what is necessary to be competitive.  It is too tough a sport to show up outmanned week after week, and get pounded.
#15
I just read about Wells being let go by Bowdoin. A tough business to get let go the week before Thanksgiving. My son played for Wells for the past 4 years. He seemed like a good guy, but obviously did not get the job done on the field. Given the results the past 100+ years, Bowdoin will never be a top team in the NESCAC. However, based on four years of watching NESCAC football, there is no reason that Bowdoin can't beat Colby, Bates, Hamilton, and be competitive with the mid-tier teams.