Vince Lombardi was asked by one of his players why he didn't yell at Bart Starr. He said I can't yell at him. He knew.
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The Great Badger Coaching Search of '23: Start Drinking Heavily
- Thread starter GoBucky18
- Start date
Vince Lombardi was asked by one of his players why he didn't yell at Bart Starr. He said I can't yell at him. He knew.
HighToTheGloveSide
Hoochie mama.....
Was looking around to see if there was any other info on Bucky's coaching search and found an article from 2016 on who the top candidates were to replace Mike Eaves - I had forgotten that Gwoz was an alum:
1. Mark Osiecki
Current job: Assistant Coach, Rockford IceHogs(AHL)
Age: 47
Alumnus: Yes
Wisconsin's success under Mike Eaves, and their eventual downfall, corresponds very strongly to Osiecki's arrival as an assistant at Wisconsin, and with his departure to become head coach at Ohio State. Osiecki is a strong identifier of talent and recruiter, and was given much of the credit for Wisconsin's prolific ability to churn out NHL-caliber defensemen in the mid-aughts. His tenure at Ohio State was short, and ended under cloudy circumstances, but many felt Osiecki had the Buckeyes right on the cusp of turning their program around with some of the talent he had lined up in Columbus.
Barry Alvarez likely doesn't know the difference, but Osiecki is likely to be the favorite of the hockey people whispering in his ear about which direction the program should go.
2. Don Granato
Current job: Head coach, US NTDP Program
Age: 48
Alumnus: Yes
The last time the Wisconsin head coaching position was open, they needed to replace a coach with an excellent career who had lost his fastball in recent years. They chose to go with a coach in his late-40s with a bevy of pro coaching experience who had spent the past few seasons with the US NTDP program, gaining contacts with some of the country's elite players. Sound familiar?
Granato spent years as an AHL head coach, and had some brief stints as an assistant at the NHL level. He's now in his fifth year as a head coach with the US NTDP team(Coaches alternate between the U17 and U18 teams each year so they coach the same group of kids for two years). He also has some experience coaching at the USHL level, but that was nearly 20 years ago.
Of the field, Granato might be the candidate with the least downside.
Incidentally, his older brother Tony Granato has been suggested as a potential candidate by some. Tony's resume is more impressive at the pro level--he's been an NHL head coach--but he has no college or junior hockey coaching experience, and seems unlikely to leave the pro ranks.
3. George Gwozdecky
Current job: Head coach, Valor Christian(Colorado HS)
Age: 62
Alumnus: Yes
No other candidate has the resume at the collegiate level that Gwozdecky has. After turning around Miami's program in the early '90s, Gwozdecky became the head coach at Denver. In 19 seasons at Denver, Gwoz won 20+ games 16 times, including his final 12 seasons. He won three regular season titles, and four playoff titles in the glory days of the old WCHA. He took the Pioneers to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, and national titles in 2004 and 2005, the last time a team has won back-to-back titles.
Though he still looks fantastic for his age, Gwozdecky would be 63 years old before he coached his first game with the Badgers. Gwozdecky could maybe provide a quick turnaround, but the odds of him being around for anything other than that seem slim. Gwozdecky, despite his enormous success at Denver, was fired by the Pioneers after a dispute with the Denver athletic department about him deserving a raise. Could his ego co-exist with an athletic director with an ego of his own, and at a school where the hockey program is, at best, a distant, distant third on the priority list?
4. Steve Rohlik
Current job: Head coach, Ohio State
Age: 47
Alumnus: Yes
Rohlik was a long-time assistant at Minnesota Duluth, helping recruit the classes that would eventually lead the Bulldogs to a national title in 2011. He left Duluth in 2009 to be associate head coach at Ohio State under former Badger teammate Mark Osiecki, and was given the reins to the program after Osiecki was fired in 2013.
Rohlik hasn't had tremendous success as the head coach at Ohio State, but with a big freshman class this season, the Buckeyes showed improvement throughout the season, and looked like they could be a year or two away from turning things around.
5. Mark Johnson
Current job: Head coach, University of Wisconsin women
Age: 58
Alumnus: Yes
Johnson was an assistant coach with the Wisconsin men's team and up for the head coaching position in 2002 when Mike Eaves was hired. Instead, Johnson took over the Wisconsin women's program and turned them into one of the premier programs in women's college hockey. Johnson has won four national titles, and would have many, many more if not for their arch-nemesis in Minnesota.
There's no doubt he's a great coach. But Johnson hasn't coached in the men's game for over a decade. At 58, he's an older candidate too. And would he even want the job? He's got a great thing going on across the street at LaBahn bringing in the best female players in the world and dominating in the women's game.
6. Scott Owens
Current job: Head coach/GM Sioux Falls Stampede(USHL)
Age: 60
Alumnus: No
The only non-alum on the list, but Owens is a native of Madison and spent a year as an assistant at Wisconsin, so he's got some connection to the community. Owens was the coach at Colorado College for 15 seasons. He had a .579 winning percentage in his time there, including seven trips to the NCAA Tournament and one Frozen Four appearance. He was fired by Colorado College after the 2013-2014 season after three straight missed tournaments, including a 7-24-6 in his last year. But Colorado College is a tough school to recruit to, and have success at, as his successor is currently showing. Last May, the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL hired Owens, and they've been a .500 team this year, in a very small sample size.
The pros in hiring Owens would be his immense head coaching experience at the college level. Working against him is his age at 60. He's likely not a long-term hire, if he is the choice, and the end of his tenure at Colorado College likely raises some red flags. Owens wouldn't be a home run hire, but if Wisconsin strikes out on a couple other candidates, he's got a pretty impressive resume for a fallback candidate.
1. Mark Osiecki
Current job: Assistant Coach, Rockford IceHogs(AHL)
Age: 47
Alumnus: Yes
Wisconsin's success under Mike Eaves, and their eventual downfall, corresponds very strongly to Osiecki's arrival as an assistant at Wisconsin, and with his departure to become head coach at Ohio State. Osiecki is a strong identifier of talent and recruiter, and was given much of the credit for Wisconsin's prolific ability to churn out NHL-caliber defensemen in the mid-aughts. His tenure at Ohio State was short, and ended under cloudy circumstances, but many felt Osiecki had the Buckeyes right on the cusp of turning their program around with some of the talent he had lined up in Columbus.
Barry Alvarez likely doesn't know the difference, but Osiecki is likely to be the favorite of the hockey people whispering in his ear about which direction the program should go.
2. Don Granato
Current job: Head coach, US NTDP Program
Age: 48
Alumnus: Yes
The last time the Wisconsin head coaching position was open, they needed to replace a coach with an excellent career who had lost his fastball in recent years. They chose to go with a coach in his late-40s with a bevy of pro coaching experience who had spent the past few seasons with the US NTDP program, gaining contacts with some of the country's elite players. Sound familiar?
Granato spent years as an AHL head coach, and had some brief stints as an assistant at the NHL level. He's now in his fifth year as a head coach with the US NTDP team(Coaches alternate between the U17 and U18 teams each year so they coach the same group of kids for two years). He also has some experience coaching at the USHL level, but that was nearly 20 years ago.
Of the field, Granato might be the candidate with the least downside.
Incidentally, his older brother Tony Granato has been suggested as a potential candidate by some. Tony's resume is more impressive at the pro level--he's been an NHL head coach--but he has no college or junior hockey coaching experience, and seems unlikely to leave the pro ranks.
3. George Gwozdecky
Current job: Head coach, Valor Christian(Colorado HS)
Age: 62
Alumnus: Yes
No other candidate has the resume at the collegiate level that Gwozdecky has. After turning around Miami's program in the early '90s, Gwozdecky became the head coach at Denver. In 19 seasons at Denver, Gwoz won 20+ games 16 times, including his final 12 seasons. He won three regular season titles, and four playoff titles in the glory days of the old WCHA. He took the Pioneers to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, and national titles in 2004 and 2005, the last time a team has won back-to-back titles.
Though he still looks fantastic for his age, Gwozdecky would be 63 years old before he coached his first game with the Badgers. Gwozdecky could maybe provide a quick turnaround, but the odds of him being around for anything other than that seem slim. Gwozdecky, despite his enormous success at Denver, was fired by the Pioneers after a dispute with the Denver athletic department about him deserving a raise. Could his ego co-exist with an athletic director with an ego of his own, and at a school where the hockey program is, at best, a distant, distant third on the priority list?
4. Steve Rohlik
Current job: Head coach, Ohio State
Age: 47
Alumnus: Yes
Rohlik was a long-time assistant at Minnesota Duluth, helping recruit the classes that would eventually lead the Bulldogs to a national title in 2011. He left Duluth in 2009 to be associate head coach at Ohio State under former Badger teammate Mark Osiecki, and was given the reins to the program after Osiecki was fired in 2013.
Rohlik hasn't had tremendous success as the head coach at Ohio State, but with a big freshman class this season, the Buckeyes showed improvement throughout the season, and looked like they could be a year or two away from turning things around.
5. Mark Johnson
Current job: Head coach, University of Wisconsin women
Age: 58
Alumnus: Yes
Johnson was an assistant coach with the Wisconsin men's team and up for the head coaching position in 2002 when Mike Eaves was hired. Instead, Johnson took over the Wisconsin women's program and turned them into one of the premier programs in women's college hockey. Johnson has won four national titles, and would have many, many more if not for their arch-nemesis in Minnesota.
There's no doubt he's a great coach. But Johnson hasn't coached in the men's game for over a decade. At 58, he's an older candidate too. And would he even want the job? He's got a great thing going on across the street at LaBahn bringing in the best female players in the world and dominating in the women's game.
6. Scott Owens
Current job: Head coach/GM Sioux Falls Stampede(USHL)
Age: 60
Alumnus: No
The only non-alum on the list, but Owens is a native of Madison and spent a year as an assistant at Wisconsin, so he's got some connection to the community. Owens was the coach at Colorado College for 15 seasons. He had a .579 winning percentage in his time there, including seven trips to the NCAA Tournament and one Frozen Four appearance. He was fired by Colorado College after the 2013-2014 season after three straight missed tournaments, including a 7-24-6 in his last year. But Colorado College is a tough school to recruit to, and have success at, as his successor is currently showing. Last May, the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL hired Owens, and they've been a .500 team this year, in a very small sample size.
The pros in hiring Owens would be his immense head coaching experience at the college level. Working against him is his age at 60. He's likely not a long-term hire, if he is the choice, and the end of his tenure at Colorado College likely raises some red flags. Owens wouldn't be a home run hire, but if Wisconsin strikes out on a couple other candidates, he's got a pretty impressive resume for a fallback candidate.
solovsfett
Registered User
I think Rohlik would be good but…I feel bad saying this but it would be a bit underwhelming to me.
maybe he’d be great and he certainly was a great captain on the 90 team but I feel like Badger hockey really needs a home run hire that brings a ton of excitement. I don’t think he fits the bill but would certainly cheer for him if he got the job.
the more I think about it the more I change my view on Muse. I think he’s got a ton of potential.
What's ironic is that TG was exactly tabbed as a "Home Run Hire" and the expectations were through the roof.
I almost feel like it would be better to have someone under the radar. Not underwhelming but under the radar. We need somone that is committed, not someone that is taking classes for their degree or coaching the olympics. Im still upset about that...can anyone tell?
Rohls doesnt get me super excited either, but that guy squeezes talent from rocks down in Columbus.
Think everyone would be surprised by some of the schools paying $550+. For instance, Quinnipiac paid Pecknold $550k in 2021 (data only comes out a year+ later cause it’s private)
Im not surprised at all. QP has been all in lately. But I think WI is looking at $700 if they reel in their top 1.
goofy gopher
M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A
One thing with Hastings and maybe I missed it being mentioned, is his team's have been older. Maybe young (not as mature physically) guys don't play his system as well. He would have to adapt his recruiting strategies or WI will have older teams.
Wisko McBadgerton
Teaching you how to Bucky.
While the consensus seems to be Hastings or Rohls, or perhaps prying away some other current D1 HC, I'm hoping they are casting a bit wider net and considering other names. Outside of the NHL there are not many HC jobs anywhere in hockey better than Wisconsin. Here are some other guys I might consider going after:
Jeff Blashill, 49. Former Redwings and WMU coach, now a Tampa assistant. Maybe hard to get as he's certainly going to be angling for another NHL HC job soon.
Spencer Carberry, 40. Former AHL coach of the year at Hershey, currently a Leafs assistant. Was considered for Bruins HC job. Played at Alaska and 3years at St Norbert's.
Rikard Gronborg, 54. Former Swedish Men's National team coach, ZSC Lions coach. Played at St Cloud and coached at Stout. Very well respected and considered for NHL HC jobs. Nearly 30% of the NHL is now euro's, btw.
Kris Knoblauch, 44. AHL Hartford HC. U of Alberta grad. Saskatchewan native with a huge reputation for developing players. NY Rangers youngsters came up under him.
Ryan Warsofsky, 34. NHL Sharks assistant, former AHL Chicago HC where he won the Calder Cup. Played 4 years at Sacred Heart. Youngster is brilliant by any and all accounts
There are more guys like this, but these are some of the very brightest. I'd like the admin to interview a few of these types of guys. College athletics is a lot more like the pros than it was and NCAA experience may be less important than it was just a few years ago.
Jeff Blashill, 49. Former Redwings and WMU coach, now a Tampa assistant. Maybe hard to get as he's certainly going to be angling for another NHL HC job soon.
Spencer Carberry, 40. Former AHL coach of the year at Hershey, currently a Leafs assistant. Was considered for Bruins HC job. Played at Alaska and 3years at St Norbert's.
Rikard Gronborg, 54. Former Swedish Men's National team coach, ZSC Lions coach. Played at St Cloud and coached at Stout. Very well respected and considered for NHL HC jobs. Nearly 30% of the NHL is now euro's, btw.
Kris Knoblauch, 44. AHL Hartford HC. U of Alberta grad. Saskatchewan native with a huge reputation for developing players. NY Rangers youngsters came up under him.
Ryan Warsofsky, 34. NHL Sharks assistant, former AHL Chicago HC where he won the Calder Cup. Played 4 years at Sacred Heart. Youngster is brilliant by any and all accounts
There are more guys like this, but these are some of the very brightest. I'd like the admin to interview a few of these types of guys. College athletics is a lot more like the pros than it was and NCAA experience may be less important than it was just a few years ago.
srkbadger
Trek: There is no substitute
Ohio State better be careful or Michigan's gonna blow them out. We'll see how it goes. Ohio State sorta owned Michigan during the regular season, but when a big game comes along? I've been unimpressed with the performance of Rohlik's teams in big games over his tenure.
WiscTJK
Well-known member
He’s in town this weekend playing the caps. I went last night. Man that usntdp is really really good. There were three scouts there that I saw.
Hopefully Mac has an interview with him.
I'm gonna go sign up for one of those USA Hockey coaching classes.
Don’t forget us when you get to 600 wins and build a wagon from scratch that has to practice at midnight
Pirateasaur
Member
Danton Cole and Tom Anastos are available.
Agree. Wisconsin volleyball has better average attendance than probably 90% of hockey teams. Wisconsin hockey fans are still paying for 8,000 seats when most are not actually going to the game. So support is still there even though people are not going. Facilities are good. Money is good.
Not sure how much NIL plays into college hockey but I'm gonna guess it's better at WI than most places.
The team has been horrible for a long time so not a big act to follow for the next coach.
Sounds like a great gig to me. I think many current coaches have their eyes on this job as they prepare for the NCAAs.
At the end of the day, I think we can all agree that a proven track record of player development, a great system, and wins is what we are looking for here. Those are the fundamental requirements...then evaluating guys based on those requirements and coming up with the top few to interview.
Sounds simple enough lol
Sounds simple enough lol
Timothy A
Let's go RED!
Egads!
Timothy A
Let's go RED!
I like the kinda outside the box list. Biggest question is recruiting with these guys.
WiscTJK
Well-known member
Yeah, I am pretty sure that post was sarcasm or wishing for UW to hire a terrible retread. I didn't take it seriously.
Timothy A
Let's go RED!
Me neither but those guys were BAD.
Bronco
Onondaga United IV.6
If you could get Blashill then you will be very happy. I don't think he would leave the NHL to go back to the NCAA, but if you can get him I'd bet you would see an instant turn around.