Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 -- We're Going to Have a Hockey Season Here!!
I'll concede that there are some benchmarks that have to be reached but, really, how onerous do they have to be in order for Souza not to get the job? In his three years as an associate does the team have to make the NCAAs, advance to the final eight in HE, or have a winning record? Or are we looking at something a bit more nebulous. That the kids he brings in are an improvement over those who left, for instance.
Let me ask you (and Watcher) this. Is there anything in Marty's UNH resume which indicates that he is a hard grader, that if the coaches don't perform up to a certain level he gets rid of him? And the answer is not McCloskey or Karen Kay.
No - I agree, there is nothing in the AD's UNH resume to suggest he is a hard grader. See
Herrion, Bill.
As to the benchmarks ... I'd say Year One didn't do Coach Souza any favors, but it's probably going to be the least heavily weighted year of the three season lead-in. Good one to get out of your system quickly, and move forwards.
Now ... this season, with the strength of schedule (*tee-hee*) significantly down from last season, I think Coach Souza runs a risk if they don't at least match last season's performance (and I use that term very loosely). That's not exactly a high bar to meet or (hopefully) to exceed ... BUT if that doesn't happen - and by now, you'd have to concede Souza's impact should at least be surfacing positively with the program - then I think the issue of what happens with Coach Souza in "Year Four" becomes a question to some degree. And by Year Three, there's no question Coach Souza's recruits (not to mention working with the current roster on a daily basis) should be emerging as a force within the program. So, if we're playing "what if?" ... IF UNH's on-ice results continue to gradually stagnate or erode through Year Three, I'm thinking the "Year Four" of the Coach Souza plan might be open for debate and reconsideration.
Coach Umile can make this a lot easier on him, his boss, and his would-be successor if he just pulls a .500 season out of his hat this year. And it's pretty darned clear BS35+4 had set things up pretty sweetly for him to do at least that well. IF he gets that kind of a season from Coach Umile this season, then it takes a lot of pressure off everyone to just play out Year Three of the plan, get coach to the next round number (if you think this season's NC schedule is soft, wait 'til next season
), and let things roll with the Coach Souza era.
Now IF Coach Umile craters with this year's team - and make no mistake, a repeat of last season's record (given the strength *tee-hee* of schedule) would be a "crater" - it gets interesting. "The ____ for 600" becomes a bad joke, and any ordinary coach in those shoes might give some serious thought to stepping aside before continued poor performances not only mars his own legacy, but also puts the future of his hand-picked successor - Coach's "legacy" - in great jeopardy. But no one I know or have ever spoken to around the UNH program has any expectation that Coach would ever leave of his own volition. So, does BS35+4 ...
* buy out Coach Umile's final year, and force Coach Souza to sink or swim a year early?
* threaten not to automatically continue with Coach Souza in 2018/2019 if DU won't resign?
* fire them both (with appropriate buyouts, to be fair) and start anew with a national search?
I have no expectation that any UNH teams over the remainder of Coach Umile's tenure will be making the D-1 tourney, and my belief in any shot at a winning record during that stretch is dying an early death with the team's non-performance over their first 11 games. "Advancing" to the final 8 of the HE Tourney is just a pathetic standard for UNH (wow, we won the MBPBEGAM round!!
) but a trip to Boston is probably enough to salvage THIS season and ensure Umile (and Souza) get to see out the Three Year Plan.
IF - and I'm saying IF - this year craters, I have every reason to believe a hard decision will be made to relieve Coach Umile before next season, so he can get a proper send-off in February/March 2017. And so Coach Souza gets a fair chance before further damage is done to the program while he's waiting patiently in the wings. Would Coach Umile accept such a scenario to "save" his hand-picked successor's UNH coaching career ... or is he stubborn enough to drag the whole thing down around him (including Coach Souza)?
... and amidst all of this uncertainty, whither Coach Stewart? I'm amazed he's still there TBH ... 
