Stitt didn't die

[Griz Man]

haha. My bad. I replied to the wrong post. This was the post I thought I was replying to:

Yeah, caught that. Here's to Hauck not only beating the Cats next year, but physically punishing them :twisted:

 

[CatzWillRise]

Hey I'm not saying Stitt was perfect and I think his teams did lack the fire that I'm used to seeing in a Griz team, but I also don't think 3 years with a winning record deserved a dismissal. I would've given him next year personally, if nothing for the fact that now you'll have your 5th coach in 10 years. I'm not messing with you, I personally wouldn't have fired Stitt.

I just wonder how Stitt's trajectory would have been if he was able to keep his starting QB healthy, he had some serious bad luck with QBs which is the single most important cog in his style of offense.

 

[HelenaHandBasket]

I think letting Stitt go was a mistake, just my outsider opinion. Yes I understand two years of missing the playoffs and losing to the Cats is likely a death sentence for any coach at UM, but the guy couldn't keep his #1 starting QB healthy to save his life. And it seems like he was a great recruiter, his two classes were both lauded as top 10 FCS classes, correct?

With how much coaching turmoil the Griz have had since BH left, I thought it would be wise to let a guy stay long enough to at least coach a guy from start to finish without a redshirt (4 years). And with a guy like Jensen performing like he did as a freshman...

Good post

Oddly enough, it wasn't the play of the QB position that was his ultimate downfall.

 

[grizrgood]

I think letting Stitt go was a mistake, just my outsider opinion. Yes I understand two years of missing the playoffs and losing to the Cats is likely a death sentence for any coach at UM, but the guy couldn't keep his #1 starting QB healthy to save his life. And it seems like he was a great recruiter, his two classes were both lauded as top 10 FCS classes, correct?

With how much coaching turmoil the Griz have had since BH left, I thought it would be wise to let a guy stay long enough to at least coach a guy from start to finish without a redshirt (4 years). And with a guy like Jensen performing like he did as a freshman...

Good post

Oddly enough, it wasn't the play of the QB position that was his ultimate downfall.

Agreed. You could also argue this his offense was based far too much on the play of the QB (see NAU game) Understanding Montana football and weak leadership of a proud program and demanding fan base is what he lacked IMO. Stitt will be just fine and probably a better coach because of his experience here.

 

[Griz Man]

I just wonder how Stitt's trajectory would have been if he was able to keep his starting QB healthy, he had some serious bad luck with QBs which is the single most important cog in his style of offense.

Guess we'll never know now. Next year's Brawl score: Da Bears, I mean Griz 34, Bobcats 6. If only Hauck plays then Hauck 15, Cats 3.

 

[AZGrizFan]

Hey I'm not saying Stitt was perfect and I think his teams did lack the fire that I'm used to seeing in a Griz team, but I also don't think 3 years with a winning record deserved a dismissal. I would've given him next year personally, if nothing for the fact that now you'll have your 5th coach in 10 years. I'm not messing with you, I personally wouldn't have fired Stitt.

I just wonder how Stitt's trajectory would have been if he was able to keep his starting QB healthy, he had some serious bad luck with QBs which is the single most important cog in his style of offense.

Makes one wonder if the system is what led to so many injuries...

 

[Griz Man]

Makes one wonder if the system is what led to so many injuries...

Really don't think so, they were pretty standard plays and the injuries were flukes. Murray takes way more hits...

 

[ordigger]

Time to let go, he's no longer the coach here.

 

[NewPapaBear]

Would not be surprised he lands a G5 FBS job.

My thought is that Scott Frost will hire him to be OC at Nebraska. I mean, if he gets the head gig that is.

Stitt is not as highly thought of, in coaching circles, as we have been led to believe. His offense lacks the complex creativity necessary to win vs talented athletic defensive teams at the highest levels. He is not an offensive genius by any stretch of the imagination. He cannot scheme at that level - like say a Beau Baldwin has - just look at how Baldwin's offenses performed vs FBS teams in his years at EWU for your case study.

You mean like the time he went to UDub and dropped 52 points on their defense?
Or the time he beat Wazzu and Gubrud had just south of 500 yds passing?

THAT right there y'all!

 

[CatGrad-UMGradStu]

It is a JOB guys. Coaching is a profession with high turn over. It goes with the career choice. Stitt saw this coming and I am sure was playing the what if game. I bet he already is on to his next option.

On a side note. Stitt is a good coach. I would not want him at UNI though. So it is funny that some of you think he is one of the best in the FCS, and maybe even an FBS team might want him as head coach. I don't see that. Time will tell.

I think it would be interesting to see what fans around the FCS would say. Would they swap him out with their current coach, or do they want him if they have that head coach opening? Great poll there. If he is as great as many say, he will soon have a head coach position in the FCS. Otherwise he will drop back down to D2 or take an assistant job in FBS/FCS.

I think he needs a bit more time before being a head coach at the FCS level. I certainly do not say that to be mean or demeaning to him. It is part of a learning process many in that job go through.

I think back to the late 70s and early 80s reading your post. MSU did not give Cliff or Dennis an interview in 82--hired Doug Graber. Then the AD who literally destroyed MSU athletics all by himself hired Solomonson and that program took several years to fix.

The MSU athletic department did not field a competitive team in any sport for nearly 20 years. The fired MSU coaches, Sonny Lubick and Dave Arnold had decent careers after hooking up with Sweeney, Erickson and administrators such as Sam Jankovich who understood the contraints of small college football.

UM had a great, dominating girls basketball program, great mens basketball and then they caught lightening in a bottle with the stadium and an unconventional offense intersection.

MSUs operating budget was atrocious during that 20 year period. There's a corollary to what happened in Bozeman and what looks very similar to what is happening in Missoula now. MSU had an extremely weak athletic director who caved into outside influences and canned Sonny Lubick and hired somebody who just wanted to use MSU to build his resume, which he did. If the UM administration doesn't hire a Montana man to coach their football team with the understanding they are moving forward, in three years this great small college football program is going to look like East Tennessee did ten years ago.

 

[IdaGriz01]

Thought about this thread title as I skimmed a lot of others -- and that led to a couple follow-on notions. First, of course, is that, indeed, he did not "die." He's still on the payroll until the end of the year, and I can easily see him landing a job as an OC, if not a HC.

But the other notion is not so nice: I know (hope) they don't mean it, but there seem to be a lot of posters who seem almost sorry he didn't die. Their gloating, vindictive, nasty (fill in your own) words convey their absolute glee that a man was fired. Don't get me wrong, some who've been able to say "I told you so," have been fairly low key. But far too many others have been overly happy to "kick the man while he's down." Sure, "that's life" and "coaches are hired to be fired," but it ill behooves any of us to take such glee in anyone's else's misfortune -- life is full of surprises, and any of us could be next.

All reports are that Stitt was a genuinely nice guy, and I -- as have many others -- wish him absolutely the best in whatever comes next in his life.