Is the Iowa job a good job?

[99topdawg]

With the talk that many fans would like to part ways with Fran, it got me thinking, is the Iowa job a good job? Many have said Chris Jans would jump at the chance to coach at Iowa, but things don't always fall the way we think.

My question is what type of coach would Iowa get? Would someone see this is a final destination where they could take Iowa to greatness? Would we get someone that is a young up-and-comer that's selling snake oil (or oars to row the boat) and leave at the first chance to get a better job? Would there be a lot of interest?

At this point, I'm not looking for Final Fours, but an occasional Sweet Sixteen would be nice to have the 2 exciting wins and a week to really get excited and dream, along with being in the top 5 in the Big Ten (5th place was 13-5 last year). That's all I ask. Is that possible, or are we now just mediocre enough to stay above Northwestern, Illinois, Minnesota, etc.

The coaches since Davis had losing records in the Big Ten overall and have combined for 5 winning seasons in conference. Davis had a winning record his last 4 seasons.

 

[InGoodCo]

It's probably the 10th or 11th best job in the B1G? I think some coaches would look at it as a destination because of the longevity of previous coaching regimes. Like Fran. I think some coaches would look at it as a stepping stone job like Alford. Unfortunately, when Davis left, it was probably in the top 6 or 7 gigs, but those 3 coaches, specifically Alford and TL made it drop like a rock. I think it would still attract some great candidates. It's a coaching gig in the B1G.

 

[bogeyman]

Was thinking about this same thing. Who would even want it? I feel like the program is at the point where we would have to make a high risk high reward type of hire. Kind of like ISU did with Fred, where we hire maybe a younger coach or someone without Head Coaching experience but could make a splash and fire up the fan base. Try and catch lightning in a bottle. It's hard to see a proven winner wanting to come here other than a MAC type coach. Do we really want that again?
I do think a major revamp of Carver Hawkeye or a new arena is a major need to help the overall vibe of the program. Just such a lack of energy in the building its hard to impress recruits.

 

[1977Hawkeye]

It would have to rank a ways down in the Big 10. But that said, it's the Big 10. Can't be a bad job, either. And as we know, the job security is excellent.

 

[Xerxes]

I think Iowa could be a very good job. High school basketball is very good in Iowa for having such a small population. If a coach could come in and secure the top kids from Iowa, they would have a very good program. Probably the kind of team that makes Sweet 16s every 2-4 years and finishes in the upper half of the B1G.

If a coach could come in and secure the Iowa kids and land a Chicago and/NY kid every so often.... then it would be even better.

 

[mopkins]

Depends on what you mean by "good". Is it one of the top 50 NCAA basketball jobs? Probably. The B1G has tons of money and resources, a huge footprint, and a huge television presence. Iowa has a decent basketball history.

On the other hand...Carver has not aged well, the student support has not aged well, and attendance has been pretty spotty as well. Iowa has to compete with Iowa State for in-state talent, and Iowa in general isn't a talent rich state. If there are two tiers of Big Ten basketball coaching gigs, Iowa is definitely in the second tier.

It also can't be ignored that our AD is willing to pay out the ass and extend you for a decade if you sniff success.

 

[InGoodCo]

It's the 47th highest paid gig in basketball - I would imagine it probably aligns somewhere around there nationally as well as far as "how good of gig is it"

 

[Hawkfnntn]

It's all relative as they say. If your ranking it I don't think it's a top 25/30 job. Carver needs a face lift. They need reboot almost with fan base. Too many empty seats. Too many 65 plus yr old folks that sit on there hands at the games. Not sure how all that gets fixed. Winning sure does but where do you start?

By the time Iowa lets go of Fran I would think Jeff Horner would love the gig. He's the HC at Truman. Plus the guy he grew up idolizing Dean Oliver. He's an assistant at Wisconsin the last I knew. If Barta (or whomever the AD is) would want to go that route I think that'd be fan energizing to a degree. How fast they could improve the program and to what extent would only be tied to recruiting and winning. So simple yet not so much.

 

[SpiderRico]

Pluses:
Brand new basketball only practice facility
Overall tradition (recent is spotty at best, though)
B1G money
Very little admin pressure to win big
Softball media

Negatives:
Recruiting can be difficult unless Chicago/Indianapolis markets can be mined better
Aging fan base with very spotty student support
Carver needs major overhaul
Stale program currently

In the B1G I think it's a better job than Northwestern, Rutgers, Penn State and Nebraska. It's probably on a similar line, maybe slightly below, Minnesota and Illinois right now. Dwarfed by Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio State, and Wisconsin. So somewhere between the #8 and #10 job in the conference.

 

[eyekwah]

In the present day era of men's college basketball it's a bad job. First the Iowa head coach is expected to do the job "THE RIGHT WAY', which means don't bring problems to the campus and don't break the rules. This isn't how it is done at many places ie Kansas, Arizona, North Carolina, etc. If you want to win big you can't have standards.

Recruiting wise it's is much tougher in the transfer era. You don't know from year to year who will remain on your team and who will leave. If a kid sits on the bench he's gone. If you want to keep kids happy you have to play your entire roster and even then kids leave. To go with it you have to keep your graduation rate up. A head coach can choose to run off players that are not developing or be honorable and tolerate them. I can't tell you how many ISU has had leave and how many transfers they have accepted, but it is a lot. Two are leaving after this semester.

The job will become even harder once the compensation for likeness business starts. Basketball is all about personnel, then coaching. A lot of ego's to satisfy in the future.

 

[Stanzi]

The short answer is yes, without question. It's still a Big 10 job that can pay very well if you produce results. A guy like Jans would jump at the opportunity for purely economical reasons if nothing else.

Fans will show up if there is an exciting product on the floor that provides hope. With the way the team has played defense the past few seasons, coupled with massively underwhelming recruiting, it's hard to have much confidence. I drove from Des Moines to the game on Monday, parked a ways away and walked in the bitter cold only to see we were already down 19-2 by the time I got in the arena. That's the kind of s*it that keeps fans away. Why the hell would I want to drive an hour and 45 minutes to see that garbage?