I think we need to look at CMC's mentor and example as well as other aspects of what may be influencing his vision.
Larry Kehres coached at Mt. Union for 27 years and is now their AD. He surely had multiple offers every year to move on to bigger and "better" opportunities. He could have earned multiples of his salary and, over 25 years, have banked 10s of millions with appreciation of saving and investing that additional income over that time. I would wager that every one of us on this board, apart from those carrying on a family farm, could move to somewhere else in this country that would pay more and have more potential for recognition than what we are earning where we are. Why is it that professional athletes and coaches jump in a second at a 30 million contract instead of a 25 million contract? You might say, "Duh, 5 million reasons," but don't we all give up far, far more than that from a practical and usable financial standpoint to stay where were are for other more valuable intangible reasons? Yes, there are more valuable reasons than millions of dollars. I believe Larry's vision was and is to be a, "Leader of men," and Mt. Union was where he believed he could do that best. There were obviously intangible reasons to keep him at Mt. Union. I don't believe, for one second, that it is remotely possible to lead the way CMC wants to lead at tOSU or ND. If it is money CMC is after he is in the wrong profession. Obviously, an elite head football coach earns a great deal of money, however with CMC's leadership and executive skills he could command a start-up or other business of any size and dwarf his earnings at any position at any university. With his vision, drive, and skill-set, he could take his entire coaching staff and transform them into a leadership team in industry and dominate. If it is all about the money he is not as smart or as wise as I think he is. I don't believe Larry Kehres would advise him to chase the money and he has the moral high ground to give that advice.
Whether it is tOSU or ND or any blue blood for that matter, the pressure to have a top-ranked recruiting class is enormous. The problem is that, of that limited number, there are only so many high-character, humble, and coachable 4* and 5* kids out there and he would be competing against David Shaw and others for those unicorns. He would certainly do fine at tOSU with fewer 4* and 5* kids and more of the CMC type of high-character 3* kids who want to be champions in life, but if his record stumbled at all, the, "He can't recruit as well as........," drumbeat would be crushing. At ISU CMC can chose a few special 2* and many 3* and the rare 4* and 5* kids who have the character and coachability that are required in his program. How would the moneyed boosters at tOSU or ND be when he kicks a 5* QB off the team because of a bad attitude and has half of his class 3*s because they have rare character and moldable skills? Keep in mind, CMC had a scholarship offer at Pitt and eschewed that ticket to go to DIII Mt. Union.
At ISU I believe he can be a Beemer, a Snyder, or a Bowden and accomplish his vision for character development. He can win it all at ISU, even if it is only once, and be thought of as one of the best coaches to ever coach this game. He has the potential to be football's John Wooden. At ISU he will be given the patience to build a Wooden-like program so that the elite and high-character kids will seek him. As his assistants who have learned under him move on, they will be replaced with exactly the type of assistants who pass on Pitt to go to Mt. Union. Win it all at tOSU and it is simply expected and when you lose 3 games some year your young kids are brutalized at school and your wife is shunned. Do it a second time and you are a dead man walking and not welcome in your home town. Sure, he would be unemployed 5 minutes, but then he is just another on an endless list of vagabond coaching prostitutes chasing fools gold. I have never met CMC, but I would like to meet him someday. If he is anything like I think he is, I believe he would advise his son to stay at ISU or someplace like it. I would. When CMC has had enough coaching at ISU, I believe he will be a legend and that he would move to AD or be more likely to go back to Mt Union or someplace like it than he would be to go somewhere else. Leaders lead and do hard things.
Larry Kehres coached at Mt. Union for 27 years and is now their AD. He surely had multiple offers every year to move on to bigger and "better" opportunities. He could have earned multiples of his salary and, over 25 years, have banked 10s of millions with appreciation of saving and investing that additional income over that time. I would wager that every one of us on this board, apart from those carrying on a family farm, could move to somewhere else in this country that would pay more and have more potential for recognition than what we are earning where we are. Why is it that professional athletes and coaches jump in a second at a 30 million contract instead of a 25 million contract? You might say, "Duh, 5 million reasons," but don't we all give up far, far more than that from a practical and usable financial standpoint to stay where were are for other more valuable intangible reasons? Yes, there are more valuable reasons than millions of dollars. I believe Larry's vision was and is to be a, "Leader of men," and Mt. Union was where he believed he could do that best. There were obviously intangible reasons to keep him at Mt. Union. I don't believe, for one second, that it is remotely possible to lead the way CMC wants to lead at tOSU or ND. If it is money CMC is after he is in the wrong profession. Obviously, an elite head football coach earns a great deal of money, however with CMC's leadership and executive skills he could command a start-up or other business of any size and dwarf his earnings at any position at any university. With his vision, drive, and skill-set, he could take his entire coaching staff and transform them into a leadership team in industry and dominate. If it is all about the money he is not as smart or as wise as I think he is. I don't believe Larry Kehres would advise him to chase the money and he has the moral high ground to give that advice.
Whether it is tOSU or ND or any blue blood for that matter, the pressure to have a top-ranked recruiting class is enormous. The problem is that, of that limited number, there are only so many high-character, humble, and coachable 4* and 5* kids out there and he would be competing against David Shaw and others for those unicorns. He would certainly do fine at tOSU with fewer 4* and 5* kids and more of the CMC type of high-character 3* kids who want to be champions in life, but if his record stumbled at all, the, "He can't recruit as well as........," drumbeat would be crushing. At ISU CMC can chose a few special 2* and many 3* and the rare 4* and 5* kids who have the character and coachability that are required in his program. How would the moneyed boosters at tOSU or ND be when he kicks a 5* QB off the team because of a bad attitude and has half of his class 3*s because they have rare character and moldable skills? Keep in mind, CMC had a scholarship offer at Pitt and eschewed that ticket to go to DIII Mt. Union.
At ISU I believe he can be a Beemer, a Snyder, or a Bowden and accomplish his vision for character development. He can win it all at ISU, even if it is only once, and be thought of as one of the best coaches to ever coach this game. He has the potential to be football's John Wooden. At ISU he will be given the patience to build a Wooden-like program so that the elite and high-character kids will seek him. As his assistants who have learned under him move on, they will be replaced with exactly the type of assistants who pass on Pitt to go to Mt. Union. Win it all at tOSU and it is simply expected and when you lose 3 games some year your young kids are brutalized at school and your wife is shunned. Do it a second time and you are a dead man walking and not welcome in your home town. Sure, he would be unemployed 5 minutes, but then he is just another on an endless list of vagabond coaching prostitutes chasing fools gold. I have never met CMC, but I would like to meet him someday. If he is anything like I think he is, I believe he would advise his son to stay at ISU or someplace like it. I would. When CMC has had enough coaching at ISU, I believe he will be a legend and that he would move to AD or be more likely to go back to Mt Union or someplace like it than he would be to go somewhere else. Leaders lead and do hard things.
