Brown 2024

[sguy9]

Jon Thompson has the resume - he is groomed for HC. Query - does he have the charisma to recruit and be a head coach? I guess people that know him or have coached with or played for him would know

Absolutely. That is his super power, along with his knowledge and ability to coach the game.

[pcowlax]

Jon Thompson has the resume - he is groomed for HC. Query - does he have the charisma to recruit and be a head coach? I guess people that know him or have coached with or played for him would know

Thompson was a remarkable recruiter at Amherst, which probably scares folks because of the recent Tufts experience. He absolutely knows talent as the Amherst classes that he had were by far the best classes the school had ever seen. Plenty of charisma, good D1 experience with Air Force and now UNC.

A name that I am surprised to not see on here is Ryan Pooley. Brown would be a step up from BU, where he has built an absolutely first class program from the club level. Good experience at Yale and excellent at finding talent.

Ditto on Thompson. He is a fantastic recruiter and an outstanding coach, though results this year are nothing to hang a resume on. Don't want to bring any of the toxicity for the "fired for cause" thread over here but JT got a terribly raw deal at Amherst and has been completely vindicated since. Whether that is enough mollify those who need to sign off on his hiring at somewhere like Brown is unclear.

[IvyBrown]

Good to hear. Amazing how due process got thrown out (and still is sometimes). Thompson has to be on and at the top of the list if he was vindicated.

[Farfromgeneva]

Acting like Brown is doing Benson a favor by calling....get out of here with that BS

And a pleasant good morning to you, too, sir!

Having a job offer — ideally at a better salary — is always a good thing in lacrosse coaching or any other profession. It’s amazing how quickly your current employer realizes they’d been underpaying and under appreciating you when that happens.

And then they pay up and you underperform and frayed a higher cost pressure on you next time you don’t succeed. See Greg Raymond when Princeton was replacing Bates and Raymond still had some shine from his sole NEC title. Everyone remembers when he came in for a raise a few years back now..

[Lax3]

Good to hear. Amazing how due process got thrown out (and still is sometimes). Thompson has to be on and at the top of the list if he was vindicated.

As someone who was indirectly deeply involved ... he was railroaded at Amherst in the most vile of ways. And every aspect of what happened ultimately came out in his favor and against Amherst. If Brown is willing to do deep due diligence on it and really uncover what happened, his slate will come out as clean. Not sure if any Ivy would do that level of due diligence though!

[Farfromgeneva]

Good to hear. Amazing how due process got thrown out (and still is sometimes). Thompson has to be on and at the top of the list if he was vindicated.

As someone who was indirectly deeply involved ... he was railroaded at Amherst in the most vile of ways. And every aspect of what happened ultimately came out in his favor and against Amherst. If Brown is willing to do deep due diligence on it and really uncover what happened, his slate will come out as clean. Not sure if any Ivy would do that level of due diligence though!

Send him to Geneva we’re working on taking the nameplate off the door for the current guy.

[CU77]

Not sure if any Ivy would do that level of due diligence though!

Due diligence is irrelevant. Optics are terrible, timing is terrible. IMO, zero chance JT gets even a look from Brown, unfair as that is.

[Brownlax]

Not sure if any Ivy would do that level of due diligence though!

Due diligence is irrelevant. Optics are terrible, timing is terrible. IMO, zero chance JT gets even a look from Brown, unfair as that is.

We shall see!

[Can Opener]

Not sure if any Ivy would do that level of due diligence though!

Due diligence is irrelevant. Optics are terrible, timing is terrible. IMO, zero chance JT gets even a look from Brown, unfair as that is.

Respectfully, can you name one thing JT did wrong at Amherst that would support a foolish statement like this? If you believe that ignoring his application would be unfair, why would you perpetuate this myth? You are only making it seem as if there were something sinister way back when.

At some point, smart people with moral fiber will actually do the right thing.

[CU77]

Respectfully, can you name one thing JT did wrong at Amherst that would support a foolish statement like this?

It's not what JT did, it's the fraidy-cat nature of university administrators, especially in the current environment. The very last thing the Brown admin needs right now is a new controversy, which JT's hire definitely would be, whether that's fair or not.

I'd be happy to be wrong about this, but I've spent too much of my life around university administrators to have any optimism on that front.

And here's the latest in the NYT on Brown's problems:

Billionaire Donor Assails Brown’s ‘Unconscionable’ Deal With Protesters

The real estate mogul Barry Sternlicht’s scathing criticism of his alma mater is the most immediate blowback against the school’s deal to end protests on campus.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/03/busi ... donor.html

[The Orfling]

Good to hear. Amazing how due process got thrown out (and still is sometimes). Thompson has to be on and at the top of the list if he was vindicated.

I think the bigger obstacle to a JT hiring may be him being seen as a "Division III guy" when they just went that route with Daly and concluded it didn't work out. Yes, JT's an alum, but I wonder if 3 seasons at Air Force and 1 season at UNC are enough to convince folks he's a "Division I guy"? I'd think he'd get consideration, though.

[bearlaxfan]

Respectfully, can you name one thing JT did wrong at Amherst that would support a foolish statement like this?

It's not what JT did, it's the fraidy-cat nature of university administrators, especially in the current environment. The very last thing the Brown admin needs right now is a new controversy, which JT's hire definitely would be, whether that's fair or not.

I'd be happy to be wrong about this, but I've spent too much of my life around university administrators to have any optimism on that front.

And here's the latest in the NYT on Brown's problems:

Billionaire Donor Assails Brown’s ‘Unconscionable’ Deal With Protesters

The real estate mogul Barry Sternlicht’s scathing criticism of his alma mater is the most immediate blowback against the school’s deal to end protests on campus.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/03/busi ... donor.html

Real estate... hmmmmmmmm.
Lot's of growth opportunities in Gaza soon. Wonder if he's picked out his "Thank You" bouquet for Bibi yet.
The "deal" was: "we'll listen to your request at the next meeting." Oh the horror! What did he want? Busted heads? Well, let him donate the $$$, and Brown can name the detention cages after him. Fitting legacy.

[Laxinmay]

Will Brown be the first to strike and hire a Coach before Marquette?
Have to assume several of the Coaches (Assistants or Heads) pm teams that will hear their names called tomorrow night will be on Browns list?

ND
Wellner
Wojcik

UVA
Turner
Cassese

[bearlaxfan]

Will Brown be the first to strike and hire a Coach before Marquette?
Have to assume several of the Coaches (Assistants or Heads) pm teams that will hear their names called tomorrow night will be on Browns list?

ND
Wellner
Wojcik

UVA
Turner
Cassese

Wojcik has a record in the Ivies at Harvard. Recruiting A (or is that a result of "It's Harvard, Jake"), results C (C = fail at Hahvahd, right?)

Turner gets fanlax comments: he's just a specialist coach, f/o & goal. I assume he's recruited, and since a HC has to delegate (first-time HCs don't necessarily do this at first), I don't think "just a specialist coach" is disqualifying. He knows Brown.

Cassese; the UVa offense looks like it's taken a step back post Kirwan although they've lost much since last year: LaSalla to get the ball, the skinny guy as a deadly finisher. Would he wait on a Duke opening? Would Duke want him?

Wellner: know the name. That's all I know about him.

[JerrysWorld]

Will Brown be the first to strike and hire a Coach before Marquette?
Have to assume several of the Coaches (Assistants or Heads) pm teams that will hear their names called tomorrow night will be on Browns list?

ND
Wellner
Wojcik

UVA
Turner
Cassese

Wojcik has a record in the Ivies at Harvard. Recruiting A (or is that a result of "It's Harvard, Jake"), results C (C = fail at Hahvahd, right?)

Turner gets fanlax comments: he's just a specialist coach, f/o & goal. I assume he's recruited, and since a HC has to delegate (first-time HCs don't necessarily do this at first), I don't think "just a specialist coach" is disqualifying. He knows Brown.

Cassese; the UVa offense looks like it's taken a step back post Kirwan although they've lost much since last year: LaSalla to get the ball, the skinny guy as a deadly finisher. Would he wait on a Duke opening? Would Duke want him?

Wellner: know the name. That's all I know about him.

I think too much emphasis is placed on Turner being a specialist coach, how Cassese offense looks, etc. HC is much more about everything else. Ability to command a room, recruiting, relationships with alums, and so forth. I’m sure they will hire assistants, which is important. That’s just my 2 cents.

Wasn’t he the specialist coach that brought in Jack Kelly, Gural, and made the FF? Wellner would be great though.

[The Orfling]

Curious as to how much people are interested in Cassese? Proven head coach and a very good lifetime winning percentage at Lehigh. On the other hand, he chose to leave Lehigh and give up the sought-after head coaching slot for an assistant job at a national title contender. Is that a profile for a team that's right now in the 4-5-6 spot in the Ivy League? (Maybe yes -- I'm sincerely curious if Bruno fans would be excited by him as a hire.)

I'm a fan of Navy too and had hoped they'd promote Ryan Wellner to head coach but he didn't get it. Great recruiter; excellent defensive coordinator; and is really well liked by players and families. I think he could have a lot of success at Brown.

And agree with whomever mentioned Ryan Polley, BU's Head Coach. I have no idea if he'd be interested (not sure if Brown pays more than BU, for example), but he's been pretty amazing building the BU program from scratch. Fun, high-octane style.

[bearlaxfan]

Who's watching the conf championship weekend? Any coaches/ACs/styles stand out outside of the usual suspect top-12-ish teams?

How leery are you of someone from, say a MAAC or ASun getting the tires kicked? (McMinn has been mentioned) What if they have higher level AC experience? Hard "no"? Not even inteviews?

Looking A10, CAA, Patriot, or higher conf ranking coaching experience only?

[Counselor]

Kevin Casese would have no interest …he left Lehigh to position himself for the Duke job or some other perrenial Top Ten program…..Ryan Wellner would be an experienced and exceptional
candidate who would take a call but would have to hear an outstanding proposal to consider a move based on the level he has attained in his career …..Wray at St. Joe’s is an intriguing prospect….Alum Jon Thompson is relentless in pursuit of success and would relish the opportunity …Alum Jamie Munro seems wedded to his corporate pursuits….AD Calhoun will be receptive to entertaining all candidates ….no singleton prospect like the last time around ….interviews will be had…Brown looking to rekindle national aspirations in the sport and has the administration and resources to do it - needs a leader to accomplish it…should be an exciting era for all connected with the program….that era starting with a hiring by the end of the month…..

[Counselor]

Kevin Casese would have no interest …he left Lehigh to position himself for the Duke job or some other perrenial Top Ten program…..Ryan Wellner would be an experienced and exceptional
candidate who would take a call but would have to hear an outstanding proposal to consider a move based on the level he has attained in his career …..Wray at St. Joe’s is an intriguing prospect….Alum Jon Thompson is relentless in pursuit of success and would relish the opportunity …Alum Jamie Munro seems wedded to his corporate pursuits….AD Calhoun will be receptive to entertaining all candidates ….no singleton prospect like the last time around ….interviews will be had…Brown looking to rekindle national aspirations in the sport and has the administration and resources to do it - needs a leader to accomplish it…should be an exciting era for all connected with the program….that era starting with a hiring by the end of the month…..

[bearlaxfan]

End of the month? How much due diligence can they do if FF coaches are on the list? (ACs in that case of course.)
Thorough investigation vs don't let our guy get plucked by someone else, I guess.

It's early, but the women's team looks to have made a good choice. for the men.