Coaching Carousel Pre-2020 Season

[Typical Lax Dad]

Alabama doesn’t have a team. Maybe you meant tobacco?

Ole Miss club team

[blue angels]

Gerry Byrne heading to Harvard.

I have no inside scoop but This would be interesting and the tail wagging the dog. Hear his wife is the breadwinner with an established medical practice in South Bend. That isn’t easy to just move elsewhere and start over unless Harvard medical school is offering some position? who knows but this National search was announced at the beginning of May so started well before that . Time is ticking and Summer recruiting evaluations are taking place.

[oldjayfan]

Harvard is conducting interviews(on campus) as we speak..Will have new hire by end of June if not earlier...

[HooDat]

Good post, MDlaxfan76, and great thinking.

Wish we had a "like" button.

Going to be interested to see this unfold in Cambridge. Things should be looking up for the Crimson, with any of the candidates mentioned in the seat.

My money is on JT. And if that happens, it would be a mistake to laugh off Kirwan to Amherst, IMO.

Agreed - a good thoughtful response from MD.

re: Kirwin to Amherst - curious if anyone knows the difference in pay between a UVA assistant coach and an Amherst head coach? I would not be surprised if someone told me that generally a top assistant at a fully funded D1 makes about the same as a head coach at a D3 - but I don't know. And I definitely don't know the specifics wrt UVA and Amherst. In spite of MD's reasonable comments re: coaching skills applicability to D3 versus D1 - it does seem that guys end up pigeonholed.... Which, if a true dynamic, would make it hard to go from a top assistant at a school like UVA to almost any D3 program - particularly one that has had some great success - which translates into a lot of downside risk for the new coach....

[oldjayfan]

Good post, MDlaxfan76, and great thinking.

Wish we had a "like" button.

Going to be interested to see this unfold in Cambridge. Things should be looking up for the Crimson, with any of the candidates mentioned in the seat.

My money is on JT. And if that happens, it would be a mistake to laugh off Kirwan to Amherst, IMO.

Agreed - a good thoughtful response from MD.

re: Kirwin to Amherst - curious if anyone knows the difference in pay between a UVA assistant coach and an Amherst head coach? I would not be surprised if someone told me that generally a top assistant at a fully funded D1 makes about the same as a head coach at a D3 - but I don't know. And I definitely don't know the specifics wrt UVA and Amherst. In spite of MD's reasonable comments re: coaching skills applicability to D3 versus D1 - it does seem that guys end up pigeonholed.... Which, if a true dynamic, would make it hard to go from a top assistant at a school like UVA to almost any D3 program - particularly one that has had some great success - which translates into a lot of downside risk for the new coach....

No clue what Kirwan's career path objectives are, but I'm guessing he would want to stay in D1. He's still young and his D1 assistant resume' will get him to a HC D1 job faster than going D3 first, IMHO..

[ctbagataway]

There are plenty of D3 assistants who go on to coach in D1, but very few examples of D3 head coaches making that same jump. I can't understand that aversion. Whether it is a risk averse attitude by AD's or something else, I don't know. If I were running the search, I would want to hire the best available coach, regardless of division. Newsflash-there aren't that many truly great head coaches out there in a small sport like lacrosse. So your choices are (1) poach a D1 head coach worth poaching and who would want to move (not a huge list), (2) hire a D1 assistant who is ready for the jump and who you think can become a great head coach, or (3) hire a D3 (or D2 for that matter) head coach who has a vision and knows how to build a culture, can connect with, recruit and lead the players and who can hire and mentor assistant coaches. No way would I want to eliminate that third pool if I was running a search. And I strongly disagree that you have to had D1 experience to be able to coach in D1. And use Daly at Brown as an example against this either. That 2016 team was absolutely loaded, with the likes of Molloy, Kemp, Kelly, etc. No matter who replaced Lars was going to have some work to do.

[HooDat]

And I strongly disagree that you have to had D1 experience to be able to coach in D1.

I absolutely agree. I actually think that a smart AD should be more inclined to take a D3 coach who has proved he can be a successful HEAD coach rather than a top assistant from D1. there is a big difference between being a head coach and being an assistant coach.

No matter who replaced Lars was going to have some work to do.

this is my point re: the Amherst job. If I were Kirwin, or any top rated D1 coach I would be scared of stepping into a lose-lose situation. You have a hard time topping the results at Amherst - so how do you make a name for yourself? Given the (i think stupid) bias that seems to exist toward D1 for D1, it would be very risky to leave a top assistant spot at UVA for a head spot at a D3 that has been playing memorial weekends...

[GSP]

Spot on analysis! No way Kirwan risks going to Amherst.

[sguy9]

Spot on analysis! No way Kirwan risks going to Amherst.

Not sure I would call it a risk. 6 figure salary, full time assistants, top notch facilities, fantastic campus best academics, history, but this was their first long run, so a lot to build on.

And, he is a NESCAC guy, so he gets it.

[oldjayfan]

Spot on analysis! No way Kirwan risks going to Amherst.

Not sure I would call it a risk. 6 figure salary, full time assistants, top notch facilities, fantastic campus best academics, history, but this was their first long run, so a lot to build on.

And, he is a NESCAC guy, so he gets it.

You're conflating the issue, Amherst job is attractive...but, if his desire is to coach D1, I would stay at UVA and keep getting to FF's and then jump to another D1 HC job. Not saying it's right(re: the difficultly going from D3 to D1), but the current trend is to hire D1 assistants. Personally, if I were a D1 AD, I would want someone with HC experience regardless of division...

[HooDat]

Spot on analysis! No way Kirwan risks going to Amherst.

Not sure I would call it a risk. 6 figure salary, full time assistants, top notch facilities, fantastic campus best academics, history, but this was their first long run, so a lot to build on.

And, he is a NESCAC guy, so he gets it.

You're conflating the issue, Amherst job is attractive...but, if his desire is to coach D1, I would stay at UVA and keep getting to FF's and then jump to another D1 HC job. Not saying it's right(re: the difficultly going from D3 to D1), but the current trend is to hire D1 assistants. Personally, if I were a D1 AD, I would want someone with HC experience regardless of division...

exactly

[Blackdoglax]

Alabama doesn’t have a team. Maybe you meant tobacco?

Ole Miss club team

Have you ever visited Ole Miss in Oxford...Heaven on earth...enough to make you forget D-1 lacrosse

[Typical Lax Dad]

Alabama doesn’t have a team. Maybe you meant tobacco?

Ole Miss club team

Have you ever visited Ole Miss in Oxford...Heaven on earth...enough to make you forget D-1 lacrosse

No. I have heard good things about it. I have friends with kids that went there. I have never been to Mississippi and have no desire to go. But again, I have heard good things about it.

[GBMan]

Spot on analysis! No way Kirwan risks going to Amherst.

Not sure I would call it a risk. 6 figure salary, full time assistants, top notch facilities, fantastic campus best academics, history, but this was their first long run, so a lot to build on.

And, he is a NESCAC guy, so he gets it.

You're conflating the issue, Amherst job is attractive...but, if his desire is to coach D1, I would stay at UVA and keep getting to FF's and then jump to another D1 HC job. Not saying it's right(re: the difficultly going from D3 to D1), but the current trend is to hire D1 assistants. Personally, if I were a D1 AD, I would want someone with HC experience regardless of division...

As of this moment, Amherst has a coach and the position isn't open, so I can't see Kirwan putting much thought into it, nor do I think he's so desperate to be a HC he'd take the first thing that came along. He's with a winning program at UVA, he's highly respected, and they have a bright future. If Harvard makes an offer I'd bet he would take it, but if they don't I see him staying right where he is for another year or two. There will always be opportunities down the road. (FWIW, Princeton hasn't smelled a NCAA bid in years, which is a shame for guys like Tom Schrieber and Michael Sowers. How long does Matt Madalon have before patience wears out? Kirwan's from NJ. Just sayin').

[HowieT3]

Navy should put Marist, Binghamton and NJIT on the schedule.

They opted to put UVa on it instead. Welcome to Annapolis, Coach Amplo.

[Typical Lax Dad]

Navy should put Marist, Binghamton and NJIT on the schedule.

They opted to put UVa on it instead. Welcome to Annapolis, Coach Amplo.

Exactly. It's a good hire for Navy. Looking forward to watching his progress.

[jerzyjoe81]

Any word from SB or Harvard. Recruiting events are off and running. Have to imagine both are close. Any word on who is in play at either school?

[Sigh]

Mississippi Residents are admitted based on meeting ONE of the following criteria:

Completing the College Preparatory Curriculum (CPC) with a minimum 3.20 high school GPA on the CPC.
Completing the CPC with a minimum 2.50 high school GPA on the CPC and a minimum score of 16 on the composite ACT (or 770 on the old SAT critical reading/mathematics or 880 on the new SAT).
Completing the CPC with a class rank in the top 50 percent and a minimum score of 16 on the composite ACT (or 770 on the old SAT critical reading/mathematics or 880 on the new SAT).
Completing the CPC with a minimum 2.00 high school GPA on the CPC and a minimum composite score of 18 on the ACT (or 860 on the old SAT critical reading/mathematics or 960 on the new SAT).
Meeting certification requirements for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). This option is available to all freshman applicants.

[Sigh]

UVA middle 50% = 1330

Middle 50% rate for SAT scores:
660-730 Evidence-Based Reading and Writing
670-770 Math

Amherst 25 percentile
Math 750
Reading 742
Composite 1492 which means your LOW end at 1492!

These places are elite. And coaches pay attention as well. It ain't football yet but headed that direction at some. Which is why if you're an elite player and elite student = oyster = yours.

[Blackdoglax]

I do not think anyone was seriously saying Ole Miss was an option, Sigh. They do not have D1 lacrosse but thanks for taking a joke and trying to demean the Rebs who have no horse in the race. Classy move.