Johns Hopkins Coach Search

[primitiveskills]

Round peg, round hole.

For the JHU administration and the price point they were looking for, certainly. For the job overall, maybe.

Nads was cut from too similar a cloth as Petro. And the 0-6 did bite him in the behind. That press release doesn't read as good as Milliman's.

If Pete's the right guy, remains to be seen. His ascension at Cornell had some interesting twists and turns and circumstances. He appeared to be able to navigate the politics at Cornell quite well for his benefit. That is a skill he'll need at JHU with the alumni there and following in the steps of a legend like Petro.

Hopkins Athletic Department wanted a clean sweep from the previous Hopkins coaching network. Good for the short term goals of the athletics department. We'll see if it translates to a significant improvement on the field over Petro. But to be honest, I don't think a change in on-field results at JHU was even the goal.

Bingo.

I'm going to guess that it was part of the goal, but not ultimately driving the decision. If the administration viewed the program as an autonomous "old boys network" without accountability (that's where the W-L comes in), then that drove the decision. Taking an entirely objective view at the past decade, you could argue that they had a point. To me, Chitown's point about the environment at Cordish could be taken in both a positive and negative way.

[johnnyonthegunpowder]

Ok, I'm all in with Milliman. I didn't have much of an impression before the press conference, but I wasn't a fan of Cornell coaching history, and I was skeptical of Milliman's ascension. But, after hearing his answers, I'm very impressed. Sports talk is so canned, and I think we would've heard canned responses from anyone else. I liked his answer to the first question about D3 and the fact that he understands work is work and you earn your money. He's grateful; there is not enough of that. Now, Steele needs to make his way down the hall. Strong chance we see Koesterer or Crawley after his response about alum players. More Jennifer Baker .

[RedFromMI]

Are you going there’s some juicy story there? Seems like I’ve seen at least a half dozen posts on this topic.

Biggest mistake ND ever made was firing George OLeary, having a degree to coach a sport never made sense to me.

O'Leary got canned for falsifying his CV. Are you implying that Milliman lied and he actually did graduate from Gettysburg?

Yeah he was so ashamed of graduating from aa centennial conference school he’s burying the lead...

No reality is I jumped to the argument that having any degrees is not a prerequisite. Maybe OLeary should’ve stuck at GaTech but he built the team that got Scott Frost his sweet gig at Nebraska.

Milliman actually does have a degree according to his bio at Cornell - Empire State College, 2012, Interdisciplinary Studies. Around the time he went to Princeton from DII Pfeiffer (now DIII) before moving over to Cornell.

[harflax]

Round peg, round hole.

For the JHU administration and the price point they were looking for, certainly. For the job overall, maybe.

Nads was cut from too similar a cloth as Petro. And the 0-6 did bite him in the behind. That press release doesn't read as good as Milliman's.

If Pete's the right guy, remains to be seen. His ascension at Cornell had some interesting twists and turns and circumstances. He appeared to be able to navigate the politics at Cornell quite well for his benefit. That is a skill he'll need at JHU with the alumni there and following in the steps of a legend like Petro.

Hopkins Athletic Department wanted a clean sweep from the previous Hopkins coaching network. Good for the short term goals of the athletics department. We'll see if it translates to a significant improvement on the field over Petro. But to be honest, I don't think a change in on-field results at JHU was even the goal.

I would agree with all of this but it was Nads decision to turn the job down.

[wgdsr]

Round peg, round hole.

For the JHU administration and the price point they were looking for, certainly. For the job overall, maybe.

Nads was cut from too similar a cloth as Petro. And the 0-6 did bite him in the behind. That press release doesn't read as good as Milliman's.

If Pete's the right guy, remains to be seen. His ascension at Cornell had some interesting twists and turns and circumstances. He appeared to be able to navigate the politics at Cornell quite well for his benefit. That is a skill he'll need at JHU with the alumni there and following in the steps of a legend like Petro.

Hopkins Athletic Department wanted a clean sweep from the previous Hopkins coaching network. Good for the short term goals of the athletics department. We'll see if it translates to a significant improvement on the field over Petro. But to be honest, I don't think a change in on-field results at JHU was even the goal.

I would agree with all of this but it was Nads decision to turn the job down.

was this reported or confirmed somewhere?

[Typical Lax Dad]

Ok, I'm all in with Milliman. I didn't have much of an impression before the press conference, but I wasn't a fan of Cornell coaching history, and I was skeptical of Milliman's ascension. But, after hearing his answers, I'm very impressed. Sports talk is so canned, and I think we would've heard canned responses from anyone else. I liked his answer to the first question about D3 and the fact that he understands work is work and you earn your money. He's grateful; there is not enough of that. Now, Steele needs to make his way down the hall. Strong chance we see Koesterer or Crawley after his response about alum players. More Jennifer Baker .

He’s a good guy. It’s a good hire. As someone else mentioned it, he is a grinder. All the best.

[Catbird]

We can only hope that the grinder attitude rubs off on the rest of the team, that is not a word you could have used to discuss any of the Petro coached teams since perhaps the one that went undefeated in '05. The 2015 run at the end had a touch of it, but it only lasted for about 6 weeks.

[wgdsr]

We can only hope that the grinder attitude rubs off on the rest of the team, that is not a word you could have used to discuss any of the Petro coached teams since perhaps the one that went undefeated in '05. The 2015 run at the end had a touch of it, but it only lasted for about 6 weeks.

his teams have been churning uphill with faceoff losses, adjusting by riding hard and winning the groundball wars elsewhere. and causing turnovers.
their approach to attacking and taking chances led to too many turnovers for some coaches (maybe fanbases?), but not for him. even with the faceoffs and turnovers, they put up very good numbers and were crazy efficient on offense. partly because they shared the ball and partly because they shot the ball so well. they probably go hand in hand.
obviously, a lot of that is a product of the talent on the field, too (who he recruited). but he didn't hold them back.

the shut-off teat narrative (over 2 years, really) certainly raises legitimate questions on adjustments for that in particular. i suspect a better effort would've been undertaken when that cropped again, tough to know. what seems apparent is winning the hustle game and allowing for some chance taking at cornell was part of the style. i'd be surprised if that changed. i would bet also that shooting gets improved, and the call for ctos from various corners is answered also.

[HopFan16]

We can only hope that the grinder attitude rubs off on the rest of the team, that is not a word you could have used to discuss any of the Petro coached teams since perhaps the one that went undefeated in '05. The 2015 run at the end had a touch of it, but it only lasted for about 6 weeks.

his teams have been churning uphill with faceoff losses, adjusting by riding hard and winning the groundball wars elsewhere. and causing turnovers.
their approach to attacking and taking chances led to too many turnovers for some coaches (maybe fanbases?), but not for him. even with the faceoffs and turnovers, they put up very good numbers and were crazy efficient on offense. partly because they shared the ball and partly because they shot the ball so well. they probably go hand in hand.
obviously, a lot of that is a product of the talent on the field, too (who he recruited). but he didn't hold them back.

the shut-off teat narrative (over 2 years, really) certainly raises legitimate questions on adjustments for that in particular. i suspect a better effort would've been undertaken when that cropped again, tough to know. what seems apparent is winning the hustle game and allowing for some chance taking at cornell was part of the style. i'd be surprised if that changed. i would bet also that shooting gets improved, and the call for ctos from various corners is answered also.

Hey maybe the AD does listen to the bozos on this forum. Riding hard? Groundballs? Caused turnovers? High shooting percentage? Taking chances? Less rigidity? Sounds like it addresses the exact list of Laxpower/FanLax complaints about Petro's more recent teams.

Having said all that, while it sounds nice, a good coach will adjust his scheme to the personnel. If he thinks he has the personnel to play that style, then by all means, go for it, and I'm sure he will. But if he doesn't think it's there, I hope he comes up with something that gives those players the best chance to win and doesn't force a previous style that worked on other teams into this one merely out of habit.

[CU77]

the shut-off teat narrative (over 2 years, really) certainly raises legitimate questions on adjustments for that in particular. i suspect a better effort would've been undertaken when that cropped again, tough to know.

You're missing the key point, which is that no opponent tried it in 2020. Why not? IMO, it's because Milliman got his heavily-criticized 5v5 scheme to work well enough that shutting off Teat was now sub-optimal. And Cornell scored between 17 and 21 points against every opponent (including PSU and OSU).

[wgdsr]

the shut-off teat narrative (over 2 years, really) certainly raises legitimate questions on adjustments for that in particular. i suspect a better effort would've been undertaken when that cropped again, tough to know.

You're missing the key point, which is that no opponent tried it in 2020. Why not? IMO, it's because Milliman got his heavily-criticized 5v5 scheme to work well enough that shutting off Teat was now sub-optimal. And Cornell scored between 17 and 21 points against every opponent (including PSU and OSU).

i don't feel i missed it. there were plenty of teams that didn't try it in 2019, correct? or '18, for that matter. it was brought out at the end of the year. and playoffs.
i did see the 'cuse game last year and it looked like they hadn't figured much out.
yale games if i recall yale employed different strategies. i was just musing. and as i said, gave the benefit of the doubt.

[wgdsr]

We can only hope that the grinder attitude rubs off on the rest of the team, that is not a word you could have used to discuss any of the Petro coached teams since perhaps the one that went undefeated in '05. The 2015 run at the end had a touch of it, but it only lasted for about 6 weeks.

his teams have been churning uphill with faceoff losses, adjusting by riding hard and winning the groundball wars elsewhere. and causing turnovers.
their approach to attacking and taking chances led to too many turnovers for some coaches (maybe fanbases?), but not for him. even with the faceoffs and turnovers, they put up very good numbers and were crazy efficient on offense. partly because they shared the ball and partly because they shot the ball so well. they probably go hand in hand.
obviously, a lot of that is a product of the talent on the field, too (who he recruited). but he didn't hold them back.

the shut-off teat narrative (over 2 years, really) certainly raises legitimate questions on adjustments for that in particular. i suspect a better effort would've been undertaken when that cropped again, tough to know. what seems apparent is winning the hustle game and allowing for some chance taking at cornell was part of the style. i'd be surprised if that changed. i would bet also that shooting gets improved, and the call for ctos from various corners is answered also.

Hey maybe the AD does listen to the bozos on this forum. Riding hard? Groundballs? Caused turnovers? High shooting percentage? Taking chances? Less rigidity? Sounds like it addresses the exact list of Laxpower/FanLax complaints about Petro's more recent teams.

Having said all that, while it sounds nice, a good coach will adjust his scheme to the personnel. If he thinks he has the personnel to play that style, then by all means, go for it, and I'm sure he will. But if he doesn't think it's there, I hope he comes up with something that gives those players the best chance to win and doesn't force a previous style that worked on other teams into this one merely out of habit.

if you're going to create an ethos or a brand, for the longer term (of your tenure), to me you're better off doing it right away as opposed to having to evolve or adjust eventually.
especially if that style may fit (much) better in today's era as far as winning. even the md's and nd's understand winning with pace and a boa constrictor defense isn't likely to fly anymore.
if it means you don't have all of your personnel yet, you adjust how you get there (no takeaway defensemen -- get it thru the scheme... different offensive skill set pieces.. again change the scheme on how to get the shots you want to take advantage of what they do well). and the riding hard and getting ground balls part shouldn't really have much to do with personnel. all imo.

you are likely also getting someone who is still feeling he's learning and figuring the aspects he wants to get better at... whether they be turnovers or faceoff coaching or alum relations.

[FMUBart]

the shut-off teat narrative (over 2 years, really) certainly raises legitimate questions on adjustments for that in particular. i suspect a better effort would've been undertaken when that cropped again, tough to know.

You're missing the key point, which is that no opponent tried it in 2020. Why not? IMO, it's because Milliman got his heavily-criticized 5v5 scheme to work well enough that shutting off Teat was now sub-optimal. And Cornell scored between 17 and 21 points against every opponent (including PSU and OSU).

And GAVE UP and average of 18+ a game, too...

[a fan]

1. That's not correct. They gave up 12.8 per game
2. They won every game....isn't that the goal?

[nrthcrosslax]

Who are top assistants he should be going after? Would he try to bring Buzcek with him? Some have mentioned Steele Stanwick. Tucker Durkin DC? John Crawley? Metzbower? And go...

[FMUBart]

1. That's not correct. They gave up 12.8 per game
2. They won every game....isn't that the goal?

My bad, they AVERAGED 18 a game..yes 5-0 is great, but gave up 17 to PSU(and OSU)and
were fortunate to score 18 against a banged up defense(2 starting d men were out). HPU and Towson were
weak and UA was also a little down this abbreviated season.
But yes, 5-0 is 5-0....

[DocBarrister]

Who are top assistants he should be going after? Would he try to bring Buzcek with him? Some have mentioned Steele Stanwick. Tucker Durkin DC? John Crawley? Metzbower? And go...

It will never, ever happen, but ...

... for many years, I have considered Matt Dwan of Loyola to be one of the very best defensive coordinators in lacrosse.

His defenses play defense the way defense should be played.

If it were up to me, I would give him a Gazillion dollars (yes, with a capital “G”) to move a mile south to Homewood.

DocBarrister

[jrn19]

Who are top assistants he should be going after? Would he try to bring Buzcek with him? Some have mentioned Steele Stanwick. Tucker Durkin DC? John Crawley? Metzbower? And go...

I don’t really get the Stanwick thing. The women’s and men’s games are wildly different but it’s not as if his offenses with the women’s team have been great or anything. Obviously was a smart player but they’re two different things. Crawley would make sense, Milliman had two young assistants at CU. Steven Boyle at Drexel could be a look if he wanted someone with more experience.

Koesterer’s done a great job at UMBC, and I’d imagine he’d take the bump up in position and pay at Hop

[CU77]

... for many years, I have considered Matt Dwan of Loyola to be one of the very best defensive coordinators in lacrosse.

Isn't he the brother of the just-fired Bill Dwan???

[nrthcrosslax]

... for many years, I have considered Matt Dwan of Loyola to be one of the very best defensive coordinators in lacrosse.

Isn't he the brother of the just-fired Bill Dwan???

Yes. That would make for awkward Thanksgiving?