The negativity swirling around the Husky Football program has been so thick you’d need a machete to slice through it. Jen Cohen has been feeling the heat just as much as embattled coach Jimmy, but she has the chance to be either an anchor for the program, or a rocket.
This moment will define her and her legacy for Husky Football.
No one in their right mind would have predicted Jimmy Lake would be fired after one-and-a-half seasons. Sure, expectations were high and most fans even understood that there may be some early struggles.
But this has been astonishing. You couldn’t even get odds in Vegas that it would wind up this bad.
When I say a “defining moment”, here’s my thinking:
There’s absolutely no reason why Washington should not be a perennial Top 15 team — the education, fanbase, the facilities, the history, and the amazing booster contingency.
This is a team that has won two out of the last five Pac-12 championships, they won the North in 2020 but could not play in the championship game because of COVID restrictions, they have appeared in the college football championship final four once, and have four national titles throughout their history.
Now that Washington has a plan in place that will help them compete with anyone in the country with the NIL, Cohen has to get this right.
The first thing Cohen needs to do is address the entire team. She also needs to try to talk to the parents of the players. Cohen needs to have a plan in place to stop the potential for players leaving.
Cohen needs to plead her case to any player considering leaving, and ask them to give her a chance to bring in a new coach — to encourage them to hear that coach out and make an informed decision about their futures.
Next, as they say in my favorite sports movie of all time, “Show me the money”, the “kwan” so to speak. Washington can pay now or pay later.
If UW doesn’t pay now, they will have trouble with revenues later. Cohen needs to be smart, not cheap. Husky fans deserve a coach who makes more money than the Washington State coach. The revenues from having a championship team far outweigh the sticker shock of bringing in a worthy head coach.
There are a couple of ways of going about this; a splash hire is one way (the obvious way). Or go after a coach from a school like Coastal Carolina such as Jamey Chadwell (go read his bio)
How does Coastal Carolina get a guy like this?
That’s just one example of a “splash hire” who fans might not think is such a splash, but the oceans may rise if the rumors about former Oklahoma head coach, Bob Stoops prove to have any teeth.
The Twittersphere has been hot over the rumors that Stoops has shown interest, and why not? He’s won 10 Big 12 titles and a national title during his coaching career.
I have made no secret about my reservations about these rumors, and if Jen Cohen were able to pull something like this off you’d want to build a statue of her next to Don James at Husky Stadium — but there’s a caveat.
At age 61, Stoops would need to provide a few things to Cohen.
There wouldn’t just be “strings attached”, there would have be rebar and steel cables attached.
David Shaw of Stanford makes 8.9 million; that’s without a national title or the coaching accomplishments of Stoops. This is why I had a hard time believing this could happen.
Washington would need to pay Stoops at least have to pay 9 million a year. Stoops pedigree is such that anything less would be an insult.
And as for those cables? How about a five-year commitment and a minimum 50 million-dollar buyout. This is not impossible; Jimbo Fisher has a 95 million-dollar buyout.
So what’s the upside of possibly getting a guy of Stoops caliber?
As we said above; pay now or pay later. This would be a national shockwave across the country if Washington hired Stoops. His credibility is off the charts, just look at what Chris Petersen’s cred did for Washington?
And Stoops would be an even bigger name than Petersen.
Not one player would want to transfer, and Washington would send a message to the country that they’re ready to compete for a national title. Cohen said they’re acting swiftly right now too, and Stoops isn’t coaching right now.
I may be pessimistic, but I would absolutely delight in being wrong on this. I would be over the moon if the Huskies hired Stoops. My concerns are with the money side of it, but Cohen said she has the resources to get the “best coach” for Washington — but is this realistic?
The Huskies host Michigan at home this coming season, a guy like Stoops would definitely bring Game Day to Husky Stadium.
Oh, it’s fun to dream…
But back to reality — I’ve been outspoken about not wanting Cohen to try to bring a coordinator with no head coaching experience. This doesn’t work at Washington and has brought poor results every time.
Other names…
Jeff Brohm
Jay Morvell
Joe Moorhead
Luke Fickell
Justin Wilcox
In conclusion:
Cohen has to get it right. The good news is that she a huge Husky Football fan and grew up during the James era. She knows what Husky fans want and deserve.
If you can’t get a Stoops, get a coach who has the cred and is fundamentally sound and has a plan and system to take this program to the next level.
