Tom Bradley's candidacy: your thoughts?
by newenglandnittanylion on Jan 8, 2011 12:48 PM EST
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Hi all. First time posting here. As you may have heard, Penn State Defensive Coordinator Tom Bradley is a rumored candidate for the head coaching position at UConn. As a lifelong Penn State Fan, I'd be disappointed to see him go, but as a casual UConn fan, there's nowhere I'd rather see him go than here. So, I wanted to hear what the die-hard UConn faithful think of this prospect; I can also answer some questions you might have about the man if you're interested. So, what do you think? Would Bradley get the fanbase excited? Do you think he'd be a good fit with the program?
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Tom Bradley
I know nothing about how highly regarded Nittany Lions DC Tom Bradley is, but I do have a couple of questions. First, why has he been an assistant at Penn State for 32 years? Is he NOT head coaching material or is it simply that he has been the “Head Coach in waiting” and finally got tired of waiting? On the surface, I’m a bit leery of UConn hiring him. I would be more jazzed up about Auburn OC Gus Malzahn, Tulsa HC Todd Graham, Wisconsin OC Paul Chryst or Arkansas OC Garrick McGee. All are thought to be innovative coaches and great recruiters, a combination UConn needs desperately.
I have similar concerns
He’s certainly not viewed as a “sexy” hire, especially since, after years of Edsall, I think most want someone who can bring some excitement, especially on on offense. But now that the realization that a Leach or RichRod aren’t viable options, I’d think most could be sold on Bradley.
by UConnBlog Justin on Jan 10, 2011 11:44 AM EST up reply actions
No one can say for sure WHY he’s stayed at Penn State for as long as he has; those reasons are personal. But, it’s a very good job that he’s done very well, and he’s steadily advanced with it, from graduate assistant to special teams coach to position coach to defensive coordinator; why would he leave? The same goes for many of the people on JoePa’s staff—they’ve been around for a long time because it’s a good, steady job that they’ve done well and advanced with.
Bradley is absolutely head coaching material; depending on who you ask, he’s been taking over more and more of the day-to-day head coaching duties as Joe’s gotten older; when Joe has had to miss games due to illness or injury, Bradley . Ever since Jerry Sandusky abruptly retired in 1999, Bradley has been the de facto head coach in waiting. This is probably why you haven’t seen him go looking for other head coaching jobs previously. I don’t know exactly hat made him go on the job hunt this year; maybe he got word from the administration that he would not be promoted to head coach, or maybe he just got sick of waiting for Joe to retire.
I think UConn would be in very good hands with Bradley. You won’t get a whole lot of flash or hype; you’ll just get a very good coach who recruits well, develops players well, keeps academic and personal conduct standards high, and always puts a good team on the field.
by newenglandnittanylion on Jan 10, 2011 12:23 PM EST up reply actions
If that's the case
My concern would with him would be that he’d come to UConn for two or three years and then zip right back to PSU when JoePa dies/finally retires.
I’d hate the instability of that, but even more, I hate the idea of UConn looking for a basketball and football coach in the same calendar year — that’s my real nightmare scenario.
by Andrew Porter on Jan 10, 2011 5:22 PM EST up reply actions
I think that's a pretty remote possibility
I can’t imagine Bradley would leave PSU unless he thought he had no shot as Paterno’s successor. Some might say that he’d use one or two years of HC experience to bolster his resume for the Penn State job, but I think that’s a pretty weak argument; after coaching at the school for over 30 years, I think the administration’s opinion is pretty well-formed at this point.
Moreover, coaches not named Lane Kiffin don’t typically stab their new employer in the back like that. For example, by all accounts Charlie Strong would have been a leading candidate at Florida this year, but he stuck with Louisville because they gave him a shot first.
by newenglandnittanylion on Jan 10, 2011 9:28 PM EST up reply actions
...coaches not named Lane Kiffin and
Rich Rodriguez, Brian Kelly, Bobby Petrino… There have been a few others in addition to Lane Kiffin. Sadly most have been in this conference, so you can see why Andrew and probably most of us are a little concerned about the stepping stone thing. That is actually why I would prefer Fulmer. He’s 61, so yea we’d also only get a handful of years out of him. But that would be because of age and not looking for another job. My hope is that since it would most likely be his last job he would be completely focused on our program and be able to take it to a level where the next guy who takes over would actually want to stay. I am probably being unrealistic, but a man can dream that one day the Cam Newton’s of the high school football world (or juco in his case) will want to come to UConn. I mean it could happen, right?
18-1
Nuck Fova
Edsall: Thanks for building the program, but you are a huge douche and I hope you fail miserably in Maryland.
1967: Embrace it
None of those coaches left new college HC jobs after one year like kiffin did
And Petrino got a pretty bad rap for leaving the falcons after less than a year. I just don’t see Bradley doing that, even if he’s offered the PSU job.
by newenglandnittanylion on Jan 11, 2011 1:35 PM EST up reply actions
True none left after one year
But, talk to any WVU or Cincy fans (I think most Louisville fans have gotten over Petrino now) and they still hate RichRod and Kelly respectively probably about the same amount that Tenn. fans hate Kiffin.
Granted, I am not saying Bradley will be like them, since I don’t know the guy at all except for what you have told us and a few snippets of information here or there. I’d be inclined to believe that he would be a much more stand up guy than Kiffin, RichRod, etc just because he’s a JoePa guy and I’m sure JoePa being the class act he is only surrounds himself with class acts. However, this conference has been burned by coaches moving on in short order, so it makes many of us worried about anybody new coming in.
18-1
Nuck Fova
Edsall: Thanks for building the program, but you are a huge douche and I hope you fail miserably in Maryland.
1967: Embrace it
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