CC: ED COOLEY
Ed Cooley is a name to keep in mind. He overlapped with Warde while he was at UConn. His record is very good and he has improved every year. He is young, too.
In seven seasons at Providence College, Cooley has posted a 144-94 mark (.608). In 12 seasons as a head coach, Cooley has a 236-163 (.591) record. When Cooley was hired in 2011, the Friars had finished under .500 in six of the 10 previous seasons and had been to just one NCAA Tournament (2004) in that 10-year span. Since his hiring, Cooley has led the Friars to six consecutive post-season tournament berths, including a school-record five straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2014-18), and he guided the team to the 2014 BIG EAST title.
That would be a cool hire.
I hear he's got the fresh raps for the recruits as well:
Just no. Way below the Yak line. Slightly above mediocre Big East coast who's been at Fairfield and Providence since 2006.
He's a below .500 coach in the Big East. No thank you.
So he'd be like a 2-star football recruit you're saying?
gross
Hey, there's this HS coach in Saginaw, Julian Taylor, he coached Saginaw High to a 22-4 record last year, getting to the Michigan HS playoffs version of the Div 1 Elite 8. He also won the state championship in 2012! This guy would be a great candidate!!!
You should make a post about it.
He's had one NCAA tournament win, which was a 1-point win as a 9-seed. The one year where they were the lower seed, they lost to Dayton. You're looking at a guy that would eke us into the tournament and never make the sweet 16.
Not sure why this was negged but it's the truth. Cooley would be a mediocre hire. He struggled to get Providence into the NCAAs in the weaker Big East -- three times a double-digit seed, once a 9, and once a six. Those five appearances netted a 1-5 record.
If Michigan gets down that far for a candidate ... shit.
Next
Wow people don't like Ed Cooley. Providence was in a really bad spot when he came. 7 years without a tournament bid. Tournament wise, they were consistently a 7-10 seed, which is one of the worst spots to be in for deep runs so that can explain why he hasn't had much tournament success.
Also people are saying he has a below .500 record in the Big East and saying he's not qualified for that reason. 1. He went 4-14 his first year and otherwise only had a losing record in conference once, so that one year is holding him back. 2. the Big East is not a bad conference. In fact, when he started there it was still the Big East of old. Even as it stands now it's a good place to get an up and coming coach.
He's also only 49. I could see him as someone that could "breakout" at Michigan. I'd put him above my Yak line
I like Coach Cooley, but no. He is at his dream job and I think would understand he has maxed out with his coaching.
He is Hoke at SDSU. If Cooley stays at Providence he will have a nice run with some tournament berths. If he takes a higher level job he flames out and is remembered for failing on a big stage.
I have family in RI and Cooley is supported as "one of their guys" by the fanbase.
Way below the Yak line, if you ask me.
Look, I know that we are not Duke, UNC, Kentucky, Louisville and a few others. Those teams are in a different tier, although quite frankly, those teams also happen to be the most egregious cheaters out there (kind of how the SEC, Clemson and OSU seem to dominate in football - go figure).
But, take out those top 5-8 teams, and we are solidly in the next tier, perhaps at the top of that next tier. Michigan:
1. Has national recognition
2. Plays in a top Bball conference
3. Has been to the finals twice in recent years, and has made a number of recent deep runs in the tourney
4. Has put a ton of talent in the NBA, largely consisting of non-5* types
5. Has facilities to rival any school out there
6. Because of what Beilein built (so maybe people can stop crapping on him for leaving to coach IN THE NBA), has a very loyal and engaged fanbase (despite being perceived as a football school)
7. Has as much money to pay coaches as any school in the country, and has shown in recent years that it is willing to pay up if need be (see Harbaugh, Brown, Gattis).
Simply put, despite where we are in the calendar, we should be able to pull in some top name coaches. We don't need to reach down for guys like Cooley. I was as big of a Hoke fan as existed on this blog, but as his tenure wore on, I had to admit that you are what your resume says you are, and for Cooley, that is nothing more than a decent, middling coach.
Ultimately, if we are looking at guys like this, I would prefer to interim Yak and see how he does with what will certainly be a weaker roster this coming year. If he does well and recruiting keeps up, maybe he Lloyd Carrs it and we take off the interim. If not, we go full in next March / April when better candidates are available.
A person with head coaching experience is way below a person with 0 head coaching experience? Yeah please don’t expound. There’s no need.
stopped reading at Louisville
How about no on Cooley.
Has not "improved every year" - in fact this year was his worst since his first season there. Went 7-11 in conference after 5 straight years of 10-8 (4x) or 11-7. Kenpom #79 after two years in the 60s which came on the heels of a #48 / #27 / #44 stretch.
Three years ago he may have been attractive.