OT: EMU is Bowl-Eligible; Why Hasn't Chris Creighton Drawn Interest For a Bigger Job?
With one game left, Eastern Michigan became bowl-eligible last night by whipping Northern Illinois. (EMU owns the state of Illinois.)
I've seen that there might be a shortage of bowl-eligible teams this year, so the Eagles will likely make a bowl even with a 6-6 record. They finish the season against 4-6 Kent State.
If they do make it, that will be three bowls in the past four seasons for Coach Chris Creighton. Considering EMU's history (they hadn't qualified for a bowl since 1987 before he arrived), that's remarkable. Knowing EMU's program as well as we do, I never would have thought that any coach could do that there.
Which begs the question: How come Creighton's name never comes up for a bigger job? His overall record at EMU is still pretty awful, because he was 2-10 and 1-11 in his first two seasons, but there's no question he can turn a program around. Still, you never even hear him mentioned on a laundry list of coaching candidates when a low Power 5 job opens up. Successful MAC coaches are always snapped up. Just wondering why Creighton isn't even mentioned.
November 20th, 2019 at 10:06 AM ^
Most MAC coaches get poached after they win a conference title.
November 20th, 2019 at 10:17 AM ^
Lots of interesting takes and perspectives here. Several people have pointed out that 7-5 and 6-6 are nothing to write home about - which is true - but 7-5 and 6-6 at EMU is like 10-2 or 9-3 at CMU or WMU. The school hadn't made a bowl game in 30 years before he arrived, and now they've made three bowls in four years.
Maybe the next step up isn't a Vanderbilt or Rutgers. Maybe it's a Cincinnati or Temple. I just find it interesting that when jobs come open at the end of the season, you never hear his name mentioned. It must be because on the surface, nobody is impressed with a 7-5/6-6 coach, even if he did it at EMU.
November 20th, 2019 at 11:20 AM ^
I disagree that 6-6 at EMU is like 10-2 at CMU or WMU.
Also, there's a major red flag...EMU's awful recruiting hasn't improved at all under this coach. That's typically how the small-time coaches get noticed aside from winning.
November 20th, 2019 at 10:18 AM ^
Bowl eligible? As in 3000 other teams who managed to win half their games???
November 20th, 2019 at 10:21 AM ^
I think people have touched on it, but basically due his small school roots (Ottawa, Wabash, Drake) and this being his first D1 gig, he's less likely to be sought out rather Creighton would probably have to show interest in other jobs. I have no knowledge if he has but I would guess Creighton showed some interest in other jobs last year and probably will again this year. But its not likely to lead to anything much better than a lateral move. Win a championship at EMU and then bigger schools will start poking around the bushes.
But while we're here, his record at EMU is one game above .500 since digging them out of the grave.
November 20th, 2019 at 10:42 AM ^
He was a candidate for the Temple job last January that went to Rod Carey from Northern Illinois. Carey had a slightly better resume than Creighton in the MAC.
Cary is getting 533,000 to coach Temple, Creighton's renegotiated EMU deal reportedly took him over 500,000 this year from 425,000. So it would take more than a Temple type opening to lure him away from EMU I would suspect.
November 20th, 2019 at 10:31 PM ^
Yuck. To jabs in boxing is equivalent to a sub four minute mile. Change my mind.
November 20th, 2019 at 10:35 AM ^
If they do make it, that will be three bowls in the past four seasons for Coach Chris Creighton. [...] Which begs the question: How come Creighton's name never comes up for a bigger job?
I love bowls. It's MOAR college football, any college football, before it's long gone for 8 more months. This is NOT a reply about "meaningless" bowl games...
... but half of D1 makes a bowl. Making a bowl game, as an achievement, really isn't a special as it used to be.
Creighton is likely a good coach. He just needs to get to a place where he can get some more 'W's before folks start giving him more looks.
November 20th, 2019 at 10:35 AM ^
I'm of the belief that Creighton would be MSU's best realistic hire (someone who's not afraid to walk into a toxic cesspool with limited resources and slowly establish a culture), so ixnay on the eightoncray... Look, a distraction!
November 20th, 2019 at 10:41 AM ^
I would love to see MSU get another shot at the state championship through a matchup with EMU at the Motor City Bowl.
November 20th, 2019 at 10:45 AM ^
https://fbschedules.com/ncaa-2020/team/michigan-state
Check out MSU's schedule next year, tell me that doesn't have potential to get very ugly for Dantonio.
November 20th, 2019 at 11:00 AM ^
Yikes - they better get 3 or 4 wins in September.
October is a total meat grinder, considerably harder than their October stretch this year (which was difficult in its own right, but at least they had some bye weeks).
If they only go 2-2 in September, 2-8 would honestly be on the table.
November 20th, 2019 at 11:42 PM ^
Well, that off week will be welcome.
That schedule makes the case for scheduling some cupcakes.
November 20th, 2019 at 11:26 AM ^
Getting EMU to relative respectability is a major accomplishment, but you aren't selling any fanbase on a guy with exactly one winning conference record in the MAC in six years.
November 20th, 2019 at 12:17 PM ^
Congratulations are in order to all the college football teams in Michigan who have achieved bowl eligibility!
Our own beloved Wolverines, of course. 8-2 and hoping to finish the year strong!
And our next door neighbors, the Eastern Michigan Eagles at 6-5!
Don't sleep on the Western Michigan Broncos, at 7-4. Or the Central Michigan Chippewas, with the same record.
And...
hmm...
let me just check...
yup, that's all of them.
November 20th, 2019 at 12:40 PM ^
The only reason EMU is still an FBS program right now is because the MAC was going to kick them out if they dropped their football program to FCS and the EMU administration thought that would hurt their brand too much as they want to be seen as peers with CMU and WMU not Oakland and UDM, etc.
November 20th, 2019 at 12:43 PM ^
We (people in Michigan) know that for EMU to go .500 is an accomplishment, but I don't know if people elsewhere understand that. A MAC coach with a sub-.500 overall record and no conference titles might be a tough sell for other fanbases. But that's good for EMU!
November 20th, 2019 at 12:54 PM ^
Creighton can stay where he is at. EMU hasn’t made that next step like NIU did under Novak(a similarly awful program) or like Buffalo did under Gill. EMU is having a helluva time trying to make that next step.
November 20th, 2019 at 1:10 PM ^
He’d be a smart hire, but it’s hard to win the press conference with someone with a losing record, especially one with as poor of a record as he had early. Now, if an AAC or Mountain West gig opened and I was the AD, I’d be very interested. The other issue is he’s Not really had a ton of experience in other regions, which might limit his sphere of jobs.