So what does the enemy think of Utah's new coach?
 

Jim Boylen from Michigan State.

I'd prefer not to scroll through Cougarboard to do my own research project; I'd rather have the opinion of those on this site, thanks.

His credentials are good and he should be a good x's and o's guy, though probably not to the level of Majerus. The real question will be if he can find a vein of recruits that can put the Utes in sustained prominence. I think it will be a tough job to succeed in a way that is even close to Fatty M. If he does I doubt that he will stay around long.

Mostly he is a big question mark because he has no head coaching track record to judge from.

He appears to be a solid coach. But then I'm sure the top assistant at any of the top 20 programs or NBA teams all would have similar resumes. Few of them get head coaching offers from top programs (based on numbers alone). Boylen doesn't appear to have had a lot of interest in him from other teams in the past but I may be wrong.

Who are his assistants? From a BYU point of view, I don't mind Utah having a strong program if their recruiting focus is on out of state and non-LDS. He doesn't have any recruiting connections in the west.

My gut feeling is that he'll be moderately successful and when/if has a great year he'll move on to another program back east.

I'm curious as to why you don't think he'd be around long if he's successful at Utah. Majerus was very successful and stayed for 15 years or so.

I'm not saying that Utah is a premiere job - I'm just curious as to why Cougar fans don't think a basketball coach will stay there after precedence shows that he will.

Majerus is eccentric. Everything he does is unexplainable and opposite of the norm. He's just a different guy. Look at what every other coach in America does when he has success at a small school. If Broylen was from Utah or had stronger ties to the area, it would be a different thing.

I can agree with this, but is Utah really that small of a school when it comes to basketball?

Perhaps, but I'd like to believe that it's not so small a guy wouldn't want to stay.

Looking at the larger trends in coaching, coaches that are succesful in lesser leagues usually go for a bigger job when they get the chance. There are literally dozens of examples of this. Majerus was the exception to that generalized rule and I think it was more related to him personally than to the institution.

By way of comparison, Lavell staying forever at the Lords University does not mean that Bronco will do the same if he is offered a different good job. I suspect that he might take the bigger job. Especially if the Cougars do not make a good faith effort to pay him.

Utah is a small school. My metric is Boylen's payscale.

How many times were you on national TV last year? :)

How good of a job is the Utah job? I'm not talking smack now. Somewhere 30-40? Every year at least a few of those top 30-40 jobs come open and they pick from the next tier.

I will say that I was hoping they'd hire someone crappy like Donny Daniels or Tommy Connor, but I think Hill made a very shrewd hire in Boylen.

It's evident that guy has a great pedigree in spite of his lack of D-I Head Coaching experience.

He sounds just like what the Doctor ordered for the Yewts soft players...except Daniel Deane...he's a tough minded hombre.

I think Utah will be pretty good immediately.

Unfortunately. ;)

Well, thanks to Comcast, the Utes (and everyone else for that matter) weren't even on local tv.

There was a 4 year window in the 90s when Utah was a terrific job, but ther was no need to fill it because th guy who made it terrific was already on teh hill. After Majerus left, it had gone back to where it was a top 25-30 job and Giacoletti left it in shambles. Right now, it's not that great, but it's ceiling is higher than most so-called mid-majors.

Utah and BYU are about the same kind of job. I'm fine with that. If there were 10 million residents along the Wasatch Front, both schools would be considered a much better job.

There's a difference between where your rank as a program and where you rank as a job. I think y'all are a bit silly with your #11 stuff, but I don't care to get into it. For the point of this thread, the issue is how good of a job it is. That has to do with finances and exposure and recruiting base. Past winning doesn't always play into that. For example, Texas A&M is a good job. USC is a good job. Minnesota's a good job. etc. At least half the big six conference schools and a handful of mid-majors would be in a position to nab Utah's coach.

Actually, it's a question of values. Utah's pay is higher than Michigan's or UCLA's, so I don't know why you keep saying it's so low. If you're program is big enough you don't need to pay seven figures, and if your values are in the correct place you won't do it. Only places like Florida and Kentucky pay NBA salaries because sports is their main value.

I think it's a good hire
 

Not great, but as good as you could hope for. He seems like a solid guy, but I'm sure I will find things to hate about him.

Fortunately, I don't see Utah ever being consistently dominant again. That said, you should be better than BYU in the long run, and that's the only thing that really matters.

Like when he restores normalcy to the state and the zoo gets their heads handed to them year in and year out? (c:

I'm curious, why can't you see a return to dominance?

3 reasons. One, UNLV is going to be the dominant team. Two, Boylon won't be good enough to be Majerus, who I think was one of the best ever. Three, Utah, as a destination, just seems to be diminishing now that it's been taken out around the barn and been deflowered aggressively.

Initial impressions:

-- Guy seemed like he has been on the William Thomas Riker career track. We'll see how he does in the captain's chair.

-- Seems solid, comes from a good program, but with all the other jobs out there, it looks like the Utes were the only ones seriously pursuing him. Why?

-- Not from the West, so chances are good that if he becomes the answer to Ute Fan prayers, he will eventually bolt for job openings "back home."

-- Weren't there similar excitement and positive prognostications when Jack-o-Letti was hired?

-- Why is Utah always making "shrewd, diamond-in-the-ruff" hires?

I know Ute Fans love to point out that The Fat Man stuck around for 15 years, but I really don't know how relevant that is. As noted, Coach Rick was an eccentric head case, who didn't see a job opening he wouldn't at least take a sniff at during those 15 years. But he always came back to Utah, a school that readily took his crap and asked few questions as long as he was winning (how Ute Fans ever let him get rid of Juddy--Mr. Ute if there ever was a Mr. Ute--is beyond me). At least Boylen looks like the type of guy that will actually buy a house and not live on Domino's pizza. That's a good sign.

I predict Utah's record improves next year.

Could there be a 4th reason - that you really hope it happens but are a bit concerned that it might not?

Utah's ceiling is as high as their coach can take them. For Utah to succeed, you guys need to recruit in California or overseas or wherever. In that regard, you're up against every other program in the west. Your competitive advantage is your coach. Plain and simple. That's it. So if your coach is fantastic, you have a chance to be fantastic. It's extremely low probability for me looking in from the outside that:

1. The coach you hire happens to become one of the greatest game coaches and recruiters in the country.
2. Said coach stays long enough for you to enjoy sustained success.

All the Boise's, UTEP's, Wyomings, Nevadas, New Mexicos, Gonzagas, and Utahs want it. Utah got lucky. Gonzaga's getting lucky. Boise's getting lucky in football. But it's not high probability.

I agree with Pap almost word for word....
 

The Utah dominance that is often referred existed from about '95-'99. Since the inception of the MWC Utah has been a top tier MWC program but did not dominate in my opinion. I would go so far as to say that Utah was the top dog in the MWC. I find Utah's situation in the MWC from '00-'05 similar to BYU in football after Ty Detmer until about '99. Top program arguably and without question a top tier program, but not dominating.

Things change. It appears that UNLV is going to make an effort to be a major player again, we shall see. I think that if UNLV wants to be really good at hoops they can be better than Utah. I also think that BYU is not going to tank like they did during the latter half of the 90's when the Ute dynasty existed.

So basically I believe that Utah is going to face stiffer competition from the Rebels and the Cougars, perhaps even the Lobos and while Coach Boylen might be a good coach, which I think he will be, I think Utah returning to dominate is about as likely as BYU football returning to dominate.

So pretty likely.

Well, the BYU is a step ahead of them with one dominating year to build upon. I don't forsee anyone being able to dominate this conference in football. However, I could forsee BYU hoops slipping out of the top tier of the MWC just as I think Utah is another loss to New Mexico or Wyoming from slipping out of the top tier in MWC football.

I agree that the days of one team dominating either of the two big sports in this conference is gone. There is a lot of parity these days in the conference and IMO, that's a good thing. Having 3 or 4 teams battling for top dog only pushes all to get better.

I have no idea how long Boylen will stay. Trends show that he'll bolt for a bigger name conference if he has some good years, but I find it amusing that many here are convinced that he will go. I'm not saying that he'll stay a long time,because I have no idea. I'm just pointing out that many are sounding like they're trying to convince themselves that he'll leave and I believe that it's in part that they're a bit concerned that he might be the guy that gets Utah out of it's precipitating tailspin that Giacoletti created. You folks like that Utah has sucked the last two years. I don't blame you - I enjoyed the Crowton years.

Bottom line is that all we as fans can do is speculate. That's what makes it fun.