One opinion that I feel strongly about is that whoever the Youngstown State University Penguins name as their new football coach, the salary will be upped significantly from what Jon Heacock made this past season.

Executive Director of Athletics, Ron Strollo, made it clear at a press conference over a week ago that whoever is selected will have Division-I coaching experience.  He also talked about affordability, meaning Charlie Weiss, Bobby Bowden, and a few other yet to be fired coaches are eliminated.

Think about this for a minute.  This team had a winning record at 6-5 this past season.  There were 12 Seniors on the roster.  Those 12 guys will be tough to replace but there is experience coming back.  Three of the 12 were running backs, two were receivers, one was an offensive lineman, one was a punter, one was a quarterback, one linebacker, two defensive linemen, and a defensive back.

That means that there are numbers coming back next year.  In no way am I downplaying the accomplishments of 12 very hard-working seniors, they earned the respect that they deserve a long time ago.  What I am bringing to light is that whoever YSU selects to coach this team is going to have a chance to win games immediately.  There is a bunch of experience returning next season.

A couple of names thrown out into the mighty Mahoning Valey Rumor Mill were Rick Shepas, Mike Tressel, and Pat Narduzzi.  All three of these candidates have ties to Youngstown, but based on the criteria and the logic, they would be pushed down the list based on recruiting experience or Division-I coaching experience.

I would love to see Mike Stoops here for a few reasons.  First of all, Cardinal Mooney has been a national institution for high school football.  Most of these guys go elsewhere, bigger 1-A schools.  Stoops would be the best recruiter in keeping some of the locals here.  Granted, many transfer back here if the big plan does not go as drawn up.  Taylor Hill is a perfect example.  Hill played football at Mooney, went to Michigan, and for whatever reason, returned to Youngstown.  The same can be said for any great athlete that comes out of these area schools.  Why not try to keep them here.  I know it is not as easy as it sounds, but with Stoops, you have a better chance than with any other candidate on a short list.

Another reason Stoops would be a good fit is because it would rouse the locals.  This is a family, a Youngstown-based family with extended families.  They all have neighbors, and those cousins have neighbors too.  I think attendance would dance back up in the 80-100% capacity based on the name and the weight it carries in this area.

The downside to Stoops is that he will not come cheap.  Expect Stoops to want close to $275,000.  Is this a case of you get what you pay for?  I think it is.  The quality Stoops will bring to the program coupled with a big attendance increase will help cover the money that must be generated to cover the salary increase.  Nothing will happen until after Saturday when Arizona faces off against USC.  WFMJ-TV aired a clip in which Stoops was quoted as saying, “I’ve invested too much in this program to go anywhere with this stuff until after the season.  I work for my brother [Mike] and all this stuff takes care of itself later.”

Mark Snyder, who recently stepped down at Marshall, would be next on the short list.  Snyder would also command a higher salary than what is available.  I don’t see him recruiting quite as well as Stoops, which is why he is second on my list.