Some have mentioned how this soap opera reminds them of the 2006 situation when Mike Anderson was hired by Mike Alden, right at the same time the BOC was deciding whether to even retain Mike Alden as Athletic Director in the wake of the circumstances surrounding the termination of Quin Snyder.
While the exact details are not the same, some of the similarities are nonetheless eerie. Here we have a situation in which the Board of Curators has seemingly gotten involved by essentially, if the accounts are accurate, vetoing (at least temporarily) three names forwarded by the Athletic Director, with the top name reportedly being Blake Anderson. Whether that information should have been leaked or not (I think it is very bad that it was, to be clear), that alone is fairly remarkable.
What's more remarkable is the similarities in track record between Mike Anderson and Blake Anderson in terms of accomplishment at their respective school in a mid-major conference.
Mike Anderson coached at UAB for four seasons. He finished 1st, 2nd, 2nd, and 4th. During that time, the nature of CUSA changed- DePaul, Cincinnati, Marquette, left the league and it basically morphed into being Memphis and a bunch of other guys. UAB, though, was there throughout and was always in the Top 4 - in fact, in 2004, there was a 5-way tie at 12-4 for 1st place.
So, the Blazers never dominated the league but they always did well - enough for him to make the NIT the first year and the NCAA the three years after that. Not bad. Not dominant. But not bad. And unlike college football, where a team like Arkansas State has no chance to prove itself in a post season tournament, UAB's consistent entry into the dance made Anderson attractive as a coaching candidate. He wasn't hired immediately after his first year or two either - he hung around for a bit before being snatched up by Mizzou.
Of course, what we also know about Mike Anderson was his style of play - 40 minutes of hell. It was different, yes, but we thought it might work here, and in large part, it did. I think had Anderson not left us, he'd have been continually successful here.
Now, let's look at Blake Anderson. Like Mike, he's coached in a mid major - in Blake's case, the Sun Belt. During his time there, he's never missed a bowl. He's competed directly with the "Memphis of the Sun Belt" (Appalachian State) along with Troy, the other two teams who have consistently done well in the Sun Belt over his six years. During those six years, his colleagues at those two schools (Satterfield and Brown) were hired by Louisville and West Virginia, respectively, two coaches we would have been delighted to hire had they been available this year. Anderson would have been snagged up too, but for his tragic family situation.
During his time, Arkansas State has been known for his high powered offenses. Throughout his tenure, his teams generally don't trouble scoring between the high 20's and 50 points. In his undefeated Sun Belt year of 2015, the numbers were particularly impressive:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Arkansas_State_Red_Wolves_football_team
This is the year that Missouri played them, and won by just 7. They also lost USC and a very good Toledo team that year on the road. Most impressive was their win at Appalachian State, who went 7-1 in conference.
The only slight down note is that he's been 1-3 in bowl games, but as we know, bowl games are crap shoots.
My point is, here is a guy who has had clear success at Arkansas State. He's not even had one down year. He just wins and wins and wins...always competing with the top of the Sun Belt. If you consider college bowl games the equivalent of the NCAA Tournament, he's made it every single year.
It's no surprise that he's high on our list. If we don't hire him, someone will. He's at the perfect point to grab, a match made in heaven, if you will. A coach right down the road, who isn't a job hopper, but someone who has won, and won, and won some more. If we're looking for the guy who will turn the Vanderbilts and Kentuckys and Wyomings from losses into wins, he seems to have the consistent track record to show he can do that.
Frankly, I'm not sure why he's not been #1 on our board the whole time.
Sadly, much like in 2006, we find ourselves in a situation where the coaching search has been chaotic. The program seems in disarray due to a frosty relationship between the AD and the previous coach, much like it did in 2006. You've got the BOC involved, and we don't even know if Sterk is going to even make the hire himself, or will someone else, or a group of people? The only missing link is Gary Link.
In my mind, it's time to set aside the search for glitz and who some random casual fan is going to like, who isn't coming to games now anyway. Why isn't that fan coming? Because we're not winning enough. That guy's not going to come no matter who on the "realistic list" is hired - he doesn't know who Brian Harsin or Will Healy is either. He just wants to win.
I think both Jeff Monken or Blake Anderson fit that bill. Monken's been on my list from the get go, along with Drinkwitz and a couple other guys, but the more I think about it, the more Anderson makes sense. The reason I like the Monken and Anderson types? They win games. They are highly regarded. They aren't drama queens. They just win and they win a lot - at places that are hard to win at.
Some think we need to shoot for the moon. We don't need to. Take a look at next season.I think we'd all agree 7-9 wins, especially after this season, would be phenomenal. Do we need the moon to beat Central Arkansas, Louisiana, Eastern Michigan, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina, BYU, and Mississippi State? I don't think so. We just need a winner...and the fans will come. And, given how well liked Anderson is by the community in Jonesboro, my guess is that the fans in Columbia would take a great liking to him too, just like we did with CMA back in 06.
Now, some might think that he may not take the job, given what happened yesterday. For some reason, given what Blake Anderson has dealt with, he can handle a little inside baseball university turmoil. In 2006, Mike Anderson, in the midst of chaos, brought our basketball program back from the brink of the abyss. In 2019, Blake Anderson, in the midst of chaos, may be the coach we need to bring the football program back from the brink of the abyss.
While the exact details are not the same, some of the similarities are nonetheless eerie. Here we have a situation in which the Board of Curators has seemingly gotten involved by essentially, if the accounts are accurate, vetoing (at least temporarily) three names forwarded by the Athletic Director, with the top name reportedly being Blake Anderson. Whether that information should have been leaked or not (I think it is very bad that it was, to be clear), that alone is fairly remarkable.
What's more remarkable is the similarities in track record between Mike Anderson and Blake Anderson in terms of accomplishment at their respective school in a mid-major conference.
Mike Anderson coached at UAB for four seasons. He finished 1st, 2nd, 2nd, and 4th. During that time, the nature of CUSA changed- DePaul, Cincinnati, Marquette, left the league and it basically morphed into being Memphis and a bunch of other guys. UAB, though, was there throughout and was always in the Top 4 - in fact, in 2004, there was a 5-way tie at 12-4 for 1st place.
So, the Blazers never dominated the league but they always did well - enough for him to make the NIT the first year and the NCAA the three years after that. Not bad. Not dominant. But not bad. And unlike college football, where a team like Arkansas State has no chance to prove itself in a post season tournament, UAB's consistent entry into the dance made Anderson attractive as a coaching candidate. He wasn't hired immediately after his first year or two either - he hung around for a bit before being snatched up by Mizzou.
Of course, what we also know about Mike Anderson was his style of play - 40 minutes of hell. It was different, yes, but we thought it might work here, and in large part, it did. I think had Anderson not left us, he'd have been continually successful here.
Now, let's look at Blake Anderson. Like Mike, he's coached in a mid major - in Blake's case, the Sun Belt. During his time there, he's never missed a bowl. He's competed directly with the "Memphis of the Sun Belt" (Appalachian State) along with Troy, the other two teams who have consistently done well in the Sun Belt over his six years. During those six years, his colleagues at those two schools (Satterfield and Brown) were hired by Louisville and West Virginia, respectively, two coaches we would have been delighted to hire had they been available this year. Anderson would have been snagged up too, but for his tragic family situation.
During his time, Arkansas State has been known for his high powered offenses. Throughout his tenure, his teams generally don't trouble scoring between the high 20's and 50 points. In his undefeated Sun Belt year of 2015, the numbers were particularly impressive:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Arkansas_State_Red_Wolves_football_team
This is the year that Missouri played them, and won by just 7. They also lost USC and a very good Toledo team that year on the road. Most impressive was their win at Appalachian State, who went 7-1 in conference.
The only slight down note is that he's been 1-3 in bowl games, but as we know, bowl games are crap shoots.
My point is, here is a guy who has had clear success at Arkansas State. He's not even had one down year. He just wins and wins and wins...always competing with the top of the Sun Belt. If you consider college bowl games the equivalent of the NCAA Tournament, he's made it every single year.
It's no surprise that he's high on our list. If we don't hire him, someone will. He's at the perfect point to grab, a match made in heaven, if you will. A coach right down the road, who isn't a job hopper, but someone who has won, and won, and won some more. If we're looking for the guy who will turn the Vanderbilts and Kentuckys and Wyomings from losses into wins, he seems to have the consistent track record to show he can do that.
Frankly, I'm not sure why he's not been #1 on our board the whole time.
Sadly, much like in 2006, we find ourselves in a situation where the coaching search has been chaotic. The program seems in disarray due to a frosty relationship between the AD and the previous coach, much like it did in 2006. You've got the BOC involved, and we don't even know if Sterk is going to even make the hire himself, or will someone else, or a group of people? The only missing link is Gary Link.
In my mind, it's time to set aside the search for glitz and who some random casual fan is going to like, who isn't coming to games now anyway. Why isn't that fan coming? Because we're not winning enough. That guy's not going to come no matter who on the "realistic list" is hired - he doesn't know who Brian Harsin or Will Healy is either. He just wants to win.
I think both Jeff Monken or Blake Anderson fit that bill. Monken's been on my list from the get go, along with Drinkwitz and a couple other guys, but the more I think about it, the more Anderson makes sense. The reason I like the Monken and Anderson types? They win games. They are highly regarded. They aren't drama queens. They just win and they win a lot - at places that are hard to win at.
Some think we need to shoot for the moon. We don't need to. Take a look at next season.I think we'd all agree 7-9 wins, especially after this season, would be phenomenal. Do we need the moon to beat Central Arkansas, Louisiana, Eastern Michigan, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina, BYU, and Mississippi State? I don't think so. We just need a winner...and the fans will come. And, given how well liked Anderson is by the community in Jonesboro, my guess is that the fans in Columbia would take a great liking to him too, just like we did with CMA back in 06.
Now, some might think that he may not take the job, given what happened yesterday. For some reason, given what Blake Anderson has dealt with, he can handle a little inside baseball university turmoil. In 2006, Mike Anderson, in the midst of chaos, brought our basketball program back from the brink of the abyss. In 2019, Blake Anderson, in the midst of chaos, may be the coach we need to bring the football program back from the brink of the abyss.
Last edited:
