Checking Up with the Ostrich (& Notes)

Couldn't find photo of Hummel in USA uniform

If you haven't done so, I highly suggest reading Hummel's blog while in Serbia...

Robbie Sounds off

Pat Forde Thinks Matty's Hot
Alright, not really, but he does think two of Purdue's current rivalries are of a lot of interest...The Purdue v. IU rivalry didn't make the list...for a myriad of reasons, in my opinion.

Getting to know Coach Hope
Whether or not you liked the hire of Coach Hope over a year ago, many of you have grown to like his demeanor in interviews and at community events. If you'd like to get to know him a bit more, check out this video series talking to Tiller's successor from WLFI & GBI.

Mackey Update
Photos of what's happening around Mackey are up at Purduesports.com

Stupid Poll Ranks Hope 9th in Big Ten

In a poll conducted by either a 15 year old girl or a knowledgeable sports-type person with little focus, Danny Hope recently found himself at 9th place amongst his fellow Big Ten Football coaches.

It's not that I don't think he shouldn't be where he is in such a poll...in fact, I don't know how you can rate him anything but 10th* since we don't really know much about him as a head coach versus a big conference...But the subject matter itself is ridiculous.

But, if you're going to have such a worthless piece of drivel published in your online magazine, perhaps you should look at all of the info in front of you instead of just the small sliver that is in front of your face right now.

Stuff like this and pretty much every other worthless poll makes me respect companies like SI and EsPN less and less each day. Keep up the bad work, schmoes.


*Given: Bill Lynch is the worst coach in the Big Ten

Hope's Staff Ready to Go...For Now

The rumors that a few of Tiller's coaching staff would move on have been confirmed. Coach Z and McDonnell, who many thought were gone a week ago, are definitely gone now. They've both been replaced with coaches that have ties to the South, like Hope himself. Our pal, Brian Neubert at Gold and Black talks about the new coaching staff here.

I don't know much about the new coaches, but I do know Hope is taking swift action- a good sign to me. I honestly have no clue how the Hope Era will go, but I am looking forward to it.

While the coaching staff looks set, I'm not completely sure it is, as of now. Rumors continue to swirl regarding Brock Spack and a few others...we should know exactly where everybody's going in the next two weeks or so. As for now, there's no vacancy in the Purdue football coaching offices.

Changes Imminent; The Transition to Hope Coming

We'll focus a bit on what's coming and what we think might unfold in the coming months/year...Until then, check out Danny's new PR poster:

Michigan Week -- Purdue Coaches Room

Coach Hope: Men, thanks for assembling. I know we're having fewer and fewer coaches meetings because A) the season is a loss and B) Coach Tiller is often very sleepy, so I genuinely appreciate you showing up. Here's the thing -- we have the maize and blue this week, who are also 2-6 and whom everyone is beating up on. We need to beat them. Brock, what do you think for this week's defensive game plan? You must have something up your sleeve.

Brock Spack:



Coach Hope: Ah, I see. You're truly a defensive wizard, Brock. But see, here's the thing -- we want to keep Coach Tiller in the dark on our opponent this week -- Shh! Don't say the name! -- because Joe is very... scared of this squad.

[Tiller begins to enter room]

Coach Legg Rock: You mean Michigan?

[Tiller freezes mid-stride, eyes widen]

Coach Hope: Dammit.

[Tiller runs from the room, grabbing Curtis Painter by the arm and fleeing]

Tiller: Come with me, Curtis! I'll save you, my little buckaroo!!

Hopeful Outlook

We've been openly concerned about the lack of verbal commitments that our Boilers have received on the recruiting trail thus far. But, Danny Hope, according to multiple interviews doesn't seem to be as concerned as I.

The really great news is that Hope is aggressively assessing talent. In fact, he admits to watching film and/or personally seeing over 500 future collegiate football players. The even better news is that he has very high standards for whom he has made offers. The proof is in the amount of offers- At this time last year, Purdue had put out over 120 schollie offers to various players...some were aggressively pursued, others not-so-much. Conversely, this year, Danny Hope has only extended offers to around 80 potential Boilers.

He says he's not done offering yet, but wants to only offer the best athletes (who might make the quickest impact) who are also good students, at this point. Perhaps if the class doesn't fill up quickly, he'll start looking a bit deeper in the recruiting pool to make sure Purdue's incoming class of 22 is filled. Perhaps not...regardless, Purdue's incoming coach sounds like he definitely has been intentional in his first official duty as Purdue's head football coach.

Here's where I stand- Until he gives us reason not to believe him, I'm going to take Coach Hope at his word and believe that his plan can work. But I do think that his plan might need some adaptation or tweaking before it's ideal. He does have time, but as he presses and works to move his program forward, his competition is doing the same thing.

I do think it's a good thing, generally, for recruiting to have a reassessment or shot in the arm especially when the results have been less-than-ideal...So I like what I'm hearing from Coach Hope and will really like it when his planning comes to fruition...When it does, we'll be all over it. More importantly, let's hope the eventual verbals become signed athletes who simply fit the program that Hope's building.

Verbal commitments, afterall, aren't what build a program, signed athletes are.

Not such an easy transition?

We've heard Morgan Burke, Joe Tiller and the media all tell us that the Tiller-Hope transition is a model of how a coach should go out and other should come in. But, recruits might not agree with that assessment.

As of today, here's how the Big Ten football verbal commitments look:
Illinois
2 verbals (2x****)

Indiana
0 verbals

Iowa
2 verbals (***, ****)

UM
9 verbals (*****, 5 x ****, 2 x ***)

MSU
7 verbals (6 x ****, ***)

Minnesota
5 verbals (****, 4 x ***)

Northwestern
2 verbals (2 x ***)

aOSU
17 verbals (*****, 12 x ****, 4 x ***)

PSU
12 verbals (3 x ****, 7 x ***)

Purdue
0 verbals

Wisconsin
5 verbals (2 x ****, 3 x ***)

So, Purdue is on the same footing as IU (whoopty-doo)...everybody else in the league, from Northwestern to aOSU (of course) have all convinced at least a couple kids from the class of '09 to lean their way. Granted, we're eight months from signing day...a lot can happen and 18 year olds are a fickle bunch. But, this isn't the best possible start to the Hope era...This surely isn't a running start for Hope and Co, it might not even be a walking start.

I'm not taking anything away from Hope- he's targeting quite a few high-level recruits, but we're not really leading in any of these kids minds.

Unless the upcoming season is a rousing success, Hope's first recruiting class might be less-than-stellar. Furthermore, with the loss of a four-year starter at QB, a three-year starting WR, two very experienced RBs, both three year starter defensive linemen and an established MLB, Hope's odds of initial success look long. And, this coaching transition might be much bumpier than some have told us it will be.

Hope In, Legg Out

Not much surprise, but Bill Legg will be leaving the Tiller/Hope staff for next season (and will be moved into an "administrative role" elsewhere in Purdue). Purdue already had Legg/Z as co-offensive coordinators, Z also coached QBs, Legg coached the O-Line. Hope was an O-Line coach before being a head coach or coordinator, so the move makes logical sense...plus, I was ready for Legg to be gone since he called some pretty bad games last season.

I think we'll see a few coaching moves next season as Tiller rides off to Wyoming...Most likely, Spack will finally find a head coaching position elsewhere...Just a guess though.

It's now officially official, Danny Hope will take over for Tiller after he retires at the end of the '08-'09 season.

Hope announcement to be made official in an hour

The intense Danny Hope will not be wearing these glasses at his presser later today.

Danny Hope will be named as Purdue's next coach at 3:30...I would think it'd be covered on ESPNU, but according to Purdue Sports, it's not going to be. I don't think they'll be any announcements about assistant coaches, but I'd love to hear what is going to happen with the staff.

Stay tuned...now get back to your Timboob Friday.

Let's Hope For The Best!

And, let's hope for as few dumb headlines like this as possible...Let the dumb puns roll.

Multiple sources both on television and in print are reporting that Danny Hope will be named as Purdue's eventual head coach following the '08-'09 Purdue football season. The announcement, rumored to take place early Friday afternoon may or may not occur then, and might be move to Saturday or even next week...I'm guessing it'll still be Friday, but as of 1:30 am, ET, there's no official announcement from the Purdue Athletic Dept. about a presser.

So what else do we know?
According to two sources, Chryst turned Purdue down...not because he didn't want the job, but because he was bothered with the idea of multiple coaches being fired (one specific name is Ed Zaunbrecher) to create space for him on the staff. It's also reported that he didn't want to start his head coaching career without the full support of the fans of that school; something he didn't think he'd have since he wasn't a Tiller guy. It's also rumored that his personality didn't jive with Burke & Co...Who knows what's exactly true other than Burke, Chryst and Christ (that's the last name joke about him).

As of right now, the logistical details of the hire are foggy...I don't know who will stay, who's already looking to leave and who has been forced out in the coaching staff. It seems there are typically a few changes each off-season...We'll see what unfolds; and I'll do my best to stay up late and report what I hear because I care so damned much about you the reader.

I don't see this coaching transition affecting this year's recruiting class negatively. Purdue's '08 class will probably be in the 50's nationally, as it has for the past few seasons. There are 2-4 players out of the 25-member class that were sought after by perennial powerhouses. One of those is already registered at Purdue as a mid-year enrollee (Ken Plue). Another tore his ACL in his final high school game and has had all other competition back away from him while Purdue stood firm in their interest in the speed merchant from Georgia (Ralph Bolden). Could we see a late addition? I don't think so simply because Hope hasn't been recruiting D-I players...but you never know.

I've mentioned that I'm not completely on board on this hire, but I'm not down on it either...once Hope's coaching staff is set for the '09-'10 season, I think the Purdue family will be able to make an educated guess on what the future might hold for the next football coaching regime. We shall see.

Boiler Up!