What if…

[Monymony]

This is all theoretical but hear me out.

The cats are expected to be national championship contenders and thus Vigen could have some FBS opportunities following a championship.
What would the team look like in 25 if Vigen is gone and all of our seniors have graduated?

[mslacatfan]

I could see Ioane coming back some day as the head coach.

[MSU01]

This is all theoretical but hear me out.

The cats are expected to be national championship contenders and thus Vigen could have some FBS opportunities following a championship.
What would the team look like in 25 if Vigen is gone and all of our seniors have graduated?

The 2024 team has a ton of guys at key positions in their last year of eligibility. The 2025 Bobcats are going to look very different whether Vigen is still the head coach or not.

[Hawks86]

[JudithBasinCat]

Let’s not worry about that right now

[CodyCat]

I think Vigen has to win the Natty before having a shot at an FBS head coaching job. The FBS mainly hires coordinators for head coaches. I've always thought that was why Choate left. It worked for him. We shall see how this year goes. But, at this point in time, I dont think he is much of a candidate for any FBS jobs.

[Colter_Nuanez]

Consider this....

The last Big Sky Conference head coach to "move up" to the FBS directly as a head coach and have any modicum of success was John L. Smith at Idaho back in the early 1990s. He went to Utah State for three years, made a bowl and got the Louisville job.

Before that, it was Mike Price, who went 46-44 at Weber State in the 1980s before getting the Washington State job and doing well, going 82-78 with four bowl appearances and two Rose Bowl trips between 1989 and 2002.

Other than that...

Montana State - every coach not named Jeff Choate has been fired since Sonny Holland retired...

Montana - Mick Dennehy went 19-37 at Utah State....Joe Glenn went 30-41 at Wyoming and 12-34 at South Dakota....Bobby Hauck went 15-49 at UNLV.

Northern Arizona - never had a coach move up to another head coaching role since joining the Big Sky

Idaho State - Dave Kragthorpe left two years after winning the 1981 national title to become the athletic director at Utah State. He resurfaced at Oregon State and went 17-48.

Weber State - Dave Arlanian went 7-15 at Utah State.

Cal Poly - Rich Ellerson went 20-41 at Army after leaving SLO.

Eastern Washington - Mike Kramer took the MSU job after having EWU in the semis and did well, but never got a crack at the FCS. Paul Wulff got unceremoniously fired at Washington State after going 9-40. Beau Baldwin derailed his career by bouncing around to Cal, head coach at Cal Poly and now an assistant in the CFL. Baldwin, like Southern Utah's Ed Lamb, Weber State's Jay Hill, Montana State's Jeff Choate, decided to go the FBS assistant route in hopes of getting an FBS head coaching job. It's only worked so far for Choate

Sac State- we will see about Troy Taylor. Everyone else never did anything after Sac State.

UC Davis - huge coaching tree but no head coaches moved on as two of the last three (Bob Biggs, Dan Hawkins) over the last 35 years simply retired.

Portland State - Tim Walsh resurfaced at Cal Poly and did a nice job, but no FBS head coaching credentials. Jerry Glanville, Nigel Burton fired. Barnum has been there a decade now.

Northern Colorado - only had two seasons as a Division I program with winning records and only had one season where they were above .500 against all D-I opponents. Scott Downing, Earnest Collins, Ed McCaffrey all fired. Ed Lamb, who left Southern Utah to become the ST coordinator at BYU, is now there. If he can't get them competitive, no one can.

There's the perception that the Big Sky Conference is and always has been a stepping stone. That is true in men's basketball, especially at Montana, and a bit in women's basketball. But for football head coaches, a few have made the jump and none have made it successfully, at least not in the last 30 years.

[Camo_Cat]

This is all theoretical but hear me out.

The cats are expected to be national championship contenders and thus Vigen could have some FBS opportunities following a championship.
What would the team look like in 25 if Vigen is gone and all of our seniors have graduated?

Rebuild, just like any other team that would be in that situation. It's the nature of college football. We have plenty of underclassmen that will contribute this season and would still stick around. And now with the portal, you just grab what you need and plug holes.

[CodyCat]

This is all theoretical but hear me out.

The cats are expected to be national championship contenders and thus Vigen could have some FBS opportunities following a championship.
What would the team look like in 25 if Vigen is gone and all of our seniors have graduated?

Rebuild, just like any other team that would be in that situation. It's the nature of college football. We have plenty of underclassmen that will contribute this season and would still stick around. And now with the portal, you just grab what you need and plug holes.

Hopefully just reload.

[coloradocat]

I think Vigen has to win the Natty before having a shot at an FBS head coaching job. The FBS mainly hires coordinators for head coaches. I've always thought that was why Choate left. It worked for him. We shall see how this year goes. But, at this point in time, I dont think he is much of a candidate for any FBS jobs.

Not only would he need to win before he has a shot, he doesn't seem like the type to even try until he wins a title. Even then he's probably more likely to stay and try to win another one than move on.

[CodyCat]

I think Vigen has to win the Natty before having a shot at an FBS head coaching job. The FBS mainly hires coordinators for head coaches. I've always thought that was why Choate left. It worked for him. We shall see how this year goes. But, at this point in time, I dont think he is much of a candidate for any FBS jobs.

Not only would he need to win before he has a shot, he doesn't seem like the type to even try until he wins a title. Even then he's probably more likely to stay and try to win another one than move on.

Well money talks and if the right FBS opportunity came along, he would be gone. But, I just dont see it.

[MSU01]

I think Vigen has to win the Natty before having a shot at an FBS head coaching job. The FBS mainly hires coordinators for head coaches. I've always thought that was why Choate left. It worked for him. We shall see how this year goes. But, at this point in time, I dont think he is much of a candidate for any FBS jobs.

Not only would he need to win before he has a shot, he doesn't seem like the type to even try until he wins a title. Even then he's probably more likely to stay and try to win another one than move on.

Vigen was widely reported to have interviewed for multiple FBS jobs this past offseason, so unless those reports were wrong we know that he has already at least explored moving up. When you consider the amounts of money that a Mountain West school can offer compared to what a Big Sky coach makes (see Danny Sprinkle's raise going from MSU to USU), I think any rational person would strongly consider taking that kind of offer even if they'd be leaving a championship-level program for a rebuilding project. We'll see what happens, and hopefully next January we're having this discussion again after MSU has won a national title instead of now as a hypothetical!

[RockyBearCat]

Not to nitpick but Jerome Sauers moved "up north" to MSU-Northern NAIA Frontier where he has racked up a 1-19 record.

Northern Arizona - never had a coach move up to another head coaching role since joining the Big Sky

[gtapp]

Consider this....

The last Big Sky Conference head coach to "move up" to the FBS directly as a head coach and have any modicum of success was John L. Smith at Idaho back in the early 1990s. He went to Utah State for three years, made a bowl and got the Louisville job.

Before that, it was Mike Price, who went 46-44 at Weber State in the 1980s before getting the Washington State job and doing well, going 82-78 with four bowl appearances and two Rose Bowl trips between 1989 and 2002.

Other than that...

Montana State - every coach not named Jeff Choate has been fired since Sonny Holland retired...

Montana - Mick Dennehy went 19-37 at Utah State....Joe Glenn went 30-41 at Wyoming and 12-34 at South Dakota....Bobby Hauck went 15-49 at UNLV.

Northern Arizona - never had a coach move up to another head coaching role since joining the Big Sky

Idaho State - Dave Kragthorpe left two years after winning the 1981 national title to become the athletic director at Utah State. He resurfaced at Oregon State and went 17-48.

Weber State - Dave Arlanian went 7-15 at Utah State.

Cal Poly - Rich Ellerson went 20-41 at Army after leaving SLO.

Eastern Washington - Mike Kramer took the MSU job after having EWU in the semis and did well, but never got a crack at the FCS. Paul Wulff got unceremoniously fired at Washington State after going 9-40. Beau Baldwin derailed his career by bouncing around to Cal, head coach at Cal Poly and now an assistant in the CFL. Baldwin, like Southern Utah's Ed Lamb, Weber State's Jay Hill, Montana State's Jeff Choate, decided to go the FBS assistant route in hopes of getting an FBS head coaching job. It's only worked so far for Choate

Sac State- we will see about Troy Taylor. Everyone else never did anything after Sac State.

UC Davis - huge coaching tree but no head coaches moved on as two of the last three (Bob Biggs, Dan Hawkins) over the last 35 years simply retired.

Portland State - Tim Walsh resurfaced at Cal Poly and did a nice job, but no FBS head coaching credentials. Jerry Glanville, Nigel Burton fired. Barnum has been there a decade now.

Northern Colorado - only had two seasons as a Division I program with winning records and only had one season where they were above .500 against all D-I opponents. Scott Downing, Earnest Collins, Ed McCaffrey all fired. Ed Lamb, who left Southern Utah to become the ST coordinator at BYU, is now there. If he can't get them competitive, no one can.

There's the perception that the Big Sky Conference is and always has been a stepping stone. That is true in men's basketball, especially at Montana, and a bit in women's basketball. But for football head coaches, a few have made the jump and none have made it successfully, at least not in the last 30 years.

Not Big Sky but NDSU coaches have done well. Bohl has done as well as can be expected at Wyoming and coach K. at KSU has done very well.

[Monymony]

Consider this....

The last Big Sky Conference head coach to "move up" to the FBS directly as a head coach and have any modicum of success was John L. Smith at Idaho back in the early 1990s. He went to Utah State for three years, made a bowl and got the Louisville job.

Before that, it was Mike Price, who went 46-44 at Weber State in the 1980s before getting the Washington State job and doing well, going 82-78 with four bowl appearances and two Rose Bowl trips between 1989 and 2002.

Other than that...

Montana State - every coach not named Jeff Choate has been fired since Sonny Holland retired...

Montana - Mick Dennehy went 19-37 at Utah State....Joe Glenn went 30-41 at Wyoming and 12-34 at South Dakota....Bobby Hauck went 15-49 at UNLV.

Northern Arizona - never had a coach move up to another head coaching role since joining the Big Sky

Idaho State - Dave Kragthorpe left two years after winning the 1981 national title to become the athletic director at Utah State. He resurfaced at Oregon State and went 17-48.

Weber State - Dave Arlanian went 7-15 at Utah State.

Cal Poly - Rich Ellerson went 20-41 at Army after leaving SLO.

Eastern Washington - Mike Kramer took the MSU job after having EWU in the semis and did well, but never got a crack at the FCS. Paul Wulff got unceremoniously fired at Washington State after going 9-40. Beau Baldwin derailed his career by bouncing around to Cal, head coach at Cal Poly and now an assistant in the CFL. Baldwin, like Southern Utah's Ed Lamb, Weber State's Jay Hill, Montana State's Jeff Choate, decided to go the FBS assistant route in hopes of getting an FBS head coaching job. It's only worked so far for Choate

Sac State- we will see about Troy Taylor. Everyone else never did anything after Sac State.

UC Davis - huge coaching tree but no head coaches moved on as two of the last three (Bob Biggs, Dan Hawkins) over the last 35 years simply retired.

Portland State - Tim Walsh resurfaced at Cal Poly and did a nice job, but no FBS head coaching credentials. Jerry Glanville, Nigel Burton fired. Barnum has been there a decade now.

Northern Colorado - only had two seasons as a Division I program with winning records and only had one season where they were above .500 against all D-I opponents. Scott Downing, Earnest Collins, Ed McCaffrey all fired. Ed Lamb, who left Southern Utah to become the ST coordinator at BYU, is now there. If he can't get them competitive, no one can.

There's the perception that the Big Sky Conference is and always has been a stepping stone. That is true in men's basketball, especially at Montana, and a bit in women's basketball. But for football head coaches, a few have made the jump and none have made it successfully, at least not in the last 30 years.

Appreciate this, but I am thinking he would move to an OC role and then attempt to move up. But maybe he likes HC too much.

[MSU01]

Not to nitpick but Jerome Sauers moved "up north" to MSU-Northern NAIA Frontier where he has racked up a 1-19 record.

Northern Arizona - never had a coach move up to another head coaching role since joining the Big Sky

In fact, it wouldn't possible to move any further "up" in a geographic sense as I believe MSU-N is the northernmost university with a football program in the United States.

[CodyCat]

Consider this....

The last Big Sky Conference head coach to "move up" to the FBS directly as a head coach and have any modicum of success was John L. Smith at Idaho back in the early 1990s. He went to Utah State for three years, made a bowl and got the Louisville job.

Before that, it was Mike Price, who went 46-44 at Weber State in the 1980s before getting the Washington State job and doing well, going 82-78 with four bowl appearances and two Rose Bowl trips between 1989 and 2002.

Other than that...

Montana State - every coach not named Jeff Choate has been fired since Sonny Holland retired...

Montana - Mick Dennehy went 19-37 at Utah State....Joe Glenn went 30-41 at Wyoming and 12-34 at South Dakota....Bobby Hauck went 15-49 at UNLV.

Northern Arizona - never had a coach move up to another head coaching role since joining the Big Sky

Idaho State - Dave Kragthorpe left two years after winning the 1981 national title to become the athletic director at Utah State. He resurfaced at Oregon State and went 17-48.

Weber State - Dave Arlanian went 7-15 at Utah State.

Cal Poly - Rich Ellerson went 20-41 at Army after leaving SLO.

Eastern Washington - Mike Kramer took the MSU job after having EWU in the semis and did well, but never got a crack at the FCS. Paul Wulff got unceremoniously fired at Washington State after going 9-40. Beau Baldwin derailed his career by bouncing around to Cal, head coach at Cal Poly and now an assistant in the CFL. Baldwin, like Southern Utah's Ed Lamb, Weber State's Jay Hill, Montana State's Jeff Choate, decided to go the FBS assistant route in hopes of getting an FBS head coaching job. It's only worked so far for Choate

Sac State- we will see about Troy Taylor. Everyone else never did anything after Sac State.

UC Davis - huge coaching tree but no head coaches moved on as two of the last three (Bob Biggs, Dan Hawkins) over the last 35 years simply retired.

Portland State - Tim Walsh resurfaced at Cal Poly and did a nice job, but no FBS head coaching credentials. Jerry Glanville, Nigel Burton fired. Barnum has been there a decade now.

Northern Colorado - only had two seasons as a Division I program with winning records and only had one season where they were above .500 against all D-I opponents. Scott Downing, Earnest Collins, Ed McCaffrey all fired. Ed Lamb, who left Southern Utah to become the ST coordinator at BYU, is now there. If he can't get them competitive, no one can.

There's the perception that the Big Sky Conference is and always has been a stepping stone. That is true in men's basketball, especially at Montana, and a bit in women's basketball. But for football head coaches, a few have made the jump and none have made it successfully, at least not in the last 30 years.

Not Big Sky but NDSU coaches have done well. Bohl has done as well as can be expected at Wyoming and coach K. at KSU has done very well.

What Bohl did at Wyoming was truly unbelievable. I think he is the best coach that program has ever had. Probably the most underrated or under appreciated coach in the modern era.

[94VegasCat]

What if we are in need of QB3, can we still get to Frisco?

What if we’re on FS3 or SS3, can we do it?

[CodyCat]

What if we are in need of QB3, can we still get to Frisco?

What if we’re on FS3 or SS3, can we do it?

Ha! Who knows. Just enjoy the season. No matter how it turns out, 2024 will be a lot of fun to watch.

[TomCat88]

Even if Vigen took some players with him MSU will have a good OL in 2025. Good RBs, TEs and WRs. Good secondary. Good DL.

LBs and QB will be question mark.