Blake Horvath, Navy quarterback. Welcome back to the Heisman Trophy podcast. Navy's coming off its first loss of the season after getting off to a 7-0 start. So I appreciate you still coming on to visit with us. It's been almost 48 hours now since the game with North Texas. Now that you've had some time to digest it, what are your main takeaways from that game, both on a personal level and as a team?

Blake Horvath (00:18.062)
Thanks for having me back.

Blake Horvath (00:36.888)
Yeah, I think overall, just too many mistakes offensively and too many little things execution wise that playing a good team, we're gonna get beat anytime those things happen. so, as a team, it's just all about bouncing back and making sure our foundation's strong and we can build off it. And we've had a successful season at this point and there's no reason to lose what we built up this point just because of one game. So just gotta keep going and keep believing.

Chris Huston (01:05.012)
Yeah, you guys are still in great shape in the American conference, but now you got to regroup as you get ready to travel to South Bend this weekend. This will be the fourth time in your career that Navy faces Notre Dame, but it's the first time in Notre Dame stadium. First three were all neutral fields. What are you looking forward to the most about playing at such a storied and extremely hostile environment?

Blake Horvath (01:25.262)
Yeah, I think like you said, it's definitely a storied place and just like a lot of places, all over the country. But I think just the prestige that goes along with Notre Dame and its campus and university, it's exciting for all the lessons that I played there and then for myself to get to join them in that stadium. I think it's pretty cool.

Chris Huston (01:45.012)
You're in year two of Drew Kronick's offense. We've seen your production continue to rise both passing and rushing. The overall offensive yards per play has seen a big boost as well over last year. There are multiple concepts at play in this offense, but what is the core philosophy that makes it work so well?

Blake Horvath (02:00.386)
think the core philosophy is just selflessness, everybody on the team, right? It's not about individual success, it's about a shared team success. And there's not a single man on our team who needs to have the ball or complains about not getting the ball, right? It's guys just doing their job, they're one 11th and one to contribute for the success of the team. And so just the amount of humble people we have on our offense and the amount of weapons that go along with it, There's a lot of guys you gotta account for and so.

Chris Huston (02:22.356)
Mm-hmm.

Blake Horvath (02:30.158)
just everyone wanting to do their job in order for success of the team I think is what contributes the most to our success.

Chris Huston (02:36.532)
Yeah, I'm curious how much of what you do in a given week is just running the basic playbook, going through the various options and reads available to you, and how much of it is something that you install specifically for an opponent.

Blake Horvath (02:47.414)
Yeah, you know, it's mixed up each week, right? Each defense is going to attack us differently. And so some weeks require more install and more different plays to be, you know, to be effective. And then some weeks, you know, you're sort of going against the defense that, you know, is similar to our own defense and, you know, our, our offense doesn't have to change that much, right? It's just about executing and maybe making things look a little bit different, but those games come out and just execution, right. And no matter what it is. so

You know, it depends really on the game plan who we're playing, but you know, we're very versatile in that sense.

Chris Huston (03:22.432)
Yeah, last year your summer cruise was on the command ship Mount Whitney. We talked about that last time You were with the IT department. Did you take a summer cruise this year?

Blake Horvath (03:30.798)
Yes, I did not not with the ship this time but went down to Quantico and Marine Marine Corps TBS basic school down there and we spent time at it was called Leatherneck and so we spent time, know sort of just being immersed in sort of the marine culture that they sure get used to at the basic school there and going through some things there and so we did that as a team our entire senior class so it was really cool to go down there and just have a good time with the guys and you know sort of get to be immersed in that culture

Chris Huston (03:40.085)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (04:00.895)
Yeah, what was that like being exposed to that marine culture? Is there lot of fugue and men jokes going on?

Blake Horvath (04:07.15)
Oh, of course, of course, who ordered the code red, you know. But I think overall, it's just, you know, it brought us a lot closer together, just understanding things and think about, you know, that atmosphere is guys who maybe, you know, didn't get to contribute on the football field a ton, you know, are great in the field and the Marine Corps aspect of things and like stepped up as leaders and different stuff. And so it was cool to sort of that dynamic sort of, you know, play out throughout our time there.

Chris Huston (04:24.691)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (04:32.719)
What's something you learned from that experience as far as about the Marines or about how the Marines and the Navy work together?

Blake Horvath (04:38.638)
Yeah, I think one biggest thing I learned is that land navigation is pretty hard. know, compass and map and tracking all that stuff out. We'd do that while we were down there and it was pretty tough.

Chris Huston (04:49.063)
Yeah. Yeah. It's not just as the crow flies, right? It's you have to figure out everything, all the terrain and all that. Last time we talked though, you mentioned that you were seriously considering becoming a Navy pilot. Is that something that you're still considering? and when do have to make that choice?

Blake Horvath (04:52.693)
Absolutely.

Blake Horvath (05:02.99)
Absolutely. So as a senior, you know, we've already made that choice. Sort of we put in, I guess, a list of preferences of what we'd want to be. And then the Navy sort of matches that to their needs and the Marine Corps as well, right? Their needs and what they need to fulfill certain roles, certain numbers. And so we figure that out in a little less than a month now. So it's probably about 20 some days. Now it's the end of November. We'll figure out what our service community will be. And you know, then...

Chris Huston (05:10.953)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (05:24.596)
Mm-hmm.

Blake Horvath (05:30.818)
Hopefully I did put, you know, pilot first, so hopefully, you know, we can get that.

Chris Huston (05:35.519)
Do you envision yourself, you know, flying off a carrier or hunting subs or in a chopper?

Blake Horvath (05:44.046)
No idea. I've got some ideas, maybe a little bit of things I want to fly, but I'm just excited to fly, just in general, wherever it is, the training planes, excited to fly at all.

Chris Huston (05:55.7)
Yeah. Nice. You were recently named a finalist for the prestigious William Campbell trophy, which honors the player with the best combination of academic and athletic achievement. Coach Newberry highlighted that achievement at a team meeting a couple of weeks ago. What was your reaction to being included on this prestigious list?

Blake Horvath (06:12.014)
It was a complete honor, truthfully. you know, know Scott Strasmeier, our sports information director, he's been, you know, vouching for me pretty hard for that award. So it was a surprise, you know, to be, you know, told that in front of whole team. And, you know, they sort of had a presentation and they put the picture of the award up on the screen and I didn't even know what it looked like. So I didn't know that it was for me or that the meeting that we were having was for that. And so it was sort of funny once he said what it was.

Chris Huston (06:37.438)
Mm-hmm.

Blake Horvath (06:40.91)
Because I had known that I was a semi-finalist, then to be named finalist was that you look at the guys who have won it before me and have won it just in general. It's great honor to even be a finalist with guys like that.

Chris Huston (06:52.861)
Yeah, yeah, the winner of that award will be announced December 9th at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, but I imagine you won't be able to make it for that one as that is the week you get ready to play Army. It's been 10 years since the midshipmen have beaten Army in back-to-back seasons, so there's a chance to do that this year. Plus, you'll also be going for the Commander in Chief trophy for the second straight season. You led Navy to a 31-13 victory over Army last year. Explain to our viewers and listeners the kind of sensations and emotions you experience while playing and winning a game like that.

Blake Horvath (07:21.806)
Absolutely, I think it's a game unlike anything else unlike any other game we play or have played all season There's a lot on the line, especially the the CIC. That's our number one goal every season right is is to beat Air Force and beat Army and so You know the seriousness of that trophy and that Opportunity for us, you know, it can't be overstated and so it's just you know, you we always say right throw the records out no matter what it is it comes down to execution taking care of the ball and

staying calm, making good decisions. And so it's quote unquote like a culture war, We respect them, understand them 364 days of the year what they do outside of football, right? But then that one day, maybe in that one week, right? We're fully enemies. So that game is special for sure. And it was an honor to be a part of it for the first time last year.

Chris Huston (07:56.319)
Mm.

Chris Huston (08:13.375)
What kind of fun activities take place between army and Navy? Like do you ever run into army guys out and about? Not necessarily, obviously not in Annapolis, but you know, if you ever run into them, do they say anything to you about, you know, from the army perspective and do you give something back or does that happen a lot between the two? Yeah.

Blake Horvath (08:30.798)
There's not a lot of interaction between us. West Point's still a good distance away. We have a transfer program with the academy. So Air Force and West Point both send cadets to the Naval Academy and then we send midshipmen to their schools. So sometimes we'll see some of them. And I have a high school classmate who is at West Point currently and now at the Naval Academy. So it's cool to sort of get their perspective.

and hear things and the little differences. You think all service companies are the same, but there's little niche differences that we sort of understand. So it's pretty cool.

Chris Huston (09:04.831)
Mm.

Chris Huston (09:09.691)
Let's get a simple example of one of the differences between going to Naval Academy and going to West Point. Now you've heard.

Blake Horvath (09:17.71)
Just one of the, you know, it's like the Naval Academy I know is one of the only ones where it's like everybody is in the same building, right? I know West Point and Air Force, they have to split up, you know, those sort of things. So it's sort of interesting to have every single midshipman at our school, you know, still housed in one single building, right? I don't have to walk outside if I want to see anybody in the Naval Academy. So it's just sort of one interesting thing. So it's sort of different from anywhere in the country really, but.

Chris Huston (09:24.639)
Alright.

Chris Huston (09:33.022)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (09:44.797)
Yeah, that's interesting. You're finishing up your fourth season at the Academy. I know there's a possibility of playing another year due to the injury you suffered a couple years ago. If you had to give a percentage number to the likelihood of you returning, what do you think that number would

Blake Horvath (09:57.742)
Probably zero. Just, you know, there's a lot of young guys with opportunities coming up and I'm excited for, you know, whatever comes after this. you know, there's, you know, I know Air Force and Army have sort of done those types of things and that, but I don't think it's a realistic possibility for me. And so, you know, excited to whatever the Navy or after football brings me.

Chris Huston (09:59.711)
Ha ha ha.

Chris Huston (10:22.355)
You ready to get to the fleet, huh? Okay, let's do some rapid fire questions before we go. You're obviously an outstanding student, hence the finalist for the William Campbell Trophy. What's been your favorite class at the Academy?

Blake Horvath (10:24.11)
Absolutely.

Blake Horvath (10:34.41)
I really enjoyed my first introduction to programming with one of favorite teachers at the Naval Academy, Major Martinez. He did a great job. And so it was more than just programming. It taught me a lot about just leadership and military life in general. And so it was a cool class that encompassed lot of stuff.

Chris Huston (10:49.663)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, you know, in the Navy, a lot of the systems they use, they're not exactly consumer systems. There's like special things made for the Navy. that the stuff you learned to code on? Are you learning to code on consumer things and then, and the Navy stuff? How does that work?

Blake Horvath (11:05.005)
Just for right now, just the consumer stuff mostly. Just different languages and stuff. then if that's sort of the route, sort of whatever your job is needed in the Navy, then you'll learn more of that stuff once you graduate. At this point, it's still the basic sort of civilian, was very accessible and stuff. Yes, sir.

Chris Huston (11:08.008)
huh.

Chris Huston (11:22.025)
Sure. Sure. Are you not allowed to use ChatGPT for your coding? Are you custodian for what it produces, and then you can fix it? How does that work with learning that kind of thing? Yeah.

Blake Horvath (11:39.074)
Depends right I think the biggest thing is you know each class has a different Policy on that stuff right and so you know it doesn't help anybody to just generate a code and just say hey write this for me do this but at a certain point right you know you Have your foundation of what you're writing and what you're programming and maybe you're stuck at one sort of complex part you want something to be a little bit you know it's complex you may not be able to do it with just simple steps and so you may have to go utilize that and try and find different ways, but

Chris Huston (11:44.383)
Hmm.

Chris Huston (12:02.612)
Mm-hmm.

Blake Horvath (12:05.838)
Overall, you know, got to use some problem-solving. Try and figure out yourself, try and debug it yourself. So was pretty cool.

Chris Huston (12:10.813)
Right. What's a small tradition or ritual on the yard that outsiders never see but you love?

Blake Horvath (12:16.159)
I think one of the past ones was just the other day. We have a Halloween dinner that we have every year. And so the whole brigade gets dressed up in costumes and, you know, gets to like the our swim and dive team. All the upperclassmen dresses Ronald McDonald and then other classmen dresses Grimace. And so it's just like funny stuff like that. And then as they everyone like some people like run through King Hall and then they all, you know, sort of yell at them, throw stuff at them. So it's pretty funny.

So that's just sort of one of the, know, morale boosting events that we sort of have here. It brings everybody closer together.

Chris Huston (12:49.215)
Sure, sure. What's the best part about playing quarterback?

Blake Horvath (12:53.07)
so I think just the. The pressure and accountability right in the beginning it can seem like a lot, but you know it's a privilege. It's a privilege to have people know my name and to care about what I do on a football field. And so honestly to to be able to be blessed with those things like that. You know it's helped me a lot and have helped me grow in different ways. You know that you know wouldn't be available to me otherwise and so.

Chris Huston (13:03.636)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (13:16.457)
Mm-hmm.

Blake Horvath (13:21.435)
I think that's just the greatest blessing of all, is right, challenges that help you grow and get better.

Chris Huston (13:26.655)
I mean, you're playing a position that Roger Staubach once played. I mean, it feels like that's a lot of prestige going forward, right?

Blake Horvath (13:33.642)
Absolutely, I mean, he's a absolute legend. Nowhere near his statue, but always aiming to chase those things.

Chris Huston (13:41.585)
Right. Do you have any superstitions on or off the field?

Blake Horvath (13:45.233)
Um, we all in our like position group, uh, the quarterbacks and running backs, we always sit in the same spots for our, uh, pregame meal. We can't switch it up. And if anyone tries to, then, you know, they get yelled at.

Chris Huston (13:54.239)
Mm.

Chris Huston (13:57.951)
If you had a free Saturday with zero obligations in Annapolis, what would you be doing?

Blake Horvath (14:03.535)
I'd probably go grab a hot dog from Pips in downtown Annapolis and then I would go maybe watch a movie, get some popcorn, big popcorn guy.

Chris Huston (14:10.683)
Mm-hmm. Nice. What's a current rabbit hole that you've gone down, like a book or a podcast or a YouTube niche that you can't stop consuming?

Blake Horvath (14:19.054)
I've always been on a Harry Potter kick, but it's of, you know, recycling now. So I'm watching them back through again.

Chris Huston (14:27.165)
Nice. What item do you always make sure goes in your suitcase on road trips?

Blake Horvath (14:32.417)
Headphones. Have to have headphones.

Chris Huston (14:34.788)
What are you listening to usually?

Blake Horvath (14:36.846)
Um, depends watching, um, watching stuff on it's like a flight or a, or a bus ride, uh, listening inside the country music, maybe a little bit of pop throwback stuff, um, anything like that.

Chris Huston (00:01.603)
All right, I think you might have already answered this, but I'm gonna ask you anyway, what's your favorite off-campus spot for a quick bite or some quiet time?

Blake Horvath (00:08.526)
Like I said, Pips is a great one, Downtown. Chicken Roost, another great Downtown, Naples spot. When you know in this, classic is just Chipotle.

Chris Huston (00:18.103)
Nice. What's a talent you have that few people know about?

Blake Horvath (00:21.678)
I can whistle pretty good.

Chris Huston (00:24.045)
Yeah, like, can you like whistle the whole song or do you just do little bits, little, little,

Blake Horvath (00:29.228)
I probably, I like whistling to songs and stuff and tunes just, know, while I'm studying or something.

Chris Huston (00:36.333)
Can you just give me a demonstration real quick?

Blake Horvath (00:39.998)
Um, I don't know. Sure. Now you're putting me on the spot.

Chris Huston (00:42.829)
Give me anchors away.

Blake Horvath (00:47.298)
I said, we'll try.

Blake Horvath (01:02.19)
It's okay. It's okay.

Chris Huston (01:02.691)
All right. Pretty good. Pretty good. All right. All right. Blake, finally, where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

Blake Horvath (01:10.409)
Um, no idea. know, hopefully, um, we'll see if, if I become a pilot, I would still be in the Navy 10 years from now. So, uh, you know, I guess at that point I'd be deciding if I wanted to stay in the Navy or get out, but, you know, hopefully just enjoying whatever I'm doing, happy family, happy life. And, you know, watching some football cheering on the Steelers and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Chris Huston (01:33.963)
Awesome, well Blake Horvath, we appreciate your time today. We wish you and your team the best of luck this Saturday and the rest of the season. Thank you.

Blake Horvath (01:40.248)
Thanks so much, Chris.

Chris Huston (00:26.765)
Stewart Mandel is the editor in chief of the athletic.com's college football coverage. Came on the show last year. Welcome back to the Heisman Trophy podcast,

Stewart Mandel (00:30.286)
Mm-hmm.

Stewart Mandel (00:38.563)
Thanks, Chris.

Chris Huston (00:41.057)
You know, you wrote a piece in the athletic this week where you asked who will fill all these top tier coaching jobs. And it got me to thinking about the coaching market and how for much of the last 20 years or so, we've seen this escalating arms race in college football and to go with it, these ever burgeoning coaching salaries. And now the question I have in my head is, are we seeing this coaching market finally turn into a bubble that is about to pop? What do you think?

Stewart Mandel (01:07.382)
It never does though, right? You always think we thought with, with COVID, okay, well then they're going to have to start spending their money more wisely. Nope. There are actually several coaches that got fired and bought out in that cycle. And then, you know, you you would think, all of these, these, stories about huge buyouts and guaranteed contracts, Brian Kelly, James Franklin would deter other people from doing the same. Nope. When Indiana.

did its new contract with Kurt Signetti. I believe it is 100 % fully guaranteed. Matt Rule just got an extension from Nebraska. So that assures that his buyout is now $70 million. So I've yet to see this thing correct itself.

Chris Huston (01:40.823)
Mm.

Chris Huston (01:49.409)
Fair enough. Fair enough now, but also it could be that they just haven't, you know, we haven't gotten to that point yet. Like maybe the bubble is still inflating, but because I see it, you know, you're talking about all these, these jobs that are available and there's, know, like three arguably really elite jobs. then there's, you know, there's a of really good jobs elsewhere, like schools that might typically get a rising star. And it doesn't seem like the supply of coaches is there to meet the demand.

Stewart Mandel (02:17.996)
Yeah, that's correct. I think that with the, with the number of power for jobs, and by the way, they're all good power for jobs in their own, right? You know, my people might say, UCLA is a disaster, but it's still, you're still in the big 10. Like it's relative to where the coach is now. And there's going to be more, I would assume Wisconsin will open and a few others. And then of course there's a domino effect and no, there are not enough proven coaches out there. And I think what I brought up over and over again is the fact.

that Lane Kiffin has emerged as the number one most coveted guy in this market tells you something because yes, Mclain Kiffin, very good coach has brought Ole Miss to success they haven't really ever experienced in the history of that school. But at the same time, he hasn't taken another playoff yet. As we know, he was very publicly fired from three different coaching stops earlier in his career. and he's gonna, I mean, he's about to get a huge raise from somebody. Either he's gonna get another job.

or Ole Miss is gonna have to pay up to keep him. So that should tell you like, okay, well, if he's the number one guy on the list, you know, who else is available out there? Now, if you're not gonna get, if you can manage to not get caught up in hiring the biggest name, you know, there's a lot of great group of five coaches out there. There's a lot of good FCS coaches. And that's where, the cycle of huge buyouts is ever gonna end, if somebody, for instance, wants to hire Ryan Silverfield from Memphis, I promise you,

he will come for a lot cheaper than if you tried to hire Matt Rule away from Nebraska. You don't have to pay him $9 million a year. If you pay him $6 million a year, or if it's less of a guarantee, he will still come to your power for a job. But the agents, the Jimmy Sexton's of the world, they do such a good job of out maneuvering the schools and convincing them to give these crazy contracts.

Chris Huston (03:48.813)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (04:12.948)
That's a good point. You know, it seems to me like there's as much uncertainty as I've ever seen it when it comes to determining who will be a good coaching hire. we've seen coaching stars who've thrived in the before times kind of struggle. Guys like Dabo Sweeney, Lincoln Riley, Brian Kelly, Chip Kelly. These are guys that were like superstars, like before COVID, before all the big changes. And we've seen coaches who are good at managing programs to great success, like Ryan Day and Dan Lanning and Marcus Freeman.

And we've seen a few superstars leave the profession like Nick Saban and Urban Meyer and some of that's just age and some of that's other reasons. But where is that group of up and coming coaches who are going to be this generation superstars? Where are the new Sabans and the new Myers? Like we had this great kind of group of up and comers earlier in the like mid 2000, first decade of the century. And these guys really dominated the sport for the next 15, 10, 15 years. Like where, where is this group going to come from?

Stewart Mandel (05:09.74)
Yeah, I mean, the challenge is I'm sure the next Nick Saban or whoever, Urban Meyer, is somebody's defensive coordinator right now. But how do know? How do you know if a defensive coordinator is truly ready for that job or not? One thing I would just say is, you know, I think what we've seen over the last few years is obviously the sport has changed completely. It's almost a completely different sport than it was four years ago with the NIL and Transfer Portal, more parity.

Chris Huston (05:18.528)
Mm-hmm.

Stewart Mandel (05:38.593)
And the coaches who you've heard complain about it the most are the ones that are now have been fired or might soon get fired. mean, Brian Kelly was a big complainer about it. Dabo is obviously a big complainer about it. He's struggling and so on down the line. The guys who never just maybe privately, they felt that way, but they just embraced it. Dan Lanning, Kenny Dillingham at Arizona State. Kurt Signetti is not of that younger generation.

But he's used the transfer portal as well as anybody in terms of building his roster at Indiana. So whoever that person is that you are saying is the next star is gonna be somebody who embraces the way college football is today rather than sitting around and complaining about how it used to be.

Chris Huston (06:12.318)
Mm. Yeah.

Chris Huston (06:26.604)
Yeah. Well, the first two decades of this century, we also saw a lot of radical changes in offensive football. And now there seems to be kind of a homogenization happening. Almost everyone runs some version of the same spread. And like the big innovation, the big innovative wrinkle right now is these teams adding extra tight ends and H-backs kind of going back to some of the old stuff. It's like not really groundbreaking stuff. Like the college game used to be a font of creativity and now, and I'm thinking maybe due to the huge influx of cash, there's more at stake. There is more risk aversion.

And so they're looking for more game managers and program managers rather than coaches who will go out there and be more risky with all that investment going on. What do you think of that idea?

Stewart Mandel (07:09.954)
Yeah, no, it is probably not a great time right now for innovation in college football on the field. Maybe everybody's just so focused on off the field, but there's a few guys. I mean, I think what Navy is doing under Brian Newberry and their offensive coordinator, they've taken the triple option and turned it into something completely different. Triple option is still part of it, but I mean, Navy passes the ball lot now. And I'm talking like drop back passing.

Chris Huston (07:30.828)
Mm.

Stewart Mandel (07:38.671)
It's really fun to watch their offense. I think Willie Fritz Who's who's succeeded everywhere he's been and is Houston now? Is very innovative and there's other other guys that fit that description as well, but it does seem like And it's a good point you raise right like the days of like well We're gonna hire urban Meyer or Chip Kelly or somebody from their tree to come run their offense now. It's more who Who's gonna come in and get us the best portal class, right?

Chris Huston (08:07.146)
Yeah. there are all kinds of changes happening as we know, but what do you think about the idea that the old concept of this big time head football coach, this Olympian figure dominating a program is kind of dying that we're, you kind of alluded to it earlier that we're getting to a more technocratic money ball approach where you don't have to spend 12 million. can spend 6 million, spend the, that money elsewhere, get, you know, a version of the same result. Is that something that

could be a trend that develops as a result of all this churn that's going on.

Stewart Mandel (08:40.62)
I mean, a great cautionary tale right now is North Carolina because, you know, it came out after the fact. Bubba Cunningham, the AD there, did not want to hire Bill Belichick. It wasn't even his search. know, these, these board of trustees members hijacked the search and his plan was going to be to hire somebody like John Somerall, somebody like Jeff Munkin at Army, a really good proven college coach who would come for a decent, modest salary and they would take the money and spend it on the roster.

And instead they ended up with a coach who they're paying $10 million a year to, guaranteed, who is then saying, we're going to go out and we're so good at evaluation. Like we're, you know, we won super bowls. We're so much better at evaluating people that we'll be able to get guys on the cheap. And I think they found out a hard way this first year that that doesn't work.

Chris Huston (09:28.492)
Yeah. And of course, the recent news about Louisiana governor Landry budding into the LSU coaching hire process, inserting himself. Yeah. I don't know how that's going to shake out. Maybe you have some better sources on what's really going on there or if that's just a bunch of bluster, but it seems to me like it portends a potentially another unforeseen trend that could happen going forward.

Stewart Mandel (09:55.427)
Well, Louisiana is very unique in its history of governors in meddling in LSU football. So I don't know that that's going to be a trend. but I think it's another example, much like the USC one that I just braised where people, there's just no alignment. There's dysfunction in the leadership and people want to win so badly in football. And I understand that they want prestige for their university, but it takes more than just a great coach. takes.

everybody from the president on down being in alignment and LSU is the furthest thing from it. I mean, there's just a total leadership void there right now. And the governor says he's not going be hiring the next coach. Okay. But the governor appoints the people on the board of supervisors who he says are going to hire the next coach. So we wish them well.

Chris Huston (10:46.134)
Yeah. Okay. We'll just wait till governor to Breville, hires the next Auburn coach and next year or whatever it was. Yeah. and then you mentioned earlier, the lower ranks of football. I'm kind of intrigued by it. recently talked to Tony and niece, the head coach of Ferris state. And they won three of the last four titles. They're just rolling down there in division two. They've every year they've got like six, six to eight guys going to the FPS level and doing pretty well. Could that be a new area to mine? That is also quite affordable. Like we mentioned earlier.

Stewart Mandel (10:52.899)
That's true, yeah.

Chris Huston (11:15.808)
Why pay a big name coach 12 million for what amounts to nice packaging? Well, you can go get the generic product for much less instead of the brand name and use the money for something else.

Stewart Mandel (11:26.191)
I think that I wrote about this a couple of years ago, but if you were to look the hit rate on, mean, look, there's no, it's no perfect science, right? You, nobody truly knows if a coach is going to succeed. But if you look at the hit rate for FCS coaches that moved up versus any other, um, previous resume, it's pretty, it's pretty good. I mean, it really is, you know, Ohio state hired Jim Trestle from FCS and he won a national championship. Um, Chris Kleiman is doing pretty well at Kansas state having come from.

Chris Huston (11:46.507)
Yeah.

Stewart Mandel (11:56.323)
North Dakota state. And then you've just got guys who have, mean, Lance Leipold worked at division three. Kurt Signetti worked at division two and then FCS for a long time. Kaylin D'Avore division, no, NAIA, Kaylin D'Avore at one point. If you can win, you can win. And so I feel like it's actually a really smart play to go and get a really good FCS coach.

Chris Huston (12:05.046)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (12:09.618)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.

Chris Huston (12:17.952)
And you're looking at coaches who are used to penny pinching, who are used to doing more with less, and who don't approach everything with this throw money at the situation, right?

Stewart Mandel (12:29.965)
And they have, I mean, I just think if you're going to get somebody to go to a power five job and it's such a big job that encompasses so many different things that I have nothing to do frankly with X and O's. Having somebody who has that experience is huge. Now it's not lost on me that some of the best, some of the head coaches of the best teams in the country right now were coordinators, right? Ryan Day was hired or promoted. Marcus Freeman was promoted. Those guys were, Dan Lanning was a DC. So it's not like that doesn't work too.

Chris Huston (12:52.022)
Mm-hmm.

Stewart Mandel (13:00.047)
I will say what those guys have a lot of those guys have in common is they took over programs They were kind of already on already doing pretty darn well, right? Yeah, Lincoln Riley when he took over Oklahoma It's a lot harder when you're rebuilding a program somewhere And I think that's where that yeah

Chris Huston (13:14.604)
And also it's a completely, it's also a completely different situation than it was a few years ago, right? So we don't really have a track record outside of Signetti who took a program from nothing and built it up in this environment. He's probably the only one to really show that level of success that you can do at Indiana. It's like Ohio State, when the change is happening, some of these...

places were in better shape than others and so with the easier transition. But like I feel like Indiana just shows the way for all these other mid-level, I don't want to say mid-level, power schools that have a chance to just spend wisely and you know.

Stewart Mandel (13:59.439)
It may turn out that Kurt Signetti is a unicorn. He certainly is leading a resurgence like we've never seen, but you know, I think the lesson to be learned from Indiana is just hire the best coach. Don't worry about, do they, are they going to win the press conference? Though, ironically, he did end up winning the press conference with his Google line, but don't worry on getting the biggest name or getting somebody from the Nick Saban tree. Although I guess technically he is, you know, all the like kind of

Unimportant things that a DS often latch on to in the coaching search ties to the area, right? They have to be the you know So anyway, the point is just hire the best coach. I mean, can you imagine if when?

When LSU came open last time when they hired Brian Kelly, if they had said we're hiring Kurt Signetti. boy. Fans there would have been like, who? You're hiring the James Madison coach to come here? Are you kidding me? Like, so they don't do it because they know what their action is going to be. And sometimes that just guy is, yeah, they're risk averse, but sometimes that guy is the best guy for the job.

Chris Huston (14:56.107)
Right.

The risk aversion. Yeah.

Well, Stu Mandel of the athletic.com editor in chief great content over there on college football You can find them at SL Mandel at blue sky Thanks, Stu for coming on the show

Stewart Mandel (15:15.769)
Thanks for having me, Chris.