http://blogs.cjonline.com/index.php?entry=146Much has been made of Ron Prince’s experience, or lack thereof, as a head coach.
But Bill Snyder got his first gig as a college head coach at an area school.
While Prince hasn’t served as a head coach, he has logged 14 years as an assistant and did work for a former NFL coach at Virginia in Al Groh.
In addition to Snyder, Kansas coach Mark Mangino and Washburn coach Craig Schurig became the top dogs at their respective schools, and all three enjoyed success after rough starts.
Can the same be expected of Prince, who took over a program Snyder built from the ashes?
BILL SNYDER
Tenure: 1989-2005
First five seasons
1989 1-10
1990 5-6
1991 7-4
1992 5-6
1993 9-2-1
Total 27-28-1
YEAR 3 BAROMETER: A breakthrough season for the Wildcats, Snyder led K-State to a 7-4 mark and upper-division finish in the Big 8. The winning record came three years after a winless campaign and was the Wildcats’ first since 1982.
RIVAL MATTERS: Went 27-7 over 17 seasons against Kansas and Missouri but was 4-6 over his first five seasons.
AS AN ASSISTANT: 16 years as an assistant in college, including nine as the offensive coordinator at Iowa.
AS A PLAYER: Defensive back at William Jewell from 1959-62.
COACHING TIES: Served as an assistant under Hall-of-Famer Hayden Fry at Iowa; also served as a graduate assistant under John McKay at Southern California in 1966.
Both Prince and RSnyder served about the same amount of time as assistants. Both Prince and RSnyder worked under coaches that built solid programs where they were at. It shouldn't take as long for Prince to get us to a Bowl Game. Maybe we found a younger version of RSnyder in Prince.
