If Hawkins is the builder and Peterson the sustainer, maybe focusing on the sustainer isn't a bad plan.
This is a great post, fsd
It was Dirk Koetter that built it, then Hawkins, then Peterson...
there's a massive difference between sustaining something for three years, and doing it for eight and taking something to greater heights, which is what petersen did at boise.
If FSD is referring to Klieman you can make a very strong argument that he's somehow elevated NDSU to a greater place since Bohl left.
yep, klieman has undoubtedly improved NDSU since bohl left. and one thing that's worth pointing out is that bohl never got NDSU to the top of the mountain until klieman arrived.
klieman showed up at NDSU in 2011. the three years before his arrival, bohl's NDSU teams went 6-5, 3-8, 9-5 and were rated #150, #171 and #94. that was in bohl's sixth, seventh and eighth seasons. then klieman shows up, and the program takes off like a rocket ship. they went 14-1, 14-1 and 15-0 and played at a top-25 level. they've been a top-25 rated team ever since.
i'm of the opinion that dan hawkins is a decent coach (he was fine at a lower level before arriving at boise, and he's improved UC Davis immediately since taking over at the FCS level), but it's fair to wonder if he was mostly responsible for boise's success during their five-year run. boise was best known for its offense, and its offensive coordinator his entire tenure was ... chris petersen.
boise promoted petersen immediately after hawkins took over, a good sign they knew just how good he was, and he took boise to greater heights just as klieman has done since bohl left.
i'm gonna stop there because i don't want to risk selling anybody on this stooge.