But I haven't had it with you!

I love both guys and would be really excited about both.

I think the primary thing that makes you a destination job is being consistently excellent as a program.

it's much more of a destination now, and I think that's due more to success than anything else.

Give Missouri 3-4 years of great success under Herman (who, by the way, would inherit a lot of talent at Mizzou), and it's going to be more of a destination then than it is now. And Odom is going to be a few years into his coaching career, likely at Memphis, and will have proven a little more/still be out there.

As I said on PM, if Rhoades hires Odom instead of Herman, that says an awful lot about Odom considering Rhoades' recent history at Houston (promoting a good assistant to replace a successful outgoing coach, having that guy fail to meet expectations, replacing him).

Odom is going to be a head coach somewhere next year. He'll be a prime candidate at Memphis if nothing else.

I always figured Odom was hired as the predecessor to pinkie anyway. Seems like an easy fit and high upside one.

I suspect being in the SEC would change things a bit, I just worry that if you get a guy and after 5 years he goes on to a bigger school, it sorta 'codifies' the pecking order a little, you know?

Perception is reality in college sports and even if you get some success with Herman, if he leaves, that's a loud signal to the rest of the NCAA that Mizzou is still something of a little brother program. It wouldn't take much to get stigmatized a bit there.

Then again, that's an attitude that would've had me hiring Kim Anderson over Bob Self back when we made the Snyder hire. The thought process that went into that hire was just spot on; that's what makes its failure so disappointing. It's like the Chiefs with Blackledge - a bad move based on a good thought process led to the thought process being abandoned (rather than it just being chalked up as bad luck or bad execution of a good plan).

Like I said - I'd like both of those hires because as you noted, they'd almost certainly have been made for the right reasons.

I'm not worried about Missouri football. This is a school that's committed to sustained success and I think GP will keep his fingerprints on the program for the foreseeable future. Despite the chaos of the 2015 season, I think things can go very well if we just do this right.

I'd be happy with Fuente or Herman.

Agreed.

And with a little shakeup and keeping the core group of players around, Mizzou is positioned to make a nice run in 2016 and 2017.

I think Odom would have to hire a new OC who brings some new thought and explosiveness to the offense (He and Henson have been rivals, though I'm starting to hear some people talk about them being really close friends - that's a new one) to make that happen, but it's possible.

Sell me on Fuente.

I'm not sure I dislike him, but I still think he's a bit green for my tastes and the AAC is a staggeringly awful conference. It's a re-badged conference USA. I guess that doesn't do much to separate him from Herman and Houston, but Herman's success as an OC came in the Big 10 whereas TCU was still in the Mountain West when Fuente was in charge.

I'm open to conversation on him. I'm guessing the fact that he has HC experience elevates him over Odom for you?

What is the fascination with Herman, by the way?

For me its his energy, his recruiting ties, his pedigree and familiarity with Rhoades.

Fuente built the Memphis football from nothing. He is coaching his own players & winning at a program he built from the ground up. Odom was there along for the ride & was a key contributor but Fuente was the master of the ship.

He is an offensive genius. He is still an unproven commodity but his background is top notch.

1) Pedigree. He's an innovative and highly successful offensive mind who was hand-picked by the best offensive mind of the past decade (Urban Meyer) to run his offense. He has succeeded in several environments.

2) Upside. In addition to his strong offensive profile, Herman also has been a top-notch recruiter at multiple stops. His first class at Houston is impressive. He's young and hungry, and has learned from some of the best.

AJ Ofodile on the coaching hire:

I think it gets overlooked that Herman inherited a UH team that was 8-5 a year ago with all the pieces already in place.

Fuente/Odom inherited a Memphis team that was one of the worst in the country. It was a total reclamation project and what they did to find players and restock that roster was pretty amazing. I met Herman during the recruiting process and he was an energetic likeable guy and Urban Meyer is probably the best at recruiting strategy so that experience had to be invaluable for him. Similarly Barry's experience in raising the Memphis program from the dead also can't be discounted.

When you're talking about proven commodities I don't know that Herman really qualifies as that yet until he has roster filled with his own recruits. It's also worth noting that Memphis' QB could be the top pick in the draft this spring so their results could be a little over inflated right now too.

All 3 guys are big time up and comers, you can't really call any of them proven yet, as there are circumstances that has the jury still out on all 3. That having been said, Barry will be a head coach somewhere in the future. No reasonable person should bet against him being extremely successful where ever that is. To me he would be the common sense hire for Mizzou. He is tremendously respected in Missouri, Oklahoma, East Texas, Atlanta and Memphis. When you look closely at his track record as a recruiter it shows how much credibility he has already established in those areas. He has a ton of respect in the coaching community which means he has the ability to identify and attract high level assistants when positions need to be filled. He's a smart guy and would make the right moves to situate the program favorably going forward.

Yes they paid a good share to Pinkel, but Pinkel was a certain proven commodity here and earned his keep.

Paying an unknown more than what Pinkel makes, which is what it might take to get someone like Herman, is something I'm not sure about.

So...what if Right is available?