well Campell arrived in Toledo in 2009 prior to that the Rockets had 2,5-7 seasons and 1,3-9 Season and his 1st yr as an assistant they were 5-7 - a team he did not recruit.So I'm not seeing "Given the Talent at hand".But 3 yrs later as HC he went 9-4,7-5,9-4.So pretty decent considering the turn around and tough recruiting.And as you mentioned now the Cyclones can beat an occasional Texas(last year) Oklahoma (this year).Wonder what he would do at a FSU,Oregon or maybe even a USC/UCLA.Those last 2 need a big turn around and surprised Chippy is floundering
So, when I wrote "given the talent on hand" I was speaking of that last four-year run. His first team mostly had talent the staff he was on recruited. And those teams were your classic looking good off the bus teams. Fast on defense, big lines, fast slot receivers, tall outside receivers, good running backs and a set of pretty impressive looking QBs. They were probably the best recruiting team in the MAC before Fleck got going.
To Campbell's credit, he didn't shy from non-conference foes, so that depressed the record a little. But I think he probably should've been a bit better on the margins. NIU was super those first two years, but they had the talent to push at least the first year. They very much had the talent to at least split with Ball State his first two years. The Cardinals were just more polished and made plays at the end. Shoot, then that 2013 team trips against a sub-.500 Akron team Thanksgiving week and misses a dang bowl.
The 2014 and 2015 teams were different beasts. Ball State fell off, NIU was worse but still good, WMU was rising. In 2014 they still can't beat NIU to get to the MAC title game led by an NFL RB. The next year, they beat two P5 teams and slip up against teams with 5 and 6 losses to miss another title game. Basically, I think they should've made one of those two and not missed a bowl with the pieces they had.
That's not to say he wouldn't be an ideal fit elsewhere. If there's one thing we know, what a coach has already don't often isn't much of a indicator of what comes next. I think he'd be fine at a very good program. I doubt the prognosis is quite as dire as BB said, but then again, most coaches fail. That that beast.
(The Toledo turnaround is interesting. They had unheard of stability with Pinkell, then promoted from within, got five good years and three bad years, and were good in Year 2. It's an interesting program.)
