Is Mark Cody a Great Coach?

[superold 34]

Is the current Oklahoma, and former American University coach great in your opinion? I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts about why he is/isn't. How does he compare to other current coaches with national titles? Without national titles?

 

One thing I like about Cody is how he took an underfunded program like American (a school that had only 4.5 scholarships when he first took the job in 2002) and by the time he left, he got the program fully funded with 9.9 scholarships. Cody is a guy who started with less than many others, but was able to turn his situation around scholarship wise to help him compete with the top programs. Cody showed that just because you take over an underfunded program doesn't mean that program must remain perpetually underfunded. I think there are a lot of coaches who can learn from what Cody did at American.

 

http://www.themat.com/section.php?secti ... leID=23408

 

The article about Cody above reveals the following quote from him that's worth repeating imo:

 

"Respect for a program takes a long time to build,... I'm definitely not satisfied, and I won't be until we win a national championship – or three or four."

 

Cody said this when he was still the head coach at American University. I've learned that many would be willing to give him a pass if he said that he was satisfied with his top 5 finish at AU, but Cody would not accept that for himself. Cody believed a national title was within his grasp at AU. He held himself to national championship standards. The same standards that guys like Cael, Brands, Jrob, and Smith hold themselves to. For that, I have to tip my hat to Cody.

 

I wish Cody luck going forward at Oklahoma! :)

[BDB50 11]

WOW!!! How can you ask that question after your critique of Flynn???? I believe he had a full allotment of scholarships at American and I'm not sure he got closer than Flynn did with about 1/2 the funding. Does he get more respect because he says he won't be satisfied till he gets one or more titles?

[BRGuy 37]

you said you would ban him if he kept after this please ban him

[superold 34]

WOW!!! How can you ask that question after your critique of Flynn???? I believe he had a full allotment of scholarships at American and I'm not sure he got closer than Flynn did with about 1/2 the funding. Does he get more respect because he says he won't be satisfied till he gets one or more titles?

 

When Cody first took over at American, he had only 4.5 scholarships. Through hard work, Cody took the program to fully funded status (9.9 sholarships).

 

Cody took AU to a 5th place finish at nationals in 2011. Flynn's highest finish was also 5th place, he achieved this after 16 season as the head coach at Edinboro.

[superold 34]

you said you would ban him if he kept after this please ban him

 

I had permission from Mr. Immel to start this thread. And for the record, Mr. Immel didn't want me to bring up the same topic that he locked (due to others taking the thread off topic) again, not different topics.

[BDB50 11]

WOW!!! How can you ask that question after your critique of Flynn???? I believe he had a full allotment of scholarships at American and I'm not sure he got closer than Flynn did with about 1/2 the funding. Does he get more respect because he says he won't be satisfied till he gets one or more titles?

 

When Cody first took over at American, he had only 4.5 scholarships. Through hard work, Cody took the program to fully funded status (9.9 sholarships).

 

Cody took AU to a 5th place finish at nationals in 2011. Flynn's highest finish was also 5th place, he achieved this after 16 season as the head coach at Edinboro.

 

 

I would venture to speculate that Flynn has done all he can to get more scholly moneys. And when did Cody place 5th???? with or without the 9.9 schollies? I would venture that Edinboro would be a tougher road to the 9.9 funding!

[superold 34]

I would venture to speculate that Flynn has done all he can to get more scholly moneys. And when did Cody place 5th???? with or without the 9.9 schollies? I would venture that Edinboro would be a tougher road to the 9.9 funding!

 

 

American was fully funded when Cody took them to 5th place in 2011. I'm not sure why this is a significant factor to consider since Cody himself was a huge reason in American University getting to the 9.9 scholarships in the first place. Again, Cody started with 4.5 and ended with 9.9. As far as I'm aware, the strategies that Cody used to fund the program at American can be used at any university. The fact that Cody had 9.9 scholarships when he placed 5th was ultimately due to Cody himself.

 

Why do you believe it would be tougher to get a program fully funded at Edinboro than American?

[BigApple 86]

I am a fan of Mark Cody. I consider him to be a very good coach, but not yet a great one. Tim Flynn has done a very admirable job at Edinboro. He does have a the advantage of Bruce Baumgartner as the AD.

 

Mark proved through hard work that he was able to revive a program that was on its death bed. He has proven he can get a team to 5th in the country. At OU 5th place is a starting point, which he hasn't yet reached. The funding and facilities are there to produce a team that can compete for a national title.

 

The one thing he inherited was a bunch of "nice kids" who weren't good enough athletically by and large to compete for a national title. Port Robertson who built the OU program into a powerhouse told me more than once that the most worthless thing on a wrestling mat was a "nice kid". This next season will be one which with the exception of Cody Brewer and Justin DeAngelis are all his recruits. The team will be young and take some lumps early in the season, but I expect significant improvement during the season. DeAngelis will probably be at 149, he's was an undersized 157 pounder this past season. That has been a major problem in Mark's first 3 years at OU, he has had to wrestle several guys above the weight class they should have been at in order to field a competitive dual meet lineup. For the first time the team will be 2-deep at each weight class with his recruits. I expect to see a more physical style of wrestling throughout the lineup by the end of the season.

 

If he leads OU to a NCAA title then he's a great coach.

[dutchcountry7 26]

I would venture to speculate that Flynn has done all he can to get more scholly moneys. And when did Cody place 5th???? with or without the 9.9 schollies? I would venture that Edinboro would be a tougher road to the 9.9 funding!

 

 

American was fully funded when Cody took them to 5th place in 2011. I'm not sure why this is a significant factor to consider since Cody himself was a huge reason in American University getting to the 9.9 scholarships in the first place. Again, Cody started with 4.5 and ended with 9.9. As far as I'm aware, the strategies that Cody used to fund the program at American can be used at any university. The fact that Cody had 9.9 scholarships when he placed 5th was ultimately due to Cody himself.

 

Why would you say that Edinboro University would be a tougher road to get fully funded?

 

You're wrong. I heard the story. No one cared about wrestling and American was going to drop their program in 2000. Then one of the wealthy alums who was on the board of trustees asked the president to give him some time to fund the program. A lot of money was pumped into the program year after year until it was fully funded. Cody was brought in to be part of the solution he wasn't the one that led the saving of the program.

 

I doubt Edinboro has any alumni that can write a one time check like those that were given to American every year. If they did, I am pretty sure they would be motivated to give the team a little more money to see if they could be top 4 with just a little more scholarship money.

[superold 34]

You're wrong. I heard the story. No one cared about wrestling and American was going to drop their program in 2000. Then one of the wealthy alums who was on the board of trustees asked the president to give him some time to fund the program. A lot of money was pumped into the program year after year until it was fully funded. Cody was brought in to be part of the solution he wasn't the one that led the saving of the program.

 

 

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/c ... lenn_N.htm

 

According to this link, Cody was able to make an agreement with the university to get fully funded. Here's an excerpt (article from March 2008):

 

Cody says he's up to 7.5 scholarships. A total of 9.9 are allowed by the NCAA in Division I wrestling. He hopes to have the maximum next season via an agreement with the school. "If we raise one (funding for a scholarship), they'll match it

 

Cody should get credit for even getting this deal put in place. American University had been around for a long time before Cody and didn't have a fully funded program. Cody actually took over the program shortly after the program was cut by the university.

 

 

http://www.soonersports.com/ViewArticle ... =208803429

 

According to this article, Cody played a key role in elevating the American University wrestling program to a top, fully funded program. The article doesn't suggest that Cody was some type of passive recipient of a few big checks, rather it suggests that Cody had a well thought out plan for funding. From the link above:

 

 

In 2008, American added wrestling as only its third fully-funded sport.

 

"People thought I was crazy when I took the job, but we always had a plan for recruiting, fund-raising and running the program," said Cody.

 

Some $180,000 were raised in the programs first year and that total has risen to nearly $1 million over the length of Cody's nine seasons.

 

 

I doubt Edinboro has any alumni that can write a one time check like those that were given to American every year. If they did, I am pretty sure they would be motivated to give the team a little more money to see if they could be top 4 with just a little more scholarship money.

 

It doesn't have to be just one person cutting a big check every year to get funded. The money can come from any number of people, and they don't even need to be alumni. They could be just PA wrestling fans. But if you're looking for alumni from Edinboro who have money, here's a place to start.

 

http://www.ranker.com/list/famous-edinb ... 3Fpage%3D3

 

I'm sure there's a lot of money there.

[ocho 0]

He may not be great, but certainly superior to Cael.

[superold 34]

He may not be great, but certainly superior to Cael.

 

I thought you said that you believed that Cael was a great coach. What does Cody have to do to become great, in your opinion?

[BRGuy 37]

You're wrong. I heard the story. No one cared about wrestling and American was going to drop their program in 2000. Then one of the wealthy alums who was on the board of trustees asked the president to give him some time to fund the program. A lot of money was pumped into the program year after year until it was fully funded. Cody was brought in to be part of the solution he wasn't the one that led the saving of the program.

 

 

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/c ... lenn_N.htm

 

According to this link, Cody was able to make an agreement with the university to get fully funded. Here's an excerpt (article from March 2008):

 

Cody says he's up to 7.5 scholarships. A total of 9.9 are allowed by the NCAA in Division I wrestling. He hopes to have the maximum next season via an agreement with the school. "If we raise one (funding for a scholarship), they'll match it

 

all it says is a deal was in place so it could be the deal that was in place before cody was hired youre grasping at straws and getting even older

 

you have some good google skills even if you don't have a clue

[TBar1977 4,598]

to just ignore Xerox Superold?

[ocho 0]

He may not be great, but certainly superior to Cael.

 

I thought you said that you believed that Cael was a great coach. What does Cody have to do to become great, in your opinion?

Have you start a thread about questioning his greatness. Seems like the standard.

[vhsalum 43]

Supertroll is baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

 

Troll alert! Proceed at your own risk! Be aware all responses merely validate troll-ishness.

[superold 34]

You're wrong. I heard the story. No one cared about wrestling and American was going to drop their program in 2000. Then one of the wealthy alums who was on the board of trustees asked the president to give him some time to fund the program. A lot of money was pumped into the program year after year until it was fully funded. Cody was brought in to be part of the solution he wasn't the one that led the saving of the program.

 

 

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/c ... lenn_N.htm

 

According to this link, Cody was able to make an agreement with the university to get fully funded. Here's an excerpt (article from March 2008):

 

Cody says he's up to 7.5 scholarships. A total of 9.9 are allowed by the NCAA in Division I wrestling. He hopes to have the maximum next season via an agreement with the school. "If we raise one (funding for a scholarship), they'll match it

 

all it says is a deal was in place so it could be the deal that was in place before cody was hired youre grasping at straws and getting even older

 

you have some good google skills even if you don't have a clue

 

Maybe the deal was in place beforehand; that is possible giving the wording. With that said, I may not be grasping at straws since it's possible that that was a deal that Cody himself negotiated with the school.

 

Note that Cody says that the school will honor the agreement "if we raise one (funding for a scholarship)..." Cody was successful in raising the necessary amount of money for the school to match the agreement.

 

And BrGuy, that's not the only quote from Cody that I mentioned in that last post that talks about Cody's funding efforts.

[ocho 0]

Cody has outplaced Zalesky on a few occasions, but I am sure that means nothing cuz obviously championship or bust.

 

When does Zalesky become non-great? Or do his titles forever surplant him as one of the greats?

[BRGuy 37]

i should know better than to reply to any supertroll posts he will only give you a headach with his circle talk

[ocho 0]

i should know better than to reply to any supertroll posts he will only give you a headach with his circle talk

agreed engaging in discussion with superold is easily the least productive thing I have ever done on the internet and I have done a lot of things on the internet.

[superold 34]

I am a fan of Mark Cody. I consider him to be a very good coach, but not yet a great one. Tim Flynn has done a very admirable job at Edinboro. He does have a the advantage of Bruce Baumgartner as the AD.

 

Mark proved through hard work that he was able to revive a program that was on its death bed. He has proven he can get a team to 5th in the country. At OU 5th place is a starting point, which he hasn't yet reached. The funding and facilities are there to produce a team that can compete for a national title.

 

The one thing he inherited was a bunch of "nice kids" who weren't good enough athletically by and large to compete for a national title. Port Robertson who built the OU program into a powerhouse told me more than once that the most worthless thing on a wrestling mat was a "nice kid". This next season will be one which with the exception of Cody Brewer and Justin DeAngelis are all his recruits. The team will be young and take some lumps early in the season, but I expect significant improvement during the season. DeAngelis will probably be at 149, he's was an undersized 157 pounder this past season. That has been a major problem in Mark's first 3 years at OU, he has had to wrestle several guys above the weight class they should have been at in order to field a competitive dual meet lineup. For the first time the team will be 2-deep at each weight class with his recruits. I expect to see a more physical style of wrestling throughout the lineup by the end of the season.

 

If he leads OU to a NCAA title then he's a great coach.

 

Interesting post Big Apple. Thanks for sharing that. I'm very curious to see what Cody does this season. I agree with you that Cody is not yet great (or any other coach who has 0 ncaa titles imo). I wish the OU wrestling program luck. I don't see OU winning it this year, (Edinboro, who's returning the most points from last year, is my pick) but maybe sometime in the near future Cody will finally get that elusive NCAA title.

 

It's going to be an interesting season!

[GranbyTroll 454]

What an interesting and well reasoned discussion guys! Keep it up!

[superold 34]

What an interesting and well reasoned discussion guys! Keep it up!

 

You have an opinion about Mark Cody?

[ocho 0]

Oh no, I must be on superold's do not engage list.

 

You have an opinion about Zalesky, or better yet a comparison of Cody and Zalesky's accomplishments?

[superold 34]

Oh no, I must be on superold's do not engage list.

 

You have an opinion about Zalesky, or better yet a comparison of Cody and Zalesky's accomplishments?

 

 

Yes I do.