Steve Merfeld

[houstonbrave]

I agree that hiring Merfeld seems like a pretty good hire. He has been a D-1 head coach at two schools, he knows the valley.. but I am still a bit surprised. I thought we promoted Eric to associate head coach meaning he will be the "lead" assistant and get paid the most money. It would seem like a pretty big fall from experienced head coach to "second" assistant. Or am I really misreading something ??

[BUBraves06]

I agree that hiring Merfeld seems like a pretty good hire. He has been a D-1 head coach at two schools, he knows the valley.. but I am still a bit surprised. I thought we promoted Eric to associate head coach meaning he will be the "lead" assistant and get paid the most money. It would seem like a pretty big fall from experienced head coach to "second" assistant. Or am I really misreading something ??

I think that's a valid question, however we could turn it around and say that if Merfeld came in as the head assistant he would move ahead of Eric who had already done a lot for this program. Hopefully Merfeld comes in, works hard, and helps the program as it continues to grow, I have no doubt that that will be the case.

[mike radigan]

Try this:

http://www.abc25.com/

Then click on sports and then on the story.

[bu fan 9]

Eric is head of recruiting and on the road a LOT.Merfeld will be more day to day with the players coaching and teaching and braking down tape.

[it's boogie time]

Thanks for the link. The first one worked for me.

Just a guess, but I doubt Merfeld is looking to stay long term in Peoria. I would assume that his resume will be out there for a head coaching position in the future.

[bu fan 9]

I think he will be here for long time.It will be hard for him to get another good head coaching job just ask Mo.

[IlliBraves]

Definitely agree, bu fan 9. His biggest gig was at UE, which is a lowly Valley school, and his greatest triumph was beating Larry Eustachy's Iowa State team in the first round of the NCAA at Hampton.....I suppose he could apply for the job at Florida A&M

[brocks]

Folks, when you get a chance to bring in a guy like this as an ASSISTANT, then you do it. And I hope we've all learned a little bit about second-guessing JL's recruiting or hiring practices. This is rounding out as a VERY solid and experinced staff.

I hope we can get a little bit classy here and welcome Coach Merfeld (and might we now learn to spell that correctly?) into the Bradley FAMILY. Amen and good night.

[bu fan 9]

I think it is a good hire.I didn't say anything bad about him.

[Beninator]

What a crazy couple of months this has been. Welcome to the Hilltop Coach Merfeld.

[Braves4Life]

This hire is HUGE! If JL moves on in a few years we have a guy who was a STUD at Hampton. Many schools would have loved to have gotten this guy as a head coach a few years ago.

You don't suddenly forget how to coach I attribute the lack of success at EU completely to poor support and misplaced priorities by the Athletic Dept.

Welcome to the Hilltop Coach M!

[Rusty 54]

What is everyones opinion of Merfeld as a coach? Is he a good coach who didn't get the support he needed at EU? I don't know much about Merfeld, but it scares me that he did not do well at EU.

[Da Coach]

Most of what has been posted on this site has been very positive about Merfeld. And thanks to our insiders with good connections, a lot of people here knew about Merfeld likely becoming the next coach before Coach Buescher officially announced his retirement.

As far as Merf's 5 years at Evansville...Evansville is a tough place to recruit to. They might be the only Valley school with significantly worse facilities than Bradley. It's a tiny campus with a dwindling fan base (though they have a history of drawing much better in the distant past). I think Merfeld would have been successful if he had been given more time, but they needed to make a move with someone like Marty Simmons now.. His biggest undoing was his unfamiliarity with the midwest recruiting at first, and the fact that he recruited guys with questionable character. A bunch of his early recruits were asked to leave the program which continually set him back the first few years. There is no question about his coaching knowledge and ability. His teams were always well coached. And he now knows the MVC and the other teams well.

I believe Jim Les handles recruiting about as well as it's going to get at Bradley, and another assistant with recruiting connections was not what BU needed. Merf can run the team in practices and game prep and will make BU better in just about every area. This is a great hire.

Still no official announcement from Bradley. But expect that within the next day or 2.

[dogsrus]

Birdfan on redbird board writes....."what a silly choice, first a Juco assitant with no D1 experience THEN a caoch run out of UE in disgrace with a string of sub .500 seasons".

See ya next year Birdfan.....

Does he understand HIS new HEAD coach had an equally dismall D1 record at his last headcoaching job....

[tornado]

And dogs, several people on the anti-BU board have labelled the selection of Merfeld as "wild", "just weird", "temporary", "surprising", "ironic and weird", "not great", etc.
Why do certain anti-BU people begrudge Jim Les the inherent right to choose his own assistants (over on the anti-BU board)?
They bashed his selection of Chuck Buescher, they criticized his recent selection of Alvin Brooks, and now they seem bewildered over his choice of Steve Merfeld.
They are even ripping into anyone who seems to support JL's right to choose as he sees fit.
As noted by others, I still don't see a bit of coverage on this coming from any local news outlet. Anyone know why?