Coach Search -- Katie Schumacher-Cawley is the new coach

OK. Say you're her agent. Pitch her to me. Cause other than her resume, I have no metrics on which to judge. Help me share  your pleasure.

Goes almost without saying, I wish her well. Just feel very uniformed about her contributions at PSU.

Here’s an article I wrote on Penn State promoting Katie Schumacher-Cawley to head coach.

dignittanyvolleyball.com/katie-schumacher-cawley-named-penn-state-volleyball-head-coach/

Wonder why so many players exited around news of RR retirement. Is this hire the real reason SB. Not Good for PSU future and We Are NOT................

There was a deadline involved.  The players were told that a new HC would be named prior to the start of the Spring semester.  When the Fisher deal fell through late last week, PSU had very few options. 

It's going to take some time for Cawley to prove herself. I believe she's capable of becoming a good head coach. While Cawley knows the recruits currently in the pipeline the challenge will be the next generation of recruits. Out here in California the first reaction from young players will be, "Once again who are you?".

All I ask is she pick one of her two last names and go by that. Schumacher-Cawley is a bit too many letters for me to constantly write in posts. I liked the simplicity of Rose.

I totally agree with this, and am completely on the same page.  I assume Katie made it known she wanted the job, and while PSU may have also pursued Fisher, she's been one of the folks I thought could get the job from the beginning.

I'm not sure why folks think the only way PSU can succeed at volleyball is if we had hired someone who has been in the Final Four.  

Let's give Katie a chance to see what she can do with PSU -- She is starting from the same place Fisher would have been if he had taken the job, and if she can sell the tradition here to recruits, I don't see why folks think she can't be successful.

I'm honestly excited to see her assistant coach announcement -- her recruiting announcement -- what happens with the portal, and I'm ready for next season!

Hiring is always a gamble to some degree (see, e.g. Jacksonville Jaguars hiring Genius Urban Meyer -- ouch): resume, recommendations of coworkers and interviews are all you have to work from.

For me, hard to assess Katie's coaching resume (her playing resume is stellar)-- I don't know what obstacles and challenges she faced at UIC, but she had some successful seasons and some not so successful seasons. Penn, I would say, was successful -- but SSS (small sample size).

I don't think we (fans) are in a position to judge her skill as strategist, skills coach, or recruiter (on recruiting, I believe that at the end of the day, recruits make their decisions based on the head coach -- all the assistants can do is open the door for the head coach to make their pitch, and we don't know how often the door was open but the deal wasn't closed), unless we're privy to information I'm not privy to. I have met Katie a few times and she was very personable and thoughtful.

As to recommendations from co-workers, Russ Rose's opinion had to be solicited -- had to be. And he would have given an honest one, based on 43 years of watching other coaches and assistant coaches.  And it must have been positive -- I would actually guess very positive. So presumably, interviews gave PSU satisfactory answers about Katie's coaching resume, my own personal interactions (really not relevant, admittedly) have been very good, and the recommendations of her co-worker ((Russ Rose) I assume was excellent.

Taken together, that's why I'm pleased. Not the "rock star" hiring many wanted, but a solid hire, IMHO, with plenty of potential. Time will tell.