Hauck resigned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AFCAT]

Uhhhhh, Okay

[Montanabob]

Is it possible they don’t even make the playoffs?

No chance they don't make the playoffs. They have too much talent.

I request 21 days to make answer this question 15 day portal opens 5 days after head coach leaves? Who elects not to arrive and he departs now that he is gone?

[hokeyfine]

It is fascinating to read ejizz and see them with big Woody's about their new coach. Talk about denial. If he was so great in the last 20 years why has he never been a head coach? Or was he offered the san diego state and turned it down like booby did....

[catgrad05]

What are the chances he retired because he couldn’t stand one of his players making more than him? It has to be on some coaches minds and with him being so “old” school I could see that getting under his skin if it happened

[catatac]

I’m sad to see him go. The longer they kept him the longer MSU’s run was going to be.

But, I’m also sad for the reasons he is leaving. He isn’t the only head coach to get out of the profession due to the portal.

Love him or hate him, his name will be synonymous with the rivalry for a long time. He is a huge huge reason for the vitriol. I’m kind of taken aback and very oddly have mixed emotions.

Great post, this sums up how I kind of feel about it. But I was also thinking, yes college football has changed and is changing forever. Everything changes, and the people that are able to pivot and roll with the changes, are usually the most successful. Vigen obviously figured out quickly, how to navigate this new environment, and thrive. Bobby, not so much. I know Bobby talked a lot about things in the press conference, not enjoying it anymore, etc... and I believe that to be true. I also think though, that he has to be looking at the overall situation and knows there is virtually no chance he was going to come into Bozeman next year and win. So that means another year of watching the Cats win the Big Sky title, the Griz getting bounced in the playoffs, and the Cats going to Nashville. I'm not even trying to talk smack but you'd think that realization was enough to have him pull the plug.

[PHAT CAT]

I’m sad to see him go. The longer they kept him the longer MSU’s run was going to be.

But, I’m also sad for the reasons he is leaving. He isn’t the only head coach to get out of the profession due to the portal.

Love him or hate him, his name will be synonymous with the rivalry for a long time. He is a huge huge reason for the vitriol. I’m kind of taken aback and very oddly have mixed emotions.

Great post, this sums up how I kind of feel about it. But I was also thinking, yes college football has changed and is changing forever. Everything changes, and the people that are able to pivot and roll with the changes, are usually the most successful. Vigen obviously figured out quickly, how to navigate this new environment, and thrive. Bobby, not so much. I know Bobby talked a lot about things in the press conference, not enjoying it anymore, etc... and I believe that to be true. I also think though, that he has to be looking at the overall situation and knows there is virtually no chance he was going to come into Bozeman next year and win. So that means another year of watching the Cats win the Big Sky title, the Griz getting bounced in the playoffs, and the Cats going to Nashville. I'm not even trying to talk smack but you'd think that realization was enough to have him pull the plug.

Not a chance. That dude lives to play the Cats.

[AFCAT]

What are the chances he retired because he couldn’t stand one of his players making more than him? It has to be on some coaches minds and with him being so “old” school I could see that getting under his skin if it happened

More like two players.

[cats_thirdeye]

I’m sad to see him go. The longer they kept him the longer MSU’s run was going to be.

But, I’m also sad for the reasons he is leaving. He isn’t the only head coach to get out of the profession due to the portal.

Love him or hate him, his name will be synonymous with the rivalry for a long time. He is a huge huge reason for the vitriol. I’m kind of taken aback and very oddly have mixed emotions.

I have been enjoying the meltdown from some gris friends throughout the day, but now that I have had time to start thinking about what this means for both programs, I am also having mixed emotions.

I came into fandom toward the end of the streak and endured the start of his tenure while a student. Hated him then and this hatred was further cemented as I got to witness his prick attitude first hand while a grad student at the MCC at the end of his first stint. Have always celebrated any loss, demise, perceived slight that came his way and was always going to celebrate the end of his unceremonious career (sipping on a bourbon as I am typing this) no matter when and how it ended. I am especially enjoying how it ended after THIS season for the reasons already outlined.

However, during his 2nd stint, my hatred had evolved to hate with profound joy while he experienced struggles and losses after coming back (I think the Germans call this schadenfreude). It was uplifting to see the tables had shifted and how much their program is struggling to keep up on many different fronts. Obviously the transfer portal/NIL being the main talking point, but he also seemed to struggle with the modernization of program development coming to FCS. I was really hoping he continued to chase that elusive title for many years to come while watching them fall further and further behind. I am also really sad to see that I can't celebrate many more beatdowns to come in his favorite city and stadium.

I realize that most(all) of the vitriol in this rivalry was created by him and that has both positive and negatives. But rest assured his legacy will continue in their fanbase as exemplified by the meltdown today from some of my gris friends and classmates. There will be a subset of fans for the next generation that will continue to have their heads up his ass for years to come that will clutch their pearls when we sing Mony, Mony.

[Bobcat4Ever]

I think we all knew his last game was going to be a loss in Bozeman, I just thought it would be this November instead of last December.

Glad he gets to end his career with a losing record against the Cats

How could that be? He made it clear that the gris™ are superior to their only peer, NDSU.

[MTFootball]

I have heard some pretty smart, objective Griz fans comment before that the biggest plus whenever Hauck left was that the school could cast a wide net and do a comprehensive coaching search. They were rightfully confident that a program like UM would draw some really high quality candidates. That's absolutely true. Say what you will about how much better the Bobcats are right now; UM's facilities, tradition, fan support, etc. would made the job widely coveted. And they have been winning a lot of games!

Well, the day has come. Hauck has resigned. And there's not going to be a search! The timing of his resignation makes that untenable. Doing a 3 week long coaching search risks all the new portal commits, who they absolutely NEED because their roster is so barren after all the graduations and departures. So Hauck is basically handing the baton off to the coach on his staff that he likes the best for the sake of continuity-- a 35 year vet who has only ever been a GA and position coach. Maybe Kennedy is an absolute stud, but I doubt it. There's a huge demand for coaching talent in college football; if you go 35 years and never rise to the level of coordinator, there's probably a reason.

And the move doesn't only prevent them from being able to cast a wide net for the best possible candidate, it also robs them of the opportunity to re-set the entire staff. UM's coaching staff is littered with guys near retirement: Pease, Tim Hauck, Phenicie, McCloud, Baer... Those guys have all forgotten more about football than I will ever know, but the collective impact of so many old coaches (6 if you include Kennedy) is probably a big piece of why the Griz have fallen so far behind in high school recruiting. They have very few young, hungry grinders who are ready and willing to hustle.

If I was a Griz fan, I wouldn't be sad to see Hauck hang it up, but I would be TICKED about the way it's happening. Essentially, they are losing the benefits of Hauck as an excellent gameday head coach and football strategist (I legitimately think he's great when it comes to that stuff), but without any of the added benefits of being able to start over.

Worst case scenario in my opinion.

I’ve been discussing the coaching change with a couple Griz fans today and this is almost exactly the conclusion we reached.

The people I talked to are ticked off that they’re not going to have a coaching search to get the best guy, instead of Hauck’s guy.

Hauck is a really good coach. He just sucks at all the other stuff a head coach is required to do. The Griz lose a really good in game manager. What happens when the new coach blows a couple games because of coaching mistakes. (see North Dakota first year head coach). I think it’s fairly likely the team has a mid season implosion next year.

Questions I have:
Was this planned and Kennedy was brought in as a replacement? Or did Bobby call the AD last night and the AD just decided, spur of the moment, to hire Kennedy? Doesn’t make sense. Why all the secrecy and subterfuge?

I’ve been seeing more recruiting picks with Griz coaches (not Bobby) out on the recruiting trail ever since Vigen went to Missoula on a recruiting visit. To me, the pictures look forced and uncomfortable, though. Did this have anything to do with Bobby’s decision? To me, it looks like there was a lot of pressure to at least go after the 2027 class of Montana graduates.

Why not retire mid season? Make an announcement sometime during the season, coordinated with the AD, that you’re stepping down after the season and that the university is starting a coaching search? To me, it looks like next years coaching search is going to result in a poor 2027.

[catsrback76]

So my question is: “how many tackles does Robbie record on this? 2-3?”

[The MICKSTER]

It would seem obvious that this could have devasting effects on the incoming recruiting class to make this announcement on signing day. If I was a recruit, I would be thinking WTF?

Also - the transfer portal window now re-opens for their entire roster. They could also lose some current players. This will either just be a blip on the radar for them, or it could gut their team in the short-term.

Ya….I’m wondering what recruits have been/were told before signing on…??? As others have mentioned it’s really too late for them to transfer in February now. Will they feel like they were ‘bamboozled’? Do the other coaches have resentment regarding the ‘anointing’ of BK? Don’t know how many transfers they have that only have a year of eligibility left, but I wouldn’t want it to be on the 2026 gris team.

Im sure dealing with the portal, agents and NIL is a PIA. However some other reasons I think bh resigned were…

*Having to play the CATS in Bozeman……and losing AGAIN
*Away schedule; Oregon State, UCDavis, EWU, NAU, & CATS
*BSC schedule; ISU, Southern Utah, Idaho
remember in 2025 their season was comprised of 10 home games & 4 away games (all required by BSC) before they had to come to Bozeman for the semi-final. The 2026 schedule for them will be significantly more challenging than their 2025 season was.
*He may have realized that he would never be able to produce a team better than a Vigen coached CAT team with the trajectories of each program.

I won’t hate the Gris as much as I have with bh ‘out of the equation’, but I’ll still root for every team they play..

GO CATS!!!

[lutecat]

Given his speech and then the presser I'm going to say this was done for the reasons he gives. Not that he has to okay the Cats or any of the bs coming out of griz nation that they were falling so far behind. They lost twice. To us. In close games that yes one became a whopping the last quarter. But the rails fell off.

And yes the timing of this was to take away the ability for people to transfer. Where are they going now? Classes have started. They are on campus. The returning and transferring kids both. They cant go anywhere before fall now, which means no spring ball anywhere but um. Maybe a few people pick off a HS kid or two? But say we get someone to flip. Who's their best HS recruit from MT and did we offer them? Opitz? Prior? Senter? Those are the only names I could see. @VimSince03 your thoughts? Would anyone flip?

[mslacatfan]

I’m really gonna miss watching him lose to the Cats…. Nothing better.

[MSU01]

After watching his press conference yesterday, I feel like Hauck still loved coaching from August to December and desperately wanted to win a National Championship before he hung it up. Note his rather awkward comments about finishing ahead of NDSU two of the last three seasons while ignoring the teams he actually did lose to in those years, SDSU and MSU. But I also think he increasingly hated the period from January to July and that began to show in how MSU has ended up with so many of the best Montana players over the past five years or so that were so instrumental in MSU's National Championship. Maybe at first he lost 5% of his passion and "fire" for getting out there and recruiting, then 10%, then 20%, then 30% and it started to show in results as he could no longer rely on past glories to attract today's players. And ultimately, he just didn't want to do it anymore which is understandable. If he never wants to coach again he can retire at 61, hopefully in good health and in what I assume is a very strong financial position, which isn't too bad in the grand scheme of things.

[nanacat]

I listened to the presser, and have read many of the articles posted yesterday. His narrative is the state of college football made it not fun anymore. There is very likely truth in that, but I still think, despite what he said, he could not stomach losing to the Cats again this year, and potentially in future years, and neither could the boosters. But that's his story and he's sticking to it. He said he spoke with his wife and prayed about it, and I'm sure he did. It's not a small decision. I will say, he seemed far more relaxed in that press conference than I think I've ever seen him, so good for him on that level.

That being said, if it's true he decided on Monday and told Haslam on Tuesday night, it was very calculated and really screwed the program, IMO. The transfers are now stuck in a program with a HC who, though he's been in college football over 30 years, has never run the show. He might be awesome but he's only been in Missoula a year! You've got assistant coaches working under a guy who they barely know, and maybe they'll rally around him, but were any of the others even asked if they wanted the job, or did Bobby tell Haslam how it should be and Haslam caved because he felt he had no choice? What a mess!

I am looking forward to a rivalry without the vitriol, though while Bobby was the major instigator of that, there are still pathetic griz fans who can't be adults and will perpetuate that toxicity unfortunately.

The most annoying part in this is that the media guys, for the most part, will focus on his "winningest coach in the Big Sky", etc, etc, and won't mention his losing record to his rival. Of course that's what happens when you retire versus being fired or not renewed - you get to go out in a blaze of glory. But the reality is, his last season coaching griz football he lost to the Bobcats twice, at home and away, and then got to sit home and watch them win a National Championship. That is a just reward!

[lutecat]

The most annoying part in this is that the media guys, for the most part, will focus on his "winningest coach in the Big Sky", etc, etc, and won't mention his losing record to his rival. Of course that's what happens when you retire versus being fired or not renewed - you get to go out in a blaze of glory.

The media has been really annoying with their griz centric reporting. All of them.

Is there any speculating that with Hauck being in Hawaii instead of recruiting he was basically given the ultimatum quit or get fired? This is just the story that was concocted.

[mattycat97]

He was the perfect villain. We knew it had to come to an end at some point and I could not have asked for a better boot to the behind to send him out the door forever. Max euphoria ending. With that being said, I can feel my hate for the griz diminishing a little already, it just won’t feel the same. Nothing like a head coach taunting the student section and then receiving the spanking of a lifetime. Checking in on the griz game to see what joke of a school is almost beating them, followed by the bite the reporter’s head off press conferences just won’t be near as fun. Jerks like this don’t just grow on trees, nor does any normal university allow the face of their program to act in such ways, so I would personally like to thank Hauck for making it a million times more fun to beat the griz
: )

[nanacat]

The most annoying part in this is that the media guys, for the most part, will focus on his "winningest coach in the Big Sky", etc, etc, and won't mention his losing record to his rival. Of course that's what happens when you retire versus being fired or not renewed - you get to go out in a blaze of glory.

The media has been really annoying with their griz centric reporting. All of them.

Is there any speculating that with Hauck being in Hawaii instead of recruiting he was basically given the ultimatum quit or get fired? This is just the story that was concocted.

The conspiracy theorist in me thinks he's been inundated with calls, texts, and emails since he lost in the semis. His "it wasn't enjoyable anymore" narrative would have fit that scenario as well. The oddities of the timing, his replacement, his lack of recruiting, etc, all lead to much speculation. And the reality is, we'll never know for sure.

[MSU01]

Hauck & the Griz have been out-recruited by Vigen & the Cats for years now, this is not something new. I think some here are trying to create stories and motives that simply don't exist - Hauck told us all yesterday why he's hanging it up and I see no reason to think that there's anything beyond that because it makes perfect sense. The only thing I don't necessarily believe is that Hauck only came to the decision to retire this week - I suspect he has known for a while but waited until now to announce it to help keep the existing roster and coaching staff mostly intact for next season.