Banm wrote: Would someone be able to give me three points (or more or less) to educate me on why EOS is not a good choice for Connacht?
I'm not advocating for him to be given the job. I've read a lot of read between the lines stuff that I can't actually articulate a few concise points as to why he's not the man for us. This is a serious question, not a criticism of anyone's posts or views

My 2cents....

Cons:

1. Systems & Proceses: Eddie is a great man to build out systems and processes where they are lacking/inexistant and get teams to a more consistent level (e.g. Gatland's Ireland, USA Rugby) however Connacht is well past that at this stage
2. Style: Eddie, based on his adherence to systems, appeared to run everything as set plays (i.e. on phase 5 you will be at point x). That's awesome for teams that need to learn a stytle/have shape and be competitive, while the Lam philosophy appears to be more "if you happen to find yourself at point x after a few phases, you have the skills to execute". Which is really what does the damage to an opponent after 10+ phases and your prop finds himself with a 2 on 1.
3. Experience: Eddie has never managed a pro team. In my opinion, his experience in the South of France was as an assistant coach and that was a fairly "dynamic" atmosphere too I'm sure (never mind the language barrier) , and incorrectly reported similar to how Birch and ROG's actual roles were talked up by the media
4. Change: Eddie seemed to be resistant to change and blooding of new players - I fully appreciate how Ireland is a different setup and set of targets (which we also see with Schmidt) and that Lam was often forced into changes through injuries. But we need someone to keep the promotion process that Lam introduced (wouldnt have had Kelleher here otherwise) and the fluidity with maybe a bit more realism in the exit strategies.

Pros:

1. He is just down the road
2. The prior Connacht bustup must surely be enough in past/early history of pro rugby that most of those folks are gone at this stage (open to correction on that one)

All that said, I think Eddie would be a great coach to have in Connacht, I could easily see him as a backs coach - just not the head coach. Whether he, the Connacht blazers and the new Head Coach would all be up for that is a different matter entirely.

For me personally, it isn't Eddie as such. I would feel the same about anybody who had reached what I would see as the pinnacle of coaching in Ireland (the Ireland job). If he's now looking to go back to coaching provincial, that looks to me like a lack of ambition. I would rather have somebody who is on their way up, that's all.
If I react a bit strongly to articles like this, it is mostly because they are about what is good for Eddie not for Connacht. We didn't see this before the Stuart or Rassie appointments.

Would someone be able to give me three points (or more or less) to educate me on why EOS is not a good choice for Connacht?
I'm not advocating for him to be given the job. I've read a lot of read between the lines stuff that I can't actually articulate a few concise points as to why he's not the man for us. This is a serious question, not a criticism of anyone's posts or views

And then Radio 1 (Sean O Rourke) quote the article and say "isn't he right?"
It's like a virus.

salmson wrote:

ThisYearWillBeDifferent wrote: And so it begins. Again.

m.independent.ie/sport/columnists/vincen...cessor-35407396.html

The final irony being this was posted by ThisYearWillBeDifferent.

It's like they dredged up an article from 2013 and changed a few dates.

LOL I thought he wasn't going to mention it and then BAM, right at the end "Eddie O'Sullivan, incidentally, lives in Moylough, roughly 25 miles from Galway city centre."

Hogan will never give up on his Eddie O'Sullivan fetish......................

ThisYearWillBeDifferent wrote: And so it begins. Again.

m.independent.ie/sport/columnists/vincen...cessor-35407396.html

The final irony being this was posted by ThisYearWillBeDifferent.

It's like they dredged up an article from 2013 and changed a few dates.

And so it begins. Again.

m.independent.ie/sport/columnists/vincen...cessor-35407396.html

I just meant about the new coach and the process around it.
Besides Birch and Doak who has indicated that they are interested? I'm not sold on either tbh.

FACECUTTR wrote: Nobody knows anything.

I know EOS walked out on Connacht the day before the squad travelled to Sweden for pre-season training (he supposedly had very good reason to do so & alledgedly #itstheIRFUsfault of course, but like you say we don't *know* that).
I know he didn't get an interview last time, by his own admission.
I know the more he's mentioned the more likely one of his buddies in the Indo or de Paper is to start pushing him again (we've seen speculation on this forum referred to as "sources" by the same bucks before).

Can we stick to more likely & more interesting candidates like Birch and so on? :lol:

FACECUTTR wrote: Nobody knows who was interviewed or is still to be interviewed. The only thing we know is a few coaches saying they are interested and a few saying they are not. How could you possibly know that Eddie was going to be very close to getting the job ?
Nobody knows anything. It's all speculation until it is released and we don't even know when that is.
I trust the branch to get the best coach they can for Connacht rugby going forward.

And there is unlikely to be an official word on how close anyone was to getting the job who ended up missing out.

Again, I hope a decision is made soon so that proper recruiting can get done for next season.

Nobody knows who was interviewed or is still to be interviewed. The only thing we know is a few coaches saying they are interested and a few saying they are not. How could you possibly know that Eddie was going to be very close to getting the job ?
Nobody knows anything. It's all speculation until it is released and we don't even know when that is.
I trust the branch to get the best coach they can for Connacht rugby going forward.

I wonder if that's Willie R channeling through N17!

Its really unfortunate that there is no "red hot" Irish coach making his mark at any of the 4 provinces. Its a pity that Fogarty/Girv/Felix Jones/Flannery don't have another 2 years behind them and they could be considered.

I think we might be surprised how close EOS will get to being offered this job.

Also, Lam was a "daring" call at the time of appointment. What's the bet there could be a sense on the interview committee for a safe pair of hands. And that may not be coming from the IRFU but Connacht!

We saw with Munster last year. Bad season's lead to bad financials...

The really amusing thing about the EOS-for-Connacht nonsense last time out (we've blessedly been spared it this time) was how it never even occurred to the Dublin Mejia (and sundry other gombeens calling for his appointment) that it might be within the realms of possibility he had previous with the Connacht branch, completely separate to any falling out with the IRFU that might or might not have happened. In fact I think some of them were blissfully unaware that he'd ever coached here, much less that the end of his tenure was somewhat acrimonious, to put it politely.

Columoc - I take your point but do feel EOS will not bring us forward!

Regardless of EOS credentials or not, IMO he will never be reappointed Irish Coach.

I really do believe the Connacht role must be filled by a potential JS successor and that is the calibre we(and IRFU) must aspire to.