this may seem like a pointless topic and kind of stings, but its a really good topic nonetheless. i like both Fedora and Monken a LOT. however, there is plenty good and bad to say about them both.
i look at Fedora as one of the great coaches we have had, but when you look at his record, it was "only" 7-6, 7-6, 8-5 and then the 12-2 season (with the UAB loss). at the same time, i felt like the teams were better than their record, bc (as i posted on some board years ago), he was in virtually EVERY FUCKING GAME HE EVER COACHED! Of the 19 losses, 14 were within one score, 3 were within two scores and only 2 were by more than 3 scores (17 and 28 pts losses). Think about that a second. its really unreal. He also inherited a winning program, so it should have been fairly easy to win. however, it was rumored that the team didn't take to him and were pissed about Bower being fired so didnt try hard at first. when they realized the winning streak was on the line, they ran off 5 straight wins. if the rumor is true, that team could have won a few more games for sure. Fedora was def a better coach his first year than Monken was his first year. he was def a better recruiter too. however, he still hasn't found out how to play defense and it took him too long to fire as shitty coordinator.
Monken's first year team was the fucking worst team i have ever seen in the history of D1 college football (im sure there were worse but i never saw them). that team got their teeth kicked in by 30, 40 and 50+ points (six of those losses)! Nine (9) losses by 21 or more points! just fucking unreal. EJ IS the worst coach of all time and one of the biggest pieces of shit, but his team may have beaten the hell out of Monks first year team despite them trying to lose games. Monk obviously inherited a shit situation, but i cant imagine Fedora going 1-11 like that. Monks second team was still pretty damn bad. i think had Mullens not gotten injured they may have won 2 more games...but 5 wins still sux (esp how shitty the conference was/is). Of the 5 losses in Monk's last year, only 1 was by one score (and that was 8 pts so kinda 2 scores).
Now after writing all that, it would seem clear who the right answer is or should be. however, i voted for Monken. why? one reason, is bc i voted yesterday before writing all that out. also, bc the original question is who would you chose TODAY. certainly, LF was better from the start and it took Monken longer to figure things out. However, i think today, Monk has learned things better. Ive no doubt his offense (or LF's for that matter) would be great. I think Monks may even be better. But i think Monk has figured out how to develop a defense a little better and would make coaching changes quicker (i could be wrong about that). I like them both a lot. I like both of their attitudes and personalities. love Monk's openness and no nonsense with the media, etc., but sometimes it could be a negative. Monk is just a really genuine guy that seems to genuinely care a lot about his players, fans, etc. (he started buying the suits for seniors). i think he deals better with player personalities. LF didn't really play D Brown enough imo. there seemed to be some conflict between them at times. LF is prob a better overall recruiter and Monk doesn't like all the BS with coaching in the college game, but if he took a college gig again, he would be a sufficient enough recruiter. recruiting would have gotten easier for him if he stayed and had an established winning program.
Therefore, I think Monken could walk in and be a better HC at this point in their careers. LF's defense just worries me after all these years. I like them both a lot and reserve the right to change my mind.
I'll give ole Hop a chance. If he can learn from his dumbass mistakes, maybe he can surpass them both.