Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post on Bell's hire.
Adam Breneman weighs in on Twitter.
I like this quote from Breneman: "Great guy and relentless recruiter".
The Gazette has a post on Bell's hire.
MassLive covers Bell's joining the Minutemen.
Tomahawk Nation reacts.
Bart Simmons of CBS Sports says Bell is a rising star.
There are other links, but they just repeat the UMass press release. I'm sure there will be more tomorrow.
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Unlike some sure-to-gripe commenters, I don't know enough about Bell to make a statement about his hire. However, Bell does have a number of attributes I would like to see in the new UMass coach.
For one, he's young. Possibly, the best UMass could do without being in a conference would be to be known as a place where young hot coaches go before they get a lucrative Power Five head coaching job.
I have felt strongly these past two years that it was not coaching, but recruiting that was the failure. There's no coaching scheme that can offset going up against a team that's bigger, faster and more athletic. Bell has recruited extensively in the South and that's where the talent is. We can't exist on bottom-five recruiting classes.
All-in-all, Coach Bell looks like a good hire. He has lots of Power Five coaching and recruiting experience. Of the names mentioned in the search, I see none who obviously stand above him. And I'm willing to listen to Adam Breneman, who has actually met him as opposed to the opinions of anonymous commenters.
Welcome coach Bell! Go UMass!
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