Andrew Singer: In the span of three and a half months, NIU Athletic Director Jeff Compher has made two major hires. In the weekend before the uDrove Humanitarian Bowl, Compher hired Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Doeren as the NIU football team’s new head coach starting in 2011. Then last week, Compher brought on Michigan State assistant coach Mark Montgomery to replace Ricardo Patton, who led the NIU men’s basketball team to four straight 20-loss seasons. On the surface, both are good hires, but in actuality, it’s not likely that both will be looked at as good hires five or 10 years down the line. So which new head coach are you most confident in Mike?

Mike Romor: I am pleased with both hires Compher made, but I feel more confident in Doeren. He comes from a prestigious Big Ten program that is coming off of its best season in ten years. He has been one of the better defensive coordinators Wisconsin has ever had. In the Badgers’ last two bowl games they gave up only 33 combined points. The program needed a new face when Jerry Kill ran to Minnesota and it made a great hire.

AS: It isn’t a question of who comes from a better conference, because both coaches come from the Big Ten. Both Doeren and Montgomery have great credentials as assistant coaches. Montgomery has been to three Final Fours, while Doeren is fresh off an appearance in the Rose Bowl with the Badgers. These coaches are in an entirely different world now, though. Nothing is going to be handed to either while in the Mid-American Conference. Any respect that NIU earns is through years of hard work.

No judgments should be made before the initial contracts of both Doeren and Montgomery are up. That said, I believe Montgomery will come out on top. For the simple reason that it’s a lot easier to make noticeable improvements to a losing basketball program than it is to better a football program coming off an 11-3 season.

MR: I agree that maintaining a solid football program is hard, but it is hard to imagine NIU basketball improving from Montgomery coming into the picture. The fact remains that NIU has had a history of losing, even before Patton’s arrival. For football, however, there has been a solid stream of good recruits and wins. Montgomery may have connections in the basketball world, but Doeren has the luxury of having a program that is on the map and his team has returning talent to help keep them in the running for a MAC title.

AS: You have to remember that gaining respect in the world of football is much more difficult than it is in college basketball. Even getting the chance to gain that respect is harder. Virginia Commonwealth University is teaching us right now that, given the chance, a small-time school can “Shaka” the college basketball world. As a mid-major in football, though, it takes years of conference championships before the BCS even considers putting a school into the BCS picture. All Montgomery has to do is get his team to the NCAA tournament by winning the porous MAC and anything can happen from there.

MR: That is true, but NIU football is gaining more and more attention every year while the basketball program has been on the decline, to say the least. There has been more national attention in the past year or two and just by taking a look at next season’s schedule, you can see that the football program is up to the challenge to become a perennial Top 25 team. With a tougher schedule playing significant schools, the football team is in the middle of its transition from mid-major nobody to serious bowl contender. Doeren could not have come to NIU’s football program at a better time.

AS: The best part about this debate is that there is valid points on both sides. NIU has two coaches very capable of taking their respective programs to never-before-seen heights.