Sometimes, it's all about timing. Other times, it's about quelling the boosters' unrest and calming the fans' rage before it gets out of control.
In either case, some coaches' firings have raised eyebrows in recent years. It's time to take a look back, now that everything has been said and done, and evaluate whether or not the eject button should have been hit on these four coaches:
Ron Zook, Florida Gators
Nothing like upsetting an angry Gator. After experiencing enormous success, Steve Spurrier left Gainesville for the Washington Redskins' head coaching position in 2002. Within 24 hours after Ron Zook was hired to take his place at Florida, the website FireRonZook.com popped up. Not a good sign.
Zook racked up three seasons of 8-5, 8-5, and 7-4 before finally getting canned. The Zookster beat Florida State in Tallahassee—something Spurrier never did—and his Gators played the spoilers to the 2002 and 2003's SEC champs, preventing them from going undefeated. After being terminated, Zook eventually took a job at Illinois, and Urban Meyer filled his shoes at the Swamp.
When Florida won the 2006 BCS championship, twenty-two of the twenty-four starters were Zook's recruits—including the MVP quarterback, Chris Leak—and Meyer publicly thanked Zook for his contributions. While Zook's recruiting ability has never been questioned, his coaching ability was always an issue.
In 2005, Zook did not win one game in the Big Ten, and the Gators fans were were thumping their chests and saying, "See, I told you." Two years later, after ending the Ohio State Buckeyes' 28-consecutive home-game winning streak, the Fighting Illini went to the Rose Bowl, eventually losing to USC.
The Gators, by the way, lost to Michigan in their bowl in that same season. But the point was made—the Fighting Illini had made the biggest turnaround in division 1A history (seven games). The Zookster had arrived, and was rewarded with the Big Ten Coach of the Year award
Today's Must Reads
Tyrone Willingham, Notre Dame
Oh, the debates on this firing still continue. Not much more needs to be thrown on the fuel-filled fodder—but hey, that's what we like to do.
Willingham, in his first year in South Bend, won eight straight games, was the first coach in Notre Dame history to win ten games (10-3 final record) in his inaugural season, and was named the ESPN/Home Depot Coach of the Year.
In his next two seasons, he went 5-7 and 6-6, before finally getting the axe with an overall record of 21-15. Enter Charlie Weis.
Weis of course, had an entirely different Notre Dame experience. In his first year, he went 9-3 overall (versus Willingham's 10-3) and went to the Fiesta Bowl, losing to 34-20 to the Buckeyes.
In 2006, he received the mother of all contracts after posting a 5-2 record—roughly equal to what Willingham's record was at the same point in his second season. The Irish ended up going 10-3, and lost to the LSU Tigers in the Sugar Bowl, 41-14—the ninth-straight bowl loss for the Irish.
In 2007, Weis went 3-9, versus Willingham's 6-6. Yet Weis was not fired, and after three seasons, has only one more win than Willingham, at 22-15.
David Cutcliffe, Ole Miss
In his first season at Ole Miss, Cutcliffe recruited Eli Manning, who would eventually guide the New York Giants to a Super Bowl win in 2008. From 1999 to 2004, Cutcliffe had records of 8-4, 7-4, 7-5, 7-6, 10-3, and 4-7, winning three Independence Bowls and a Cotton Bowl (finishing No. 13 in the Nation after the Cotton Bowl win). In only one of his six years did his team not qualify for a postseason bowl.
In his final year in 2004, he was fired after posting a 4-7 record (tied for third in the SEC West). His 44-19 record, five straight winning seasons, and first 10-game winning season in over thirty years in Oxford, apparently was not good enough.
Guy Morriss, Baylor Bears
Well, it's not like Morriss was walking into a winning program. The Baylor Bears had posted one conference win in thirty-seven Big 12 games when Morriss took over the program, in 2003. While he did post a dismal 3-9 season, he did upset the Colorado Buffaloes, who were favored by almost three touchdowns.
The next season he again coached the Bears to only one conference win in the Big 12—but what a win it was.
In an overtime victory against the No. 16 Texas A&M Aggies, Morriss decided to go for two, instead of settling for a PAT and sending the game into a second OT. It was their first win against the Aggies since 1995, and all of a sudden, the Bears' faithful were believers.
2005 saw a lot of progress, with the Bears going 5-6 (best record since '95) and a first—a conference road win against Iowa State. 2006 was more typical of Baylor Bears football, with injuries decimating their offense and ending in a 4-8 record.
In 2007, after losing a lot of seniors and their highly-touted quarterback, Shawn Bell, the Bears posted a 3-9 record and Morriss was fired at the end of the season.
Looking at his predecessors' records, Morriss was actually making progress at Baylor. Dave Roberts (4-18) in '97-98 and Kevin Steele (9-36) '99-02 both had inferior records compared to Morriss, who finished with a 18-40 record at Baylor. Yet the Bears fired him.
Did these coaches deserve to be fired, or was it just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time? I believe the terminations were all unjustified. What say you, college football fans?
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2 months ago
Under conditions of today, Guy Morriss had to go. Attendance was off and he didn't have winning seasons. Look, Baylor is a program that dreams of yesteryear when they had Del Shofner, Don Trull, Mike Singletary, etc. They're no match for the other Texas schools in the conference historically or year in and year out.
David Cutcliffe got the shaft. Personally, I'm very pleased where the old Bear Bryant protege has ended up. Ole Miss was caught up in the Sou Cal euphoria after the Trojans won their BCS title in 2004 and everyone wanted a piece of the system. In comes Ed Ogeron. Maybe a good line coach but out of his league against 5 coaches in the SEC who have won national championships.
Ty Willingham should never have been hired at Notre Dame. He didn't have the experience in running a program that saw itself even then as still one of the most powerful in the nation. A better choice back then would have been Barry Alvarez. You can't judge Ty by Weis, he's just tried to pick up the pieces from the debacle. Blame Notre Dame for hiring, and firing, Willingham.
Ron Zook never had a chance. He's a good guy who inspires his players and defends them but it was the wrong time and place. It worked out well for both parties. Florida got their national championship and Heisman Trophy and Illinois got the Rose Bowl. Let's hope they're both satidfied.
2 months ago
Agreed, Zook never had a chance at Florida. Given that they were able to hire Urban Meyer, its hard to argue with the move. Nonetheless, the Zooker (not Zookster) has proven to be a solid coach.
The Cutcliffe firing is definitly one of the worst in modern times. Duke should be thrilled.
This list has one noteable absense - Glen Mason. He got a raw deal in the Twin Cities. He would have pushed for a bowl last season rather than Brewsters one win disaster. Mason should have been given the chance to coach at TCF Bank Stadium.
from 2 months ago
Eric-
Duke definitely got a very good coach! With the new AD Kevin White there from Notre DEame, Duke could see a rise in their football program. Can it get worse?
(Zook, by the way, has nicknames of Zooker or Zookster. It all depends on what your mood is! :)
Mason is an intersting coach. His overall records weren't that bad but he was not competitive enough in the Big Ten. In 2004, he was 7-5, but only 3-5 in the conference. It's probably why he was canned, but I think they should have given him one one more year....it looks like the Gophs could be one of the most improved teams this year.
2 months ago
With Zook it wasn't just mediocrity on the field, but an explosion of off the field incidents. UF's AD Jeremy Foley just looked at the situation, decided that Zook would not be the answer long term, and explained his decision by saying, "What must be done eventually must be done immediately." There was no point keeping him around in the short term if he's not the guy long term.
It was nice to see him do well last year in Illinois, but the Rose Bowl trip was enabled by the Big Ten being down and the BCS bowls passing over the higher-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils. Illinois didn't belong in the BCS, and USC showed why.
from 2 months ago
David-
I think the Meyer hiring was great, don't get me wrong....but Meyer did win with his recruits. If hindsight was 20-20, then yeah, getting rid of Zook was a good move ofr Meyer...then again, Weis' move was considered a good hire, yet all the success he has had has been due to Ty's recruits.
from 2 months ago
David's right about the off-the-field stuff. Shouting at and threatening frat boys in front of their frat house in the wee hours of the night because of an incident with a football player is a little over the top. Not to mention the yearly losses in games that should have been gimmes (e.g. every game against Mississippi schools).
Now, I'm not one of those anti-Zook Gators. I thought he was an okay coach in a bad situation-- too-high expectations directly following a legend. I bet he would have shown some solid improvement in 2005 and 2006 if he had stuck around. After all, it was his first time as a head coach. He certainly wasn't the caliber of x's and o's coach that Spurrier was, and so could never fill those shoes. But in '07 he did a great job with Illinois in a downtrodden Big 10. Is he a bad coach? No. Is he a great coach? Also no.
P.S. Zook's '04 record was 7-5, not 7-4.
P.P.S. Meyer may have won a championship with a bunch of players that Zook recruited, but it was definitely Meyer's team. Some people maybe place more weight on who recruited whom than who coached whom.
from 2 months ago
I know Meyer won with a lot of Zook recruits; I never said the man couldn't bring in talent.
The problem is that he didn't use the talent properly. Even if you give Zook the 2006 squad as it was with Meyer's recruits, I don't seem him winning a national championship. Florida doesn't win the NC that year without the 2 QB system, and based on the way Zook handled the Ingle Martin/Chris Leak situation in 2003 I doubt he'd get it right. And speaking of quarterbacks, let's not forget that Rex Grossman got split into Good Rex/Bad Rex under his watch.
I'll give you another example. An acquaintance of mine in the Gator Band (I was in it 2003-05) did film work for the team. I found that out, of all times, the week Zook got fired in 2004.
I asked him what the deal was with all the bubble screens, since Florida ran about 50 too many of them in 2003-04. He said the reason was that the offensive line Spurrier left for Zook was so bad they couldn't have a normal running game, so the bubble screen became a replacement for the run.
Despite knowing the offensive line couldn't run block to save its life, the offense still tried to run DeShawn Wynn up the middle a dozen times a game. I get setting up the pass with the run and all that, but plowing up the middle never worked for Florida those years. Never. Yet we still saw it frequently during games, and wasting downs is never a good decision unless you're running out the clock.
It got to the point that my friends who played the NCAA football video games a lot could predict plays based on formation with about 60-70% accuracy. That was true even in his third year when only 25% of the team wasn't his guys. The talent level rose but the scheme never changed with that in mind, and the offensive line never did get all that much better.
There's other things too, like never admitting mistakes other than to say something is "correctable," the off the field incidents, and going into run-out-the-clock mode early in the second half if he had a lead against a good opponent. His teams never had a killer instinct, and as James said they blew way too many games they shouldn't have.
I don't harbor ill will towards him; both Florida and Zook got good things out of the relationship. Zook got to put "head coach" on his resume and several million dollars, and Florida got a guy to restock the program after a legend who lost interest in recruiting anything but skill players said goodbye. However, I don't think I'll ever believe that Foley made a bad decision.
2 months ago
Cutcliffe really got the shaft. After all the good wins he brought to an Ole Miss program that had not had any in years, he gets canned. Apparently he wasn't liked by many of the Good Ole Boys in Oxford and he didn't connect with the heavily Greek influenced campus. But being a Tennessee fan I was glad to see him back in Knoxville for two years and I wish him the best of luck at Duke.
I think one of the worst firings had to be Jeff Bower at Southern Miss (ok he really wasn't fired...more like forced to resign but to me it still counts(. All Bower did was compile 14 straight winning seasons, and 15 out of 17, at a school that should never mistake itself for Alabama. Bower took his team to 10 bowl games in the last 11 seasons, Only Joe Pa, Bobby Bowden, and Frank Beamer have been at the helm longer than Bowden. Put it this way: Bower's run is comparable to Fisher DeBerry's at Air Force or Sonny Lubick's at Colorado State; they named the field for Lubick at CSU and DeBerry got to hand-pick is his successor. Bower deserved similar respect.
from 2 months ago
Mike-
I agree with you on Bower, but I always hesitate to say "fired" when they technically resigned...as in George O'Leary resigned from ND, but well, we all know what happened. Thanks for stopping by.
2 months ago
Willingham got the axe because he couldn't recruit well. Weis may have won with Willingham's recruits but he also lost because of Willingham's lack of recruiting. We'll get a better picture of Weis as a coach in the comming seasons. He has had great success recruiting and will have no more excuses for loosing.
2 months ago
good read.
while we all saw what was coming with zook and eventually ty, i didn't agree with the cutcliffe firing at all.
i was indifferent to the guy morriss firing.
2 months ago
Lisa,
I've always been amused by those who compare Willingham and Weis for quite a number of reasons. I think those who are using the W-L statistics usually have an opinion to start with. Willingham was fired because he was not producing. When asked what he would have changed, he said he needed to win more games. Ty's trend was downward, as you noted. Ty won his first year with Davie's players and good for him in doing that. At the time of Willingham's firing, writers said Notre Dame was no longer an elite program, could not attract top recruits, and their admissions were too strict to get top players anymore. But some of the same writers thought Willingham should have been retained for another two losing years. ND would have had a very difficult time recovering. If you were paying your CEO $3 million a year and he was not producing, what would you do if you wanted to bring your company back?
Weis won BCS berths his first two years with Ty's players. Remember the quote about Bear Bryant - "He'll take his players and beat yur'n. Then he'll take yur'n and beat his'n". A miserable year last year for ND playing freshmen, sophs and a few juniors and seniors left from Ty's recruiting years is the only thing that makes Weis's stats anywhere close. ND graduated four starting seniors last year and returns 18 starters. That says a lot about Ty's second and third years.
ND is verging on coming back - still to be proven this year - with three top 10 recruiting classes. Weis has been recruiting top players and ND's admission standards have not changed. The difference is commitment and hard work. Let's compare Ty and Weis after this year.
More appropriate is to compare Willingham (11-25 for three years at Washington - 30.5%) with Gilbertson (7-16 and fired after two years - 30.4%).
I agree with all that Cutcliffe got the shaft - (35-25 after 5 yrs - 58.3%) - compared with Orgeron (10-25 fired after 3 yrs - 28.6%).
How about Paul Pasqualoni at Syracuse (33-28 over 5 yrs)? Greg Robinson has been 10-25.
2 months ago
Michael-
The thing about Willingham's firing was I believe he was probably making over a mil a year, but under two mil. The problem with the salary admissions is that ND only releases their base salary to the public, not the total package.
For example, Charlie's base is 600,000 a year. But that's not even close to what he makes- it's estimated at around 3.8 million. Willingham's wasn't even close to that, yet they have the same record roughly. It smells bad. If Weis doesn't take this team bowling, they will have to fire him. They can't let this continue w/o looking really bad in the public's eye.
The timing of Weis' extension is what bothers me. Willingham had roughly the same record, after winning Coach of the year, and no contract extension.
I have relatives around South Bend, and the word is, the fans felt Willingham wasn't "Irish material." Whatever that means. He did not go to the school, so that's part of the problem in that he can't relate to their fan base. Weis can, as an alum. Weis lives and breathes Irish football, understands the great traditions etc....while Ty couldn't possibly grasp it, although he did go to Michigan State.
And yes, PP at Syracuse is a good call for a bad firing.
from 2 months ago
I'm familiar with how ND releases salaries. In fact, per ND records, Willingham was paid more last year - $600k - than Weis - $550k, since Notre Dame paid the last two years of Willingham's contract. Interesting that Charlie has taken less base salary than Willingham. But I don't think Weis's job is on the line as much as you do. Ty dug the hole in his last two years, which impacted 2007 and may have some impact on 2008.
Here's what I mean (thanks to Eric_Navy at GH):
Last two recruiting years for Ty using Rivals star rankings averages for the class (current 5th yrs and seniors):
Ty - 2004 - 2.83, 2005 - 3.00
Weis - 2006 - 3.46, 2007 - 3.72, 2008 - 3.96
(USC - 2004 - 4.05, 2005 - 3.95, 2006 - 3.96 2007 - 4.22, 2008 - 3.89)
You can tell at a glance the upgrade in talent. Charlie plays the best players at a position, which is
why many of Ty's recruits those two years transferred or are not starting. The 2008 class has not hit campus yet. Also, the 2009 class is beginning to look like it will be in the same range as the last two.
With 9 commitments so far for 2009, ND has one 5 star, four 4 star recruits, one 3 star, a punter and kicker (not usually ranked) and a Golic, who may end up being a 3 star.
As for Ty being "Irish material", ND is a tough place to coach with high expectations and always in the spotlight. You have to take the heat. People write articles on remarks made in private groups or made offhand at a conference. Charlie certainly has been more committed to ND than Willingham, who has never made a negative remark about ND.
You have to give Weis some time to develop the talent he has recruited.
Here is an interesting article from Rock's NDNation, perhaps with some information you may not be aware of.
http://www.ndnation.com/geetar/archive/2006_09_01_archive.html
As for the extension, Charlie wanted to quell rumors he would return to the NFL, wanted to settle in South Bend for him and his family, and ND was happy with all his work and commitment to rebuild. Recruits also like to know a staff is going to be around.
After his third class has a year under its belt, that will be a good time to assess where ND is.
from 2 months ago
To borrow a term made famous on Saturday Night Live by Dan Akroid: "Lisa, you ignorant SLUT!"
How can you ignore Willingham's follies at Washington?
Have you logged onto Dawgman.com lately?
Even the humorists have been taking shots: EDSBS.com
Did you see the good riddance on the Stanford boards or read this article in the SF Chronicle when Willihham left?
I think your South Orange County sun glasses reflect your disdain for Notre Dame.
from 2 months ago
For some reason the HTML did not include my links:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/01/01/SP19900.DTL
http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/2006/02/17/
http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/2006/05/22/ty-willinghamhidetoshi-nakata/
2 months ago
Cutcliffe got shafted more than anybody.
Good stuff, Lisa.
2 months ago
Tim-
Thanks, and yes, after the Orgeron experiment, it looks even worse!
from 2 months ago
yaw yaw!!
hey c'mon that's the new orleans saints defensive line coach you're talking about. lol.
2 months ago
Zook deserved to be fired. How many 4 and 5 loss season do you have to have before its time to go. He brought in talent but if you can't win, what's the point?
You see a lot of this kind of thing, a coach brings in a lot of talent but can't win and then the next coach wins. Look at LSU this year, Miami with Larry Coker, and Florida.
from 2 months ago
In the case of Miles at LSU and Coker in Miami, they came in because the previous coach left for an NFL job. In the case of LSU, the previous coach (Saban) even won a BCS title. Those are completely different than Florida's case where the head coach was fired.
from 2 months ago
One of the greatest myths about Zook is his ability to bring in talent.
By comparison, Urban Meyer's recruiting classes have been FAR superior to Zook's...and the rankings by Scout and Rivals BOTH support that fact very well. I'll post them later; it's no contest, Meyer's classes win hands down.
Zook is a "Mediocrity Mogul!" Time will prove this out again. However, because Big 10 talent and playing levels are not as good as the SEC, he MAY be able to post a few .600 seasons in a row.
2 months ago
hey guys..my Celtics just won the Finals,....too much champagne here to make a meaningful comment!
2 months ago
Sorry Lisa. From a Gator alum (College of Journalism), Zook's WELL-recognized nickname is simply "The Zooker." It was given to him while he coached here -- a 'dark period' in Gator football history.
It has NEVER been the "Zookster" and no amount of revisionist history on your part will change that. In the future, please do your diligence (and don't try to assert a falsehood to cover up YOUR mistake)!
Also, Ron Zook has never been a very good head coach -- either in college or the pros -- and will probably NEVER be. He will wallow in mediocrity for years to come, until he's fired by Illinois in a few years.
You're a dreamer and know VERY little about college football if you believe that Illinois (or Zook) will ever amount to anything more than last season's mediocre year.
from 2 months ago
Akita-
He also has the nickname Zookster. But thanks for telling me I know little about college football. That means a lot to me. Google "zookster".
from 2 months ago
"You're a dreamer and know VERY little about college football if you believe that Illinois (or Zook) will ever amount to anything more than last season's mediocre year."
If mediocre is making the Rose Bowl every year, I think the "Zooker" will take it.
But hey, we can't all lose to a disappointing Michigan team to end our seasons.
from 2 months ago
Let me preface this by saying that I respect Lisa as a writer and disagree with most of what Akita has said here. But, in reference to the Zooker/Zookster debate, I'd like to throw in my two cents, just because the use of "Zookster" snagged my attention when I read the article.
I don't doubt that people have referred to him as "the Zookster." But from my experience, the far more common name is Zooker.
Googling the two nicknames, as suggested, came up with interesting results
"Zooker" returned about 23,000 results.
"Zookster" returned 5,070. However, it wasn't clear that all of the pages with "Zookster" were referencing Ron Zook, so I did more specific searches.
Zooker Illinois returned 5,610
Zookster Illinois returned 530
Zooker Florida returned 6,640
Zookster Florida returned 654
These results show that Zooker is used ten times as much as Zookster in pages that also mention the two schools he has coached. Also interesting is that it seems most pages that use "Zookster" are in the context of blogs and user comments, rather than the bevy professional sportswriters who use "Zooker."
This does support Lisa's claim that "Zookster" is used as a nickname; however, it also shows that the most commonly and reliably used nickname of the two is "Zooker." Draw your own conclusions.
Sorry for dragging out a dead argument. I just figured that my research would be useless unless I shared. In retrospect, it seems pretty useless now that I have shared it, too. Oh well.
Keep up the good writing, Lisa. I enjoy your articles.
2 months ago
Syracuse Greg Robinson, 7-28, should of been fired. GRobb is supposed to be a defensive whiz and the D is terrible, the offense boring and bad, and recruiting horrible.
A program is a tail spin.....
2 months ago
Ty Willingham not deserved to be fired, but he should not have been hired to begin with. He had a winning record at Stanford, that is true. However, his winning percentage there was less than the coach we fired, Bob Davie. Not only that, but for those who said it was tough to win at Stanford? That is weak. I searched and found several coaches, prior to Ty, who won at Stanford.
Not only was Ty's record at Notre Dame mediocre, but his recruiting really started to go downhill at the end. That recruiting is what hurt Notre Dame in 2007. The 3-9 season was mainly due to the upper classes (Willingham's recruits) being depleted and "un-Notre Dame-like" in talent.
For those who cry racism against Notre Dame for firing Ty Willingham? How about a round of applause for Notre Dame even giving him a chance!?
2 months ago
The opening line of my comments should have read "not ONLY deserved to be fired"
2 months ago
I didn't have a clue about NCAA Football or any of the coaches mentioned here ... seems like a big money pump scam to me ... but I have learned a lot from reading this article.
Well written, very well written. Now I have a clue.
2 months ago
Change is a good thing.
All the coaches in your article deserved to be fired.
Why not make a prediction on who should be fired right now, like Mike Price @ UTEP.
2 months ago
BCS Selection Policies and Procedures
206 days ago
Bowl Championship Series Selection Policies and Procedures, 2007-2010 Games:
Automatic Qualification
1. The top two teams in the final BCS Standings shall play in the National Championship Game.
2. The champions of the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, and Southeastern conferences will have automatic berths in one of the participating bowls after the 2006 and 2007 regular seasons.
3. The champion of Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference, or the Western Athletic Conference will earn an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game if either:
A. Such team is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS Standings, or,
B. Such team is ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS Standings and its ranking in the final BCS Standings is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls.
http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/eligibility
2 months ago
hmmm...and here I thought the BCS selection committee could over ride the ACC or Big East Champ in favor of a non-BCS team. I thought they had done that once with Notre Dame. I was wrong. Thanks for keeping me on my toes.
2 months ago
J-
My pleasure. Perfect, I'm not, and always appreciate constructive criticism by a class act. You achieved both!
2 months ago
Lisa,
A sports savy lady, engaging communicator, pleasant & respectful words, based on the picture - an attractive lady as well...............what town do you reside?
2 months ago
Jack-
Thanks for the kind words. I live in South Orange County, California.
2 months ago
Lisa,
Without coming right out and saying so, you have clearly pointed a wagging finger at the administrations of major universities across the nation. Do they have their priorities in line? Should a major educational institution by guided by the won-loss record of their football program?
Coach Willingham finds himself in hot water with Husky fans/donors. He went to Seattle where there was no question the cupboards were bare. The program was rudderless. Since then, he has improved the recruiting program and academic performance of his players. With Jake Locker, I'm afraid he's going to be tough to beat this year in the Apple Cup.
And UCLA hires Rick Neuheisel?
Man....
Lew
from 2 months ago
Lew-
I know I pointed the finger at them. That's OK...I have gotten emails from some schools before. (sigh). I think the problem with most schools is that the w-l record is huge in that it garners booster support. The "support" is important.
Re Ty- I'm still stunned about how there was a 100K bounty on his head to be fired at Washington. Unreal. He has a lot of detractors, and has that Zook syndrome- great recruiter, but so far, hasn't done anything with his recruits. Last year was supposed to be the Huskies year.....with Locker healthy, it helps, but....I think the Cougs beat them this year.
Rick is a great fit at UCLA. There's tremendous excitement in Westwood...but get ready for a loud crash- the Bruins will be lucky to have 4 conference wins. Too many key losses. Next year looks promising.
2 months ago
Lisa,
My raising the issue of Rick is more about turning a high profile program over to someone who has a history of doing whatever the heck he wants. Rules don't exist in his world.
Granted, Rick looks like a great fit for Bruin Nation. It smacks of rewarding a talented kid with the starting position, though he's always late for practice and rarely listens to coaches during Monday afternoon sessions.
I'm all for giving a guy a second chance...but how many times do you do that?
Lew
from 2 months ago
Lew-
Rick has a "colorful" past. UCLA took a lot of risk hiring him....being here in So Cal, I'm on top of it, and keep a watchful eye on him. Between USC and UCLA, this keeps me busy. Ha!
2 months ago
Where is Nebraska's former coach Bill Callahan?
from 2 months ago
Ryne....
as long as he stays away from my Raiders...who cares?
2 months ago
Hopefully with the Kansas City Chiefs.
2 months ago
David Cutcliffe was a good coach and i sure wish we still had him. He was very consistent in Oxford something Rebel fans have not seen in a while. This was Pete Boone's biggest mistake next to hiring the caveman (Orgeron). I just hope Houston Nutt can come in and win some games for us next year. HOTTY TODDY
about 1 month ago
I agree with Adam, letting Cut go was a huge mistake, he should have been given a chance in the post-Eli years. The person who really should have been fired all along is Pete Boone, he should have been gone the day after Colonel Reb.
HOTTY TODDY
about 1 month ago
As a Baylor student, I was disappointed with the dismal record of 3-9 by the Bears. The worst part: they didn't win one freakin conference game. But most of it was because while Szymanski could produce against non-conf teams, he was under pressure when hosting the bigger dogs. He constantly over-or underthrew targets, and our kicking wasn't so hot. Our defense was okay, but we could do a lot better.
Hiring Briles was probably the smartest choice for coach since Grant Teaff, and with him came one of the best QB's in the country. Having Briles lead our team could land us a possible bowl bid within a couple of years, and maybe a Big 12 championship game appearance within a few. If he could turn Houston around, maybe he can turn us around.
about 1 month ago
i wish people knew somthing before they just commented about stuff. Cutcliff was given a chance to stay, he just had to fire some assisstants and come up with a better reqruiting plan. If Cutcliff wouldnt have gotten eli manning then he never would have had ANY wins. During the 2003 season cutcliffs defense was ranked 99th. Eli Manning was the team the two years he played. Oh not to mention cutcliff played romero miller over eli manning in the 2001 season. The only reason those years were sucessfull was because of deuce mcalister.
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