College Football Contemplation: The 10 Strangest School-Coach Pairings
Yes, college football fans, it's bowl season, but not exactly the part of bowl season where everyone gets excited about national championships and Top 25 matchups.
No, college football fans, instead we have the Beef 'O' Brady's and the Little Caesars and the Humanitarian Bowls to sustain us until the big boys come out to play closer to New Year's Day.
With so much time to spare, my restless head got to thinking: What would happen if the college football landscape were one day rearranged to have the most awkward/entertaining pairings possible between coaches and schools?
The following are 10 such matches made in, well, my head.
Urban Meyer to Hawaii
1 of 10
Urban Meyer shocked the college football world, again, by stepping down from his position as head coach at the University of Florida.
At his farewell press conference, Meyer described his decision as a family matter, expressing his desire to spend more time at home and watch his kids play high school and college sports.
Some have reported that Meyer's move was due to health concerns, while still others thought he just wanted some time off.
All things considered, including Meyer's proficiency as a football coach, it seems as though this newfound coaching free agent would be a perfect fit for the University of Hawaii.
Think about it. Yes, he'd have to do his football work and all, but he'd also be right near the beach at all times, giving him the opportunity to relax before and after those grueling film sessions and practices.
On top of all that, what recruit in the country wouldn't want to play in Hawaii for Urban Meyer?
Sounds like a win-win situation to me.
Norm Chow to Maryland
2 of 10
Speaking of Hawaii, Norm Chow may be from the islands, but there is one school in particular where he would fit perfectly.
Maryland.
Why? Maryland's mascot is the terrapin, which is a species of turtle native to the Beltway. Norm Chow looks like a turtle.
Done deal.
Mike Leach to East Carolina
3 of 10
Maryland has made college football headlines in recent days since essentially firing Terp alum and ACC Coach of the Year Ralph Friedgen and courting former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach as his replacement.
Whether or not Leach would succeed in College Park is irrelevant. The bigger question is, why isn't Leach going to East Carolina?
Leach is well-known for his love of pirate culture, history and mythology, so it makes perfect sense that he should coach (you guessed it) the Pirates of ECU.
Whether the folks of Greenville, North Carolina could support such spectacular swashbuckling is another story entirely.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Mike Price to BYU
4 of 10
Long before he became a pirate-loving coach, Mike Leach was an undergraduate student at BYU, where he closely followed the school's wildly successful football program.
The Cougars are in good shape today, but can you imagine how much better off they'd be with someone like, say, Mike Price at the helm?
For the forgetful bunch, Price is the head coach at UTEP who previously left Washington State to take over the job at Alabama but was fired before ever coaching a single game for the Crimson Tide after allegedly having drunk sex with a stripper in Pensacola, Florida.
That kind of behavior might not fly in Tuscaloosa, but surely the good people of Provo, Utah wouldn't mind a bit of philandering libation...
Wait...what was that? Oh, right, yeah...maybe not.
Josh McDaniels to Notre Dame
5 of 10
Now, BYU isn't quite the most successful religious institution when it comes to college football.
That distinction, of course, belongs to Notre Dame, with its rich tradition of national championships, Heisman Trophy winners and former Bill Belichick disciples.
Well, the first two are certainly true, but the last one would certainly be if Notre Dame athletic director dumped Brian Kelly and brought in new ex-Broncos coach Josh McDaniels to run things in South Bend.
McDaniels would follow in the coaching footsteps of Charlie Weis, who led the Fighting Irish to consecutive BCS bowl berths (and losses) in his first two seasons.
His latter few seasons, though, weren't exactly all sunshine and rainbows.
Regardless, considering what an offensive genius McDaniels is purported to be, his talents and lack of a large belly would certainly be welcome in South Bend.
Lane Kiffin to Stanford
6 of 10
Also, young and short-lived NFL head coaches do wonderfully in college.
Just look at USC's Lane Kiffin, who's gone 15-11 as a college coach thus far after a sterling 5-15 mark in less than a season and a half with the Oakland Raiders.
Stanford will likely be in the market for a new head coach sooner rather than later, once Jim Harbaugh bolts for Michigan or the NFL, and Kiffin would seem to fit perfectly on paper.
Kiffin's coaching background is heavy on experience at USC, an institution noted for the "rigorous academic standards" to which it holds its "student-athletes."
Likewise, Stanford requires that its student-athletes not just meet the minimum requirements for acceptance, but actually prove their viability as students in the classroom.
A novel concept, indeed, but not for Kiffin, of course.
Jim Tressel to Michigan
7 of 10
If/when Michigan fires Rich Rodriguez and can't coax Jim Harbaugh to take over, the school's athletic director, David Brandon, would do well to look to his institution's oldest rival for a replacement.
That's right, folks—I'm talking about Ohio State's Jim Tressel.
Clearly, Tressel knows how to handle the Wolverines, or at least his Buckeyes do, and he knows how to win in the Big House. Furthermore, can you imagine how stylish he'd look in a Maize and Blue sweater vest?
As the saying goes, if you can't beat 'em, have 'em join you.
Chris Petersen to Ohio State
8 of 10
So if Tressel were to leave Columbus for Ann Arbor, who would take his place?
Look no further than Boise State's Chris Petersen.
Petersen has a 60-5 record with the Broncos in five season, including two wins in the Fiesta Bowl, proving that he can coach with the best of the BCS.
A job with the Buckeyes would give Petersen an excellent opportunity to discuss face-to-face with Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee the viability of non-BCS schools like Boise State and TCU as national title contenders.
Hilarity would undoubtedly ensue.
Rich Rodriguez to Pittsburgh
9 of 10
Once Michigan shows Rich Rodriguez the door, he could find his way back to the Big East, but why not with Pittsburgh this time around?
Remember, Rodriguez left West Virginia, his alma mater, with some acrimony after initially refusing to pay for his own buyout.
The two sides eventually settled, with Rodriguez paying $1.5 million and Michigan picking up the remaining $2.5 million, not that it's proven to be a worthwhile investment.
Wouldn't it be something if Rodriguez ended up with the Pitt Panthers, the Mountaineers' biggest rivals and annual combatants in the Backyard Brawl?
Some way to stick it to 'em in Morgantown, eh Rich Rod?
Bobby Bowden to Penn State
10 of 10
Halfway across the state of Pennsylvania, the Penn State Nittany Lions could be in the market for a new coach now that the legendary Joe Paterno is a whopping 84 years old.
JoePa would seem to have some football left in him, but the folks in Happy Valley will have to find a replacement in the near future.
At the top of the list should be former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who, at 81, looks like a spring chicken compared to Paterno.
A return to college coaching at Penn State would give Bowden another shot at 400 career wins, which Paterno eclipsed this season with his Nittany Lions.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
