I hate to make this depressing post, but the time is here: today is basically Christmas Day for college football fans, the last glorious day to celebrate the season.
Once the BCS championship game wraps up tonight, it will be 233 days until the next college football game (no, the Senior Bowl doesn't count).
So when you settle into your warm woolen couches (or something like that) to watch Florida take on Oklahoma, let it all soak in, and try to take notice of all the little things that make college football so great -- you'll need those memories for the next eight months.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Hiring frenzy
I can barely keep up with all the noteworthy coordinators shifting allegiances, but a quick recap:
* Auburn hired Minnesota defensive coordinator Ted Roof to fill the spot vacated by Paul Rhoads, who took over as head coach at Iowa State. You may look at Minnesota's stats this year and say, "Meh, those numbers aren't that impressive." But look at the numbers from two years ago, then look again at what Roof did in his first year with the Gophers. He did the same thing at Duke when he took over as coach, although it didn't make much of a difference in the win-loss column. But all things considered, he's one of the best D-coordinators in the country and is another outstanding hire by Gene Chizik, who picked up Tulsa's Gus Malzahn as offensive coordinator last week.
* Auburn hired Minnesota defensive coordinator Ted Roof to fill the spot vacated by Paul Rhoads, who took over as head coach at Iowa State. You may look at Minnesota's stats this year and say, "Meh, those numbers aren't that impressive." But look at the numbers from two years ago, then look again at what Roof did in his first year with the Gophers. He did the same thing at Duke when he took over as coach, although it didn't make much of a difference in the win-loss column. But all things considered, he's one of the best D-coordinators in the country and is another outstanding hire by Gene Chizik, who picked up Tulsa's Gus Malzahn as offensive coordinator last week.* Washington coach Steve Sarkisian lured defensive coordinator Nick Holt away from USC, apparently by showing him a briefcase with $100 billion in it (or $2.1 million, give or take $99.998 billion). It's not clear exactly how much authority Holt had in terms of playcalling, as Pete Carroll clearly had a hand (or an arm) in USC's defense, but Holt has been highly thought of for a few years now. After serving as linebackers coach at USC from 2000-03, he was head coach at Idaho for two years before resigning to take a position with the St. Louis Rams (although he never made it to St. Louis, as Carroll lured him back to USC with more money and the D-coordinator title). With Sarkisian being the supposed offensive mastermind, he did well to find a respected defensive coordinator to join him in Seattle, even if he did have to pay him handsomely (again, $2.1 million over three years). Of course, it never hurts to rip one of the top assistants away from a conference rival, either.
* Carroll wasted no time reconfiguring his staff, naming former assistant Carl Smith the QB coach and passing game coordinator and receivers coach Johnnie Morton the new offensive coordinator. It sounds as though they'll split play-calling and gameplanning duties, much like Sarkisian and Lane Kiffin did when they were on the Trojans' staff. Nothing has been announced yet regarding a replacement for Holt, but secondary coach Rocky Seto is believed to be a leading candidate. Carroll has never been one to go hunting for big-name coordinators, preferring to maintain continuity by promoting from within (and it's hard to argue with the results).
There should be a bit of a lull in this area in the next few weeks, as teams are typically hesitant to make too many staff changes with National Signing Day quickly approaching.
One big vacancy still out there is Michigan's defensive coordinator spot, which I'll be keeping a close eye on (obviously). While it's been surprisingly quiet on the names front, Rich Rodriguez did state in a radio interview on Monday that he intends to stick with a 4-3 or 3-4 base defense, which is in disagreement with the general consensus that Rodriguez is seeking a 3-3-5 disciple. Another interesting note from that interview is Rodriguez's admission that the NFL playoffs and the late bowl games have been a factor in the hiring delay -- considering that I had yet to hear an NFL assistant mentioned as a serious candidate, this brings an entirely new group into the fold.
I'm not sure who Rodriguez is planning on interviewing -- let alone hiring -- but he seems dead set on waiting for someone (or maybe a couple of someones) who either is still involved in the playoffs or has been involved with a late bowl game. If this person is an unspoken favorite, a sudden announcement wouldn't be surprising. But if Rodriguez is as undecided as he sounds to be, an extensive interview process is definitely possible, meaning it might be a while before we know anything.
He wasn't kidding
As expected, ESPN.com is reporting that Boston College will fire coach Jeff Jagodzinski for interviewing with the New York Jets.
To recap, athletic director Gene DeFilippo told Jagodzinski earlier in the week (after news of the Jets' interest surfaced) that he would be fired if he went through with the interview, and Jagodzinski essentially told him, "Sounds good," and went ahead as planned.
Like a lot of people, I thought that the AD was bluffing -- you just don't fire a 45-year-old coach who has won 20 games in his first two seasons. It's possible that Jagodzinski thought the same thing, but it also seems possible that he just wasn't very attached to coaching at Boston College.
The ESPN.com article unearths an interesting nugget:
It's obvious that DeFilippo felt somewhat jilted by the whole process, but I just don't understand how he feels that firing Jagodzinski is going to make his program better in the long run.
ESPN's ACC beat writer/blogger, Heather Dinich, makes an excellent point:
It's true that Jagodzinski should have been up-front with the administration and told them about the interview, rather than having them find out about it from a reporter two days before it was set to take place. But when was the last time you told your boss that you were interviewing for a promotion with another company? I mean, can you blame him?
And it's not like there are going to be replacements waiting in line for a chance to take over. Again, O'Brien left Boston College for NC State -- basically a lateral move -- and it's not like he had NFL teams beating his door down. The Eagles have always struggled to gain consistent fan support (it doesn't help when you have four major pro teams in the area), and are known as a team that's regularly passed over in the bowl pecking order because of the difficulty they have selling tickets.
In some ways, I'm sure that's part of the reason they were so sensitive about the possibility of losing Jagodzinski -- he's young, he's a good recruiter and he appears to have an excellent offensive mind.
According to the Boston Globe's website, it appears that longtime defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani is the favorite to replace Jagodzinski (I'm sure the copy editors there are wondering why the coach can't be named "Smith"). This should not be a surprise, as Spaziani was the interim coach for the team's 2005 bowl win over Navy after O'Brien had left for NC State.
If they're looking for loyalty, they've probably found their guy. But if they're looking for success, well ...
Jagodzinski is on his way back to the NFL eventually, he's made that much clear. If he's good enough to raise your program with him in the process, why is that a problem?
To recap, athletic director Gene DeFilippo told Jagodzinski earlier in the week (after news of the Jets' interest surfaced) that he would be fired if he went through with the interview, and Jagodzinski essentially told him, "Sounds good," and went ahead as planned.
Like a lot of people, I thought that the AD was bluffing -- you just don't fire a 45-year-old coach who has won 20 games in his first two seasons. It's possible that Jagodzinski thought the same thing, but it also seems possible that he just wasn't very attached to coaching at Boston College.
The ESPN.com article unearths an interesting nugget:
Sources told the Globe that Jagodzinski has made multiple inquiries into returning to the NFL, where he was a coach for the eight seasons before taking over the head coaching job at BC. The newspaper reported that Jagodzinski has put out feelers for offensive coordinator positions as well as head coaching spots.Assuming this is true, that would partially explain DeFilippo's seemingly insane decision. But even if Jagodzinski is looking around, and you're concerned that you're going to lose him at some point in the near future, why in the world would you voluntarily accelerate that departure?
It's obvious that DeFilippo felt somewhat jilted by the whole process, but I just don't understand how he feels that firing Jagodzinski is going to make his program better in the long run.
ESPN's ACC beat writer/blogger, Heather Dinich, makes an excellent point:
Athletic director Gene DeFilippo is naive if he thinks Boston College is the final destination for young, talented coaches with higher aspirations.As foolish as he appears to be, I doubt that DeFilippo could be that naive -- he just watched Tom O'Brien dump him in favor of NC State two years ago. No, the only logical answer here is that he's going to ridiculous measures in what appears to be basically a jealous fit. Again, you just don't fire young, successful head coaches for no good reason -- and no, interviewing for an NFL head coaching job (about five steps above coaching at Boston College) does not qualify as a good reason to fire someone.
It's true that Jagodzinski should have been up-front with the administration and told them about the interview, rather than having them find out about it from a reporter two days before it was set to take place. But when was the last time you told your boss that you were interviewing for a promotion with another company? I mean, can you blame him?
And it's not like there are going to be replacements waiting in line for a chance to take over. Again, O'Brien left Boston College for NC State -- basically a lateral move -- and it's not like he had NFL teams beating his door down. The Eagles have always struggled to gain consistent fan support (it doesn't help when you have four major pro teams in the area), and are known as a team that's regularly passed over in the bowl pecking order because of the difficulty they have selling tickets.
In some ways, I'm sure that's part of the reason they were so sensitive about the possibility of losing Jagodzinski -- he's young, he's a good recruiter and he appears to have an excellent offensive mind.
According to the Boston Globe's website, it appears that longtime defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani is the favorite to replace Jagodzinski (I'm sure the copy editors there are wondering why the coach can't be named "Smith"). This should not be a surprise, as Spaziani was the interim coach for the team's 2005 bowl win over Navy after O'Brien had left for NC State.
If they're looking for loyalty, they've probably found their guy. But if they're looking for success, well ...
Jagodzinski is on his way back to the NFL eventually, he's made that much clear. If he's good enough to raise your program with him in the process, why is that a problem?
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
No commentary needed.Things and more things
* Monday night's Fiesta Bowl was one of the best games of the bowl season, and Colt McCoy stepped up big with everything on the line. He didn't play well for most of the first three quarters -- taking a couple of bad sacks, throwing a pick near the goal line at the end of the first half, etc. -- but with 2 minutes left to play and in need of a touchdown, he marched the Longhorns down the field with the accuracy and game management he showed all season. I'd call him the Heisman front-runner next season, but with the possibility that fellow finalists Tim Tebow AND Sam Bradford could be back next season, it could be a hell of a race. It's also worth noting that McCoy set BCS bowl records with 41 completions and 414 yards.
* On a related note, Ohio State represented itself surprisingly well. I honestly didn't think that the Buckeyes could hang with Texas' potent offense, but James Laurinaitis and company kept everything in front of them all night -- until the Quan Cosby touchdown, that is -- and hopefully silenced some of the Big 10 critics. I'm sure they'll still be there, of course (Tuesday's projected headline: "Big 10 collapses in big game once again"), but the Buckeyes have nothing to be ashamed of by losing on a last-minute TD to one of the best teams in the country. That said, the Longhorns have no real argument to finish No. 1 in the AP poll -- no more than they did before the game, anyway. There was some talk in the media that a dominating win over Ohio State followed by a close, not-so-spectacular Oklahoma victory in the BCS championship game could make for some controversy. That didn't happen, though, and while USC and Utah each might pick up a first-place vote or two (and Texas will get Mack Brown's vote, of course), the winner of the title game will be a near-unanimous No. 1.
* Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski, who is 45 years old, has coached two seasons and has a career record of 20-8, will apparently be fired for interviewing with the New York Jets for their vacant head coaching position. The question here: What is Boston College doing? I understand the concern, which is essentially not wanting to have your head coach looking around for other positions, but if he's doing so well that he's a legitimate candidate for bigger jobs, shouldn't you be grateful that he's been able to get your program to that level? Especially when you consider that BC's only option for a successor at this point, with all other noteworthy candidates off the market, is to promote an assistant who will in no way be prepared to take over a major ACC program? We'll see if athletic director Gene DeFilippo carries through with his threat, but this seems like a potentially huge mistake.
* I haven't been sold on Brady Hoke as a big-time head coach, considering that his record at Ball State coming into this season was 22-37 -- that's an average of 4.4 wins per season, slightly worse than his predecessor, Bill Lynch. But with the staff he's assembled so far at San Diego State, it'll be hard not to succeed. Hoke recently hired Al Borges (former O-coordinator at Auburn) as offensive coordinator and Rocky Long (former head coach of New Mexico) as defensive coordinator. One of the most important things for a guy like Hoke, who was never a college coordinator before becoming head coach at Ball State, is to surround yourself with quality assistants who can devise a gameplan, and that's exactly what he's done so far at San Diego State.
* Numerous players declared for the NFL draft this week, with the most noteworthy of those being Alabama tackle Andre Smith, Iowa running back Shonn Greene, Kansas State QB Josh Freeman, Rutgers receiver Kenny Britt, North Carolina receiver Hakeem Nicks and UConn running back Donald Brown. It's always nice to see guys stick it out for four years, as it only makes the game that much better (wink Tebow wink), but you can't blame the guys who are all but guaranteed a spot in the first two rounds. If put in the same situation, I'm not sure I could delay the chance to set myself up financially for the rest of my life.
* On a related note, Ohio State represented itself surprisingly well. I honestly didn't think that the Buckeyes could hang with Texas' potent offense, but James Laurinaitis and company kept everything in front of them all night -- until the Quan Cosby touchdown, that is -- and hopefully silenced some of the Big 10 critics. I'm sure they'll still be there, of course (Tuesday's projected headline: "Big 10 collapses in big game once again"), but the Buckeyes have nothing to be ashamed of by losing on a last-minute TD to one of the best teams in the country. That said, the Longhorns have no real argument to finish No. 1 in the AP poll -- no more than they did before the game, anyway. There was some talk in the media that a dominating win over Ohio State followed by a close, not-so-spectacular Oklahoma victory in the BCS championship game could make for some controversy. That didn't happen, though, and while USC and Utah each might pick up a first-place vote or two (and Texas will get Mack Brown's vote, of course), the winner of the title game will be a near-unanimous No. 1.
* Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski, who is 45 years old, has coached two seasons and has a career record of 20-8, will apparently be fired for interviewing with the New York Jets for their vacant head coaching position. The question here: What is Boston College doing? I understand the concern, which is essentially not wanting to have your head coach looking around for other positions, but if he's doing so well that he's a legitimate candidate for bigger jobs, shouldn't you be grateful that he's been able to get your program to that level? Especially when you consider that BC's only option for a successor at this point, with all other noteworthy candidates off the market, is to promote an assistant who will in no way be prepared to take over a major ACC program? We'll see if athletic director Gene DeFilippo carries through with his threat, but this seems like a potentially huge mistake.* I haven't been sold on Brady Hoke as a big-time head coach, considering that his record at Ball State coming into this season was 22-37 -- that's an average of 4.4 wins per season, slightly worse than his predecessor, Bill Lynch. But with the staff he's assembled so far at San Diego State, it'll be hard not to succeed. Hoke recently hired Al Borges (former O-coordinator at Auburn) as offensive coordinator and Rocky Long (former head coach of New Mexico) as defensive coordinator. One of the most important things for a guy like Hoke, who was never a college coordinator before becoming head coach at Ball State, is to surround yourself with quality assistants who can devise a gameplan, and that's exactly what he's done so far at San Diego State.
* Numerous players declared for the NFL draft this week, with the most noteworthy of those being Alabama tackle Andre Smith, Iowa running back Shonn Greene, Kansas State QB Josh Freeman, Rutgers receiver Kenny Britt, North Carolina receiver Hakeem Nicks and UConn running back Donald Brown. It's always nice to see guys stick it out for four years, as it only makes the game that much better (wink Tebow wink), but you can't blame the guys who are all but guaranteed a spot in the first two rounds. If put in the same situation, I'm not sure I could delay the chance to set myself up financially for the rest of my life.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Sugar shock
What happened Friday night in the Sugar Bowl? The shocking part was not so much that Utah won -- the Utes are a veteran team, led by a fifth-year senior quarterback and a very good defense. There's a reason they finished undefeated. But Utah's defensive line physically dominated Alabama, sacking John Parker Wilson eight times, and Brian Johnson simply picked the Crimson Tide apart in the short passing game.
Was the loss of Andre Smith (suspended for alleged dealings with an agent) that significant? Maybe it was. It's hard to believe that Utah could have racked up eight sacks with Smith in the game. But the Utes came from everywhere on blitzes and stunts -- linebacker Stevenson Sylvester had three sacks -- so I'm not sure even Smith could have made that big of an impact in that area.
What really hurt the Crimson Tide was their inability to run the ball. There wasn't a game all season in which they had to rely on Wilson -- their running game made him mostly a role player. But Glen Coffee and Mark Ingram were held to 62 yards on 21 carries Friday, and I think that's where Smith's loss hurt the most. Once Alabama's running game had been mostly neutralized, the Crimson Tide really had nowhere to turn.
Utah coach Kyle Wittingham deserves a ton of credit, of course, for the gameplan on both sides of the ball. Defensively, as mentioned, Utah was able to control the line of scrimmage and hold the Alabama running game in check.
Offensively, the Utes' success can be traced directly to a brilliant decision by the coaching staff: They simply didn't try to run the ball. Utah attempted only 17 running plays, and 10 of those came in the fourth quarter while trying to run out the clock.
Alabama's defensive line, led by monstrous All-American nose tackle Terrence Cody, finished fourth in the country in rushing defense, so Wittingham knew that the Utes weren't going to be able to consistently move the ball on the ground. So he let his veteran QB -- with 33 career starts under his belt coming into the game -- take over, and Johnson came through with the game of his life. The first possession of the game told the story:
- Brian Johnson pass complete to Jereme Brooks for 19 yards to the Alab 49 for a 1ST down.
- Brian Johnson pass complete to Darrell Mack for 14 yards to the Alab 35 for a 1ST down.
- Brian Johnson pass complete to Bradon Godfrey for 22 yards to the Alab 13 for a 1ST down.
- Brian Johnson pass complete to Freddie Brown for 6 yards to the Alab 7.
- Brian Johnson pass complete to Brent Casteel for 7 yards for a TOUCHDOWN
Johnson finished 27-of-41 for 336 yards with three touchdowns and, just as importantly, no interceptions.
He did fumble once, early in the third quarter, and Alabama responded with a quick touchdown that cut Utah's lead to 21-17. On the ensuing drive, the Utes went 71 yards in seven plays -- all passes -- capped off by a 28-yard TD throw from Johnson to David Reed that made it 28-17, and Alabama would get no closer.
I'm not going to be one of those people who tries to spin this into yet another example of why we need a playoff in college football, but I will say that Utah deserves all the credit it will get for being the only team in the FBS to finish 13-0. You can't do any better than that.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Happy New Year
Yes, that's Les Miles photoshopped into a diaper and a top hat. And no, I don't have an explanation.
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