Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Coaching Carousel, Part 3

It’s been a few weeks since this blog covered the coaching merry-go-round, but the hires are almost complete. What are some of these schools doing? Actually, some of them improved their programs in the process. Here are a few schools with new football coaches:

UCLA: The Bruins fired Karl Dorrell and brought Rick Neuheisel back to Westwood, where he won a Rose Bowl as quarterback. Neuheisel drug Colorado (probation) and Washington (small-time NCAA tournament pool) into the mud, but went into the NFL as an assistant coach before getting the UCLA gig. Neuheisel will recruit well and coach well. UCLA is neither a small-time, nor big-time football program. Think USC basketball. SC is getting better in hoops in the shadow of UCLA. UCLA will improve in football in spite of crosstown rival USC.

West Virginia: The Mountaineers went through a soap opera after the departure of Rich Rodriguez. WVU was rumored to be chasing Terry Bowden, Florida State assistant Jimbo Fisher, and Florida assistant Doc Holliday. All of them had West Virginia connections, but none were able to win the favor of all of the different factions of boosters. The governor even got into the search process. Meanwhile, the team went to the Fiesta Bowl and thumped Oklahoma. The following morning, interim head coach Bill Stewart became the permanent head coach. While one night in Arizona made the school’s search easier, will this help the ‘Eers long term? The jury is still out on that one. The coaching graveyard is littered with the carcasses of “players’ coaches” who rode the players’ sentiments to a permanent gig, only to be fired a few years later. Still, West Virginia should be one of the top two schools in the Big East every year.

SMU: This is the home run. The Mustangs waited almost two months after firing Phil Bennett, but were able to hire June Jones away from Hawaii. Jones performed a miracle in the islands, taking Hawaii from 0-12 to a BCS bowl in nine years. This was done with inferior facilities and a very low recruiting budget. The recruiting budget at Hawaii was so low, their coaches could not personally visit recruits on the mainland. Jones tried for years to get raises for his assistants and to improve their facilities. When the administration attempted to put the BCS bowl money into the general fund, Jones balked. Enter SMU, with $2 million per year of old Dallas money. Jones now gets to perform the impossible: turning SMU into a winner. If the administration on the Hilltop cooperates with him, he can do just that. This hire appears to be well worth the wait for the Mustangs.

4 comments:

Zee said...

Okay, when I first heard about June Jones talking with SMU I thought he was nuts. Leave Hawaii? Maybe ... some haolis can't handle it, but SMU? Come on!

Well, as I read your assessment and heard Norm on the top ten tonight read an email from Jones to the now dismissed AD, it's all making sense. Jones totally called it before it all happened. It was amazing. He said that UH's offer to him was only reactionary and he wish they would have done it before he had another offer. Also, he knows that now that he's gone the guy that follows him will get everything he's been begging for the whole time he was there - facilities, support, etc.

I think, now that I see more the story, Jones may be taking on a lot, but he'll have the facilities he wants, the money he wants (he'll be able to send his scouts to Hawaii if there are prospects he wants to check out), and he won't have to beat his head against a solid unmovable wall anymore.

I don't see SMU having a turn around like UH, but I'm glad that Jones is in a better situation than before.

John said...

If the faculty and administration at SMU cooperate, the Ponies can be a player in Conference USA. They have a nice, new stadium, good practice and training facilities, and a lot of rich donors willing to give money. He probably won't take SMU to the BCS, but the Mustangs would be tickled to be in the GMAC Bowl right now.

SMU football might just become a factor outside the Park Cities. Perhaps they shouldn't give up football after all (in spite of what Rhyner says).

Anonymous said...

Switching gears a little - just bought this month's Texas Monthly at the greatness of Half-Price Books and Coach Fran got the Bum Steer of the Year award.

John said...

I saw Fran on the cover of Texas Monthly with the Bum Steer of the Year. He's a rich Bum Steer, though. :-)

So, is the new issue of Texas Monthly half price at Half Price Books? :-)