Take a look at the Bold sentences (Cincy Fans Especially):


Hot seat coaches: No relief for usual suspects

Posted: October 23, 2008

More than a few friends and colleagues have asked what now has become a legitimate question: What are Lane Kiffin's credentials?


How is it that a career college assistant who stumbles into an NFL job because the owner couldn't get his first choice and settled for the guy sitting next to him, suddenly becomes the hottest coaching prospect in the nation?

Fair question.

Long answer: He has all the tools to become a successful coach, and players have raved about his ability everywhere he has been.

Short answer: Al Davis, people.

Are we to believe players, who are 90 percent of the winning equation at any level, or should we hitch ourselves to Davis -- the same guy who ran off Jon Gruden for Bill Callahan? The Raiders are a mess because of Davis, not Kiffin.

Kiffin didn't want to draft JaMarcus Russell, Davis did. And now the Raiders are paying for it.

So Davis -- he of the sparkling management reputation -- decides to take shots at Kiffin on the way out. Classy.

Meanwhile, back in reality in the college game, Kiffin can pick whomever he wants -- and was the No. 1 recruiter at USC when he left for the NFL. He'll get players, he'll run an efficient system, he'll win a ton of games.

On with the coaching hot seat:

Done

Tommy Bowden, Clemson

The fit: Will Muschamp, Texas defensive coordinator. Played in the South, coached and recruited in the South and is a young version of Nick Saban. What's not to like?

Out (just hasn't happened yet)

Greg Robinson, Syracuse

The fit: Steve Addazio, Florida assistant coach. Former SU star Rob Konrad is pushing for Addazio, and at this point, embattled AD Daryl Gross may not have a choice.

Tyrone Willingham, Washington

The fit: Kiffin. Knows the West Coast, and his dynamic personality is a perfect fit for a program desperate for enthusiasm -- and for millions to upgrade facilities.

Tommy Tuberville, Auburn

The fit: Anyone who thinks they can get along with the Auburn Board of Trustees (and that list, in the coaching world, is quickly dwindling). For now, we'll let defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads take a shot. Quick aside: Nice job by Tubs in publicly stating his case -- and reaffirming it's going to cost Aubie six large to get rid of him.

Joe Glenn, Wyoming

The fit: Bobby Hauck, Montana. Energetic, young coach can bring players to Laramie. It's a player's game, everyone.

Chuck Long, San Diego State

The fit: Chip Kelly, Oregon offensive coordinator. Terrific offensive mind; meticulous manager, strong personality. The coaching trifecta.

In trouble

Phil Fulmer, Tennessee

The fit: Brian Kelly, Cincinnati. If the Vols beat Alabama on Saturday, Fulmer's safe. And frankly, he should be, anyway. But that's another story for another time.

Ron Prince, Kansas State

The fit: Pat Hill, Fresno State. This team has zero personality. Who better than to shake things up than the outspoken, hard-charging Hill, a guy players feed off?

cuseroc Wrote:Take a look at the Bold sentences (Cincy Fans Especially):


Hot seat coaches: No relief for usual suspects

Posted: October 23, 2008
In trouble

Phil Fulmer, Tennessee

The fit: Brian Kelly, Cincinnati. If the Vols beat Alabama on Saturday, Fulmer's safe. And frankly, he should be, anyway. But that's another story for another time.

I wonder if this is still the case if the Bearcats are around .500 in a few weeks. This league changes week to week, so I am not looking too far ahead, but the Bearcats are really struggling offensively and the next few weeks are no cakewalk for UC.

Brian Kelly isn't the top choice here in Knoxville. Folks here have realized that all of Fulmer's success can be attributed to teams that had David Cutcliffe as offensive coordinator. When Cutcliffe went to Mississippi, the Vols faltered. When he came back, they won. Now that he's left, Fulmer's butt's on fire. The draft Cutcliffe for Vols head football coaching job committee has already been formed among alumni here.

If Fulmer gets canned, I bet he gets the job, and Duke goes back down the tubes...

bit, I don't think Duke will go down the tubes. I think the Duke folks have got a little taste of winning and would hire a good coach to replace Cutcliff. I think that Duke must have lowered their admissions to help football or Cutcliff probably wouldn't have taken the job. Duke, like UNC, has great name recognition due to basketball. All the Blue Devils need is a positive rah rah coach that can recruit. I think Wake Forest is the team that will decline. Grobe should leave while the getting is good.

It will take a very good coach to exceed what Cutcliffe's done @ Duke...

Winning a few games at Duke in the ACC is one thing, but winning 10-12 games a year at Tennessee in the SEC is another. I suspect Tennessee will go after someone like Butch Davis.

bitcruncher Wrote:Folks here have realized that all of Fulmer's success can be attributed to teams that had David Cutcliffe as offensive coordinator. When Cutcliffe went to Mississippi, the Vols faltered.

Cutcliffe was UT's OC when Memphis beat their Peyton Manning team in '96. One of the reasons Ole Miss fired him was that Memphis beat two of his teams which had Eli Manning.

You don't hear the buzz around Knoxville. Also, you have to remember they stuck with Fulmer, after suspecting his difficulties without Cutcliffe when he was at Mississippi. As for Memphis beating Ole Miss... even when Eli was there, they didn't have all that much talent. Mississippi and Mississippi State are at a big disadvantage in the SEC when it comes to recruiting. He'll have an easier time recruiting for Duke. It would be even easier at Tennessee...

The folks in Knoxville are convinced Cutcliffe is now the answer. The UT administration could think otherwise, but I've heard some big time boosters mentioning his name. We'll find out soon enough, I figure. Especially if Tennessee loses many more games, which they probably will...

Before Duke hired Cutcliff, an ECU poster emailed Terry Holland and told him he though Cutcliff would be a great hire for ECU if Skip were to leave. I think it was when Cincy was courting Skip. Coach Holland agreed with the poster. If Coach Holland thinks highly enough of Coach Cutcliff, he would probably do well at Tenn.

Tennessee always did fine with him as OC. They haven't without him. That's all the boosters needed to know...

I heard an interesting take that I agree with from a host on WDNC 620 The Bull out of Durham, NC. Bomani Jones (an ESPN.com Page 2 writer) basically spelled out why David Cutcliffe should stay at Duke: A more secure job with easy ACC money in a bad economy.

He reasons that Duke fans will build a monument to Cutcliffe if he regularly makes a bowl game and occasionally scares its way into ACC championship contention. Tennessee fans, however, will inevitably want more than that; they want the SEC crown and a BCS championship.

True. But if you are looking to play on the BIG stage, it doesn't get much bigger than Neyland Stadium...

The only knock I ever heard about Cutcliff, was his defense was not that good. That is the one thing he has to do better at. Other than that, everything has been nothing but positve about him.

If he keeps John Chavis in place as DC @ Tennessee, it wouldn't be a problem with the Vols...

Can't fire Phat Phil, he has a street named after him.

You watch. The only Phil in favor after football season will be in Punxatawney...

bitcruncher Wrote:True. But if you are looking to play on the BIG stage, it doesn't get much bigger than Neyland Stadium...

You're right. But Cutcliffe has been there and done that as far as heading an SEC program. I'm not sure he'd want back in to the UT pressure cooker. Some other hot coordinator or established HC will take it.

However, if you really want to be a big time college coach, the pressure cooker is the place to be. It takes a lot of pressure to form a diamond out of raw carbon. Same with coaching legends, which any coach worth his salt wants to become. If he doesn't want to become known as a great coach, then Duke's the place to be.

But if he does want to become known as one of the truly greats, there's few stages like Tennessee's...