12-01-2003, 03:03 AM
Inside Dish: Will Meyer be one and done at Utah?
By Matt Hayes - SportingNews.com
First-year Utah coach Urban Meyer has tried his best to quash rumors of a potential departure. It's going to get even harder in the coming days. Meyer, one of the nation's hottest young coaching prospects, is a prime candidate for the Nebraska job. It is believed Nebraska A.D. Steve Pederson's first choice to replace fired Frank Solich is Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris. Pederson formerly was athletic director at Pitt and worked with Harris to bring the Panthers back from college football oblivion. But Harris is said to be torn between leaving what he has built at Pitt and the realization that the Big East could lose its automatic BCS bid when the new contract is formulated after the 2005 season. Utah is in the process of restructuring Meyer's contract, but his current salary of $400,000 per season is about a third of what Nebraska could offer. . . .
The Pac-10 Coach of the Year likely will be USC's Pete Carroll, but it should be California's Jeff Tedford for the second consecutive season. In two years at Cal, Tedford has established himself as one of the nation's best game-day coaches. He has won seven games for the second straight season -- this time with a new quarterback and one starter returning on defense -- and the Bears will go bowling for the first time since 1996. But if Cal doesn't upgrade its outdated facilities soon, Tedford could be on his way out. He has a clause in his contract that stipulates if renovation of weathered, 80-year-old Memorial Stadium hasn't begun by December 2004, he can walk away with no buyout. . . .
The Knight Commission, the uppity watchdog for college sports, let fly with some bold suggestions last week. Among them: No more weekday college football games, and the NCAA must wrest postseason football from the BCS. How out of touch is this group? Athletic departments stay afloat with weekday games because television revenue is the lifeblood for non-revenue producing sports and Title IX compliance. As for the NCAA taking control of the postseason? The NCAA works for the universities; it is a governing body that easily could be scrapped and rebuilt. Bottom line: There will be no change in the postseason format unless university presidents want it. . . .
Expect SEC officials to file a formal complaint with the ACC concerning the officiating in last week's Florida-Florida State game. The crew, headed by referee Jack Childress, made punching-bag Big Ten officials look like Rhodes Scholars and blew numerous calls in the game -- all of which went against the Gators. Under the series' contract, ACC officials are used in games in Gainesville, and SEC officials are used in Tallahassee. With the current contract ending after next year's game, look for a neutral crew to be used for future games. . . .
Mike Stoops may not be the only Oklahoma assistant with a new job next season. Stoops, the co-defensive coordinator, was hired as Arizona's coach last weekend, and offensive coordinator Chuck Long and co-defensive coordinator Brent Venables also are hot commodities. Venables was a finalist for the Missouri job two years ago, and Long's stock has soared with the reclamation of QB Jason White. . . .
Virginia Tech's loss to Virginia gave the Hokies 12 losses in the past three years-all coming after the third week in October. The move to the ACC actually may be a godsend for the Hokies, who are 2-7 the past three years against Big East holdovers West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Syracuse.
Staff writer Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. Email him at mhayes@sportingnews.com and include your name and location.
By Matt Hayes - SportingNews.com
First-year Utah coach Urban Meyer has tried his best to quash rumors of a potential departure. It's going to get even harder in the coming days. Meyer, one of the nation's hottest young coaching prospects, is a prime candidate for the Nebraska job. It is believed Nebraska A.D. Steve Pederson's first choice to replace fired Frank Solich is Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris. Pederson formerly was athletic director at Pitt and worked with Harris to bring the Panthers back from college football oblivion. But Harris is said to be torn between leaving what he has built at Pitt and the realization that the Big East could lose its automatic BCS bid when the new contract is formulated after the 2005 season. Utah is in the process of restructuring Meyer's contract, but his current salary of $400,000 per season is about a third of what Nebraska could offer. . . .
The Pac-10 Coach of the Year likely will be USC's Pete Carroll, but it should be California's Jeff Tedford for the second consecutive season. In two years at Cal, Tedford has established himself as one of the nation's best game-day coaches. He has won seven games for the second straight season -- this time with a new quarterback and one starter returning on defense -- and the Bears will go bowling for the first time since 1996. But if Cal doesn't upgrade its outdated facilities soon, Tedford could be on his way out. He has a clause in his contract that stipulates if renovation of weathered, 80-year-old Memorial Stadium hasn't begun by December 2004, he can walk away with no buyout. . . .
The Knight Commission, the uppity watchdog for college sports, let fly with some bold suggestions last week. Among them: No more weekday college football games, and the NCAA must wrest postseason football from the BCS. How out of touch is this group? Athletic departments stay afloat with weekday games because television revenue is the lifeblood for non-revenue producing sports and Title IX compliance. As for the NCAA taking control of the postseason? The NCAA works for the universities; it is a governing body that easily could be scrapped and rebuilt. Bottom line: There will be no change in the postseason format unless university presidents want it. . . .
Expect SEC officials to file a formal complaint with the ACC concerning the officiating in last week's Florida-Florida State game. The crew, headed by referee Jack Childress, made punching-bag Big Ten officials look like Rhodes Scholars and blew numerous calls in the game -- all of which went against the Gators. Under the series' contract, ACC officials are used in games in Gainesville, and SEC officials are used in Tallahassee. With the current contract ending after next year's game, look for a neutral crew to be used for future games. . . .
Mike Stoops may not be the only Oklahoma assistant with a new job next season. Stoops, the co-defensive coordinator, was hired as Arizona's coach last weekend, and offensive coordinator Chuck Long and co-defensive coordinator Brent Venables also are hot commodities. Venables was a finalist for the Missouri job two years ago, and Long's stock has soared with the reclamation of QB Jason White. . . .
Virginia Tech's loss to Virginia gave the Hokies 12 losses in the past three years-all coming after the third week in October. The move to the ACC actually may be a godsend for the Hokies, who are 2-7 the past three years against Big East holdovers West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Syracuse.
Staff writer Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. Email him at mhayes@sportingnews.com and include your name and location.