I find this level of debate exhausting. It's based on nothing but speculation as we can't possibly know the freedom or restrictions that Burke, Esleeck and Manual had under CB...in the coach's office or on the recruiting trail. All of these guys spoke well of C.B., and described how difficult it was to see him fired. C.B. failed as a head coach, but let's not paint him as some authoritarian prick that didn't let the assistants do their job. They entered year three with him, so they don't get a pass for the roster construction.

I think we all knew that Burke had to come out and impress to have a chance at this job. At 2-1, he had done just that, but this week was not good for his chances. The loss at Towson isn't bad; they're playing as well as anyone, but getting dominated by JMU hurts. However you feel about Burke, you have to see that this loss hurts his chances.

If moving over 18" is a huge difference, there's simply no way to say with confidence that Burke is THE guy after two weeks. We all like him (except for Mullet), and I think most are pulling for him, but if an experienced head coach wants the job (e.g. Mike Jones, Nathan Davis, Mark Byington), they have a huge advantage over Burke in my eyes.