Whoops

Ever since the Connecticut debacle, and some would say the Navy debacle, Charlie Weis was pulled to the side of the boat, and it was only a matter of time before the gaff hook impaled the big tuna.  Unlike Bob Davie and Ty Willingham’s demise, Weis’s arrogance makes his downfall that much more interesting, and to some, delightful.  Weis has clearly been humbled, and his demeanor in the press the last 2 weeks wreaked of a defeated man…a man who knows his public execution is immanent.  The fish fry happened today, and we now wait to find a replacement.  Below are our top 5 choices, in order of most likely.  My gut is telling me Kelly, but the animosity between Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh would make the most compelling rivalry between the schools in years, and that’s the one I’m routing for.

1)    Brian Kelley, Head Coach, Cincinnati
After heading the Bearcats to a BCS bowl victory and several Big East conference championships, Kelly may have achieved all he can, which is quite a bit.  2 bowl victories, a conference title and a BCS bowl appearance is not bad in 3 years, nor is his 33-6 record.  But to move on to a school of National Prominence with an exclusive television contract aint a bad gig either.  When you consider his current program and resume, it will be easier for Kelly to move than some of the other top contenders.

2)    Urban Meyer, head coach, Florida
Certainly, Meyer has the most impressive resume of any candidate, and if Notre Dame had their choice, he would most likely be the guy.  A 5-1 record in bowls since he has been there, including 2 conference titles and 2 BCS titles.  In the past, Meyer had referred to coaching at Notre Dame as his dream job.  However, Notre Dame’s main problem is their higher academic standards.  They cannot get the players that Florida, USC, or some of the other schools have with lower academic standards.  With Meyer’s 2 national Titles and perhaps another on the way, the only reason for him to go to Notre Dame would be to become a Deity.  This would occur, however, if he were to go to the most preeminent Catholic university and performs a miracle.

3)    Bob Stoops, head coach, Oklahoma
Stoops name continues to surface, and he continues to deny.  Maybe because he is not the first choice, and doesn’t want to pine for something in which he knows the feeling isn’t mutual…yet.  There’s no doubting his success.  8 straight bowl games, 5 of which are BCS bowls including a BCS championship in 2000.  He has great regular season success with a 115-29 record, but much more shaky in Bowls with a 4-6 record.  That may suggest his 10 year run at Oklahoma could use a fresh start somewhere else.

4)    Jim Harbaugh, Head Coach, Stanford
Harbaugh has done the unthinkable, and he’s been brash and unapologetic in doing so.  He took a team from the toilet and turned them into a force that no one wants to play.  Say what you want about Heisman Candidate Toby Gerhart’s amazing year, but he’s not all Stanford has.  A big reason for his success is Stanford’s great offensive line.  When you are recruiting in the same conference against Pete Carroll, landing great players is no easy task, and Harbaugh has done it.  Speaking of, Harbaugh has made it clear that he doesn’t particularly care for Carroll, or USC’s arrogance.  Beating them twice in the last 3 years in SC’s house, including running up the score and embarrassing Carroll just 2 weeks ago in a 55-21 slaughter is evidence enough.  Even though Harbaugh is a Wolverine, what better way to establish a hate-fueled rivalry than by going to SC’s most storied rival?  We’re talking Bo Schembechler-Woody Hayes stuff here.  That could be really fun.

5)    Gary Patterson, Head Coach, TCU
This would almost certainly have to be a default hire, with the other 4 electing to stay where they are.  All but Kelly have vehemently denied any desire to go to Notre Dame.  If they cannot get them, Patterson isn’t a bad choice, and he may jump at the chance. Stuck in a small conference, Patterson has done about as good as anyone ever could, going 53-10 over the last 4 years, and more importantly, 4-0 in bowls.  He now has a chance to have a perfect season if he can win his BCS bowl, and against a top program, that would be extremely impressive.  That would provide the necessary catapult to see what he can do with a national power.

Damage control? Too late.

Coach Urban Meyer and quarterback Tim Tebow have something in store for Lane Kiffin and the Vols

Lane Kiffin obviously hasn’t read the book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”.  A son of a highly respected and long tenured defensive coach Monte Kiffin, Lane is largely thought of as being handed the greatest coaching gigs at a young age without ever having to prove himself, just because he is Monte’s son.  He became the USC offensive coordinator after Norm Chow was unceremoniously run out of town.  With Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart and other great weapons, and with Kiffin merely inheriting Chow’s genius architecture of offense, he was able to parlay that 1 year tenure in that cush position into an NFL head coaching job with the Oakland Raiders, even over more qualified candidates.  With this track record of getting things handed to him, it’s no wonder he opened up his yap in the worst way possible, inviting a beating that would make the Gooch’s beating of Arnold Jackson look tame.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Certainly, no one can Blame Kiffin for trying to create a buzz about the program.  Once a national power, Tennessee’s 5-7 atrocity last season resulted in the removal of coaching legend Phil Fulmer and the hiring of Kiffin.  So it was interesting how when the program is in the worst shape it’s been in well, maybe, ever, he decides to go after the King of the mountain.  What better way to generate some attention than to pick on the biggest kid on the block?  The problem is, when you do that, you better be able to handle yourself, because the biggest kid on the block is likely to pile drive your dome in the dirt, then spit on you when he’s done.  This would indicate why Tennessee is a 30 point underdog this weekend as they head to the Swamp, in what may be the best definition of “Lambs to the slaughter” we’ve seen in years.

It’s probably going to get ugly, and perhaps the best indication of that is the eerie quiet that is coming out of Gainesville.  All the “no comment” and “we’ve moved on” verbiage from Florida certainly seems like the quiet before the storm, likely to be a category 5 hurricane unleashed on the Vols.  And with perhaps the best player in college football history taking the attack on his coach personally, Tim Tebow said in a statement Monday, “”I don’t like anyone talking about coach (Urban) Meyer”.  As happy as Gator fans are that the current regime has not behaved with the same arrogance that the Steve Spurrier regime did ( running up the score and then not winning the big game), you can certainly expect to see a blast from the past this weekend.  Look for a 40-50 point margin of victory here, just like the Old Ball Coach would do.

UPDATE:
It’s on! Even after a much closer game than most people expected and maybe even wanted, the war of words seems only to be heating up, led by the coaches. When asked why exactly the Gators didn’t blow out Tennessee by at least 30 points, as Vegas oddsmakers predicted, Florida coach Urban Meyer said his objective was just to win. According to Meyer, a conservative play calling scheme by Tennessee impressed upon Meyer that the Vols didn’t want to win, and would just try to keep it close, and thus allowed for Meyer to keep a leash on his dogs instead of turning them loose. “When I saw them start handing the ball off, you didn’t feel like they were going after the win,” said Meyer to reporters the day after the game. “They wanted to shorten the game. I remember looking out there and there’s 10 minutes left in the game and there’s no no-huddle, they are down, I think it was 23-6, and (there’s no) urgency.”
He also went on to say that 3 of his own players were battling flu-like symptoms during the week leading up to the game.

It didn’t take long for Kiffin to fire back. When told of Meyer’s comments about his teams possible illness, and asked if Tennessee players had the same affliction, Kiffin quipped, “I don’t know. I guess we’ll wait and after we’re not excited about a performance, we’ll tell you everybody was sick.”

Its on…Do we really have to wait till next year?