[NU Sports] Football experiment

[sjtruog at jorsm.com]

 > Actually I think that we are on the same page here.

Yeah - just look at Ty -- he had a great record his first year and folks
were ready to annoint him the ND football savior.:)

But yes, it's gonna be real interesting to watch all these schools -- who
they go after, who they settle for and what that person does in the next
few years. It should be fun. The Trib had a great back page
graphic/article today on all the openings, who's up for 'em, what
expectations are, status of the program, etc.

> Some on this list are convinced that ANY coaching change is ALWAYS BAD.

I don't think I've seen anybody say that. And if that is intended to mean
me, then I certainly never said it. I do think firing a coach because he
only won 6 when we have unreasonable expectations to win 9 is bad. And in
that case, we can look at a few schools in the next few years ...

- As mentioned, Nebraska fired a coach with 9 wins. They wanted more --
year one was a disaster, but we'll see what the next few years of change
brings as the Huskers try and go Oklahoma's route ... suffer for awhile,
then change and move in the modern era.

- Florida fired a coach who had brought in top classes and won 7 games
this year with a predominantly underclass team. The SEC has passed the
Gators by and if Spurrier catches fire in Columbia, Florida may be looking
up at UGa, Rocky Top and the Gamecocks from the lower division of the SEC
east.

- And yes, Notre Dame, fired a coach three years into a rebuilding project
that wasn't going fast enough ... amid dellusions of past grandeur that
many don't feel still exist in the new era of college football.

Those three coaching changes I'd say were cases of "greedy firings" in
that the staffs were doing well, but not well enough with what many could
argue are unrealistically high expectations ... it will be fun to see
whether they pay off.

It will also be interesting to watch Illinois and Indiana simply because
they are conference foes whose programs the last decade or so have been
pretty much at or below NU's level (plus, the DiNardo firing was
especially bogus) ... will they just continue a cycle of frustration and
start rebuilding from square 1 or 2 again while their students look
forward to hoops season ... or can they turn it around quickly (ala
Purdue) and (then the tricky part) get that miracle worker coach to stick
around and see it through? (something we couldn't do with Barnett).

> Most everyone here wants to see a more competitive NU team while
> preserving the integrity of the program and the high academic standards
> of the institution.  We just don't agree on the best way to go about it.

We'll agree on that -- plus, you mention the contract and right now we're
in the middle of a contract. So we'll have a couple years to watch the
results elsewhere and see how they apply to Northwestern. But I think we
all can agree that we don't want NU to become one of those schools that
axes a coach mid-contract even if they do everything right "Sunday through
Friday."

The other interesting one to watch, of course, will be Stanford. Ty took
'em to their first Rose Bowl in decades (kind of like us in 1995 except we
got Dennis Green among the frustrated past coaches instead of Bill Walsh:)
) ... can they rebound in a more competitive Pac 10 (the Pac Northwest
schools are solid now ... USC and Cal have awoken from hibernation ... and
keep an eye on Stoops the Second down in Tuscon)?

> consequences.  I think that he would look great in purple; but I don't
> have a vote, I don't have the ear of anyone who has influence, and I
> can't even depend on my wife to agree with me - so my only outlet is
> this list.

Hah.:) Well, that's what makes this list great -- we can cover, and
disagree, on a number of topics to keep us busy in the offseason. If I
didn't feel strongly about axing coaches mid-contract who have completed
back-to-back 6-win seasons, I'd be awfully tempted to go after Willingham
as well.

But you're right -- this is going to be a real interesting next few years
to watch. There certainly seem to be more firings now than I can remember
in other years ... and if Meyer, BSU's coach, and others are picked for
some of these jobs, there will be more openings (and don't forget that
Utah is a pretty attractive job now -- they've done the impossible with
the BCS, they've renovated facilities, have a competitive NC schedule to
make waves nationally ... and Mr. Chow lives in Salt Lake City, so the
Utes may still be around even if Meyer bolts for the THIRD time in four
years).

Just a quick look at the Big Ten coaching positions ...

MINNESOTA - Mason was pretty obviously campaigning for OSU a few years
back, now it appears he's stuck in Siberia, er, Minneapolis until they
either get a new stadium or get sick of 6-5 seasons and minor bowls.

IOWA - Despite the rumors, I think Ferentz is gonna be a pain in our butts
for a loooong time in Iowa City. They're upgrading facilities, have a
solid tradition and program and are only getting better recruits each
year. After his kids are out of school, perhaps he'll bolt for the pros,
but he'd be a fool to ... he's a college coach and could be a legend
bigger than Hayden by the time he's done.

WISCONSIN - Barry's got a year or two left until he hands it off to his
hand-picked successor. No real shocking changes on the horizon there.

ILLINOIS - Open!

INDIANA - Open!

PURDUE - I thought for sure Tiller would have bolted by now ... but he's
sticking around and doing a solid job in West Lafayette. They're upgrading
facilities as well and starting to be a consistent threat to battle for
the league title. I don't see Wily Joe leaving anytime soon.

MICHIGAN STATE - They stumbled upon a pretty good one in John L. Smith
after a few years of rotation following Perles ... Smith's already made
his move and should be in Spartan green for a few more years at least. If
he can take the program out of the shadow of Big Blue (and he's done
wonders with a patchwork of players his first two years - think of what
he'll do with his own recruits), he may bolt higher in 5-6 years.

MICHIGAN - If Carr is about to step down, I'd think Michigan will be like
Wisconsin and promote from within the family. If it does become open, it
is one of the 2-3 most attractive positions in the nation. But I think
this one won't be up for grabs like ND or Florida this year ... Carr won't
leave until he wants to, and when he does, he'll have a successor lined
up.

OHIO STATE - If Tressel survives the scandal, he'll be in Columbus for a
long time. This was the job he wanted and despite the headaches, it's one
of the elite jobs. Plus, the guy's a heck of a coach -- and as long as he
keeps beating Michigan, he won't be under any alumni pressure for awhile.
If the scandal does grow, though, this could be one of those wide-open
coaching scrambles because they'd want to clean house to clean up the
image.

PENN STATE - The one position everyone thought would be up for grabs isn't
... yet. I think JoePa knows his D will be something special next year and
wants one more season (asking Santa for a halfway decent offense) so he
can go out on top. In any case, he's gotta line up a successor to take
over the program or else this job could slip into disarray. Still - you
have one of the nation's largest stadiums, loyal alumni, great tradition,
a football-crazy state and a recruiting pipeline nationwide ... if this
one does open up, there will be some good candidates looking into it and
someone could really awaken a sleeping giant in Happy Valley.

NORTHWESTERN - Well, we can leave that for the list to decide.:) Some of
us see progress, others want more ... in the next year or two and with
watching what happens in South Bend, Lincoln, Palo Alto and elsewhere, we
may have our answer.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT