Coaching Carousel 2008-09

And now, the promised examination of hiring practices in Division 1 (FBS) college football head coaching positions. Here's the list from last year.

As you remember, we're at 2.5% at the end of the season (3 African American head coaches out of 120 openings). And here's what's happened since:

Toledo: Hire- Tim Boeckman (no)
Kansas State: Hire- Bill Snyder (no)
Tennessee: Hire- Lane Kitfin (no)
Washington: Hire- Steve Sarkisian (no)
Wyoming: Hire- Dave Christensen (no)
Clemson: Hire- Dabo Swinney (no)
New Mexico: Hire- Mike Locksley (YES!!)
Mississippi State- Hire: Dan Mullen (no)
Bowling Green: Hire- Dave Clawson (no)
Syracuse: Hire- Doug Marrone (no)
Auburn
Eastern Michigan
Utah State
New Mexico State
San Diego State
Miami of Ohio
Army

It's also very promising that Buffalo's Turner Gill is being considered for the Syracuse and Auburn positions, but even with Locksley's hire that would leave the number at four (since Gill already has a head coaching position).

Some point to nepotism as being the main culprit behind these issues, and to a point I agree. A friend once said that the easiest way to get a head coaching position was to be an offensive or defensive coordinator, and the easiest way to get those jobs was to be an assistant, and the easiest way to be an assistant is to be a Graduate Assistant, and the best way to do that is to play D1 football.

But that's where the analogy breaks down, as a large portion of rosters are made up of minority students.

In my opinion, even nepotism smells of racism (intentional, subtle, or institutionalized), as people who have been given opportunity are want to give that same chance to others; if the system worked for them, then it must work. At some point, people must make the conscious decision to think outside of the good ole' boys network and hire new faces and new names. And given that coaching selection is all about money, it's hard to be the person who takes that risk.

Again, I read a lot about a future "up and coming" coaches (Strong from Florida; Phillips from Kentucky, etc.) , and am excited about what may happen. But we've been waiting for "may" for a while across the Higher Education landscape, and the numbers aren't great. A recent survey revealed that

“The leadership which is the power structure in college sport remains overwhelming white. In FBS institutions, this includes 92.5 percent of the presidents, 87.5 percent of the athletics directors, 92.6 percent of the faculty athletics reps, 83.3 percent of the faculty and 100 percent of the conference commissioners. Only 3.5 percent of the faculty are African-American and 3.4 are percent Latino.”

There's a long way to go.

Coaching Carousel, Update 2

Well, I like the fact that at least Nebraska had a minority candidate as one of their finalists, even if they didn't end up hiring him.

Sad news is that both Karl Dorrell at UCLA and Ty Willingham at UW may be on the hot seat and fired this off season, reducing the number of minority coaches by two.

Here's the current list:

Mich1gAAn
Nebraska- Hire: Bo Pelini (no)
Mississippi- Hire: Houston Nutt (no)
Texas A&M- Hire: Mike Sherman (no)
Colorado State
Duke
Georgia Tech
Southern Methodist
Baylor- Hire: Art Briles (no)
Southern Mississippi
Arkansas
Washington State
Northern Illinois

Coaching Carousel, Update 6/7/8/9/10

More of the same... Bobby Patrino to Arkansas , Larry Fedora to Southern Miss, Steve Fairchild to Colorado State, Paul Wulff at WSU, Jerry Kill (great name) to Northern Illinois, and David Cutcliffe to Duke.

Although, it's good to hear that Oklahoma's Kevin Sumlin has been hired at Houston.

Here's the list:

Mich1gAAn
Southern Methodist
UCLA
Nebraska- Hire: Bo Pelini (no)
Mississippi- Hire: Houston Nutt (no)
Texas A&M- Hire: Mike Sherman (no)
Colorado State- Hire: Steve Fairchild (no)
Duke- Hire: David Cutcliffe (no)
Georgia Tech- Hire: Paul Johnson (no)
Baylor- Hire: Art Briles (no)
Southern Mississippi- Hire: Larry Fedora(no)
Arkansas- Hire: Bobby Petrino (no)
Washington State- Hire: Paul Wulff (no)
Northern Illinois- Hire: Jerry Kill (no)
Houston: Hire: Kevin Sumlin (yes!)
Navy- Hire: Ken Niumatalolo, (Samoan heritage)

Coaching Carousel, Update 4

With Georgia Tech hiring Navy's Paul Johnson, the list shifts. But not too much- still only 5 African American head football coaches in Division 1.

Here's the current list:

Mich1gAAn
Nebraska- Hire: Bo Pelini (no)
Mississippi- Hire: Houston Nutt (no)
Texas A&M- Hire: Mike Sherman (no)
Colorado State
Duke
UCLA
Georgia Tech- Hire: Paul Johnson (no)
Southern Methodist
Baylor- Hire: Art Briles (no)
Southern Mississippi
Arkansas
Washington State
Northern Illinois
Wake Forest
Navy

Giving Thanks

With a bang and a whimper, the college football season drifts away like so many autumn leaves down the gutter. Can you tell I didn't do well in college writing class?

This week we stopped as a nation to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for. Even though times are difficult, we have so much for which to be greatful. For instance-

I'm thankful I'm not either of these guys:

I'm thankful that I understand the media's rules for covering college football. On Thursday, Texas was in a shootout with and aTm team that can graciously be called "woeful". But that just shows how awesome the Big 12 is and how important rivalry games are. But when a team from the Big T1e1n is in a close game against... well, you know.

I'm thankful for Nebraska- not only have they returned to greatness through solid defense, they understand the important aspects of the game.

I'm thankful that someone, somewhere, still thinks running the ball down your opponents throat is an acceptable way to win football games. Stanford's offense is Mich1gAAn, circa 1999; power running, play action bootlegs. Poor Notre Ame- they couldn't beat either the current incarnation of TTUN or what they used to be.

While I'm thankful that the abomination that is the Weis administration is coming to an end in South Bend, I'm sad that we won't have Charlie to kick around anymore.

Like many Sooner fans, I'm thankful that "Big Game Bob" finally w0n a game that matters. Now they'll have warm memories of him when he's coaching in South Bend next year. (that's your "I think I'm Nostradamus" prediction of the week- Remember you read it here first)

I give thanks every year for the coaches I've known- theirs is a thankless job. You lose, and you're out at Louisville, Marshall, and Virginia. You win, and you're still out at Akron. More on the coaching carousel upcoming.

It's good to see another team from Ohio lifting high the banner of excellence, even if they've got a little "jerk" in them. It's also good to see that the old philosophy "Score bunches of points, don't play defense" isn't limited to Ann Arbor.

I'm thankful that my favorite squadron didn't wear chaps this weekend. Or, has to have a discussion about "do you think it's time for coach to retire?" I'm also thankful for Tim Tebow... there, I said it. No maybe ESPN will stop singing his praises.

As grateful as I am about not choosing certain uniform styles, I'm still glad that this awesome helmet exists. And that they were "stealthy" enough to help Mizzou beat Kansas. The Jayhawks are celebrating the fact that, for the second straight week, Mangino didn't kill someone.

I'm also thankful that, as urgent and dire as my favorite rivalry can be, we don't have coaches who do this:

To set the scene, U$C was up by 14 at the time, had just received the ball back on downs, and had taken a knee to run the clock out. UCLA's coach had called a time out (looking to cover the spread?), and Pete Carroll took umbrage to that. What is above is the result- Deep pass for a TD, Trojan players acting like jerks, UCLA players responding, etc. What do you expect, though- someone painted the bear!

What bothers me (and a lot of people) isn't the "go for the bomb" mentality; heck, St. Woody famously wanted to go for three at the end of a blowout against Mich1gAAn. What doesn't sit well is Carroll's gleeful antics- as a leader of men, you can only lay the blame for his team's response at his feet. I am thankful, though, that he gets to answer questions about being in a close game with a mediocre opponent in a rivalry... whoops, it's not the Big T1e1n, so nevermind. Enjoy the "whatever b0wl the 3rd/4th team in the Pac 10 goes to", Pete.

The Iron Bowl left me with mixed feelings- I'm thankful that our "ApocalypSEC 09" game is still afoot, but not happy that Auburn lost given that they unleashed some of the greatest trick plays assembled.

I'm thankful that the games are actually played rather than just done on paper. It makes rivalry so much more important, and gives us upsets like The Irrelevant Ball Coach over Clemson, Gawguh winning a big one for Ugga against a one loss Tech, WVa overcoming The 'Stache, NC State beating UNC, Kentucky taking Tennessee to overtime, Houston hanging 73 on Rice. Football is good.

I'm always grateful for the small things, too; sweet potato pie, fried turkey, time with family, high school football (even if it is JV). That's why Kirkwood's win on Thanksgiving is sweet, and Webster's Grove's championship adds a double dose of awesomeness to the weekend.

I'm especially thankful for yet another year with friends and family and Michael (I kid, I kid...), playing our picks league. For the last week, we again failed to crack 40 points as a group... with one exception.

Moving back to Georgia must have given Jake an inside track into the rivalries that ended up killing the rest of us. Either that, or Emily decided to help him this week- Do I need to split the points, you two/five?

Even traveling across seventeen states and fourteen accents, Dan managed to score top billing in this week's picks. Aaron had a tough week, and Nate seemed to have experienced tryptophan poisoning.

That brings us to our Champion... despite a full house and PhD work, Jake takes home the crown for the first time ever! Must have been that move away from the distractions of the beach, huh?

As always, I've included the percentages of points correct/points available. The light blue shaded boxes are those people who missed a week or two or three, and the missed weeks are deducted from the total. Just think if Michelle and Emily had been consistent.

Aaron's close week made the "picks" race all that more interesting, but he managed to do what it took to win it all. With Jake and Aaron taking top billing, the lesson is to make an addition to your family if you want to be successful at this. We're adopting again, so I'll leave it up to you to see if you're willing to do what it takes to win.

In the Bragging Rights divisions- Jake beat Emily, Terry and Janie split, Aaron beat Amanda, Dan defeated Michelle, Brian was victorious over Jen. Holding down the fort for the females- my wife beat me. What can I say- I outkicked my coverage with her.

Other "Bragging rights"- Terry/Janie win the Shike group, Dan Williams will not get a favorable performance evaluation from yours truly, Jake wins the SEC grouping, Scott beat me, Michael beat Visser, and Ohio State fans were 2-1 against TTUN.

It's almost time to hand out gaudy gifts- nope, not a stupid hamster that you bought on "chartreuse Saturday" or something- it's "Year End Awards Time". Since I'm a) a blogger, b) not important and c) not a former Heisman Trophy winner, I don't get to vote for the "Big Statue that only one person has won twice, and don't you forget it". But, let's say I did... my ballot would look a little something like this:

1. LaFevour, Central Michigan- Better career numbers than Tebow, passing AND rushing.
   
2. Toby Gerhart, Stanford- This year's Bo Jackson. He's getting the ball, and there's not much you can do about it.
   
3. Colt McCoy, Tejas- Should have won it last year, and has been the sole offense for a team that may be playing for the glassy trophy.
   
4. Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska- Other teams have to change their game plans to deal with him. That's enough for me.
   
5. St. Tebow of Gainesville- Yeah, if only he hadn't been concussed. Or playing with a limited offense this year.

Big Games this week: Pac Ten championship: Nike University vs toOSU. ApocalypSEC 09: 'Bama vs The Tebows. Big 12 Shootout- Bo's Boys against Colt. Big lEast title bout- UChikfila and Pitt. Ohio and my Heisman Candidate meet for the MAC championship. Conference USA championship has Houston and East Carolina squaring off. And, of course, there's still the playoffs in every other division of college football. Heck, even Canada figured out how to do it, and they can't even get the number of downs right.

That's all she wrote for now- we'll get the Bowl Picks up and running in a couple of weeks, and will start tracking the coaching transitions on Monday (big news coming...).

Until then- Thank you.

Coaching Carousel Update

Well, that was fast. Louisiana Tech has chosen Sonny Dykes, and ECU has chosen Ruffin McNeill.

Sigh.

Onto the list:

Akron: Hire- Rob Ianello (no)
Buffalo: Hire- Jeff Quinn (no)
Central Michigan: Hire- Dan Enos (no)
Cincinnati: Hire- Butch Jones (no)
East Carolina: Hire- Ruffin McNeill (yes!!)
Florida: Return- Urban Meyer (no)
Florida State: Hire/Appointment- Jimbo Fisher (no)
Kansas: Hire- Turner Gill (yes!!)
Kentucky: Hire/Appointment- Joker Phillips (yes!!)
Louisiana Monroe: Hire- Todd Berry (no)
Louisiana Tech: Hire- Sonny Dykes (no)
Louisville: Hire- Charlie Strong (yes!!)
Marshall: Hire- Jon "Doc" Holliday (no)
Memphis: Hire- Larry Porter (yes!!)
Notre Dame: Hire- Brian Kelly (no)
San Jose State: Hire- Mike MacIntyre (no)
South Florida: Hire- Skip Holtz (no)
Tennessee: Hire- Derek Dooley (no)
Texas Tech- Hire- Tommy Tuberville (no)
UNLV: Hire- Bobby Hauck (no)
USC: Hire- Lane Kiffin (no)
Virginia: Hire- Mike London (yes!!)
Western Kentucky: Hire- Willie Taggart (no)

Coaching Carousel

With a couple more moves this week, it's time to update the list:

UPDATE- OK, I'm an idiot. I didn't even know that UNLV was looking.

Akron: Hire- Rob Ianello (no)
Buffalo: Hire- Jeff Quinn (no)
Central Michigan
Cincinnati: Hire- Butch Jones (no)
Florida State: Hire/Appointment- Jimbo Fisher (no)
Kansas: Hire- Turner Gill (yes!!)
Louisville: Hire- Charlie Strong (yes!!)
Marshall: Hire- Jon "Doc" Holliday (no)
Memphis: Hire- Larry Porter (yes!!)
Notre Dame: Hire- Brian Kelly (no)
UNLV: Hire- Bobby Hauck (no)
Virginia: Hire- Mike London (yes!!)
Western Kentucky: Hire- Willie Taggart (no)

Just as a reminder for any BearCat fans swinging by- you can't complain about your coach leaving before a bowl game when the last two guys you hired did exactly the same thing.

Coaching Carousel, Update 11

UCLA has their man, and it's "Slick Rick".

No, not that one (but you have to admit that it would be cool)

Nope, they went from a man that UCLA fans admit was "classy", "nice", "dedicated", and "cared about his students" (All overheard at the UCLA/Cal Game) to a man who amassed 50 NCAA violations in his last two stops (Colorado and Washington). Who says money can't buy happiness??

Also, Southern Illinois hired Dale Lennon. I know, huge news. So, the number of African American head coaches is still 5.

Here's the list:

Southern Methodist
West Virginia
UCLA- Hire: Rick Neuheisel (no)
Southern Illinois- Hire: Dale Lennon (no)
Mich1gAAn- Hire: Rich Rodriguez, (Hispanic heritage)
Nebraska- Hire: Bo Pelini (no)
Mississippi- Hire: Houston Nutt (no)
Texas A&M- Hire: Mike Sherman (no)
Colorado State- Hire: Steve Fairchild (no)
Duke- Hire: David Cutcliffe (no)
Georgia Tech- Hire: Paul Johnson (no)
Baylor- Hire: Art Briles (no)
Southern Mississippi- Hire: Larry Fedora(no)
Arkansas- Hire: Bobby Petrino (no)
Washington State- Hire: Paul Wulff (no)
Northern Illinois- Hire: Jerry Kill (no)
Houston: Hire: Kevin Sumlin (yes!)
Navy- Hire: Ken Niumatalolo, (Samoan heritage)

And so, it begins

Time again to start looking at the Coaching Carousel, especially given the big news of the past few days.

As a reminder, I'm interested in the hiring process mostly because I'd like to see if the NCAA can improve on their history of hiring minority candidates. Last season, we had seven African American head coaches at the 120 NCAA Division 1 schools, only one (Randy Shannon) was at a BCS Conference School.

Here's the current list- and we've got GREAT news! The first hire of this season was Memphis obtaining the services of LSU's Larry Porter.

Akron
Florida State: Hire/Appointment- Jimbo Fisher (no)
Louisville
Marshall
Memphis: Hire- Larry Porter (yes!!)
Notre Dame
Virginia
Western Kentucky

We're watching- Update 10

Still following the NCAA Major coaching carousel to see if the ranks of African American head coaches grows. Currently, we're at six, as this article at ESPN.com points out.

You realize, of course, that the Super Bowl will see two NFL coaches who are African Americans, and that the Pittsburgh Steelers just hired an African American head coach. Of course, the NFL's numbers are actually down; with the firings of Denny Green and Art Shell, there will be 6 next year (3 in the AFC Central alone).

But, like we learned in math class, 6/32 is a lot better than 6/120. Just sayin'

Michigan State- Hire: Mark Dantonio (no)
Iowa State- Hire: Gene Chizik (no)
North Carolina- Hire: Butch Davis (no)
Cincinnati- Hire: Brian Kelly (no)
North Carolina State- Hire: Tom O'Brien (no)
Miami- Hire: Randy Shannon (yes!)
Arizona State- Hire: Dennis Erickson (no)
Stanford- Hire: Jim Harbaugh (no)
North Texas- Hire: Todd Dodge (no)
Tulane- Hire: Bob Toledo (no)
Louisana Tech- Hire: Derek Dooley (no)
Boston College- Hire: Jeff Jagodzinski (no)
Idaho- Hire: Robb Akey (no)
Florida International- Hire:Mario Cristobal (first Cuban-American head coach in 1A)
Air Force- Hire: Troy Calhoun (no)
Alabama- Hire: Nick Saban (no)
Central Michigan- Hire: Butch Jones (no)
Louisville- Hire: Steve Kragthorpe (no)
UPDATE: Minnesota- Hire: Tim Brewster (no)
Tulsa- Hire: Todd Graham (no) ironically, Graham left 3 days after signing a contract extension at Rice
UPDATE: Rice- Hire: David Bailiff (no)

Coaching Carousel, Update 5

Good news! With Navy's decision to hire Ken Niumatalolo as it's replacement for Paul Johnson, the number of minority coaches grows by one. Ken (a Samoan who was raised in Hawaii) is the first Polynesian head coach in NCAA history.

Just four more, and there'll be as many Polynesians Head Coaches as there are African Americans Head Coaches.

Here's the list:

Mich1gAAn
Nebraska- Hire: Bo Pelini (no)
Mississippi- Hire: Houston Nutt (no)
Texas A&M- Hire: Mike Sherman (no)
Colorado State
Duke
UCLA
Georgia Tech- Hire: Paul Johnson (no)
Southern Methodist
Baylor- Hire: Art Briles (no)
Southern Mississippi
Arkansas
Washington State
Northern Illinois
Wake Forest
Navy- Hire: Ken Niumatalolo, (Samoan heritage)

We're watching- Update 9

Still following the NCAA Major coaching carousel to see if the ranks of African American head coaches grows.

Michigan State- Hire: Mark Dantonio (no)
Iowa State- Hire: Gene Chizik (no)
North Carolina- Hire: Butch Davis (no)
Cincinnati- Hire: Brian Kelly (no)
North Carolina State- Hire: Tom O'Brien (no)
Miami- Hire: Randy Shannon (yes!)
Arizona State- Hire: Dennis Erickson (no)
Stanford- Hire: Jim Harbaugh (no)
North Texas- Hire: Todd Dodge (no)
Tulane- Hire: Bob Toledo (no)
Louisana Tech- Hire: Derek Dooley (no)
Boston College- Hire: Jeff Jagodzinski (no)
Idaho- Hire: Robb Akey (no)
Florida International- Hire:Mario Cristobal (first Cuban-American head coach in 1A)
Air Force- Hire: Troy Calhoun (no)
Alabama- Hire: Nick Saban (no)
Central Michigan- Hire: Butch Jones (no)
Louisville- Hire: Steve Kragthorpe (no)
UPDATE: Minnesota- Hire: Tim Brewster (no)
UPDATE: Tulsa- Hire: Todd Graham (no) ironically, Graham left 3 days after signing a contract extension at Rice
UPDATE: Rice

Coaching Carousel

Well, it's that time of year again... College football's other recruitment process is well underway. Like last year, we'll be watching closely to see if any of the openings are filled by minority candidates. Given all the pressure that has been discussed, you'd hope to see some changes. But, I'm not holding my breath.

Here's the list:

Mich1gAAn
Nebraska
Mississippi
Texas A&M- Hire: Mike Sherman (no)
Colorado State
Duke
Georgia Tech
Southern Methodist
Baylor
Southern Mississippi
Arkansas
Washington State
Northern Illinois

Long National Nightmare Over... Coaching Carousel 11

Yup- Mich1gAAn has their guy: Rich Rodriguez, formerly of West Virginia.

A stellar offensive coach, he brings the spread option offense that both the Wolverines (App State, Oregon) and Ohio State (Florida, Illinois) have struggled with.

He is one of the only two coaches of Hispanic origin in Division 1-A/CFBS.

Here's the list:

Southern Methodist
UCLA
West Virginia
Mich1gAAn- Hire: Rich Rodriguez, (Hispanic heritage)
Nebraska- Hire: Bo Pelini (no)
Mississippi- Hire: Houston Nutt (no)
Texas A&M- Hire: Mike Sherman (no)
Colorado State- Hire: Steve Fairchild (no)
Duke- Hire: David Cutcliffe (no)
Georgia Tech- Hire: Paul Johnson (no)
Baylor- Hire: Art Briles (no)
Southern Mississippi- Hire: Larry Fedora(no)
Arkansas- Hire: Bobby Petrino (no)
Washington State- Hire: Paul Wulff (no)
Northern Illinois- Hire: Jerry Kill (no)
Houston: Hire: Kevin Sumlin (yes!)
Navy- Hire: Ken Niumatalolo, (Samoan heritage)

Look for a post later this week on "Character and Coaching"...

Coaching Carousel, Update 12/13

West Virginia hires assistant Bill Stewart after their beat down of Jokelahoma. Also, word out of Hawaii is that June Jones has left for SMU.

Here's the list:

Hawaii
Southern Methodist- Hire: June Jones (no)
West Virginia- Hire: Bill Stewart (no)
UCLA- Hire: Rick Neuheisel (no)
Southern Illinois- Hire: Dale Lennon (no)
Mich1gAAn- Hire: Rich Rodriguez, (Hispanic heritage)
Nebraska- Hire: Bo Pelini (no)
Mississippi- Hire: Houston Nutt (no)
Texas A&M- Hire: Mike Sherman (no)
Colorado State- Hire: Steve Fairchild (no)
Duke- Hire: David Cutcliffe (no)
Georgia Tech- Hire: Paul Johnson (no)
Baylor- Hire: Art Briles (no)
Southern Mississippi- Hire: Larry Fedora(no)
Arkansas- Hire: Bobby Petrino (no)
Washington State- Hire: Paul Wulff (no)
Northern Illinois- Hire: Jerry Kill (no)
Houston: Hire: Kevin Sumlin (yes!)
Navy- Hire: Ken Niumatalolo, (Samoan heritage)

Yale Yeah!

Quick update to the Coaching Carousel

Other than producing George W. Bush and the Skull and Bones, Yalies have another thing to be proud of-

They've just hired the first African American head coach in the Ivy League. (ht Jen)

Go Bulldogs!!

Three? Not a magic number

Nope, it's the number of African American head coaches in Division 1 football, now that Sylvester Croom has resigned at Mississippi State. And the names being tossed out to replace him are familiarly Caucasian.

Here's who's left standing: Turner Gill- Buffalo, Randy Shannon- Miami, Kevin Sumlin- Houston.

For you math gurus- 120 teams, 3 head coaches = 2.5%

And none in the "Power Conferences" of the SEC, Big 12, Big T1e1n, or Pac 10.

Shameful.

We'll start our "0809 Coaching Carousel" after the BCS bowl bids come out. One controversy at a time, people.

Coaching Carousel, Update 1

And here we go... Mike Sherman loses the "fastest hire" title to Houston Nutt. No word on whether minority candidates were interviewed, or even considered. In fact, the only schools that we know who have done this are Nebraska (Turner Gill) and Mich1gAAn (Ron English). And we're not the only ones who've noticed.

Here's the list:

Mich1gAAn
Nebraska
Mississippi- Hire: Houston Nutt (no)
Texas A&M- Hire: Mike Sherman (no)
Colorado State
Duke
Georgia Tech
Southern Methodist
Baylor- Hire: Art Briles (no)
Southern Mississippi
Arkansas
Washington State
Northern Illinois

Coaching Carroll

Whoops- I meant "Carousel". Not Carroll. So sorry.

Sorry that I've been such a slacker around here. It's like the faithful golden retriever who gets usurped by a new puppy. We'll go out and have a catch soon... and I promise I won't have you put down.

Anywho- a couple of pieces of news in the coaching world. Pete Carroll is headed to greener pastures in Seattle, just ahead of the coming storm that's gonna finally (I hope) hit U$C. The perfect hire? Mike Leach- it would be hard for me not to enjoy the Trojans if the Pirate Cap'n was in charge.

Speaking of hitting things, Jim Leavitt is out at USF; the third coach this season to be dismissed for "abuse" of a student athlete.

Texas Tech missed an opportunity and has hired Tommy Tuberville (as one person called him "the anti-Leach"; good ol' boy who won't ruffle feathers). But, Kentucky has confirmed Joker Phillips, so that's a good thing.

Here's where we are:

Akron: Hire- Rob Ianello (no)
Buffalo: Hire- Jeff Quinn (no)
Central Michigan
Cincinnati: Hire- Butch Jones (no)
Florida: Return- Urban Meyer (no)
Florida State: Hire/Appointment- Jimbo Fisher (no)
Kansas: Hire- Turner Gill (yes!!)
Kentucky: Hire/Appointment- Joker Phillips (yes!!)
Louisville: Hire- Charlie Strong (yes!!)
Marshall: Hire- Jon "Doc" Holliday (no)
Memphis: Hire- Larry Porter (yes!!)
Notre Dame: Hire- Brian Kelly (no)
South Florida
Texas Tech- Hire- Tommy Tuberville (no)
UNLV: Hire- Bobby Hauck (no)
USC
Virginia: Hire- Mike London (yes!!)
Western Kentucky: Hire- Willie Taggart (no)

Later this week (I promise) wrap up of the bowl challenge and our overall winner.