Kickoff Zone College Football Blog

Well, all the Richt haters may be in for a disappointment because according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, both “UGA President Michael Adams and athletics director Damon Evans rejected speculation that Richt will enter the season with the heat turned up on his job security.”

I agree that this season will not, under any normal circumstance, be Mark Richt’s last in Athens.   I also agree with the AJC’s Mark Bradley in his editorial on the situation at Georgia:

Richt is a fine coach. He has earned the benefit of every doubt, and his willingness to change his defensive staff bought back most of the good will he’d lost. But his is a business predicated on results, not good will. Unless his team goes 1-11, there’s no way he gets fired within the next year. Another middling season, however, and the heated-seat talk will become more than just talk.

Tags: College Football, Mark Richt, Southeastern Conference, University of Georgia, coaching carousel, rumor mill by Tommy
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After yesterday’s post, which speculated on whether UGA is at a crossroads of the Mark Richt Era, I thought it would be a good idea to look at the program which that basis was mirrored upon… in other words… can Derek Dooley be successful as the head coach in Knoxville?

We’ve done numerous posts here about the downfall on Rocky Top, but up until this point, have not offered any prognosis on what is needed to be done for the program to recover. 

The coaching problems the Vols have faced are well documented, but the major issue facing Coach Dooley is depth.  Dave Hooker outlines this problem quite nicely in this article.

Example #1:

Five players from the 2006 class left the program, didn’t qualify academically or were dismissed. Four have been lost from the 2008 class. From those two classes, UT lost four offensive linemen, a glaring weakness for 2010.

Example #2:

UT’s 2007 class is another matter entirely. It was highly ranked, but has since been one of the most disappointing signing classes in recent memory… 17 of those signees didn’t complete their eligibility. They either never made it to campus because of academic issues, were dismissed after they arrived or left the program.

Example #3:

Then there’s the attrition that one would expect from two coaching changes in little more than a year.

All that has resulted in 30 UT signees failing to complete their eligibility.

Then, there are 19 one-time UT commitments who went elsewhere after a coaching change was announced.

A dozen left in the Fulmer-Kiffin transition. Another seven left in the Kiffin-Dooley transition.

For any program, this is the key when having to replace a head football coach.  In the BCS era, where success and championships still rely on numerous sets of college football power rankings and ratings systems, program stability is still  the key to sustaining that tradition.  The are many examples of top programs who have suffered after the departure of a coach who has been the selling point of a program for over a decade. 

The fan base and the team lose that comfort zone and the stability which the program had come to rely upon, and in many cases, it takes the administration a couple of tries before they find the right ingredients for that stability again.  Traditional powerhouses such as Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida and Nebraska have all experienced this at some point in the last decade or so, and only the Crimson Tide and the Gators have fully recovered from this transitional period. 

Alabama’s situation may be the most similar, considering the length of coaches tenure between Gene Stallings and Nick Saban.  For all the success the Tide has achieved under Nick Saban, the fans had to endure the painful realities of irrelevance during the eras of Mike DuBose, Dennis Franchione, and Mike Shula, while conviently trying to purge the Mike Price era from their memories.

With every coaching change comes a large exodus of players and recruits who were either loyal to the former staff, or don’t fit the philosophy of the new one.  Three coaching changes in as many years can cripple a program for many seasons before they are able to regain their footing.  For any program to sustain their position among college football power ratings, there must be stability within that program. 

Between Tom Osbourne and Bo Pelini were Frank Solich and Bill Callahan.  Notre Dame has yet to find their former success as Lou Holtz was succeeded by Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham, and Charlie Weiss; and that doesn’t bring into account the Alabama-esque debacle they faced with George O’Leary.  There are major doubts about whether or not Rich Rodriguez is the right man to bring the program back to the level of Lloyd Carr’s prominent run in the late 1990’s.  Between Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer, Ron Zook was the head coach at the University of Florida. 

When it comes to continuing a tradition of excellence within a major football powerhouse, quick fixes are rarely the best answer.

Is Derek Dooley another quick fix, or will he last longer than his immediate predecessor? 

We’ll look at this question in Part 2…

Tags: College Football, College Football Power Rankings, Derek Dooley, NCAA, Recruiting, Southeastern Conference, University of Alabama, University of Georgia, University of Tennessee, coaching carousel, transfer by Tommy
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There is a  rather strange rumor coming out of Athens.  Apparently Mark Richt doesn’t have much job security at the moment… at least according to The Atlanta Journal Constitution, ESPN Insider, and the Orlando Sentinel. 

Of course, I thought this sounded a bit far fetched, but apparently it has been confirmed in an email written by UGA AD Damon Evans that was obtained by ESPN Insider (Subscription link), which doesn’t do anything to squash those rumors:

Georgia athletics director Damon Evans sent a message May 27 in saying that the overall performance of the school’s athletics teams was not up to snuff in the 2009-10 season. While this statement encompasses several teams, the most important among them is obviously football, which had its worst season of the Mark Richt era last year. While Evans made a point of saying that he has no intention of replacing any of the teams’ coaches, his comments serve as a not-so-subtle hint that Richt needs to get his team playing better. At the very least, his statement certainly doesn’t do anything to quell the rumors that Richt is starting the season on the hot seat.

ESPN Insider focuses on Richt’s record, such as the fact that he is only 2-7 against rival Florida.  On the surface of it, that may not sound all that bad, considering that Florida has been one of the toughest wins in the NCAA since Urban Meyer took over.  To his credit, Richt does have a win against Meyer, but is still 1-4 during Urban’s tenure with the Gators.  He was also only 1-2 against Ron Zook (the only Florida coach in school history to have a losing record against Phil Fulmer). 

After starting his career 3-0 against the University of Tennessee, Richt has been 2-4 against the Volunteers since 2004, which is very alarming when you look at the numbers closely. 

It’s that record against Tennessee that accurately sums up the growing frustration amongst some of the Bulldog faithful.  Every year since 2004, the Bulldogs have gone into the Tennessee game either ranked higher than the Volunteers or favored by the oddsmakers (such as 2009)- which means that all four losses could be considered upsets. 

In 2004, the Bulldogs were undefeated and ranked #3 in the nation when Tennessee visited Athens, while the Vols were ranked 17th. UT’s defense completely shut down Georgia’s offense and won 17-3 with a starting freshman at quarterback. The Bulldogs went to Knoxville undefeated and ranked #4 in 2005 and came away victorious, beating the #7 Volunteers 27-14. However impressive that may look on the surface, 2005 turned out to be the first of Philip Fulmer’s only two losing seasons during his tenure as the head coach of the Vols.

The 2006 game was possibly one of the most embarrassing losses of Richt’s career. When the 14th ranked Vols came into Athens that year, the Bulldogs were once again undefeated and ranked #9 in the nation. Georgia took a 24-14 lead into halftime, but the Volunteers scored 37 points in the second half on a UGA defense that was then ranked #1 in the nation in total defense. Later in the season, the Bulldogs were upset by Florida 27-14. In 2007, #12 Georgia went into Knoxville, and were thrashed by the unranked Volunteers 35-14. 2008 saw Richt’s #10 Bulldogs defeat the unranked Vols 26-14 in Athens- Philip Fulmer’s second losing season which ended with his dismissal.

If the 2006 loss to Tennessee was the most embarrassing of the decade for Richt, the 2009 loss was almost as bad. Both teams were struggling going into the game in Knoxville, but UGA fans were confident that they would defeat the Vols and their first year head coach, Lane Kiffin, and they were favored by the oddsmakers. It was in this game came that UT quarterback Jonathan Crompton turned his fortunes around, throwing for over 300 yards while completing 20-27 passes, with four touchdowns and one interception, leading Tennessee to a 45-19 beatdown of the UGA Bulldogs.

On top of the poor records against two of their most hated rivals, the last few years have also brought about more concern about the off-field behavior of some of Richt’s players.  The Orlando Sentinel notes the recent cause for concern with former quarterback Zach Mettenberger:

Then the program was hit with a string of arrests culminating with starting quarterback Zach Mettenberger’s arrest outside of a bar in Valdosta, Georgia. Richt kicked the redshirt freshman off the team leaving redshirt freshman Aaron Murray and junior Logan Gray to fill in on the depth chart.

Were this an isolated incident, I’m sure that fans would be more understanding, but the truth is that discipline has been a bit lacking in recent years, as highlighted in this article:

In 2008 alone, the team suffered through more than 11 player arrests and were  a constant source of eye-rolling and head-scratching within the fan base. It simply didn’t make sense that so many players couldn’t control their behavior, so the finger began to point heavily towards Richt’s approach to discipline.

Mark Richt has had a successful run at the University of Georgia, compiling a career record of 90-27, but 22 of those losses are to SEC opponents.  Against UGA’s three biggest rivals, he has only dominated Georgia Tech. 

His tenure has closely mirrored that of former UT coach Philip Fulmer.  From 2001-2005, the Bulldogs put up a 53-12 record, winning 81.5% of their games.  Since the 2006 season, UGA has an overall record of 38-14, in which their overall winning percentage has dropped to 73%. 

One common criticism that Richt shares with Fulmer is that he is too loyal to his staff.  This offseason, Richt answered some of those concerns by replacing defensive coordinator Willie Martinez, showing that he’s not afraid to make a change. 

Going into the 2010 season, no one is really sure what to expect out of Richt’s Bulldogs.  They return some talent, but will begin the 3rd season in a row having to break in a new starting quarterback, and in this case, it will be a freshman with no experience in the SEC.  To his credit, he has been successful doing this in the past, with both Matthew Stafford and David Greene getting significant playing time during their freshman years.

I wouldn’t say Richt is on the hot seat right now, but he is at a crossroads.  After an 8-5 season last year, the Bulldogs can either go up or down.  Another disappointing season won’t likely see Richt lose his job, but that seat will go from quite warm to scalding hot.    The Bulldog fans are hungry for their first national championship in 30 years, and it remains to be seen if Mark Richt will be the one who can lead them back to the top of the college football pantheon.

Tags: College Football, Mark Richt, NCAA, Southeastern Conference, University of Georgia, coaching carousel, rumor mill by Tommy
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It’s already time for the annual Will Muschamp Sweepstakes.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with this yearly tradition, Tony Barnhart will fill you in:

But the dynamic changed at Texas this week as word came that DeLoss Dodds, one of the best athletics directors in the country, was negotiating an extension to his contract, which previously ran through 2011. There has been talk for several years that when Dodds, 72, retired head football coach Mack Brown would slide into that chair and Muschamp would become the Longhorns’ head coach. But if Dodds remains in place so does Brown, who is only 58 and whose contract runs through 2016 at $5 million per year.

Don’t look now, but Will Muschamp could be available for the 2011 season. Muschamp, the former Georgia Bulldog and current defensive coordinator at Texas, has one of the great deals in college football. He is the coach in waiting to Mack Brown and Texas continues to pay Muschamp handsomely to remain in that spot. Tennessee came calling last January when Lane Kiffin bolted for USC and Muschamp told AD Mike Hamilton that he was staying put in Austin.

This has really become a yearly thing.  Every year, whenever a job comes open, Muschamp is usually the first name that pops up.  And every year, Muschamp turns down whatever job is offered to him.  I don’t think he is leaving Texas anytime soon unless he’s offered at a school like Florida or Alabama (which isn’t going to happen), but I guess the rumors won’t die until Mack Brown hangs it up.

Tags: College Football, NCAA, University of Texas, coaching carousel, rumor mill by Tommy
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Anyone who lives in the East Tennessee area likely opened the sports pages this morning to find more disheartening news about their beloved Volunteers.  From USA Today:

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Running back Bryce Brown left the Tennessee program on the first day of the Volunteers’ spring practice, coach Derek Dooley said.Dooley said Brown told him Thursday that he was dealing with family and personal problems that included “some of the reasons why he came here.” Brown was not present for practice.

 ”I was a little surprised, but you can only control what you can control,” Dooley said. “He went through the entire offseason, but I also think that this wasn’t something from the last three weeks. But I’m not here to recruit. I’m here to coach.”

 The Wichita, native averaged 38.3 yards in 12 games as a freshman in 2009.

 Brown was rated as one of the top recruits in the nation in 2009, and his recruitment process drew a lot of attention thanks to his relationship with adviser Brian Butler.

 The NCAA investigated whether money was improperly raised for Brown to visit colleges while in high school. Neither Brown nor Tennessee, who was not recruiting him at the time, were punished.

 Brown originally committed to Miami, where his brother, Arthur Brown Jr., played but instead signed at Tennessee after Lane Kiffin was hired as coach.

 In January, Kiffin left Tennessee to coach at Southern California and Arthur Brown left Miami and enrolled at Kansas State earlier this month.

 Dooley says Brown will remain enrolled at Tennessee for the rest of the spring semester but did not indicate if he would then transfer.

 A writer like myself usually would like to concentrate on all the teams who are focused on winning championships next season, but there are a few traditional powers who can’t seem to avoid drama these days… namely Michigan and Tennessee. 

Knoxville is still feeling the afteraffects from the jilted honeymoon that was the Lane Kiffin Era.  The embarrassment that Kiffin caused the program will be long lasting.  When he took over the program, more than one notable player decided it was best for them to continue their college careers elsewhere.  That’s not necessarily out of the ordinary when a coaching change takes place, but he didn’t stay long enough to replace the departed talent. 

Derek Dooley’s road to success is getting more and more difficult.  Luckily, the RB position has some depth.  Rising sophomore David Oku was a Top 100 recruit and a very talented player in his own right who will likely be the first in line to take over the starting position.  Junior Tauren Poole should also see some significant playing time, while RS freshman Toney Williams returns from a knee injury that kept him out last season.  The Vols also have 4 star prospect Raijon Neal coming in the fall, who will likely compete for playing time.

Tags: College Football, Derek Dooley, Lane Kiffin, NCAA, Southeastern Conference, University of Tennessee, Vols by Tommy
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For now, it seems that Michigan Coach Rich Rodriguez will still have a job when the 2010 college football season starts this fall.  New Athletic Director Dave Brandon reiterated that he is standing behind the embattled coach during NCAA inquiries.  From the Associated Press (via rivals):

Michigan’s once-proud team has been embarrassed on and off the field lately.

The NCAA notified Rodriguez and school officials two weeks ago that the football program is facing five potentially major rules violations in part because its report said Rodriguez “failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the football program” in regards to time spent on practice and football-related activities.

Brandon backed his coach then and on Monday reiterated his support for Rodriguez.

“He’s our coach for this season,” Brandon said. “There’s nothing within the framework of the NCAA allegations that led me to believe that it should change his status as our coach.”

Michigan was given 90 days to respond and is scheduled to appear at an NCAA hearing on infractions in August. Brandon said he is “very” involved in formulating the school’s response, but declined to comment much about it.

“We’re going to continue to be in a quiet period as all of this evolves,” Brandon said.

Rodriguez lost a school-record nine games in his debut season two years ago, then finished 5-7 last year after a 4-0 start.

“Rich knows football, he’s passionate and his track record for success— winning everywhere he’s been—is there for the world to see,” Brandon said. “He’s feeling very good about the upcoming season.”

Then, Brandon paused and simply said what many in Ann Arbor and around the country are saying.

“It’s a big season ahead,” Brandon said. “A big season.”

Though not unemployed, Rodriguez now sits squarely on one of the hottest seats in America.  Brandon put a lot of emphasis on next season, meaning that if the Wolverines continue to underperform, then they may be searching for a new coach come next winter.  On a related note, Lane Kiffin has not said whether he is interested in the job were it to become available.

Tags: College Football, Hot Seat, Infractions, Rich Rodriguez, University of Michigan, Wolverines, coaching carousel, rumor mill, violations by Tommy
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The coaches in today’s post are not considered to be on the hot seat  at the moment, nor is a poor 2010 season going to necessarily find them out of a job.  However, a championship caliber season would ease a lot of pressure on them at the moment.

Rich Rodriguez- Michigan

Coach Rodriguez goes into the 2010 season with a lot on the line.  Changing an offensive system that has been in place for many years takes time.  The University of Michigan did not have the right type of players in the system who could adapt to an offensive scheme like the spread.  I have no doubt in Rodriguez’s ability as a coach or a recruiter, but the question that still remains is whether or not he can change a long established mindset.  After 2 years and an 8-16 record, this should be a make or break year for Rodriguez and the Wolverines.

Derek Dooley- The University of Tennessee

It’s never fun to have a “make or break” season in your first year on the job, but that is exactly what faces the new staff in Knoxville.  Sources have varied in their accounts of who was offered the UT job, and who was considered the department’s top pick.  In reality, it doesn’t matter to most Volunteer fans.  The last month (and in reality the last 5 years) have seen this perennial powerhouse crumble to the status of also ran.  After the Kiffin disaster, Vol fans were hungry for a big name who could come in and immediately get the program back on track.  In that regard, Derek Dooley was a curious choice.  He may very well turn out to be the right man for the job, but he has yet to prove himself on the big stage- and the Volunteer faithful are out of patience.

Lane Kiffin- Southern California 

Well, you knew it would be impossible to mention Derek Dooley’s new job without bringing up Lane Kiffin.  While Dooley has stepped into a difficult situation, Kiffin has stepped into one of the few jobs that most coaches covet, the head coaching position at the University of Southern California.  Along the way, he left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths.  From his constant bickering and chatter to his abrupt departure from the University of Tennessee, Kiffin has built up a long list of people who would love to see him fall on his face.  With a paper thin resume and one of the most prestigious jobs in all of sports, Lane Kiffin must prove right out of the gates that he can back up his talk with victories.  USC has a lot more talent, and 7-6 records are not what the Trojan faithful expect out of their football program.

Conclusion coming tomorrow…

Tags: College Football, Hot Seat, Lane Kiffin, NCAA, Rankings, Rich Rodriguez, Trojans, USC, University of Michigan, University of Southern California, University of Tennessee, Vols, Wolverines by Tommy
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One of my personal favorite sites to read that covers NCAA football is the Coaches Hot Seat.   Joe and the guys over there always do a great job ranking which coach currently sits on the hot seat.  Though I always don’t agree with their picks, they usually end up being right.  Although I don’t want to speculate quite as much about which coach will be first to get canned, I do think there is room to discuss which coaches really need a winning season next year.

Ron Zook- Illinois

I always felt kind of bad for the old Zooker because if you think about it, he really didn’t do that poorly while at Florida.  Of course, following in the footsteps of the “Greatest Gator” of ‘em all in the B.T. (Before Timmy) era was not an enviable position to be in.  On the other hand, his tenure at Illinois is a headscratcher.  After a couple of 2 win seasons, Zook was able to take the team to the Rose Bowl and many thought that maybe he would be the coach to get them over the hump.  However, they’ve missed out on bowl eligibility the last two seasons.  No matter how likeable a coach is, one winning season in five years is not enough to instill a lot of confidence in a fanbase anxious to finally get some stability in their their program.   In Zook’s defense, they always seem to pull out a needed win when it is an absolute must, and he has a reputation as a really strong recruiter, so it may be that he can turn things around.

Dan Hawkins- Colorado

Hawkins inherited a mess at the University of Colorado, and those kinds of situations can sometimes take a couple of seasons to fix.  Hawkins will be in his 5th year and the pressure is definitely on, which is understandable considering that Colorado has gone 16-33 under his watch.  The upcoming season will be a make or break year for him.

Houston Nutt- Ole Miss

Unlike the previous two coaches, Houston Nutt can likely survive a losing season without losing his job, and there are no questions about whether or not the guy can coach.  He’s been at Ole Miss for two seasons, and both years he has led the Rebels to Cotton Bowl victories.  Nutt’s problems stem from the fact that he has a history of upsetting his players.  While I thought he did a respectable job during his years at the University of Arkansas, his departure came under very strange circumstances.   One has to wonder whether he has learned from past mistakes though.  Jevan Snead should have stayed in school for another year after the season he had, but his decision to enter the NFL Draft makes one curious as to whether or not there was a breakdown in the relationship between the coach and the quarterback, something Nutt has previous experience with.   And who knows?   Ole Miss did fire David Cutcliffe after only 1 losing season, so one wonders how much patience the Mississippi faithful are willing to grant him.

More to come in Part 2

Tags: College Football, Dan Hawkins, Hot Seat, Houston Nutt, NCAA, Ole Miss, Rankings, Ron Zook, University of Colorado, University of Illinois, coaching carousel by Tommy
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