WINTER 2012
MEDIA SNIPPETTS
January, 2012
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEKLY
January, 2012
Numerous sources inside the Notre Dame athletic department have confirmed that they have made an offer to Southern Cal Coach Bear Growlz to become Head Coach of the Notre Dame football program. One source stated, on the condition that he not be named, "They figure he's whipped them three years in a row. If they can't beat him, hire him away."
One should note that Growlz is Catholic and and that no doubt factors into the decision he has to make as to whether to accept this job.
In four seasons at USC, Growlz has taken a sub-.500 program when he started and built a 29-18 record, had two consecutive nine win seasons, and taken the Trojans to bowl games the last three seasons. Prior to coaching at Southern Cal, Growlz coached at tiny Keene State College in Keene, NH, where he actually established the football program, winning 25 and losing 20, though in his last season at Keene State his team went 10-2 and won the Garden State Bowl.
During Coach Growlz' tenure at Southern Cal, the school's academic reputation has increased immensely. He instituted minimum study hall restrictions on all players in the program and last season, not a single Trojan player was placed on academic probation for the first time in recent memory - a fact the coach takes great pride in.
In fact, some would say that during the coach's time at USC, it has become the best school for an athlete to get an education at in America - and looking at the numbers, one could make a logical argument in favor of that belief.
According to the Princeton Review, since Growlz' has taken over as football coach, the school's academic reputation for student athletes has risen to 9th overall in the nation. But if you look a little deeper, the average GPA of USC football players is 3.14 - best in the nation. If your son plays football and you want him to get a college degree, the best place to send him these days, is USC.
Growlz' time at USC hasn't been all rose parades and cherry blossoms though. In his four years with the program he has failed to finish higher than fourth in the admittedly loaded PAC 10. And as the Los Angeles media is fond of letting him know, he hasn't beaten crosscity rival UCLA yet either.
Job offers from Notre Dame don't come along every day. But football programs like the one Bear Growlz has built at USC don't happen overnight either. We don't pretend to know whether he'll leave Southern Cal for Notre Dame, but there is one thing we know.
It must be rough being Bear Growlz these days.
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