The 2013-2014 NCAA Coaching Carousel

[JonInMiddleGA]

At this point I think it's hard not to ask a couple of questions:

1) WTH is going on at Bama? Are these "staff defections" or guys that were no longer wanted?

and

2) Has Saban lost his f'n mind?

[Logan]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

Taking over the thread?
Feel kinda dirty posting 3 in a row..

But sounds like the other shoe has now dropped and Ed Oregron has now agreed to be D-Line coach at Bama...

Bruce Feldman ‏@BFeldmanCBS

Saw reports saying that Ed Orgeron is expected to join #Bama staff.. I am pretty sure that's NOT gonna happen. Never was

[Matthean]

I'm not surprised on any defensive changes as that side under performed this year. Kiffin, I got nothing outside of a personality clash.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Klinglerware

http://www.gazettenet.com/home/10154...d-coaching-job

Whipple and Brown are known quantities. I don't know much about Carter--does he have any New England ties or offer a comparative advantage?

Otherwise, I've read that UMass was also interested in Sean McDonnell but the interest wasn't mutual. Also Ambrose's contract extension seemingly puts an end to speculation over him.

Carter was rumored to basically be pushed by certain members of the search committee as the diversity interview, and I think McDonnell declined to be interviewed because he knew the job was going to Whipple. No sense pissing off that section of the UNH fan base when you don't have a real shot at the job.

Official press conference probably won't come until tmrw at 11am, but it appears Whipple's found an answer to his rumored problem with paying assistants enough - just bring the old gang back. Don Brown won't be coming, but reportedly his successor at DC back in 2002-03 under Whipple will be, along with others including mid-2000's QB and school passing records holder Liam Coen, and 1998 star RB Marcel Shipp.

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Carter was rumored to basically be pushed by certain members of the search committee as the diversity interview, and I think McDonnell declined to be interviewed because he knew the job was going to Whipple. No sense pissing off that section of the UNH fan base when you don't have a real shot at the job.

Official press conference probably won't come until tmrw at 11am, but it appears Whipple's found an answer to his rumored problem with paying assistants enough - just bring the old gang back. Don Brown won't be coming, but reportedly his successor at DC back in 2002-03 under Whipple will be, along with others including mid-2000's QB and school passing records holder Liam Coen, and 1998 star RB Marcel Shipp.

Yes, it looks like Whipple understands that UMass isn't BC or even UConn from a budgetary POV, or was chastened by overreaching in prior negotiations, or both.

As I was reminded by posters on the Ivy League Sports boards, Whipple will likely want to call his own plays, so an experienced OC isn't a necessity. Coen could be good fit, as he has experience under the Whipple coaching tree via his stint as Brown's QB coach under Estes. (Not sure if UMass was still running the Whiplash when Coen was a player.)

It also looks like Sollazzo is going to get retained. It seems that being an energetic recruiter who keeps on trucking in spite of job insecurity increases one's chances of surviving a regime change. I believe that is how Orgeron managed to stay on at USC after Hackett got fired.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

At this point I think it's hard not to ask a couple of questions:

1) WTH is going on at Bama? Are these "staff defections" or guys that were no longer wanted?

and

2) Has Saban lost his f'n mind?

A friend who covers Bama told me after the Iron Bowl that he sensed NS was a tad relieved they had lost because it would "allow him to cut dead weight"without lookin crazy".


Saban never likes to fire a coach, he prefers they leave on their own for selfish reasons.
1- he never made a bad hire
2- Even when the great X left us, we went out and got Y and look where we are and look where he is...who is the genius behind the curtain now...

I always liked Coach Rumph when he was in Clemson (and he played for SC....that says a lot lol) and despite him parting ways in about as bad a way as possible (short of him and Swinney physically coming to blows Im not sure it could have gotten much worse...they refused to pay his bowl bonus, enforced a buyout and sent him a bill for office equipment he removed from the facility in the amount of $37...) I continue to hold him in high regard. It is my understanding that when he was contacted bu UT he was told "We hear you are unhappy and looking to leave Bama..we'd love to have you and offer you a raise to come...despite Coach Rumph saying he was perfetly happy and planning on "retiring" at Bama..so who do you think floated that rumor.

Originally Posted by Logan

Bruce Feldman ‏@BFeldmanCBS

Saw reports saying that Ed Orgeron is expected to join #Bama staff.. I am pretty sure that's NOT gonna happen. Never was

Agree it sounds crazy. But people in Tuscaloosa are being told its a done deal. Even crazier with Kiff on the staff.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Klinglerware

As I was reminded by posters on the Ivy League Sports boards, Whipple will likely want to call his own plays, so an experienced OC isn't a necessity. Coen could be good fit, as he has experience under the Whipple coaching tree via his stint as Brown's QB coach under Estes. (Not sure if UMass was still running the Whiplash when Coen was a player.)

It also looks like Sollazzo is going to get retained. It seems that being an energetic recruiter who keeps on trucking in spite of job insecurity increases one's chances of surviving a regime change. I believe that is how Orgeron managed to stay on at USC after Hackett got fired.

As it should be - it helps to be recruiting at the level where no one has realistic NFL dreams, but coaches should be selling the school, not a coaching system.

Coen was recruited by Whipple, but played under Kevin Morris who came from Northeastern with Don Brown. I never saw too too much of UMass under Whipple, but to the best of my recollection we retained some of his signature sets (being willing to use offset lines, go 5-wide) but really lacked the creativity and innovation that Whipple was known for, although that may have just been Grass is Greener talk from older UMass fans - we did set pretty much every school offensive record in that 2004-2008 stretch. Fwiw, the reports have Coen coming in as QB coach, not OC. It is kind of odd to be naming position coaches before coordinators, but recruiting starts back up Friday, so there's no time to waste.

[Klinglerware]

Yep, Coen coming in as QB coach, didn't mean to misconstrue that he was going in as OC...

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

Agree it sounds crazy. But people in Tuscaloosa are being told its a done deal. Even crazier with Kiff on the staff.

Didn't happen. Want to hear crazy? Bo Davis is going back to Bama, after just being hired at USC.

[Logan]

Haha...love this time of year. It just keeps getting better.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

USC has hired Defensive Line Coach Bo Davis who worked many years with Saban before joining Texas.

Oops

[Logan]

Larry Johnson appears to be joining Urban at OSU.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Logan

Larry Johnson appears to be joining Urban at OSU.

Will he be doing more grandmama commercials?

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Will he be doing more grandmama commercials?

Senior not Junior...Junior was the RB and the one who did the commericals...Senior is the coach.

[Logan]

OSU also hired Chris Ash away from Arkansas to be a position coach.

[digamma]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

Senior not Junior...Junior was the RB and the one who did the commericals...Senior is the coach.

???

Grandmama was Larry Johnson the UNLV/Charlotte Hornets basketball player. Pretty sure Chief Rum was just making a joke.

[lungs]

I thought Bielema went to Arkansas so he'd have enough money to keep his assistants?

[Matthean]

Depends on if he wanted to.

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by digamma

???

Grandmama was Larry Johnson the UNLV/Charlotte Hornets basketball player. Pretty sure Chief Rum was just making a joke.

You are right...totally forgot about that one.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Logan

Larry Johnson appears to be joining Urban at OSU.

And presumably taking Thomas Holley with him.

[Butter]

Yet OSU is keeping Luke Fickell as defensive coordinator. Fickell must have some messed up information to still have a job. That's the only thing I can think.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

You are right...totally forgot about that one.

Yeah, it was a joke. And not an (ahem) very good one lol

[JonInMiddleGA]

UGA gets FSU DC Jeremy Pruitt to replace Grantham.

Yeah, I'd say that's probably an upgrade.

edit to add: pending background check, paperwork, etc
double edit: ESPN says sources say he'll get $850k/yr, which is what Grantham was making. He made $500k last season at FSU but was expected to get some sort of a raise due to the title.

[chadritt]

yeah....as a UGA guy who watched a lot of FSU with alumni friends this season I'm good with that.

[Logan]

Looks like Robb Smith will be the new DC at Arkansas. He was set to take the Rutgers job before OSU grabbed Chris Ash from them.

[JonInMiddleGA]

[CU Tiger]

Pruitt is pretty damn meteoric.
In 07 he was a HS assistant coach.
7 years later he has 3 MNC and is DC of his 2nd team.

I think this will be interesting to watch play out, Jimbo is not very well liked among coaching circles and sounds like that played at least a part in this move. But with the crystal football he has bought himself quite a while regardless

[cartman]

Charlie Strong has announced the new coaching staff for Texas:

http://www.texassports.com/news/2014...115140254.aspx

Only one holdover from the previous coaching staff. There are quite a few guys with Texas ties. I guess even through that Wickline was named OC, it will be Watson that does the play calling.

[tarcone]

Is it a winning staff, cartman?

[cartman]

He brought the guys that were his OC and DC at Louisville with him, and they did pretty well there. The DC, Vance Bedford, is a Longhorn, so it is a bit of a homecoming for him. I think that Wickline was a huge hire, as it appeared he was never going to leave Okie State. He had the keys to Stillwater.

The assembled staff has a lot of high level coaching experience at both the college and pro levels. It will be interesting to see how they handle the Junior Days in February.

I do like the makeup of the staff, but it just bugs me a bit about just who will be in charge of the offense. I guess we'll know more after the Orange/White game in the spring.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Two more defensive assistants leaving Georgia | www.ajc.com

DL Coach Wilson to USC, LB Coach Olivadotti (rumored briefly for the DC job) back to the NFL with Washington.

[vex]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

That was excellent.

[dawgfan]

Tosh Lupoi is officially on the market.

[CU Tiger]

Very interesting listen about Jeremy Pruit leaving FSU

http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/3869...1389829146.mp3

Now my opinion
1) Rick B is very well connected in Tally and often knows well before anyone else.
2) He has also been used as a mouthpiece for some FSU officials so it wouldnt surprise me if this is a smear campaign by them.

Essentially I dont know what to believe here but VERY candid and very interesting interview...thought others might enjoy listening

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

Tosh Lupoi is officially on the market.

And probably looking at a show cause.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

Very interesting listen about Jeremy Pruit leaving FSU

http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/3869...1389829146.mp3

Now my opinion
1) Rick B is very well connected in Tally and often knows well before anyone else.
2) He has also been used as a mouthpiece for some FSU officials so it wouldnt surprise me if this is a smear campaign by them.

Essentially I dont know what to believe here but VERY candid and very interesting interview...thought others might enjoy listening

I can't really listen at work. Can you concisely describe the gist of the dirt they are throwing?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I can't really listen at work. Can you concisely describe the gist of the dirt they are throwing?

39 year old guy engaged to marry a 23 year old girl ... alleged to have multiple other relationships going at the same time, including one with a "very young lady" in the FSU athletic department. Fiancee allegedly told him that if you want to get married then we're out of Tallahassee NOW.

[digamma]

Good luck in Athens, future Mrs. Pruitt.

[cartman]

Sounds like he maybe should have joined Petrino's staff. Maybe Petrino could have just lived vicariously through him to stay out of trouble.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by digamma

Good luck in Athens, future Mrs. Pruitt.

Heh, yeah. _IF_ there's truth to this rumor then it won't take long at all for him to, umm, "get acquainted" around here.

It's a town where Y-shaped futons are quite popular

[Logan]

Originally Posted by digamma

Good luck in Athens, future Mrs. Pruitt.

Yeah, maybe next time, push for the Boise DC job.

[CraigSca]

From wiki:

Jeremy Pruitt

Jeremy Pruitt is the defensive coordinator for the Georgia Bulldogs football team, and a known philanderer. He was the secondary coach for the Alabama Crimson Tide from 2010 to 2012 and won two national championships. Wikipedia

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Heh, yeah. _IF_ there's truth to this rumor then it won't take long at all for him to, umm, "get acquainted" around here.

It's a town where Y-shaped futons are quite popular

Yeah, the options for some side lovin' aren't going to be exactly "limited" in Athens.

On another note, I Googled "Y-shaped futon" as an entire phrase and got ZERO hits. I've never heard that phrase. You make that one up yourself? If so, I gotta tip my hat.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

On another note, I Googled "Y-shaped futon" as an entire phrase and got ZERO hits. I've never heard that phrase. You make that one up yourself? If so, I gotta tip my hat.

Thanks, the specifics may be mine but it's strictly an adapation.

I saw a reference to someone so promiscuous that she was "buried in a Y-shaped coffin" last night (courtesy of Blackaddar) and it stuck with me so I altered it just a bit.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

And probably looking at a show cause.

Eh, I doubt it. The evidence is pretty shaky (the family of the recruit denies it, there's only circumstantial evidence so far), and there's a counter allegation that the guy accusing Tosh was trying to shake him down for hush money. Plus, even if the accusation is 100% true, does the NCAA really want to send this message, that an assistant coach paying a few thousand dollars for college test prep classes for a signed recruit that has yet to enroll in school is worth anything more than a slap on the wrist?

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

Eh, I doubt it. The evidence is pretty shaky (the family of the recruit denies it, there's only circumstantial evidence so far), and there's a counter allegation that the guy accusing Tosh was trying to shake him down for hush money. Plus, even if the accusation is 100% true, does the NCAA really want to send this message, that an assistant coach paying a few thousand dollars for college test prep classes for a signed recruit that has yet to enroll in school is worth anything more than a slap on the wrist?

I don't know much about how shaky the evidence is, so I'll go with what you have there and figure this may not go anywhere.

As to your second point, yer nuts if you don't think the NCAA is going to care about any coach (assistant or not) giving a recruit something that is valued a few thousand dollars.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

39 year old guy engaged to marry a 23 year old girl ... alleged to have multiple other relationships going at the same time, including one with a "very young lady" in the FSU athletic department. Fiancee allegedly told him that if you want to get married then we're out of Tallahassee NOW.

The assistant AD for FSU went on that same radio show today and denied all the allegations, and pointed out his fiancee is 27, not 23.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

As to your second point, yer nuts if you don't think the NCAA is going to care about any coach (assistant or not) giving a recruit something that is valued a few thousand dollars.

Normally I would agree. But when it's to pay for college prep classes so that the signee in question will actually qualify to get admitted into the school in question - that's a hard one to sell to Middle America as a bad thing.

I have a feeling this is a case that will quietly go away.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

Normally I would agree. But when it's to pay for college prep classes so that the signee in question will actually qualify to get admitted into the school in question - that's a hard one to sell to Middle America as a bad thing.

Huh? That somebody would do that for somebody too f'n dumb to get into college in the first place simply so they could play football is pretty much the height of what's wrong with college athletics today.

That's a very easy sell as "wrong" to middle america, especially since nobody was paying for their kids to get the same sort of "favor".

[JonInMiddleGA]

So now James Franklin says players commit to coaches, not schools but it was less than two years ago that he stood outside the Vandy Student Life Center and said players who decommitted from his program were not "men of honor" and "men of integrity." (even as he had a QB that left UNC to come to Nashville)

This guy might actually be the single most classless no account individual amongst all head coaches. And right up there as the most narcissistic.