2009-10 College Football Coaching Hiring/Firing Thread

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Logan

Shouldn't we just have a permanent USC/UCLA thread for this place by now?

And deprive you of the wisdom and inteliigence in at least half of those posts? Perish the thought.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Logan

Shouldn't we just have a permanent USC/UCLA thread for this place by now?

I'm pretty {shrug} about that at this point, they just happen to have more going to talk about going on right now than most places. And there's probably some degree of fatigue for those of us who could do blow-by-blow on stuff like the UGA-UT Da'rick Rogers thing, as well as some reluctance because nobody is really sure who comes out the long term winner in that deal.

And we don't have a big Alabama contingent (do we even have any 'Tide people here at all?) and not really a big Florida contingent either so there's a couple of often prominent topics that don't get as much attention here in the off-season as they might elsewhere.

I guess I could have posted about how GT finally picked a new recruiting coordinator & took NC State's LB coach but that seemed a little lukewarm to warrant a mention much less much discussion.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

The part that specifically boggled my mind was the notion that anyone would care what the students thought about it, at least not beyond giving them a newspaper article or two because it'd fill a little space. That's the part that was completely foreign to me.

Most people don't care what the students think. It's a small handful of them, but they have the support of a few key unions, that back the students in response to getting students to show an outcry when the the Food Services Workers want $14.50 an hour to serve french fries and clean dishes.

UC students are rather spoiled, considering UCLA and Berkley kids are getting a world class education at a fraction of a cost (albeit a rising fraction)

[Eaglesfan27]

USC is "close" to finalizing a deal with Clay Helton to leave Arkansas State and become USC's QB coach. Interestingly, it does not look like he will be the OC. Seems like a solid hire to me. His offensive production at Memphis was solid over the last decade.

[Eaglesfan27]

USC did end up hiring Helton to be the QB coach.

UCLA lost DB Coach Carnell Lake who resigned today.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

USC did end up hiring Helton to be the QB coach.

UCLA lost DB Coach Carnell Lake who resigned today.

Looks like Carnell left for family reasons. My guess is that he didn't realize what sort of impact year round recruiting would have on his family life. I am hoping that's it, and that there isn't something more serious, like a sickness, going on in his family. Regardless, he's a great Bruin thru and thru. Thanks for the seasons, Carnell.

[Swaggs]

It is probably tough for a guy like Carnell Lake, who has made 10s of millions of dollars during his career and was a pretty big star in the NFL, to be a college position coach. I know some guys do it, but it must be one hell of a labor of love to suck it up start at the bottom (although position coach at UCLA certainly isn't the bottom, I guess) and have to work your butt off, year round, and have to deal with all the negativity of recruiting.

[Eaglesfan27]

USC has had some bad special teams over the years, so today's official announcement has me excited. They got another very good recruiter, a guy who gets players to focus on academics, and a coach whose special teams consistently perform at a high level:

LOS ANGELES--John Baxter, a member of the Fresno State coaching staff for the past 13 seasons, has been named associate head coach and special teams coordinator at USC, new Trojan head coach Lane Kiffin announced today (March 4).

“Hiring John Baxter is something that I thought could probably never happen, so this is a great day for USC,” said Kiffin. “Having him here will be huge for our team on and off the field. He put together a 13-year run of special teams at Fresno State that were better than any in the country. We’re very excited to welcome him to the Trojan Family.”

In his 13 years (1997-2009) at Fresno State, he was the associate head coach and special teams coach in addition to handling either the tight ends (1997-2001, 2003, 2009) or wide receivers (2002, 2004-2008).

Baxter turned the Bulldogs’ special teams into one of the top units in the nation annually. During his time, Fresno State blocked 84 kicks and punts (including a national-best 49 from 2002 through 2009) and scored 39 special teams touchdowns (with 3 safeties). The Bulldogs topped the nation in fewest punt return yards allowed in 2004 and 2005. A.J. Jefferson led the nation in kickoff returns in 2007. Clifton Smith’s 189 punt return yards with 2 touchdowns against Weber State in 2005 were Fresno State game records, while his 5 career scoring punt returns also was a school mark. Six of Baxter’s Bulldog kickers and punters earned All-Western Athletic Conference first team honors.

During his time at Fresno State, the Bulldogs posted a 100-66 record, played in 10 bowls (1999 Las Vegas, 2000-01-02-03 Silicon Valley, 2004 MPC Computers, 2005 AutoZone Liberty, 2007 Roady’s Humanitarian and 2008-09 New Mexico) and won the WAC title in 1999.

Along with his coaching duties at Fresno State, Baxter developed the highly-successful and nationally-regarded program, “Academic Gameplan.” His innovative and comprehensive study-skills program teaches students the rules, fundamentals, techniques and life skills needed to succeed in the classroom. “Academic Gameplan,” which is now being used at schools throughout the country, was a key reason for the academic success of the Fresno State football program, which during Baxter’s tenure produced 141 Academic All-WAC players and an NCAA APR score nearly 20 percentage points higher than the national average.

He was selected as the Clovis Co-Citizen of the Year in 2006, along with Fresno State head coach Pat Hill.

Baxter, 46, has 29 years of coaching experience. He began his coaching career at his alma mater, Loras College, where he served for 5 seasons (1981-85). He then moved on to Iowa State for 2 seasons (1986-87) before the first of 2 stints at Arizona. He was with the Wildcats in 1988, went to Maine in 1989 when the Black Bears made it to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs and returned to Arizona in 1990 and 1991 (the Wildcats played in the 1990 Aloha Bowl). He then was at Maryland for 2 seasons (1992-93) and Tulane for 3 years (1994-96) before going to Fresno State.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Loras in 1985 and then his master’s in higher education from Iowa State in 1987.

He was born on June 28, 1963. He and his wife, Jill, have 2 daughters, Kelly and McKenzie. His father-in-law is current Weber State head coach Ron McBride, formerly the head coach at Utah.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

If it is Kiffin with his dad, Coach O, and 2 others that are being rumored, it is a homerun hire in my opinion and it means that USC is confident that there is nothing to the past alleged violations.

No

Originally Posted by DanGarion

The only plus is with recruits, I think in the long run Kiffin could be a terrible choice...

Yes