Showing posts with label Marshall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marshall. Show all posts

Monday, August 17, 2009

Charlie Weis is Fat (And other reasons why these coaches might get fired.)

Time for my yearly round-up of the coaches on the hot seat this season. I was unsurprisingly accurate last season. That's bad news for these guys...




Robb Akey- Idaho. Akey is this year's winner of the Gregg Robinson award. That prestigious piece of hardware is given to the one coach that defies all odds and is given another year at his god-awful institutions. Past winners include Gregg Robinson. That's some good company. Also, it's a tradition for the Gregg Robinson award winner to be fired within a year of winning the award. So expect Akey to be out of Moscow by year's end.

Possible Replacement - Someone who will be fired 3 years from now. It's the natural cycle at Idaho.







Steve Kragthorpe - Louisville. Fortunately for Kragthorpe, the Rick Pitino scandal will take off some of the heat that Steve has been feeling at Louisville. Unfortunately for Stevie-K, his coaching ability (or lack thereof) will put all the heat square back on him by October.

Possible Replacement- This seems like a good spot for Turner Gill.






Bob Toledo - Tulane. I'm still trying to figure out how in the hell Bob Toledo even got this job in the first place. I don't see the Green Wave being any good this season, so I think Toledo will be leaving the Big Easy pretty soon.

Possible replacement - How about Tommy Bowden coming back to New Orleans. The Wave haven't been nearly as good as they once were under Bowden.





Neil Callaway - UAB. When I sat down and thought of all the coaches I wanted to include on this highly respected list, I have to admit that Neil Callaway wasn't one of my first choices. This had nothing to do with the fact that I think the Blazers will be better this season. I actually completely forgot about UAB and Neil Callaway. The worst thing for a college football to do is to become irrelevant.

Possible Replacement- Tyrone Willingham. Imaging Willingham and Mike Davis at the same tiny institution.




Charlie Weis - Notre Dame. The poster boy for coaches on the hot seat this season. Weis will need to do better than a trip to the Hawaii bowl this season to keep his job. One good thing for Charlie is that he has a solid defense in South Bend this year. Also, an easy schedule, especially by Notre Dame standards, should help the Irish rebound somewhat.

Possible Replacement- We all know who Notre Dame's first choice is going to be. We'll just agree that that isn't happening. So I'll say the field.




Al Groh - Virginia. Groh saved his job two seasons ago. He found himself back on the hot seat after missing a bowl game last season. A similar result this year could lead to his dismissal. Groh's sticking point used to be his recruiting prowess. However, he is even slipping in that department recently.

Possible Replacement- Skip Holtz. If he can pull off another good season at ECU.







Doug Martin - Kent St. If Martin can't get the Golden Flashes into a bowl game this season, he might be getting the pink slip. Martin needs to take full advantage of Eugene Jarvis while he has him.

Possible Replacement- Someone from the D-II that no one has ever heard of.





Paul Wulff - Washington St. I usually like to give coaches a 3 year grace period before calling for their job. However, there are certain special circumstances in which I can make an exception. This is one of those instances. If the Cougars suffer through another season like last year, Wulff will be out.

Possible Replacement - Some USC assistant.








Mark Snyder - Marshall. I really have no insightful knowledge on this one. I just know that Marshall hasn't been good for a couple of seasons. Howe many more can Snyder stay around for? In my opinion, one.

Possible Replacement - Maybe the UF-Marshall connection will make it's way over to the gridiron, and Billy Gonzalez gets a head coaching gig.







Ron Zook - Illinois. I'm definitely not an Illinois insider, but I gotta imagine that the fans are growing weary of Zook's inconsistency. This I can speak of firsthand. Zook can recruit, but he absolutely cannot coach. How does someone with Juice Williams and Arrelious Benn at their disposal miss a bowl game? I guess the Zooker needs to start a fight with an entire frat house to start feeling the heat.

Possible Replacement - Another Gator, Charlie Strong.








Bret Bielema - Wisconsin. The Badger win total has been decreasing every season under Bielema's tenure. If that trend continues this season, Wisconsin could be missing out on a bowl game. That's an unforgivable offense in Madison. One that could cost Bielema his job.

Possible Replacement - Whoever the hell Barry Alvarez wants.







Jim Leavitt - South Florida. I know Leavitt is the architect of the South Florida program. A program that is on a meteoric rise. But some blame has to be thrown his way for the Bulls lack of success in late season games. If USF suffers another late season collapse, especially in George Selvie and Matt Grothe's last season, Leavitt could be feeling some serious heat in Tampa.

Possible Replacement - One of the many top notch assistants on Leavitt's coaching staff.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

The top 25 players: C-USA

Now we delve into the lower levels of D-1 football. It's time to take a look at the top players from the non-BCS conferences.

First off, I'll start with Conference USA.

Since no one really gives a damn about these schools, I'll only provide a synopsis of the top 10. If you would like more info on a player in the 11-25 range, then I suggest you e-mail said player and tell him to start kicking ass so I will talk about him.

1. Jarret Dillard - Rice WR - Not only is Dillard by far the best receiver in C-USA, he is among the best receivers in the nation. It's a shame this guy plays for such a shitty team. Todd Bailiff has a lot to work with in Dillard and QB Chase Clement.

2. Damion Fletcher - Southern Miss RB - Some people have said that Fletcher is the best player at any position in the non-BCS conferences. I don't know about all that, but Fletcher is definitely something special. He's one of a few weapons new HC Larry Fedora will have at his disposal.

3. Joe Burnett - Central Florida DB - Burnett is the top defensive player in C-USA. He was often overlooked last season due to the play of teammate Kevin Smith. Now Burnett is the star of this Knights team and he's ready to have a breakout year.

4. Brennan Marion - Tulsa WR - This guy had some pretty gaudy numbers at the receiver position last year. His talent should allow him to continue to play at a high level despite the departure of QB Paul Smith.

5. Gerald McGrath - Southern Miss LB - McGrath might be the most feared defender in the conference. He brings a big mean streak to a position that really needs it.

6. Trae Johnson - Tulsa WR - Johnson, along with Marion, gives the Golden Hurricane one of the most dynamic receiving tandems in the country. Tulsa should once again make it to the C-USA championship game. This season, they should win it.

7. Joe Henderson - UAB LB - Henderson is one of the few bright spots on a very bad Blazer team. UAB should once again be at the bottom of the conference. Which is a shame because no one will get a chance to see this kid play.

8. Duke Calhoun - Memphis WR - I've mentioned before that Calhoun is somewhat of an enigma. Tommy West never knows which Calhoun he's going to get. If he gets the one that plays to his potential, he has perhaps a top 10 receiver in the nation.

9. Chase Clement - Rice QB - The Owls suffered through a pretty horrible season last year. Todd Bailiff was able to put together some wins towards the end of the season. It will be up to Clement to carry the momentum over to this year.

10. Justin Willis - SMU QB - Willis' status on this Mustang team is up in the air right now. If he is available to play, he will thrive under the tutelage of new head coach June Jones. 5 of 6 wins is not out of reach for SMU this season.

The rest:

11. Tarrion Adams Tulsa RB
12. Cody Slate Marshall TE
13.Albert McClellan Marshall DL
14. Phillip Hunt Houston DL
15. Emmanuel Sanders SMU WR
16. Will Dunbar UAB DB
17. Darius Marshall Marshall RB
18. Trevor Vittatoe UTEP QB
19. Ell Ash Houston DL
20. Shawn Nelson Southern Miss TE
21. Johnell Neal Central Florida DB
22. Jeff Moturi UTEP WR
23. Ryan McKee Southern Miss OL
24. Zack Slate East Carolina DL
25. Quentin Cotton East Carolina LB