Texas hired Tennessee strength and conditioning coach Bennie Wylie to the same position a week…
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Muschamp hired at UF: If we can’t get them out, we breed them out.
The trouble with Florida is that it’s full of Gators. So why not go with a Bulldog?
Saturday evening news broke that the Gators had reached an agreement with Texas defensive coordinator and coach-in-waiting Will Muschamp to replace Urban Meyer who had resigned earlier in the week. The move brought two questions immediately to mind:
- Who, and how many, had to say "no" before the name Muschamp came up?
- Who’s going to be on the staff?
The first question is really only interesting from a process standpoint. The assumption along with Meyer’s resignation was that Dan Mullen would be the starting point of Florida’s search. Any other names would be speculation – we don’t know that Florida spoke with anyone but Muschamp. It’s also common sense that feelers were put out to many more coaches with more experience. Georgia also went with an assistant with no head coaching experience for their last hire, and it worked out pretty well. The transition from career assistant to top dawg Gator is something to which Mark Richt can relate.
The second question is more to the point of how successful Muschamp will be as a head coach. The Chizik story at Auburn should remind us all that a superstar coordinator can make even the most questionable hire look like a brilliant decision. Mark Richt’s choice of defensive coordinator was a huge part of the run that led to two SEC titles in Richt’s first five seasons. The composition of Muschamp’s staff is almost as interesting as the choice of the head coach himself. With the presumed expertise of Muschamp on defense and with the importance of a strong offense in modern college football, Muschamp’s picks for offensive coaches will naturally receive the most scrutiny.
The choice of Muschamp’s offensive coordinator will also lead to a related question: what’s the future of the Mullen/Meyer spread option at Florida? Some variant of the spread is commonplace enough in college football today that it wouldn’t be a surprise for the new coordinator to have a somewhat familiar scheme, but it’s not likely to be a direct analogue. Florida struggled in 2010 with round pegs at quarterback in the square hole of their offensive scheme, and Muschamp’s new staff will have the work of untangling that problem and the rest of the roster tooled for Meyer’s offense.
Though the spotlight will be on his picks for offense, it would be wrong to ignore the importance of Muschamp’s defensive staff. Again we go back to Chizik at Auburn. Chizik was the defensive mastermind behind the undefeated seasons at Auburn and Texas in 2004 and 2005, but no one would argue that defense is the strength of his current team. Florida had a long and stable run on defense under Charlie Strong, but that came to an end in 2010. Florida’s defensive players will be facing their third different system in three years in 2011. Muschamp’s skill and experience will help him with that transition, but he’s going to have a lot more on his plate than worrying about the defense.
Minus the head coaching experience, Muschamp has a lot of traits you’d look for in an SEC coach. He’s been part of several winning programs, has coached under some of the best men in the business, knows and has recruited the South, and he brings the requisite energy and passion for the game. Florida and the rest of us now get to find out if he’s head coaching material.
UM: Same Coach Headhunter Who Hired Shannon
Here’s an ASSOCIATED PRESS report on the vacant University of Miami football coaching position:
The Miami athletic director said he and Chuck Neinas, a consultant the school hired to help conduct the search, have not compiled a list of interviewees yet.
Some names though have been bandied about as possible candidates, including Jim Leavitt, Tommy Tuberville and Mike Leach. Some NFL coaches are also in the mix.
Here’s another ASSOCIATED PRESS report on the vacant University of Miami football coaching position:
The Miami Athletic Director moved swiftly, already enlisting the help of Chuck Neinas — a consultant who specializes in finding the coaches for schools — and giving him an initial list of candidates. The school would not divulge who the initial targets are, and stressed that it will take as much time as it needs to make the right hire.
Speculation has centered on Mike Leach, Tommy Tuberville and former NFL Coach Jon Gruden — each of whom would be a splashy get.
Amazingly similar stories, considering they were written four years apart nearly to the day.
The first story was published Nov, 30, 2006. The second, Nov. 29, 2010.
In 2006, it was the same coach headhunter Neinas who eventually recommended Miami hire Randy Shannon.
On Nov. 30, 2006, the same day as the first story, the SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL reported of the Miami Athletic Director Paul Dee’s coaching search:
Dee said he’s been in contact with agents, and talks to consultant Chuck Neinas — who UM hired to expedite the process — two or three times a day.
Dec. 7, 2006, the Sun-Sentinel broke the news of the Shannon hire with:
Shannon was among a short list of candidates Athletic Director Paul Dee and a selection committee (including consultant Chuck Neinas) interviewed this week at the College Football Hall of Fame ceremonies.
Four years later, Neinas is once again heading the Miami football coach search. But only after the Univ. of Miami forks over around $ 50,000 for his services.
Why go back to Neinas? Perhaps this snippet from a SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL profile of current Miami Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt provides a clue:
Hocutt took those lessons with him, learning at the feet of some of the giants in college administration. There was Chuck Neinas at the College Football Association and later Joe Castiglione at Oklahoma.
Neinas hired Hocutt for his first job out of college in 1995.
Hocutt is far from alone though in his questionable call of hiring the same search firm that recommended the coaching candidate the same school most recently fired. (Now that’s a business model.)
Neinas, who is based in Boulder, was working on Colorado’s behalf when he recommended the school hire Gary Barnett, who was later fired. CU went back to Neinas for Barnett’s replacement, who then placed Dan Hawkins in the job.
With Hawkins’ recent, unceremonious ouster, one guess who is leading the search for the next Buffaloes coach?
I’m sure you’ll be shocked to know that Neinas also placed current Colorado AD Mike Bohn at CU. (Bohn is, not surprisingly, on the ropes now himself.)
Here’s an abbreviated list of some of Neinas’ greatest hits over the years.
Colorado (1999) – Gary Barnett
Texas A&M (2002) – Dennis Franchione
Baylor Football (2002) – Guy Morriss
Notre Dame (2002) – George O’Leary (whoops!)
Notre Dame (2002) – Tyrone Willingham
Colorado Football (2005) – Dan Hawkins
San Diego State (2005) – Chuck Long
Kansas State (2005) – Ron Prince
Washington (2006) – Tyrone Willingham
Miami (2006) – Randy Shannon
Okay, Neinas has also made some good hires along the way, like Urban Meyer at Florida.
So maybe this time he’ll get it right at Miami.
And Colorado. And Indiana. And Minnesota. And North Tex… okay I’ll stop.
Former University of Alabama football players Todd Bates and Rudy Griffin have been hired as…
Former University of Alabama football players Todd Bates and Rudy Griffin have been hired as assistant coaches as part of a new staff at Idaho State.
Bates will not join the Idaho State staff until March 1, 2011, and is currently coaching at Oxford High. He was a three-year starter at Alabama and was named a permanent team captain after the 2004 season. Griffin, who transferred to Alabama from The Citadel as a defensive lineman and was a teammate of Bates’, will coach inside linebackers. Bates will coach defensive linemen.
Tim Pawlenty rips Obama on Imam hired by George W. Bush
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf has been sent on a speaking tour of the Middle East by the Obama administration to explain the religious freedoms and tolerances of the United States. Gov. Tim Pawle…
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