This may become a recurring piece---but please keep in mind that my musical understanding is long since expired...so we're talking throwbacks here. Here are the two from the morning...
One timeless classic...
I am Mine by Pearl Jam. Can't you see this song in some sort of motivational video at a conference or something? Just a good track that is often overlooked because of crap like Cordurroy.
Shame on You by the Indigo Girls. Okay...I'm a lesbian...
A couple of quick-bits before we get to the Arnolds...
Dear NHL,
Thank you so much for coming back on the air so people have something to watch on television now that I'm gone.
Sincerely,
The Fed Ex Cup.
...
Britney has to give her kids to K-Fed today. Do you think she even knows where they are??
From the Arnolds...
Both are about College Football today...but hey--I answer what is written!
McFly,
Granted--I'm in Business School and the general population doesn't know a thing about sports--but one of my classmates says that the Big Ten is the best conference in the country.
Will you please give you Conference Power-Rankings and prove how big an idiot this guy is??
Nick
Berkeley--#3 in the Country
Your last sentence says it all. Sweet Lord...
As of this week...
1. Pac-10: Sorry--all due respect to the SEC, the Pac-10 has the best team in the country (USC), the third best team in the country (Cal), two others that are VERY good (Oregon and Arizona State), two more that are bowl-bound (UCLA and Oregon State), and one that can hang with just about anyone (Washington).
2. SEC: I'll admit that the #2 spot will be temporary for them. Save USC, Cal and Oregon--the SEC will have much more depth at the top and bottom of the conference. Right now they have five teams in the top twelve and two on the cusp of being ranked. UNFORTUNATELY for them, three of the teams in the top twelve are Kentucky, South Carolina and Georgia--who just don't stand up to Oregon, Arizona State and UCLA. We'll call LSU+Florida vs. USC/Cal a wash...but the Pac-10 is clearly playing better on the second-tier.
3. Big East: I'm amazed to type this...but with South Florida, West Virginia, Rutgers, Cincinnatti and (sort of) Louisville, the Big East is a legitimate conference. Big separation between the SEC and them...but a MUCH bigger separation between them and everyone else...
4. Big 12: And why? Because the NORTH is actually GOOD. Missourri, Kansas State, Nebraska and Kansas have all been impressive...and the south still has Oklahoma and Texas. This conference isn't close to the three previous, but strange as it is to say--it may be the toughest to run the table in when you consider the bottom tier includes Colorado, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State.
5. ACC: Down year for the conference, but still some good teams. Virginia Tech, Florida State, Clemson and Miami will all be in major bowls and will all be competitive. Georgia Tech has been the big dissapointment here--I thought they had a chance to build some momentum as the elite team in the conference.
6. NWC: Yes, the Northwest Conference is better than the Big Ten right now...
and finally...
7. Big 10: I said Monday (that blog has been deleted because of technical difficulties) that Ohio State was the worst #4 team in history--I stand by that. Wisconsin is #5, but would not be in the top 20 if it weren't for an inflated preseason ranking...they haven't looked impressive yet. Purdue has played well, but is about as scary as a teddy bear on sedatives. I thought Penn State was the real deal, but they've proven inadequate. Which leaves Michigan--a team that will likely win this conference despite getting beat by Appalachan State at home in week 1. Just an AWFUL year for the conference that is normally the third-best behind the SEC and Pac-10.
McFly,
Why do you hate Tyrone Willingham so much?
M. Tuiasosopo
Montlake, WA
I don't hate Tyrone Willingham. I just think that he is the most-overhyped coach in college football today.
And it just so happens that he coaches the football team that I care about more than any other.
Let's start historically--what has he accomplished?
"Oh--he was great at Stanford!" Really? A career record of 44-36-1 is great?? He won National Coach of the friggen Year for going 8-4. EIGHT AND FOUR? Larry Coker and Frank Solich both got FIRED with better records than that! Not to mention that his run at Stanford was the weakest five year stretch in the Pac-10 in history. No dominant teams, no dominant players...a decidedly-more benign conference than it has been at any other point in its existence.
"He got a raw deal at Notre Dame!" If you're using Charlie Weis as the barometer, yes. He went 25-16, which will be better after three years than Weis. So yes, he did. But if you use EVERY OTHER NOTRE DAME COACH...say??? Lou Holtz? Career record of 100-30 and oh--a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP and he got canned. Or Bob Davie--career record of 35-25 (about the same as Willingham) and he got fired.
"BUT OH!!!! Willingham was so good, he got screwed!"
Let me explain something to you: if you can't win at Notre Dame, you are a TERRIBLE football coach. TERRIBLE. It is hands-down the EASIEST place to get recruits and the most tradition-rich school in the country. No contest.
So is Charlie Weis a bad coach? Maybe...tough to say...he's had the bad luck of having to coach teams that are full of Willingham's players--meaning: NO TALENT AT ANY POSITION BUT QUARTERBACK!
But yeah...he totally got screwed...
"He's really turned Washington around." Wow...where do I even start here? You're telling me that 2-9, 5-7 and 2-3 (looking like 5-8) is TURNING AROUND THE PROGRAM!?!?!?!? This is one of the most-successful football programs in America, and for some reason (which I'll get to) he gets positive reinforcement for producing absolute crap.
I have two sources (one who played for him at Notre Dame and one at Washington) who have said the same thing:
He doesn't coach. He has a good play-book, he can recruit quarterbacks, but he DOES NOT TEACH HIS PLAYERS TO PLAY.
Why does he get away with it?
Because he's nice. Something about the nice black coach that everyone loves...except people who pay attention.
But here is my biggest problem: he didn't deserve the job, and still won't be fired after another terrible season.
First things first: He was hired at a time when the program couldn't get worse. Gilbertson had run it into the ground, and the University needed a saviour for revival. What's worse--at a time when they were hiring, they were trying to clean up the program. (Time has proven that bringing in guys who "clean house" will bring change--but not success. See: Orioles, Baltimore.)
So Ty was the perfect choice. He had a good pedigree, he brought in "quality" kids, and he was a well-spoken black guy---a PR dream, just like the recently-hired, and inherently successful Lorenzo Romar. (The difference between the two was that Romar could coach!) He barely had to interview and the job was his. Don't even consider the fact that there was an alphabet worth of candidates who were more qualified for the position.
Secondly: Washington has done such a great job focusing on "quality kids" and the "class" that Willingham brings, that they've made it virtually impossible to get rid of him. Washington is 2-3 right now. If they lose their final eight games, is he fired? I'd say no.
But here's the thing--the standard season right now is twelve games plus a bowl game for thirteen. (Washington has thirteen regular season games because of the kickoff-classic game against Syracurse.) So--with a thirteen-game season, to be a Top 25 program, you need to average ten wins a year. Ty will make improvements, but can anyone in completely honesty, under sound mind say that they believe that he will lead this program to a ten-win-per-season average? DON'T WASTE YOUR BREATH! Bowl games? Yes. Top 25 rankings? No. (And five years ago, if UW was out of the top TEN it was considered a tragedy! You need to average eleven wins to stay there!)
SO...
Since I enjoy making lists, allow me to offer you my list of coaches to replace Ty Willingham. Here are the parameters:
-They must be a real, living, breathing person.
-There must be at least suspicion that they will be available for hire in December-January.
-They must be a clear upgrade from Captain Boring. (I'm not even going to bother with the list of 30-40 names of people that I know are better, but will begin arguments.)
-They must fall into one of the groups that I've assigned.
So here goes...
The "Should Have Been Offered the Job in the First Place" Category:
Frank Solich: Okay--let's think about this logically. Your team is loaded with women on both lines, your team has no discipline, and you're looking for someone you can rally around.
Present to you a guy who is guarunteed to get at least seven farmboys from Nebraska a year, is a known hard-ass and has...oh...TWO National Championships.
And he doesn't get an interview.
(Insert the sound of my brain exploding.)
Dennis Erickson: Yes, he's dirty. Yes, he's bounce all over the Pac-10 and the NFC West.
But the guy wins.
Two National Championships at Miami. A season at Oregon State this still hasn't been explained by scientists, and now an Arizona State team that looks like it is either a year away from the BCS or a year away from supplanting Death Row Records and the Cincinnatti Bengals as the biggest group of thugs in the United States.
(And if you're concerned that he wouldn't leave ASU for UW, you clearly don't understand a) the moral profile of Dennis Erickson and b) how effing hot it is in Scottsdale in August.
Terry Bowden: Yes, I hate him too. But he's proven that a) he is a very good football coach, and b) has no conscience when recruiting. As long as he didn't do interviews, I'm all for it.
The "Everyone Wants them because they are Hot RIGHT NOW" Category
Chan Gailey (Georgia Tech): How good could this team be in two years if they had Locker on offense and Chan Gailey coaching the defense? That gets in your head faster than "Soldia' Boy."
Jim Leavitt (South Florida): I'd actually feel bad dragging him from the program that he genuinely INVENTED. (Check it out.) But clearly he knows how to build a program.
Greg Schianno (Rutgers): Everyone wants him--in fact he's probably going to get the Giants job at season's end--but he's got the experience and fire to at least make the team exciting. (Oh--and a great running backs coach would be fun compared to the 63 yds/game UW is getting out of their top runner right now.
The "No way it is going to happen, but the program would be better for it" Category
George O'Leary: While the name still draws laughter, he is just about the best defensive coach in the country and would have brought in someone from the IM fields before letting Casey Paus start a football game.
Rick Neuheisal: Not kidding. TRY to tell me Willingham is a better recruiter, motivator and winner than Tricky Ricky. TRY.
The "Just to prove it isn't about race" Category:
Romeo Crunell: We can say with a fair amount of confidence that he'll be on the unemployment list by New Year's Day. (And since the Huskies won't sniff playing that day, they may as well set up a meeting.)
Dennis Green: He's the perfect college coach and really--who could deny, "THE BEAVERS ARE WHO THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE! IF YOU WANT TO CROWN THEM, THEN CROWN THEIR ASS! BUT THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE! AND WE LET 'EM OFF THE HOOK!"
The "Former National Championship coaches who will be jobless" Category:
Lloyd Carr: I actually don't think he's going to be fired...particularly when Michigan wins the Big 10.
Larry Coker: You can't deny the record and the recruiting...but he may have passed his prime. It might be another Jerry Tarkanian experience.
The "Why aren't people considering these guys for NCAA jobs" Category:
Marty Schottenheimer: The best-looking coach in history led the Chargers to 26 wins in his last two seasons and he is jobless. He is too irritated (and too Tom Kite-looking) to ever recruit--but if he could find Coordinators who could do it for him, his scheming would make Pete Carroll look like...uh Pete Carroll (circa 1998).
Norm Chou: I'd consider him but he has no history of molding great quarterbacks. Jim McMahon, Ty Detmer, Carson Palmer, Matt Leinert and Vince Young have all been flukes.
Jon Gruden: He's having a good enough season, and is clearly established enough to maintain his job...but he has to be getting sick of Tampa. I absolutely believe that he could be the best college coach in history. He's the only person that can match the scheming, work-ethic and particularly fire of Pete Carroll.
The "Way too logical for the University of Washington to do it" Category:
Jim Mora Jr.: If he doesn't have this job by the fall of '09, I'm going to devote my life to a propoganda campaign against funding for the University. I mean--he gave up a job in the NFL because he said he wanted it!
An alum with a phenomenal pedigree and defensive background.
Of course that move would make sense...so we'd better just stick with Carlton Banks.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Complaints from the NAACP that I'm basing Willingham's 9 wins in three years on his race?
Email me: mcflyblogs@gmail.com
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