5-at-10: NFL power poll, Kiffin going to FAU, Huesman a wanted man?


              FILe - In this Jan. 6, 2016, file photo, Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin talks with the media in Tuscaloosa, Ala. A person with direct knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press that Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has agreed in principle to become the next coach at Florida Atlantic. The person, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because neither side had revealed anything publicly, said the school was preparing an announcement likely to come later Monday. (Vasha Hunt/AL.com via AP, File)
FILe - In this Jan. 6, 2016, file photo, Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin talks with the media in Tuscaloosa, Ala. A person with direct knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press that Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has agreed in principle to become the next coach at Florida Atlantic. The person, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because neither side had revealed anything publicly, said the school was preparing an announcement likely to come later Monday. (Vasha Hunt/AL.com via AP, File)

NFL power poll

There are three games left in the NFL season, and that means the division races are either all-but-over or completely anyone's guess.

Two divisions have leasers with three-game leads - New England and Seattle in the AFC East and the NFC West, respectively - and two more have Dallas and Detroit with two-game cushions.

There also are three divisions that are a dead heat with three divisions, as the Falcons and Bucs are tied at 8-5 in the NFC South, the Titans and Texans are tied at 7-6 in the AFC South and the Chiefs and the Raiders are tied at 10-3 in the AFC West. (The first tiebreaker of course is head-to-head, and the Chiefs swept the Raiders. Falcons and Bucs split, and the Texans beat the Titans but those two teams could be playing for a postseason spot in the regular-season finale.)

Where does that leave us, well, after watching this weekend, it leaves us kind of where we thought we would be all along: Would you take Tom Brady and the Patriots or the field when it comes to feeling confident about winning it all?

Powerful.

photo New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) speak at midfield after an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

1. New England (11-2). We were weak and succumbed to the noise about Rob Gronkowski's injury and dropped the Pats last week. Well, Brady willed his team to victory Monday over a feisty Ravens bunch. Brady became only the fourth player to throw for 450 TDs as the Pats won their 11th game for an NFL-tying seventh consecutive season. (Matching the Colts of Peyton Manning from 2003-09.) Yes, they are that good.

2. Dallas (11-2). Yes it was only one loss, but why was there all this noise about benching Dak Prescott after Sunday night's poor showing? Man, that seems curious and short-sighted and more than a little quick with the hook, no? QB questions - especially ones that involve players of different race - can derail a locker room very quickly, no matter the record or the speeches made by those involved.

3. Kansas City (10-3). They certainly win ugly, but the key word there is win more than ugly. Defensively, the Chiefs are amazingly consistent. It will be interesting to see how they respond to the loss of veteran linebacker Derrick Johnson, but with that secondary and an offense content on winning 16-12 if need be, the Chiefs are built for the postseason.

4. Oakland (10-3). The loss to the Chiefs was humbling for sure for an offense that had become one of the true bright spots in the new era of the check-down, swing pass play for a punt NFL. If Derek Carr's bad game was just that - one bad game - rather than potentially being the by-product of hurt hand, well OK. But Carr can't sling it, this team will be all sizzle then a postseason fizzle.

5. Pittsburgh (8-5). Yes there are some teams with better records, but no one has more offensive explosiveness. In fact, if we had to guess which team across the league that Patriots coach Bill Belichick feared the most, we'd guess it was the Steelers.
Powerless

28. (tie) Los Angeles (4-9) and Philadelphia (5-8). We listed both of these teams together because they each have lost four straight and fallen out of it. And they each also dealt their first-round picks to get quarterbacks who have been less than impressive over the last six weeks. (Philly at least recouped a first-rounder by dealing Sam Bradford to Minnesota, but still.) That's tough to stomach.

29. Chicago (3-10). Hey, at least the Cubs pitchers and catchers report in something like two months.

30. Jacksonville (2-11). Man, who would have guessed that Jags coach Gus Bradley was not going to be the first coach fired this month. That tells you how fractured the Rams are, maybe more than anything. L.A. cut ties with Fisher and the Jags still have Bradley, who is 14-47 lifetime. His .230 winning percentage is still light years from the man, the myth, the legend, Bert Bell, who went 10-46-2 before World War II. That's a .179 winning percentage, to which Bradley says, "Taste it."

31. San Francisco (1-12). Man, they fired GM Trent Baalke. Hard to know why since a) he got cross ways with Jim Harbaugh and since coach khaki left the Bay Area, the 49ers are a laughingstock; and b) in the course of three years, this went from the best roster in the NFL to the worst.

32. Cleveland (0-13). Hey, at least LeBron is playing great.

---

photo Alabama head coach Nick Saban, left, talks with Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, right, during practice for the Southeastern Conference Championship NCAA college football game where they will play Florida, Friday, Dec. 2, 2016, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Coaching movement

New came Monday around lunch or so that Lane Kiffin was headed to FAU.

And he was taking a pay cut to do it.

So, Kiffin goes to a dreadful program and pushes his chips into the head coaching middle. It's a high-risk, high-reward move, considering the dreck that has been the Florida Atlantic program through the years.

If he wins there, he's back as the hottest candidate on the block in three years all things considered.

If he doesn't, and things stay bad or get Kiffin-esque ugly as they have been wont to do in his previous stops, it's fair to wonder if he'll ever get another head coaching opportunity.

There's also the devil in the details, considering the position that the FAU head coaching job is a worst job in fame and finance that a) the current job he had as Alabama offensive coordinator, and b) the job he has been the pegged front-runner as the LSU OC.

Let's play the supposition game.

Let's assume that Kiffin was not going to go back to Tuscaloosa as the OC. The only way that happens is if he was given the 'head-coach in-waiting' tag, but we don't see Lord Saban going anywhere any time soon. And in truth, the decision for Lane to move along was likely mutual.

So, Saban takes to his pulpit and talks ever-so cryptically about helping his assistants make moves up the ladder.

In Saban's eyes moving to Baton Rouge to be the OC may be moving up a tax bracket (you have to think Kiffin was going to get a sizable raise going to LSU from his $1.4 million paycheck from Alabama; for what it's worth he's making right at $1 million at FAU now) but it's certainly a lateral move in position.

So, Kiffin interviews and is a finalist for a couple of bigger named head coaching gigs, including Houston and more than likely Oregon. He misses on each, and is now staring at LSU with Coach O, which is more money but could end in complete disaster or the FAU job which is less money but more control.

Here's also betting that Lord Saban was firmly in back of Lane going to South Florida, considering his presence in the SEC West would make the second-most talented team in the division even better. Plus, we could see Saban, a guy who manages every facet and parcel of his program's image, being none best pleased with that movement for a multitude of reasons, be them recruiting, secrets or what not.

So let's pretend this is how that exchange went sometime Sunday evening.

Scene: Saban sitting at his desk in his office, watching film of third-game all-star and starting his 2026 recruiting board. He hears a knock, checks the feed from the hidden camera that shows who is at the door and and sees fidgety Kiffin.

Saban: Come in (as he hits the button to open the door).

Lane: Uh, hey coach, how's it hanging?

Saban: It's hanging fine, Lane. Why do you talk like a 14-year-old surfer?

Lane: Uh, whatever. Coach, I have two two destinations left. I can either go be the FAU head coach or, well, you know.

Saban, leaning back and putting his fingers together in a familiar move in which the tips of each finger touch rapidly over and over again: Well which way are you leaning?

Lane: Not sure, you know. Mean, the money's sweet at LSU sorry, that other school with lots of great players. I know how you don't like to say their namebut the money is boss, and Ed says there are some really good-looking co prospects. Yes, good looking prospects down there.

Saban: And for the other?

Lane: Well, it's less money and they blow coach. I mean c'mon.

Saban: Son, would you like an Oatmeal Creme Pie?

Lane: Nah. Got any scotch up in here?

Saban: What? Of course not. You know we can't keep any of that in the office since we hired Steve. Now let's stay focused on the bigger picture. You can run your own program again, Lane. You can recruit the best athletes in the country in Florida, and I'll even let you have three of my cast offs if that happens.

Lane: Well, that's cool. If you don't have any scotch, you got any beer in that mini-fridge back there?

Saban: Stay focused. Also, know this: The last three years, arguably the best and most attractive of your coaching resume are at stake with this decision.
Lane: Huh?

Saban: Make sure you hear me Lane. If you go to LSU, you can just pretend the last three years never happened when you apply for another job. No references. No endorsements. No help whatsoever. Are we clear?

Lane, looking dejected and eyeing one of the OCPs in the bowl on the table: Uh-huh.

Saban: Are we clear?

Lane: Yes sir. What are the FAUs anyway?

Saban: They are the Owls son, and you have chosen wisely.

Lane, turning to walk toward the door: Man, they don't even have a cool nickname. The Owls? Who's afraid of an owl? Couldn't be something like a Cheetah or a Grizzly Bear?

Scene.

photo UTC coach Russ Huesman watches from the sidelines during the Mocs' home football game against the Samford Bulldogs at Finley Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn.

---

And around the corner

As for the one closer to home, well, news came Monday afternoon that Russ Huesman, UTC's football coach, was being listed as a possible option at Richmond or Delaware.

Let's explore this item, shall we?

First some details. Huesman is being mentioned as a possible candidate at Richmond, where he was the DC before coming to town, and potentially at Delaware.

According to the story from TFP UTC beat ace Mean Gene Henley, the numbers are noticeable. Huesman makes a touch more than $230K. The Richmond gig is paying its coach $437,672 per season and the Delaware job paid in the $300K range with one report claiming it was as much as $376,000.

Those are big numbers with a sizable discrepancy.

And this news is of paramount importance to UTC fans.

No coach has done anything close to this in the FCS lifetime of this program. Not even close.

Interesting times for sure.

photo David Blackburn, vice chancellor and director of athletics for The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, could be on the short list for the University of Tennessee athletic director's job that will be open next summer after Dave Hart retires.

---

This and that

- Speaking of UTC athletic department employees who may have other options, here's an excellent column on UTC AD David Blackburn by ace TFP sports columnist Mark Wiedmer.

- Speaking of coaching moves and what not, wonder how long it will take before names such as Jim Harbaugh and Nick Saban are mentioned for the opening in L.A., now that the Rams have fired Jeff Fisher?

- We do a little research and have our all-bad beats in the football betting season some time later this month. As for now, this story may be on the short list. A bettor in Vegas had a 15-team parlay - a parlay is a bet in which you have to hit every pick and the payoff odds go up with each team added to the bet - and had hit each of the previous 14 bets going into Monday night's New England-Baltimore game. He needed New England to win by more than 7, and the Patriots won by exactly that number, 30-23, meaning it voided the entire bet. If the Patriots had scored one more point - and remember, New England had fourth and 1 at the Baltimore 25 late in the game and decided to go for it and melt the clock rather than try a field goal that was well within Stephen Gostkowski's range - the bettor would have won. If you are curious, the bettor put $5 down and a 15-team parlay would have paid $100,000/

- If you are interested in the annual 5-at-10 college football bowl picking contest you can find the list of games here. Please email your entry to jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.

- Side note: Jeff Fisher was fired after tying the all-time record for most NFL losses by a coach. Somewhere, Dan Reeves is praying Fisher gets another job so Fisher can have that record all by himself. In truth, Fisher is far and away the least accomplished coach on the most losses all-time list, which has these names:

1. Reeves and Fisher (165); 2. Tom Landry (162); 3. Don Shula (156); 4. Chuck Noll and George Halas (148). That's some rarified air gang.

photo Mariah Carey participates in the "Mariah's World" panel during the NBC Television Critics Association summer press tour on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

---

Today's question

It's a true or false Tuesday.

True or false, you are entered in the college bowl contest.

True or false, if Lionel Ritchie and Mariah Carey are in concert together, Mariah should be the opening act.

True or false, Jeff Fisher will get another head coaching job.

True or false, Lane Kiffin is going to succeed at FAU.

True or false, Russ Huesman will be at UTC next season.

True or false, David Blackburn will be at UTC next season.

Go, and remember to leave a True or False after answering these.

Upcoming Events