From Jomo
for the MAILBAG - Jay what are your predictions and scenarios for the college coaching carousel ( Texas, LSU, Purdue, etc ) and the domino effect?
Jomo -
Wow, what a great question.
And as a side note: A friend of ours who is well connected in Statesboro has told us recently that a) their coach may be one and done; and b) the folks down there are well aware of the turnaround job Russ Huesman has done here. Is Russ the frontrunner? Don't think so, but his name is known.
Before we get to the predictions, the faux outrage that Mark May and others threw out there because LSU was deep in negotiations with Tom Herman was ludicrous. And keep that 'respect Ed Orgeron mumbo-jumbo' under your hat. Orgeron was a longshot and his turducken was cooked last week at the 1 against Florida.
Plus, Herman is a hot commodity and the benefit of having the first opening is being able to talk to these cats.
Also, save the faux outrage Houston about not being contacted. PUH-lease. This game is played in the shadows by go-betweens with burner phones. It is what it is.
As for around the horn, well, we know Fresno State has already hired Jeff Tedford, and that seems like a nice move for the Bulldogs, especially since Tedford is an alum.
Purdue - There are two ways to go here: The name on a lot of folks list is the steady Les Miles. And that would be an upgrade no doubt, and Miles certainly would bring an upgrade in recruiting, at least from the start. The other would be trying to find the next young gun, but truly would a young gun be willing to roll his first head coaching stint on one of the five worst teams in the Power Five conferences. We think a call to Western Kentucky coach Jeff Brohn would be a very wise move too.
LSU: All of the talk is that Tom Herman is the man the Tigers have focused their attention on. Reports have Jimbo Fisher's request was for a 10-year, $6.5 million annually deal. That's a lot of cabbage. We think LSU will make Herman happen, and it may be done before the weekend is over.
Texas: Amazingly, with Herman apparently off the market, Charlie Strong may have a chance to save his job this weekend against TCU. And that's something we believed to be impossible after Texas lost to Kansas last week - something that has not happened since 1938. That said, if the Aggies are not sure they have someone better than Strong - and Herman is better than Strong, no questions asked - Texas may be making the prudent play in waiting another year.
Houston: Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma offensive coordinator. This makes a ton of sense and could be seen as a great move that could keep the Cougars in the national conversation after Herman leaves.
Baylor: This one is tricky. There are some crazy boosters who inexplicably want Art Briles back. That's unimaginable. A name that has interest here could be Tulsa coach Phillip Montgomery, who has worked extensively with Briles and helped craft that offense. (But, even though Montgomery has not worked with Briles in more than two years, that layer of filth muck may be too much for Montgomery to overcome.) We think Les Miles will get some player here too. And we believe Lane Kiffin would be a home run addition. (It's time and he's ready to make this happen. Who knows, he may even bring ol' Coach O along as his DC and recruiting guru.) We'll roll the dice with Larry Fedora here, which means
North Carolina: Western Michigan wunderkind PJ Fleck.
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From Justin
Since A&M went to the SEC is the Texas job always going to be a doomed HC job?
Justin -
It is an interesting point for sure, because the Aggies are now in a place importance that is unknown to A&M backers and uncomfortable for Longhorn long timers.
So there will be an added element of success now for the Texas HC forever moving forward.
That said, that is true everywhere, especially in the SEC. And that means the A&M move has watched up the heat and the pressure on the Aggies job, too.
After last night's three-touchdown loss to an LSU team missing its three best players, there is a growing amount of heat on Kevin Sumlin, who had his team ranked No. 4 in the country in the first college football playoff poll of this season.
Read that sentence again.
Side note: We had forever been against the firing of Les Miles, but watching the Tigers go to College Station on a short week without college football's best running back (Leonard Fournette), the team's most talented wide out (asdfasdf), LSU's best pass rusher (Arden Key) and its best linebacker (Kendall Beckwith), it makes a hard argument that a change was in order. LSU beat a team that was pegged for the playoffs a month ago 54-39 with a transfer quarterback, a back-up running back and freshmen plugged in across a defensive front seven.
LSU has so much talent, the fact that they lost 4 games to anyone - including Alabama - means they were poorly coached. Before the change and after. Heck, they put 55 on the board last night despite too many pre-snap penalties and bad clock management in the first half. I'll bet every coach in the country this side of Saban would trade rosters with LSU right now.
Side note, II from last night: If Myles Garrett is drafted ahead of Derek Barnett, that NFL GM needs to lose his job on the spot. Wow, Garrett was invisible and was blocked out of plays by tight ends. Garrett may go to the combine and test 6-5, 270 with 4.59 40 and a 42-inch vertical, but he makes a fraction of the plays Barnett does. Here are the stats: Garrett - 32 total tackles, 8.5 sacks; Barnett - 48 total tackles, 11 sacks. Now know that Garrett had eight tackles and 4.5 sacks of his total against UT-San Antonio. Garrett is good and has a chance to be a good pass rusher in the pros, but he's not even close to as good as Barnett. And that's with Garrett having a star like Daeshon Hall on the other side. Where were we?
The Texas job is a curious case because no school has the mystique that it previously did because mystique comes too cheap and rings hollow in most cases.
Alabama? How was that mystique before Saban got to town? That's not mystique, that's having the best coach in the country.
Look at the top six: quote-unquote traditional powers at Michigan, Ohio State and Alabama have their 'mystique' back because they have found home-run head coaches. Washington, Clemson and Wisconsin, do they have mystique nationwide?
No but they guys who can coach.
There is no more valuable commodity in all of sports across all levels than the college football coach.
Period, pass the biscuits.
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From Bama Brad
Well, big talker, are your Tigers/Eagles/Plainsman/Whatever you are today ready for that a$% kicking that's coming Saturday?
You don't really think Auburn can win do you? If you do that just shows how biased you media people are.
Bama Brad -
And Happy Holidays to you my good man.
Let's start in a multitude of places here. OK, I get the oft-lobbed criticism of Auburn having a nickname (Tigers) and a war cry (War Eagle) and a former nickname that is still invoked occasionally with the phrase "lovely village on the Plains."
But if we are going to speak to reality here why the double standard. Auburn is far from the only school that has multiple identifiable names.
Alabama is the Tide but their mascot is an Elephant.
Georgia Tech is the Jackets but are easily connected to a supped-up old car known as the Ramblin' Wreck.
Tennessee is the Vols with a blue tick hound roaming the sidelines and Daniel Boone.
Heck, UTC has a buffet of mascot options.
But we get it. And boy that was a good one Brad. Original. Well-thought-out and well-delivered. And bonus points that it was almost spelled completely correct. (Side note: Make it PlainsMEN next time to stay in the plural. Deal? Deal.)
As for thinking the Tiger can win, well, absolutely. And if you are fan of any SEC team and you think your team has absolutely no chance, well, that seems like a terrible place to exist. Yes, there are a lot of times SEC hoops fans knew that UK's men and the old-school UT women under Pat were going to whip you, but you still had to enter the tip expecting to compete. That's the essence of sports. (Side note: The one time I truly knew Auburn had no chance against Alabama was in 2012. Auburn had unraveled under Chizik and Alabama was Alabama. And kudos to Saban that year. He scored on Alabama's first seven possessions but he could have scored every time the Tide touched the ball. Every single time.)
How biased media people are has become the fallback debate excuse to cover all ailments. It's the "Dog ate my homework" mantra of the modern media climate.
But whatever.
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From Andrew
OK, fellow Tiger backer, I need some help. I am having a hard time seeing how a banged-up Sean White and a less than 100-percent Kamryn Pettway are going to be able to move the ball against that Tuhd defense.
Give me reason to believe.
War Eagle!
Andrew -
As for the actual reasons to believe, well, let us put our motivational cap on - somewhere between Matt Foley and Lou Holtz for a mental image. And Sean White has been ruled out and will need shoulder surgery So there's that. Back to the pregame speech:
"Men, gather round. We have a huge challenge today. But we also have a huge opportunity.
They are good. Heck, they are great. But we're pretty damn good too. This group has been toe-to-toe with the best in the country.
"Everyone knows who Alabama is. But today the country is going to meet you Carl Lawson, and you Mon Adams and you Charlton Davis and you Tray Mathews and you Deshaun Davis. They are going to turn on the TV thinking Alabama is the best defense in the country, and by the second quarter they are going to wonder if Alabama is even the best defense on the field."
(PAUSE, let the roars die down.)
"We all know our defense is going to be in the fight from the start. But here's where we're going to win the game. Yes, Sean is done, but I want you to look at Jeremy Johnson, your teammate, your friend, your brother.
Who has sacrificed more personally for this team over the last 15 months than Jeremy? Who has lived the Auburn creed over the last 15 months than Jeremy? Who has ridden the roller coaster of celebrity and blame filled with the sounds of cheers and jeers more than Jeremy Johnson?
Jeremy, this is your time, son. Forget the past. Embrace the moment. Forget what was supposed to be last year and realize what can be on this day.
Be yourself. Be the Jeremy Johnson we see in practice and in meetings. Be the Jeremy Johnson who has earned the support of this team by supporting this team when personally you were in football Hell.
Know this son: If you play like I know you can today, the memories and the aftermath of the last 15 months are wiped clean, erased like a blackboard with the wave of a hand.
With each Johnson completion or each run by you john Franklin III they are going to start thinking. And with a defense this good and this talented and this instinctive, if we get them thinking instead of reacting, then we start moving.
When they are reacting, then Kamryn Pettway starts hammering. Kerryon Johnson starts spinning. And we start rolling.
Alabama is great, men, and to tell you any different would be a lie.
But today we are going to be better than great. Today, we're going to be perfect.
Let's pray."
As for the practical, there's a reason that Alabama is a three-score favorite. This is the best Alabama defense Saban has had. They are relentless, and the thought of the match-up against Jeremy Johnson probably actually made Nick Saban smile Thursday. (Who knew he even had teeth?)
Do I believe Auburn is going to win? No, not really. Alabama's great, and the motivational speech just started flowing.
But I do believe this game will go one of two ways, especially with the news that Sean White is out (and we believe making the announcement early so the fans and the players would not be looking over their shoulder and wondering about change or what have you).
We think this Iron Bowl will be either an absolute Bama boatrace, with a couple of big plays early (and yes, the thought of OJ Howard running down the middle of the field against Auburn's safeties is a bit horrifying) that generates even more pressure of a limited offense that only adds to the problem with a big turnover or two. Or it will be a defensive slugfest, maybe with Alabama playing little tight and Auburn playing with very little to lose.
And all the other jokes and motivational ploys aside, if you want to know the one way I believe Auburn actually has a chance (as slim as it may be) to win is off they get into a field-goal kicking contest, because Auburn Daniel Carlson, who may be the best kicker in the country.
Either way, we're hoping it's a fun Saturday, regardless of biased us media folks are.
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From Mike
OK, in and out of a nap today I kept hearing Troy and Joe say Dallas-Washington was the best rivalry in pro sports.
Do you agree with that?
Mike -
No, we don't.
In fact, the pro sports rivalries of today are so watered-down for a number of reasons.
One the leagues want to take all personality away from almost everyone involved. Yes, Josh Norman and Dez Bryant got into a social media fracas, but think back 25 years ago, and rivalries were not on Twitter, they were settled in the moment.
In fact, the fans of today's teams make the pro rivalries what they are more than anything else.
Also, it works against the Cowboys-Redskins rivalry that the Cowboys are like the top rivals/most hated team to half the league. (Side note: The Cowboys - America's team - against the Washington Redskins - a racially offensive name to some Native Americans - really should be a Thanksgiving staple up there with turkey and naps. What's more American than the American sports staple of white fans across the country cheering as the Cowboys (Pilgrims) take with power away from the Redskins. War America.)
As for the pro sports rivalries, here's our top five, with this caveat - every Euro kickball/soccer rivalry is more heated than almost everything over here:
Yankees-Red Sox.
Canadiens-Maple Leafs.
Bears-Packers.
Flyers-Devils.
Cardinals-Cubs.
Yes, there are multiple hockey listings, but how many teeth have basketball rivalries lost since Detroit broke up the Bad Boys?
And yes, we purposely left the Lakers-Celtics off because when was the last time the Lakers-Celtics was worth watching to the casual basketball fan?
Enjoy the weekend.