2013 College Football off-season

[OleMissCub]

So yeah, Southern Miss ended up 0-12 after going 12-2 and winning Conference USA last year. Only winless team in FBS.

 

Also, Ole Miss was one of the worst teams in the country last year at 2-10 and this year ended up 6-6. They very easily could have been 9-3 with a 3 point loss to Texas A&M, 1 point loss to Vandy, and 6 point loss to LSU. Rebels getting a lot better under Hugh Freeze. Excited for the future.

[Derwood]

So, does Bill O'Brien stay at PSU or does he take an NFL head coaching job?

[Andy]

NCSU's Tom O'Brien and Auburn's Gene Chizik both fired today, per several reporters on Twitter.

[Formerly Snayke]

NCSU's Tom O'Brien and Auburn's Gene Chizik both fired today, per several reporters on Twitter.

 

Is there no loyalty? The guy recruited Cam Newton.

[Butterscup1679666578]

A lot of smoke out there that Pinkel will step down. Not sure I actually believe it, but will be interesting to see if there's any staff shakeups for a change. I think Alden is putting his foot down a bit, he feels the pressure of being in the SEC. Not so sure Pinkel does.

[Guest]

A lot of smoke out there that Pinkel will step down. Not sure I actually believe it, but will be interesting to see if there's any staff shakeups for a change. I think Alden is putting his foot down a bit, he feels the pressure of being in the SEC. Not so sure Pinkel does.

 

I don't ever really criticize Alden, but good grief would that be stupid. They played a whole season with half a starting QB, half a starting OL, and played the most brutal schedule in the country. There isn't a team or coach out there that would've had success under those circumstances.

[Formerly Snayke]

That would be breathtakingly stupid.

[Butterscup1679666578]

A lot of smoke out there that Pinkel will step down. Not sure I actually believe it, but will be interesting to see if there's any staff shakeups for a change. I think Alden is putting his foot down a bit, he feels the pressure of being in the SEC. Not so sure Pinkel does.

 

I don't ever really criticize Alden, but good grief would that be stupid. They played a whole season with half a starting QB, half a starting OL, and played the most brutal schedule in the country. There isn't a team or coach out there that would've had success under those circumstances.

 

I don't think Pinkel should go, but there's several aspects of the coaching staff that I could live without. I think Yost is a pretty terrible OC, personally, and wouldn't be surprised if he was relegated back to just QB/recruiting duties (if he doesn't get a job elsewhere).

[Andy]

Danny Hope fired too, per GoldandBlack.com.

[Andy]

And BC's Frank Spaziani fired as well.

[fiver]

NCSU's Tom O'Brien and Auburn's Gene Chizik both fired today, per several reporters on Twitter.

 

Is there no loyalty? The guy recruited Cam Newton.

 

The hearing the leading candidates to replace Chizik are Guz Malzahn, Kirby Smart, and Jimbo Fisher. Of those three, my choice would be Jimbo Fisher and the staff he would bring with him, including former AU QB Dameyune Craig and recruiting coordinator Bob LaCivita. He has a good thing going at FSU, but he did coach for AU for six seasons and met his wife there. I think he's going to at least listen to an offer.

[dew1679666265]

The hearing the leading candidates to replace Chizik are Guz Malzahn, Kirby Smart, and Jimbo Fisher. Of those three, my choice would be Jimbo Fisher and the staff he would bring with him, including former AU QB Dameyune Craig and recruiting coordinator Bob LaCivita. He has a good thing going at FSU, but he did coach for AU for six seasons and met his wife there. I think he's going to at least listen to an offer.

 

Would somebody like Jimbo be scared away by the NCAA checking out Trooper's recruiting methods? Could be blown out of proportions, but the little bit I've heard sounds really bad for Auburn.

[SpongeWorthy]

Why would an Auburn fan want Fisher over Malzahn?

[fiver]

The hearing the leading candidates to replace Chizik are Guz Malzahn, Kirby Smart, and Jimbo Fisher. Of those three, my choice would be Jimbo Fisher and the staff he would bring with him, including former AU QB Dameyune Craig and recruiting coordinator Bob LaCivita. He has a good thing going at FSU, but he did coach for AU for six seasons and met his wife there. I think he's going to at least listen to an offer.

 

Would somebody like Jimbo be scared away by the NCAA checking out Trooper's recruiting methods? Could be blown out of proportions, but the little bit I've heard sounds really bad for Auburn.

 

I'm not going to get too worried about it unless Auburn actually receives a notice of allegations. The NCAA has interviewed AU staff about the recruitment of Jovon Robinson. As you probably know, his grades were changed by his guidance counselor. However, nothing that has been released by the NCAA suggests they have found a compliance issue. AU's athletic director, Jay Jacobs, indicated in an interview this weekend that he has 'the utmost confidence in our NCAA rules compliance'. Of course, I've been calling for Jay Jacobs' head this season as well, so it's not like I take his word as fact. I don't know how interested Jimbo is in the job, but there is going to be a year or two devoted to rebuilding the program anyway, so I don't think that potential sanctions related to an infraction that hasn't yet been defined would be a huge deterrent.

 

For what it's worth, I do believe many Tennessee boards often get carried away when discussing Trooper Taylor because of his history with that program.

 

 

Why would an Auburn fan want Fisher over Malzahn?

 

 

I'd be ok with AU hiring Fisher, Smart, or Malzahn. Malzahn, nor Smart have yet proven anything as a head coach though. Another potential knock against Malzahn is that I'm hearing that he would be hesitant to hire assistant coaches he doesn’t know extremely well. I believe this means he may want to retain some of the current AU staff. He also approved a number of players with questionable character when he was Auburn’s offensive coordinator. Mostly, I'm referring to the four players who broke into a drug dealer's house with a gun and robbed the drug dealer. Making bad decisions and getting in trouble while in college is one thing. Armed robbery is another. All that said, I do believe that Malzahn has a great offensive mind, is a great recruiter, and may be a great head coach.

 

Jimbo was supposed to have his team in the national title hunt this year and hasn't been able to do that yet; it's not like Jimbo is head and shoulders above Malzahn and Smart in my mind.

 

If I had to guess, I'd say that Malzahn ends up with the job.

[dew1679666265]

I'm not going to get too worried about it unless Auburn actually receives a notice of allegations. The NCAA has interviewed AU staff about the recruitment of Jovon Robinson. As you probably know, his grades were changed by his guidance counselor. However, nothing that has been released by the NCAA suggests they have found a compliance issue. AU's athletic director, Jay Jacobs, indicated in an interview this weekend that he has 'the utmost confidence in our NCAA rules compliance'. Of course, I've been calling for Jay Jacobs' head this season as well, so it's not like I take his word as fact. I don't know how interested Jimbo is in the job, but there is going to be a year or two devoted to rebuilding the program anyway, so I don't think that potential sanctions related to an infraction that hasn't yet been defined would be a huge deterrent.

 

Interesting, thanks.

 

For what it's worth, I do believe many Tennessee boards often get carried away when discussing Trooper Taylor because of his history with that program.

 

I can definitely understand that and it's why I asked you about it. I wanted to get your perspective.

 

Anything at all to the rumors that Auburn has interest in Petrino?

[Formerly Snayke]

I don't think Pinkel should go, but there's several aspects of the coaching staff that I could live without. I think Yost is a pretty terrible OC, personally, and wouldn't be surprised if he was relegated back to just QB/recruiting duties (if he doesn't get a job elsewhere).

 

I'm actually starting to waver on how much I want Pinkel to stay. 2012 would have been a disastrous year for any coach, but I do think there's reason to believe the program peaked in the Cotton Bowl five years ago.

[fiver]

Anything at all to the rumors that Auburn has interest in Petrino?

 

Without question, Petrino has the ability to game plan. He has the ability to coach his kids and get the most of their ability. However, is he going to be able to recruit against Saban, Miles, Richt, Muschamp, etc? Will he still be able to convince parents to send their kids? If he's able to consistently pull a top 15 recruiting class, I think he would be able to compete with Saban, Miles, Richt, Muschamp. I'm speculating, but given the characters issues, I believe AU would need to whiff on Jimbo, Gus Malzahn, and Kirby Smart before turning to Petrino.

 

I saw that Jimbo denied today that he's interested in any coaching job other than at FSU. I don't think that necessarily rules him out of any of the SEC openings, but I think AU would have to throw a hell of a lot of money at him, and I'm not sure if he's that much better than some of the other candidates.

[Formerly Snayke]

Pinkel is coming back and Alden says he doesn't see any staff changes.

[snoodmonger]

I don't think Pinkel should go, but there's several aspects of the coaching staff that I could live without. I think Yost is a pretty terrible OC, personally, and wouldn't be surprised if he was relegated back to just QB/recruiting duties (if he doesn't get a job elsewhere).

 

I'm actually starting to waver on how much I want Pinkel to stay. 2012 would have been a disastrous year for any coach, but I do think there's reason to believe the program peaked in the Cotton Bowl five years ago.

 

hypothetically, who's a realistic hire that's an improvement over Pinkel?

[SouthSideRyan]

I don't think Pinkel should go, but there's several aspects of the coaching staff that I could live without. I think Yost is a pretty terrible OC, personally, and wouldn't be surprised if he was relegated back to just QB/recruiting duties (if he doesn't get a job elsewhere).

 

I'm actually starting to waver on how much I want Pinkel to stay. 2012 would have been a disastrous year for any coach, but I do think there's reason to believe the program peaked in the Cotton Bowl five years ago.

 

hypothetically, who's a realistic hire that's an improvement over Pinkel?

 

Probably some guy with SEC roots who has a ridiculous name.

[Formerly Snayke]

hypothetically, who's a realistic hire that's an improvement over Pinkel?

 

Nobody, which is why my first thought of having him step down was that it would be really dumb. But I don't think Pinkel has done a good job building off of 2007 and if he's going to be one of the 20 highest paid coaches it's reasonable to expect better than the Holiday, Texas, Insight and Independence Bowls.

[mul21]

hypothetically, who's a realistic hire that's an improvement over Pinkel?

 

Nobody, which is why my first thought of having him step down was that it would be really dumb. But I don't think Pinkel has done a good job building off of 2007 and if he's going to be one of the 20 highest paid coaches it's reasonable to expect better than the Holiday, Texas, Insight and Independence Bowls.

 

Well, considering before he got there you went to one of those bowls every 5 years, I'd say he's doing something right. Also, the brutality of the schedule this year combined with the injuries gets him a pass in my book. 5 losses to teams in the top 10 of the BCS. Bama, Fla, A&M, Georgia, and South Carolina.

[Formerly Snayke]

Well, considering before he got there you went to one of those bowls every 5 years, I'd say he's doing something right. Also, the brutality of the schedule this year combined with the injuries gets him a pass in my book. 5 losses to teams in the top 10 of the BCS. Bama, Fla, A&M, Georgia, and South Carolina.

 

Right, I agree that he gets a pass for 2012, but 2008-2010 are pretty uninspiring in retrospect. Whether it was deserved or not, they opened up 2008 as a Top 10 team and finished out needing overtime to beat Northwestern. The Gabbert years were completely "meh."

 

Maybe Missouri's plateau is a 6-win SEC team. And that's fine, but I don't think they need to pay Pinkel $2.5 million to accomplish it.

[Butterscup1679666578]

The absolute best Mizzou could do is hire a coordinator with SEC ties (Kirby Smart?). #backupthetruck

 

Won't happen though. I agree with Snayke, I like Pinkel as a coach, he's done good things here, but I don't know if he can get us to that next step. And maybe (more than likely) Mizzou will only get to that next step once every 10 years, who knows, but I do think he has one year left. If he can pull out 8 wins next year he'll be fine, but if he misses another bowl he'll be gone I'm sure.

[Smack]

Dave Doeren is out of the running for the Purdue job. Not sure who backed off him, or Purdue. Probably him lol.

 

Rumor now is that Butch Jones is our AD's top choice. FML