Every Monday during college football's endless offseason, The FanHouse Walk will put last week's stories to bed and deliver the essentials to bridge that agonizing space between now and September.You Can't Be Bad All of the Time -- First-year Tennessee football coach Lane Kiffin has built up a tremendous amount of antagonism this offseason. There's nobody to blame but himself, of course, but sometimes you have to give the Devil his due. For all his transgressions, try not to read too much into the story that Tennessee has been witness to 11 player departures. Wherever possible in college athletics, you want to look out for the best interest of the athletes but healthy, successful coaching transitions at big-time football programs almost require a good dose of roster turnover. Whether he's handled it right is up for debate but the raw numbers themselves should not be an indictment of Kiffin.
I would actually be more worried for Kiffin if after spring ball there was little player movement to be found. Any time you change from one executive to another, the remaining personnel aren't always going to be a good fit for the program, either athletically or temperamentally. The more unhappy folk that walk away, the less division there is later on as a roster is built with people who are willing to buy in. That is a good thing and gives the folks who wouldn't have a shot or might cause trouble a chance at peace elsewhere.
We Apologize In Advance -- Anyway, that's my modest peace offering, but if you're the Knoxville News, you put together a story about the Kiffin family, the struggles of their move, and put a video on the internet for all to see what a nice couple they are. Smooch smooch, please don't get mad at us when you get spanked by Florida and our columnists are up in arms criticizing you a few months from now coach, in other words. (Via Dr. Saturday)
Oh No, A Poll! -- BCS bashers everywhere, cover your eyes, its the attack of polls, ohmygodsoscary how dare those things invade our game, must defend self with ridiculous snark and over the top bashing. Right?
ESPN's Tim Griffin found a cool composite of preseason polls with a 'heavy Southern bent' at LSUFootball.net. The top three's fairly predictable with Florida, Texas and Oklahoma. Alabama's recovered from that beatdown against Utah to a healthy five spot and Oklahoma State is all the way up there at No. 6. Personally I think Ole Miss is vastly overrated at No. 10, that is fool's gold right there.
Progress -- USA Today digs into college football coaching data to find a rise in the number of minority head coaches and coordinators but is still unimpressed. The Black Coaches Association also has its say. Telling quote from first-year New Mexico State coach DeWayne Walker:
Having seen both sides, Walker says NFL teams are "more proactive and more open-minded" about minority head coaches and the hiring process is straightforward - "if the GM and the owner like you, they hire you." Colleges, he says, have more "political" concerns - "it's not just the AD and the president at the BCS schools, there are other factors."
Nevertheless, he says, coaches "almost have to be in the game from the college standpoint to get a college head coaching position."
And that's unlikely to ever change given how the money structure works in college athletics.
University presidents and athletic directors are charged not only with hiring someone who will put butts in the seats like an NFL owner or general manager, but hiring someone who can connect with big dollar donors who provide the major funds that help fund new facilities, stadium expansions, and so on. Hopefully that is something those interested in improving the lot of minority coaches are considering and working on, finding ways to systematically connect with what is most likely a largely white, wealthy, older group of people who have tremendous financial power at these programs.
As I've said repeatedly I think the most efficient and most rewarding path for minority coaches will be to flood the coordinator ranks which is something that appears to be accelerating the last few years. The vast majority of college head coaches are hired after stints as either offensive or defensive coordinators in the college ranks. The more we see minority names pop up as hotshot coordinators, the more difficult it is to ignore them in the hiring process as fans debate their merits and put pressure on a university to hire their favorite before a rival program scoops them up.
Overtime, Ball on the 25
-- A second bowl game is set for Las Vegas this year, the Maaco Bowl to be played on December 22nd. The Mountain West champion or first choice will be pitted against the fourth or fifth selection from the Pac-10. This is a horrible arrangement for the Pac-10 but should shut up the Mountain West fairness brigade if they find themselves regularly losing this thing. (Via CollegeFootballTalk)
-- Florida State President T.K. Wetherell is never at a loss for words. This week he's done the unusual in criticizing the disciplinary skills of receiver coach Lawrence Dawsey. Wow. (Via The Wiz of Odds)
-- Georgia is bringing the hammer down on two players, suspending them for multiple games for team rule violations.
-- ESPN's Graham Watson is fighting the good fight, publishing in-depth post spring breakdowns of Sun Belt and Conference USA programs. Do dig into those if you have the time.
