NCAA Football syracuse Orange

Even though by Lord Voldemort Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany has already shot down the idea, Penn State coach Joe Paterno still thinks the league should add a twelfth teams and a championship game. JoePa added a twist on Wednesday, saying who he doesn't want to see added to the conference: Notre Dame.

Stating the Irish have "had their chance," Paterno wants the league to look east, as in Big East. He recommends adding Syracuse, Pitt, or Rutgers to the conference. Paterno wants to see the Big Ten pick up the New York market, which would argue against Pitt. Rutgers has to like its chances in the Big East more than in in the Big Ten. As for Syracuse, well, at this point, you couldn't blame them if they decided to join Temple in the MAC. So there's no school out there that makes sense as a twelfth Big Ten Team, right?

Greg Paulus has chosen to go from being the focus of verbal abuse and scorn as a guard for Duke basketball to physical abuse as the quarterback of Syracuse. The senior has one year of eligibility remaining, and was one of the top quarterback prospects in the country before opting for basketball at Duke.

Paulus made the decision quite a saga, as he traveled from working out with the Green Bay Packers to a flirtation with Michigan before narrowing the field to Nebraska or Syracuse. He ultimately chose Syracuse, his hometown team and the one he originally scorned in favor of Duke.

College Football Spring Storylines 2009 looks at the key developments and big news from spring ball.

Spring. The time for rebirth and renewal. At least that is the theory. While there was only one change at head coach, there will be plenty of new in the Big East, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Half the teams have a different offensive coordinator. To say nothing of the departures of top offensive talent including quarterbacks Pat White and Mike Teel, running backs LeSean McCoy and Donald Brown, along with wide receivers Kenny Britt, Dominick Goodman and Tiquan Underwood. Defense will definitely lead the way in the conference this year.

FanHouse's lead-up to college football's signing day makes like Charles Dickens and looks at the Ghosts of Recruiting -- past, present and future. In the Ghosts of Recruiting Past we note 10 recruiting powers who have hit a dry spell

Today's kids probably have no idea Pitt and Syracuse were once incredibly powerful programs, not much different than say, a Georgia of today. Unfortunately for various reasons, several decades of change in America and the college football landscape have revealed their age. Sure, there's the movie about the late great Ernie Davis. Jim Brown is an American athletic legend and cultural icon. Pitt produced legends like Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino, Hugh Green and Mike Ditka. Oh, and that Larry Fitzgerald guy. None of that matters much right now.

Coming this September to a stadium near you: the story of two men, their lives intertwined only by the jobs they do, their careers both at a crossroads. But instead of giving up hope, accepting defeat, they turn to each other.

This is Redemption: The Rich Rodriguez and Greg Robinson story.

At least, that's what the Michigan faithful are hoping -- this may just as well turn out to be Agony in Ann Arbor: The Rich Rodriguez and Greg Robinson story. The Wolverines, fresh off a miserable 3-9 season, have hired Robinson, recently run out of Syracuse, as their new defensive coordinator.

Way back in September, Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross all but declared his head football coach to be a dead-man walking. In the course of which, he infamously stated that when Syracuse made the inevitable coaching change, "we'll get the first pick of the draft."

That did not work out as expected. Instead, Tennessee, Clemson and Washington jumped the queue and made hires. Then Syracuse found itself competing with Auburn as well for Turner Gill, and top choices were rejecting the overtures.

So, Syracuse after going with a defensive coordinator that had never been a head coach, had primarily spent his time in the NFL, and had no recruiting connections in the Northeast in Greg Robinson makes the very similar call. They hire the New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator, Doug Marrone.

Marrone had been in the NFL since 2002. Despite the title, he hasn't actually call the plays for New Orleans. He does, however, excel at coaching up the offensive line. Most of his college coaching experience (1994-2001) was in the ACC and SEC, not the Northeast.

On the bright side, he played for Syracuse in the 1980s and is from New York. Plus, he actually wanted the job.

As for the reaction from Syracuse fans...

You know, for a program that had announced back in mid-November that they were looking for a new coach, Syracuse has really struggled to find someone, anyone to take the job. First Al Golden would rather stay at Temple than consider the Syracuse gig (though, that may not be entirely true). Now East Carolina's Skip Holtz has apparently rejected the Syracuse overtures.

East Carolina officials will announce later this afternoon that Skip Holtz has declined interest in the Syracuse University head coaching position.

The announcement is expected shortly before Holtz appears in Memphis for the Liberty Bowl press conference.

This is a big blow to Syracuse's coaching search. All signs pointed to Skip Holtz being the top target of Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross. He met with Holtz at least twice in New York City the last couple of days, when Holtz was there for the induction ceremony of his father Lou Holtz to the College Football Hall of Fame. A couple days ago, the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician took note of a curious video running on the Syracuse Athletics website of Lou Holtz singing the praises of his son.

Just not a good thing for the Orange. Whether Holtz was the best choice or not, it seems clear that he was their top choice. Getting rejected on top of the dismal season, and after they had plenty of time to figure out their coaching search just suggests how screwed up Syracuse football is right now.

On the bright side, Auburn hasn't offered their job to Buffalo's Turner Gill yet. The Orange might want to move on that front soon. Of course if they were to be rejected by the head coach of Buffalo as well...

Skip Holtz is kind of god-like in Greenville, N.C. After all, he has taken the East Carolina Pirates from "always-ran" to "false hope BCS team that made it to the GMAC Bowl."

Of course, with that success comes, inevitably, other schools that play the role of suitor. And the latest news, as is incredulously being "broken" by his own father Lou Holtz -- whose journalistic credibility knows no bounds -- is that Syracuse is really interested in Skip and that he has agreed to sit down and talk about their vacancy.

"I know he has not met with them thus far," Lou Holtz said tonight. "I know he wouldn't do that with so much riding on his team (going to the Conference USA championship game). We're going to be in New York. Notre Dame is having a dinner for me tomorrow night which (Skip) and wife are coming up as well. Syracuse will be there. I think they're going to talk. He hasn't met with them. He's going to talk to them. I know they want to talk to him. I think they've asked permission. I'm not in the middle of negotiations. I'm not an agent. I'm just trying to hang on to my job and do a TV show".

Asked if Skip has interest in the Syracuse job, Lou said he did.

Syracuse? Really, Skip?

Maybe Al Golden is just really loyal to the Owls. Or maybe it's a message to Syracuse of just how far they have fallen.

"Syracuse asked for permission to speak with Coach Golden, and it was granted," said Temple Director of Athletics Bill Bradshaw. "However, Coach Golden has indicated that he is not interested in pursuing the position."

Ouch. It's not like Syracuse hasn't been suffering enough the last few years. Now the coach of a team kicked out of the Big East isn't even interested.

On the other hand, this could be about Golden looking at a bigger brass ring. The Penn State alum has long been mentioned as a possible successor to Joe Paterno. He might think that possibility is getting closer than ever. Or he could be eyeing the Virginia job. The former 'Hoo defensive coordinator had to notice that Al Groh was not getting the additional year on his contract after this season.

Both jobs might be available in the next year or two. Golden just might be waiting a little longer for a better opportunity.

Oh, West Virginia. It's not like anyone expected Bill Stewart to be anything other than the second coming of Larry Coker, but even Larry Coker couldn't screw up the talent he was handed in his first year. WVU is now 7-4 after a loss to Pitt, and this week all you need are the titles of threads posted with whole words in caps with multiple exclamation points on WVU's Scout message board:

FIRE STEWART NOW!!!!!!!!!! SICK OF THIS MORON!!!!!!

THAT WAS HORRIBLE!!!!!!!

No wonder Jim Grobe let JEFFY BOY GO!!!

WES LYONS FINALLY MAKES A MEANINGFUL BIG PLAY!!!!*

FIRE Stewart!!!!!

STEW NEEDS TO GET MEANER!!!!!

WE ARE PRETTY SPOILED!!

Mike Leach COME HOME!!!!

*(not going out of bounds with 15 seconds on the clock.)

Country roads, take the Tears of Unfathomable Sadness to the place they belong.

The week in spleen after the jump.