It's silly week in the NFL. The week between the Championship games and the Super Bowl. Yeah, there's the Pro Bowl game but the players treat it as a joke and so will I.
This year's silliness is the wall to wall coverage on how the Patriots deflated the balls in the AFC championship game.
You can only say "deflated balls" for so long without giggling. And it didn't take long for the comedians to jump in. Both Tom and Ellis sent this Cialis spoof around. Mrs. Brady was saying that Tom's balls are perfect. Shrinkage. Comedic gold.
As for the seriousness of the charge. Of course, Belichick and Brady knew. They are too perfectionist to not know. Brady's ball boy (giggle) will probably take the fall with a healthy buy-out but the blame belongs with them. And the NFL.
A couple of years back, they changed the rules to allow teams (and quarterbacks) to bring their own balls to the game. About 2.5 hours before the game the refs check the balls and then give them back! Why in the world do they give them back to known cheaters like Belichick? That's just asking for trouble.
The solution is simple. After they penalize the Patriots (a small fine and loss of day three draft choice is about right) they should change to procedure so that the refs control the balls from the time they receive them and then throughout the game. The teams should have no access to the balls once submitted.
The NFL regulates everything from the color of socks to sharpies on the field but let teams like the Patriots control something as vital as the balls themselves. Dumb. The NFL deserves this face plant.
So while the NFL tries to regain its composure and get everyone focused back on the Super Bowl, it's time for the annual look at the College Football Coaching Carousel. With new coaches at the helm, teams that were fade machines may not be so bad next year and teams that were easy covers may have had their HC bumped up the ranks.
Here's the Doofus' take on all the changes (so far)
This year's silliness is the wall to wall coverage on how the Patriots deflated the balls in the AFC championship game.
You can only say "deflated balls" for so long without giggling. And it didn't take long for the comedians to jump in. Both Tom and Ellis sent this Cialis spoof around. Mrs. Brady was saying that Tom's balls are perfect. Shrinkage. Comedic gold.
As for the seriousness of the charge. Of course, Belichick and Brady knew. They are too perfectionist to not know. Brady's ball boy (giggle) will probably take the fall with a healthy buy-out but the blame belongs with them. And the NFL.
A couple of years back, they changed the rules to allow teams (and quarterbacks) to bring their own balls to the game. About 2.5 hours before the game the refs check the balls and then give them back! Why in the world do they give them back to known cheaters like Belichick? That's just asking for trouble.
The solution is simple. After they penalize the Patriots (a small fine and loss of day three draft choice is about right) they should change to procedure so that the refs control the balls from the time they receive them and then throughout the game. The teams should have no access to the balls once submitted.
The NFL regulates everything from the color of socks to sharpies on the field but let teams like the Patriots control something as vital as the balls themselves. Dumb. The NFL deserves this face plant.
So while the NFL tries to regain its composure and get everyone focused back on the Super Bowl, it's time for the annual look at the College Football Coaching Carousel. With new coaches at the helm, teams that were fade machines may not be so bad next year and teams that were easy covers may have had their HC bumped up the ranks.
Here's the Doofus' take on all the changes (so far)
| Team 
Central Michigan
Colorado State
 Florida 
Houston
Kansas
Nebraska
Oregon State
SMU
| Out with the Old Jeff Quinn Dan Enos Jim McElwain Will Muschamp Tony Levine Charlie Weiss Brady Hoke Bo Pelini Mike Reilly Paul Chryst June Jones Larry Blakeney Bill Blankenship Bobby Hauck Gary Andersen | In with the New and Former Position Lance Leipold HC - Wisconsin Whitewater TBD Mike Bobo OC - Georgia Jim McElwain HC - Colorado State Tom Herman OC - Ohio State David Beaty WR Coach and Recruitng Coordinator - Texas A&M Jim Harbaugh HC - San Francisco 49ers Mike Riley HC Oregon State Gary Andersen HC - Wisconsin \ Pat Narduzzi DC - Michigan State Chad Morris OC - Clemson Neal Brown OC - Kentucky Philip Montgomery OC - Baylor Tony Sanchez HC - Bishop Gorman HS Paul Chryst HC - Pitt | Whiskey Infused Thoughts Teams in the lower echelons of Div 1A usually bring in some young gun coordinator or a HC from even lower ranks (see Wyoming last year). Buffalo went with option 2. Actually, Buffalo went down two rungs nabbing Leipold from Div 3 UW Wwitewater. At Whitewater he was a legend going 109-6 - getting to 100 wins faster than any head coach at any level. Leipold won six national championships and one runner up in eight seasons at UW-W. Incredible. His background is entirely within Wisconsin and Nebraska so he will need to establish relationships in the Northeast while continuing to mine WI, IL and MI. And going from Div II to Div 1A is big enough. Coming from Div III is huge. Leipold goes from perennial championships to a program steeped in losing. Tough adjustment. He brings a pro style offense, tremendous track record and that winners attitude. Good hire. The Bulls will not be an easy out. I like Enos but that was poorly done. Upping and leaving two weeks from signing day? It may have been the right decision for Dan and his family but I expected better from him. CMU was left in a real lurch. Of the candidates being bandied about, I like Tony Annese from Ferris State the best. Stay tuned. Colorado State must really be enamored with the SEC. After hiring McElwain from Alabama they get Bobo from Georgia Bobo was the better offensive coordinator. For all the inconsistencies from Georgia, the offense was rarely the problem. Last year the Dawgs were 8th overall in scoring, 12th in rushing and 30th in overall yards. He's mentored players such as Stafford, AJ Green, Moreno and Gurley. Young, (he's just 40), he's been in Athens every year since high school except for one. He'll have to learn an entirely new recruiting landscape He's handed a middle weight program that went 10-3 this year. That's going to be a tough act to follow. If he does well, he will move back to the Southeast. If he doesn't he will still be back there. My guess - CSU will be above average in the Mountain West but not enough to satisfy the fans. I panned McElwain hiring at Colorado State back in 2012. But he showed steady progress going 4-8, 8-6 to 10-3 and in the hunt for a New Year's Six bowl last year. At CSU he continued his offenses were prolific - ending up 4th in yards per play and 8th in scoring. Now he returns to the SEC where he was last seen winning back to back national titles at the side of St Nick. He knows the recruiting landscape but will can he coach a defense too? Muschamp is now at Auburn and DC DJ Durkin left for Michigan. Improving Florida's pathetic offense should be a piece of cake and challenging in the woeful SEC East is a given. Not sure McElwain can take on the big boys though. Florida's position will be open again within five years. Yet another OC promotion. Unlike Bobo, Herman knows the Texas recruiting landscape having coached in the Lone Star State at five different colleges. Herman is younger (39) and even more prolific than Bobo too with Ohio State finishing 5th in scoring, 9th in rushing and 9th in total offense. But how much of it was Herman versus Meyer? Herman had great offenses at Texas State and Rice so he knows how to move the ball. He fits in well at Houston which is traditionally an offensive first type program. Good hire. Herman will use this a steeping stone. He'll be hired away within four years. Anything will be an improvement over 'Ol Frontbutt. Never ceases to amaze me how that guy kept getting hired. Beatty's career path has been Kansas, then a Texas school, back to Kansas and repeat. He's back to Kansas. Normally I puke all over hiring recruiting coordinators but Beaty has coordinating chops having been OC at Rice and Kansas. But those teams stunk. Rice was 110th overall and Kansas was even worse at 115th. He knows recruiting Texas which Kansas needs but this hire is destined to be replaced in 3- 4 years. Why it's simply the best coaching hire ever. Soon college football will be the Big One and the Little 127. No one stands a chance against the Real Michigan Man (Huh? what's that - that phrase is retired?. My bad) And his staff is among the pantheon of coaching gods all of whom coming running for a chance to learn from the master at the Mecca of college football. At least that's what the Detroit media would have you believe. No doubt, Harbaugh has had success. Three straight trips to the NFC championship game was no accident. And he was able to do it in the college ranks too taking also ran San Diego State to back to back 11 win seasons and then a 1-11 Stanford team into Orange Bowl champs. But his ultra competitive personality and antics soon rub everyone the wrong way. He'll get away with it in Ann Arbor though. The Michigan vs MSU and OSU games will become competitive again and (I hate to say it) he will get some wins. Not all, not even a majority but enough to stop Michigan from being a laughing stock. That's when the NFL will come calling and he will bolt for a chance to beat his brother in the Super Bowl. Because that's Harbaugh's real legacy - four years or so and then See Ya. Enjoy it while it lasts WalMart fans. OK Nebraska, you got your wish. You dumped prickly Pelini cause he wasn't competitve in the big games. 9-10 wins wasn't enough. You wanted a return to the Glory Days. What are you thinking now? Mike Riley is going to take you there? I like Riley. He's a solid coach. But he is much better fitted to making a program like Kansas respectable than taking Nebraska to the Playoffs. Riley was 93-80 at Oregon State and was good for a huge upset every so often. But he also had some huge gaffes to teams like Sacramento State and Eastern Washington. And the Beavers never seriously challenged in the Pac 12. He was not known for recruiting and has no background in Nebraska's territory. Maybe it was a cost saving move. Riley was the lowest paid Pac 12 coach and will make half what Pelini did. Mike is 61 and will ultimately "retire" at Nebraska. Just not sure if he will make it to 65 Mike Riley leaving OSU for Nebraska was stunning. But this is way beyond stunning. Jaw dropping? Mind blowing? Not sure what it is but it's a surprise to say the least. Without warning, Andersen leaves a program where he was the Big Fish in a one program state to an after thought in the Pac 12 and second fiddle to a rich power house in a tiny state. Just doesn't make sense. Rumors are that he didn't like the academic standards in Madison. What standards? All you have to do is quote Mao's Little Red Book and you get an A in most classes. If that doesn't work then just keep Barry's hot tub restocked and everything will be taken care of. Andersen is a good coach. He was a bizarre ending to Arizona State from back to back 10 wins. Sure, there were gaffes like 59-0 to Ohio State, a meltdown to LSU and losses to Northwestern and Cal. But overall, he pounded the rock and played good defense. In the strangest set of coaching hires, the Beavers got an upgrade.Andersen will be in Corvallis for many years. Of course I like this hire. And for good reason. Pitt has been trying to establish a pound and ground team with a tight aggressive defense for years. There was Wannstedt, a detour with Todd Graham, then Paul Chrsyt. Narduzzi will bring the defense to the offense set up by Chryst. If you haven't seen RB James Conner play yet, your missing out. He will complement the defenses Narduzzi will be bringing to Heinz Field. He also has a track record of finding and developing talent, crucial when trying to recruit against the Big Ten powerhouses that scour his area. His lunch bucket mentality will go over well in Steel Town. Great fit, excellent hire. Pitt will be a contender in the ACC. Morris returns to his roots. He was a Dallas area high school coach for 16 years before joining the college ranks at Tulsa then on to Clemson. He has spent the last four years as the OC at Clemson and put on quite a show. The Tigers were ranked 9th and 10th in offense in 2012 - 2013 before falling to 61st last year. Apparently, SMU, apparently, is attributing the fall off to the multiple injuries to star QB DeShaun Watson. Morris has been itching to get back to Texas. Two years ago he interviewed for the HC job at Texas Tech. There is nowhere but up for the Mustangs. They are an upset of UConn from being winless last year, their third one win season in the last eight. A great fit for SMU as they love QB centric, high scoring teams. Morris will provide that and then some. Larry Blakeney is a legend at Troy. He coached at Troy for 24 years taking them from Div II to FCS and finally to Div 1A. He also made them a Sun Belt powerhouse. Hell, they even named the field after him It's tough to follow a legend. Brown decided to give it a go. Blakeney gave Brown his first chance making him the youngest coordinator in Div 1A. He took the ball and ran with it. The Trojans won four championships in five years during his tenure and finished third in offense his final year. Troy hasn't had a winning season since he left. At Kentucky he improved the scoring from 18 points per game in 2012 to 29 per game last season. . That improvement aside, the Wildcats didn't exactly tear it up finishing 82nd overall on offense. Another youngster (he's 34) he'll be known as the guy who transitioned from the legend to the guy who turned the program around. He'll be out in 3-4 years. Much like Troy, Tulsa has fallen on hard times. After playing in eight straight bowls from 2004 - 12 and four conference championship games, they have won only five games since. Now they reach out to Montgomery to bring back an offense that finished 92nd in points scored last year. Montgomery's offenses at Baylor have been fantastic. They were the only ones to finish in the top four the last four years. But was it him or Briles? Montgomery's entire career has been at Brile's side following him from Houston in 2003 to Baylor in 2008. Tulsa has been long known for being an up tempo program. Montgomery should take it to another level. He'll need to, with the hiring of Herman at Houston and Morris at SMU. The AAC is going to being putting up points next year. Montgomery knows Texas recruiting which Tulsa needs. Another good fit. Montgomery will have Tulsa back and then get a promotion in 3-4 years. Dropping down to the FCS ranks can work. So can going to Div II. Buffalo may have found a winner in Div III. But hiring from High School? That never works. The last time I recall a HS coach going directly to Div 1A, Todd Dodge was taking over North Texas. He went 6-20 over three years. And who can forget Gerry Faust at Notre Dame. That was a disaster for the Irish. And at least they were legends at football factories in powerhouse states. But a powerhouse in Nevada? That's like being that 5'10" kid in middle school. UNLV will continue to be a joke in the Mountain West. Wisconsin made the best of a bad situation. When Gary Andersen bolted for a lesser opportunity at Oregon State, Barry brought back Chryst where he was OC. Chryst may have planned on going to Pitt to get head coaching experience before returning to Madison. If so, he is coming back a little early. And what is it with Wisconsin? That's two successful coaches bolting in three years. Whatever it is, Chryst is OK with it. He played there, was the TE coach in 2002 and then returned as OC from 2005-11 At Pitt, Chryst was implmenting the Badger system and starting to have some success. The Panthers finished 16th in rushing and 5th in time of possession. Numbers 4 and 6? That would be Wisconsin and Arkansas. Barry hired a guy that will stick around and continue the Badger way. That means more Big Ten West crowns and an occasional upset to win the Big Ten championship. |
