A few things popping up on them internets for your review:
- Barry Tramel suggests that college juniors ought to have more bargaining strength with regard to eligibility and the NFL draft. He makes some good points – particularly with regard to emasculating agents with these kids – which means it has the proverbial snowball’s chance of happening.
- Doug Williams may be a bitter man, but that doesn’t mean he’s not observant. And right.
- This is a pretty run-of-the-mill D-1 playoff proposal. I’m just linking to it because it’s (1) pitched by a man of the cloth and (2) involves the casting of lots. How biblical.
- You want proof that times are tough, economically speaking? ESPN is looking at job cuts and a hiring freeze.
- On the other hand, it looks like Pam Ward will be gainfully employed through the 2016-17 school year. Pity.
- Over at Smart Football, Chris has a post up about the man who may be Matt Stafford’s next head coach. Interesting guy (Schwartz, not Stafford).
- Meet Shane Beamer, the Swiss Army Knife of college assistant coaches.
Get The Picture 
Pam Ward is the most handsome woman in sports.
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1. I have always admired Doug Williams. In his superbowl appearance, everything which could go wrong went wrong in the first quarter but he hung in there and led his team to victory.
2. College coaches. This is the chicken and egg situation we are in. Perhaps the players should reflect society as opposed to whether the coaches should reflect the make up of the players? This would not be fair. I believe in competition. You can not have competition in one and not the other.
I watch Mack Brown at Texas and although I am not a fan of his, I admire his ability to work the alumni, the politics, manage the process and get money from people. I do not think he is the best coach from a tactical perspective. It has taken him some time to get a competent coaching staff but he did do it. Do you know that he pays a guy $25K a year to find out who is saying bad things about him. He is sort of paranoid. Any way, the point is that there is more to being a successful big time college coach than just being a good game day coach. I think the pressure is so great to win that a school will pick the one they think will do it regardless of their color. The right person is the one who in theory has the complete set of skills. I personally would rather coach in the NFL than put up with the bs associated with the college coaching environment.
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I’m trying to figure out what Williams did at Grambling that was a qualifying event to be hired at Kentucky. I get that you don’t see a lot of black coaches and I get that not many black coaches get the opportunity to show that they can do the job. However, in the specific case of Doug Williams, a stint at UK would have ended just like his job at Grambling did. Brooks, although no world beater, is and was a better hire than Williams in any year.
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I disagree about Turner Gill. Going 8-5 at Buffalo and winning the MAC in a fluke of a game does not ready you to fight it out in the SEC. I believe Gill is a good coach with a lot of potential. But, taking the Auburn job would effectively stunt his career, if not end it. He’s much better off staying as far away from the SEC as possible. There is lots of success to be found elsewhere.
If Doug Williams wants to make a case of black coaches not getting their shot, look no further than Charlie Strong. The fact that he has not had a legitimate shot at a coaching gig is the biggest sham of shams… regardless of what color the man or his wife is.
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With regards to the draft, I think the players should have more leverage… or at least more flexibility in the timing of their decision, but it won’t be the NFL that gives anything up. The colleges will be the ones that are held hostage. The way it is now, players can choose to stay or go. But, either way, the teams are able to move forward knowing exactly what they have at their disposal.
I think the combine should be held the week after the Super Bowl. The players should be able to get credible feedback after workouts as opposed to projections a month before the workouts, and then should be able to make an informed decision about forgoing their remaining eligibility then. Signing day could be pushed back a few weeks or so, but if you add an early signing period, it’s not that big of a deal. That way, players who make mistakes deciding to leave early, or who just don’t perform all that well at the combine can choose to come back and try again the next year. This way, the college teams aren’t held hostage, and the players have more power in the decision-making process.
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The idea that black coaches are not getting hired in D-I football because of skin color is a crock. I mean, a team in Mississippi-which according to Hollywood is the most racist place on planet Earth-hired Sylvester Croom, a black coach. Alabama would have hired a giant green Martian instead of Nick Saban if the martian had a better won-loss record. Schools hire people who they think will be winners, and I sincerely doubt color weighs into very much.
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Strange KY should be mentioned. The Head Coach in Waitng for UK is black. So much for that problem.
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No Felton comments?
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Nah – this here’s a college football blog, with an occasional reference to barbeque, beer and (James) Brown.
Besides, if there’s ever been a basketball season to refrain from commenting on, this has been the one.
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Amen, Senator.
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Maybe it’s not so much the color of the college football coach. Maybe it’s the color of his wife, which, if not the same color as her husband/coach, could have a chilling effect on the revenue stream of dollars from influential donors or boosters outside the school.
Charlie Strong and Turner Gill each seem to deserve a higher coaching position than either has now. Meyer praises Strong as an exceptional candidate for a head coaching job at the end of each season. Can’t remember Meyer consistently doing that for Mullins.
Agree that Gill would have had a tough time making the jump from Buffalo to Auburn but the Auburn fans seemed to prefer him over Chizik anyway. Think that Strong would have been much better choice than Chizik at Auburn or Mullins at Mississippi State. No Florida fans ever seemed to complain about Strong down here but they wanted Mullins head on a pole after they lost to Ole Miss.
When Strong or Gill do get elevated, if they’re still married to the same woman as they are now, chances are that their next tour of duty will not be as head coach of one of SEC teams located in Dixie.
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The topic of race and coaching was beaten to death over on EDSBS a little while ago and someone, it may have been Orson, pointed out that the problem really starts at the level of GAs. It’s easy to fall back on the crutch argument of W-L and say that race doesn’t matter (even if this flies in the face of recent evidence; see: Auburn, UT). The real problem is the lack of opportunity to work your way up through a system and prove yourself. Of course this may no longer be an issue, now that Notre Dame and UT are revolutionizing how GA spots are filled…
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Jim:
Mack knows you said that.
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