College FB coaching openings

You talking firing or a coach leaving for another job? I could see Butch Davis at Auburn.

 

If Butch had wanted to leave UNC, wouldn't he have gone to Tennessee? He'd be in a much better position to win there than at Auburn.

 

Not if Auburn is someplace he's always wanted to coach.

 

The guys in the ACC who need to go are

-- Al Groh -- whose window has closed and he won absolutely nothing. Early on some of his teams were loaded with NFL talent -- and they always underachieved. He will never have that kind of talent as he had in like 2003, 2004, 2005 ever again.

-- Bobby Bowden/Mickey Andrews/Chuck Amato -- Bobby is done and Mickey's brand of coaching is no longer effective.

-- Ralph Friedgen and Randy Shannon are probably justified in getting another year or two but both should be on alert.

 

Well, I don't suppose I can argue with that if it's true. I'd be astounded if anyone who didn't go to school there ever dreamed of such, though ...

 

Auburn is like Michigan State, Georgia Tech, UCLA, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Texas Tech -- the fan base is delusional in how good the program can actually become because they will always be No. 2 in their state. These programs can be good programs, can have a period of success -- but they ain't never going to be "the man" and the fans can't handle it and lose their minds trying to figure out why they never sustain long periods of winning big -- and thus they continue to fire coaches!!

 

Looks like Groh got a phone call from the governor.

 

http://www.dailyprogress.com/cdp/sports/cavalier_insider/ci_football/article/sources_groh_to_return_as_coach/32300/

Indeed, Circus.

I echo zag's point on Groh. If there ever was a window to win the ACC Coastal, this year was it. Miami's not back yet. Virginia Tech is down. Georgia Tech was installing a new offense. UNC is still UNC. Yet UVa can't even make a bowl game.

Tech is going to be stacked next year. Taylor won't have to deal with all of the Glennon talk and can just focus on playing QB. The defense was raw and young this year, yet still very good. The top receivers are freshmen. The top tailback is a freshman. Another big-time recruiting class is coming. Under Groh, Virginia will never be the top program in its division or its state. Virginia had a shot last year with Tech on its home field with a trip to J'ville on the line and couldn't get it done.

Virginia should just accept that it's better suited to be a basketball school. The hoops facilities are far, far superior to Tech's and there's some history there. It clearly doesn't look good now. Leitao's got a team with several players who should never see the floor in an ACC game (*cough* Farrakhan). But in the long run, that's where Virginia will make its money, because just like Texas Tech will never be a better program than Texas or Oklahoma, Virginia will never be a better program than Virginia Tech.

 

Dude, you misspelled "Diane" so badly it's not even funny.

 

And I have to say, as a UVa alum, this is sad. We weren't FSU or Miami or even Tech, but we had a solid football tradition and a good atmosphere. Groh's spent every ounce of goodwill he once had and now gets another year to drive the program further into the ground. And from the sound of things, Littlepage doesn't even have any way to ensure Little Groh won't be calling the plays next year. They've given him all the bargaining power - giving up every bit of advantage in the classic UVa tradition.

Next year will bring more of the same - a 2/3-full stadium where the few fans there can dance to the Cha Cha Slide or text the clueless marketing folks to decide whether to listen to Coldplay or Rihanna from Mikell Simpson's iPod. Maybe we can bring back another crappy gimmick like the Power of Orange flag. And we've still got Virginia Pride - maybe this year we can bring in some VT NFL guys like Xavier Adibi and DeAngelo Hall to raise the flag.

Hell, JMU is expanding its stadium to FBS standards or close to them. How long will it be before UVa is the third-best program in the state?

(God, I have to stop reading the Sabre.)

 

Nope. Most of moneyed alums are fanatical football fans and don't really care about basketball.

 

I feel compelled to mention the one point in Groh's favor - he was the one (with some help from WVU) that finally forced the administration to get a real band. And Mike Groh was a hell of a quarterback.