O-town Gator
Gator Fan
As some others have been doing, I thought I'd stick my two cents in and give my thoughts on who could be handed a pink slip come the end of the 2009 season.
Though Charlie Weis at Notre Dame's atop many lists, he's not on mine. Reason why? Just as their AD Jack Swarbrick did late this past December, I'm also giving him a vote of confidence. Cheeseburger Charlie seems to have made "CYA" his new mantra ever since then, which was evident in the Domers' noticeable win over Hawai'i in their bowl game and decent reviews after their spring scrimmage. With coaching up, Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate can prove to be a playmaking pair on offense, and with decent playcalling Weis can get the job done. He also has a decent-quality recruiting class arriving in South Bend this year as well; one of the headliners is Cierre Wood. Having what amounts to a "cupcake" schedule in 2009 works in his favor, too.
My list of the Fickle Four:
(1) Ron Zook, Illinois. Swampie over at GC has him on the hot seat as do I; the Zooker has only displayed a repeat episode of what got him fired at Florida during his tenure at Zuppke Field (albeit minus the frat-house fiasco). Let's face it, the guy has a knack for recruiting but (1) can't seem to figure out how to manage the game clock and be an effective strategist out there, and (2) is ineffective when it comes to problem solving. Many sportswriters call Zook one of the "biggest wasters of talent in college football", and it shows. Sure they can boast about their Rose Bowl appearance in 2007, but they were shown up by USC as a not-ready-for-BCS-bowls team and wound up not even going to a bowl in 2008. His overall win-loss record as a head coach also shows that the cons outweigh the pros. Should another no-bowl season happen again in 2009, "Illinoise" fans should wake up from their Kool-Aid induced stupor, realize that Gator fans were right about him all along and start calling for Zook's head if they also want to start winning games and the Illini to be taken more seriously in the Big Ten.
(2) Steve Kragthorpe, Louisville. This guy is The Ville's version of Ron Zook; he comes in following a successful coach (Bobby Petrino) who just can't seem to generate results on the field, even though he was rather successful when he was running the ship at his previous gig with Tulsa. Much like Rex Grossman deteriorated at Florida under Zook once Steve Spurrier left, the same thing happened to Brian Brohm up there, as far as I could see. The Cardinals struggled in 2008, also wound up 5-7, and lost an intra-state rivalry game to Kentucky early last season. Should they not be able to bounce back (although, like Weis, Steve will be calling the plays and will serve as OC) we could see fans in The Ville holding up signs saying "Kentucky Fried Kragthorpe".
(3) George O'Leary, UCF. Boy, I've got to laugh at those blithering blowhards over at the Orlando "Slantinel" - they seem to have such a vendetta against Urban Meyer and the Gators, but what about what's going on in their own backyard? O'Leary sure hasn't been making waves here in O-town, in spite of the fact that he has a brand-spanking new place to play (Bright House Stadium); last season they sank towards the bottom of Conference USA and have a wrongful-death lawsuit in the case of Erick Plancher pending. Hell, there was even one season that O'Leary couldn't even win one game. Keep in mind this is the same George O'Leary whose job offer at Notre Dame back in 2001 was retracted after it was discovered that he had falsified something on his resume, but was later hired by Mike Tice to be the OC with the Minnesota Vikings and kept off the unemployment line - yet the "Slantinel" still points fingers at Meyer. Doesn't the O.S. realize that we locals who have no loyalty to the Knights sometimes say that UCF stands for "U-Can't-Finish"?
(4) Lane Kiffin, Tennessee. This guy reeked of potential trouble practically from Day One; not too long after his hire was announced he let the trash talk and the dirty deeds begin. In his first six months on the job, he's been verbally reprimanded by SEC commissioner Mike Slive for his false accusation of cheating against Urban Meyer, been hit with five minor NCAA recruiting violations, gotten under the skin of Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban, committed shady recruiting tactics, especially where Pahokee's Nu'Keese Richardson is concerned, and hasn't really come to realize that brashness and buffoonery is no way to win friends and influence people. As reviled as the Raiders' Al Davis is by many, it turns out that he had just cause to terminate Kiffin's employment, based on documents made available online. His big mouth has written checks it may not be able to cash; if the Vols' turnover-marred showing at spring practice doesn't get cleaned up by the fall, he may not be singing Rocky Top all night long - or very long, for that matter.
Honorable Mention, or better yet, On The Bubble: Al Groh at Virginia, Randy Shannon at Miami. It's basically put-up or shut-up for these two denizens of the ACC. Groh needs to start winning games; Shannon also needs to win games and stop whining.
Though Charlie Weis at Notre Dame's atop many lists, he's not on mine. Reason why? Just as their AD Jack Swarbrick did late this past December, I'm also giving him a vote of confidence. Cheeseburger Charlie seems to have made "CYA" his new mantra ever since then, which was evident in the Domers' noticeable win over Hawai'i in their bowl game and decent reviews after their spring scrimmage. With coaching up, Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate can prove to be a playmaking pair on offense, and with decent playcalling Weis can get the job done. He also has a decent-quality recruiting class arriving in South Bend this year as well; one of the headliners is Cierre Wood. Having what amounts to a "cupcake" schedule in 2009 works in his favor, too.
My list of the Fickle Four:
(1) Ron Zook, Illinois. Swampie over at GC has him on the hot seat as do I; the Zooker has only displayed a repeat episode of what got him fired at Florida during his tenure at Zuppke Field (albeit minus the frat-house fiasco). Let's face it, the guy has a knack for recruiting but (1) can't seem to figure out how to manage the game clock and be an effective strategist out there, and (2) is ineffective when it comes to problem solving. Many sportswriters call Zook one of the "biggest wasters of talent in college football", and it shows. Sure they can boast about their Rose Bowl appearance in 2007, but they were shown up by USC as a not-ready-for-BCS-bowls team and wound up not even going to a bowl in 2008. His overall win-loss record as a head coach also shows that the cons outweigh the pros. Should another no-bowl season happen again in 2009, "Illinoise" fans should wake up from their Kool-Aid induced stupor, realize that Gator fans were right about him all along and start calling for Zook's head if they also want to start winning games and the Illini to be taken more seriously in the Big Ten.
(2) Steve Kragthorpe, Louisville. This guy is The Ville's version of Ron Zook; he comes in following a successful coach (Bobby Petrino) who just can't seem to generate results on the field, even though he was rather successful when he was running the ship at his previous gig with Tulsa. Much like Rex Grossman deteriorated at Florida under Zook once Steve Spurrier left, the same thing happened to Brian Brohm up there, as far as I could see. The Cardinals struggled in 2008, also wound up 5-7, and lost an intra-state rivalry game to Kentucky early last season. Should they not be able to bounce back (although, like Weis, Steve will be calling the plays and will serve as OC) we could see fans in The Ville holding up signs saying "Kentucky Fried Kragthorpe".
(3) George O'Leary, UCF. Boy, I've got to laugh at those blithering blowhards over at the Orlando "Slantinel" - they seem to have such a vendetta against Urban Meyer and the Gators, but what about what's going on in their own backyard? O'Leary sure hasn't been making waves here in O-town, in spite of the fact that he has a brand-spanking new place to play (Bright House Stadium); last season they sank towards the bottom of Conference USA and have a wrongful-death lawsuit in the case of Erick Plancher pending. Hell, there was even one season that O'Leary couldn't even win one game. Keep in mind this is the same George O'Leary whose job offer at Notre Dame back in 2001 was retracted after it was discovered that he had falsified something on his resume, but was later hired by Mike Tice to be the OC with the Minnesota Vikings and kept off the unemployment line - yet the "Slantinel" still points fingers at Meyer. Doesn't the O.S. realize that we locals who have no loyalty to the Knights sometimes say that UCF stands for "U-Can't-Finish"?
(4) Lane Kiffin, Tennessee. This guy reeked of potential trouble practically from Day One; not too long after his hire was announced he let the trash talk and the dirty deeds begin. In his first six months on the job, he's been verbally reprimanded by SEC commissioner Mike Slive for his false accusation of cheating against Urban Meyer, been hit with five minor NCAA recruiting violations, gotten under the skin of Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban, committed shady recruiting tactics, especially where Pahokee's Nu'Keese Richardson is concerned, and hasn't really come to realize that brashness and buffoonery is no way to win friends and influence people. As reviled as the Raiders' Al Davis is by many, it turns out that he had just cause to terminate Kiffin's employment, based on documents made available online. His big mouth has written checks it may not be able to cash; if the Vols' turnover-marred showing at spring practice doesn't get cleaned up by the fall, he may not be singing Rocky Top all night long - or very long, for that matter.
Honorable Mention, or better yet, On The Bubble: Al Groh at Virginia, Randy Shannon at Miami. It's basically put-up or shut-up for these two denizens of the ACC. Groh needs to start winning games; Shannon also needs to win games and stop whining.
