The Chronicle's sports blog has two recent additions with updates on the coaching search.
This entry discusses Paul Johnson's potential as a candidate, confirming the $2mil figure as a price point for the Navy HC, as well as providing some updates on Terry Bowden, former Alabama HC Mike Shula and recently-fired Southern Miss HC Jeff Bower.
This entry has South Carolina's AD Eric Hyman confirming that Spurrier was only passing through Durham on recruiting business and is not a candidate for the Duke job.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Even With Nebraska out of the way, other competitors for Johnson
Bo Pelini's hiring at Nebraska takes one school off the list of Navy HC Paul Johnson's suitors, but there still is another school a once-proud football tradition looking for the current Midshipmen HC to lead them back to success.
SMU has expressed a significant interest in Johnson for their vacancy, created when Phil Bennett was fired after going 1-11 this season.
Although Duke might have fallen on hard times since the end of the 80s, perhaps no school has fallen further from glory than SMU. The Mustangs went from finishing as the Nation's only undefeated team in 1982, led by the "Pony Express" backfield tandem of Eric Dickerson and current TV analyst Craig James, to receiving the NCAA "Death Penalty" when the school's football team was banned from competing in 1987. The school's program has been stuck in neutral ever since, falling to C-USA when the Southwest Conference folded in 1995 and finishing only one season with a winning record since the penalty was imposed.
So in that context, is SMU's job any better than Duke's? Probably not. Although they have a new stadium and are located in the midst of the deepest recruiting region in the country, A move to Dallas would almost certainly be a step back for Johnson. And if, according to the report, SMU is pricing Johnson's services in the $1.2-1.5 mil range, money probably won't make up for the Mustangs' deficiencies, particularly if Duke is reportedly offering $2 mil.
Georgia Tech's opening has also been linked to Johnson, but recent reports seem to mention UCONN HC Randy Edsall as the Jackets' top choice for the job.
SMU has expressed a significant interest in Johnson for their vacancy, created when Phil Bennett was fired after going 1-11 this season.
Although Duke might have fallen on hard times since the end of the 80s, perhaps no school has fallen further from glory than SMU. The Mustangs went from finishing as the Nation's only undefeated team in 1982, led by the "Pony Express" backfield tandem of Eric Dickerson and current TV analyst Craig James, to receiving the NCAA "Death Penalty" when the school's football team was banned from competing in 1987. The school's program has been stuck in neutral ever since, falling to C-USA when the Southwest Conference folded in 1995 and finishing only one season with a winning record since the penalty was imposed.
So in that context, is SMU's job any better than Duke's? Probably not. Although they have a new stadium and are located in the midst of the deepest recruiting region in the country, A move to Dallas would almost certainly be a step back for Johnson. And if, according to the report, SMU is pricing Johnson's services in the $1.2-1.5 mil range, money probably won't make up for the Mustangs' deficiencies, particularly if Duke is reportedly offering $2 mil.
Georgia Tech's opening has also been linked to Johnson, but recent reports seem to mention UCONN HC Randy Edsall as the Jackets' top choice for the job.
Names, Names, Names
The Sporting News' Tom Dienhart has a large list of potential candidates over on his blog at SportingNews.com
Some of the notable and/or recurring names here include former Auburn HC Terry Bowden, New England Patriots TE Coach Pete Mangurian (spent 3 years as HC at Cornell) and former Iowa St. and current USF Asst. Dan McCarney.
And we can also rule out a return of the OTHER Spurrier, according to Dienhart. He says that Steve Spurrier Jr., an assistant on his father's staff at South Carolina, is not being considered as a candidate.
Some of the notable and/or recurring names here include former Auburn HC Terry Bowden, New England Patriots TE Coach Pete Mangurian (spent 3 years as HC at Cornell) and former Iowa St. and current USF Asst. Dan McCarney.
And we can also rule out a return of the OTHER Spurrier, according to Dienhart. He says that Steve Spurrier Jr., an assistant on his father's staff at South Carolina, is not being considered as a candidate.
Navy's Johnson Reportedly Offered $2Mil
With Navy win over Army, Midshipmen HC Paul Johnson has cinched his 5th straight 8-win season, burt the hot stove is heating up in regards to drawing the coach and his offensive prowess to Durham, particularly in light of news that LSU DC Bo Pelini will take over the job at Nebraska, ruling out out an Johnson-style Option Revival in Lincoln.
According to this report in the Annapolis Capitol, sources have indicated that Duke are willing to pay up to $2 million to convince Johnson to take the head coaching job, as well as make other commitments to the program (including lowering admissions standards).
I was at Duke's heartbreaking 46-43 loss to the Midshipmen this September, and the thing that impressed me most about the Navy offense was about how they were able to do so much with so little, in terms of size and speed. They were probably the only team all year that had a smaller, lighter offensive line than the Blue Devils (who themselves only had one starter, Fred Roland, who weighed over 300lbs), yet they were able to move the efficiently both on the Blue Devils (not a huge feat, mind you) but on whoever else they played this season.
Whether you like the option attack or not, the fact is that—when run as well as Johnson can teach it— it can help teams compensate for deficiencies in talent. Duke needs someone who can get wins above all else, and Johnson has already shown an ability to win at a school that has recruiting constraints (although different in nature) as onerous as Duke's. He'd be an excellent hire.
According to this report in the Annapolis Capitol, sources have indicated that Duke are willing to pay up to $2 million to convince Johnson to take the head coaching job, as well as make other commitments to the program (including lowering admissions standards).
I was at Duke's heartbreaking 46-43 loss to the Midshipmen this September, and the thing that impressed me most about the Navy offense was about how they were able to do so much with so little, in terms of size and speed. They were probably the only team all year that had a smaller, lighter offensive line than the Blue Devils (who themselves only had one starter, Fred Roland, who weighed over 300lbs), yet they were able to move the efficiently both on the Blue Devils (not a huge feat, mind you) but on whoever else they played this season.
Whether you like the option attack or not, the fact is that—when run as well as Johnson can teach it— it can help teams compensate for deficiencies in talent. Duke needs someone who can get wins above all else, and Johnson has already shown an ability to win at a school that has recruiting constraints (although different in nature) as onerous as Duke's. He'd be an excellent hire.
Vandy's Bobby Johnson Contacted By Duke Officials
According to this report in the Winston-Salem Journal by Bill Cole, Vanderbilt's Bobby Johnson has been contacted by officials linked to Duke about the school's HC opening.
Johnson's "G-rated" coaching style would certainly be a sharp contrast to Coach K's—Johnson is widely known for his personal prohibition against cursing on the field.
Unfortunately, he might be better known for that than his ability to win. His Vanderbilt teams, although close in the past two seasons, have never reached a bowl and his combined record there over 6 seasons is 20-50. Ouch.
Johnson's "G-rated" coaching style would certainly be a sharp contrast to Coach K's—Johnson is widely known for his personal prohibition against cursing on the field.
Unfortunately, he might be better known for that than his ability to win. His Vanderbilt teams, although close in the past two seasons, have never reached a bowl and his combined record there over 6 seasons is 20-50. Ouch.
Ted Roof's Final Press Conference Audio
Also, here are Ted Roof's comments from his final press conference held the Monday afternoon of his dismissal.
Roof's Dismissal Press Conference
Just to have this up there in case anyone wanted to listen to it, this is the full press conference from Joe Alleva's Monday announcement of Ted Roof's dismissal.
Welcome
Welcome to the site everyone! The goal of this blog is to serve as an aggregator of the all of the most recent published updates and rumors about Duke University's search for a new head football coach.
I'm modeling it after the excellent MLBTradeRumors.com blog, where i'll put up links to the latest rumors and reports as soon as I see them.
Just some background—I'm a football beat writer with the Duke Chronicle, so I've spent this this season covering the team on a weekly basis and am now reporting on candidates and potential search for the paper. Although I'll certainly link through to the Chronicle website when we have anything new posted, this this blog is primarily designed to be a supplement to our coverage of the coaching search (however longer it takes)
I hope you enjoy, and of course if you see any rumors published on the web shoot me an e-mail at roofreplacementrumors@gmail.com.
I'm modeling it after the excellent MLBTradeRumors.com blog, where i'll put up links to the latest rumors and reports as soon as I see them.
Just some background—I'm a football beat writer with the Duke Chronicle, so I've spent this this season covering the team on a weekly basis and am now reporting on candidates and potential search for the paper. Although I'll certainly link through to the Chronicle website when we have anything new posted, this this blog is primarily designed to be a supplement to our coverage of the coaching search (however longer it takes)
I hope you enjoy, and of course if you see any rumors published on the web shoot me an e-mail at roofreplacementrumors@gmail.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
