Monday, October 15, 2007

Hotseat City

Shocking revelations? Not on the menu today. Today we tackle who to fire in the Big 12, because the rest of the country is laughing at what has become a lackluster, uncompetitive conference.

It starts at the top - or should we say bottom, for some coaching staffs. The front runner - Bill Callahan at the University of Nebraska. I bet NU administrators are clamoring for the days of Frank Solich (the coach they fired after he finished a season 9-3). Since coming to Lincoln, Callahan has shown the same shortcomings he exhibited when coaching the NFL's Oakland Raiders - namely that his reputation as a west coach offensive genius is unearned. The real problem over the past few years has been the disappearance of the Cornhuksers once vaunted defensive unit. Back in their heyday, the Nebraska Black Shirts were some of the hardest hitting, most ball-hawking defenses in the country, regularaly ranked among the nations elite. What they have now is a team giving up 38 points in ONE half to Oklahoma State, following a week in which they were dominated by Missouri. I bet ex-Husker head coach Tom Osborne is turning over in his, uh – Senator seat.

Coach # 2 to go – Coach Fran. What more does a coach need to succeed? Huge fan support, world class facilities, ridiculous amounts of “tradition” and no pretty coed cheerleaders on the sideline to distract your players? It should be the perfect situation in which to rebuild a once proud football school. The problem is, Coach Fran is a wuss. You know that sleezy friend we all have: the one who has a great family life, a wealthy wife, beautiful children, a great job – but screws it all up for a wild night with some hooker name Shameeka. That’s Fran. He has the tools in his hands to make the Aggies a power, but he is so pathetic at being a real man, he has no chance. Take the Miami game – he was afraid to run big Javorski Lane. The Texas Tech game? Afraid to bring pressure on Tech QB Graham Harrell – instead opting to sit back in zone and avoid the big plays. What was the big thing coming out of College Station when they fired RC Slocum? The offense was too predictable and run oriented. Now we have Coach Fran, and the offense looks the same without the normal dominating attitude once exhibited.

The great thing about these two? They will square off this weekend in Lincoln. Some say it’s a chance for one of these teams to turn their seasons around. I say it’s a chance for school officials to get together at the 50 yard line prior to kick off and kill two birds with one stone…

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