Return of the Jedi

It's official - Texas has brought back the prodigal son! Major Applewhite, he of legendary lore around the 40 acres, will be leaving a prominent SEC school in Alabama as the youngest Coordinator in Division I history to return to his alma mater and guide the...running backs?!?

Before I rant, let me make something clear. I am happier than Bill Clinton at Free Blow Intern Day. Happier than Randy Moss at Punch Some Random Chick Day. Happier than Eli Manning at Cowboy Choke (on a dick) Day. And yet, questions about this hiring linger for me.

First - why on earth did Major choose to do this? In the 8 years I have followed our Lord and QB, I have never seen him make a poor decision. Never. And yet, now? To leave one of the most tradition rich programs in football crazy Alabama, where coaches and legends are glorified like Gods seems crazy. What's even lunnier is the fact that he chose to do so in what amounts to a step DOWN in the coaching ranks.

With the Tide, Applewhite was the youngest offensive coordinator in Division I football history. He was quickly becoming the Jason Garrett of college football. The kid was less than 30 years old, and he’d already accomplished more than hundreds of other aspiring coaches. Molding Vince Young into the dominant football player that he turned out to be might be Major’s greatest accomplishment, and quite literally propelled him from Syracuse to Rice to Alabama in the course of 3 years.

At Rice, Applewhite turned a program known for its antiquated wishbone attack into one of the more dominating air assaults in 2006. In fact, Rice’s Jarrett Dillard broke C-USA and school records under Major’s tutelage. At Alabama, he helped rack up 500 plus yards of offense against Tennessee, a team that wound up ranking 12th nationally in defense. His track record speaks for itself.

So why, then, has he taken a step backward? His new position as Running Backs coach makes one scratch his head. Here was a guy running the entire offense in Tuscalusca, now he’s taken over the running backs only? And worse - he has to basically report to Greg Davis?!? The one track minded ding dong who, along with Mack Brown, benched Applewhite in the first place! The same Greg Davis, who, despite an obvious glaring difference, sees Vince Young in his current QB Colt McCoy (why else would Davis refuse to change out of the zone read offense which helped propel Young to legend-dom).

The point is, for all his Texas roots and greatness, I fear Major may be taking a step in the wrong direction. With Davis and Brown entrenched as coaching cornerstones, the only upward mobility for Applewhite would be a head job elsewhere, unless Brown gets a wild hair and fires his sorry OC. Not likely, as Brown and Davis seem connected by the butt cheek (unlike Brown’s Defensive Coordinator posting, which has seen more changes than Britney’s personality over the past 5 years)

Many Longhorns fans are clamoring that this hire is the precursor to Applewhite’s eventual rise to the head coaching job when Mack retires. Don’t hedge your bets that Major’s return to Austin will be a prolonged experience. Someone with those credentials won’t stay a running backs coach for long. Some school, likely here in Texas, will lure him away with googles of money. I can see it now - Texas Tech loses Pirate Mike Leach to a national power in the SEC (think Phil Fulmer in Tennessee isn’t sweating his job?), and the Red Raiders steal Major from Austin. But think about it - Would it be a steal for an athletic director to pull Applewhite out of Austin? He’d likely be languishing behind Greg Davis as the 2nd fiddle on an offense Major could easily turn into the dominant force in the Big 12. This scenario is starting to sound rather familiar (circa 2001…)

So - as you can see, Applewhite’s decision to return may have been a rather large mistake for the UT God. Besides, why would someone come back to a program that made him sit behind an overhyped, overrated pretty boy (Chris Simms) just to coach behind an overhyped, overrated fat boy (Greg Davis.)

Here’s hoping the hiring of Major is a precursor to the departure of Davis. Can you imagine the 2009 season - Major is your Offensive Coordinator - executing his game plan is Colt. Colt and Major. A match made in Texas heaven…don’t hold your breath.