Post by cviller on Dec 18, 2007 8:40:30 GMT -5
By Dave Poe, Sports Editor
PARKERSBURG — It’s time to move on.
The Rich Rodriguez era ended ugly, but it has ended.
It’s time for West Virginia University to move on and hire his replacement.
Naturally, several familiar names immediately surfaced.
Let’s look at those names and whether they are right for West Virginia.
? Terry Bowden: He’s charismatic and enthusiastic, but he carries a lot of personal baggage.
He’s been out of the coaching business since 1998, meaning most of the young men he would be recruiting were nine years old when he last roamed the sidelines.
Bowden wants the job —he’s lobbying for it — but he almost wants it too much.
WVU can do better.
• Jimbo Fisher: The Clarksburg native and Florida State offensive coordinator already has been named Bobby Bowden’s successor when Bowden retires, which reportedly will be following the 2008 season.
Even if Fisher is interested, he has no head coaching experience and there’s a major difference from being a coordinator to being in charge of 100 young men, the media, recruiting, and all the other duties that go with being a head coach.
WVU doesn’t need anyone getting on-the-job training.
• Doc Holliday: Florida’s associate head coach, a West Virginia native and a former Mountaineer assistant for 21 seasons. Just like Fisher, he’s never been a head college coach.
• Todd Graham: A former Rodriguez assistant who has done well at both Rice and Tulsa running the spread offense.
But alarm bells go off with the words “former Rodriguez assistant.’’
The last thing WVU needs to do to itself is hire anyone who has ties to Rodriguez.
• Butch Jones: Another former Rodriguez assistant who is doing well in the coaching ranks as he led Central Michigan to the Mid American Conference championship.
Again the operative words are “former Rodriguez assistant.’’
By now you get the idea. I reject all the tried and true names that are being bandied about.
Why? Not because they aren’t good men and good coaches, but because WVU needs to start anew.
It needs a fresh face. Someone who won’t come in having been associated with any past Mountaineer coach.
With the amount of money WVU can and likely will pay, it may well witness a high-profile coach who is ready to move on fall into its lap the way Rodriguez became available for Michigan.
If that happens, then the Mountaineers may quickly have their man. If it doesn’t, there’s still no need to panic.
There’s a lot of young coaches out there who might well like the chance to win a national title at West Virginia. Take, for example, Boise State coach Chris Peterson who is 23-2 with a Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma.
He’s making $850,000, less than half of what WVU was paying Rodriguez.
No, he’s not my candidate. I don’t have one.
I’m just saying WVU shouldn’t limit itself and should conduct a nationwide search in hopes of landing the best available coach.
The timing of Rodriguez’s departure may hasten the hiring process, but this one is too important to fumble.
Contact Dave Poe at dpoe@newsandsentinel.com
