Post by cviller on Dec 23, 2007 19:21:57 GMT -5
Big East football coaches remain a hot commodity
By Rick Starr
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, December 23, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The Big East has gained ground as a football conference in recent seasons by many measures, including three Bowl Championship Series victories in the past four years.
The league swept all five of its bowl opponents last season and placed four teams in The Associated Press Top 25 at the conclusion of this regular season.
Not bad for a conference that lost Boston College, Virginia Tech and Miami to the ACC three years ago.
If there's a dark cloud on an otherwise bright horizon, it's the Big East's inability to hang on to high-profile head coaches.
Less than a year after Louisville lost Bobby Petrino to the Atlanta Falcons, West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez announced last week that he will replace Lloyd Carr at Michigan. Petrino went 3-10 with the Falcons before taking over at Arkansas earlier this month.
What does it say about a conference when its most innovative and successful coaches bolt to jobs higher up the coaching chain?
"If we start losing coaches to programs that aren't upper echelon, then I'd be worried," Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said. "But we lost a coach to the NFL, and a coach to a program that's among the top six, seven or eight teams anywhere in terms of tradition.
"I don't look at it as a negative. I'd be more worried if there were top job openings and our coaches weren't even mentioned."
Also last year, the conference lost former Cincinnati coach Mark Dantonio to Michigan State. And Rutgers coach Greg Schiano was courted by the University of Miami and Michigan, but turned down both jobs.
Tranghese said he can relate to the anger and angst West Virginia fans have experienced in the wake of Rodriguez's departure, but he predicted there won't be a Mountaineer meltdown.
"I always operate under the notion nobody's indispensable," Tranghese said. "Rich Rodriguez was a very good coach and recruiter, but he's not the only coach who can win at West Virginia."
Amid a week filled with distractions, No. 11 West Virginia (10-2) prepared for its Fiesta Bowl matchup against No. 3 Oklahoma (11-2).
"It's really sad that college football has turned into a business, but that's what it is," WVU kicker Pat McAfee said.
In this business, top teams lose top coaches. It started long before West Virginia lost Bobby Bowden to Florida State following the 1975 season, and shows no signs of stopping.
That doesn't mean WVU has to crumble, Tranghese said.
"I've always stressed to our athletic directors the importance of hiring the right coach," the commissioner said. "You've got to get it right. If not, you're going to slip. I've had tons of e-mails from West Virginia fans who feel Rich Rodriguez can't be replaced. That's simply not the case."
Tranghese said the Big East has reached the point where performance matters more than perception, and losing a few coaches won't change that.
In addition to two consecutive BCS victories by the league, West Virginia remained in the national title race this year until the final few hours of the regular season.
"There's no more talk about the Big East not being deserving a BCS berth, and I think that's over with for good," Tranghese said.
If it's a question of balance, the Big East has it, with seven different teams earning at least a share of the conference title in the past six years.
Rather than point to Pitt's 13-9 upset over West Virginia in the 100th Backyard Brawl as a league-wide disaster, the commissioner called it a sign of strength.
"It was a good sign that when West Virginia lost to Pitt, it wasn't the end of the world for the Big East," Tranghese said. "Instead, it was viewed by a lot of people as a great way for Pitt to end its season. I've never seen the Big East so competitive in terms of talent, foot speed and really good coaching.
"No, we're not going to have a team in the national championship race every year, and I hope we've reached the point where people don't think it's the end of the world."
If it's a question of money, the Big East is slowly creeping up the ladder. Total bowl playouts, coaching salaries and attendance still lag behind other top conferences.
"In our next round of bowl deals, we'd like to strengthen our alignments," Tranghese said. "We already play the ACC and the Big 12, but we'd like to try to line up the SEC and the Big 10."
The Big East's next television deal won't open for six years, Tranghese said, but the current deal puts the league on ABC four times, and ESPN national broadcasts 15 times. The league's bowl season will end with South Florida against Oregon on Dec. 31 in the Sun Bowl on CBS, and WVU against Oklahoma on Jan. 2 in the Fiesta Bowl on FOX.
WVU's approximate $18 million Fiesta Bowl payout will be divided among all eight conference members, including Pitt, with the Mountaineers banking about $2.25 million, minus expenses.
All teams will receive a smaller share from the league's participation in the other four bowls.
If it's a question of losing top coaches, Tranghese said it's an open one.
Today marks the eighth day in the search for Rodriguez's replacement, and a West Virginia spokesman declined Saturday to predict when it would end.
West Virginia has not tried to steal any current head coach from another BCS conference, although the Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette reported the Mountaineers are trying to gauge the interest of Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe.
Wake Forest officials did not return a telephone call seeking comment yesterday.
WVU officials opted to slow the search, the newspaper reported, following an initial round of interviews with Florida assistant head coach Doc Holliday, Florida State offensive line coach Rick Trickett, former Auburn coach and television analyst Terry Bowden, and Central Michigan coach Butch Jones.
West Virginia also expanded its list to include Florida State offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher, Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster and Oregon offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, the newspaper reported. Florida State must pay Fisher $2.5 million if he doesn't replace current head coach Bobby Bowden, under terms of Fisher's current deal designed to keep him on the job.
"It's a big hire for West Virginia; it's an important hire for them," Tranghese said. "West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong is a good friend of mine, and he's under the gun, he's under pressure right now, but I know he wants to make the right hire."
Tranghese said it remains to be seen if West Virginia's failure to keep Rodriguez with a $4 million buyout represents a new high -- or low - mark for college football.
"If people are going to leave, they're going to leave," he said. "I found that out when we lost three schools a few years back. It's the way of the world. But in West Virginia's case, they're going to get paid for it.
"More and more, you see these kind of contracts, as programs try to protect themselves if their coach leaves."
Rick Starr can be reached at rstarr@tribweb.com or 724-226-4691.
By Rick Starr
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, December 23, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The Big East has gained ground as a football conference in recent seasons by many measures, including three Bowl Championship Series victories in the past four years.
The league swept all five of its bowl opponents last season and placed four teams in The Associated Press Top 25 at the conclusion of this regular season.
Not bad for a conference that lost Boston College, Virginia Tech and Miami to the ACC three years ago.
If there's a dark cloud on an otherwise bright horizon, it's the Big East's inability to hang on to high-profile head coaches.
Less than a year after Louisville lost Bobby Petrino to the Atlanta Falcons, West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez announced last week that he will replace Lloyd Carr at Michigan. Petrino went 3-10 with the Falcons before taking over at Arkansas earlier this month.
What does it say about a conference when its most innovative and successful coaches bolt to jobs higher up the coaching chain?
"If we start losing coaches to programs that aren't upper echelon, then I'd be worried," Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said. "But we lost a coach to the NFL, and a coach to a program that's among the top six, seven or eight teams anywhere in terms of tradition.
"I don't look at it as a negative. I'd be more worried if there were top job openings and our coaches weren't even mentioned."
Also last year, the conference lost former Cincinnati coach Mark Dantonio to Michigan State. And Rutgers coach Greg Schiano was courted by the University of Miami and Michigan, but turned down both jobs.
Tranghese said he can relate to the anger and angst West Virginia fans have experienced in the wake of Rodriguez's departure, but he predicted there won't be a Mountaineer meltdown.
"I always operate under the notion nobody's indispensable," Tranghese said. "Rich Rodriguez was a very good coach and recruiter, but he's not the only coach who can win at West Virginia."
Amid a week filled with distractions, No. 11 West Virginia (10-2) prepared for its Fiesta Bowl matchup against No. 3 Oklahoma (11-2).
"It's really sad that college football has turned into a business, but that's what it is," WVU kicker Pat McAfee said.
In this business, top teams lose top coaches. It started long before West Virginia lost Bobby Bowden to Florida State following the 1975 season, and shows no signs of stopping.
That doesn't mean WVU has to crumble, Tranghese said.
"I've always stressed to our athletic directors the importance of hiring the right coach," the commissioner said. "You've got to get it right. If not, you're going to slip. I've had tons of e-mails from West Virginia fans who feel Rich Rodriguez can't be replaced. That's simply not the case."
Tranghese said the Big East has reached the point where performance matters more than perception, and losing a few coaches won't change that.
In addition to two consecutive BCS victories by the league, West Virginia remained in the national title race this year until the final few hours of the regular season.
"There's no more talk about the Big East not being deserving a BCS berth, and I think that's over with for good," Tranghese said.
If it's a question of balance, the Big East has it, with seven different teams earning at least a share of the conference title in the past six years.
Rather than point to Pitt's 13-9 upset over West Virginia in the 100th Backyard Brawl as a league-wide disaster, the commissioner called it a sign of strength.
"It was a good sign that when West Virginia lost to Pitt, it wasn't the end of the world for the Big East," Tranghese said. "Instead, it was viewed by a lot of people as a great way for Pitt to end its season. I've never seen the Big East so competitive in terms of talent, foot speed and really good coaching.
"No, we're not going to have a team in the national championship race every year, and I hope we've reached the point where people don't think it's the end of the world."
If it's a question of money, the Big East is slowly creeping up the ladder. Total bowl playouts, coaching salaries and attendance still lag behind other top conferences.
"In our next round of bowl deals, we'd like to strengthen our alignments," Tranghese said. "We already play the ACC and the Big 12, but we'd like to try to line up the SEC and the Big 10."
The Big East's next television deal won't open for six years, Tranghese said, but the current deal puts the league on ABC four times, and ESPN national broadcasts 15 times. The league's bowl season will end with South Florida against Oregon on Dec. 31 in the Sun Bowl on CBS, and WVU against Oklahoma on Jan. 2 in the Fiesta Bowl on FOX.
WVU's approximate $18 million Fiesta Bowl payout will be divided among all eight conference members, including Pitt, with the Mountaineers banking about $2.25 million, minus expenses.
All teams will receive a smaller share from the league's participation in the other four bowls.
If it's a question of losing top coaches, Tranghese said it's an open one.
Today marks the eighth day in the search for Rodriguez's replacement, and a West Virginia spokesman declined Saturday to predict when it would end.
West Virginia has not tried to steal any current head coach from another BCS conference, although the Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette reported the Mountaineers are trying to gauge the interest of Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe.
Wake Forest officials did not return a telephone call seeking comment yesterday.
WVU officials opted to slow the search, the newspaper reported, following an initial round of interviews with Florida assistant head coach Doc Holliday, Florida State offensive line coach Rick Trickett, former Auburn coach and television analyst Terry Bowden, and Central Michigan coach Butch Jones.
West Virginia also expanded its list to include Florida State offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher, Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster and Oregon offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, the newspaper reported. Florida State must pay Fisher $2.5 million if he doesn't replace current head coach Bobby Bowden, under terms of Fisher's current deal designed to keep him on the job.
"It's a big hire for West Virginia; it's an important hire for them," Tranghese said. "West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong is a good friend of mine, and he's under the gun, he's under pressure right now, but I know he wants to make the right hire."
Tranghese said it remains to be seen if West Virginia's failure to keep Rodriguez with a $4 million buyout represents a new high -- or low - mark for college football.
"If people are going to leave, they're going to leave," he said. "I found that out when we lost three schools a few years back. It's the way of the world. But in West Virginia's case, they're going to get paid for it.
"More and more, you see these kind of contracts, as programs try to protect themselves if their coach leaves."
Rick Starr can be reached at rstarr@tribweb.com or 724-226-4691.