FredWhite2
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First to start this thread I want to say that I am still 100% behind this team regardless of how they've played at times this year. I also want to say I think the players are responsible for costing Dooley his job b/c they have failed to step up in the key moments of games which have cost us... Regardless of what anyone says, the coaches cannot make players make those plays they can only put them in the positions to do so.
I am not naive enough to know at this point that there's more of a chance than not we have a new face leading our team on the field next August. Having said that here is a short list of candidates whom I think would do a good job as well as please the masses:
1. John Gruden - I put him first not because I think we have the best (or even a good ) shot at landing him. However, there has been so much chatter that I figure I might as well entertain the idea... Gruden is an offensive genius there's no questioning that. Someone that would be the equivalent to a Nick Saban type on the offensive side of the ball and I'd really enjoy watching those two duke it out over the next several years. Obviously Gruden's name would attract kids and rejuvenate our divided and hostile fanbase as well. HOWEVER, Gruden has been out of the college game for almost 25 years. Not to say that he cannot recruit b/c like I said his name and Super Bowl ring alone would attract kids, it's just he's not going to be a meticulous Nick Saban-like recruiter. I am waiting confirmation on how much of a chance we actually have with him, but from the feelers I put out with trusted sources about a month ago they had doubts he would want to put in the effort it requires to deal with recruiting... Another thing to think about is the financial situation of the program. Regardless of if Jim Haslem eats Dooley's 5 million dollar buyout, we still have almost 4 million in assistant coaches (although realistically it'll be more around 2-3 million due to clauses within their contracts). Add that to the 5-6 million/year you'd have to throw at Gruden to get him to even SNIFF this job and that's a lot of $ for a program that's already in the red financially. Also Gruden wouldn't be a sure thing to stay even IF we somehow convince him to take the job as NFL teams would more than likely lure him away after a couple years...
2. Dan Mullen - The job Mullen has done at Miss State is absolutely incredible. Starksville Miss is not a dream destination for anybody and it's no secret Mullen would like to get out if the opportunity arose. His buyout (which we would have to take on ) is 1.4 million. We could get him for about 3-4 million/year as well, so he's significantly cheaper than Gruden would be. Mullen has turned the Miss State program around to the best it's been in my lifetime and perhaps in its history. He's coached under Urban Meyer and is a great offensive mind as he's proven at both Florida and now Miss State. He's also proven he can recruit even at a place that's not as desirable for an athlete. I hope we at least consider Mullen during this process.
3. Charlie Strong - Has done a great job rebuilding the program at Louisville. He's a great energetic defensive coach who can recruit with the best in the country. Another coach who coached under Urban Meyer at Florida, he's been successful everywhere he's been. His buyout is practically nothing, so that's also good news for us. We could get him for closer to 3 million/year, so he is the smartest choice from a financial standpoint IMO. However, Strong's name has come up in BOTH the Auburn and Arkansas coaching searches as well, so that'll be interesting to see how those situations play out and where he is in relation to our coaching search board...
4. Jim Mora Jr. - He's in his first year as the head coach at UCLA and is doing a fantastic job. He's a real players' coach and has NFL experience as the head coach of both the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks. Mora will probably take around 4 mill/year to lure him here as he's making about 3 at UCLA. The good thing about Mora in addition to his NFL pedigree is that he would bring QB guru Noel Mazzone with him to be his OC and QB coach. Mazzone is renowned around the football world for working with the best the NFL has to offer at the position and would be a great recruiter for top tier QB obviously.
5. Kirby Smart - This is more of a longshot than most would think given that Hart is our AD and Sunseri and Ansley are already on staff... Smart has one of the sweetest deals in the country at about 1 million/year to be an assistant at the #1 ranked team in the country under the NCAA best coach... I'm not saying he wouldn't be interested in the head coaching position here, but it would take more than you would think to get him here and he's had his eyes and heart set on the UGA job for awhile as well.
6. James Franklin - Laugh if you will, but the job Franklin is doing at Vanderbilt of all places is impressive. He reminds me a little of Lane Kiffin which scares me a little bit, but he's a diligent and good recruiter and gets his kids ready to compete against superior talent week in and week out. Obviously he's not going to be our first choice and not most fans' favorite either, but he can coach in this league and does not want to be at Vanderbilt forever despite what he may be saying publicly.
7. David Cutcliffe - Again not a first choice for the program obviously, but Cut would love the chance to come back to UT and be the guy. He hasn't done terribly at Duke despite being outmatched talent wise almost every week. From what I've heard from people VERY close to the program, if Cut were to get the job he would bring Chavis back as the DC. It's no secret Chief loves this university and cannot seem to stay away despite being in a great situation down in Baton Rouge...
8. Tommy Tuberville - Probably the longest shot of anyone on the board (maybe excluding Gruden...) but he's done a solid job rebuilding the mess Leach left for him at Texas Tech. Tuberville would love the chance to get back in the SEC and coach again and has a great reputation throughout the league... It's just he may remind people too much of Fulmer in the latter days and he doesn't bring quite the excitement the program would need both publicly and from a recruiting standpoint at this time IMO.
These are just some names throwing out there... I am saddened to see Dooley not have success here, but given the state of the program when he arrived and the lack of his players making plays despite being put in the position to make them would make it hard for ANY coach no matter who it was... I am sad to see a good man go, one that instilled many good things such as a program run on character and integrity, solid academic foundation, and the VFL program which he brought to the program, but at the end of the day at a program with the tradition we have if you don't get it done on the scoreboard you'll be shown the door. Hope we finish strong this season and IF Dooley is let go we can get someone who will bring us back to where we belong.
I am not naive enough to know at this point that there's more of a chance than not we have a new face leading our team on the field next August. Having said that here is a short list of candidates whom I think would do a good job as well as please the masses:
1. John Gruden - I put him first not because I think we have the best (or even a good ) shot at landing him. However, there has been so much chatter that I figure I might as well entertain the idea... Gruden is an offensive genius there's no questioning that. Someone that would be the equivalent to a Nick Saban type on the offensive side of the ball and I'd really enjoy watching those two duke it out over the next several years. Obviously Gruden's name would attract kids and rejuvenate our divided and hostile fanbase as well. HOWEVER, Gruden has been out of the college game for almost 25 years. Not to say that he cannot recruit b/c like I said his name and Super Bowl ring alone would attract kids, it's just he's not going to be a meticulous Nick Saban-like recruiter. I am waiting confirmation on how much of a chance we actually have with him, but from the feelers I put out with trusted sources about a month ago they had doubts he would want to put in the effort it requires to deal with recruiting... Another thing to think about is the financial situation of the program. Regardless of if Jim Haslem eats Dooley's 5 million dollar buyout, we still have almost 4 million in assistant coaches (although realistically it'll be more around 2-3 million due to clauses within their contracts). Add that to the 5-6 million/year you'd have to throw at Gruden to get him to even SNIFF this job and that's a lot of $ for a program that's already in the red financially. Also Gruden wouldn't be a sure thing to stay even IF we somehow convince him to take the job as NFL teams would more than likely lure him away after a couple years...
2. Dan Mullen - The job Mullen has done at Miss State is absolutely incredible. Starksville Miss is not a dream destination for anybody and it's no secret Mullen would like to get out if the opportunity arose. His buyout (which we would have to take on ) is 1.4 million. We could get him for about 3-4 million/year as well, so he's significantly cheaper than Gruden would be. Mullen has turned the Miss State program around to the best it's been in my lifetime and perhaps in its history. He's coached under Urban Meyer and is a great offensive mind as he's proven at both Florida and now Miss State. He's also proven he can recruit even at a place that's not as desirable for an athlete. I hope we at least consider Mullen during this process.
3. Charlie Strong - Has done a great job rebuilding the program at Louisville. He's a great energetic defensive coach who can recruit with the best in the country. Another coach who coached under Urban Meyer at Florida, he's been successful everywhere he's been. His buyout is practically nothing, so that's also good news for us. We could get him for closer to 3 million/year, so he is the smartest choice from a financial standpoint IMO. However, Strong's name has come up in BOTH the Auburn and Arkansas coaching searches as well, so that'll be interesting to see how those situations play out and where he is in relation to our coaching search board...
4. Jim Mora Jr. - He's in his first year as the head coach at UCLA and is doing a fantastic job. He's a real players' coach and has NFL experience as the head coach of both the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks. Mora will probably take around 4 mill/year to lure him here as he's making about 3 at UCLA. The good thing about Mora in addition to his NFL pedigree is that he would bring QB guru Noel Mazzone with him to be his OC and QB coach. Mazzone is renowned around the football world for working with the best the NFL has to offer at the position and would be a great recruiter for top tier QB obviously.
5. Kirby Smart - This is more of a longshot than most would think given that Hart is our AD and Sunseri and Ansley are already on staff... Smart has one of the sweetest deals in the country at about 1 million/year to be an assistant at the #1 ranked team in the country under the NCAA best coach... I'm not saying he wouldn't be interested in the head coaching position here, but it would take more than you would think to get him here and he's had his eyes and heart set on the UGA job for awhile as well.
6. James Franklin - Laugh if you will, but the job Franklin is doing at Vanderbilt of all places is impressive. He reminds me a little of Lane Kiffin which scares me a little bit, but he's a diligent and good recruiter and gets his kids ready to compete against superior talent week in and week out. Obviously he's not going to be our first choice and not most fans' favorite either, but he can coach in this league and does not want to be at Vanderbilt forever despite what he may be saying publicly.
7. David Cutcliffe - Again not a first choice for the program obviously, but Cut would love the chance to come back to UT and be the guy. He hasn't done terribly at Duke despite being outmatched talent wise almost every week. From what I've heard from people VERY close to the program, if Cut were to get the job he would bring Chavis back as the DC. It's no secret Chief loves this university and cannot seem to stay away despite being in a great situation down in Baton Rouge...
8. Tommy Tuberville - Probably the longest shot of anyone on the board (maybe excluding Gruden...) but he's done a solid job rebuilding the mess Leach left for him at Texas Tech. Tuberville would love the chance to get back in the SEC and coach again and has a great reputation throughout the league... It's just he may remind people too much of Fulmer in the latter days and he doesn't bring quite the excitement the program would need both publicly and from a recruiting standpoint at this time IMO.
These are just some names throwing out there... I am saddened to see Dooley not have success here, but given the state of the program when he arrived and the lack of his players making plays despite being put in the position to make them would make it hard for ANY coach no matter who it was... I am sad to see a good man go, one that instilled many good things such as a program run on character and integrity, solid academic foundation, and the VFL program which he brought to the program, but at the end of the day at a program with the tradition we have if you don't get it done on the scoreboard you'll be shown the door. Hope we finish strong this season and IF Dooley is let go we can get someone who will bring us back to where we belong.
