Coordinator changes around Pac-10 football last decade were a reflection of USC’s dominance over the conference. Mike Bellotti’s hire of little-known New Hampshire play-caller Chip Kelly in 2007 set the tone for a systemic shift around the conference, functioning as the centerpiece of an era that introduced Sonny Dykes, Noel Mazzone and others in as […]
Scapegoats are a television sports analyst’s best friend, as they cover all manner of sins. Did the team miss a game-winning shot? Did that kicker miss a game-tying field goal? You have your scapegoat and the person who ruined it all for everyone else. In its most basic sense, it is like a child screaming […]
Sometimes, the NFL can be a real downer for a college football die-hard such as myself. Today’s Tennessee Titans press conference introducing retread Mike Mularkey as its new head coach was the NFL going into full buzzkill mode. The Titans drafting 2014 Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota piqued my interest, and Mariota’s stellar debut gave […]
Alabama added another notch in its championship belt Saturday when WBC Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder scored a ninth-round knockout victory over Polish challenger, Artur Szpilka. .@BronzeBomber knocks out @szpilka_artur in round 9 and retains his WBC heavyweight title #AndStill #WilderSzpilka https://t.co/aB8J3liY8T — SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) January 17, 2016 Tuscaloosa-born Deontay Wilder’s third successful title defense […]
UTSA football and new head coach Frank Wilson make for a perfect pairing. Since the program’s inception, UTSA has always been a gusher waiting for the right leadership to tap it. The hiring of Larry Coker as UTSA’s first head coach in 2009 gave the Roadrunners immediate name recognition; at that point, Coker was just […]
Feel better, USC fans? Less eager to see Kevin Sumlin exit College Station or Charlie Strong leave Austin, Aggies and Longhorns? Chip Kelly really isn’t making his return to college football — not for at least another few years, pending the particulars of his new contract with the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers announced Chip […]
The NCAA announced Wednesday, via the DI Council conference championship deregulation. The decision effectively opening the door for the Big 12 and Sun Belt to host title games without expansion. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby immediately followed the NCAA’s announcement with a statement of his own, reassuring opponents of a potential championship game after the […]
Defensive coordinator for Dan Mullen’s Mississippi State Bulldogs has been a stepping stone to more prominent positions of late, which makes it a natural career decision for reported new hire Peter Sirmon. #MissState hires #USC LB coach Peter Sirmon as defensive coordinator a day after he interviewed for the job. https://t.co/wceJsXo1Jv — Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) […]
Coordinators operate as college football programs canaries-in-the-coal-mine, or Uncle Elmer’s trick knee just before a tornado. Abrupt dismissal of a coordinator often suggests impending trouble, or damage control amid ongoing turmoil. The relatively short shelf-life of most coordinators is reflective of today’s win-now college football landscape, albeit at warp-speed. This week alone, four programs coming […]
Former Texas A&M quarterback and 5-star recruit Kyle Allen is headed to Houston, Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle first reported Tuesday. Allen will spend the 2016 season redshirting behind Greg Ward Jr., a 2015 dark horse in the Heisman Trophy race and early name surfacing for the 2016 award, giving head coach Tom Herman […]
This is a college football website, so Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver blaming his NBA franchise’s woes on “millennial culture” seems a bit out of place here. And, because this is a college football website, I’ll refrain from harping on how Robert Sarver’s failed tenure heading the Suns is a disaster, bound for its sixth […]
I spoke with Keenan Reynolds before the 2014 for an Athlon Sports profile I was writing, when the name Ricky Dobbs came up. Dobbs’ tenure at Navy, which ended just two years before Reynolds arrived in Annapolis, was historic. Dobbs set records and generated national buzz, even some Heisman talk. Reynolds said in that June […]
College football’s decision-makers should do with the missed Indiana field goal attempt what officials in Saturday’s Pinstripe Bowl couldn’t: give it a long, thorough review. The attempt, which would have sent the Hoosiers and Duke to a second overtime, was met with controversy on the field. Clips of the kick show different outcomes. Indiana's game-tying […]
Various college football conspiracy theorists should have a field day with the Associated Press selecting Stanford utility-man Christian McCaffrey as its 2015 National Player of the Year. Since the award’s inauguration in 1998, 14 of its 18 recipients also won that year’s Heisman Trophy. The general consensus between Heisman and AP voters for the last […]
Tee Martin’s promotion to USC offensive coordinator continues a wild and rough year. Actually, to say that the USC Trojans have had a rough year is an understatement. The Trojans have been mired in controversy for the better part of five years, but the off-the-field drama of 2015 made a strong run for worst year […]
