Bobby Bowden had Prostate Cancer?

If you are wondering whats up with the title, I can tell you right now that former long-time Florida State coach Bobby Bowden came out today to say that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer back in early 2007 and was treated for it during the off season that same year.  He is supposedly in remission now for four years but wanted to keep everything a secret so that it would not affect recruiting or take away from the rest of the team.  This was probably the smart way to go if you consider all of the distractions that have been going around College Football these days.  Entire programs are being destroyed by distractions.  USC has not been the same since the Reggie Bush era.  With the story coming out now (after he was given the boot from FSU) not only does it leave very little distraction for FSU, it shows how much Coach Bowden truly does care about the Florida State program.  When I think of some of the greatest coaches of any sport, I fully believe Bobby Bowden deserves to be in every discussion.  I am pretty sure he is your coaches favorite coach.  All in all, I have to say that I am quite surprised that this new came out, but at the same time, not at all surprised that they kept this a secret.  I am just glad the man is in remission. 

Gene Chizik named Auburn Head Coach

Is the Auburn job really that bad?  When Gene Chizik was defensive coordinator there, they were undefeated, but came up short in the national championship.  After starting the season 2-0 his Iowa State Cyclones went 0-10 to finish the season 2-10 this past 2008 season.  One would wonder why he is being given the chance to coach a powerhouse SEC school, especially in these times where minority coaches are not being given the chance to coach at the College level.  As a head coach, he has only been able to muster 5 wins in two seasons with Iowa State.  The only reason I can think of is that he was the defensive coordinator for Auburn the year they were undefeated, but like I said, they were not able to play for the National Championship.  He went to Texas for the 2005-2006 season as a defensive coordinator and they were undefeated and won the National Championship that year.  After that though, just 5-19 as a head coach which would put him towards the bottom of my list of available head coaches.  Where is Turner Gill when  you need him.

Muschamp Screws Texas???

Rumors that Will Muschamp would be going to another school were silented on November 18, 2008 when DeLoss Dodds came out and stated that Will Muschamp will succeed Mack Brown when he decides to move on.  Theory was that Muschamp would move to Head Coach, Mack Brown would move to Athletic Director (Dodds would retire), Major Applewhite would move to offensive coordinator (Greg Davis would retire).  This all changed though for me when I went to the bathroom this morning and turned my radio on.  I have three emails in my inbox waiting for me (two of which are from guys who write for Alabama papers) that say Will Muschamp is the next head coach of the Auburn Tigers.  This cannot be happening.  I hope that this isnt true and its just the blogosphere gossip.  This would probably be the worst possible scenerio that the Texas Longhorns could see right now because you know he is going to want to bring Major Applewhite with him as offensive coordinator or whatever.

What have you done for me lately?

Phillip Fulmer and the athletic directors at the University of Tennessee have planned a press conference for today and reports have it that he will not be returning after this season.  This comes at no surprise to me only because I realize that all coaches are on the ropes if they aren’t getting to bowl games.  Its a “show me what you have done for me lately” kind of world out there folks.  This year has been especially bad considering it will more than likely be a second losing season in 4 years.  Its obvious to me that Tennessee has had a problem with a lack of recruiting.  I have no problem with this move because the press has been questioning how long he will be in office after all the losses this year.  When I think about it, they won 10 games last season and actually went to the SEC championship…so the question I have for you is this:  Is it ridiculous to fire a coach (or have him step down as in this case) for a losing season after a season of double digit wins?  This season however the lack of recruiting has really hurt them.  They are ranked 114th in both points per game (17.0) and Total Yards Per Game (272.4yds).  They are the joke of the SEC.  My only question is why this was not done back in 2005 when they went 5-6 and had a ton of arrests on the team.  Oh well, I guess they just wanted to try to give him a couple of years or something.  After the loss to South Carolina Fulmer stop getting a regular paycheck and will now get 6 million over 2 years.

Lets look forward to the future.  Who do we have that fit into an SEC power hungry school like Tennessee?  I can tell you would I would put at the top of my list.  Two words, Will Muschamp…thats right, the recently pwned University of Texas defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.  He was a finalist for the Broyles Award last season.  He has played in the SEC with Auburn and LSU.  I am hoping he will say no and stay another year with Mack Brown and Colt Mccoy.  Another guy I look to is Lane Kiffin who is the recently fired Oakland Raiders head coach.  His resume consists of Fresno State (Quarterbacks Coach), Colorado State (offensive line coach), USC (Tight Ends Coach, Offensive Line Coach, and Offensive Coordinator), and finally with the Oakland Raiders Head Coach from 2007-2008.  This guy has done it all, and is an offensive oriented guy who could probably do some good at Tennessee plus he might have some pull with some California JUCO and high school football players.  Those two are by far the front runners in my book but some others to look at are Boise State’s head coach Chris Peterson, Cincinatti’s coach Brian Kelly, and Mike Leach of Texas Tech (whoa…yes I just wrote that…that dude will listen to anyone).