In case you’ve been under a rock today, Phil Fulmer won’t be returning as the Vols’ head coach in 2009. I’ve been covering Fulmer’s departure at FanHouse today; just finished watching the press conference. Kind of tore my guts up a bit to see that big man teetering close to the edge, nearly bawling like a baby but keeping it under control.

Coaching at UT obviously means everything in the world to him. And it was taken from him today, against his wishes. It hurts to do that to a good person.

Maybe we take this college football stuff too far. In a clinical fashion, it was fairly obvious that Fulmer’s time was up. But as a family man I appreciate his charitable work with children in need, his leadership of young men, and his obvious positive qualities as a human being.

I take back all the Krispy Kreme jokes.

(Well, most of them.)

Phil Fulmer, Gator Nation salutes you for your impressive accomplishments as a football coach, and in a weird way, we’re going to miss you. And we say that with absolutely no sarcasm whatsoever.

Happy Trails, Phil. May your way be easy.

Things are not as they seem on the Plains.  In fact recently there was an ambush on the plains and it came replete with casualties.  Auburn offensive coordinator Tony Franklin was abruptly fired on Wednesday, Oct 9th by head coach Tommy Tuberville.  This came less than 24 hours after Tuberville told the media that he had confidence in Franklin and there weren’t any staffing changes planned.  Obviously by the next day the situation had changed.

In addition there have been rumors floating around about how the firing had nothing to do with coaching but involved “personal issues” like not getting along with fellow coaches, berating players and using racial slurs.  Well gosh golly gee . . . it’s a good thing we got rid of that mean old racist Tony Franklin then.  The Auburn administration and coaching staff had their hands tied right?  What were they to do?

Cough, bullsh*t, cough.  Sound familiar?  We all know that thanks to the rumors that Terry Bowden was fired for cheating on his wife and not his football issues.  The ranks of coaches who have been fired/paid off at Auburn is truly staggering.  Doug Barfield, Wayne Hall, Pat Dye, Terry Bowden, Al Borges, Tony Franklin, etc - the beat goes on.  There are two kinds of coaches at Auburn University, coaches who have been fired and coaches who are GOING to be fired.  Unfortunately for Tommy Tuberville, he looks to be on the list for the latter.

Anyone familiar with Auburn knows the rumors being told to boosters and “insiders” are standard operating procedure on the Plains.  Only one man is capable orchestrating this type of death march, Bobby Lowder.  Lowder has been gunning for Tuberville’s head for years now ever since Tommy was able to turn the Bobby Petrino disaster into a half decade’s worth of coaching autonomy.  That “get out of free” card seems to have expired.  While Lowder doesn’t yet have the clout to openly fire Tubs he’s positioning himself to arrive to that conclusion shortly.

Losing brings enemies and Tuberville’s perpetual underachievement since 2004 has brought him a fair share of critics within and outside the program.  Lowder has capitalized on this and is currently attempting to divide the program.  Tuberville has now fired 2 offensive coordinators within 12 months.  I’m sure after some strong “encouragement” on behalf of Trustee Lowder.  Such a conversation likely boiled down to “either you fire so-and-so to placate some angry boosters or you can go pack your own bags“. (more…)

With all the current shenanigans going on at Auburn University these days it reminds me of a previous coaching administration and a blast from the past! 

If there was ever a first family of college football the Bowden Clan could stake a very strong argument for the title.  Bobby Bowden, head coach of FSU and currently the winningest coach in college football, had 6 children of which four were boys.  Out of those four boys three of them ended up coaching college football.  Actually when you consider the exploits of the Bowden boys all four would make for the subject of an interesting book.  Whether it be Jeff Bowden and his tumultous reign as offensive coordinator at Florida State and his ensuing exile, Tommy Bowden and all the Jeckle and Hyde teams he has produced in his tenure at Clemson, Steve Bowden who wrote a best-selling book about his father and later swindled him for 1.6 million in a fraudulent securities scam and of course the bowden boy we will focus on here: coaching pariah and current TV/Radio analyst Terry Bowden.
 
For those who don’t remember Terry Bowden’s career, Terry began his career coaching at tiny Salem College in West Virginia where he coached current FSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher (who later followed Terry to Samford).  After leaving Salem to coach Samford, Terry coached the Bulldogs for 6 years accruing at 45-23-1 record and earned enough recognition to finally land a high level college coaching gig at the University of Auburn.  At the time Auburn University was in a state of panic as claims of illegal benefits being paid to players had reached the press.  The King of Auburn football, Bobby Lowder, finally decided it was time for Coach Pat Dye to resign before the Eric Ramsey allegations exposed further wrongdoing.  What better way to right the ship and steer press coverage away from scandal than to hire the “innovative” and “up and coming” son of Legendary FSU coach Bobby Bowden?
 
THE KING
 
While it is not known who first recommended Terry for the job, his hiring couldn’t have happened with Lowder’s consent because NO ONE does anything at Auburn without the approval of the dictatorial power broker and Auburn Trustee, Bobby Lowder.  Lowder is one of the few remaining old school figures that once ruled college football.  A remnant of the day when deals and decisions were made behind closed doors where cigar smoke and the laughter of grey haired gentlemen filled athletic department board rooms.  Lowder is a man who has used his financial empire (banking) to literally buy control of Auburn University and cast it in his own image.  His political allegiences and ties have made him a dangerous figure to anger while virtually untouchable to reformists and opponents alike. (more…)

Above: Appalachian State students in Boone, North Carolina, posing with the goalposts they ripped out of the turf at ASU Stadium, dragged down the street, and deposited in the University Chancellor’s driveway after the Mountaineers defeated Michigan in the “Big House” on September 1st, 2007.

1) Urban Meyer (UF) - his credentials are impeccable.  You can argue with his schemes and his play calling but you can’t argue with his success.  And his resume includes doing almost the same thing at THREE consecutive schools.  From 7-5 to 13-1 in two years is impressive on its own.  When put together with his past accomplishments its hard to argue against his ability to recruit, motivate and blend players.  Whether or not Florida had won the title this year, the foundation has been placed for a run that could last quite a while.  Meyer might be the best recruiter the SEC has seen since Nick Saban (who coincidentally is now back in the SEC).  If that’s the case, the road to the SEC championship could run through Florida on an annual basis. 
 
2) Nick Saban (ALA) - Personally the guy annoys me.  He’s abrasive, self righteous and condescending but the man is a proven winner.  No, not at the NFL level, he never achieved success in his two years with the Dolphins but at the college level he’s been to the top of the mountain.  A defensive minded strategist who even Bill Belichick felt was his coaching equal, Saban’s biggest strength is his ability to recruit.  For the past two years, Les Miles has greatly underacheived with a team as talented as ANY in the country, a team built and assembled by former coach Nick Saban.  Only Pete Carroll could realistically be suggested to be superior at selling himself and program to high school kids.  Although the number two spot was close to call, Saban has the national title on his pedigree and Richt does not.  I started this list when Rodriguez was about to be hired I had Rich ranked 4th.  I was very excited about Rodriguez bringing his offensive scheme to the SEC and seeing a shift in league philosophy.  But based on my rankings you can see that while Rich would have been better for the SEC, Saban is better for Alabama. (more…)

Our three-part “Countdown to Kickout 2006″ was shortlived as all three coaches — Larry Coker, Chuck Amato, and Mike Shula — have now been shown the door by their respective administrations.

Coker was fired Friday, after winning what would be his final game as the Hurricanes’ head coach in the Orange Bowl, notching a win over Boston College.  Chuck Amato was fired over Thanksgiving weekend after losing to East Carolina.  And now Mike Shula is out as of Sunday evening, according to Tide Sports.

One interesting aspect of Shula’s buyout, as reported by a Fanblogs.com report, is that Shula will only receive payments on his contract after adjustments from other income.  So if Shula takes up any employment whatsoever, whether it be foootball or washing cars, the amount Bama owes will be offset by that income.  Perhaps it’s a heavy disincentive to coach elsewhere until his four years are up.

The knives have come out for Mike Shula in Tuscaloosa. Despite logging a 10-2 record last year, this year’s Tide suffers from a familiar and repetitive theme which has emerged under the head coach’s tenure: an inability to score in the red zone, inexplicable coaching decisions, conservativism to a fault (when the situation calls for being aggressive,) and a befuddling propensity to take risks when there is much to lose and little to gain.

Rewind to last Saturday’s Iron Bowl, a game which Alabama has now lost five straight times to the Tigers of Auburn.  In what might be a coaching first, Shula chose to assess a personal foul penalty — committed by Auburn after Alabama’s first touchdown — on the P.A.T. rather than the ensuing kickoff (which would have been a 15-yard, rather than 1.5 yard penalty). This coaching decision moved the ball a few meaningless inches closer to the endzone… not to improve the odds for a 2-point conversion via rushing attempt, but to pass! A pass which, predictably, was intercepted. Instead of 14-11 or 14-10 with good field position, the Tide were now down 14-9 and letting the Tigers kick from their 35-yard line.

Can someone — anyone — explain to me the benefit of taking a 1.5 yard gain in field position to throw the ball? And giving up a guaranteed 15 yards of field position advantage in the process? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
(more…)

College football will be a little less entertaining without Chuck Amato.

The chesty coach, whose raspy, high-pitched delivery sounds like a Bronx-bred Mickey Mouse, is almost certainly in the death throes of the Countdown to Kickout. Like Larry Coker, Amato’s a “Dead Coach Walking”; NC State has made no formal announcement, but considering that the Amato’s Wolfpack was submerged and suffocated in pitch and turpentine by the fang-less Tarheels — losing 23-9! — it seems likely that Amato will not return for a seventh season at his alma mater. NCSU is rumored to have made the internal decision to fire Amato and begin seeking a new head coach for the program.

As for punting Bunting, that decision was already made on October 22nd by UNC. I.e., Amato has just become a lame duck at the hands of a lame duck: Fired Coach 23, Soon-To-Be-Fired-Coach, 9.

CBS Sportsline is reporting that Miami has started searching for candidates to replace head coach Larry Coker, despite having yet to actually fire the man.

Miami is 5-6 after coming within three minutes of a shutout in Charlottesville against Virginia. Unless they manage to win against Boston College at home next week — which at this point, would be considered a monumental upset — they will fail to reach bowl eligibility.

This team has packed it up, mailed it in, and is waiting for better days.