November
12, 2008
By
Todd Helmick
Oh
yes, it is that time of year. Not just for conference
title races and the BCS National Championship
Game, but also the time of year when coaches get
fired, step down, retire, move on...take your
pick. So far the count for this year’s coaching
departures includes nine schools (sure to grow).
Along
with all of the coaching departures come the rumors
of successors. Before the news of Tyrone Willingham's
termination at Washington even hit the Seattle
front pages, former NFL coach Lane Kiffin was
at the top of a very short list. No one had contacted
Kiffin at that point, so where did these rumors
start? Maybe in cyberspace, or on a radio talk
show…maybe even here at NationalChamps.net.
But
the true answer is from the résumé
of the person being considered. When you win games,
you're available for these hiring discussions.
It is as simple as that. Everyone is looking for
that “Super Now Coach” as we like
to label the search. Everyone who needs a head
coach believes someone must exist that can take
their team and instantaneously transform them
into a conference champ. Not tomorrow, not later
today, but NOW! Newsflash: that guy doesn’t
exist (nine hirings out of ten). Unfortunately
in America, the winning has to have been done
now, as in this year for all intensive purposes.
Coaches that have a proven track record for winning
over the past decade usually don’t qualify
unless they have (recent) NFL experience or are
winning right now. NOW!
Here
are the hottest coaches on the hiring boards for
most schools and, maybe even less important, for
the internet message board dreamers. Oh, there
are others out there being considered and maybe
even likely to get the job. This list represents
the Most Wanted Coaches for 2009.
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LANE
KIFFIN
- Former Head Coach Oakland Raiders |
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Coaches
with NFL experience have become a hot commodity
over the past several years. Maybe this train of
thought began when Pete Carroll put USC on their
current dynasty run. The real answer probably lies
in the fact that improved recruiting now elicits
higher expectations. In today's information age,
too many 17-year old prep prospects expect a chance
to bask in the limelight; they and their parents
want to know what can be done to get them into the
NFL, and who better to answer such a question than
someone who has coached there. All this simply means
that Lane Kiffin is No. 1 on every school's wish
list. And in conjuring the name ‘Kiffin’,
we note how Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon
Gruden has been at the top of many schools’
wish lists for several years, but has repeatedly
made it clear he has no intention on leaving the
NFL and/or Tampa. |
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MIKE
LEACH - Head Coach Texas Tech |
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Mike
Leach is a coaching legend and not just in the
state of Texas anymore. Currently sitting undefeated
(10-0) at No. 2 in the BCS poll, his Red Raiders
continue to put up lofty numbers. The offensive
guru has produced the NCAA's leading passer in
seven of the past eight seasons. For years now,
many consider Leach’s offensive success
to be nothing more than a product of their ‘Air
Raid’ system…yeah, his system, and
that is just what the doctor ordered for some
of these current schools with coaching openings.
At this point money would likely be a/the deciding
factor...the kind of money Alabama put up for
Nick Saban should do it. Texas is a hot bed of
prep talent, and there’s not much more a
coach can do than produce the Lone Star State’s
top squad for a No.2 ranking. |
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JIM
GROBE - Head Coach Wake Forest |
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Coach
Grobe has taken this school in Winston-Salem -
with an undergrad student population of less than
4,500 that was the laughing stock of the ACC for
decades - and molded them into a BCS squad (2006
ACC Champions). He has done it with lesser-rated
high school recruits who generally wind up spending
the full five years playing in the program, making
the Deacons a solid, deep veteran club. His offensive
knowledge and misdirection ground attack have
helped earn current QB Riley Skinner and RB Josh
Adams the last two ACC Rookie of the Year nods. |
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NORM
CHOW - UCLA (Offensive Coordinator) |
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Norm Chow has been an offensive coordinator since
1973, never a head coach. At some point in his life
most would probably figure he would have a desire
to become one. Unfortunately, this occurrence may
still be down the road a stretch since he just recently
took over the offense at UCLA. The names of the
quarterbacks that have prospered under his tutelage
run deep - Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Ty Detmer,
Philip Rivers, Carson Palmer, and Matt Leinart.
If he even hints at dropping his name in the hat,
he would be the most wanted coach on this list.
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TURNER
GILL - Head Coach University
of Buffalo |
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Turner
Gill may be the hottest young coach on the market.
Anyone that can take the Buffalo Bulls program
out of its longtime cellar depths has to be considered
legit. As an esteemed QBs coach in Lincoln, he
managed to take Nebraska's Tommie Frazier and
Eric Crouch to the top of many post season award
lists. Gill now has made Buffalo a worthy opponent
as his current QB, Drew Willy, is the schools
all-time passing leader, and his RB, James Starks,
is currently the MAC's leading rusher. In today's
college world of detailed offenses, Gill fits
right in. With the current list of African-American
FBS college football head coaches on the short
side, Gill is sure to get plenty of interviews.
None of this, though, should be the difference;
Gill is a dream coach for any program. |
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GARY
PATTERSON - Head Coach TCU |
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Finally,
Gary Patterson is getting the recognition he deserves.
He is the only coach in school history to record
four 10-win seasons. Also, the Horned Frogs have
earned a spot in the final AP Top 25 four times
prior to this season. One has to believe if the
Kansas State job ever became available again (and
it just has) he would be atop the Manhattan Project,
having already played and coached for the Wildcats.
It's only a matter of time before Patterson ends
up at the BCS level. |
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JIM
LEAVITT - Head Coach South Florida |
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How
Jim Leavitt has yet to be pulled away from his
beloved South Florida team leaves some wondering.
The USF program is his baby - Leavitt was the
schools first ever coach and currently remains
as the only man to guide the Bulls since they
started playing football in 1996. He grew up in
neighboring St. Petersburg, and on October 14,
2007 Leavitt’s squad was sitting at No.
2 in that week's BCS poll. Playing in the Big
East affords Coach Leavitt more opportunities
for success that deeper conferences (like the
SEC) would not. He has turned down opportunities
at Alabama and Miami, but how long will he continue
to turn down offers that float his way? |
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GREG
SCHIANO - Head Coach Rutgers |
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No
ones coaching stock was higher than Greg Schiano's
at the end of 2006 after he took Rutgers from
a century long bottom dweller and put them into
a No. 6 national ranking nine games into that
season. Schiano is also the team’s defensive
coordinator and carries NFL coaching experience.
After being named the 2006 Home Depot Coach of
the Year, he decided to stay at Rutgers to see
how far he could take the program. Greg’s
success has not been quite the same since ‘06,
and therefore his stock may not be as hot as it
was just two seasons ago. Currently the longest
tenured coach in the Big East (in his eighth year),
Schiano would still be considered a coup for any
school that could steal his services from Piscataway. |
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CHRIS
PETERSEN - Head Coach Boise State |
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While
some schools may be looked upon as ‘coaching
graveyards’, the one in Boise has to be
considered a ‘coaching catapult’.
The consistent success of the Broncos continues
to open doors apparently for all who coach there,
and Petersen is no exception. In his first year
as head coach, Petersen led the Broncos to an
undefeated regular season and the program's first
ever BCS berth (only the second ever by a non-aligned
school) where they shocked powerhouse Oklahoma.
The university has done all it can to increase
his pay scale, but it may not be enough to keep
him on the Blue Turf sidelines, now or soon down
the road. |
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KYLE
WHITTINGHAM - Head Coach Utah |
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Build
it and they will come, Kyle. Utah is currently
in the driver's seat to be this year’s version
of a BCS Buster, and the bigger programs are therefore
looking seriously in Kyle Whittingham’s
direction. An in-state legend, he played at BYU
and has been on the coaching staff at Utah for
the past 14 seasons. Going undefeated in the Mountain
West Conference – the nation’s toughest
mid-major conference - is still a tall order,
and if he is really interested in taking another
head coaching position elsewhere, Kyle may have
to strike while the iron his hot. |
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CONTINUE
TO MOST WANTED COACHES 11-20 |
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