ORANGE BOWL FALLOUT, COACHING CAROUSEL & SUGAR BOWL PREVIEW
If you didn't watch last night's Orange Bowl, you missed a Stanford blowout win over Virginia Tech. But it was a great game to watch, a 4-touchdown margin at 40-12 & yet there was so much to see, so much to absorb as an amateur football writer & talent scout. I think I said "Wow" & "Holy sh*t" more times that at anytime all season. It was a close contest at half, Stanford led 13-12. But honestly, it was close because of Stanford miscues & I felt if Va Tech didn't get their running game untracked, they were in danger of being routed. They didn't & they were routed.
Hokies' coach Frank Beamer has won a lot of close games over the past 24-years with an attacking defense & superior special team play. He's the best at the collegiate level playing what is now known as "Beamer Ball." In the first half, his special teams made three huge plays, stopping Stanford on a fake punt, converting on a fake punt of their own & blocking an extra point. They also intercepted Stanford QB Andrew Luck. This is the foundation of "Beamer Ball." That all went away in the second half. Stanford overwhelmed the Hokies 27-0 in the 2nd half. They had over 300-yards of total offense while holding the Va Tech to barely 100. The Cardinal totally stuffed the Hokie running game & then they went after QB Tyrod Taylor. He was sacked 8 times & if not for his Michael Vick-like scrambling ability, it would have been worse. Va Tech running backs totaled just 44-yards on 18 carries. Meanwhile Stanford's offense had become unstoppable. Down 19-12 with about 6-minutes to play in the 3rd quarter, Va Tech downed a punt at Stanford's 3-yardline(typical Beamer ball). On first down, RB Stepfan Taylor burst 56-yards thru a gaping hole in the Tech defense. From the Tech 41-yardline, Luck threw a perfect strike to WR Coby Fleener for a score. A two-play, 97-yard drive that took just 29-seconds. At that point the game had been decided, only the final score was in question. The Luck-to-Fleener combination clicked two more times for touchdowns of 58 & 38-yards.
The ease at which Jim Harbaugh's team completely dominated this game amazed me. I told Linda several times in the 4th quarter I couldn't remember a Frank Beamer squad beaten so soundly in every phase of the game. I looked back for 5-years & only once had they lost a game by more than 11 points, the 2007 BCS Champion LSU Tigers hung 48 on Va Tech. That's it, the only other time an opponent had scored 40 or more against the Hokies, that's how competitive Beamer's squads are. But last night Stanford out-coached Tech, their gameplan was far superior, they out-gained Tech by 250-yards & they had the best player on the field, Andrew Luck. The junior QB threw a 2nd quarter pick & other than that, he was sensational. Completing 18 of 23 for 287-yards & 4 touchdowns, Luck also avoided the rush with his quickness & speed. He's the best on-the-move passer I've ever seen at this level. I'd go one step further, Luck is the best QB prospect I've watched for at least a decade & it's not even close.
I expect Luck to leave Stanford for the NFL, he will be the number one overall pick. The Carolina Panthers will draft Luck & if he can stay healthy, he could be become one of the all-time greats at the quarterback position. Yes sports fans, I have a man-crush on Andrew Luck but I'm hardly alone. Leading up to April's draft, see if anyone disagrees with me, I doubt there will any dissenters regarding Luck's future as an NFL QB.
The other possible fallout from the Orange Bowl will be where Jim Harbaugh lands. He can basically write his own ticket, college or pro. You have to understand two things about Jim Harbaugh, money isn't a driving force in his life & he's liable to do something totally unexpected. The most popular theory regarding Harbaugh's future is that he will return to his alma mater Michigan. The Wolverines want him badly, they want to dump Rich Rodriguez for him in the worst way. Problem is, Harbaugh has a real chip on his shoulder because he wasn't even interviewed for the Michigan vacancy 3-years ago when RichRod was hired. That might be enough for him to ignore Michigan altogether. The San Francisco Forty-Niners could be an option, but many question whether his brutally honest in-your-face style might not work with current General Manager Trent Baalke. Former Stanford great, John Elway, is set to become president of football operations for the Denver Broncos. Both could be a possibility since Denver is drafting 2nd & Frisco is 7th. He will want his own quarterback & this could easily be done with one of these picks. Alex Smith & Tim Tebow would not be candidates for a Jim Harbaugh offense. In the end, don't be shocked if he stays put at Stanford. He makes almost $3 million & he's shown his teams can play with anybody in the nation.
Here's what we know right now regarding NFL coaching vacancies, possible vacancies & filled vacancies:
Minnesota has filled their position by removing the "interim" tag from Leslie Frazier. He's the new head man for the Vikings.
Dallas will most likely do the same with their interim coach, Jason Garrett.
NY Giants' owner Wellington Mara made it clear not only would Tom Couglin be retained, but the club will try to work out a 3-year contract extension for Coughlin. A lot of people wanted his head, but it was 41-turnovers that kept the G-Men out of the playoffs & much of that is on the players not the coach.
Houston will keep Gary Kubiak as their head coach but the entire defensive staff will be replaced. Look for Wade Phillips to take over as the defensive coordinator, a job he is more suited for.
Miami is tough to figure, new owner Stephen Ross has a number of high-profile entertainers & sports' figures as minority partners & would like to make a big-name coaching acquisition to infuse some excitement in South Florida. Too many no-shows & a dreadful 1-7 home record cry out for something other than what the 'Phish have in Tony Sparano, but in the end, there aren't many high-profile candidates. I think Sparano stays.
Carolina owner Jerry Richardson will never again pay $5-6 million a year for a head coach. Look for Cleveland D-Coordinator Rob Ryan to emerge as the leading candidate to succeed John Fox.
Cleveland team president Mike Holmgren canned Eric Mangini yesterday but I haven't a clue who is on his list to interview. I think ownership & the Cleveland fans would like Holmgren himself to fill the position. Holmgren wants one of his former guys, Jon Gruden or Philly offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. On one hand I think he'd like to coach again, but I also believe he will exhaust every option before taking the job himself.
Tennessee will send Jeff Fisher packing which is fine with the coach. What any candidate for this job needs to understand is the reason Fisher is gone is the owner, Bud Adams, preferred head case QB Vince Young over Fisher. I don't see any "name" coaches taking this job for this exact reason. look for a coordinator or even a position coach.
Oakland owner Al Davis will continue to frustrate Raider fans with his poor decisions. Current coach Tom Cable has a two-year team option to extend his contract. I don't think Davis will exercise that option & Cable will be gone. The Raiders are close to being a playoff team, if Davis hadn't forced several draft picks(JaMarcus Russell & Darius Heyward-Bey), the Silver & Black might be playing this weekend. But Davis refuses to step back & being a Raider head coach could be the most frustrating job in the league. If Cable is cast aside, no idea who will want this thankless job.
Denver will announce John Elway as president of football ops & he will have a lot of input on who the next coach is. He'd love Jim Harbaugh, but I don't see that happening. I know owner Pat Bowlen wants a name coach but who this is I have no clue.
San Francisco is one of the premiere jobs in the NFL but with GM Trent Baalke already in place, owner John York won't have a lot of input. Baalke won't give up much control on personnel issues either, making a head coaching candidate somewhat apprehensive.; This team needs a quarterback more than anything. They have a solid foundation but need a QB in the worst way. Differing ideas as to who that QB will be could be a major sticking point for any prospective coaches.
Cincinnati's head coaching position might not come open. Marvin Lewis is meeting with owner Mike Brown today & a decision could come later this afternoon. I think Lewis is out, but you never know.
Jacksonville owner Wayne Weaver said late yesterday Jack Del Rio will return next season but with some restrictions. Del Rio will no longer be involved in the defensive play-calling & if the Jaguars fail to make the playoffs next season, Weaver made it clear Del Rio would be fired, so he goes on the hot seat right now.
That leaves us with some big name candidates sitting on the sidelines once again. Bill Cowher said he'd like to get back into coaching but he wants control, big money & location, location, location. I doubt he'll get his wish but he's got a good gig on CBS. Jon Gruden will return to the Monday Night Football booth, I think he likes it more, right now, than coaching. Spending time with his three sons means a lot to Gruden, I think he'll return to coaching eventually, just not right now. Brian Billick has made it clear he wants back in, but I think he's pretty far down wish lists of owners & GM's. Jeff Fisher will be hired soon after he departs Tennessee, Miami, San Francisco & Denver could all be possibilities. Marvin Lewis might get a head coaching job, that is if he wants one this soon. Bengal D-Coordinator Mike Zimmer could be a candidate for the Carolina job. Former Panther coach John Fox will also be employed before long, but I doubt it will be a head coaching gig. And then there's Harbaugh.
Randy Edsell led the UConn Huskies to their 1st BCS bowl game, the Fiesta Bowl, but will not return to the program he built. In a major surprise, Edsell will become the new head coach at Maryland. After the school squeezed Ralph Freidgen out, it was thought Mike leach was the front-runner for the Terrapin job. Nobody saw Edsell as a candidate.
Tonight we have the Sugar Bowl game between the Arkansas Razorbacks & the Ohio State Buckeyes. This game pits Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett against a pretty strong Ohio State defense. It also showcases the shameless "Tattoo-5" for Ohio State. I could analyze this game to death but here's the one thing you need to know. Ohio State is 0-9 versus the Southeastern Conference in bowl games. Making my point even stronger is the fact the Buckeyes were favored in 6 of those losses. I say the streak continues with Mallett & RB Knile Davis inflicting enough damage to keep Ohio State winless against the SEC.
Hokies' coach Frank Beamer has won a lot of close games over the past 24-years with an attacking defense & superior special team play. He's the best at the collegiate level playing what is now known as "Beamer Ball." In the first half, his special teams made three huge plays, stopping Stanford on a fake punt, converting on a fake punt of their own & blocking an extra point. They also intercepted Stanford QB Andrew Luck. This is the foundation of "Beamer Ball." That all went away in the second half. Stanford overwhelmed the Hokies 27-0 in the 2nd half. They had over 300-yards of total offense while holding the Va Tech to barely 100. The Cardinal totally stuffed the Hokie running game & then they went after QB Tyrod Taylor. He was sacked 8 times & if not for his Michael Vick-like scrambling ability, it would have been worse. Va Tech running backs totaled just 44-yards on 18 carries. Meanwhile Stanford's offense had become unstoppable. Down 19-12 with about 6-minutes to play in the 3rd quarter, Va Tech downed a punt at Stanford's 3-yardline(typical Beamer ball). On first down, RB Stepfan Taylor burst 56-yards thru a gaping hole in the Tech defense. From the Tech 41-yardline, Luck threw a perfect strike to WR Coby Fleener for a score. A two-play, 97-yard drive that took just 29-seconds. At that point the game had been decided, only the final score was in question. The Luck-to-Fleener combination clicked two more times for touchdowns of 58 & 38-yards.
The ease at which Jim Harbaugh's team completely dominated this game amazed me. I told Linda several times in the 4th quarter I couldn't remember a Frank Beamer squad beaten so soundly in every phase of the game. I looked back for 5-years & only once had they lost a game by more than 11 points, the 2007 BCS Champion LSU Tigers hung 48 on Va Tech. That's it, the only other time an opponent had scored 40 or more against the Hokies, that's how competitive Beamer's squads are. But last night Stanford out-coached Tech, their gameplan was far superior, they out-gained Tech by 250-yards & they had the best player on the field, Andrew Luck. The junior QB threw a 2nd quarter pick & other than that, he was sensational. Completing 18 of 23 for 287-yards & 4 touchdowns, Luck also avoided the rush with his quickness & speed. He's the best on-the-move passer I've ever seen at this level. I'd go one step further, Luck is the best QB prospect I've watched for at least a decade & it's not even close.
I expect Luck to leave Stanford for the NFL, he will be the number one overall pick. The Carolina Panthers will draft Luck & if he can stay healthy, he could be become one of the all-time greats at the quarterback position. Yes sports fans, I have a man-crush on Andrew Luck but I'm hardly alone. Leading up to April's draft, see if anyone disagrees with me, I doubt there will any dissenters regarding Luck's future as an NFL QB.
The other possible fallout from the Orange Bowl will be where Jim Harbaugh lands. He can basically write his own ticket, college or pro. You have to understand two things about Jim Harbaugh, money isn't a driving force in his life & he's liable to do something totally unexpected. The most popular theory regarding Harbaugh's future is that he will return to his alma mater Michigan. The Wolverines want him badly, they want to dump Rich Rodriguez for him in the worst way. Problem is, Harbaugh has a real chip on his shoulder because he wasn't even interviewed for the Michigan vacancy 3-years ago when RichRod was hired. That might be enough for him to ignore Michigan altogether. The San Francisco Forty-Niners could be an option, but many question whether his brutally honest in-your-face style might not work with current General Manager Trent Baalke. Former Stanford great, John Elway, is set to become president of football operations for the Denver Broncos. Both could be a possibility since Denver is drafting 2nd & Frisco is 7th. He will want his own quarterback & this could easily be done with one of these picks. Alex Smith & Tim Tebow would not be candidates for a Jim Harbaugh offense. In the end, don't be shocked if he stays put at Stanford. He makes almost $3 million & he's shown his teams can play with anybody in the nation.
Here's what we know right now regarding NFL coaching vacancies, possible vacancies & filled vacancies:
Minnesota has filled their position by removing the "interim" tag from Leslie Frazier. He's the new head man for the Vikings.
Dallas will most likely do the same with their interim coach, Jason Garrett.
NY Giants' owner Wellington Mara made it clear not only would Tom Couglin be retained, but the club will try to work out a 3-year contract extension for Coughlin. A lot of people wanted his head, but it was 41-turnovers that kept the G-Men out of the playoffs & much of that is on the players not the coach.
Houston will keep Gary Kubiak as their head coach but the entire defensive staff will be replaced. Look for Wade Phillips to take over as the defensive coordinator, a job he is more suited for.
Miami is tough to figure, new owner Stephen Ross has a number of high-profile entertainers & sports' figures as minority partners & would like to make a big-name coaching acquisition to infuse some excitement in South Florida. Too many no-shows & a dreadful 1-7 home record cry out for something other than what the 'Phish have in Tony Sparano, but in the end, there aren't many high-profile candidates. I think Sparano stays.
Carolina owner Jerry Richardson will never again pay $5-6 million a year for a head coach. Look for Cleveland D-Coordinator Rob Ryan to emerge as the leading candidate to succeed John Fox.
Cleveland team president Mike Holmgren canned Eric Mangini yesterday but I haven't a clue who is on his list to interview. I think ownership & the Cleveland fans would like Holmgren himself to fill the position. Holmgren wants one of his former guys, Jon Gruden or Philly offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. On one hand I think he'd like to coach again, but I also believe he will exhaust every option before taking the job himself.
Tennessee will send Jeff Fisher packing which is fine with the coach. What any candidate for this job needs to understand is the reason Fisher is gone is the owner, Bud Adams, preferred head case QB Vince Young over Fisher. I don't see any "name" coaches taking this job for this exact reason. look for a coordinator or even a position coach.
Oakland owner Al Davis will continue to frustrate Raider fans with his poor decisions. Current coach Tom Cable has a two-year team option to extend his contract. I don't think Davis will exercise that option & Cable will be gone. The Raiders are close to being a playoff team, if Davis hadn't forced several draft picks(JaMarcus Russell & Darius Heyward-Bey), the Silver & Black might be playing this weekend. But Davis refuses to step back & being a Raider head coach could be the most frustrating job in the league. If Cable is cast aside, no idea who will want this thankless job.
Denver will announce John Elway as president of football ops & he will have a lot of input on who the next coach is. He'd love Jim Harbaugh, but I don't see that happening. I know owner Pat Bowlen wants a name coach but who this is I have no clue.
San Francisco is one of the premiere jobs in the NFL but with GM Trent Baalke already in place, owner John York won't have a lot of input. Baalke won't give up much control on personnel issues either, making a head coaching candidate somewhat apprehensive.; This team needs a quarterback more than anything. They have a solid foundation but need a QB in the worst way. Differing ideas as to who that QB will be could be a major sticking point for any prospective coaches.
Cincinnati's head coaching position might not come open. Marvin Lewis is meeting with owner Mike Brown today & a decision could come later this afternoon. I think Lewis is out, but you never know.
Jacksonville owner Wayne Weaver said late yesterday Jack Del Rio will return next season but with some restrictions. Del Rio will no longer be involved in the defensive play-calling & if the Jaguars fail to make the playoffs next season, Weaver made it clear Del Rio would be fired, so he goes on the hot seat right now.
That leaves us with some big name candidates sitting on the sidelines once again. Bill Cowher said he'd like to get back into coaching but he wants control, big money & location, location, location. I doubt he'll get his wish but he's got a good gig on CBS. Jon Gruden will return to the Monday Night Football booth, I think he likes it more, right now, than coaching. Spending time with his three sons means a lot to Gruden, I think he'll return to coaching eventually, just not right now. Brian Billick has made it clear he wants back in, but I think he's pretty far down wish lists of owners & GM's. Jeff Fisher will be hired soon after he departs Tennessee, Miami, San Francisco & Denver could all be possibilities. Marvin Lewis might get a head coaching job, that is if he wants one this soon. Bengal D-Coordinator Mike Zimmer could be a candidate for the Carolina job. Former Panther coach John Fox will also be employed before long, but I doubt it will be a head coaching gig. And then there's Harbaugh.
Randy Edsell led the UConn Huskies to their 1st BCS bowl game, the Fiesta Bowl, but will not return to the program he built. In a major surprise, Edsell will become the new head coach at Maryland. After the school squeezed Ralph Freidgen out, it was thought Mike leach was the front-runner for the Terrapin job. Nobody saw Edsell as a candidate.
Tonight we have the Sugar Bowl game between the Arkansas Razorbacks & the Ohio State Buckeyes. This game pits Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett against a pretty strong Ohio State defense. It also showcases the shameless "Tattoo-5" for Ohio State. I could analyze this game to death but here's the one thing you need to know. Ohio State is 0-9 versus the Southeastern Conference in bowl games. Making my point even stronger is the fact the Buckeyes were favored in 6 of those losses. I say the streak continues with Mallett & RB Knile Davis inflicting enough damage to keep Ohio State winless against the SEC.
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