Monday, November 3, 2008

LOOK WHO'S NOT BEING MENTIONED AS PHIL FULMER'S REPLACEMENT

So Phil Fulmer's gone as Tennessee's head coach. Well, not gone-gone... he'll still be around for the rest of the season, making his game in Nashville "Win one for the Fulmer."

Anyway, just checked out the comments on Chris Low's blog on ESPN. Quite a few names being mentioned as possible replacements.

As of noon:

College head coaches David Cutcliffe, Mike Leach, Steve Spurrier, Tommy Tuberville, Chris Peterson, Jim Grobe, Mike Gundy, Bronco Mendenhall, Brian Kelly, Butch Davis, Jim Leavitt, Bobby Petrino, Mack Brown, Todd Graham and Brady Hoke.

College assistant coaches Norm Chow, Will Muschamp and Trooper Taylor.

NFL head coaches Jon Gruden, Jim Zorn, Bill Belichek and Mike Singletary.

NFL assistant coach Josh McDaniel.

Former NFL coaches Lane Kiffin and Bill Cowher.

That's 25 names.

Guess whose name didn't come up?

Bobby Johnson's.

Would his name be there right now if Vanderbilt had beaten Miss State and Duke and the Commodores were 7-1?

You bet.

Do I wish Vanderbilt had beaten MSU and Duke? Absolutely. Am I worried about our failure to score points? Absolutely.

But I believe Bobby Johnson is building a strong program in Nashville and I believe he's going to get over this six-win hurdle and then move on to bigger goals. The Vanderbilt football program would take a huge step backward if he left. After the season, I think the university ought to give him a nice raise whether his name is still being mentioned for the Clemson job or not.

So in a way, those two losses that should have been wins could benefit the Commodores in the long run.

3 comments:

Chris Jennings said...

Great post Dimon. It is a shame that Vandy lost to MSU and Duke but I think you are right about college coaches at schools like Vandy. When they have a successful year, they tend to get snatched up pretty quick. And it is a rare coach that is willing to stay somewhere for less money. Great blog!

Anonymous said...

Still wodering if Ted Cain is the worst Offensive Coordinator in the SEC (as ranked by yardage the last few years) or if we just have a young o line that will get better and no SEC caliber QB's. If it is the OC's fault, how many years do we have to finish DEAD last in the SEC in offense until Bobby will make a move?

DIMON KENDRICK-HOLMES said...

Good question. I don't think our QBs are SEC-caliber. Georgia's backup, Joe Cox, easily would be our starter. And I do wonder how much of our problems are due to Cain or due to the O-line. Also, while Graham is athletic and a nice possession receiver and Sean Walker makes a big play every six games or so, the wideouts aren't necessarily SEC caliber. And Hawkins could see some playing time with a bunch of other teams, but he wouldn't be the featured back for any other SEC team, I don't think.

At least our defense is good. Today Meyer mentioned that we have the best linebacker in the league but didn't give a name. Think he's talking about Marve?