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OBSERVATIONS ON
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Nuggets of Gold
Thursday, November 22, 2007
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By Adam Gold
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Adam Gold is
program director of the Triangle's "850
the Buzz" and host of "The G-spot with Adam Gold"
mornings from 6-10 a.m. |
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'Tis the season
By Adam Gold
©2007 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
UNC-Chapel Hill and head
football coach Butch Davis have agreed to a one-year contract extension and
a raise of $291,000.
North Carolina athletic
director Dick Baddour announced the decision just prior to the holiday
weekend and it represents a pre-emptive strike towards any school (um, the
University of Arkansas) that might have had designs on hiring Davis away
from Chapel Hill.
In the world of college
football, “‘Tis the season” has nothing to do with the Christmas spirit.
One-time power Southern Methodist fired Phil Bennett last month, Baylor
jettisoned Guy Morriss last week and Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr retired
after the Wolverines’ latest loss to arch-rival Ohio State. The onslaught
has just begun.
So, how does this effect
Pirate Nation?
That’s easy.
Skip Holtz is going to be
on an awful lot of search lists. The more openings there are, the greater
the chances that Skip’s name comes up, thus the greater likelihood that
someone piques his interest enough to open the bidding.
We know for a fact that
three schools will be making a list. But how many others will join the
party?
At the upper reaches of
the sport, it’s a safe bet that Nebraska and Texas A&M pull plugs on Bill
Callahan and Dennis Franchione, respectively. In fact, my guess is that
there’s a greater chance of a third term for George W. Bush than either of
those coaches returning for another tumultuous year in their current jobs.
UCLA is a good bet to
join the search party as Karl Dorrell hasn’t done much to endear himself to
the Bruin faithful. The buzz of last year’s shocking upset of Southern Cal
has long since worn off. It might have had something to do with the
seven-turnover loss to Notre Dame at the Rose Bowl.
Houston Nutt has
long-been rumored to be on his way out at Arkansas, hence the reason for
North Carolina’s decision to reward a three-win head coach with a raise.
And, it wouldn’t shock
anyone if Tennessee, Clemson, Georgia Tech or Syracuse opted to make a
change.
Back to how this
complicates Terry Holland’s holiday plans.
Skip Holtz has done a
great job with the Pirates. East Carolina is in the process of returning to
the level of play that the Purple and Gold had become accustomed to under
Bill Lewis and Steve Logan, before the latter overstayed his time by a
couple of seasons.
John Thompson did plenty
of damage to the program, but it wasn’t lasting since Holland didn’t allow
the program to fester very long before pulling the plug and ushering in the
Holtz era.
But these days, no amount
of success goes unnoticed. And even though the Pirates have coughed up what
could have very well been a 10-win, league championship season and a berth
in the Liberty Bowl, Holtz has a great reputation around the country. And in
case you haven’t noticed, his last name is HOLTZ.
Will Michigan call?
Probably not, though it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Same goes for
A & M, or Nebraska, or UCLA, or Arkansas — though I do recall another Holtz
spending some quality time with the Razorbacks.
The coaching carousel
is a wild ride. It spins violently and things tend to happen fast.
Consider this scenario:
Michigan hires Les Miles away from LSU, which hires Steve Spurrier from
South Carolina, which turns to its former offensive coordinator, Skip
Holtz.
Plausible? You bet.
You see what the carousel
does? It creates two additional openings with one retirement. So even though
there might be only a handful of firings/retirements, there’s no telling how
many athletic directors will take a peek in their side drawer at that list
that contains potential candidates to usher in the next great era of old
State U.
As we enter this season,
I’ll guarantee this much: Terry Holland has a list, and I’ll bet you Santa’s
milk and cookies he’s been checking it twice over the last couple of weeks.
[E-MAIL ADAM GOLD]
[ADAM GOLD ARCHIVES]
11/21/2007 11:53:06 PM |
