“Better do a good deed near at home than go far away to burn incense.”
And
“Courage is the price that Life exacts for granting peace, The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things.”
And
“Flying might not be all plain sailing, but the fun of it is worth the price.”
And
“I want to do it because I want to do it.”
And
“In soloing – as in other activities – it is far easier to start something than it is to finish it.”
And
“Never do things others can do and will do if there are things others cannot do or will not do.”
And
“Never interrupt someone doing what you said couldn’t be done.”
And
“Obviously I faced the possibility of not returning when first I considered going. Once faced and settled there really wasn’t any good reason to refer to it.”
And
“Please know that I am aware of the hazards. I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be a challenge to others.”
And
“The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one’s appreciation of fundamental things like home, and love, and understanding companionship.”
And
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure , the process is its own reward.”
And
“The most effective way to do it, is to do it.”
And
“The woman who can create her own job is the woman who will win fame and fortune.”
And
“There are two kinds of stones, as everyone knows, one of which rolls.”
And
“There is so much that must be done in a civilized barbarism like war.”
And
“Women must pay for everything. They do get more glory than men for comparable feats, but, they also get more notoriety when they crash.”
And
“Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail their failure must be but a challenge to others.”
And
“Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others.”
And
“The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one’s appreciation of fundamental things like home, and love, and understanding companionship.”
And
“Adventure is worthwhile in itself.”
And
“No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind action leads to another. Good example is followed. A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves.”
And
“In my life I had come to realize that when things were going very well indeed it was just the time to anticipate trouble. And, conversely, I learned from pleasant experience that at the most despairing crisis, when all looked sour beyond words, some delightful “break” was apt to lurk just around the corner.”
And
“The soul’s dominion? Each time we make a choice, we pay with courage to behold restless day and count it fair.”
And
“Anticipation, I suppose, sometimes exceeds realization.”
And
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.”
And
“Worry retards reaction and makes clear-cut decisions impossible.”
And
“…decide…whether or not the goal is worth the risks involved. If it is, stop worrying….”
And
“Not much more than a month ago I was on the other shore of the Pacific, looking westward. This evening, I looked eastward over the Pacific. In those fast-moving days which have intervened, the whole width of the world has passed behind us -except this broad ocean. I shall be glad when we have the hazards of its navigation behind us.” — Amelia Earhart, several days before she left for Howland Island and disappeared
“Seems to me that if you’re afraid or living with some big fear, you’re not really living. You’re only half alive. I don’t care if it’s the boss you’re scared of or a lot of people in a room or diving off of a dinky little board, you gotta get rid of it. You owe it to yourself. Makes sort of a zombie out of you being afraid. I mean you want to be free, don’t you? And how can you if you are scared? That’s prison. Fear’s a jailer. Mind now, I’m not a professor on the subject. I just found it out for myself. But that’s what I think.”
And
“If you’re afraid of anything, why not take a chance and do the thing you fear. Sometimes it’s the only way to get over being afraid.”
And
“Let each man hear his own music and live by it. The drums roll one way for one man, I guess, and another way for another. You have to listen to your own.”
And
“In life quality is what counts, not quantity.”
And
“Audacity is a tactical weapon. Nine times out ten it will throw the enemy off-balance and confuse him.”
And
“The true meaning of America, you ask? It’s in a Texas rodeo, in a policeman’s badge, in the sound of laughing children, in a political rally, in a newspaper… In all these things, and many more, you’ll find America. In all these things, you’ll find freedom. And freedom is what America means to the world. And to me.”
“Alexander the Great, reflecting on his friends degenerating into sloth and luxury, told them that it was a most slavish thing to luxuriate, and a most royal thing to labor.”
And
“I do not steal victory.”
And
“Our enemies are Medes and Persians, men who for centuries have lived soft and luxurious lives; we of Macedon for generations past have been trained in the hard school of danger and war. Above all, we are free men, and they are slaves. There are Greek troops, to be sure, in Persian service — but how different is their cause from ours! They will be fighting for pay — and not much of at that; we, on the contrary, shall fight for Greece, and our hearts will be in it. As for our foreign troops — Thracians, Paeonians, Illyrians, Agrianes — they are the best and stoutest soldiers in Europe, and they will find as their opponents the slackest and softest of the tribes of Asia. And what, finally, of the two men in supreme command? You have Alexander, they — Darius!” Aledander addressing his troops prior to Battle of Issus
And
“Are you still to learn that the end and perfection of our victories is to avoid the vices and infirmities of those whom we subdue?”
And
“To the strongest!” After being asked, by his generals on his deathbed, who was to succeed him.
And
“There is nothing impossible to him who will try.”
And
“I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.”
And
“I had rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent, than in the extent of my power and dominion.”
And
“Remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all.”
“If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.”
And
“Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent’s fate.”
And
“If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.”
And
“All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.”
And
“All war is deception.”
And
“Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.”
And
“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”
And
“Invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the attack.”
And
“For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.”
And
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
And
“The opportunity to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.”
And
“Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.”
And
“The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.”
And
“He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot, will be victorious.”
And
“Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”
And
“You have to believe in yourself.”
And
“Confront them with annihilation, and they will then survive; plunge them into a deadly situation, and they will then live. When people fall into danger, they are then able to strive for victory.”
And
“He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.”
And
“If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.”
And
“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”
And
“It is essential to seek out enemy agents who have come to conduct espionage against you and to bribe them to serve you. Give them instructions and care for them. Thus doubled agents are recruited and used.”
And
“Hence that general is skilful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skilful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.”
And
“Now the reason the enlightened prince and the wise general conquer the enemy whenever they move and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men is foreknowledge.”
And
“If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are near.”
And
“It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for the purposes of spying, and thereby they achieve great results.”
And
“Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.”
And
“Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.”
And
“Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy’s strategy.”
And
“In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good.”
And
“Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.”
And
“There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.”
And
“Of all those in the army close to the commander none is more intimate than the secret agent; of all rewards none more liberal than those given to secret agents; of all matters none is more confidential than those relating to secret operations.”
And
“The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.”
And
“The skilful employer of men will employ the wise man, the brave man, the covetous man, and the stupid man.”
And
“The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.”
And
“To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”
And
“The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim.”
And
“If our soldiers are not overburdened with money, it is not because they have a distaste for riches; if their lives are not unduly long, it is not because they are disinclined to longevity.”
And
“There has never been a protracted war from which a country has benefited.”
And
“For them to perceive the advantage of defeating the enemy, they must also have their rewards.”
And
“Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and you know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you now Heaven and you know Earth, you may make your victory complete.”
And
“If fighting is sure to result in victory, than you must fight, even though the ruler forbid it; if fighting will not result in victory, then you must not fight even at the ruler’s bidding.”
And
“Prohibit the taking of omens, and do away with superstitious doubts. Then, until death itself comes, no calamity need be feared.”
And
“Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move.”
And
“When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce.”
And
“If we know that our own men are in a condition to attack, but are unaware that the enemy is not open to attack, we have gone only halfway towards victory.”
And
“The enlightened ruler is heedful, and the good general full of caution.”
“All action takes place, so to speak, in a kind of twilight, which like a fog or moonlight, often tends to make things seem grotesque and larger than they really are.”
And
“Courage, above all things, is the first quality of a warrior.”
And
“Everything in war is very simple. But the simplest thing is difficult.”
And
“If the leader is filled with high ambition and if he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of will, he will reach them in spite of all obstacles.”
And
“It is even better to act quickly and err than to hesitate until the time of action is past.”
And
“Never forget that no military leader has ever become great without audacity.”
And
“Principles and rules are intended to provide a thinking man with a frame of reference.”
And
“The backbone of surprise is fusing speed with secrecy.”
And
“The more a general is accustomed to place heavy demands on his soldiers, the more he can depend on their response.”
And
“The political object is the goal, war is the means of reaching it, and the means can never be considered in isolation form their purposes.”
And
“Two qualities are indispensable: first, an intellect that, even in the darkest hour, retains some glimmerings of the inner light which leads to truth; and second, the courage to follow this faint light wherever it may lead.”
And
“War therefore is an act of violence to compel our opponent to fulfill our will.”
And
“Kind-hearted people might of course think there was some ingenious way to disarm or defeat the enemy without too much bloodshed, and might imagine this is the true goal of the art of war. Pleasant as it sounds, it is a fallacy that must be exposed: War is such a dangerous business that mistakes that come from kindness are the very worst.”
And
“Determination in a single instance is an expression of courage; if it becomes characteristic, a mental habit. But here we are referring not to physical courage but to courage to accept responsibility, courage in the face of a moral danger. This has often been called courage d’esprit, because it is created by the intellect. That, however, does not make it an act of the intellect: it is an act of temperament. Intelligence alone is not courage; we often see that the most intelligent people are irresolute. Since in the rush of events a man is governed by feelings rather than by thought, the intellect needs to arouse the quality of courage, which then supports and sustains it in action. Looked at in this way, the role of determination is to limit the agonies of doubt and the perils of hesitation when the motives for action are inadequate.”
And
“We repeat again: strength of character does not consist solely in having powerful feelings, but in maintaining one’s balance in spite of them. Even with the violence of emotion, judgment and principle must still function like a ship’s compass, which records the slightest variations however rough the sea.”
And
“Men are always more inclined to pitch their estimate of the enemy’s strength too high than too low, such is human nature.”
And
“With uncertainty in one scale, courage and self-confidence should be thrown into the other to correct the balance. The greater they are, the greater the margin that can be left for accidents.”
And
“Although our intellect always longs for clarity and certainty, our nature often finds uncertainty fascinating.”
And
“Any complex activity, if it is to be carried on with any degree of virtuosity, calls for appropriate gifts of intellect and temperament. If they are outstanding and reveal themselves in exceptional achievements, their possessor is called a ‘genius’.”
And
“If the mind is to emerge unscathed from this relentless struggle with the unforeseen, two qualities are indispensable: first, an intellect that, even in the darkest hour, retains some glimmerings of the inner light which leads to truth; and second, the courage to follow this faint light wherever it may lead.”
And
“There are times when the utmost daring is the height of wisdom.”
And
“Boldness governed by superior intellect is the mark of a hero.”
“Nothing has changed about what makes a winner. A winner works his butt off and is dependable. He’s not always the most talented, but he gives everything on every play.”
And
“At Auburn, practice is Hell. But when you line up across the big, fast, smart, angry boys from Florida, and Georgia, and Alabama, where there is no quality of mercy on the ground and no place to hide, you’ll know why practice is Hell at Auburn.”
And
Don’t wait to be a great man. Be a great boy.”
And
“I don’t believe in miracles. I believe in character”
And
“Life is short, so don’t waste any of it carrying around a load of bitterness. It only sours your life, and the world won’t pay any attention anyway.”
And
“If you’re a football coach, criticism comes with the territory. If it tears you up, you better get into another profession.”
Before the 1981 Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn, Paul “Bear” Bryant and Pat Dye (Pat Dye coached for Paul Bryant for nine years on the Alabama staff):
Pat Dye: “Coach Bryant, before you start hugging me, you ought to know that my boys are fixing to get after y’all’s ass.”
Paul Bryant: “You ain’t trying to scare me now, are you, Pat?”
Pat Dye: “No sir, because I know you don’t get scared. I’m just telling you what we’re fixing to do.”
And
“A game like this, Alabama players will remember it for the rest of their lives. Auburn players…it’ll eat their guts out the rest of their lives.” Former Auburn coach Pat Dye to a reporter after Van Tiffen kicked his 52 yard field goal to beat Auburn in 1985.
“A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.”
And
“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.”
And
“I am impelled, not to squeak like a grateful and apologetic mouse, but to roar like a lion out of pride in my profession.”
And
“I have never smuggled anything in my life. Why, then, do I feel an uneasy sense of guilt on approaching a customs barrier?”
And
“I’ve lived in good climate, and it bores the hell out of me. I like weather rather than climate.”
And
“I’ve seen a look in dogs’ eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts.”
And
“Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.”
And
“If you’re in trouble, or hurt or need – go to the poor people. They’re the only ones that’ll help – the only ones.”
And
“In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.”
And
“It has always been my private conviction that any man who puts his intelligence up against a fish and loses had it coming.”
And
“It has always seemed strange to me… the things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second.”
And
“It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.”
And
“No man really knows about other human beings. The best he can do is to suppose that they are like himself.”
And
“Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts… perhaps the fear of a loss of power.”
And
“Sectional football games have the glory and the despair of war, and when a Texas team takes the field against a foreign state, it is an army with banners.”
And
“The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true.”
And
“We spend our time searching for security and hate it when we get it.”
And
“Where does discontent start? You are warm enough, but you shiver. You are fed, yet hunger gnaws you. You have been loved, but your yearning wanders in new fields. And to prod all these there’s time, the Bastard Time.”
And
“Writers are a little below clowns and a little above trained seals.”
And
“We are lonesome animals. We spend all our life trying to be less lonesome. One of our ancient methods is to tell a story begging the listener to say — and to feel — ”Yes, that’s the way it is, or at least that’s the way I feel it. You’re not as alone as you thought.””
And
“One man was so mad at me that he ended his letter: “Beware. You will never get out of this world alive.””
And
“If I wanted to destroy a nation, I would give it too much and I would have it on its knees, miserable, greedy and sick.”
And
“Man, unlike anything organic or inorganic in the universe, grows beyond his work, walks up the stairs of his concepts, emerges ahead of his accomplishments.”
And
“Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream.”
And
“And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual. This is what I am and what I am about. I can understand why a system built on a pattern must try to destroy the free mind, for it is the one thing which can by inspection destroy such a system. Surely I can understand this, and I hate it and I will fight against it to preserve the one thing that separates us from the uncreative beasts. If the glory can be killed, we are lost.”
And
“In every bit of honest writing in the world … there is a base theme. Try to understand men, if you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love. There are shorter means, many of them. there is writing promoting social change, writing punishing injustice, writing in celebration of heroism, but always that base theme. Try to understand each other.”
And
“I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. It might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.”
And
“The profession of book-writing makes horse-racing seem like a solid, stable business.”
And
“Our species is the only creative species, and it has only one creative instrument, the individual mind and spirit of a man. Nothing was ever created by two men. There are no good collaborations, whether in art, in music, in poetry, in mathematics, in philosophy. Once the miracle of creation has taken place, the group can build and extend it, but the group never invents anything. The preciousness lies in the lonely mind of a man.”
And
“It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings no pleasure on the world.”
And
“I guess this is why I hate governments. It is always the rule, the fine print, carried out by the fine print men. There’s nothing to fight, no wall to hammer with frustrated fists.
And
Excerpt from Travels with Charley, John Steinbeck
The next passage in my journey is a love affair. I am in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection, but with Montana it is love, and it’s difficult to analyze love when you’re in it. Once, when I raptured in a violet glow given off by the Queen of the World, my father asked me why, and I thought he was crazy not to see. Of course I know now she was a mouse-haired, freckle-nosed, scabby-kneed little girl with a voice like a bat and the loving kindness of a gila monster, but then she lighted up the landscape and me. It seems to me that Montana is a great splash of grandeur. The scale is huge but not overpowering. The land is rich with grass and color, and the mountains are the kind I would create if mountains were ever put on my agenda. Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans. Here for the first time I heard a definite regional accent unaffected by TV-ese, a slow-paced warm speech. It seemed to me that the frantic bustle of America was not in Montana. Its people did not seem afraid of shadows in a John Birch Society sense. The calm of the mountains and the rolling grasslands had got into the inhabitants. It was hunting season when I drove through the state. The men I talked to seemed to me not moved to a riot of seasonal slaughter but simply to be going out to kill edible meat. Again my attitude may be informed by love, but it seemed to me that the towns were places to live in rather than nervous hives. People had time to pause in their occupations to undertake the passing art of neighborliness.
I found I did not rush through the towns to get them over with. I even found things I had to buy to make myself linger. In Billings I bought a hat, in Livingston a jacket, in Butte a rifle I didn’t particularly need, a Remington bolt-action .22, secondhand but in beautiful condition. Then I found a telescope sight I had to have, and waited while it was mounted on the rifle, and in the process got to know everyone in the shop and any customers who entered. With the gun in a vise and the bolt out, we zeroed the new sight on a chimney three blocks away, and later when I got to shooting the little gun I found no reason to change it. I spent a good part of a morning at this, mostly because I wanted to stay. But I see that, as usual, love is inarticulate. Montana has a spell on me. It is grandeur and warmth. If Montana had a seacoast, or if I could live away from the sea, I would instantly move there and petition for admission. Of all the states it is my favorite and my love.
At Custer we made a side trip south to pay our respects to General Custer and Sitting Bull on the battlefield of Little Big Horn. I don’t suppose there is an American who doesn’t carry Remington’s painting of the last defense of the center column of the 7th Cavalry in his head. I removed my hat in memory of brave men, and Charley saluted in his own manner but I thought with great respect.
The whole of eastern Montana and the western Dakotas is memory-marked as Injun country, and the memories are not very old either. Some years ago my neighbor was Charles Erskine Scott Wood, who wrote Heavenly Discourse. He was a very old man when I knew him, but as a young lieutenant just out of military academy he had been assigned to General Miles and he served in the Chief Joseph campaign. His memory of it was very clear and very sad. He said it was one of the most gallant retreats in all history. Chief Joseph and the Nez Percés with squaws and children, dogs, and all their possessions, retreated under heavy fire for over a thousand miles, trying to escape to Canada. Wood said they fought every step of the way against odds until finally they were surrounded by the cavalry under General Miles and the large part of them wiped out. It was the saddest duty he had ever performed, Wood said, and he had never lost his respect for the fighting qualities of the Nez Percés. “If they hadn’t had their families with them we could never have caught them,” he said. “And if we had been evenly matched in men and weapons, we couldn’t have beaten them. They were men,” he said, “Real men.”
“Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.”
And
“I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.”
And
“Somebody just back of you while you are fishing is as bad as someone looking over your shoulder while you write a letter to your girl.”
And
“When I have an idea, I turn down the flame, as if it were a little alcohol stove, as low as it will go. Then it explodes and that is my idea.”
And
“Forget your personal tragedy. We are all bitched from the start and you especially have to be hurt like hell before you can write seriously. But when you get the damned hurt use it — don’t cheat with it.”
And
“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.” A Farewell to Arms
And
“If we win here we will win everywhere. The world is a fine place and worth the fighting for and I hate very much to leave it.” For Whom the Bell Tolls
And
“Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be. But what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today. It’s been that way all this year. It’s been that way so many times. All of war is that way.” For Whom the Bell Tolls
And
“Man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” The Old Man and the Sea
And
“Write me at the Hotel Quintana, Pamplona, Spain. Or don’t you like to write letters. I do because it’s such a swell way to keep from working and yet feel you’ve done something” Letter to F. Scott Fitzgerald, July 1, 1925
And
“I’ve tried to reduce profanity but I reduced so much profanity when writing the book that I’m afraid not much could come out. Perhaps we will have to consider it simply as a profane book and hope that the next book will be less profane or perhaps more sacred.” About his book, The Sun Also Rises in a letter, August 21, 1926
And
“Grace under pressure.”
And
“I’ve been in love (truly) with five women, the Spanish Republic and the 4th Infantry Division.” Letter to Marlene Dietrich, July 1, 1930
And
“All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn… American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since.”
And
“However you make your living is where your talent lies.”
And
“Ezra was right half the time, and when he was wrong, he was so wrong you were never in any doubt about it.” On Ezra Pound, as quoted in The New Republic, November 11, 1936
And
“All my life I’ve looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time.”
And
“There’s no one thing that’s true. It’s all true.”
And
“Never confuse movement with action.”
And
“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”
And
“Hesitation increases in relation to risk in equal proportion to age.”
And
“The individual, the great artist when he comes, uses everything that has been discovered or known about his art up to that point, being able to accept or reject in a time so short it seems that the knowledge was born with him, rather than that he takes instantly what it takes the ordinary man a lifetime to know, and then the great artist goes beyond what has been done or known and makes something of his own.” Death in the Afternoon
And
“There are some things which cannot be learned quickly, and time, which is all we have, must be paid heavily for their acquiring. They are the very simplest things and because it takes a man’s life to know them the little new that each man gets from life is very costly and the only heritage he has to leave.” Death in the Afternoon
And
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
And
“The first and final thing you have to do in this world is to last it and not be smashed by it.”
And
“There is nothing else than now. There is neither yesterday, certainly, nor is there any tomorrow. How old must you be before you know that? There is only now, and if now is only two days, then two days is your life and everything in it will be in proportion. This is how you live a life in two days. And if you stop complaining and asking for what you never will get, you will have a good life. A good life is not measured by any biblical span.” For Whom the Bell Tolls
….we are like Bill Plaschke more troubled than we were yesterday when writing about Steve Sarkisian’s troubles and we are not even going to publish in this blog what a former US Navy Intelligence Officer and Coaches Hot Seat member said that he got from watching Sarkisian’s press conference meaning watching what Steve said, how Steve said it, along with Sarkisian’s body posture because what that former US Navy Intelligence Officer saw and told us is just too Damn stunning to write in this space without knowing more of just what in the Hell is going on with Steve Sarkisian.
Very simply….we hope Steve Sarkisian is getting the help he needs and that Pat Haden and the folks at USC are doing what is best for Sarkisian AND the USC Football Program going forward and with several Coaches Hot Seat members having met and been around Pat Haden many times over the last couple of decades we can only imagine that Haden is doing just that.
Oh…after watching Steve Sarkisian’s press conference and after some internal discussion on Tuesday here at Coaches Hot Seat we moved Sarkisian further up the Coaches Hot Seat Rankings to the No. 5 Hot Seat and if this Bullshit continues at USC he may be in the No. 1 Hot Seat spot before the week is out!
On the topic of the USC football program several Coaches Hot Seat members were talking at Lake Tahoe today about the first USC football games that their Dads took them to in the 1970s when they would often take trips on Fall Saturdays to Los Angeles and the LA Coliseum to see USC play teams beyond Stanford and Cal and one of those trips that three Coaches Hot Seat members made with their Dads that is seared into their memories is the…
1977 Alabama vs. USC game at the LA Coliseum
We have written in the Coaches Hot Seat Blog before about this game and how the three Coaches Hot Seat members snuck down on the field of the LA Coliseum before the game to the side of the field where Alabama was warming up so they could get a look at legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and all three remember getting to within “20 feet or so or as close as we dared to get to the Bear” before the game and that image….which is probably something like this….
….will be with them no doubt for the rest of their lives on this Earth.
Below please enjoy the 4 th quarter of the 1977 Alabama – USC game which was one Helluva football game with the Great Keith Jackson on the call for ABC Sports! Recommendation: Watch the game to the end!
OK…let’s get to the # 21 – 30 Head Coaches on the 2015 Preseason Coaches Hot Seat Rankings which means let’s bring in the Great Johnny Cash again!
21. Willie Taggart, South Florida – It is just our biased opinion but we here at Coaches Hot Seat believe Willie Taggart can be a successful head football coach at the FBS level and in 2015 it’s time for Willie Taggart to prove our faith in him is right.
In two seasons at South Florida Willie Taggart has posted the following records…
Overall: 6 – 18
AAC: 5 – 11
In the offseason we actually went back and watched a few of South Florida’s games from 2014 and there were some encouraging signs for the Bulls in the latter half of last season, but if Taggart is going to get things turned around for USF in the increasingly tough AAC his team will have to make another leap in 2015 which in many ways is already baked in the cake by what the Bulls players and coaching staff have done over the last 6 months.
After tough non-conference games against Florida State and Maryland to start the season Taggart and USF will have to slug it out in the AAC to get to SIX wins which is our target for the Bulls with them more than likely needing to find those SIX wins before playing UCF in the last game of the season in Orlando on November 26!
Come on Willie Taggart….we can pull for you all we want…but if you don’t start winning your rear-end is only going to get hotter!
22. Ron Caragher, San Jose State – Ron Caragher had a decent six year run at San Diego following Jim Harbaugh but his first two years at San Jose State have been average at best and downright awful at worst with that downright awful coming last season with a….
3 – 9
….record that will have to be improved on in 2015 for Caragher to get the heat off his rear-end.
Of course getting things straightened out at San Jose State is not going to be easy with this 2015 schedule…
New Hampshire At Air Force At Oregon State Fresno State At Auburn At UNLV San Diego State New Mexico BYU At Nevada At Hawaii Boise State
….because with three tough non-conference games against Oregon State, Auburn and BYU that is going to leave very little margin for error if Ron Caragher is going to get his rear-end off the Hot Seat which would take…
6 Wins and a Bowl Game!
Coach ‘em up Ron!
23. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State – Mike Gundy got the Gift of ALL Gifts last season in the Bedlam Game against Oklahoma when Bob Stoops pulled off one of the Stupidest Damn Coaching Moves in College Football History by punting the ball to Oklahoma State twice which basically got Gundy and OSU a win in that game and into a bowl game which led to a bowl win which is just a Damn great lesson for young coaches…
Never Underestimate How Completely Damn Stupid the Opposing Coach Is…Meaning Bob Stoops in Last Year’s Bedlam Game!
Can Mike Gundy get things rolling again after posting that 7 – 6 record in 2015 and get the Cowboys back near the top of the Big 12 Conference?
In our opinion NO and we say NO because of what a former US Navy Intelligence Officer and member of Coaches Hot Seat said last year about Mike Gundy’s appearance, posture and demeanor both during games and press conferences throughout the 2015 football season:
“Mike Gundy has lost it.”
Coaches Hot Seat Member #2: “What?”
CHS Member/Former US Navy Intelligence Officer: “Gundy…he’s lost his fire…his mojo…his competitive spirit…it’s just no longer there and if he doesn’t get it back Oklahoma State football is headed down.”
That was said in the middle of last season and save the Complete Damn Stupidity of Bob Stoops in the Bedlam Game Mike Gundy would have one of the Hottest Seats in the Country right now because if there is something we cannot stand here at Coaches Hot Seat it is…
A Head Football Coach who is making Millions of Dollars a year coaching football who doesn’t have a fire burning within him to win football games and championships!
What then can Oklahoma State do in 2015 if indeed Mike Gundy has lost his fire?
Let’s go to OSU’s 2015 schedule:
At Central Michigan Central Arkansas Texas-San Antonio At Texas Kansas State At West Virginia Kansas At Texas Tech TCU At Iowa State Baylor Oklahoma
In our opinion Oklahoma State has enough talent to win…
9 or 10 Games in 2015
…and in our opinion Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State will win a very AVERAGE…
7 or 8 Games in 2015
Will Mike Gundy get fired come December if he only has 7 wins on the board with OSU in 2015?
Of course not…
This is Oklahoma State we are talking about here….right?
RIGHT!
24. Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M – In 2014 the Texas A&M defense gave up an average of…
28.1
…points per game and in 2014 the Texas A&M offense scored an average of…
35.2
….points per game and if new A&M DC Chief John Chavis can cut the amount of points the Aggies defense gives up to around…
21 points per game
…or one touchdown less per game then there is no Damn reason why Texas A&M can’t win 10 games in 2015.
No Damn Reason at All Kevin Sumlin!
Can Kevin Sumlin who rode Johnny Manziel to a FAT $5 million per year contract at A&M get things turned around after posting…
4 – 4 and 3 – 5
…SEC Conference records the last two seasons which now has Sumlin with a…
11 – 13
…overall record in SEC play in three seasons in College Station?
Looking at Texas A&M’s 2015 schedule…
Arizona State (Houston) Ball State Nevada Arkansas Mississippi State Alabama At Ole Miss South Carolina Auburn Western Carolina At Vanderbilt At LSU
….we repeat…IF John Chavis can improve the A&M defense only slightly…
There is No Damn Reason why Texas A&M with the above schedule shouldn’t win 10 games in 2015!
There’s your target Kevin Sumlin = 10 Wins
Oh…if you are making $5 Million Dollars a year you better Damn have a target of 10 Wins Plus so…
Coach up the Aggies Kevin Sumlin and if you stumble…
Your Ass will get lit up by Coaches Hot Seat!
25. Larry Fedora, North Carolina – We don’t watch social media obsessively here at Coaches Hot Seat but we cannot recall pictures of Larry Fedora showing off his six-pack abs from the beaches of North Carolina this Summer so that is a good thing because maybe Fedora is focused on winning football game in Chapel Hill now rather than trying to land a male modeling gig in New York City, Milan or Monte Carlo!
Seriously, Larry Fedora has posted some average records in three years at North Carolina…
2012: 8 – 4 2013: 7 – 6 2014: 6 – 7
Overall: 21 – 17
ACC: 13 – 11
…and Fedora with the addition of Gene Chizik as his new DC better Damn get things rolling in year four at UNC or we are going to start thinking that Fedora is just another Pretty Boy and does Larry Fedora really want the moniker…
PBL = Pretty Boy Larry?
We don’t think so which is why Larry Fedora better Damn start coaching up his Tar Heels in 2015 and we are looking for…
8 Wins Plus this season Larry!
26. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina – Please…so Steve Spurrier was telling anyone that would listen this past offseason that..
“At South Carolina 7 – 6 is a good season!”
Please Steve…two Coaches Hot Seat Members met you for the first time 25 years ago this August in August 1990 on a practice football field at the University of Florida when a former classmate of yours in the 1960s at UF introduced us to you in between practices and we know and you know Damn well Steve that…
7 – 6
…is NOT a good season at South Carolina or Any Other Damn Place on Planet Earth where they play football as long as….
Stephen Orr Spurrier
…is coaching that football team!
You may be able to sell that 7 – 6 is a good season Bullshit to members of the media but to us it’s just that…
Bullshit
…and either Spurrier will get things turned around at South Carolina in 2015 or this very well could be the last season of Steve Spurrier on the sidelines as a head football coach and if that’s the case…
It’s has been a Helluva run Head Ball Coach!
How many games can Steve Spurrier and South Carolina win in 2015?
North Carolina Kentucky At Georgia UCF At Missouri LSU Vanderbilt At Texas A&M At Tennessee Florida The Citadel Clemson
Let’s see here…an average head coach at South Carolina in 2015 could win around…
6 or 7 games
Let’s see here…Stephen Orr Spurrier coaching South Carolina in 2015 should win with even the very TOUGH schedule above…
9 Games Minimum!
There’s your target for a good season in 2015 at South Carolina Steve…
9 Games Minimum!
Now quit talking about your age and start coaching up your football team….Oh…we’re going to let you in on something Steve…we won’t tell anyone else so this is just between you and us here at Coaches Hot Seat….OK?
(Whispering) to Steve Spurrier: Some of the other teams know your offensive signals and to make matters worse you have gotten lazy with your formation and play-calling and now even our high school age sons can call what play you are going to run when they see what formation you are in and when they know the down and distance. Go back and watch some of your games at Florida in early 1990s before you got lazy there….or even some Duke games…because when you get lazy with your play-calling and predictable with your formations Steve….you tend to lose a lot of football games especially when your defense is giving up…
30.4 points per game
….as the South Carolina defense did in 2015!
That’s why you went 7 – 6 in 2015 Steve…and 7 – 6 at South Carolina or anywhere else you are the head coach is Horseshit and you know it is Horseshit Steve so stop with the Bullshit and coach your Damn football team!
27. Mike MacIntyre, Colorado – No doubt Mike MacIntyre inherited a Helluva mess at Colorado two years ago and has posted records over those two seasons of…
Overall: 6 – 18
Pac-12: 1 – 17
….and either MacIntyre will get things headed upward in Boulder or the folks at CU will have no choice to go and find another head coach that might be able to turn the Buffs around.
Here’s the problem for Mike MacIntyre…the Pac-12 is a Helluva tough league and the Pac-12 South is a Helluva tough division and getting things turned around in Boulder under those conditions is not going to be easy which is why a Herculean effort is needed at CU and that is what we are looking for from Colorado Football in 2015…
A Herculean Effort!
Let’s go to Colorado’s 2015 schedule:
At Hawaii UMass Colorado State (Denver) Nicholls State Oregon At Arizona State Arizona At Oregon State At UCLA Stanford USC At Washington State At Utah
Damn…that is one TOUGH schedule for Colorado in 2015!
Our opinion…if Colorado wins 5 Games in 2015 it will be quite an accomplishment….if Colorado wins 6 Games in 2015 will be…
A Herculean Effort by Mike MacIntyre and his Colorado Buffs!
Coach ‘em up Mike!
28. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern – Yes, even with Northwestern football stumbling the last two seasons with 5 – 7 records in each year we still would gladly…
Go To War With Pat Fitzgerald
….and it is time…no it’s past time for Pat Fitzgerald….to get things going in the right direction at Northwestern again and in our opinion…
There Is No Damn Reason Why Northwestern Cannot Win the Big Ten West Division in 2015!
Oh…you think we are crazy….NOT….the Big Ten West Division is there for the taking for Pat Fitzgerald and Northwestern in 2015 even with this schedule…
Stanford Eastern Illinois At Duke Ball State Minnesota At Michigan Iowa At Nebraska Penn State Purdue At Wisconsin Illinois
…and we see No Damn Reason why Northwestern doesn’t win at least 8 Games in 2015 and win the Big Ten West Division!
Coach ‘em Up Pat and you now know the standard we are holding you to this season =
8 Wins Plus and Champions of the Big Ten West Division!
29. Scott Shafer, Syracuse – Scott Shafer has been the head coach at Syracuse for two seasons and has posted records of…
Overall: 10 – 15
ACC: 5 – 11
…and after stumbling – bumbling 3 – 9 record in 2014 we are looking for the Orangemen to get back to 6 wins in 2015 or at the very least have a chance for 6 wins when Syracuse plays Boston College on November 28.
Can Scott Shafer and Syracuse get back to 6 wins plus in 2015?
We don’t see why the Hell not!
30. Mike Leach, Washington State – There is no joy here at Coaches Hot Seat in putting The Pirate Mike Leach on the Hot Seat but we must do what we must do and when you post 3 – 9 record after going to a bowl game the season before at a place like Washington State that very simply equals…
Hot Seat for The Pirate!
Of course in our opinion the very weak 2014 season for Washington State goes back to the debacle of a bowl game loss to Colorado State at the end of the 2013 season which means that when you count the loss to Washington to end the 2013 season that means that Mike Leach and WSU have a record of…
3 – 11
…over their last 14 games!
Let’s look at Washington State’s 2015 schedule to see what The Pirate and Cougs can do this upcoming season:
Portland State At Rutgers Wyoming At California At Oregon Oregon State At Arizona Stanford Arizona State At UCLA Colorado At Washington
In our opinion if The Pirate and Cougs win 6 Games in 2015 that will be quite an accomplishment considering how the tough the Pac-12 Conference is these days so…
Get Off Your Ass Mike Leach and Win Some Damn Football Games in 2015!
11. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa – Kirk Ferentz has made somewhere around….
$18.5 Million Dollars
…over the last five college football seasons coaching the Iowa Hawkeyes which works out to more than…
$10,000 a day
….and in those last five seasons Kirk Ferentz has put up records of…
Overall: 34 – 30
Big Ten: 19 – 21
…which proves again that PT Barnum was right….
A Sucker is Born every minute
AND that
There are a Helluva lot of Suckers in the state of Iowa!
Please…over $18 million dollars and you have a…
Sub .500 record in Big Ten Conference play?
Get down on our knees and say a prayer that the Idiots behind the hiring and continued employment of Kirk Ferentz at Iowa weren’t on Omaha Beach on D-Day because if they had been we would all be speaking German right now because what is going on at Iowa is just flat-out…
Stupidity + Idiocy! = Total Freaking Incompetence!
We could in this spot go through Iowa’s 2015 schedule but does it really matter who Iowa is playing or if they will win even one game in 2015?
NO is the clear answer to that question so get down on your knees and say another prayer but this time give Thanks to God you are not a fan of Iowa football…that is for all of the people that are not fans of Iowa football…as for the fans of Iowa football…
You are so Damn screwed even PT Barnum would have long ago tired of taking your Damn lollipops and money!
Hell…we just looked at Iowa’s 2015 schedule and Bozo the Clown could win 7 Games so what will Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes do this season?
Again…IT DOES NOT MATTER!
12. Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia – We suppose there are some people that might think that Dana Holgorsen’s win/loss records in four seasons at West Virginia are acceptable…
Overall: 28 – 23
Big East/Big 12: 16 – 18
….but we don’t have a clue who in the Hell those people are and thus why we have Dana Holgorsen’s ass squarely on the Hot Seat!
In particular Holgorsen’s win/loss records the last three seasons since WVU has been a member of the Big 12 Conference…
Overall: 18 – 20
Big 12: 1 1 – 16
….are particularly troubling but then we actually believe West Virginia should be a serious contender in the Big 12 each year and there seems to be a lot of people around West Virginia but especially in the national media that think…
Pretty Damn Mediocre
…is good enough for Mountaineers football…to which we say good for them BUT not us though!
Here’s the real problem for Dana Holgorsen and West Virginia as the 2015 college football season rapidly approaches….
West Virginia’s Schedule!
Georgia Southern Liberty Maryland At Oklahoma Oklahoma State At Baylor At TCU Texas Tech Texas At Kansas Iowa State At Kansas State
Seriously…can Holgorsen and West Virginia win more than 7 games in 2015?
If not that will be FOUR straight seasons for West Virginia with 7 or less wins and can Holgorsen possibly stay employed at a school like WVU that was a national player on the college football scene just a few years ago under Rich Rodriguez?
If West Virginia is willing to accept mediocrity then Dana Holgorsen can certainly stay employed in Morgantown but then one must wonder if current WVU president E. Gordon Gee might have a coach in mind to replace Holgorsen?
Hmmmmm…who could that coach possible be?
13. Steve Sarkisian, USC – Unlike the 147 members of Coaches Hot Seat who will speak their mind on any subject that enters their brains…..
We call it to the Steve Spurrier No Damn Filter Approach to Life
….which we happen to think is a healthy way to go about one’s life we like everyone else reading this blog have friends….well-respected friends…friends that are the pillars of their community…and friends that are the bedrock upon which the American Republic rests….and when those well-respected friends of ours say something that is unusual for them it catches our attention in a Helluva hurry and that is happened recently when the subject of Steve Sarkisian came up with an USC alum friend of ours.
As anyone that has read the Coaches Hot Seat Blog over the last eight years knows we have great respect for USC football and a few of us have been going to USC football games at the LA Coliseum and in the San Francisco Bay area since the early 1970s when our fathers first started hauling us along on their football adventures. Combine that with several Coaches Hot Seat members living and working in Santa Monica and the Westside of Los Angeles in the past and even today, and we have hundreds of USC alum friends that we party with and hang out with while having a Helluva time at Trojans football games.
One particular USC alum who has three degrees from the school and now has several kids and even grandchildren with multiple degrees from USC was sitting around with several Coaches Hot Seat members back in the Spring and the subject of Steve Sarkisian came up with one CHS Member making the off-hand and we thought casual comment that:
“If the Trojans don’t get in to the College Football Playoff in 2015 they should have a great shot in 2016 with all the talent Sark is piling up at USC.”
USC Alum and Great Friend: “You shouldn’t assume that Steve Sarkisian will be the head coach at USC in 2016.”
To say the above comment was received with stunned silence would be massive understatement and when our USC Alum friend was pressed he would not go into what might cause Steve Sarkisian to lose his job at USC, but he did finally look across the table at each of us with the kind of direct and confident stare you would love to see from your doctor and said:
“I am telling you boys….Sarkisian better get his personal act cleaned-up or he will wake-up one day and find himself out of a job and his ass out on the street.”
The above comment which is of course just an opinion was made in…
April 2015
We here at Coaches Hot Seat only publish in the Coaches Hot Seat Blog less than 1% of the personal stuff we hear about college head coaches and only do it then when that information is about to be made public in the news media, but we will be honest and say we have been hearing for months that Steve Sarkisian was “a train about to go flying of the tracks” from our USC friends, and thus Sark’s drunken and thus Idiotic appearance at an USC function over the weekend surprised NO ONE here at Coaches Hot Seat.
Memo to Steve Sarkisian: You are Very Damn Close to getting fired son and you better Damn get your act cleaned-up, get the alcohol out of the USC locker room, and start working your ass off in your job as the head football coach of the USC Trojans or you might not even be the head coach at USC when the 2015 football season kicks off! Is that clear Steve? If not, the maybe one or all of the three Coaches Hot Seat members now living in Santa Monica should drive over to USC and light your ass up in person!
GET YOUR DAMN ACT CLEANED UP Steve Sarkisian…PERIOD.
Of course the above is our opinion and what we are about to write below is also our opinion….
In our opinion Pat Haden has a list of five football coaches that could replace Steve Sarkisian at USC and that list has been refined and gone over several times in the last few months and although we wouldn’t list the five football coaches that are on that list in this forum at least three of those current head coaches would walk from their head coaching job for the USC job at this very moment.
There will be one easy way to know if Steve Sarkisian is getting his act cleaned up or not….if Sark keeps going up the Coaches Hot Seat Rankings then that means we are hearing the same things from our USC alum friends and that NOTHING has changed.
Is it really possible to screw-up your dream job?
Well…Dumbass Lane Kiffin did it and got his ass run out of USC and another Pete Carroll assistant in Steve Sarkisian may just do the same Damn thing!
Oh, the next head football coach at USC will be one thing for sure…
He will NOT have worked for Pete Carroll at USC.
14. Derek Mason, Vanderbilt – No one will ever be able to accuse anyone here at Coaches Hot Seat for playing favorites because there is not a finer man on Earth and Damn good football coach than current Vandy HC Derek Mason BUT it’s time for Derek Mason to finally and to fully become the head football coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores and if he doesn’t his head coaching career will be over before it really even got started.
In his first season at Vanderbilt after taking over a surging Vandy program from now Penn State head coach James Franklin the Commodores under Derek Mason posted records of…
Overall: 3 – 9
SEC: 0 – 8
…and our friends in Nashville tell us if the Vandy goes winless in the SEC again in 2016 Vandy will be looking for a new head football coach come December.
Vanderbilt’s 2015 Football Schedule
West Kentucky Georgia Austin Peay At Ole Miss At Middle Tennessee At South Carolina Missouri At Houston At Florida Kentucky Texas A&M At Tennessee
Damn..that is one tough schedule Vandy has in 2015 BUT Vandy has some talent on their team and there is No Damn Reason why the Commodores shouldn’t win…
4 Games Overall
AND
1 SEC Conference Game At Least
…..in 2015….right?
RIGHT!
Coach ‘em up Derek Mason!
15. Les Miles, LSU – Below are the shocking numbers since Alabama beat LSU in the 2011 – 12 Bogus BCS Title Game in New Orleans which was one the most boring football games played in the history of American football and those shocking numbers are….
Les Miles’ and LSU’s SEC Conference Records Last Three Seasons
2012: 6 – 2 2013: 5 – 3 2014: 4 – 4
Overall: 15 – 9
Sorry with the amount of talent that has been on the LSU football team the last three seasons a 15 – 9 SEC Conference record is just…
Not Freaking Acceptable
…and thus why Les Miles now finds his ass on the Hot Seat and might even find his ass run out of Baton Rouge come December $15 Million Dollar Plus buyout or not!
A running conversation piece this Summer at Coaches Hot Seat has been…
How many wins does Les Miles need in 2015 to be safe when December rolls around?
…and when one looks at LSU’s 2015 schedule….
McNeese State At Mississippi State Auburn At Syracuse Eastern Michigan At South Carolina Florida Western Kentucky At Alabama Arkansas At Ole Miss Texas A&M
…LSU will only play FIVE teams in 2015 that have Equal of Better Talent that the Tigers…
Mississippi State, Auburn, Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M
….and thus Bozo the Clown could post 7 wins coaching the LSU Tigers in 2015 which means for Damn sure that Les Miles should be able to put…
9 Wins Plus On the Board!
Less than 9 Wins in 2015 and Les Miles is DONE at LSU….PERIOD.
Hell, the LSU and USC head coaching jobs could open up come December?
Damn!
16. Tim Beckman, Illinois – We here at Coaches Hot Seat are not quite sure what Tim Beckman has going at Illinois with a few of his players….maybe less than that….complaining about the way that Beckman treated them BUT plenty of us played for football coaches in the past that believed berating and/or embarrassing a football player needlessly was the way to build a winning football team…
It’s Not for any Idiot that believes such Complete Nonsense
….but whatever is going on with Tim Beckman and Illini football ONE thing is crystal clear:
Tim Beckman needs a STRONG 2015 season to return to coach the Illini in 2016
What would be a STRONG 2015 for Tim Beckman and Illinois in 2015?
Our guess….7 Plus Wins and no more off-field issues…anything less and the Illini job will also open up come December.
17. Paul Petrino, Idaho – Like Tim Beckman we are not sure what Paul Petrino has going on at Idaho with his recent run in with a member of the news media but clearly the pressure of being a head football coach is getting to Paul Petrino…as it gets to ALL head football coaches that care about winning which is most of them….and either Paul Petrino will learn how to manage his temper and coach up/motivate his Idaho football team or Paul Petrino will be back on his brother Bobby’s coaching staff soon!
In two seasons Paul Petrino has put an overall record of..
2 – 21
…and we would guess and it is just a guess that either Petrino will find 3 plus wins in 2015 with the below schedule or Idaho will also be looking for a new head coach come December.
Idaho 2015 Football Schedule
Ohio At USC Wofford Georgia Southern At Arkansas State At Troy La. Monroe At New Mexico State Appalachian State At Auburn Texas State
Can Paul Petrino and Idaho win 3 plus games in 2015 with the above schedule?
We don’t see why the Hell not since this is Paul Petrino’s THIRD year on the job with the Vandals!
18. Brian Kelly, Notre Dame – As one of favorite TV characters here at Coaches Hot Seat always used to say when he wanted the Facts and only the Facts….
….”Just the Facts Ma’am” we are going to the FACTS about Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly which are Kelly’s win/loss records at the school:
Sorry…save the one season in 2012 when Notre Dame stumbled to a 12 – 0 record and then got its manhood taken away out behind the barn in South Florida by Alabama in the Bogus BCS Title Game Brian Kelly has been one thing and one thing only as the head coach of the Irish:
AVERAGE
Even more troubling to us here at Coaches Hot Seat are columns like the one below from Yahoo Sports Pat Forde which seems to insinuate that Notre Dame is just too Damn tough of a school academically for a head coach to have the Irish at the top of college football anymore…
…..to which we can only respond to with a one word response —>
STANFORD!
If you can win at Stanford you can Damn win anywhere even Notre Dame and it’s time for either Brian Kelly to get Notre Dame back into the National Title hunt every season or for Brian Kelly to take his yelling and demeaning the Notre Dame quarterback after the end of every Damn series back to a lower-level of football where a lower-level and excuse-making head coach can win more games!
Let’s look at Notre Dame’s 2015 schedule…
Texas At Virginia Georgia Tech UMass At Clemson Navy USC At Temple At Pitt Wake Forest Boston College At Stanford
…and we will be Damned if we see Notre Dame winning more than…
8 Games in 2015
…and we have some news for Brian Kelly:
If you only win 8 games again in 2015 your coaching career at Notre Dame will be OVER come December with an overall .688 winning percentage coaching the Irish which very simply…
Is just NOT good enough at Notre Dame!
19. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma – Bob Stoops can keep telling anyone that will listen that Oklahoma has “won a lot of games” since Stoops has been at OU but here is something we here at Coaches Hot Seat know for Damn sure Bob:
When the 2015 college football season opens Oklahoma will have MORE TALENT than any other team in the Big 12 Conference…..PERIOD.
Will the team with the MOST TALENT in the Big 12 Conference be the Champion of the Big 12 come December?
More than likely not because of one simple reason:
The fire that used to drive Bob Stoops to coach and win football games is no longer lit and the slowing fading flame of a head coach that enters his 17 th season as the head coach of the Sooners who is already a future…
Slam Dunk Future Member of the College Football Hall of Fame
…..will either be re-lit by Bob Stoops looking in the mirror and deciding that winning games and championships is worth making a Helluva effort for again OR this will be Bob Stoops last season in Norman which no doubt would shortly be followed by Bob going into some kind of sport media career ala Mack Brown who seems to be having a Helluva time no longer coaching the Texas Longhorns!
How will Oklahoma fare in 2015 with the below schedule?
Akron At Tennessee Tulsa West Virginia Texas At Kansas State Texas Tech At Kansas Iowa State At Baylor TCU At Oklahoma State
Bob Stoops and Oklahoma SHOULD win at least 9 Games in 2015 but how many will OU actually win?
Our guess = 8 Wins and this will be Bob Stoops last season as the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners because why in the Hell would Bob Stoops keep coaching when his heart is not in it which is just our opinion Bob.
Hell…is it possible that the Miami, LSU, Notre Dame and Oklahoma jobs could all come open in December 2015?
If those jobs did come open that would be some Damn fascinating coaching searches for sure!
20. Norm Chow, Hawaii – No one more than us here at Coaches Hot Seat wants to see Norm Chow succeed at Hawaii BUT in three seasons on the job Norm has put up win/loss records of…
Overall: 8 – 29
MWC: 4 – 20
…and that is just not good enough….even for Hawaii!
Come on Norm Chow…coach up those Hawaii Warriors!
“E ho`omaika`i” Norm Chow which means “Do Well” in The Islands!
Coming Next….Analysis Of….
#21 – 30 Hot Seat Head Coaches on Tuesday – August 25
