COACHES HOT SEAT BLOG

Watching June Jones in recent years at Hawaii we always had a sneaking suspicion that Jones was not entirely happy in the Islands and that he would consider the right offer if it every came along.  The AD at SMU Steve Orsini was content to wait for Hawaii to play in the Sugar Bowl before nailing down a deal to bring Jones to SMU, and no doubt the vast amount of upside potential in the Mustang football program was a big part of Jones’ decision to take the job.  Throw in a $2 million dollar salary and a commitment to make SMU football relevant again, and it is easy to see why Jones decided to take his Run and Shoot offense to Dallas.  The first challenge for Jones will be to recruit enough quality players to be able to compete in Conference USA, because of what we saw of SMU in ’07, they have a lot of needs throughout their line-up.  In 2008 Jones will try to get his Run and Shoot offense installed and to steal a game or two in the conference, and hopefully build some momentum for the 2009 season.  Here is how we think SMU will do in ’08:

June Jones and SMU in 2008

Tags: Uncategorized by Joe
18 Comments »

Urban Meyer has a National Title and has coached a Heisman Winner and he has only been a head coach for 7 years.  Wow!  2007 was a disappointment for Meyer and the Gators, but with the amount of talent they lost on the defensive side of the ball a fall off was not that unexpected.  Urban Meyer has recruited three straight top 3 classes to Florida (Rivals.com:  2008 #3, 2007 # 1, 2006 #2) and that talent is going to start showing up in big games for the Gators.  The big challenge for Meyer and the Gators will be the games in the SEC, but there is plenty of talent in Gainesville to win every game on the schedule.  Here is how we see the 2008 season playing out for the Gators:

Urban Meyer and Florida in 2008

Tags: Uncategorized by Joe
No Comments »

While watching Texas Tech on offense we often come up with questions that we would love to ask Mike Leach, like:  “Why did you run that play?,  Are all the Tech plays on that little piece of paper in your hand?, Don’t you think you could get a lot of yardage running the draw more?,  On average how many receivers is the Tech QB looking at on each play that he might throw to?” and many more questions.  The offense that Leach runs at Texas Tech is fascinating to watch, mainly because it looks like it would be so easy to stop, but it isn’t.  Yes, Missouri shut it down last year by focusing on a few key things, but Leach came back later in the year and put up 43 points on Texas and 34 on Oklahoma.  How does he do that?  A tough question for us to answer, but it would be entertaining to sit down with Leach over a beer or on during a round a golf to see what goes into some of the decisions he makes.  Getting back to ’08, Texas Tech has a tremendous amount of talent returning on offense and if they can get their defense playing at all this could be a big year for the Red Raiders.  Here is how we see the ’08 season for Texas Tech playing out

Mike Leach and Texas Tech in 2008 

Tags: Uncategorized by Joe
No Comments »

Ron Zook and the Illini made quite a jump in 2007 over Zook’s first two years in Champaign, with a 9-3 regular season record a trip to the Rose Bowl.  Ron Zook has continued his unrelenting recruitment of top-notch high school football players, and that recruiting is starting to pay off on the field.  The problem for Zook and all of the other coaches in the Big Ten is that the conference is getting a lot tougher as each day passes, but that means there is an opportunity for several teams to knock Ohio State off it’s perch.  Following a good season with another good season is a mark of a good football program, and here is how we see ’08 season playing out for the Illini:

Ron Zook and Illinois in 2008

Tags: Uncategorized by Joe
No Comments »

Bo Pelini left Nebraska in 2003 after leading the Huskers to a win in the Alamo Bowl, and no doubt he found a much different team when he arrived in Lincoln than what he left 4 years ago.  The Big 12 conference is much changed in the past 4 years as well with Missouri, Texas Tech, Colorado, and even Kansas now making big strides to challenge for the conference title.  There are also big challenges within the Nebraska football team, as Pelini must deal with both on and off the field problems that are often part of a team that is not performing at its maximum level.  From what we can learn, Pelini is off to a great start in Lincoln, and here is how we see the 2008 Husker season playing out:

Bo Pelini and Nebraska in 2008

Tags: Uncategorized by Joe
15 Comments »