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Should I punt?
Should I go for it? Should I start this player? Should I kick the extra point or go for two?
Those are the questions that we associate with a head football coach. But looking across the SEC playing field at the beginning of a fresh season, I realized that it’s outside the lines where each conference coach faces a personalized question in 2007.
Rich Brooks, Kentucky: Will Kentucky live up to the hype? This time? On a few occasions over the past quarter century, there’s been talk of the Wildcats’ snipping Tennessee’s winning streak, of competing in the rugged SEC, or perhaps winning, dare I say, 9 games.
But even with Tim Couch at the helm, Kentucky couldn’t live up to the pre-season press.
Now, the Wildcats are being hyped again. Their offense is the talk of the Bluegrass and their quarterback is the talk of the conference. But will Rich Brooks lead Kentucky to back-to-back bowl games and deliver on all the messageboard hype?
Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State: He took over a program destroyed by NCAA probation. He’s a no-nonsense, old time football coach. He’s the first African-American head football coach in the SEC, which has gotten him some deserved goodwill. And he’s only been on the job for three years.
But his 9-25 record is abysmal.
In the South, the bottom line isn’t whether someone’s a nice guy. And it’s not whether a coach inherited NCAA sanctions. It’s whether or not he wins. Ask Mike Shula.
So the question is, “will Sylvester Croom show enough improvement in 2007 to still be the Bulldogs’ coach in 2008?”
Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee: You know this one. It’s been on the minds of East Tennesseans since about 1999. Can Phillip Fulmer get the Vol program back to the top of the SEC? Most fans believe he’s got two years to do so.
Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt: Bobby Johnson has done very good things in Nashville. Over the last two seasons his Commodores have knocked off East rivals Tennessee and Georgia. They’ve also taken Florida down to the wire.
So the question is, “Will Johnson finally escape Vandy for a better job after this season?”
Urban Meyer, Florida: In just two years, he’s already won a national championship for the Gators. But that was with a normalized, Chris Leak-based version of his spread option offense. So the jury (hard to believe as it is) is still out.
Can Urban Meyer, armed with Tim Tebow, actually win in the SEC with the wide open offense he brought with him from Utah? (Or will he get his quarterback broken in half?)
Les Miles, LSU: Five years ago, Texas’ Mack Brown was viewed as a great recruiter, as a good coach, but as a man who could only find failure in the Longhorns’ biggest games. One national championship later and that view has changed.
Les Miles is the Mack Brown of 2007. Viewed by many as LSU’s most glaring weakness heading into this season, can Miles seize the opportunity and take advantage of a good schedule and a deep, talented roster?
Houston Nutt, Arkansas: It was just a few years ago that Houston Nutt turned down the head coaching job at Nebraska. It was just a few months ago that he reached double-digit wins and a New Year’s Day bowl with the Razorbacks.
But assistant coaches and star recruits have since departed and disgruntled fans have gone to horrible lengths to publicly embarrass him. The remaining question is obvious. Will Nutt leave Arkansas on his own terms or will he be run out of Fayetteville after the season? It’s hard to imagine this marriage lasting much longer.
Ed Orgeron, Ole Miss: Great recruiting classes have become the norm in Oxford. But will anything become of them? Is Ed Orgeron going to develop into a quality head coach or is he better suited as the ace recruiter and fiery assistant on someone else’s staff?
Mark Richt, Georgia: Three years ago, Mark Richt was seen as the top up-and-coming coach in the SEC. His overall record is still excellent, but he hasn’t nailed down a “signature” win to date.
Bulldog fans still wonder, “will Richt ever get Georgia to the national heights previously enjoyed by Tennessee and currently enjoyed by Florida?”
Nick Saban, Alabama: He built LSU into a national champion. He’s known as a tremendous gatherer of talent. And he’s also called “the Nicktator” for his “I run this ship the way I want to run it,” style.
Can the iron-fisted Nick Saban thrive at a school where the boosters seem to outnumber the stars in the Dixie sky?
Steve Spurrier, South Carolina: Quite simply, he’s a legend. His offensive schemes at Florida in the early 1990s changed the SEC forever. And since moving to Columbia, he’s already made South Carolina a more formidable opponent.
But can Steve Spurrier ever really compete for conference championships with the Gamecocks? (Bonus question: how can Spurrier be heading into his third season at Carolina without having a top notch quarterback at his disposal?)
Tommy Tuberville, Auburn: He has a perfect season on his resume and is 6-2 so far versus Alabama. In fact, for just the second time in school history, Auburn has now won five in a row against the Tide.
The Iron Bowl defines Auburn coaches. Knowing that, will Tuberville be able to dominate Saban as easily as he dominated Shula?
John Pennington hosts the Halls Salvage Sports Source on Sunday at 11 a.m. on WATE.
© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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- Game film makes Fulmer madder
- Crompton suffered concussion in fourth quarter against UCLA
- Craft ready to go 'all-out' for Pearl, Tennessee
- UT to play UConn in football (not women's basketball)
- Next Bradshaw? UT gets commitment from combo guard Craft
- Call into the Vol frustration line
- It's a Hollywood disaster, but Fulmer says it's 'fixable'
- Chavis' goal for defense: Learn to finish
- Strange: UT 0-3 in SEC by mid-October?
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Posted by andy112382 on August 25, 2007 at 9:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
CORRECTION (9:53PM) - Steve Spurrier doesn't coach Florida anymore, just letting whomever it concerns know that so it can be corrected!
Posted by andy112382 on August 25, 2007 at 9:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Wow, Saban versus Tuberville, two coaches I really do not like based on several things, one of which being neither is very good with their word (Tuberville telling his guys at Ole Miss he wasn't leaving right before leaving, and we all know the same is true about Saban!) I hope they beat the fool out of each other!
Posted by kaplan on August 25, 2007 at 11:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Corrected in story. Early version posted.
Posted by BuckFama on August 26, 2007 at 12:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Serious man-crush on Spurrier, huh?!
Does a "legend" post a 12-20 record in the NFL, then take his visor and quit after 2 years?
Still hasn't matched Holtz's best USC year but time will tell.
You know, "the legend" never even matched coach Fulmer's best year, did he?!
It's going to be interesting to see how "the legend" will do outside of the 2nd most fertile recruiting base in the nation. Look at what happened at Florida after he left. Doofus Zook still won a bunch of games but had the program at about the same level as Galen Hall had the Gaytors when Spurrier took over. Meyer wins NC game in two years. Took Spurrier seven. Perhaps Spurrier is merely the second best coach Florida has had?! Is Urban's offense a little more "innovative" than Superior's? I guess Meyer is a "legend", too?
Maybe the university is the draw. Maybe Spurrier isn't. Perhaps that answers your QB question. It's an easy decision to QB at Florida knowing you're on big time TV most weekends. Those USC PPV games aren't so attractive to teenagers. Neither is a jerk coach.
Seems to me a "legend" might have a little more control over his players? Total control is certainly expected of the Volunteers' coach. Let's see ... gaymecock starting free safety Emanuel Cook Jr. has been arrested on gun charges in Richland County, SC. South Carolina quarterback Blake Mitchell was one of three players suspended for the opening game against Louisiana-Lafayette for missing summer school classes. Mitchell was arrested a year ago and charged with simple assault after a nightclub bouncer told police that Mitchell punched him. Hmmm ... maybe St. Steve IS turning USC into a program much like his gay-tors program was!
Well, when times get tough the tough get going! Maybe "the legend" will be able to move on to greener pastures if his USC venture doesn't work out. Seems he's already started to build a case for quitting (his MO when he starts to get beat consistently) by complaining that USC's admission standards were too high for some of his recruits. Wouldn't a "legend" be aware of the admission standards of the school of which he is "the ol' ball coach"? Regardless, maybe he can quit at USC, then get hired at a bigtime program, where it's easy to recruit even if you're a jerk, so he can be a "legend" again.
Posted by andy112382 on August 26, 2007 at 3:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What a post BuckFama, the 'article within the article' I'm going to take a long shot here, but not high on Spurrier, are we? haha
Posted by murrayvol on August 26, 2007 at 8:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Buck, maybe you should consider a column of your own. Going back to the Spurrier, Zook, Meyer trifecta for a moment: Meyer won the NC last year for two reasons--1) A boatload of good fortune and 2) Zook could recruit with the best of them (just couldn't coach a lick). On to the Tuberville/Saban matchup. Can't wait to watch this unfold. Tubby wins this year but Saban will rise and when he beats the Tiggers next year Bobby Lowder will bid a fond farewell to Tommy (for real this time) to make room for Petrino (at about $4 mil. per) who will have no more luck in the NFL than Saban. How would you like to build an offense around Joey Harrington? Didn't think so.
Posted by avidvol on August 26, 2007 at 11:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Spurrier had a lot of talent and a tremendous defensive coach at UF. If Tenn had 150 sec quality recruits in the state yearly the Vols would have similar success.
Posted by BuckFama on August 27, 2007 at midnight (Suggest removal)
One of the main reasons that I think Fulmer has done a terrific job with the Vols is that he has done it all at a university in a state with relatively low football talent. Not to shed a negative light on the abilities of the good athletes that do reside here, but it's just that the number of blue chippers is low.
I went off on Spurrier but do acknowledge that he is a good coach. Has more to do with the "love affair" that some writers seem to have with him. And the lack of respect that they have for our coach. Writers love the guys who can "write up plays in the dirt", and tend to call them geniuses. The guys who win by virtue of intestinal fortitude, gutting it out by great coaching, great recruiting, or a combination of the two are sometimes - oftentimes-given less accolades, even though they deserve them.
If you look at the Spurrier/Fulmer saga objectively, then you know that it is still being written. Unless Spurrier finds that he is in a mediocrity quagmire at USC and runs away, like he did at the end of his failed Redskins experiment, and ends up with a bigger-named school, Fulmer may well end up with a better head-to-head record, and more significant wins in terms of SEC and/or national championships. I'm not a clairvoyant, so I don't claim to know what will happen. There are more years left in each of them. Time will tell.
And by the way - how does the writer know how much time "most fans" would say Fulmer has to get back to the top of the SEC? Does he know most fans? Has he talked to most of UT's fans? Or does he think that a local Sunday morning puts one at the pulse of what's going on with "most" fans?
Posted by misterorange on August 27, 2007 at 7:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If Tennessee were to get rid of Fulmer, who would they get to replace him? The guy is not the greatest x's and o's play caller out there, nor is he the worst. The guy is a winner. In the SEC you would be hard pressed to find a bad coach since Ron Zook is gone (with the exception of Orgeron at Ole Miss). Fulmer coaches against an excellent adversary in almost any conference match-up. So to say that he is not a really good coach with his record and lack of a deep in-state recruiting base, could only be made out of frustration. I get mad too when we lose to Georgia, Florida, or LSU. How many teams in the country could beat them all in a single season though? How many teams went undefeated in the SEC last year? What if Fulmer were the coach at Florida and Urban Meyer or Steve Spurrier at UT? Tennessee has had two great classes in the past three years, and I see us competing for a championship in the very near future. Hopefully this will get people off Phil's back. Go vols!!
Posted by misterorange on August 28, 2007 at 2:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Please let Nick Saban pull the same kind of coaching job with the Tide as he did with the Dolphins. Nothing would be sweeter than to see the University of Alabama suffer through a four and eight season and another loss to Auburn. Here's hoping that Saban is the Crimson Cuddle Babies' best investment since Albert Means. Roll Vols!! War Eagle!!
Posted by BuckFama on August 28, 2007 at 9:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
That's correct, misterorange. 4-8, another loss to Auburn, AND $4 million down the drain!
That would be sweet.
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