February's Coaching Soap Operas

12 comments so far February 19, 2009 by Darren K. Carlson

Mike Leach and Texas Tech are at a stand off. Kevin Cosgrove popped up to say a few things about his time at NU. And, Lane Kiffin continues to pretty much embarrass himself at Tennessee, all before his first game. Who knew that a rather college football-free month like February could produce some pretty decent drama? I didn't. But, I sure appreciate it. All of these topics provide ample room for lively discussion. You just knew I'd have a take on this stuff, right? Don't worry, I'll do my best to tie each of them back to Husker football as best I can. After all, that's why you surfed over to BRN, I hope.

West Tex Stand Off
Just when you thought the mythos of Mike Leach couldn't get any more interesting, he gets embroiled in a conflict over his contract extension. But, it's not about money. It's about a topic much more important to the current state of college coaching - loyalty.

The extension offers $12.7 million over five years. But that's not why he turned it down. The new contract would offer just 12 percent in guarantees, down from 40 percent on his last deal. The school also wants naming and personal property rights for any of Leach's book, TV or radio work. That's a big deal, since many coaches augment their pay that way. Perhaps most importantly, Tech wants Leach to pay $300,000 for every year remaining on his contract if he were to buy it out and coach elsewhere. Basically, there is a big penalty for leaving. Now, after refusing to sign, there is speculation that Leach will be fired. Of course, Leach says he's currently "at a loss" over the matter.

This is a loyalty issue. The school has demonstrated less loyalty to Leach (in the form of fewer guarantees) and basically called him out for the possibility of disloyalty in leaving for another school. In a previous post, I commented on how Leach has taken Tech about as far as anybody could have possibly expected. I wouldn't blame him for leaving. But, really, he has to know that if he interviews for another job, his employer might try to re-visit that subject in his next round of negotiations. Surely, he could have anticipated this a little.

On a bigger picture, this is what a coaching world full of Rich Rods and Petrinos has created. People are much less trusting these days, and for very good reason. The way coaches move around - and use agents and brokers so that they can say they "never talked" to another school - makes it hard to negotiate in good faith.

How does this relate to NU? Well, obviously if Leach leave Tech, there would be repercussions for the entire Big 12. You would have to view that as a downgrade for the Tech program. Personally, I hope they do fire him. I've always contended that there is a giant hole where that man's soul should be. But, that's kind of beside the point and sour grapes for the horror of 70-10 (Oh, sure, go on 4th and goal when you are up by 4 scores. Really. That's cool. All class, man.)

Back to NU - how much does seeing this make you just love the budding relationship between Bo Pelini and Tom Osborne. Both are known to shoot straight and speak plainly. Pelini has said he knows that he's at a "special place" with NU. And, I'm willing to bet Osborne feels good about the guy he picked, at least after one year. It makes me hopeful that NU can avoid this kind of ugliness in the future.

Just Go Away...
Kevin Cosgrove is back in the news, making his first public comments about his time at NU. Now that he's the defensive coordinator at Minnesota, it was bound to come up. I know this is sort of old news. I had planned to leave it alone. But now I'm all hopped up on coffee and just can't help myself.

I'm reminded of the amazing lyrics by Motley Crew - "Girl, don't go away mad. Girl, just go away." Basically, yeah, I would have appreciated it if Cosgrove didn't say anything about his 2007 defense. He offers up his rugged 2005 unit as a bit of a justification. Well, that team sent all of the defensive line starters to the NFL, coach. Oh, and they broke a record in a statistic that you and your boss introduced to NU - the "tackle for loss". Oh, how I love the TFL. Is there some less meaningful stat? Could you also please bring up the other statistic you created in 2007, the "fan stomach turned". Those FSTs can pile up when you are 112th in yards and 114th in points allows. You are what your results say you are, coach. Not part of them, all of them.

Of course, he goes on to talk about the negativity that pervaded the environment and affected the team. I feel that, and agree. I seriously do. You can go back and read every post on this site. I don't think it is fair to criticize players. They are just kids.

But, coaches...yeah, they are highly paid professionals. They had better learn to deal with criticism, and shield their teams from it. That's the job. If you want to feel real pressure, try being unemployed and with a family to feed. That's pressure. I really don't want to hear about what you did at Wisconsin (look up mediocrity in the dictionary if you must). Wisconsin is a nice school and a quality program. It's not Nebraska. It's not even on the same metaphorical tier as Nebraska. If either Cosgrove or his boss had understood that before signing on, they might have been able to avoid some of the horror.

What does this have to do with NU? Well, everything since those horrible results are on our books. And, on the bright side the total disaster is what led to the outcry, which led to the firing, which led to Osborne and Pelini. Had they only sucked a little bit, we might have languished for longer. Good luck, Gopher fans.

Nebraska Part II -- The SEC Version
Is anybody else in these parts following the Lane Kiffin train wreck in Tennessee as closely as I am? If not, read Every Day Should Be Saturday, and enjoy. It's biased because of Gator love. But, seriously, it is the best college football blog in America, by a mile. They are crushing Kiffin on a regular basis.

With Kiffin, I saw this coming a mile away. The second I heard his name being announced as the coach there, I thought "Oh boy, horrible fit. Bad hire!" So far, it has really showed. Did you see this guy's announcement press conference? He stood up there with his pretty little wife and looked scared out of his mind. You could almost feel it. To reference another Nebraska figure, I have not seen somebody that uncomfortable taking a job since Creighton's Dana Altman's ill-fated courtship with Arkansas. At least Altman had the good sense to call it off.

First, there was the much publicized gaff with recruiting and calling Urban Meyer a cheater and all of that. Now, there is this video of his missing free throws at a basketball game. (Now, UT fans must always endure the short end of the "our coach could beat up your coach" conversations). Basically, the dude just looks like a fish way out of water. Is this starting to feel a little too familiar, Husker fans?

I respect Tennessee football, I really do. And I don't just mean that because the Huskers drubbed them to secure the 1997 title, or the fact that they are back on the NU schedule again. I always respected their physical style of play and their winning football culture. And, friends shouldn't let friends hire former Oakland Raider Coaches. The comparisons to our Callahan disaster are just too obvious. West Coast guy, doesn't get the culture, maybe a bit over his head, replacing a coach that won (but not enough...). Let the comparison's start. Fulmer is their Solich; Kiffin, their Callahan.

Oh, sure. He hired Monte Kiffin as his defensive coordinator. Nebraskans all love Monte for good reason. But, take the bias of his NU history out of it, and he basically reached for an aging NFL coordinator to lead his D. And, it's his dad. Even removing the potential family issues (can you imagine the meetings?), a coach with too much time in the NFL can become accustomed to a professional level of play and way of operating. We've seen it in a lot of places (Hello A&M). So, why should Monte Kiffin be any different? He could be a train wreck too.

There is just no other way around it, Kiffin feels like a bad "fit" at Tennessee to me. We've seen the horror bad fits can have on a program. Is it the Vols turn to suffer?

All of the recent drama with coaches just makes me more thankful for Bo Pelini. Whether it is the way he negotiates his contract, coaches defense and owns the results, or the fact that he gets NU culture and shoots basketballs well...it all sort of makes him shine more in comparison to his coaching peers.

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