Coaching Instability Plagues Big 12

6 comments so far March 2, 2009 by Tom Cudd

Recruiting isn't the only thing that football programs have to worry about this time of year. This is also when coaching can change who decides to go to what school. A player should want to play for a program and not a coach, but try telling that to an 18-year-old who just had a head coach make a great impression with his family after a visit. Here's what else has been keeping teams busy the last few months.

Nebraska » Mike Ekeler, the Husker's current Linbackers coach, interviewed for the defensive coordinator position at University of Southern Florida last week. He was coached by Jim Leavitt while a player at Kansas State. The speculation out there is that he either turned down the offer of the job or wasn't offered the position. Either way, I'm always leery of a native born Nebraskan who goes and plays for the Wildcats. It would have been a major promotion for him, and I doubt we see him leave the staff unless another opportunity for a coordinator or assistant position comes up elsewhere. The most interesting part about it is the “six degrees of coachingâ€? that all happened for this position to open up. What a mess.

Missouri » Gary Pinkel and the Tigers almost always recruit from within after losing a staff member. They have lost offensive coordinator Dave Christensen to the Wyoming head coaching job and defensive Coordinator Matt Eberflus to the Cleveland Browns LB's spot. Pinkel hasn't had to make any moves for the last eight years. He promoted the quarterbacks coach David Yost and brought in Dave Hensen, an LSU recruiter/tight ends coach. He will likely give their LB coach a promotion, but no word on any defensive coaches to be hired.

Iowa State » The Cyclones lost their head coach in one of the dumbest coaching hires I've ever seen. When you lose your head coach, assistants leave, too. Auburn made a huge mistake. Gene Chizik would never be close to a choice over Turner Gill for me. They've got one of the worst overall coaching turmoil of any school ever. Unless Paul Rhoads and his new, lightly experienced staff is Bob Stoops part deaux, I doubt the rest of the Big 12 sees any trouble from them next year.

Kansas » The Jayhawks lost a couple of defensive position coaches but got a great recruiter/linebacker coach in Bill Miller and a defensive line expert in Tom Sims. I like Sims because he used to be a Kansas City Chief, so it's a little bittersweet to seem him on the Kansas sidelines. These two coaches are probably an upgrade for them, so I wouldn't be surprised to see some improvement in the running game from them.

Colorado » How much time does Dan Hawkins have with the Buffs? They only lost an offensive line coach, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them lose much more if the current direction of the program doesn't take an upward shift soon.

Kansas State » In one of the most bizarre seasons for Wildcat fans, they lose their head coach before the season is even over, gain back their most coveted head coach of all time from retirement, then turn around and lose a highly touted offensive coordinator just months after his initial hiring. I guess Andy Ludwig just wanted that California sun. I can't say that I'm upset to see the guy who ran Utah's offense leave the Big 12 before we even got to play against him. More musical chairs associated with the history of this guy.

Even after all this time since the season has been over, Bill Synder still doesn't have all the gaps filled. He did get one of the best coordinator hires in the Big 12 by bringing Vic Koenning from Clemson to coach the defense, but I doubt it will be enough to make up for the mess that Kansas State has been put through.

Texas Tech » The stability of this intelligent staff makes this a dangerous team, even with the loss of a number of key players to graduation/draft. In an effort to stem some of the issue with the perceived disloyalty of Big 12 coaches, the Red Raiders attempted to put a clause in the disputed contract that they could fire Mike Leach for interviewing for another position. It was a big deal, but all the finer points have been settled and he's there through 2013. ESPN has an extensive breakdown of the information available.

Texas » The Longhorns will be steady for a long time with a successful, happy coach and successor already in place. Pay them well enough, and the only reason a guy would want to leave is if he just didn't want to coach anymore.

Oklahoma » It seems like the three big schools in the south are all able to keep their staff by winning. It's amazing what a little thing like being in the running for a National Championship will do.

Oklahoma State » Chizik makes more waves by stealing a couple of offensive smart guys from the Cowboys. There were some promotions from within, but more important than the offensive loss, is the defensive coordinator vacancy left by Tim Beckman's departure to the Toledo head coaching job. Fortunately for them, they picked up quite a guy in Bill Young to replace him.

Baylor » Fans underestimate the value of stable staff in winning games. Baylor will be the true test of this. If the Bears see improvement this year, it can be attributed to the fact that they've got all their pieces still in place right now.

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