A Tale of Two Coaches

The two biggest off-season coaching stories in the SEC involved two Forty-somethings whose paths will cross every September...And make no mistake, regardless of this self imposed "Break" that Urban Meyer is/has/might take, he will surely be in Knoxville to see what this Dooley kid is all about...In fairness, Derek Dooley is only a few years younger than Meyer, and has not had the early Head Coach success that Meyer had, but be sure about this; Derek Dooley has logged his share of SEC time, much more than Meyer had when he arrived 5 years ago, and you can argue the La Tech job was much tougher than the task Meyer had at Bowling Green or Utah. Time will only tell how Dooley will do, but rest assured, recruiting will not be an issue. When Nick Saban entrusts you with player procurement, as he did at LSU, you must have something on the Ball. And being a part of a National Championship staff doesn't hurt either. And then there's that whole "Dad won a National Title" thing. Dooley has brought class and a Southern football mentality to the Hill...I already like him more than Coach Lame...
As for Meyer, his abrupt retirement/leave of absence/day off can be tracked directly to the reason most of us end up leaving the profession. It hurts to lose more than it feels good to win. And Meyer has lost exactly 12 in the last 7 years, 18 in his entire 9 year career. His .812 winning percentage is tops in all of football...but that loss in Atlanta December 5th hurt...and hurt bad. More than just an undefeated season, an SEC Title and shot at the National Championship kind of hurt. The "Tebow factor" was in play here. The Coach loves the player like a son, and no one can stand to see your son like that...Is there a true medical issue? Maybe...probably something...but the bigger issue is emotional and mental. And when Urban Meyer gets control of those emotions, he can look forward to many seasons of matching wits, and not barbs, with Derek Dooley.

Al Davis was RIGHT!

Al Davis said Lane Kiffin was a devious little liar...and everyone said Davis was a senile old man...well, I guess the old man was right! Kiffin turns and runs back to the left coast as quick as possible, turning his back on the SEC and the Vol Nation. You should have know from the beginning that this "Johnny come never" would back up the truck at the 1st opportunity. This trumps Dennis Franchione dissing Alabama. What's Kiffin going to do next, change his son's name from Knox to Orange County? What a joke. And where does UT go now? Kippy Brown takes over in the interim as Pops Kiffin and Ed O are heading west as well. I bet Tommy Tubberville wishes he was still on the market. Jon Gruden? Jim Levitt? Rick Stockstill? Tommy Bowden? What a mess...

Offensive POY, not MVP...

Chris Johnson is once again obsessing over personal achievements...this time he is miffed by missing out to Peyton Manning on the MVP race...he recently tweeted, "Do any body got payton address I got to go get my award"...and who said East Carolina isn't the Harvard of the South! In any event, CJ finished in a tie with Brady Quinn....and Len Dale White...and me, for that matter, with ZERO MVP votes. And the fact is, that's about right. CJ is the NFL Offensive Player of the Year...but not the MVP. Most Valuable means that without you, the team can't win a game. In reality, CJ couldn't carry the Titans to a win all year that Vince Young didn't play in. And when VY played poorly on Christmas night, CJ still got his yards...and the Titans got drilled. Chris Johnson may not even be the MVP of the Titans...but he is the Player of the Year...now if your looking for an MVP argument, go see the guy in New Orleans...

Who Knew? What Next?

Almost 3 years ago to the day, Nick Saban was announced as the Head Coach at Alabama....for a ridiculous sum of 32 mil over 8 years...."My God, that's 4 mil a year!" was the shrill heard around college football. And 3 years later, he brought a National Championship to Tuscaloosa, beating a coach making 5 mil a year. 3 years ago this spring, he opened the doors to the spring game and 92,000 people showed up (left). Greg McElroy (then #17) and Roy Upchurch (5) were among those left behind by Mike Shula. The Student Assistant to the right of Upchurch is my son...now at Middle Tennessee. The brutal fact for the SEC is that Nick Saban has gone 26-2 the past two years with 2 Mike Shula QBs, and a roster dominated by Shula recruits. Guys like Javier Arenas, who no one really offered, and Rolando McClain, who was going to Alabama no matter who was the coach. Saban brought in Ingram, and Richardson and Jones and a Mountain named Cody and so many more that are waiting to step in. He has cemented himself, for now, as the best in the game, although it didn't look like it in the 1st quarter of the NC game. Taking the ball, fake punts at your own 20, no one catching a kickoff...who were those impostors? But you saw Saban football in that final drive of the 1st quarter, and with all due respect, Colt McCoy doesn't play defense. Florida St. did it, Miami did it, USC and Florida did it, and now Alabama will do it...they will hover around the top of the polls, a national Championship threat, for the next several years...unless Saban decides....well, let's no go there now!

"Be the GM" Week!

OK, you come off a 13-3 season with an 8-8 playoff miss. Now is your chance to be the GM or Owner or Coach or whoever is making decisions over at Baptist Sports Park. This week, each day, we'll present you with a new Titans personnel issue. We'll start with VY, then KVB, Keith Bullock, Kevin Mawae and finally, Jeff Fisher and staff...let's us know what you think in our poll question...and let the discussion begin...

Weekend Notes

As I continue the longest vacation in recent memory (6 straight days with only a 2 hour Titans pre-game show!) I feel the need to purge some thoughts...let's start with the death of the Titans season. Maybe the Wise-Guys had it right all along. When the over-under for wins came out at 9 for the Titans this season, we in the Dawghouse were incredulous! "Easiest money on the board! 10 wins in '07, 13 in '08! Come on, man!" Well, "Under" was the play. And maybe it was justified. What was no justified was the lack of preparedness and composure the Titans came out with against San Diego. Yes, the Chargers are he better team, but 42-17? And once again, with a big moment at hand, the Titans soil the bed. 11 years ago they rode a Music City Miracle into a Super Bowl appearance. They were flat in the 1st half of that Super Bowl, only to rally and come up short...see a pattern here? It's been this way for the Titans entire run in Nashville...and they've only won two playoff games in the 10 years since.
As for the future, the offense is in great shape, and I do believe you roll with Vince Young. The defense? KVB, Nick Harper, Keith Bulluck, David Thornton, Tony Brown could all be gone and the Freak checked out earlier this year...In any event, there will be massive turnover, but a check of the numbers will show that's not necessarily a bad thing. The real question is, how high up the ladder will the changes come?

Urban Meyer
I can tell you from experience that no coach should ever make career decisions before February. The stress of a season leaves many thinking, "I can't do this anymore". Now Urban Meyer may have a medical condition, and that can be physical or mental. Stress and anxiety go hand and hand, and anxiety often presents as heart issues. I believe he speaks from the heart when he says he needs to "Reprioritize" his life. I truly hope he gets this done. College football and the SEC are better with Urban Meyer and I honestly believe he'll be on the sideline when Florida opens it's 2010 regular season. This should be a wake up call for every coach in the land...sometimes I think we've lost some perspective.
Now a note of full disclosure. After the 1994 season, I quit my job as Special teams co-ordinator at D-III St. John Fisher College. At the team banquet they said nice things about me and presented me with a nice pen set. I was back before Spring Ball. I did not give the pen set back, but when I finally did "Retire" from coaching, at age 36, I did it in May...

Colts perfection
YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME! Only exception is a final meaningless game. "Resting" players 3 weeks before your playoff game is just stupid. And if you are unbeaten, it's even dumber. Up 2 touchdowns, 10 minutes left in the game...fine, but what took place yesterday in Indy was a disgrace. Not to mention the impact on all the other potential playoff teams. Finally, the only time the Colts actually finished the deal and won a Super Bowl, they played hard through the end of the season. This "Resting" theory is right up there with the prevent defense. And they threw away a chance at NFL immortality. Just a shame!

Greatness and Class

As Alabama closed out the 2009 SEC Championship, I stood on the Floor of the Georgia Dome and looked up at the megatron to see Tim Tebow, in tears, on the sideline...as I stared at the image, it occurred to me that, in a sense, Tim Tebow was responsible for both Florida's win in 2008, and this Bama victory in 2009. Later, Nick Saban took the podium and confirmed my thoughts. Tebow taught the Tide a lesson in perseverance and showed them where they had to raise their game to if they were to wear the crown. And then the Tide did just that. Tebow had one of those Tebow moments, marching his team right down the field to cut the Alabama lead to 12-10, much to close given the level of dominance the Tide were enjoying.
But then a strange thing happened. Alabama responded. With a vengeance. Catching the Gators in their 1st blitz of the game, Greg McElroy floated a screen pass to Mark Ingram and 69 yards and one review later, Bama was 1st and goal from the 3. One play later, it was 19-10, and it was clear that this would not be 2008. Nick Saban's $32 million dollar deal 3 years ago looks like a steal right now. And Tim Tebow is still the greatest college football player of our time. Greatness and class; which is which? You decide. You're right.