It's the theme of the day for web columnists.
sportsline
Answer to Hurricanes' woes could be simple as BVG
Brian VanGorder is going to get a call. If he doesn't, then Miami athletic director Paul Dee isn't doing his job.
(Insert obvious losing-to-Louisville-by-24 joke here).
Right now, a big part of Dee's job is to keep a short list of coaching candidates in his breast pocket.
It's either that or deciding between hiring a real estate agent or selling by owner. Kidding, kidding.
Coming off the humiliating Louisville defeat, the 'Canes look like they are headed to their third consecutive three-loss season (at least). Suddenly, Dee is on the hook for the losing
and for having extended coach Larry Coker at $1.75 million per year.
That's not going to sit well with president Donna Shalala or a portion of Miami fans. Coker is on the hot seat. Dee's isn't so cool either. If the likeable Coker is asked to leave after the season, the irascible Dee might be right behind.
That's the subtext to the current Miami situation. The text should reside in Dee's pocket. It's his job right now to assemble a list of candidates in case he has to make a coaching move.
We're here to help. As a public service, we're providing a not-so-short list.
Start with VanGorder. Not exactly Butch Davis, but someone to consider. He is the first-year coach at I-AA Georgia Southern and deserves a chance to take over the crumbling dynasty.
Who is VanGorder? Young (47), upwardly mobile and accomplished.
A native of Michigan, BVG was head coach at Wayne State at age 33 for three years. He moved steadily up the ladder, catching on with Georgia in '01. He comes highly recommended by Mark Richt, who had him as Georgia's defensive coordinator from 2001-04.
In '03, VanGorder was named the nation's best college assistant. He spent last year as linebackers coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
VanGorder is exactly the type of coach Miami needs right now. Something fresh, new, off the radar. Inexperienced? Sure. In that sense, he is Coker with hair, having never been a Division I head coach. But there is a lot of upside.
Georgia Southern is one of the best I-AA programs in the country, a hiccup below I-A considering the budget and facilities. The program was essentially built by the legendary Erk Russell, who passed away earlier this month.
BVG is only the fifth coach in the program's 25-year history. Russell and Paul Johnson (now at Navy) each won national championships.
"It's kind of like when Paul Johnson was here," Georgia Southern athletic director Sam Baker said. "From Day 1 it's 'How long can we hang on to him?'"
VanGorder was drawn to the job because of Georgia Southern's history of recruiting Florida. Next stop: Maybe working in Florida.
Ranking the candidates:
Butch Davis: The former 'Canes coach is tanned, rested and ready. The current favorite, if all can be forgotten from his dalliance with the NFL.
Gene Chizik: Texas' defensive coordinator is completely happy, but this might be the right time. Jobs like this don't come along every day, and guys like Chizik aren't always available.
Greg Schiano: If he had just stayed on a little longer, Schiano would have gotten the job that went to Coker. After turning around Rutgers, there is no better time for the former 'Canes D-coordinator to come "home."
Bobby Petrino: The Louisville coach would be a slam dunk if he wasn't making $2.5 million per year. Miami is not known to pay a bundle of money. Plus, the school just paid off former basketball coach Perry Clark and would have to eat the rest of Coker's contract.
Gary Patterson: The hottest young coach in America. The TCU coach has taken a small, private school to the brink of a BCS bowl. He should already be at a bigger school but loves Fort Worth. Patterson might listen. Miami could do worse.
Al Borges: At 51, Auburn's offensive coordinator is ready to make the jump to being a head coach. Like Patterson, though, he is unfamiliar with the Miami culture.
Lane Kiffin: Is the USC offensive coordinator too young? Miami would be lucky to get him. Kiffin, 31, has a couple of national championship rings and comes from a great football family. Dad Monte is D-coordinator for the Buccaneers.
John Palermo: Miami's first-year defensive line coach spent 15 years as Barry Alvarez's assistant head coach at Wisconsin. One way or another, it seems like he is going to stay in Coral Gables.
Mike Bellotti: The longtime Oregon coach has flirted with Ohio State. Would he make the big move to South Florida?
Jeff Tedford: Low-key quarterback guru at Cal would bring sizzle back to 'Canes offense.
Will Muschamp: Auburn defensive coordinator has won a national championship, coached in the NFL and currently runs one of the best defenses in the country.
Rich Rodriguez: West Virginia native wouldn't leave the Mountaineers for the hated 'Canes, would he?
Mark Stoops: This hire would be unique, to say the least. Mark is Arizona defensive coordinator for brother Mike. But Mark is a former Miami secondary coach.
J.D. Brookhart: Up-and-comer won the MAC in his second year at Akron. Won at North Carolina State this season, then lost to Central Michigan.
Barry Alvarez: What Miami calls "interest," Alvarez calls "stalking." The former Wisconsin coach (now AD) turned down interest in 1995. He spoke to Miami three times five years ago before finally breaking things off in 2001. This week, Alvarez said he wasn't interested. Again. A personal favorite of Shalala's.
Dan Hawkins: The Colorado coach would be in the top five had he stayed at Boise State. This offensive genius can't cross the goal line at Colorado.
Norm Chow: Longtime BYU and USC offensive coordinator (now with the Tennessee Titans) likes to flirt but never commit.
si.com
Miami makeover
Bored on a plane recently, I attempted to compile from memory a list of every game I've covered for SI.com since 1999. I'm confident I correctly recalled at least 95 percent of them. (Although there was one week in 2003 that was just a complete black hole in my memory bank. I'm talking no recollection of my possible whereabouts that weekend. It must have been
some game.)
Upon doing some analysis of said list, I found that I've covered far more games involving Miami (16) than any other team (next closest: USC at 10). Of those 16,
Larry Coker was the Hurricanes' head coach for 15. So you'll have to excuse me if I'm feeling a bit somber now that it's all but a foregone conclusion that Coker, one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, will no longer be coaching Miami after this season. The program has been on a progressive decline for years now, and last Saturday's blowout loss at Louisville merely served as the most telling confirmation to date. Athletic director
Paul Dee's spin was that the 1-2 'Canes could still win the ACC. Technically that's true. And technically I could still marry
Scarlett Johansson.
It's an ugly situation in Coral Gables these days, to be sure, but it has created an interesting subplot: How often do we get to spend three months debating who will get one of the most coveted jobs in college football?
Now that the Larry Coker Watch is officially underway, should Miami just rehire Butch Davis?
-- Nicholas, Atlanta
As a Rutgers fan, how worried should I be that the coach who finally turned the Titanic around, Greg Schiano, will bolt for his old homestead once Larry Coker gets the boot?
-- Dan Zolin, Wilmington, Del.
Both are intriguing possibilities but by no means sure things. Davis burned a lot of bridges at UM when he abruptly bolted for the Browns right before Signing Day in 2001. Would most 'Canes fans welcome him back with open arms? Absolutely. Would Dee? That I'm not so sure about (though, according to Tuesday's
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, there may be a movement afoot at the school to force Dee out with Coker). Schiano is an ideal fit in a lot of ways -- he's continued to recruit South Florida hard while at Rutgers -- but it's a big step up from running a longtime Big East doormat to a longtime national juggernaut. Miami may prefer someone more experienced.
Obviously, Miami has the cachet to attract some very big names. The question is, will it be able to afford one? Despite all those national titles, the 'Canes do not do overly well attendance-wise at the Orange Bowl and are not as well-funded as many of the nation's elite programs, and it's already going to cost the school an arm and a leg to buy out Coker after it just gave him a fat contract extension last year. For the right price, Miami could probably land someone like
Tommy Tuberville (a former Miami assistant under
Jimmy Johnson and
Dennis Erickson) or
Rich Rodriguez, or perhaps go the
Pete Carroll/
Charlie Weis NFL route. If Miami gets rebuffed, or if it can't afford it, expect Schiano's phone to be ringing. (Note: Schiano's spot on the call list could rise exponentially if Rutgers beats Louisville and/or West Virginia this season.)