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Big-name coaches on the hot seat
By Mark Stewart
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
(MCT)
MILWAUKEE - Miami's Larry Coker and Michigan's Lloyd Carr have won two national championships between them, 79 percent of their games the past five-plus seasons and five conference titles during the stretch.
They'd better step it up.
There are seven matchups pitting ranked teams on Saturday and no one needs a big victory more than these men, if only to quiet the dissatisfaction some fans have had with their work to start the season.
Sure Coker won a national title in 2001 and came close to another championship in 2002, but what about those consecutive subpar, nine-win seasons the past two years? And Carr, who led Michigan to the 1997 national title, may have won the 2004 and `05 Big Ten titles, but he is a sinful 1-3 against Notre Dame and 1-4 against Ohio State the past five years.
"As coaches, I think we all understand that regardless of what the past is, the constant pressure is always there," said Carr, whose 11th-ranked Wolverines play at second-ranked Notre Dame at 2:30 this afternoon. "We understand that and that is part of the job we deal with as best as we can."
Part of their coping mechanism after last season was to revamp their staffs.
Carr has two new coordinators. Offensive coordinator Mike DeBord has made the biggest impact, employing a zone-blocking scheme that has jumped-started the Wolverines' run game.
At Miami, Coker has six new staff members, including a new offensive coordinator, Rich Olson . The immediate results were so underwhelming that Coker, perhaps sensing fans' frustration, pleaded for patience following the Hurricanes' 13-10 loss to Florida State Sept. 4.
"We've got work to do. We've got to improve. We can improve," he said "We've got a great group of young men with great attitudes. Let's make sure not to give up on this football team."
The 17th-ranked Hurricanes (1-1) can provide hope at 12-ranked Louisville (2-0) today in a matchup of the nation's top offense and Miami's talented defense, which ranks seventh overall. Led by preseason All-American safety Brandon Meriweather, the unit allowed just 175 yards to Florida State and 224 yards to Florida A&M.
A victory there would say a lot about the Hurricanes, at least for the time being.
"If we go out there and win a game like this on the road, it's a huge statement," Coker said.
Carr couldn't have said it better.
Scary situation
According to a story in the Des Moines Register, former Iowa coach Hayden Fry received a death threat during the 1982 season and feared his life so much that he wore a bulletproof vest for three or four games that year. He even briefly gave up his trademark white pants in favor of black ones so that he'd blend in on the sideline.
At the time, Fry was in the early stages of his popularity, having led Iowa to its first winning season in 20 years and a Rose Bowl appearance the year before.
"My bodyguard at the time got word that someone had me on a list of people that he wanted killed," Fry said told the newspaper. "The guy was afraid I was going to someday be the governor.
"He knew I was from Texas, and for some reason, he didn't want a Texan to be the governor of the state of Iowa."
The individual making the threats was reportedly mentally ill and eventually was institutionalized. He is now dead.
"This person had a message from Satan," said Gary Hughes , who a former police officer who was Fry's sideline bodyguard. "Someone in the FBI brought the threat to me, and we proceeded from there.
"It was a credible threat, so we felt it best that Hayden wear the vest until the guy was captured."
