The Most Interesting 2010 NFL Matchup Debate… Rematch Grows To Rivarly

September 6, 2010

Read the opposing arguments from Babe Ruthless and Loyal Homer.

The most exciting game of the 2009 season was not the Super Bowl. It was the NFC Championship. It was a classic battle that ended in a dramatic overtime victory for the New Orleans Saints. At the center of this game was a quarterback showdown which could serve as the symbolic passing of the torch from the old to the new breed of gunslingers.

During the game Brett Favre was 28 for 46 with 310 passing yards, but it was his two interceptions – including a late-game bad decision which essentially cost the Vikings the game – that defined his game. Meanwhile, the Saints’ Drew Brees – who completed only 17 passes for less than 200 yards – managed to hook up for three touchdowns and no picks in a performance that propelled his team into the Super Bowl.

It was a thrilling game that helped bring an outstanding close to the 2009 football season.

So, what better way to kick off the next season than with a rematch?

If that one interception thrown by Favre at the end of the game really was the only reason that Minnesota lost, then they now have a chance to prove it, and stake a claim as the team to beat in the NFC (perhaps even the NFL).

After a not-very-surprising “holdout,” Favre has decided to return once more and play football (news that I’m sure the Medicare people were disappointed to find out). And with a supporting cast that is formidable even without Sidney Rice, Favre and the Vikings should once again be in the hunt for the Lombardi Trophy.

The Saints are fresh off of a whirlwind tour as reigning Super Bowl champions, where the players and coaches enjoyed all the fruits of victory. Brees is on the Madden ’11 cover, the team has visited the White House, and the city of New Orleans has held a six month party in the team’s honor.<br.

But the time for fun and games is over.

Winning one NFL championship is difficult enough. Winning consecutive championships is nearly impossible, and the schedulers have seen fit to make sure that the Saints are no exception.

The final piece to the puzzle, which pushes this game from being one of intrigue to being the game to watch for the entire season, is simple – it is the season kickoff.

Let’s face it, this has been a very slow summer for sports. The World Cup ended two months ago, LeBron has announced where his talents will be, and unless you are lucky enough to live in a city such as New York, Tampa Bay, or Atlanta, you probably lost interest in baseball somewhere back in late July.

We have been patient long enough, and it is time we all got a taste of the good stuff once more.

America’s favorite sport is about to get underway, and it launches its 2010 campaign with a superstar repeat of the best matchup from last season.

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?!

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Posted by Bleacher Fan

The Next NCAAF Head Coach Debate… Hook Him While You Can

September 1, 2010

Read the opposing arguments from Sports Geek and Loyal Homer.

There is no doubt that Will Muschamp will become a successful head coach in the college football ranks. The real questions are “When?” and “For whom?”

His resume speaks for itself, as success follows him wherever he goes.

Over the last decade Muschamp has been defensive coordinator for some of the most dominant defenses in the nation. He signed on at LSU under Nick Saban in 2001, and in 2003 his top-ranked defense led the Tigers to a national championship.

Two years later, after a short stint in the NFL where he followed Nick Saban to the Miami Dolphins, Muschamp returned to college football as the defensive coordinator for the Auburn Tigers. In two seasons with Tommy Tuberville, Muschamp quickly proved that his success at LSU was no accident. In 2006 and 2007 his defenses were ranked seventh and sixth in the nation, respectively, in points per game, and in 2007 his defense ranked sixth in the nation in yards per game.

Then, early in 2008, Muschamp was brought into the Texas Longhorns football program as their defensive coordinator. Since then he has not skipped a beat, as his defenses continue to be ranked among the best in the country.

And while his sustained success with three different major programs speak volumes about his coaching ability, it is his reputation as one of the nation’s top recruiters that really sets him apart from his peers.

In recognition for his proven success, as well has his high potential for the future, Texas saw fit to name Muschamp the “Head Coach in Waiting.”

There is only one problem – Texas’ current head coach Mack Brown does not appear ready to leave his post anytime soon, which places a heavy emphasis on the word “waiting.” That fact was magnified earlier this year when DeLoss Dodds, the Athletic Director for the Longhorns, signed a contract extension with the school.

The understood progression of events was that Dodds would soon be retiring, and Brown would assume the role of AD, creating the vacancy at the position of head coach that Muschamp would then slip into. With those events now delayed, it could seriously change the way Muschamp thinks about his current situation.

For all the expectation and promise that Will Muschamp has to look forward to, there is no timetable to set a realistic expectation for when he will actually receive his opportunity, and THAT is where the rest of the programs around the country have an opportunity to pounce.

As exciting as it may be to know that with a little patience the keys to arguably the top football program in the country will be handed over, there can also be frustration from the uncertainty of not knowing when that day will come. Especially for a guy like Muschamp who really is ready to run his own program. Today.

Tennessee has already made a play to woo Muschamp out of Austin, but his response at the time was that he was happy waiting it out with the Longhorns. That was before Dodds signed his extension, though, and with the laundry list of high profile programs whose coaches sit precariously on a very hot seat this season, the atmosphere in Austin could be very different when December rolls around.

There will be no shortage of suitors for Muschamp as the 2010 college football season plays out. Now it is just a matter of seeing how much he can resist before finally succumbing to the temptation that will be out there.

One thing is for sure. Will Muschamp absolutely deserves to be a head coach somewhere in the NCAA by this time next season.

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Posted by Bleacher Fan

The Next NCAAF Head Coach Debate… Kirby’s a Smart Hire

September 1, 2010

Read the opposing arguments from Bleacher Fan and Sports Geek.

Every season there are a group of assistants many believe are ready to take the next step up into a head coaching position. This year’s crop of qualified coaches who have earned the big corner office features former assistants like Jimbo Fisher (FSU) and Joker Phillips (Kentucky). Today we’re looking at guys who Sports Geek, Bleacher Fan, and I feel are ready to take the next step. All three are proven assistant coaches in BCS conferences. Yet, of course, my guy is the best. Enter Kirby Smart.

Smart is a good ole South Georgia boy, playing high school football less than 100 miles from my hometown before taking his talents between the hedges in Athens at the University of Georgia. Before hitting the big time in the coaching ranks, he was an assistant coach at a small school in Georgia called Valdosta State University, which just so happens to be the alma mater of both Sports Geek and myself. The Geek even met him a time or two, but I never met him. (Editor’s Note: I’ll share a funny story about him here in an argument one day. Stay tuned.) Stops along the way in his coaching career included Florida State, LSU, Georgia, and even the Miami Dolphins, bringing him to his current role as a defensive coordinator at Alabama. He’s Nick Saban’s boy, having worked for him in Baton Rouge, Miami, and now in Tuscaloosa.

Kirby has a lot going for him. He’s young (34 years old), energetic, and is a proven hot commodity as an assistant coach. He is a 2009 recipient of the Frank Broyles Award, which is given to the nation’s top assistant coach. He even contemplated returning to his alma mater to coach under Mark Richt, but he decided to remain loyal to Saban and the Crimson Tide. He got a nice raise, too.

There was really no need to leave Alabama for Georgia. He is the defensive coordinator for the defending national champions, and judging from the pre-season polls and the post-season predictions, the Tide are a favorite to repeat again. A big reason why is Smart’s defense. The Tide defense was second nationally in scoring last season, but nine starters either graduated or moved on to the NFL. However, the depth that Smart helped established should soften that blow. Many of the players that are replacing those starters earned valuable playing time a season ago.

Kirby Smart has “future head coach” written all over him (Editor’s Note: How do you know?). He certainly learned from one of the best, and despite being so young he has some impressive credentials on his resume. It’s highly doubtful Smart would leave Tuscaloosa for another coordinator position. After all, if he won’t leave for his alma mater, where else would he go for the same job? However, he would likely consider leaving for a head coaching job in the right situation. A school would be wise to give this guy a look next winter, quite possibly as Smart is celebrating another national championship.

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Posted by Loyal Homer

The Next NCAAF Head Coach Debate… Tyrone Nix, Your Head Coaching Job Awaits You

September 1, 2010

Read the opposing arguments from Bleacher Fan and Loyal Homer.

There are 119 division I-A college football programs. In the aftermath of the 2008 season, just four African-American coaches stalked the sidelines on Saturdays. Imagine what the college football head coaching landscape would look like if Art Rooney, one the NFL’s great owners and champions of equality, were to have influence over how the coaches are hired.

“The Rooney Rule.” We all know what it is. It has its own Wikipedia page. Some laud it, some believe it’s past its prime. Virtually no one pretends it was unnecessary. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that African-Americans are predominant amongst the athletes in college football, yet for some reason rare amongst the coaches. It just doesn’t add up. Great leadership and great teaching are racially agnostic traits.

Sure, the Rooney Rule is a good thing. Only the best next head college football coach, Tyron Nix, has no need of it. For Nix the Rule would serve only as a perceived excuse for why he would get a head coaching job. You see, he is – bar none – the BEST assistant coach in college football right now.

Tyrone Nix’s playing career ended with a captaincy of the Southern Miss defense as a senior. He graduated, but did not pursue a future in the NFL. He did not, ultimately, believe it was his calling. Instead, just two short years after graduating, he was named an assistant defensive coach at his alma mater. He served in that role for five years before assuming the role of defensive coordinator for three. He then left the college he knew best and became the defensive coordinator for Steve Spurrier at South Carolina from 2005 to 2007… where he was promptly hired away to Ole Miss for the same role. Sure, Nix is only 37 years old… a young age for a top assistant and potential head coach. But, like race, character and ability are not reserved solely for the aged.

There are certain metrics our sports society uses to gauge a coach’s success. Usually those metrics are specific to money and ambition. Therefore I am obligated to share that Nix’s current contract is for three years, $500,000 per year. That is a hefty sum for a coach who is earning the money. And it should be a hefty sum, considering Florida was hot in pursuit of Nix as a candidate for the head coaching position when Urban Meyer’s health was a major concern. There are few higher compliments for a young coach than a phone call for a marquee program for a possible opening at head coach.

Last season Ole Miss was fourth in team defense in the SEC, the conference universally acclaimed as home to the country’s most concentrated collection of talented collegiate defenders. One good season does not a coach make, however. In 2008 Nix’s defense also ranked fourth… ahead of Auburn, Georgia, LSU and the school he left to coach at Ole Miss – South Carolina.

Nix has proven over the course of his impressive, though still young career that he has the ability to get the most out of his players. He also has the ability to rank a defense with supposedly inferior recruits among the best in the toughest league. If Nix can coach up players at Southern Miss, South Carolina, and Ole Miss to this level of effectiveness, imagine what he could do with a few top five recruiting classes under his belt?

It likely won’t be long before we find out. It seems there is always an opening for a head coach at a major college program each off-season. When the next opening hits the Bottom Line on ESPN, you can bet Nix’s name is in the running. And he won’t need the Rooney Rule to make the phone ring.

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Posted by Sports Geek

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