Reader Questions

Reader Questions

 Welcome to Blitz Week. There will be three blog posts this week to get us ready for next week's kickoff of the 2012 college football season.



This question comes from Jill, all the way in the state of Washington.

"Do you think the heavy pressure of losing your job helps or hurts head coaches? I mean is it even possible to do what is up against Dooley and if he knew he was safe for two years, would he make better long term choices?"
  Also, I noticed Lane Kiffin and USC at #2. When he was at UT all I heard were people bad mouthing him, so is he a good coach and that was all just sour fans?

 The pressure on coaches in college football has grown in the last decade at an alarming rate. Part of that, I think, is because of some of the coaches that have taken over a program and won a National Championship within the first two seasons. Bob Stoops at Oklahoma is where I think it started. He put Oklahoma back on the map after taking over a pretty dormant Sooners football program. Later came Larry Coker at Miami, winning in his first season as Miami's head coach.

 One strange fact to look at is how many coaches who have won a National Championship since 2000 were in their first three seasons as head coach. Bob Stoops (Oklahoma), Larry Coker (Miami), Les Miles (LSU), Urban Meyer (Florida), Nick Saban (Alabama), Jim Tressel (Ohio State). Gene Chizik (Auburn)

 So, it can be said that the fast rise of these programs that had been down in years prior to these coaches arrival has helped set the bar pretty high for coaches across the country.

 Is it fair to treat every program like these listed? I don't think so.

So many programs feel like they should be able to have the same success by getting a new coach. Much of the success these teams have had has come from the fact that these are elite programs. They may have been down in recent years before these coaches get there, but it doesn't always take much to wake a 'sleeping giant' so to speak.

That all being said, pressure on coaches can be good and bad. The pressure that is on coach Dooley at Tennessee is not a fair situation. Dooley should be able to have another season before the expectations change. Tennessee was a mess when he took over and some feel he should have three full seasons before he gets it going. However, I am pretty sure if he has a season similiar to 2011 and loses to Vanderbilt or Kentucky in 2012, he will most likely be looking for a new job. If Dooley was given a pass right when he signed with UT, and they gave him three full seasons, I think he would have been able to make better, more well thought out decisions. Instead, he as had to make rushed decisions, in hopes that he can have a quicker road to success. Mistakes happen when you are rushed. It happens.

To sum it all up, though. Pressure on coaches to win at programs that haven't had a history of success is bad. Those coaches should have more time to get things going with recruiting and results on the field. Now, a new coach comes in to an established program that has had recent success, that brings on all the pressure for instant satisfaction. In the right situations it can help coaches have success.

Now, Lane Kiffin.....He is one of those coaches who will push the envelope as far as he can before he backs off. The main reason Vol fans don't like Kiffin is because of the way he left Tennessee. And believe it or not, I still hear fans blaming Kiffin for what Tennessee did last season under Dooley. But let's walk in Kiffin's shoes for a minute. You are a young, up and coming coach. You coached at a great program in USC. Your dream has always been to take over at USC, but Tennessee comes along and you get a shot to show what you can do as a head coach. You come in and take some under performing players to an unexpected season of success, (success compared to what was expected). Then you get a call from your dream job. You weren't that excited about Tennessee to begin with, and now you have your dream in front of you...... Yep, I would have left too.

 Lane Kiffin is a great coach. His father was and still is a great coach. He has been able to take a broken USC program that has been going through NCAA sanctions, and return them to the National Title talks in a short period of time. He has recruited well in addition to keeping guys from leaving the program during their bowl bans. Penn State may want to take some notes from this situation. That can be said for Miami as well.

 Thanks for the questions, and I will be answering more tomorrow.

 Send to jeremy.cf2d@yahoo.com  Also, I will soon have a facebook page set up for my blog. And don't miss later this week when I release my picks for who will play in the BCS Title game.