ou guys are coming up with some off the wall ideas for new coaches. If anyone gets on Aggiecaoch.com they have a great list of prospects.
Here’s their list
Texas A&M doesn't need Billy Byrne to hire from the "good old boy network". The Aggies need the RIGHT GUY not a BIG NAME for a press conference. We need a coach that immediately changes the landscape with every recruit in a 4 state area (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana). We need the right guy who will be around beyond 2018 to compete face-to-face and head-to-head off the field in recruiting and on the field against OU, LSU, Arkansas and UT. Texas A&M has had enough coaches from the State of Alabama. We've done those taxpayers enough favors.
Wrong Guys: The media and perhaps Billy Byrne is interested in Tommy Tuberville, but I have yet to hear a single Aggie in Texas express interest in hiring a coach over 50 years old, who has already proved themselves as a great coach, with perhaps their best years behind them. Guys like Tommy Tuberville, Barry Alvarez, Steve Spurrier, Butch Davis, Mike Sherman, R.C. Slocum, Jimmy Johnson and others are closer to collecting social security than still being in Aggieland 10 years from now [much less bringing us a national championship]. Others like Gary Kubiak might have a "big name" but frankly lack the personality for recruiting and accomplishments on the field to be worthy of consideration.
Right Guys: Similar to Florida's hiring of Urban Meyer or OU's hiring of Florida assistant Bob Stoops, Texas A&M should be focused on these guys: Oklahoma associate head coach & defensive co-coordinator Brent Venables; LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini; Boise State head coach Chris Petersen; West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez; Rutgers Greg Schiano; California's Jeff Tedford; NFL Tampa Bay Bucs coach Jon Gruden (who has a bye week this week); and ex-Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher. If you are going to spend up to $4 million per year, won't any of these guys be better than the "good old boy network" names the media keeps rehashing? See the below bios, then call every radio station and let them know your thoughts on who A.D. Billy Byrne should hire...
Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia: At age 44, Rodriguez is rumored to be at the top of A&M's short list to replace Dennis Franchione. Last year he was recruited ahead of Nick Saban by Alabama before turning them down. He took a laid back culture similar to College Station's and lacking football program, turning it into a BCS contender. He is the right age, intensity and pedigree. WVU is 6-1 this year, having only lost at the University of South Florida, which we now know is "for real" this year. The Mountaineers are #8 in the BCS only two spots behind OU and destoyed SEC team Mississippi State this weekend 38-13. Has the intensity to outrecruit the likes of OU's Bob Stoops, LSU's Les Miles and UT's Mack Brown. Would be considered biggest hire of 2007 football season. He was born in West Virginia and played at WVU. He is rumored to be at the top of the list, but is this realistic? See his bio here. Making $1.3 million, he is considered one of the top 5 most underpaid coaches. He turned down $2 million from Alabama last year.
Chris Petersen, Boise State: At age 43, Chris is 21-1 for the Boise State Broncos and went undefeated in his first season last year. The season ended with what is considered the greatest bowl victory ever over OU. Petersen also became the first Boise State coach to earn national coach of the year honors winning the 2006 Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year award. Prior to his head coaching position, he was offensive coordinator at Boise State beginning in 2001. Prior to that he was an assistant at the universities of Oregon, Pittsburgh and and Portland State. See his bio here, his great YouTube.com interview with Jim Rome here, and his "Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year" show interview here. Making $850,000, he is considered one of the top 5 most underpaid coaches.
Jeff Tedford, California: At age 46, Tedford is the West Coast version of Rodriguez and should be on Byrne's short list. He took a lowly Golden Bear program and turned it into USC biggest competition in the PAC10 each year both on the field and in recruiting off the field. They are 5-2 this year with a BCS ranking of 21. He has developed a number of NFL quarterbacks include Trent Dilfer and Joey Harrington. Has the intensity to outrecruit the likes of OU's Bob Stoops, LSU's Les Miles and UT's Mack Brown. Would also be considered biggest hire of 2007 football season. He was born in California, played college football for Fresno State, then played in the CFL before coaching. See his bio here.
Greg Schiano, Rutgers: At age 41, Schiano was the 2006 Coach of the Year. He has taken a horrible Rutgers program and turned them into a competitive and over-achieving program. The University of Miami, where he played football, went after him last year before he turned them down. While his record is average, what he has done with the limited resources at Rutgers with the Scarlet Knights is amazing. He is now also the defensive coordinator in addition to the head coach. Would his New Jersey background fit in at Texas A&M? Probably so, since he'd have almost 10 years to loose the accent before he even turned 50! This would be seen as a marque hire and have huge upside, given his youth. He was born in New Jersey and played at Bucknell University. See his bio here.
Jon Gruden, NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers: At age 44, this head coach for the Bucs (and formerly the Oakland Raiders starting at age 35) has already won a Super Bowl. Gruden was the NFL’s youngest offensive coordinator at age 31 when Eagles head coach Ray Rhodes hired him in 1995. He has also been an assistant at the universities of Tennessee and Pittsburg. He would change everything if hired at Texas A&M. He could out recruit and out coach Stoops, Miles and Brown. Plus, rumor has it that he'd like to get back into college coaching. This is the guy who changes everything in college football with one hire. If Billy Byrne doesn't call him, is he really doing his job? By the way, the Bucs have an off week this week which would be perfect for an interview! See his bio here and also his NFL bio here.
Brent Venables, OU Associate Head Coach & Defensive Coordinator: At age 36, Venables is an up and coming star. He has been a defensive coach for the Oklahoma Sooners the past 8 seasons, previously assistanting coaching on defensive for the Kansas State Wildcats for 6 years. He is seen as an "extremely under the radar, up-and-comer". Plus, he fully knows recruiting in both the Big 12 North and Big 12 South, and would have good insight into how O.U. works. See his impressive bio here and also here on SoonerSports.com here.
Bo Pelini, LSU Defensive Coordinator: At age 39, Pelini is an up and coming star. Currently the defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers, he has a great mix of college and NFL coaching experience with the San Fransicko 49ers, New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers. He was defensive backs coach for the 49ers when they won Super Bowl XXIX. He played at Ohio State as a team captain and was interim head coach at Nebraska in 2003 during their bowl win in the Alamo Bowl over Michigan State after Frank Solich was (unfairly) fired. He was born born in Ohio. We predict he goes to either A&M or Nebraska as head coach. If Kansas beats A&M and LSU beats Alabama, this discussion goes into overdrive. See his bio here and another one on Rivals.com here.
... and the old guys [over 50] ...
Bill Cowher, Former Super Bowl Winning Coach: At age 50, he was the head coach for the Super Bowl winning NFL Pittsburgh Steelers. He is defensive minded and has the intensity that would make Bob Stoops look like a Pop Warner coach. Like Gruden, he too could out recruit and out coach Stoops, Miles and Brown. Currently he is working a TV job so he could start before the end of the NFL season to get recruiting going. Also like Gruden, this is the guy who changes everything in college football with one hire. If Billy Byrne doesn't also call him, at least for his advise on who might make good assistants, is he really doing his job? See his bio here and also at CBS Sports here.
Bob Davie, ESPN Analyst: At age 53, Bob Davie has been an ESPN analyst since being fired by Notre Dame. He served as one of Texas A&M's best defensive coaches from 1985-1993. He became Notre Dame's defensive coordinator in 1994, succeeding Lou Holtz at Notre Dame after the former coach's retirement. In five seasons as the Irish's head coach, he was 35-25. He is also the only Notre Dame coach to beat USC by more than 7 points during the Pete Carroll era. Davie had 9-3 records in his 2nd and 4th seasons. See his bio here.
Art Briles, University of Houston: At age 51, Briles is the "under the radar candidate". Sporting News calls him a great strategiest and he is also a man of true integrity. Developed as an assistant coach under Texas Tech's Mike Leach, he knows Texas recruiting and is a perfect cultural fit for A&M. While this would be a great hire for Texas A&M, it would not be seen as a marque hire for the Aggies. He was born in Texas, played football at U of H for 3 years including in the Cotton Bowl, then transferred to Texas Tech to complete his bachelor's degree. See his bio here.
Ignore These Guys: Auburn's Tommy Tuberville (on track to win SEC 1 time in 9 tries) and North Caronlina's Butch Davis are too old and are on the downside of their careers. It would be like adding Barry Bonds to your payroll -- all press and no pop! Plus, Tuberville has a $6 million buyout, which would be far better spent on hiring the best assistant coaches in college football! USF's Jim Leavitt has come up because he is good and cheap, but I don't think we want to be "penny pinching" for this hire that needs to be a home run. Steve Spurrier is closer to collecting social security than moving to Aggieland, can't beat Vanderbilt, and loves golf too much to come to College Station.
The 34 year youngling Auburn Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp has never recruited, has no national accomplishments, and blew the game for Auburn recently at LSU. Terry Bowden, while showing some progress at Auburn, didn't achieve the longevity or true national results that would warrant an upgrade to the $4 million A&M position. He's a better fit for SMU (like coach Fran). The NFL Cowboys' offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has never been a head coach, never recruited, has no national achievements... and his hair is burnt orange. Texas Tech's Mike Leach can't ride a bike without breaking an arm and his Hawaian shirts wouldn't last a minute in Aggieland. Others to ignore ...?
June Jones was head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and now heads Hawaii. He is a great person and brilliant offensive mind, but culturally might not fit in as well as being a bit old, like Tuberville. Texan's assistant head coach and former Grenn Bay head coach Mike Sherman, like his head coach, has proved nothing during his tenure with the Houston Texas NFL team. Plus he is a bit old. We have a hard time seening 18 year old recruits not thinking of him as a grandfather figure. Speaking of the Texans, Gary Kubiak will not be the next coach of the Aggies, despite his ties. He is just starting his first "real" year with the Texans having just flushed out David Carr as the QB. Further, the Texans are showing no real signs of true improvement since he took over and he has the most boring personality for recruiting. Plus, if he bailed on the Texans, he would burn all his media relations in the Houston market, so Kubiak is a no-go for A&M on so many levels (including that he played for St. Pius and I went to St. Thomas - ha!).
Conclusion: These are just some of the thoughts that must be going through the mind of Billy Byrne. SMU and Nebraska have the jump on us. Email us your feedback on coaches listed or or omitted and we'll update this page on the latest in the move to replaced Dennis Franchione. Special thanks to the "insiders" who have shared information on this evolving blog.
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Tom King, Class of 1985
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These guys are nuts. Bill Cowher? Jon Gruden? Rich Rodriguez turned down Alabama but he's coming to Texas A&M. Right. The only four people they listed who might go are Petersen, Venables, Briles, and Pelini. I also love how at least 6 coaches on that list would be able to "outrecruit and outcoach Stoops, Miles, and Brown." They ought to think about outrecruiting and outcoaching Mike Leach, Gary Pinkel, and Mark Mangino first.