rising from the ashes. this blog is back. and better than ever. which is not really saying much, considering that it’s been dormant for the past three years. speaking of which, where the hell did the past three years go?
i have a need to dispel all of this college football trivia that i know, and i will put it here. this information is taking up space in my head better suited for information that could better be used on work/family related important stuff. but instead, i’m stuck sitting here thinking about the time one obscure college football team beat another and who was the starting QB.
so here is where they will go. godspeed little blog.
Thoughts on the horns coaching search
Following the dumpster fire of a season that the horns had, mack brown did what ever rational coach would do and gutted his entire coaching staff. Some left by natural means (moving on to other positions) and some left by unnatural means (i have it on good authority that greg davis is hiding in a closet eating twinkies and crying). These firings were done in early December, and they are just now getting around to putting together a new staff.I dont blame them, if I ran no risk whatsoever of losing recruits, I’d take my time as well.
So the first big hire was made (big meaning not position coach) and its Manny Diaz, DC at Mississippi State. Diaz’s rise to arguably the highest profile coordinator position has been remarkable. A year ago, he was the defensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee State (their mascot is the blue raider–useless information). This guy has quadrupled his salary in a year. Incredible.
Color me underwhelmed by the hire. On one hand, Manny Diaz is a “name” coordinator in that he’s considered a bright young mind who is a rising star (how many cliches can i fit into one sentence?). But on the other hand, he’s a guy who had the 50th ranked defense in the country, and was 90th in pass defense while at MSU. The common thought is that he’ll have better players at texas, which is undoubtable, but the level fo competition will be different (not better, but different), in that the big 12 tends to pass the ball a helluva lot more than the SEC. 90th isnt going to cut it.
I’m not saying that this was a bad hire, but I think texas fans are finding out that’s it’s much more difficult to hire a coach after a 5-7 season. When texas was 13-0 every coach worth their salt would have given their right arm to be their DC (i have it on good authority that mack brown uses those right arms as barbecue with a side of puppies). But now, they have to go the route of an up and comer who they are hoping beyond hoping will pan out to be a good one. And he very well could. But they are making hires based on potential, and not on proven prowess.
Not to mention that their DL coach Bo Davis was likely about to get fired at bama. That’s a story for another blog.
Will Manny Diaz end up being the next big coordinator in the country? Likely yes, but not in the way that you think. The media will fellate this hire like there is no tomorrow. It will be looked at as a homerun, and evidence that mack brown is the best coach in the country and that texas can have whomever they want because they are the joneses!!1!!1one!!one!
but what it really is…is a solid, unspectacular hire. it’s a hopeful hire. it’s a hire that was made because a few others turned them down. reading between the lines, it’s a hire that says “your team went 5-7 last year, and the shine is off”.
Will be interesting to see who they hire at OC.
Other quick hitters:
-If I’m Pitt, I hire sal sunseri yesterday.
-If I’m uconn, I hire paul chryst
-If I’m mike leach, i recognize that i’m not going to get a job until i drop lawsuits against ESPN and texas tech.
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