Without Sylvester Croom

Yeah, but remember, Buffalo was like the matter-eating neutron star at the outer edges of the college football universe. In the 10 seasons before Gill arrived, they went 18-95.

There aren't too many coaches of any pigmentation who want to jump into something like that. For every Turner Gill who gets things going, there are 20 guys who go 2-23 and get whacked.

 

Bob Stull is the epitome of that. Was the hot prospect after turning UTEP around for a while. Then goes to Missouri, starts building from the dregs, then the infamous Fifth Down happened and killed the program for another eight years, and Stull hasn't gotten another chance.

 

Is it POSSIBLE?

Yeah.

Is there a TANGIBLE percentage chance?

Barely.

You'd need EVERYTHING to go right, catch lightning in a bottle (recruiting-wise),
and be damn lucky.

What are the odds against THAT?

 

I wouldn't say he ran Arkansas into the ground. His inability to develop even a decent passing game really hurt that team.

His ego is much too large for a coach who's never won a conference title. The sight of him waving an SEC West ring (also known as the SEC Championship Participation ring) at Media Days might have the funniest thing to happen there this decade.

 

You mean not much like McFadden, Jones, Hillis and Mustain?

The best sarcasm is the sneaky kind. Well done.

 

Croom got fucked by a bunch of 18 year-old uncherachieving kids and an alumni that doesn't have a clue.
He also screwed himself by not improving his offense.
The bottom line was when he looked into the camera after that debacle and said "I didn't see that coming."

 

To whomever said the coach is viewed as CEO -- the problem in college is that ADs, worried about fund-raising, implicitly want someone whom their white moneyed alumni base feels "comfortable" with. So the safest route is to hire a white guy, so at least you know the white moneyed alumni base will give you some rope.

Also, college football isn't the only place where the black guy gets the job only when it seems impossible after previous white people have run it into the ground. The U.S. presidency, for example.

 

While I think there is some truth to that statement, the problem also lies in the lack of black coordinators and non-BCS black coaches out there. Turning around Buffalo means Turner Gill will be a hot name this off-season and several posters have made the case that Charlie Strong's inability to get a job has more to do with non-racial concerns about his ability to be the face of the program rather than racial concerns. I think Norm Chow's inability to get a head coaching job stems from real concerns about his ability to recruit and be the face of the program.

If you had more black coaches who were college coordinators at top programs or NFL position coaches, you would give a greater pool for AD's to work with. Charlie Strong and Turner Gill are the guys that every AD with an opening would have to give some thought to. But I can't think of anyone else who fits that description.

 

There are many coaches at Historical Black Colleges who are more than capable of running a Division I program. But they can't run it if they aren't given an opportunity.

 

How many of them are ready to take over a BCS school? If you were the AD at Tennessee, which ones would you have seriously considered?

 

Lou Holtz is 100% right.

My problem is that you should be able to hire whoever you want to run your team.

Maybe that won't end up fair, but nothing ever is.

I mean should a team with a vacancy be essentially forced into hiring a minority candidate they don't want because there should be more minority coaches in the FBS?

If anything, that ends up hurting the coaches IMO. Schools get pressured into taking minority candidates, then the schools just sit back and wait for the first good reason to cut someone loose.

Doing it like Turner Gill is the best way.

 

You'd be hard pressed to find even a white coach who would theoretically make the jump from HBCU to BCS conference team.

HBCU's aren't exactly the most successful programs in FCS.


I'm kind of baffled as to why Ron English doesn't get a look from one of the smaller FBS schools.

I could easily see him jumping in at Buffalo should Gill leave though.