Don't Blow A Good Thing Carroll!

Congrats go to the University of Southern California Trojans for their consecutive second season with at least a share of the National Championship. The players put any doubt away about who is the best team in the nation by thoroughly destroying the University of Oklahoma 55-13.  

The Trojans don't look to stop as they will most definitely bring a top class and have former top national recruit John David Booty even if junior Matt Leinart decided to leave for the NFL.   This team played so well especially when considering that they lost their two best receivers on offense in Keary Colbert (NFL) and Mike Williams (ineligible) as well as their top defensive lineman Kenechi Udeze (NFL).   This team has possibly the two best coordinators in college football with Norm Chow on offense and head coach Pete Carroll on defense.

Now Carroll has the opportunity to go back to the NFL as a head coach with the San Francisco 49ers, where he was once a defensive coordinator.   That would be a major mistake for Carroll, a coach who has the personality and pedigree that meshes with the college athlete.   Carroll was a head coach with the New York Jets and the New England Patriots with minimal success but he had problems motivating players and his decision-making was questionable in pressure situations.  

In college Carroll can recruit because he can say "I was a NFL coach" and now of course he can say he is a national champion.   That coupled with the beautiful situation at USC (no other major football in town, beautiful scenery and weather and USC's tradition of winning it would be foolish at this time to leave. Carroll needs to ride this horse out till it drops because if he plays his cards right his name can go with John McKay and John Robinson as the greatest USC coaches ever.    How many people can say they are revered in USC lore?

Good Coaching Moves But Still Status Quo in Minority Hires

The college football coaching scene is changing immensely and almost all of the new coaching selections look good as Tyrone Willingham has taken the job with the University of Washington, New England Patriots Offensive Coordinator Charlie Weis is the new Notre Dame coach, Urban Meyer is the new   University of Florida coach, Steve Spurrier returns to the SEC with the University of South Carolina, former Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears head coach Dave Wannstedt returns to his alma mater, The University of Pittsburgh and Les Miles is the new coach for Louisiana State University after Nick Saban left for the NFL's Miami Dolphins. That is just the tip of the iceberg I just came off the top of the head with those.

While the minority coaching percentage didn't grow the coaches hired were winners on the college and/or pro level so there at least they are highly qualified. The problem comes when you hired the same losers over and over again at the same level which leads me nicely to.

The San Francisco 49ers Finally Something Right!

The 49ers finally made a step in the right direction as far as their management goes by firing General Manager Terry Donahue and Head Coach Dennis Erickson. While the 49ers are cheap and nothing like their organization in the late 70's to mid 90's Dennis Erickson's strategy on the field was bad and Donahue's cap cutting moves and lack of free agent moves made the 49ers the worse team in the NFL.    Erickson in particular shouldn't have gotten the position in the first place because when has he ever proven he can coach on the big level of the NFL.   Certainly not with the Seattle Seahawks of the late nineties! It's a shame because the players for the most part competed and tried hard but were bamboozled by the ownership and the bad decision of their management. Maybe now they can get some new blood in and make some better decisions to save a team with a great history.  

The 49ers hired former Baltimore Ravens Defensive Coordinator Mike Nolan as the new head coach and he should bring discipline and a defensive strategy to the 49ers but it wasn't the defense that was the problem.   The problem was the offense.   I still think an offensive guy should have been brought in like the Philadelphia Eagles' Offensive Coordinator Brad Childress or Tennessee Titans' Offensive Coordinator Mike Heimerdinger.

UNC Tarheels: The Nation's Best Team

In men's college basketball no school is doing better in my mind than the North Carolina Tarheels who are 14-2 (3-1 in the ACC) and are looking to continue their success in January when they have tough matchups versus Miami, Virginia and NC State. The are seniors are providing leadership with starter Jawad Williams (16 points per game, 4 rebounds per game) and backups Jackie Manuel helping the juniors Sean May (15 ppg, 9 rpg), Raymond Felton (11 ppg, 7.5 assists per game) and Rashad McCants (16 ppg, 2.4 apg) stepping up big time by putting up the numbers and playing team ball with no major conflicts. Add freshman Marvin Williams (10 ppg, 6 rpg) and the Heels could be rolling! This team could be the deepest in the nation and have started the season with big wins versus Indiana and Maryland. Of course we will have to see how the team will handle arch-nemesis Duke and they already lost to Wake Forest in early January. But so far though the team is playing with so much confidence and after numerous disappointments with the University of Kansas, Roy Williams is primed to win his first NCAA national title as a head coach.   March isn't to far away people.

 
Any comments, questions and/or suggestions give Clayton Ruley an email at clayton@geoclan.com.