A beat of their own own:
- BUI says that Low is still beating the Smart drum.
- Buck Belue dances to it.
- Of all the posts pertaining to the search for defensive awesomeness, I've enjoyed Mackie's recurring DCRotD posts almost as much as my last visit to Chuck E Cheese. Here's a link to his main page, just keep scrolling...and laughing...and crying.
- Garnet and Black Attack wonders if their own Ellis Johnson is in the mix. Chuck Oliver mentioned Johnson the other day on 680 the Fan and it peeked my interest...until the next stop light.
- I'll blame this on the pizza stupor. Even if Johnson is dissatisfied in Chickumbia, his age would be a hard sell that I just don't see CMR bidding on.
A couple of names that intrigue me as Bowl season closes shop:
Justin Wilcox
Interest - of Tostitos Bowl fame. The Broncos looked more than stout and played with an impressive balance of aggressiveness and discipline. Wilcox is young and appeared to provide a spark from the sideline. His defense was mostly consistent throughout the season and was integral to getting BSU into the elite, undefeated air up there.
Disinterest - Wilcox is real young and has no known connections to the Southeast. His defense was mostly consistent throughout the season against WAC opponents. BSU will likely begin next season in the top five and they have a wealth of returning talented white boys.
Bonus - Exile has a post related to Wilcox that you can read if you click right here.
Tim DeRuyter
Interest - of the Case Keenum Meltdown fame. The Falcon defense shut down the high-octane Houston offense and thoroughly dismantled the argument of Keenum as a legitimate QB. All told, Air Force gave up just 14 points (to a team that came in averaging over 42) and had 6 (SIX!!!) interceptions.
Disinterest - three words: Mountain West Conference. DeRuyter is an Air Force graduate and has no coaching experience in the these woods.
And the Pro dudes:
Todd Grantham is the hot name right now. The Cowboys d-lineman has been a DC before and like a lot of candidates in this search has worked primarily under a 3-4 scheme.My only real concern with Grantham is his firing in Cleveland. His time as a Brown DC started strong quickly before doing a 180. It appears Grantham lost the trust of his coach and his players.
Travis Jones is a name near and dear to many message boarders. And it would be hard to find a candidate with a better, more attractive resume. For one, he was a four-year letterman in Athens and has learned the coaching trade under names like Nick Saban and Gregg Williams. Even more impressive are the stars he has worked with: Seymour, Stroud, Chad Lavalais, Marcus Spears, Sedrick Ellis, Jason Taylor.
I really like the idea of Jones coming home. But since he's never been a defensive coordinator, I'd like it even better if he came at the new DC's request.
Bob Sanders is actually available now. Since his name has been linked before, it's safe to say that Sanders isn't Coach Richt's top guy or he would be on the road recruiting and hanging pictures of the family in Butts-Mehre. Like Jones, Sanders has SEC experience having been floriDuh's DC through much of the 90s. Given that experience and his age (56 I believe), Sanders would also bring a sense of maturity to CMRs youthful staff.
Although Sanders would be a great hire, the only way I see Sanders entering the mix is if Richt gets deep into his DC playbook.
Final Analysis - Once the MNC game is in the books, CMR will be in Smart's ear quick as you can say Bags o Cash. The offer will be steep. It'll have zeroes, several in fact. And when...if...when he says No...we grab Grantham.
The only part that worries me is that some of the fanbase and most of the media will view Grantham as a failing grade for this search, a step down. They'll point to Foster and Chavis' raises as supposed proof that CMR floundered around. When in reality, the process (h/t PWD) of those raise negotiations and Smart saying No...and potentially in turn Grantham saying Yes...could just as likely be a blessing in disguise. For more on that, read last night's post.
Some related readings:
- get a Legge up on Smart and Grantham ($$)
- Fabris officially lands in Louisville
- From the If You Can't Beat em Join em file, Willie Turncoat?
- Cousin Walter asks Why not Todd Grantham?
- Some commentary from the Ewing Ranch (make sure you scroll down to the comment made by Beast...you may want to report as objectionable...or just inaccurate)
2 comments:
This is NOT a rumor - it is idle dreaming on my part, but if CMR were to go out a get a no name it should be someone like Teddy Bruschi. He has no experience as a coach that I know of, but he knows football - particularly defensive football - and has a passion for the game and its players that has no equal. He makes good money, I suppose at the WWL, but watching him you have to think he can barely sit still in his chair, and would much rather be involved. In fact, I can see him head butting in warm ups, and coming off the field to slug an opposing player. It would be a huge risk, but if the names we really want say thank you, but no, I actually believe I would rather have him than a generic unknown.
We don't need another recruiter. We need a tactician. DeRuyter is that. He has taken two units, in very different settings (Ohio and Air Force), from the bottom of their conference to near the top.
Plus he has an MBA which is pretty cool for a DC.
I'd much rather have him than Smart (who is unproven so long as he is coaching under Saban).
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