GarageGabs

Somebody has high blood pressure.

Honestly, I get where Coach is coming from, but this is excessive.

ESPN is reporting that the Chargers have fired Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer 

I just don’t get this move.  Well, yeah I do….sorta.  After losing both coordinators and a couple of other coaches, Chargers brass decided that the Marty headache just wasn’t worth it any more.

Whatever.  The guy got you to 14-2 with an untested QB and no real wide receivers.  Also, everyone knows that Marty and G.M. A.J. Smith do not get along.  The Chargers aren’t trying to hide that this was the biggest part of the equation.  So now the Chargers are left without a coaching staff in what is a very thin head coaching market.  There just aren’t any big names left.  I’ll have more on this later, I just wanted to jump in while the jumping was good.

 

 

ESPN is reporting that Wade Phillips will be the next Dallas Cowboys head coach.  As a Dallas fan, I can’t say that I’m all that excited, but honestly, I don’t really think it would have mattered much who they hired.  I only say that because the crop of available coaches sucked in my opinion.

 

Of the available choices, Phillips was probably the best, since he has had major success with the 3-4 defense…most recently in San Diego.  Also, I think Phillips is simply going to keep the seat warm in Dallas, until Jason Garrett is ready to take over as head coach.  Garrett was hired by Dallas, but his job has not yet been defined.  It has been speculated that he will be the offensive coordinator, so the hiring of Phillips makes even more sense. 

 

I’m very happy it wasn’t Norv Turner.  I believe Turner’s days as a top offensive play caller are over, and in fact he may be a bit burnt out.  IIf Wade is anywhere near as popular as his father(Bum Phillips) was in Texas, he should be just fine.

 

In other Cowboys news Terrell Owens has said that he hopes Phillips does a better job of coaching than Bill Parcells so that he can catch the ball better.

 

Anyway, on to a new era in Dallas.

 

Sources: Cowboys To Name Phillips New Head Coach  (ESPN.com)

In a move everyone knew was coming, Bill Cowher called it quits today as the Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  It’s been widely speculated that this move would come ever since Cowher bought a home in Raleigh, NC in May of last year. It is also speculated that Cowher’s retirement isn’t permanent…it may just be a one year hiatus.  We’ll see.  Cowher retires with a 140-90-1 record with the Steelers including a Super Bowl win last year.  The guy is a legend here in NC as he has North Carolina State ties.  Best of luck to Bill and his family.

Art Shell moved on in a different way as he was fired by Al Davis today.  Honestly, I think this has to be a relief for Shell.  The sides were supposed to come to an agreement tomorrow, but I bet Shell sat down and said “don’t worry about hurting my feelings….FIRE ME PLEASE”.  There is no way he could have known what he was getting himself into when he signed up to coach this team.   No clue where the Raiders go from here, anyone that takes that job has to be crazy.  I would expect most of the Raiders offensive staff to be gone with Shell.  I don’t think John Shoop showed enough in 5 games as offensive coordinator to hang around.  Good luck with that #1 pick.

I found this clip on a VCR tape this morning while rummaging through some of my old stuff. It’s Jim Valvano appearing on David Letterman doing a pretty humorous interview. I’m assuming this was in 1987 as Valvano congratulates Letterman and says “great game” in regard to Indiana. (Indiana won the National Championship in ‘97) If anyone knows the actual date for sure, I’d love to know. Sorry about the quality, I had to transfer this from a 20 year old VHS tape, to my computer, to YouTube, so I did the best I could with it. Also, it ends a little early….go figure, I was a kid. Enjoy, this is classic Jim Valvano, the man loved to talk and laugh.

If you want the direct Youtube link, go here

I’ve got several other tapes with mid 80’s stuff on them, I’ll be adding more later.

It’s early January, and unlike many people I care about the NBA.  Not in a motherly love type way, I’m just saying I enjoy watching the NBA every chance I get.  I especially like watching some of the younger, run and gun teams get out and play.  I don’t care for this Pat Riley situation and the stir it is causing…..or not causing for that matter.  I can’t believe more people aren’t pointing out the convenience of Pat Riley’s departure….or at least spinning it.
Remember, it was just over a year ago that Riley (who also happens to be Heat president) decided to replace Stan Van Gundy with none other than himself as the Miami Heat head coach.   It’s important to remember that Van Gundy had taken the Heat to the finals the year before, only to lose a game 7 to the Detroit Pistons without Dwayne Wade and Shaquille Oneal.  At the time Gundy left to “spend time with his family” (yeah right) he had the Heat at 11-10, and was just getting Shaq into the lineup.  (Oneal had played just three games)  It was a strange time to have a coach removed.  My friend Mac would later scoff at the move mentioning that Riley wished to hog the Heat championship spotlight for himself….in short, Mac felt Riley hopped aboard the Heat bandwagon at a VERY convenient time.  In fact, many speculated that it wasn’t some passion for coaching that brought Riley back, but a more prominent Miami Heat team.  Riley loves to be in the spotlight was the theory.
The Heat continued to win after Riley took over, rolling all the way to the NBA Finals where Dwayne Wade willed them to a Championship.  Funny, I never heard one thing about Riley’s knee during that time, but then again, I didn’t even know he had knees.  It just wasn’t a story.  Riley stepped in and saved a team that couldn’t find itself, and led them to a Championship.

WHATEVER!

Now, with the Heat stuck at 13-18, and an injured Shaq and Wade, Riley is taking a “leave of absence” to have his knee fixed.  He can’t bear the pain and meds anymore he says.  Give me a break!  Dude can’t stand losing is the problem.  He’s going to step away and you’ll see him back if and when the Heat get good again.  What’s good again?  Shaq and Wade in the lineup is good again.  I give this situation a little over a month.  This is the Eastern Conference…all the Heat have to do is get that combo to the playoffs for a legitimate chance at a Finals run.

I’m sure Riley’s knee really is bothering him.  It’s just a little too convenient for me that he decides to take the time off now.  Not only are the Heat injury riddled, but Nick Saban is stealing all headlines from Riley.  It really doesn’t matter.  It’s not as if anything Riley does will make or break this team.  I’m sure if the Heat were #1 in the East right now Riley could coach through the pain.  Now he has another chance to set himself up as savior.  In a few weeks the Heat will be picking up stride.  Around that same time Pat Riley will return to the bench.  They’ll play good basketball down the stretch and make the playoffs thanks to the old ball coach.  What a gamer!

ESPN Pat Riley Poll 

Wow, this is a surprise huh? Nick Saban has finally arrived at the decision to coach Alabama next season….just two weeks after saying he wouldn’t. Of course there is no way to be certain what type of success he will have at Alabama, but I am entirely certain that Saban would make one hell of a politician in any state.

Here’s the rundown on Saban’s “flip flopping” in recent weeks per ESPN:

Nov. 27:
Saban: “When I was in college it was always about coming to the pros. This is the challenge I wanted. I had a good college job. Why would I have left that if I was going to be interested in other college jobs?
“I took this as a challenge. We certainly haven’t seen this through and gotten where we want to go and finished the job here, so why would I be interested in something else?”
Dec. 5:
Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga (after giving Saban a vote of confidence): “I am completely sold on Nick Saban. I would admit we made a mistake if we did make a mistake, but I firmly believe in Nick Saban.”
Dec. 7:
Saban: “I’m flattered that they may have been interested in me, but it never really progressed, because we just never let it progress.”
Dec. 21:
Saban: “I guess I have to say it. I’m not going to be the Alabama coach. … I don’t control what people say. I don’t control what people put on dot-com or anything else. So I’m just telling you there’s no significance, in my opinion, about this, about me, about any interest that I have in anything other than being the coach here.
Dec. 27:
Saban: “I’m just making a rule to never comment on something like that again because every time you comment on it, it just makes for another story. So I’m not going to comment on it five years from now, and I’m not going to comment on it next week.”

So, now that this surprising news story has been broken, ESPN asks all the “burning questions” (the questions that you were burning to ask) about Nick Saban in THIS POLL. I know you can’t wait to fill this out. I dunno, maybe ESPN feels this is a bigger story than it is, but I just don’t see it.

Be that as it may, I will answer a few burning questions for you as well:
Will Saban win at Alabama: Yes. He’ll have them in a Bowl next year, although I doubt a BCS Bowl…..wait, that happened this year? Huh, you can go .500 and make a Bowl? How long will he stay at Alabama? Until he starts losing, or a more secure situation comes along. For example, I think Saban would jump back to the pros if he had a chance to coach a proven winner. I can’t say that I blame him for bolting from the Dolphins and all their question marks. Who will the Dolphins hire to replace Saban? I’ve heard Dennis Green is available. I’m telling you, they need to make a pitch for Randy Moss and re-unite the Vikings in sunny Florida! Hey, I bet they could more easily rent a boat in Florida!! Ok, I’m going off track here. I have no idea who they’ll replace Saban with. Long story short, Saban left Miami and their eccentric owner for a college team. End of story.

State pulled a fast one by hiring Boston College Head Coach Tom O’Brien. O’Brien’s name was in the mix, but this move was pretty unexpected. Kudos to NC State Athletic Director, Lee Fowler for keeping this one under wraps. O’Brien has coached the last 10 seasons and Boston College and has led the program to national prominence.

N&O Story

PackPride: Fowler Got It Right This Time

Well, that’s one down. I can’t say that I didn’t see this coming. I’m actually quite glad that he went ahead and took his name on the mix. Now maybe people will focus on candidates that are more likely

Cowher Has No Interst In NCSU Job

Also, Norm Chow and David Cutcliffe say they haven’t been approached yet.

A few other names are popping up. As far as I know, Bill Cowher has not turned down the job yet either, so that pretty much blows up Adam Gold’s blog.

Here are the names in the mix currently:

Paul Johnson (Navy)- My pick if we can’t have Cowher.
Bill Cowher (Pittsburgh Steelers) Not happening
Jimbo Fisher (LSU assistant) Possible, but if Alabama wants him, he’s off the board
Norm Chow (Tennessee Titans assistant) Love to have him, but highly unlikely
David Cutcliffe (Tennessee Vol’s assistant) Has shown interest, I’d say his chances are rising.

Steve Logan His name has been “brought up” I can tell you now, NC State fans would NOT be happy with this hire. Not happening.