PonyFans.com

From the SMU athletic department:

Stanley departs SMU football coaching staff
Offensive line coach returns to Kansas State in same capacity

DALLAS, TEXAS -- SMU assistant football coach Bob Stanley has resigned from his post and will rejoin the coaching staff at Kansas State. Stanley will coach the offensive line under Bill Snyder at K-State.

"Bob did a very good job for us last season and I appreciate his efforts," said Mustang head coach Phil Bennett. "This is a very good opportunity for Bob and I wish him well."

Stanley, a 1968 graduate of Texas, came with Bennett from Kansas State in December of 2001. Stanley was an offensive graduate assistant there for the 2000 and 2001 seasons.

A search for Stanley's replacement will begin immediately.

Do we want to consider bringing back Ramon Flanigan as an assistant coach? Some things to consider:

--> If I'm not mistaken, he recently was named offensive coordinator at NTSU. Coach Bennett certainly wouldn't unseat Larry Edmondson as OC in favor of Flanigan, so we undoubtedly would have to match the money he's making at NTSU and make him a position coach. He might view it as a step down, but there's also the allure of going home to coach at your alma mater.

--> I always subscribed to the school of thought that Flanigan was a better athlete than he was a football player, but the folks in Denton clearly think very highly of him. He might well be a very good coach, and therefore worth considering. Coach Dickey is a very good coach, and for Coach Dickey to entrust his offense to such a young (what is he, 28?) coach speaks volumes about Flanigan's ability.

--> He is touted up in Denton as a very good recruiter .... which is crucial in the wake of the departure of Coach Stanley and Coach Giles. He knows Dallas, and might be well-suited to recruit DFW.

And what about the castoffs from Texas A&M and Baylor? I know former Baylor assistant (and SMU graduate assistant and Highland Park head coach) Scott Smith is the head coach at Odessa Permian. But does anyone have a list of the other guys who are looking for work?

I'd love to know who A&M's offensive line coach and defensive line coach were. And what kind of recruiters they are.

Baylor's quarterbacks coach was ex-Nebraska star Tommie Frazier, and as far as I know, he hasn't surfaced anywhere. He's young, charismatic, and a big name. And doesn't Coach Bennett want to add a little more option to the offense? There's nobody better at the option than Tommie Frazier. And at least by Baylor standards, he was thought to be a terrific recruiter.

Wouldn't he be a good fit?

Tommie Frazier would be a great fit. Let him coach QBs, RBs - someone. But he's a name the kids would recognize (from PlayStation if not from watching him run through the Florida defense a few years ago.)

Two other guys with Nebraska connections to keep an eye out for:
1. Nebraska offensive line coach Milt Tenopir
2. Nebraska defensive ends (or "rush ends," in Husker-speak) coach Nelson Barnes

Both were canned at the end of this season by Frank Solich in an attempt to save his own job. Barnes supposedly has a lot of Texas ties, and is supposed to be a real good recruiter. And I'd say Tenopir has put together some decent lines in Lincoln, don't ya'll think?

Does anyone know how Tim Nuñez's interview went? He seems to have done a great job with the offensive line at UT, and I hear he can really recruit. Might be a perfect fit.

When are the coaching vacancies expected to be filled?

I read someplace that Coach Bennett hopes to have them filled within a couple of weeks.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">He seems to have done a great job with the offensive line at UT, and I hear he can really recruit</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

wrong on both counts. That would be a terrible move.

Really? Have I been given bad information? What's wrong with Nuñez?

I'll handle part of this answer.

Having an assistant come in from UT would be good on recruiting counts, because then we would strengthen our ties to UT. However, UT's Oline is the weakest part of their team. They often set up differently depending on run or pass and give the play away. This is denied by coach brown, but OU says it, other opponents say it, and in fact Mike Williams had to have his stances re-adjusted when he was drafted by the Bills last year because, as his coach said, "He was giving away whether it was a run or a pass based on how he set up for the play".

So, there is a lot of complaining about the O-line at UT .

Nunez is not known as a recruiter. Not on that staff, at least.

He also just got canned because UT couldn't run the ball. The finished around 75th in the country per rush. Can you imagine having that passing game yet still not be able to run the ball? I think they've gotten 75 yards rushing against OU the last 3 years COMBINED. They did this with the likes of Leonard Davis and Mike Williams, Top 5 picks in consecutive drafts, and another AA this year, Derrick Dockery.

After Ricky Williams' first year, Texas has gotten worse and worse running the ball and basically can't do it against really good teams. A lot of people complain about a scheme that didn't match the players' strength. I don' know how much Nunez had a say in scheme, but as pointed out above, technique was poor also.

Tim Nunez is, as far as I know, the only coached ever fired by Mack Brown.