ESPN INSIDER COACH CONFIDENTIAL

[NickSMU17]

BACK IN JUNE, we started asking FBS coaches some tough questions about their sport. Assistants were easier to grab (of the 55 coaches we spoke to, 11 were head men, 44 were assistants). But based on the responses to WHO IMPACTS THE GAME MORE, THE HEAD COACH OR HIS ASSISTANTS? maybe we shouldn't have bothered with the big bosses at all -- 70.9 percent went with the assistants, including all 11 head coaches. In the words of one ACC front man, "We just go to all the meet-and-greets and decide whether to kick or go for it sometimes." That's okay, Coach. For Confidential, we value your opinions just the same.

NATION'S BEST PLAYER?
Dumb question. Stanford star QB Andrew Luck won in a landslide, with 77.8 percent. More interesting is that about one in 10 coaches (9.2 percent, to be exact) went with another guy who could have been a first-round pick but decided to return to school: Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon, who had 111 catches for 1,782 yards last year. "I thought Dez Bryant was great," says one Big 12 assistant. "But Blackmon is harder to deal with because he's more slippery."

TRUE/FALSE: CHEATING ON THE RECRUITING TRAIL IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM.
Coaches had an interesting take on this one. The vast majority (83.6 percent) answered "true." But almost all of them explained that it was because of a buildup of small transgressions, not extravagant gifts. "It's a major problem," an SEC assistant says. "But it ain't cars. It's phone calls, visits, that kind of stuff."

35 BOWLS ARE ...
More than half (56.4 percent) say having 70 postseason teams (a record set last year that will be repeated in 2011) is just right. "Teams with a winning record deserve a bowl game," says a Pac-12 coach. But many of those voters also admit they understand why 40 percent feel that 35 bowls are too many. "Bowl season has gotten watered down," says a head coach. "But for players and coaches, we love them. Just don't add any more."


WHO'S MORE ANNOYING, YOUR BOOSTERS OR COMPLIANCE DEPARTMENT?
Boosters took some heat (34.5 percent), but not as much as the compliance department (45.5 percent). "They're just trying to protect their own asses -- compliance doesn't care about the football team," says a Pac-12 assistant. Twenty percent said they like 'em both.

WHO WILL WIN THE BCS TITLE?
The two top picks, Alabama and Oklahoma, return a combined 33 starters. But our voters tabbed the Tide (47.2 percent to OU's 30.2 percent) for their second title in three years. "I know they lost a lot on offense," says an SEC assistant. "But I don't know how anybody's going to score on them. That whole roster is all NFL guys."

IF YOU WERE IN JIM TRESSEL'S SHOES, WOULD YOU HAVE REPORTED THE POTENTIAL VIOLATIONS OR KEPT THEM TO YOURSELF?
We didn't find a lot of Jim Tressel support out there, but we did find some. "I probably would've done the same thing," says an ACC assistant. But 82.4 percent disagreed, vowing they'd have come forward with the allegations. "I get why he did what he did," says a Big Ten assistant. "But it's hammered into our heads to report, report, report."

DO YOU EVER GET APPROACHED BY PEOPLE WHO SEEM TO BE LOOKING FOR GAMBLING INFORMATION?
Most coaches didn't know what we were talking about. But 20 percent did. "You see gamblers around sometimes," says a head coach. "I just try to say as little as possible, especially about injuries."

IF COLLEGE FOOTBALL STARTED FROM SCRATCH, WOULD YOU PREFER THE CURRENT BCS SYSTEM OR A PLAYOFF?
Last March, the American Football Coaches Association polled 117 of the 120 FBS head coaches and discovered that 93 percent favored the current postseason structure over a playoff. Interesting, because when we asked for the best way to decide a champ, 72.7 percent of coaches (and six of the 11 head coaches) said they want a playoff. According to one SEC assistant, "We all say we love the bowls, and we do. But we're all competitive people too, so behind closed doors, we all wish there were a playoff to decide it on the field."

BEST COACH IN THE COUNTRY?
Let's take a tour through TCU history. From 1960 to 2000, the Horned Frogs won three conference titles and played in six bowl games. Since 2001 -- the Gary Patterson era -- they have won four league championships and have made nine bowl appearances. No wonder Patterson's peers voted him into the top slot, just ahead of runner-up Nick Saban, 23.1 percent to 19.4 percent. "A sign of a great head coach is someone who built a program -- Bowden, Paterno, Coach K in basketball," says an admiring Big 12 head coach. "That's what Gary has done at TCU."

SHOULD PLAYERS BE PAID MORE THAN A SCHOLARSHIP?
This was the most divisive issue on our survey. The scales tipped 52.7 percent for "yes" and 47.3 percent for "no." "The more Tim Tebow jerseys I saw in the crowd, the more I felt like players deserve more money," says an SEC assistant.

HOW MUCH MORE?
When we asked the "yes" voters that question, the average answer was $460 per month.