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22 Changes out of 117 Div. 1A schools: Who do you pick for SU

2004 I-A Coaching Changes

Team / 2004 Coach / 2005 Coach
BYU / Gary Crowton / Bronco Mendenhall
East Carolina / John Thompson / Skip Holtz
Florida / Ron Zook / Urban Meyer
Illinois / Ron Turner / Ron Zook
Indiana / Gerry DiNardo / Terry Hoeppner
LSU / Nick Saban / Les Miles
Miami (Ohio) / Terry Hoeppner / Shane Montgomery
New Mexico State / Tony Samuel / Hal Mumme
Notre Dame / Tyrone Willingham / Charlie Weis
Ohio / Brian Knorr / Frank Solich
Oklahoma State / Les Miles / Mike Gundy
Ole Miss / David Cutcliffe / Ed Orgeron
Pittsburgh / Walt Harris / Dave Wannstedt
San Jose State / Fitz Hill / [deleted] Tomey
South Carolina / Lou Holtz / Steve Spurrier
Stanford / Buddy Teevens / Walt Harris
Syracuse / Paul Pasqualoni / ?
UNLV / John Robinson / Mike Sanford
Utah / Urban Meyer / Kyle Whittingham
Utah State / Mick Dennehy / Brent Guy
Washington / Keith Gilbertson / Tyrone Willingham
Western Michigan / Gary Darnell / Bill Cubit

SU is holding out for Todd Dodge (SLC)........

SWC2010 , YOU GOT JOKES

From the start, the model to fill the Syracuse University football coaching vacancy has been someone with professional and college experience.

Until Monday, the known candidates were college coaches. Now, at least three candidates have emerged from the NFL side, according to a source familiar with Syracuse's search.

They are:

Defensive coordinator Tim Lewis of the New York Giants.

Defensive coordinator Jerry Gray of the Buffalo Bills.

Quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell of the Indianapolis Colts.

Additionally, defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson of the New York Jets may be a candidate.

SU athletics director Daryl Gross said Monday night that he has not hired a coach and declined to discuss any candidates beyond those previously mentioned - Oklahoma assistant Bo Pelini, Texas assistant Greg Robinson and Connecticut head coach Randy Edsall.

Syracuse television station WIXT-9 on Monday quoted an unnamed source as saying that Pelini and Syracuse have been in discussions about the job. The source told the station that Pelini would accept the job, if offered, and that Pelini had already begun assembling a staff.

Pelini, however, told The Oklahoman of Oklahoma City

on Monday night that the report was untrue and that he has had no contact with Gross.

Gross said he spent all day Monday working on the search and has a strong group of candidates.

"I'm proud of our pool of people. It's well represented. I'm aware of a lot of people. We kind of try to narrow it down from there. I don't want to get into specific numbers. I like the pool of people."

All four NFL assistants are African-American. In recent years, minority defensive coordinators have been making the jump to NFL head jobs.

Marvin Lewis left the defensive coordinator role of the Washington Redskins for the head job of the Cincinnati Bengals; Herm Edwards left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the New York Jets; Lovie Smith left the St. Louis Rams for the Chicago Bears; Tony Dungy left the Minnesota Vikings for the Bucs and now the Jets. All four are African-Americans.

Lewis, 43, is a former player with the Pittsburgh Panthers (1979-82) and Green Bay Packers (1983-86). He was the first assistant coach hired by former SU player and Giants head coach Tom Coughlin last January. Lewis spent four seasons as defensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers before joining Coughlin. In 2001, his unit led the NFL in total defense. Lewis coached at Texas A&M, Pittsburgh and Southern Methodist before moving to the pro ranks.

"Tim Lewis is a very impressive young coordinator and play-caller," Coughlin said at the time of Lewis' hiring. "He had great success over the last four years, and I have watched him develop because we competed in the same division (when Coughlin coached the Jacksonville Jaguars). His style will establish toughness and an aggressive style of play."

The Giants finished 13th out of 31 teams this season in total defense.

Gray just completed his eighth year coaching in the NFL and his fourth with the Bills. A two-time All-American at the University of Texas (1983-84), Gray played nine seasons in the NFL with the Rams, Oilers and Buccaneers. He began his coaching career at SMU before accepting a four-year stint with the Tennessee Titans. The Bills finished second in total defense this season.

Caldwell, 49, is coaching the NFL's hottest quarterback, Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts. Prior to joining the Colts, he spent eight years as head coach at Wake Forest (1993-00). Caldwell previously worked as an assistant coach at Southern Illinois, Northwestern, Colorado, Louisville and Penn State before getting the head job at Wake. Caldwell coached one year in Tampa Bay (2001) before joining the Colts.

Robinson, who returned to Austin on Sunday after the team's Rose Bowl victory over Michigan, could not be reached for comment. Texas spokesman Bill Little said that Robinson "would look for the rig

Robinson, who returned to Austin on Sunday after the team's Rose Bowl victory over Michigan, could not be reached for comment. Texas spokesman Bill Little said that Robinson "would look for the right job. If this is the right job, he might have interest in it."

Gross called Robinson a "big-time candidate. He's a heck of a coach, great ball coach, just like a lot of guys that are in this pool of that caliber."

While Edsall has been non-committal about his candidacy, Gross called the UConn coach "another big-time-caliber candidate. I'm very well aware of him and his tenure and all the things he's done."

Pelini is coaching Oklahoma tonight in the national championship game against Southern Cal. That Gross is completing his duties as associate director of athletics for the Trojans has made for delicate discussions.

Gross would only add he's being thorough and making sure "I hit everybody before making any final decision.

"I'm working hard at this thing. I really want it to be special fast and special for a long time. That's the goal."

http://www.syracuse.com/sports/poststan ... 113640.xml

Former SMU def. back coach Tim Lewis (now with NY Giants) remains a candidate for the Syracuse HC job.

from today's Syracuse Post-Standard:

The feeling here is that Lewis, who turned 43 last month, has been the favorite regardless of the Jets' playoff status. Lewis joined SU graduate Tom Coughlin as defensive coordinator of the Giants this season after parting ways with Steelers coach Bill Cowher following the 2003 season. He did a great job with a unit that was decimated by injuries, keeping the team competitive while it was rebuilding its offense under rookie quarterback Eli Manning.

Lewis' defenses at Pittsburgh ranked seventh, first, seventh and ninth in the NFL in his four years there as coordinator. He also coached defensive backs for five seasons at Pittsburgh before being promoted to coordinator.

The Pennsylvania native starred as a defensive back at the University of Pittsburgh and was a first-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers in 1983. A neck injury ended his playing career in 1986, and he began coaching the following season at Texas A&M for Jackie Sherrill, who had been his coach at Pitt. He also coached defensive backs at Southern Methodist and Pitt before joining the Steelers.

Lewis is a rising star who was one of five finalists last month for the head coach at Pitt, which eventually went to fellow Panthers alum and former Miami Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt

Uh, did nobody here notice that Jerry Gray was a DB coach at SMU as well?

http://buffalobills.com/team/coach.jsp?coach_id=3

Thanks, leopold! My reading comprehension is not what it used to be.

Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Associated Press

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Texas co-defensive coordinator Greg Robinson was hired as coach at Syracuse on Tuesday, his first head coaching job in a 30-year career.

"We're very excited about coming here to Syracuse," Robinson said at a news conference. "I've been waiting 30 years for this."

Robinson, 53, spent last season with the Longhorns but was an NFL assistant for 14 years, including stints as defensive coordinator with Kansas City and Denver. Robinson, a Californian, also was an assistant with the New York Jets from 1990 to 1994.

Robinson succeeds Paul Pasqualoni, who was fired Dec. 29, eight days after Syracuse lost to Georgia Tech 51-14 in the Champs Sports Bowl.

Pasqualoni was 107-59-1 and 6-3 in bowl games at Syracuse, but the Orange struggled to break even the last three years after going 10-3 and finishing 14th in the nation in 2001.

Robinson was hired by new athletic Daryl Gross, who took over in December. Gross said he wanted a defensive-minded coach, and Robinson made a big impact in his one year at Texas, which finished 11-1 and beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

During the regular season, the Longhorns allowed 102 fewer points than they gave up in 12 games last season. The defense did not allow a third-quarter touchdown, and held opponents to just a 27 percent conversion rate on third down.

at least Tim Lewis did not get the job, what an [deleted] he was!