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I'll throw out the name Turner Gill. Anybody else have a prediction or a recommendation?

Rick Neuheisel

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/3492453.html

no indication of possible successor

I suspect Rice needs the same sort of coach as SMU. Meaning a coach who is willing to knock heads with the administration to get what he wants and needs. I am not sure that Rick N is the guy to do that. He comes will baggage and thus is in a weak position with the academic pinheads. There will be probably 10 NFL head coaches unemployed by the end of the year including Houston Texans' coach. You know he might be a good choice for Rice. He is known in town. Kids know he was an NFL head coach. He might be able to be tough with the Rice administration.

has Hatfield been fired?

Hatfield 'resigned' today after publicly stating yesterday that he was staying.

I dobt they wait three weeks to hire someon much less three months. Recruiting is in full swing - they will lose an entire yr if they wait too long.

can't recruit from about December 21-January 4 either.

In the second half of the RICE game, some Houston/RICE folks sat behind us. They indicated then that Hatfield was gone and that R.C. Slocum was rumored to be next. I can't see R.C. leaving CS. But, these guys sometimes just have to have a 'head' gig.

I pity the poor guy who gets that job-I really do especially if he wants to run a passing offense. You saw how bad their throwing QBs were. They can't go out and recruit a JC QB. Assuming Rice wants to run a West Coast or throwing offense it would take 3 years to get the right personnel. They got too few WRs and to many RBs -no Passing QBs. THIS IS A MESS. I guess Slocum could come in and put together a running game but I think they're done with that approach. The switch from Wishbone to West Coast offense can be brutal especially if you don't have a QB that can make the trasition. They don't. Expect at least 3 years of misery for Rice if they go to a passing attack.

Stallion wrote:I pity the poor guy who gets that job-I really do especially if he wants to run a passing offense. You saw how bad their throwing QBs were. They can't go out and recruit a JC QB. Assuming Rice wants to run a West Coast or throwing offense it would take 3 years to get the right personnel. They got too few WRs and to many RBs -no Passing QBs. THIS IS A MESS. I guess Slocum could come in and put together a running game but I think they're done with that approach. The switch from Wishbone to West Coast offense can be brutal especially if you don't have a QB that can make the trasition. They don't. Expect at least 3 years of misery for Rice if they go to a passing attack.

This sounds like the SMU job 4 years ago, and we have had 3 1/2 years of misery.

The Rice job especially since the building of Ford has always been a far worse job than the SMU job. Rice just was lucky enough to get a fundamentally sound coach like Hatfield that made them respectable. Perhaps it was time for a change or perhaps its time for Rice to drop to Division 1AA if they don't want to run a Division 1A program

Stallion wrote: Perhaps it was time for a change or perhaps its time for Rice to drop to Division 1AA if they don't want to run a Division 1A program

This would not surprise me. Didn't they recently vote on doing that and decided to stay in D1, but with the retirement of Hatfield, I could see the decision process start over and Rice goes to D1AA.

Who would you want to replace them in CUSA? LAtech, UNT, other.

One thing that surprises me about Rice and JUCOs for football is that they are able to get JUCOs and transfers in for Baseball. If you look at their Baseball roster, they have 7 JUCOs and 5 transfers from other 4 year schools.

You would think that if they can get JUCO players in for Baseball, they should be able to do it for Football, too.

and they do have that pe/kinesiology(sp) department that we don't have