SI Mandel Comments on SMU search

[that's great raplh]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blo ... ball/ncaa/


· My reaction to Rick Neuheisel-to-UCLA: What took them so long? Yes, the guy has an undeniably shady past, but he's also a pretty smart cookie. He waited more than four years for his chance at redemption (and it wound up coming at his alma mater, no less). He knows full well he can't afford to screw this one up.

Meanwhile, the Bruins got themselves a career 66-30 coach who's produced three top-10 teams and who knows the Pac-10 well -- and they got him for the unbelievably cheap price of $1.25 million a year. (Duke is paying new coach David Cutcliffe more than that.)

Expect the USC-UCLA rivalry to get a whole lot more interesting in the next few years.

· Meanwhile, SMU has now gone more than two months without a coach, and all indications are the long-suffering Dallas school is waiting for the opportunity to woo Hawaii's Jones, who himself has done little to dismiss the possibility, mostly brushing off such questions. It's definitely a hovering issue, as I heard one of those Warriors fans on my flight tell another, "I just hope we keep our coach."

SMU's interest in Jones makes perfect sense. His run-and-shoot offense helped Hawaii make a dramatic turnaround as soon as he arrived in 1999 (jumping from 0-12 to 9-4) and would almost certainly lift the Mustangs to their first bowl game since 1984 (pre-death penalty). I'm sure the school has some deep-pocketed boosters that could float him a sweetheart deal.

I just don't understand why Jones would want to go there. Not only is he at home, he's a guaranteed hero there for as long as he coaches. I could see him leaving to take another stab at the NFL, but not to take over a struggling Conference USA program. Maybe I'm being naïve.

[mustangbill67]

Let's see, early 30's and a kid during Pony Express days. Probably is naive