Trump change

[Water Pony]

Enjoy, this is a hoot:

Trump change

With coaches going from penthouse to outhouse faster than 'the Donald' finds a new apprentice, we chart the moves

By Teddy Greenstein
Tribune college football reporter

December 2, 2004

Ron Turner might be the last of his kind. Illinois didn't dismiss him until his sixth losing season.

For many other coaches, two or three bad years mean a trip to the unemployment line. And it doesn't matter how much dough is left on your contract.

You can blame the trend on two-faced college presidents who demand high graduation rates and high rankings or unrealistic athletic directors who expect overnight miracles. Or you can blame it on the coaches who have turned coal quickly into diamonds.

Southern Cal was buried before Pete Carroll arrived. Oklahoma was third-rate before Bob Stoops arrived. Cal was more famous for hippies until Jeff Tedford appeared. Mike Price transformed UTEP from 2-9 to 8-3 in one season.

So the ADs keep dreaming, and the coaching carousel keeps spinning. A look at the 15 Division I-A vacancies:

THE MONSTER PROGRAMS

NOTRE DAME
You're fired: Tyrone Willingham
Mr. Trump will see you now: Urban Meyer, Kirk Ferentz, Charlie Weis, Jeff Tedford
Bottom line: It's either the most coveted job in college sports or the toughest. Notre Dame's board of trustees wants a football powerhouse, and there will be no excuses for a failure to deliver.

FLORIDA
You're fired: Ron Zook
Mr. Trump will see you now: Meyer, Bobby Petrino, Butch Davis, Bob Stoops
Bottom line: Gator bosses were so eager to fire Zook they didn't even wait until November. His crime? Losing 14 games in four seasons--and a childish confrontation at a fraternity house. New president, Bernie Machen, came from University of Utah.

BIG CONFERENCES, BIG DREAMS

ILLINOIS
You're fired: Ron Turner
Mr. Trump will see you now: Zook, Tim Brewster, Mike Leach
Bottom line: The verdict is split: Is Illinois a sleeping giant or a basketball school doomed for Big Ten mediocrity? Turner brought out the program's best (2002 Sugar Bowl) and worst (0-11 mark in 2003 against Division I-A teams).

INDIANA
You're fired: Gerry DiNardo
Mr. Trump will see you now: Frank Solich, Petrino
Bottom line: A controversial firing because DiNardo had Indiana on the right track and was given just three years to beautify a train wreck. New AD Rick Greenspan nearly hired Solich to coach Army last year.

MISSISSIPPI
You're fired: David Cutcliffe
Mr. Trump will see you now: Zook, Ed Orgeron (Southern Cal DL coach)
Bottom line: Just a year ago, Ole Miss extended Cutcliffe's contract as reward for a 10-3 season. But despite losing No. 1 overall pick Eli Manning, Cutcliffe was cut no slack. His refusal to dismiss some of his assistants reportedly led to his pink slip.

STANFORD
You're fired: Buddy Teevens
Mr. Trump will see you now: Walt Harris, Dan Hawkins, Norm Chow
Bottom line: Teevens got the boot after a 4-2 start turned into 4-7 disaster. A 41-6 pasting by Cal in the Big Game was the final straw. If Stanford wants to beat USC next year, what better way than to hire Chow, the brains behind their explosive offense?

WASHINGTON
You're fired: Keith Gilbertson
Mr. Trump will see you now: Willingham, Hawkins, Tedford, Petrino
Bottom line: Two seasons were probably enough for Gilbertson, who followed a 6-6 campaign by going 1-10. Huskies seem enamored with Willingham.

RETURN TO GLORY?

BRIGHAM YOUNG
You're fired: Gary Crowton
Mr. Trump will see you now: Chuck Long, Chow
Bottom line: Crowton actually won his first 12 games in Provo, but the Bears' former offensive coordinator couldn't maintain tradition established by LaVell Edwards. It didn't help to have Meyer working miracles up the road at rival Utah.

STEPPINGSTONES

EAST CAROLINA
You're fired: John Thompson
Mr. Trump will see you now: Zook, Skip Holtz
Bottom line: Impatient Pirates fired Thompson after just two seasons. OK, he did go 3-20.

[Water Pony]

Trump change


NEW MEXICO STATE
You're fired: Tony Samuel
Bottom line: Samuel got plenty of chances, going 34-57 over eight seasons. Aggies move from Sun Belt to WAC in '05.

OHIO
You're fired: Brian Knorr
Bottom line: Knorr, a former Air Force captain, went 11-35 in four seasons. Former Northwestern administrator Thomas Boeh is Bobcats' athletic director.

SAN JOSE STATE
He had enough: Fitz Hill
Bottom line: Spartans also need to hire an athletic director. Alum Bill Walsh has been hired to help in that search.

UTAH STATE
You're fired: Mick Dennehy
Bottom line: After winning big at Division I-AA Montana, Dennehy lost his mojo at Utah State, going 19-37.

WESTERN MICHIGAN
You're fired: Gary Darnell
Bottom line: Winless MAC record in '04 doomed Darnell, who went 31-15 in his first four seasons.

UNLV
He had enough: John Robinson
Bottom line: After bringing respectability back to the program, J-Rob resigned because of health reasons.

Copyright © 2004, The Chicago Tribune

[Lotus]

Pretty interesting stuff.
Hadn't thought of the Solich-to-Indiana possibility. I bet that happens.
My take on other jobs:
Notre Dame - Urban Meyer
Utah - Dan Hawkins
Boise State - a current BSU assistant
Washington - Ty Willingham
Stanford - Norm Chow
Florida - Butch Davis
BYU - no idea, but I don't see Chuck Long there
Ole Miss - Petrino
Illinois - Zook

[leopold]

Petrino won't go to Ole Miss - he'd be a fool to do so. He's at a school that's entering a BCS conference that they should be at the top every year now as compared to coaching Ole Miss against Alabama, LSU, and Auburn, and Arkansas every year - with fans who think that they can be 10-3 every year. Louisville can keep the salary in the same ballpark, too.

Zook went straight to the Ole Miss campus after leaving Champagne. Word is the boosters want him - they same ones who wanted Cutcliff gone. Look for either him or possibly Tommy West, head coach at Memphis.

[DallasDiehard]

I wouldn't be upset to see West leave Memphis. He's a hell of a coach.