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Since Bowl Season is coming to an end, we thought it would be the perfect time to discuss some interesting changes that have happened here at the end of the 2019 NCAA Football Season.

Let’s start with a couple coach firings and hiring’s that have taken place recently.

Coach of Inexperience or Coach of the Future

Many have asked my opinion of the Missouri Tigers firing of Barry Odom and the hiring of Eliah Drinkwitz, who was the Head Coach at Appalachian State. Although Odom was a Missouri alumnus and had been the Defensive Coordinator prior to becoming head coach, I thought elevating him was a mistake in the beginning. However, I was willing to give him a shot especially since he had been a part of the team under Gary Pinkel and knew the talent we had on the team. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long to see that I was right about Odom in the beginning. I was proven right when Odom hired Derek Dooley as Offensive Coordinator.

Odom’s Downfall

There is something important to understand about Dooley is that we saw firsthand how horrible of a coach he was in Tennessee. In fact, we were at the Missouri versus Tennessee game which was basically the game that Dooley got fired. When you play for overtime instead of playing to win, you will lose every time. Dooley had every opportunity to beat Missouri at the end of the game and instead chose to allow the clock to tick away to overtime. Bernie and I looked at each other and I said to him, Dooley just lost his job. Missouri won in overtime.

So, when Odom hired Dooley it was as if someone just slapped me across the face. What was Mizzou thinking? I mean it made zero sense and as I watched my beloved Missouri Tigers, I continued to watch our team go further and further downhill. Players that had been so good prior to him started playing differently and not better. It was infuriating for me to even hear Dooley’s name mentioned while watching the game. His name is honestly like nails on a chalkboard for me only instead of getting chills down my spine I start screaming at the television. Trust me Bernie can tell you some stories.

Bright Future or Dim Reality

I knew this would be the end of Odom’s career at Mizzou so I was excited at the potential coaches that might be next to take over the reins. One that was rumored was Arkansas State University Coach Blake Anderson. As an Arkansas State University alumna, myself, I have watched numerous coaches come thru the program only to go on to do great things at other schools. As the search continued and more talk surrounded Anderson’s name the more excited, I got but apparently that’s all it was…talk.

The next thing I know the name Eliah Drinkwitz is announced as the new Missouri Tigers Head Coach. My first thought was “who the heck is that” (there may have been other words said but you get my point). As I looked him up, I realized that he was the Appalachian State Head Coach but had only been a head coach for less than one (1) year. Everyone bragged at how he had done great things at Appalachian State and that they were headed to a bowl game. Ok but he doesn’t even have a year’s worth of head coaching experience in the Sun Belt Conference and now you hire him to be a head coach in the SEC. What am I missing?

So, to answer the question, I’m not happy with the hire but wish him all the luck in the world. I will still watch my Missouri Tigers and cheer them on each Saturday. At least the Missouri powers that be didn’t go stupid and hire Lane Kiffin or Derek Dooley as the head coach. I probably would have had to boycott my Tigers if either one of them had been hired.

Real Hire or Publicity Stunt

Speaking of Lane Kiffin…what was Ole Miss thinking? Are they that desperate that they would sacrifice their school’s reputation to hire him? Bernie and I were talking that we just cannot believe they chose to hire him.

Initially the rumor was that Arkansas was going to hire Kiffin and I remember thinking as long as it’s not Missouri. My next thought was I can’t wait to tell a friend that he may be getting Kiffin as a coach. The friend was NOT excited about the idea.

Again, Bernie and I saw what Lane Kiffin did to Tennessee Football.  Kiffin is someone that has proven time and time again to care only about Lane Kiffin. In fact, as we flipped thru bowl games we made sure to  stop at the Florida Atlantic/SMU game. We obviously wanted to see if he showed up to coach the game or not figuring he had not. Turns out the announcers mentioned that Kiffin showed up at the facility on Friday wearing Ole Miss gear. His flaunting of his new team in front of his old team was not appreciated by the team. Bernie and I were not the least bit surprised. We expect nothing less from Kiffin. Good luck Ole Miss…you are going to need it with Kiffin!!!!

Not a “Strong” Coach

One firing I just found out about from Bernie is Charlie Strong and it does not appear he has been hired by another school yet. Now, although I cannot speak to his coaching at the University of South Florida other than they lost a lot, we can speak to his coaching at the University of Texas. Bernie grew up a Texas Longhorns fan and obviously, thru our relationship, I have become a fan as well.

End of a Winning Run

It was a sad day when Mack Brown left Texas but honestly, it was time. Things had been going bad for a while and you never want to see a great coach like Brown continue to go downhill with a program. Better to get out while the gettin’ is good.

When Texas hired Charlie Strong, I remember looking him up since I was unfamiliar with him and questioning Bernie whether this was a good move for Texas. Strong had coached at the University of Louisville and done well but I wasn’t sure that he would meet the expectations of Texas fans. Boy was I right.

Austin We Have a Problem

I remember the day I told Bernie Texas was in trouble. I had been listening to ESPN on the radio at work and they were talking about how Strong had already made most of the Texas High School Coaches mad and that they basically wanted nothing to do with him. Strike one for Strong because Texas recruits Texas High Schools and if they won’t let you thru the door, you are in trouble. Strike two came when they said that Strong had roped off the Longhorns logo in the locker room and did not allow the players to walk on the logo. Apparently, he was only allowing players to stand on the logo to get excited about playing football on game day, which again, did not sit well. Keep in mind all this was happening before he ever coached his first game at Texas.

It did not take long before we were calling for Texas to fire Strong. It was obvious that he never had the team’s respect and it showed week after week in the way the team was playing. By 2016, I was posting messages on Facebook begging Texas to fire Strong. One of the hardest things for a fan to do is watch your team play on the field but knowing they didn’t show up to play. It’s even harder for a fan to watch knowing that if they just fired the head coach, the team dynamics would completely change. Texas had gone from a winning team under Mack Brown to a losing team under Charlie Strong, which would prove to be South Florida’s fate as well.

Finally, the day came that all my Facebook posts begging Texas to fire him finally came to fruition. Strong was fired and we could finally breath a sigh of relief that Texas had another chance of becoming the great team it once had been.

Opinionated Loyal Fans

Bernie and I have never had trouble voicing our opinions when it comes to our teams and their coaching choices. However, sometimes we can’t resist talking about other teams’ choices as well. Time will only see how these coaches shake out at their new respective schools.