A&M Coaching Change

by JakeStrait on Nov 16, 2007 10:06 PM CST

let me preface this by saying that i am not a A&M fan or for that matter a college football fan, but i do have a very good friend that is involved in the athletics department and he told me today that Steve Spurrier is all but a done deal. this is just what i heard, and i thought it would be interesting if it comes true.

Carry On.

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this is what I've been hearing...

...from my Aggie friends that are more tuned in than I am.

Spurrier's abrasive personality wouldn't seem to mesh real well with the A&M culture, and I wonder how well a guy like him would be able to recruit in Texas.

But hell, it can't get much worse can it?

Some professionals get better with age and experience. Lawyers, professors, engineers. Hookers? Not so much. -- DJ Cahill

by tricer on Nov 16, 2007 10:02 PM CST reply actions

Actually

I would never tell my friend this, but i actually hope it gets worse, like i said, i have never been an A&M fan. not trying to incite any Aggies just an opinion.

"It gets late early out there." - Yogi Berra

by JakeStrait on Nov 16, 2007 10:07 PM CST up reply actions

thank goodness you're

not a Aggies fan. Neither am I...

But, I'd bet Tommy Tuberville might damn well be the Texas A&M coach next year.

Loves me some LSB NMLR NR RFR RFP PFEF GDKAAB STCJW

by hurlerhurley on Nov 16, 2007 10:06 PM CST reply actions

he mentioned tuberville

on the phone today and said he was not the first choice spurrier is and he was there today.....just what he said.

"It gets late early out there." - Yogi Berra

by JakeStrait on Nov 16, 2007 10:10 PM CST up reply actions

Spurrier

the old ball coach...

I seriously doubt he would leave South Carolina for Texas A&M. Hell, Spurrier has said he wants to win a SEC title with the Gamecocks.

Loves me some LSB NMLR NR RFR RFP PFEF GDKAAB STCJW

by hurlerhurley on Nov 16, 2007 10:19 PM CST reply actions

Huh

That would be Jackie Sherrill all over again.

by Adam J. Morris on Nov 16, 2007 10:21 PM CST reply actions

Steve Spurrier

is a horrible coach...

Brandon Bass is the next great thing...

by miles on Nov 16, 2007 10:33 PM CST reply actions

Concur

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates

by slc ranger on Nov 16, 2007 10:41 PM CST up reply actions

Yea

he sucks. He never wins. Duke, Florida and USC were suck great programs before he ran them into the ground.

by badradiorules on Nov 18, 2007 2:22 AM CST up reply actions

Spurrier

that seems like a terrible fit. Spurrier's too much of a loose cannon for A&M.

by Randy Richardson on Nov 16, 2007 11:23 PM CST reply actions

agreed

Spurrier would not be a good match for Aggieland, his prima dona persona wouldn't go over well, his ability to recruit in Texas is questionable, and he really strikes me as a guy that has lost his fire and just wants to collect paychecks for a few more years.

I hope these rumors are nothing more than that, but I'm hearing it from a lot of different places.

Some professionals get better with age and experience. Lawyers, professors, engineers. Hookers? Not so much. -- DJ Cahill

by tricer on Nov 17, 2007 12:08 AM CST up reply actions

This is just like all the rumors

that were going around a few years ago. It seems like everyone knew someone that had "inside sources" that confirmed that Jimmy Johnson was going to take the job. Why he would ever leave the Florda Keys for College Station is beyond me, but that didn't stop people from swearing that their reliable sources said it was a done deal.

by uthornfan on Nov 16, 2007 11:55 PM CST reply actions

Down here...

in College Station and I've heard it, too. A couple of the radio guys (who are homers, but not terribly so) tried to get to the bottom of it.

Basically, the reasoning was this: Supposedly, A&M will be offering around $3 million a year. If this is true, a lot of coaches who don't make near that much would suddenly be very interested. Spurrier and Tedford (Cal) as well as Tuberville.

However, in my opinion, 99% of it is rumor. There are a ton of Aggie fans around here who are of the 'brain-washed' variety and not the 'rational football fan' variety. I have seriously heard people say that Bill Cowher was a legit option and then come up with reasons why it could happen.

I'm sure every fan is guilty, to some degree, of this. But it seems like people around here get especially silly. Also, even for a school where football generates lots of money, the buyout of Fran (at least $5 million) is going to affect how much they can spend for the next coach.

by GhettoBear04 on Nov 17, 2007 12:31 AM CST reply actions

Tuberville

would be the best pick to coach and lead the Aggies to a big 12 championship

Loves me some LSB NMLR NR RFR RFP PFEF GDKAAB STCJW

by hurlerhurley on Nov 17, 2007 1:28 AM CST up reply actions

tubberville

thats who it will prob end up being in the end anyaways

by MayurP on Nov 17, 2007 9:10 AM CST up reply actions

Well...

Personally, I think of Tuberville as a Mack Brown type coach. Good recruiter, but is best when he leaves the 'real' coaching to his assistant coaches.

If you wanted an actual coach, I think his D-Coordinator would be a better choice (Mustain).

by GhettoBear04 on Nov 17, 2007 10:47 AM CST up reply actions

tuberville

he makes 2.6 million, so a raise to 3 million might not be enough to get him to leave Auburn.
if he were to decide that he wants the A&M job, he has a $6 million buy out in his Auburn contract that has to be paid. I know that money is not usually a limiting factor in Aggieland, but after having to buy out Fran (is that really going to cost $5 million, even after the newsletter scandal?), I'm not sure that the Ags would want to plunk down another 6 mil just to be able to hire their next coach.

Some professionals get better with age and experience. Lawyers, professors, engineers. Hookers? Not so much. -- DJ Cahill

by tricer on Nov 17, 2007 10:12 AM CST up reply actions

Exactly..

my point. If this were a case of hiring a new coach with no other monetary issues involved, then it starts to become more realistic. The reason why they didn't buy Fran out earlier is because Fran is playing hardball in the negotiations. He'll probably end up with a pretty good deal, and there is a lot of time left on his contract (2 mil/year) because they extended him recently.

To get Tuberville, you're talking at least $10 million before you even start talking about what you're going to pay him to leave a pretty decent gig as it is.

by GhettoBear04 on Nov 17, 2007 10:39 AM CST up reply actions

The Next A&M coach

will be Houston Nutt

"On-base percentage is great if you can score runs and do something with that on-base percentage," Baker said. "Clogging up the bases isn't that great to me."

by jparks77 on Nov 17, 2007 2:14 PM CST reply actions

Next Aggie coach

Why would someone like Tuberville or Tedford leave the jobs they have for A&M? It seems that the Aggies have a higher opinion of that job than they should. It's a second tier school. At best, leaving Auburn or Cal would be lateral moves and those guys already have good programs in place. Why leave a similar job for that mess in College Station?

Oh Man!!!!

by SwiperNoSwiping on Nov 17, 2007 3:55 PM CST reply actions

Money

Brandon Bass is the next great thing...

by miles on Nov 17, 2007 4:05 PM CST up reply actions

Really?

Cal to A&M is a lateral move?

by Adam J. Morris on Nov 17, 2007 4:09 PM CST up reply actions

I question that too.....

Auburn I agree with. Cal is no where near the level of an A&M.

by bdavison94 on Nov 17, 2007 4:29 PM CST up reply actions

No where near?

Really? Come on now.

by badradiorules on Nov 18, 2007 2:25 AM CST up reply actions

Yeah really.

Other than the years Tedford has been at Cal they've been pretty much horrible.

Let's see.....prior to Tedford taking over Cal was in 5 bowl games from 1960-2002. The most prestigious bowl? Alamo or Citrus....I'll let you make that call.

I'm not even going to bother looking up those stats for A&M because I'm confident Cal is "no where near" as good.

Tedford has made Cal a decent team. When he leaves they will more than likely go back to their natural spot in the lower half of the Pac 10 standings every year.

by bdavison94 on Nov 18, 2007 4:13 PM CST up reply actions

Okay

So, you are telling me he's going to leave a place where he's been in the national title hunt each of thea last 4-5 years or so to go to a program that's been irrelevent for as long as I can remember. Why would he want to start over?

by badradiorules on Nov 18, 2007 9:16 PM CST up reply actions

4-5 years? Title hunts?

He was in the title hunt one year. 2004 was the only year they had an actual shot at getting into a BCS bowl. They got stuck with the Holiday bowl.

#4 in the nation and didn't even get to go to the Rose bowl. UT got picked over Cal. A slap in the face to a Pac 10 school.

Other than that year they have hardly been in the title hunt. Unless you mean in the "everyone has a chance in week 1" sense.

Has Cal been the better team the last 5 years? Without a doubt. Is it the better program? Well not if Jeff Tedford leaves. Back to your original question.

Why would he want to start over? Probably because he has Cal as high as they will ever be. Probably because he will get passed over for the Rose Bowl by a another BCS team that travels every time. Probably because of those things but mostly.....as Miles said a while back, for the money.

by bdavison94 on Nov 18, 2007 9:51 PM CST up reply actions

I can't stand Texas A&M, but...

Cal is only an superior job to A&M because Tedford made it so...Nobody at Berkeley gives a damn about football. Exactly what does the Cal job offer that Texas A&M doesn't? Auburn, really? Especially when you consider Tuberville's well-noted problems with the athletic department in the past? Coaching is the ONLY thing that keeps Texas A&M from being a perennial Top 25 program and BigXii contender. Nothing else.

Texas A&M has all the resources to compete with almost any school in the country. They've got an excellent recruiting base. The stadium renovations and the new practice facilities are on par with anywhere in the country. The fan-base as passionate as any in the country, but will give a new coach time to actually build a program, rather than call for his head after one season. The athletic department is ready to make their next coach one of the highest paid coaches in the country...There's all kinds of tradition in College Station, they just need someone to bring them back to the top like Nick Saban is going to do at Alabama.

People act like Texas A&M is far removed from being a good program. It's not. They Aggies already have some talent on the roster. They've got top-flight facilities. They've got money. They're in the heart of one of the 2-3 best recruiting bases in the country.

That said, Spurrier is probably not the best idea. It'd be interesting as hell, but the dude's personality wouldn't play well in College Station. The Aggies need to go get a coach like Tuberville that has Texas A&M ties and understands how College Station and Aggie Nation function, or at least a personality that fits the program and will buy into being an Aggie...We saw what happened with Coach Fran because he never really bought into the whole 'Aggie' persona...

by N41D on Nov 17, 2007 4:30 PM CST reply actions

I just don't buy.....

the the next coach has to have ties to A&M. None of the last three coaches have had ties to A&M. Understand College Station? Buy into being an aggie?

You win and aggie fans won't give two craps about personality or "persona". Fran is getting fired for one reason......31-28.

by bdavison94 on Nov 17, 2007 4:44 PM CST up reply actions

ties to A&M

I don't think it is important that the new coach has any history with the school, however, I do think it is very important to get somebody that has extensive experience recruiting the state of Texas. Most high schoolers are pretty receptive to their head coaches recommendations, and a new coach (like Spurrier) that doesn't click well with Texas high school coaches will probably have trouble getting the players that he needs.

Some professionals get better with age and experience. Lawyers, professors, engineers. Hookers? Not so much. -- DJ Cahill

by tricer on Nov 17, 2007 4:56 PM CST up reply actions

Saban might need to beat LaMonroe, first

by tklawless on Nov 18, 2007 12:35 AM CST up reply actions

Saban

What a prick. I heard that he didn't even shake the LA Monroe coach's hand after the game. He just ran straight from the sideline to the locker room when the game was over.

by badradiorules on Nov 18, 2007 2:29 AM CST up reply actions