In a shocking move, LSU is set to hire Notre Dame's Brian Kelly as its next head football coach, sources told ESPN. An agreement likely will be finalized in the next 24 hours. Kelly, in his 12th season at Notre Dame, will replace Ed Orgeron, whom LSU announced on Oct. 17 would not return as coach of the Tigers in 2022, less than two years removed from an undefeated season and national championship. Kelly, 60, is the winningest coach in Notre Dame history with 92 victories. He guided Notre Dame to the BCS title game in 2012 and to College Football Playoff appearances in 2018 and 2020. Notre Dame (11-1) still has a chance to make the College Football Playoff this season and is ranked No. 6 in the latest CFP rankings. The Fighting Irish suffered their only loss of the season on Oct. 2 to No. 4 Cincinnati. Kelly's departure comes as a major surprise to prominent Notre Dame sources who spoke to ESPN earlier Monday. Sources said LSU had approached Kelly earlier this fall, but he declined any interest in the job. LSU made another push for Kelly over the weekend. Kelly last week addressed the possibility of leaving Notre Dame for another job, telling reporters, "No. I mean, [Pittsburgh Steelers coach] Mike Tomlin had the best line, right? Unless that fairy godmother comes by with that $250 million check, my wife would want to take a look at it first. I'd have to run it by her." Cincinnati's Luke Fickell will be a top target to replace Kelly at Notre Dame, sources told ESPN's Chris Low. The timing would be anything but ideal for Fickell, though. He has his undefeated Bearcats on the cusp of the College Football Playoff if they can win their matchup against Houston on Saturday in the AAC championship game. Fickell has drawn serious interest from several other big-name schools in recent years, but sources close to Fickell said earlier this year that the two jobs that would be most difficult for him to turn down would be Notre Dame and Ohio State, the latter being his alma mater. Sources told ESPN that Notre Dame defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman would also receive serious consideration for the head-coaching job. Kelly is 263-96-2 as a college coach with two Division II national titles at Grand Valley State and 10 AP top-10 finishes. He came to Notre Dame from Cincinnati, where he went 34-6 with two New Year's Six bowl appearances. In the two seasons since winning a national title, LSU has gone 11-11 and Orgeron was accused of improperly handling allegations of sexual misconduct by a player twice in the past year. On Saturday, LSU upset Texas A&M 27-24 for its sixth win of the season. Afterward, Orgeron announced that he will not coach in LSU's upcoming bowl game, with offensive line coach Brad Davis to act as the interim coach for the game. "Whoever the new coach is, I wish him all the luck in the world," Orgeron said Saturday. "I'll always be an LSU fan." LSU had been connected to various coaches, including Jimbo Fisher, whom Orgeron beat on Saturday and who has vehemently denied that he is leaving Texas A&M for any job this offseason. Oklahoma's Lincoln Riley also shut down speculation over the weekend that he could be up for the LSU job, before accepting the position at USC only a day ago. Thoughts: - The only bigger splashes would have been if LSU was able to talk Nick Saban or Dabo Sweeney away. LSU wanted a big fish and opened up the wallet big enough to get it. - I love this hire. Brian Kelly has built pretty solid defenses at Notre Dame over the last few years and now he'll be able to take it to another level with the talent that LSU can bring in. - Kelly needs to find an offensive guru who can bring the offense up to another level. - Luke Fickell from Cincy is already being thrown around as the name to replace Kelly at Notre Dame, but we'll see as I think Matt Campbell from Iowa State will be another name of interest.
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With the end of the regular season, it is time to open up the college football coaching carousal.
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Random Thoughts
Heisman Finalists. Here is my guess at who we’ll see for the ceremony.
My Top 4: Not to be confused with Actual Playoff Top 4 Rankings 1. Georgia: How hum, skull drug another team. 2. Cincinnati: Another easy win against a cupcake and the Bearcats are in the playoff. Cincy could actually be dangerous in the playoff as every team they will face has issues as even Georgia has holes. 3. Okie State. If they beat Baylor next week, they are in the playoff. Okie State’s defense played faster than I’d seen them play all year. 4. Alabama: They may drop to 3rd in the actual playoff voting but winning is all that matters. IF they keep it close, they may still be in as there really isn’t another interesting team beneath them. Alabama has by far the worst pass rush of the top 4, which is really odd for some reason. Down:
ust Waiting:
Former Michigan QB Denard "Shoelace" Robinson wrote an article for the Players Tribune about how life sometimes takes you to unexpected places. It's a really good read, and I encourage you all to check it out.
- You guys know I HAVE to start with The Game. #5 Michigan and #2 Ohio State, in Ann Arbor, with the Big Ten East title, a trip to the Big Ten Title game, and a possible CFP berth on the line. No pressure. There was an article on SI yesterday that said this game is the most important regular season game this year, period...I can't really disagree with their assessment. Yes, I am a Michigan fan, but you guys also know that I try to be even handed, most of the time. With that said, as much as I would LOVE to predict Jim Harbaugh breaks the Buckeye curse, I will believe Michigan can beat the Buckeyes when it happens, not before. I want Michigan to win, but fully expect Ohio State to.
- The Iron Bowl, Alabama at Auburn: Who cares what Auburn's record is? They have proven that no matter what, they come prepared against Alabama. The Tide should win this, but...well? Stranger things have happened than an unranked Auburn Tigers team beating the highly ranked Crimson Tide... - Penn State at Michigan State: There has been a LOT of talk in the local papers about MSU head coach Mel Tucker's future with the team, and the fact that despite getting a 10-year, 95 million dollar extension offer, as far as anyone knows, he HASN'T signed it. And then, just a day after it was offered, Ohio State steamrolled the Spartans. Basically, there is a bit of drama in East Lansing right now...Penn State could very well upset the Spartans in the regular season finale if MSU doesn't figure out how to rebound and erase the ass whipping the Buckeyes just gave them... - Staying in the Big Ten, #14 Wisconsin at Minnesota, #16 Iowa at Nebraska, Indiana at Purdue. Lumping all three games together. For the Badgers, this is simple: Beat Minnesota, win the Big Ten West. If Wisconsin loses to Minnesota, then the Big Ten West gets...complicated, LOL. Complicated enough where I am not going to list all of the possible scenarios between the Badgers, Hawkeyes, Boilermakers and Gophers, because with a Wisconsin loss, any of those four teams could be sent to Indy based on the other games... - BEDLAM! #10 Oklahoma at #7 Oklahoma State: Two top ten teams, the Big XII lead on the line. (Oklahoma State has already clinched a berth in the Big XII title game, OU gets berth with a win, or a loss coupled with a Baylor loss, Baylor gets in with a win and OU loss) Top 25
Random Thoughts
Coaching Hot Seats
My Top 4: Not to be confused with Actual Playoff Top 4 Rankings 1. Georgia: How hum, skull drug another team. 2. Ohio State. Michigan better bring their A game or this could easily turn into a blood bath. 3. Cincinnati: A win against Eastern Carolina and then the conference championship against a better than you realize Houston. The chaos of a loss to Houston would be fantastic. 4. Alabama. At this point, if Alabama can keep it close against Georgia they would likely get a second shot at them. The teams after either have multiple losses or lack the quality wins that Alabama has. Down:
Just Waiting:
Gotta start with the Big Ten here...#7 Michigan State at #4 Ohio State. While my beloved Wolverines still have a chance to win the Big Ten East, realistically, this game is for the B1GE title, barring upsets next week. If MSU beats the Buckeyes, then all they have to do is beat Penn State next week, and the B1GE is theirs. If OSU beats the Spartans, then the only obstacle left for them is Michigan.
On the other hand, Michigan v. Maryland is compelling, because of what it could mean for next week. A Michigan loss here, and they are done, eliminated from conference contention. BUT, a Michigan win against Maryland, especially if combined with an Ohio State win over MSU, makes next weeks' game for all the marbles. #2 Alabama hosts #21 Arkansas. Alabama should coast through this game, but this game has MAJOR implications not just for the SEC, but possibly the CFP, should the Razorbacks pull off the upset. We all pretty much assume Alabama will meet Georgia in the SEC title game. We all probably suspect that if an 11-1 Alabama team beats 12-0 Georgia in that game, so that both finish 12-1, that both get in to the CFP. But, what happens if Alabama loses to either Arkansas this saturday, or in the Iron Bowl next week, and THEN beats Georgia? What would the CFP do with a 11-2 SEC champion, and a 12-1 SEC runner up? #3 Oregon at #23 Utah. Oregon should win, but a Utah upset here would be absolutely chaotic to the polls...It might even be enough to open up a CFP slot to the absolutely undeserving, half the teams in the top 25 would beat them Cincinnati Bearcats... Top 25
Random Thoughts
Coaching Hot Seats
My Top 4: Not to be confused with Actual Playoff Top 4 Rankings 1. Georgia: They look awesome. It is going to take a complete game to beat them 2. Ohio State. The OSU machine is starting to role. We’ll see how well they play against Sparty and Mich, but they are hitting their annual late season groove. 3. Oregon. They looked efficient to me. They are clearly better than the rest of the B12 when they are on their game. I think they are in. 4. Cincinnati: It may not seem it because the Sooners were so far down in the playoff rankings, but that was a big win for the Bearcats. Georgia and Alabama still have to play, OSU-Sparty and OSU-Michigan, and OSU-B10W are still to go. Cincy can still sneak in as some of the teams ahead of them are guaranteed to lose. Down:
UConn has hired former UCLA and NFL coach Jim Mora to be its next football coach, athletic director David Benedict announced Thursday.
Mora and UConn have agreed to a five-year contract in which he will make $1.5 million in the first season and could earn another $200,000 in annual performance incentives. He will begin his head-coaching duties Nov. 28 after serving as an assistant coach for the rest of the 2021 season, which will allow him to recruit. "This program is loaded with potential, and I look forward to getting to know the student-athletes on the team and am eager to get to work!" Mora said in a statement. Mora, who is 59, last coached in 2017, his final season at UCLA. He went 46-30 with the Bruins before being fired in November 2017. ESPN hired Mora as a college football analyst in 2018. UConn announced in September that Randy Edsall would step down as coach. Edsall went 6-32 in his second stint as Huskies coach after guiding the program to two Big East titles and a Fiesta Bowl appearance during his first run from 1999 to 2010. This season, the Huskies are 1-8, with their only win coming against Yale, an FCS team from the Ivy League. "Jim is a proven winner, a man of integrity, and he possesses the experience and the energy to lead our football program back to success," Benedict said in a statement. "Jim is excited and undaunted by this challenge, and we both know that this program has great potential. I'm certain that, under Coach Mora's leadership, UConn football will once again realize that potential. Mora spent the first 25 years of his coaching career in the NFL, including head-coaching stops with the Atlanta Falcons (2004-06) and Seattle Seahawks (2009). UConn will mark just his second stop as a college coach and his first in the Northeast. My Thoughts: - I like the hire. I think Jim is a good, not great coach. This shows that UConn is at least trying to win, which is drastically different than UMass next door who likes to hire the cheapest candidate. - Recruiting for teams in the northeast is a challenge. While there should be plenty of talent available in the area to choose from, Mora needs to start opening the pipeline to the more talented schools throughout the south and in California. There is talent out there, he just needs to find it. I have been thinking about it, and I am not really sure that I need to post the NCAA and NFL football schedules every week. To be honest, you guys probably already know when your favorite teams play, and you can find complete schedules for both sports hundreds of places online.
Instead, I think I am going to start just previewing a couple of the games that sound interesting to me, and I would hope that in the comments, you guys tell us which games matter to you... So, to start: This could be considered CFP Elimination week #1. Big Ten Three games to watch: Michigan plays Penn State, Ohio State plays Purdue, and Michigan State plays Maryland. This is simple. UM, OSU and MSU all have a loss. If any of them take another, they are out of the CFP, period. Michigan State probably has the easiest opponent, and should rebound from their loss last week to stay in contention. But Michigan, especially if it is without star RB Blake Corum, could be in trouble against the Nittany Lions, and after the season Purdue has had, the Buckeyes cannot expect the Boilermakers to be intimidated by them, at all. Purdue believes they can beat any team in the Big Ten right now, and if the Buckeyes overlook them in anticipation of the Spartans next week, they could find themselves being the 3rd top 5 team Purdue takes down this year... MSU over Maryland: Confidence level 70% Michigan over Penn State: Confidence level 55% Ohio State over Purdue: Confidence level 60% Big XII This is it for Oklahoma. The CFP selection committee has not been kind to the Sooners, despite being undefeated, placing them under multiple 1-loss teams. If they lose to Baylor this weekend, I don't even even beating Oklahoma State the final week of the season will be enough. The only chance the Big XII has of landing a team in the CFP is Oklahoma, and only if they are undefeated. ANY losses, and Big XII is out of the conversation. SEC Nothing to really talk about. We are all just kinda waiting for Georgia/Bama in the SEC title game, and with the possible exception of the Iron Bowl, there are few obstacles in either team's way. AAC Oh look...another top tier opponent for Cincinnati. How do they possibly do it, facing off against such stellar competition week after week? /s ACC Who would have thought before the season started, that Wake Forest/NC State would be the best ACC matchup this week? |
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