By: Chad Wilson – Editor GridironStuds Blog
Follow Me On Twitter: @GridironStuds
When he stepped away from the game following the 201o season, former University of Florida football coach Urban Meyer was widely criticized by the Gator faithful for making up a reason to leave. Feelings aside, there’s no denying that Urban Meyer is a very successful football coach and you don’t get to this point without knowing a little something.
2010 was also Tim Tebow’s final one in Gainesville. Tebow did everything you could do in college football including win a Heisman and a national championship. In fact, Tebow garnered two rings and multiple trips to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony. For anyone who was paying attention, it was quite clear that there was only one Tim Tebow and not likely that there would be another one any time soon. As much as recruiting talent and developing it, knowing when to walk away from a job and find the next place to go has as much to do with your success as the previous two attributes mentioned. Now one must take Meyer at face value when he says he was experiencing health issues and needed to go but whether intentional or coincidental, Meyer’s move out of Gainesville with Tebow is a shrewd move other coaches would do well to follow.
Gone are the days where you are allowed to coach 20 years at the same program. Fan bases and athletic directors don’t let you reach the mountain top and slide back down. Once a coach reaches nirvana, he better be staying there or his time to walk the plank will come rather quickly. Just ask Les Miles. To avoid the pink slip, coaches must adequately assess the reasons for their success and be honest about who they are.
Over the last 10 years it has seemed to me that when a coach is blessed to have recruited and developed a very special talent at quarterback and reaches the pinnacle of success, he better start penning his exit strategy. No one is denying that it takes a strong ego to succeed as a college football coach. However, that ego has to be put on pause when examining this situation. Ego will tell you that if you developed one Heisman Trophy winner then you can develop another. I’m not saying it’s impossible but I am saying it’s highly unlikely. When your QB takes you on the wild ride to the Downtown Athletic Club and then the confetti parade in January, it’s best to exit the stage with him when his eligibility is up ala Urban Meyer.
Let’s take a trip through recent history shall we? I use the last 10 years because that’s the period of time in which I think the coaching situation in college football has made the most changes. Over the last decade, coaches have become more mobile either by their choice or by the choice of those who employed them.
Vince Went Down But Mack Stuck Around
Anyone watching Vince Young run around the Rose Bowl turf vs. USC like he was in the backyard with his baby cousins, had to know that he was a one of a kind talent. Many would argue that Young should have been the Heisman winner for the 2005 season but nevertheless, if there was any doubt, Vincent showed it vs. USC in the title game and brought Texas their first national title in 35 years. Obviously comfortable where he was, Mack Brown remained as Texas’ coach beyond Young and did enjoy some subsequent success. Brown even led the Longhorns to another BCS title game vs. Alabama in 2009 but came up short vs. Nick Saban. Four double digit win season would follow but Mack was constantly compared to the 2005 season. The narrative was constantly “he can’t do it without Vince Young”. Suddenly the double digit wins gave way to a rash of mediocrity and an eventual exit from Austin for Brown. I can’t help but wonder what Brown would have done had he left Texas for another program with the smell of success on his breath in 2006.
Cam & Gene Were Really Mean
Talk about that one moment in time. Before Cam Newton stepped on the Auburn University campus, Gene Chizik’s Tigers were an 8-5 football team. However, for the one magical 2010 season with Newton at the controls, Auburn was the toast of college football. Much like Vince Young, Newton combined a dazzling combo of precision passing with undeniable QB runs to befuddle defensive coordinators and madden opposing fan bases. Newton was and continues to be sub-human as he is built like a DE and moves like a DB. Even the most novice football fan could clearly see that Newton was the straw that stirred the drink for the Tigers. Auburn rode the Cam train for the rare double of Heisman Trophy and national championship. I am not sure what job offers came Gene Chizik’s way during or after that 2010 season but he would have been well served to take one of them. Cam was one of a kind and getting past Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide and the assortment of other college football heavyweights without your AK-47 at QB was a monumental task. As Cam left, so did Auburn’s prominence. Ironically, the year after Cam left, Auburn went right back to 8-5 and then turned on their head to 3-9 two years later before Chizik was tossed out like expired potato salad.
No Johnny No Football
We all took the magical ride with Johnny Manziel in 2012 didn’t we? Captured by his risky playing style and equally carless lifestyle, Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin and the Aggies rocketed to college consciousness. With Manziel at the controls, Texas A&M did things their fans never thought they would be able to do. One of those things was beat the mighty Alabama Crimson Tide as they did in Manziel’s first season as the starter. Manziel was so good that he caused Saban to try to get the hurry up offense outlawed and when he couldn’t, he started implementing elements of the offense into his program. Manziel would win the Heisman Trophy in 2012 and return in 2013 for his junior season. A&M, once again, was a pain in people’s rear end but not as good as the year before. Nevertheless, Manziel led the Aggies to a dazzling comeback in the bowl game vs. Duke to win 52-48. Anyone watching had to see that the reason the Aggies won, was Johnny football. Sumlin was a hot prospect for open coaching jobs after 2013 season but turned down the offers. I could see him thinking that it was more about his system since he had great success in Houston but had he taken a closer look he would have realized that Manziel was a one of a kind at a program that would always be behind the 8-ball. In his second year post Manziel, Sumlin is on the hot seat and needs to win next year or could get pink slipped. Boy was that fast.
Of course there are outliers. Bob Stoops has managed to stay in double digit win territory after Sam Bradford won the Heisman in 2008 and Oklahoma played for the title vs. LSU. Art Briles has kept Baylor relevant since Robert Griffin III climbed the stairs in Superman socks to hoist the Heisman in 2011. Bradford is not what I would describe as a one of a kind of QB. Don’t get me wrong, as a Sooner he was outstanding but you don’t look at Bradford and put him in the Young, Newton, Manziel category. RGIII would fall closer to that type of a one of a kind QB and Briles deserves credit for continuing to move forward his offensive system and program.
What should be interesting to us all is what’s going on in Tallahassee and what will happen at Clemson after this 2015 season. In more ways than one, Jameis Winston was a very unique, special and talented quarterback. The likelihood of another Jameis Winston entering college football and falling into the hands of the Florida St. Seminoles once again would be low. Florida St. reached the mountain top in Winston’s 2nd season as he won the Heisman and the Noles won the title. One season later, with Winston still at the controls, Florida St. was beaten soundly in the inaugural college football playoffs first round by Oregon. Two years later, the Seminoles suffered two regular season losses and ended the 2015 season with a loss to the Houston Cougars from the AAC. Jimbo Fisher’s Seminoles were a 2-3 loss team prior to Winston’s arrival. One year after Winston’s departure, the Noles dropped three games. While three losses may have been ok prior to 2013, now that FSU fans have seen the view from the top, losing two to three games will stir up the faithful. Perhaps Jimbo knows this as he flirted with bolting for Baton Rogue during the season but withdrew his interest and got Les Miles unstrapped from the electric chair. One is only left to wonder if like Brown, Chizik and Sumlin before him, not walking off the stage with his one of a kind Heisman winner will hurt Jimbo Fisher’s career.
Chip Kelly had more reasons than just his QB leaving to exit Oregon (research his NCAA sanctions) but I am of the opinion that Kelly would have departed from Oregon without NCAA pressure when his three year starter and Heisman Trophy winning QB, Marcus Mariota made his way out of town. Though he failed in Philadelphia, Kelly would be highly sought after in the college ranks if he wanted to make that move simply because he did not hang on in Oregon to experience the decline that comes when your special guy behind center is no longer there.
So who’s up next? We’ve watched Dabo Swiney dance and quote his way through the 2015 season. You can’t deny his infectious nature and ability to coach. However, before DeShaun Watson’s arrival at QB, Clemson was that team that would win just enough to end up in a big game and then get taken behind the woodshed. With Watson, Clemson has avoided the very term named after them “Clemsoning”. Now, all seasons after Watson will be compared to the time he was dressed in Orange. It will no longer be acceptable to lose 51-14 at home to Florida St. in a big ACC game or fall 70-33 in the Orange Bowl to West Virginia. While I don’t expect Clemson to fall back to those levels, I am saying that just losing those games will be enough for the fans to get riled up, the administration to get active and for Swiney to get axed as the Tigers’ head coach. Stay tuned y’all.
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