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The Tennessean's David Climer has an interesting article about who is on the coaching hot seat around the SouthEastern Confrence.
Holtz has hottest seat in the SEC
Not really a huge shock that Lou Holtz is the one feeling the most heat over in Columbia. Does anyone else remember a couple of years ago when Holtz left CBS (and millions of SEC fans cheered because we didn't have to hear him talk every Saturday!) and took the job. There was a ton of speculation that Holtz was just getting the program on the right track to hand it over to his son, Skip Holtz when the time came. Well, here it is six years later and this grand experiment ain't working. Yes, the GameCocks nearly beat the Vols last year, but that's really been the story of South Carolina--close but never quite able to make it over the hump. I'm intrigued as anything for their first game with Vandy--both programs need the win to start the season on the right note. If South Carolina loses that game, it's a long season for them. And would anyone be shocked to see Holtz given the boot by mid-season? Especially if they lose to Clemson...
I also think Fulmer could be a bit on higher on the list. How quickly we forget the National Championship we won in 1998 (ah, memories!). Couple of things--first of all, the lack of playing time at QB is gonna be hurt early on. We've got to have a good showing against Florida at home in primetime and we've gotta at least make the Georgia game competitive. And Fulmer has got to show he's got a good handle on this team from a disciplinary stand-point. The team needs focus this year. The Georgia game was ugly because in the second half you could tell we'd given up due to the big fumble before halftime they turned into points. Yeah, we should've had the lead, but we didn't. We didn't respond to the adversity. I argue that had we not got the miraculous Hail Mary in the Swamp to end the first half, we might not have beat the Gators last year. We have to learn how to take the highs and the lows in the game. Can't let it all just be about one or two plays and then give up. I often think there's a lack of coaching leadership, at times. And it shows--esp. in the last two Peach Bowls. (Talk about a waste of my time watching those games!) Also, if the offense doesn't show some marked improvement, Fulmer needs to take a hard look at Randy Sanders. I just don't think Randy Sanders has lived up to the expectations and while I applaud Fulmer for being loyal, I'm not sure if his loyalty hasn't gone too far and he's blinded by it.
Finally, it's interesting to hear that Zook is on the hot seat at Florida. Should they lose to the Vols in primetime on the national CBS telecast, the calls for Spurrier's triumphant return will only increase. But yet, I still love that Florida owns Georgia the way they used to own the Vols.
posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/16/2004 05:37:00 PM |
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