Goal Line Stand: Hiring right coach is tricky

Every morning, Scott Woodward stands in front of the mirror, knots his tie, adjusts his hair and asks himself the same question:

“How can I best help the University of Washington today?”

A couple weeks ago, the answer was fairly simple: Relieve head football coach Tyrone Willingham of his job and get to work on a replacement.

To some, the Washington AD seemed like he was moving too quickly, even though Willingham had failed to make the Huskies into a Pac-10 contender. And were it not for execrable Washington State, Willingham easily would have been directing the league’s worst team. In other ways, Woodward was a little behind the pack. Clemson and Syracuse (reportedly, though not official) had already announced they would be looking for new bosses. Kansas State and Tennessee were not too far behind. These days, the cycle of looking for a new coach doesn’t begin in late November but in October, when coaches’ seats go from warm to scorching in a microwave minute. So, while Willingham finishes out the season and thanks providence his final game will be against hapless Wazzou, Woodward has begun the process of looking for the next in line.

He has already hired a coaching search firm, although that is not yet official. He is putting together a short list and hoping to find someone who will return Washington to playing the “tough, hard-nosed football” he believes is the program’s culture. “We have to get that back,” he says.

They have to do the same in Knoxville, Manhattan and Toledo. Two shades of Orange are also hoping to reverse their fortunes. And they want to do it now, or at least as quickly as possible. That’s why their ADs joined Woodward in making the break with their current regimes now, instead of lingering through weeks of speculation and issuing lukewarm proclamations of confidence or the dreaded, “We’ll evaluate things after the season,” death knell, which might as well come with a sharpened guillotine blade.

“This gives you the time to focus on the fit and what’s best for the school,” says Woodward, who took over in Seattle in mid-September. “It gives you the chance to find someone who understands the culture and the tradition.”

It also allows schools to begin a new chapter in the program’s history immediately, rather than lingering through the morbid final weeks of the last episode. As the Huskies and their quick-firing brethren stagger through the rest of the ’08 campaign — how ‘bout that Tennessee loss to Wyoming? — they are creating a sense that excitement and potential are around the corner. Candidates’ names are being floated in the media. New beginnings are promised. Instead of staying stuck in the mire of failure and repeated losses, the schools can look ahead with optimism, since nobody has lost a game yet in 2009 or 2010. If Nick Saban can lift Alabama to the top spot in the rankings in just two seasons, just imagine what Mystery Coach can do at Clemson, Tennessee or Toledo. OK, maybe not Toledo.

However, this is a delicate business. Woodward can’t go calling a gainfully employed coach at another school while he’s gameplanning for that Saturday. So, he uses the consultant. Tennessee and Syracuse have already engaged the services of the inscrutable Chuck Neinas, who conducts his business with such discretion that his wife won’t even divulge to Neinas’ friends what time zone he might be traveling in at any given moment. Neinas, together with others across the country, will be contacting coaches and their agents to gauge interest in various jobs and discover poison-pill contract clauses that could be undesirable for potential suitors.

“They can vet candidates and talk to intermediaries,” Woodward says. “They have enormous rolodexes and know the situations of coaches.”

Sometimes, schools get lucky in the timing of their early searches. Back in October, 2006, North Carolina AD Dick Baddour decided it was time to cut loose coach John Bunting. Not long after, he made contact with Butch Davis, who was working then with NFL Network and subject to no particular restrictions in terms of interviewing for the Tar Heel job. “We could have ongoing discussions with Butch without disrupting another program,” Baddour says.

While Baddour was courting Davis, he was certain to keep his eyes directed forward. Recruits had to be convinced to hang on until the next regime took over. Season ticketholders were sold the concepts of a new start and bright future. And when the Heels hired Davis, they were able to put together a neat marketing package that included contact with the media, recruiting outreach and staff assembly. “That was a dream,” Woodward says. “It’s the exception, not the rule.”

Today, Woodward is playing by the rules, working with his consultant, putting together his short list and looking for the man who can make the Huskies tough again. He has given himself a head start on some other schools, but he has a lot of company on the trail. At the end of the day, the extra time won’t mean anything if he chooses someone unable to get the job done. So, while haste seems important now, getting it right is paramount.

“We’d like to announce the day after the season, but the middle of December is more realistic,” he says.

Until then, expect Woodward to keep asking himself that daily question. He’ll also be asking several aspiring applicants the same thing.

GAME OF THE WEEK
South Carolina at Florida, Saturday, November 15, 3:30 p.m. EST, CBS

This is traditionally the slowest week for big-time showdowns, and this year’s slate of mid-November games does not buck the trend. Instead of looking for BCS-busting matchups, check for subplots, and there’s one in Gainesville. Steve Spurrier has already brought a South Carolina team to Florida, so there isn’t the same drama in this week’s visit as there was in Nick Saban’s highly-charged return to Baton Rouge last Saturday, but it’s always interesting to see Spurrier on the sidelines at his alma mater wearing a different school’s visor. USC is a solid 7-3 and hoping for an attractive bowl bid, but it won’t secure one this week, even if Spurrier continues his odd practice of rotating quarterbacks each play. That may work against Arkansas but not against the red-hot Gators. Florida is clearly the better team, but the Gamecocks should hang tough for a while

Florida 33, South Carolina 23

BUMPS AND RUNS

How’s this for a juicy rumor: Kansas State is considering hiring Bill Snyder for a second head-coaching tenure. Snyder has mended fences with KSU president Dr. Jon Wefald and is reportedly giving serious thought to taking over the program again, at the age of 69. If Snyder doesn’t take it, expect Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables to be a major candidate.

Dabo Swinney’s chances of removing the “interim” tag from his name and becoming Clemson’s full-time head coach wax and wane weekly. The Tigers’ win over Boston College Nov. 1 helped his cause, but the defeat at FSU last Saturday was a setback. Don’t be surprised if AD Terry Don Phillips picks Swinney or another non-name brand coach. He’s secure in his position and not too worried about catching heat for selecting someone without a big-time pedigree.

At Washington, everyone is waiting to hear what Don James’ role in the coaching search will be. If he’s playing a major part, and he asks former player and assistant Gary Pinkel to come to Seattle, it may be too hard for the Missouri boss to say no. If not, expect to hear the usual suspects’ names, including Boise State’s Chris Petersen, deposed Raiders coach Lane Kiffin and USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.

Tennessee has hired Chuck Neinas to help with its search. Neinas is also working with Syracuse, where Saints offensive coordinator Doug Marrone and Florida assistant Steve Addazio, both of whom have ties to the school, are considered serious candidates.

Plenty of jobs should be available in the Mid-American conference. Some of the names that have popped up to fill them (in the event they all open up) are Michigan State offensive coordinator Don Treadwell at Miami (OH), Ohio State assistant Paul Haynes at Kent State, from which he graduated, Missouri offensive coordinator Dave Christensen at Toledo and Purdue defensive coordinator Brock Spack at Ball State, provided red-hot coach Brady Hoke moves on to better things, as expected. Spack could also be a candidate at Wyoming, particularly if former Cowboys boss Joe Tiller has any say in the matter — and he should. Of course, Wyoming has to make a decision on Joe Glenn first, and that choice got harder after Saturday’s win over Tennessee.

Everybody knows college football fans are passionate about their teams, but what happened in south Alabama over the weekend is absurd. An argument that broke out following the Alabama-LSU game led to the shooting death of a couple. Donna Kay Hall Smith called a friend, Michael Williams, after the game, and the two began a heated discussion about ‘Bama’s victory. Smith and her husband, Dennis, went to Williams’ house with a pistol, but he was waiting with a shotgun. The Smiths are dead, and Williams is charged with two counts of murder. Authorities said alcohol may have been involved. You think?

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