alum96

November 21st, 2014 at 12:58 PM ^

There are a lot of similarities out there with the Stoops and Gundys (and to a lesser degree Bo P and his cat) to Carr and Fulmer.  You have a certain level of success but fans do expect more once they get a taste.  Of course once you remove a coach like you just never know what the outcome may be. 

If Gundy leaves I will be interested in who they tab to replace him.  OK State  is not Oklahoma Nebraska Michigan or Tennessee.  Of course those brands mean a bit less in a the more modern "flat" NCAA and success by Baylor TCU and KSU in that conference alone show that.  But do they go get a big dog with Pickens money or do they have difficult attracting said dog.  Could be a lot of dominoes of interest falling if UF goes and gets Gundy and Pickens is unleashed on the coaching carousel.   Can we imagine a scenario of Les going back to OK State for more money than LSU ;)

The Pickens quote was very similar to what Ross said to the WSJ about Brandon/the AD job a week before he was punted.  So he might very well be out the door, even if not to UF.

Toledostrip

November 22nd, 2014 at 9:45 AM ^

Pro football is a quarterback driven enterprise and college football is a coach driven enterprise. Brand name used to get it done. No longer. Teams all used similar schemes and players went to the highest brand they could get recruited by. Times change. ND, Penn State, NE and MI are "all time programs" but flounder without a top tier coach. Cable TV changed the equation also as you can get on TV playing for smaller schools now. MI needs a big time hire and should wait until one is available.

AMazinBlue

November 21st, 2014 at 1:24 PM ^

before we fire Hoke/hire Harbaugh/Miles, things could get very interesting.  If they fire Gundy after a losing season and would crazily go hard after Miles to come back and save the day in Stillwater (giving him the keys to the kingdom and all the money he would want); and if we couldn;t get Harbaugh - oh NOES we would be in a pickle.......I would think we can get Harbaugh and will, but if we don't and wait until after Jan. 1 to fire Hoke, Miles could be gone and it could be another search from hell.  All the more reason to give Jim H whatever he wants/needs.

Stringer Bell

November 21st, 2014 at 4:05 PM ^

Sorry, I find it awfully hard to believe that Oklahoma State would fire Gundy after 1 bad year, considering how good they've been recently.  Also, I don't see Miles leaving LSU for any job other than the Michigan job.  So I don't consider Oklahoma State a competitor for Miles or any other coach on our wish list in the unlikely event that they fire Gundy.

Gitback

November 21st, 2014 at 3:50 PM ^

I think every individual who has a significant association with a college football team makes it a matter of weird alpha dog pride to be merciless toward any individual who would dare to sully their domain with the symbols or colors of a rival.

I remember Mike Gittleson going APE SHIT at a fellow student manager for wearing green in the weight room at Schembechler Hall... LIME GREEN... IN THE SUMMER... WHEN NO ONE ELSE WAS THERE.  The kid literally just stopped in to do a favor for a coach and was wearing some t-Shirt that he picked up volunteering somewhere while in high school, and Gittleson went berserk.  There were like four of us in the entire building and the shirt in no way, shape, or form, resembled the green MSU uses(or any of the variations they throw out there every 2 years).  It was one of many realizations I had about the "even mindedness" of people whose entire existence begins and ends with "big time college football."

My brother-in-law shared a similar story from when he was on a recruiting trip to Iowa and some kid came through the football building wearing a shirt that had some red on it.  Football dudes are touchy about that stuff.  

Blue N Bama

November 21st, 2014 at 4:17 PM ^

I went to the Michigan baseball camp way back when Gillete was a catcher on the UM baseball team. Our group rotated over to his station and this kid was wearing an Ohio State t-shirt. Gillete went absolute ape shit on the kid, made him turn the shirt inside out and had him run suicides then entire time we were at his station. I was about 12 at the time and completely enjoyed it.