OT-Your rank of scummiest CFB coaches of the past 25 years
I) Hoping to change the convo a bit from post Army BPONE
II) I came across an ESPN article on Bobby Petrino going back to Arkansas for a speaking engagement, and it got me to thinking about some the characters (hypocrites, charlatans, and overall frauds) we have been blessed to encounter the past couple decades in CFB.
Here's my very unscientific top 5 rating.
1) Joe Pa- Sorry, don't care how much you helped that community/built up the university. You covered for a child rapist for decades. Covering for a Pedo - Gold medal scumbag
2) Urban Meyer- This was a tough one, because I was going to give Meyer the benefit of the doubt after seemingly attempting to clean up his act at OSU; This after running the penitentiary at UF that helped enable Aaron Hernandez, the Pouncey brothers, and tens of arrest on campus. Also, of course, the alleged affair with a co-ed grad student on campus.
Then he said, hold my beer, and went on to cover for domestic abuser receivers' coach Zach Smith, helping him solidify this #2 ranking.
3) Art Briles - Apparently covered up gang rape and sex crimes of numerous players on his team - so bad that much of his administration at this "upstanding Baptist Institution" was forced to resign.
4) Hugh Freeze - Preached Jesus, banged prostitutes. SEC bagmen are a known entity, but Hugh did it with zero shame - taking a moribund program to a top 5 recruiting juggernaut in short order, and boldly denying any allegations of shenanigans throughout Once again, claimed it was God's hand that was guiding the program and its success, not the $$$. This coach-televangelist is currently coaching at Liberty U, a good spot to "revitalize" his reputation with the word of the good lord.
5) Mark Dantonio - Consistently looks the other way when it comes to players involved in sexual violence, domestic violence, criminal activities and other behavior unbecoming a college athlete. His obsession with beating his arch rival has ensured that players will be "cleared" by the time the biggest game of the year comes around - be it violently attacking students in the dorm, or clearing an accused domestic abuser for play after a 1/2 game suspension, Dantonio's inferiority complex seems to drive a great deal of his moral flexibility in managing the roster.
6) Honorary Mentions: Bobby Petrino, Rich Rodriguez, Tom Osborne, Lou Holtz
7) Candidate with the most future potential: Dabo (Televangelist 2.0)
So that's my list...and upon further examination I sense perhaps a bit of bias here, as 3 of the top 5 teams have or had teams that reside in UM's current division. So is the B1G East a cesspool, or am I just more aware and likely to throw stones here because of my Maize and Blue glasses? Not sure, but feel free share your top 5, 10, whatever you want, etc of your scummiest coaches of past 25 years.
September 10th, 2019 at 8:29 AM ^
Please link me to anything that shows #1 that Meyer "went on to cover up for domestic abuser receivers coach Zach Smith". Or link me to anything that is not tied to a UM blog/website that shows anything about him having an affair with a co-ed. I'll be waiting.
FYI Smith still hasn't been charged with actual domestic abuse, and it's over a year after the "allegations". Cops at his house 90+ times over a few year period, nothing ever happened with them. McMurphy fell off the map after his wonderful and credible journalism cherry picking his sources but refusing to speak with anyone that couldn't add fuel to his story. So yeah, the more you put this stuff out there, the more foolish you sound spreading unsubstantiated rumors.
September 10th, 2019 at 9:12 AM ^
As opposed to sounding foolish about how “90 visits by cops over a few years” is OK because no formal charges were brought?
September 10th, 2019 at 9:33 AM ^
Well generally if the cops are called to your house over and over by the same person, if there is any reason for them to be there then you would generally think at least one time there would be an arrest or charges brought upon you right? I mean that's just general logic.
Side note: I live in the community where this happened, it's a very small police department. I know one of the officers as well. The officers got tired of going to the house because every time they went they were basically like, Courtney is drunk again. But they had to show up because you know, it's in the job description.
September 10th, 2019 at 9:50 AM ^
Drunk women don't get abused?
September 10th, 2019 at 10:38 AM ^
The cops showed up 90 times to the same house with allegations of domestic abuse and just said nah, you're ok toughen up lady? Come on. The point is they were being called every time they got into an argument and regularly showed up with zero signs of any physical abuse happening. But hey, if you are into sensationalist journalism, you must love ESPN. Don't you think it's a bit odd that McMurphy went on a complete tangent without vetting other sources or asking anyone besides the one person that has a proven track record of making things up? Was Smith a crap coach? Yup. Was he an even worse husband? Yup. Was his wife a crap wife? All sources point to yes.
September 10th, 2019 at 11:33 AM ^
Um, but there were signs of physical abuse. Maybe they should've done something and arrested the son-of-a-bitch long ago and that would've given Urban an easy out.
There are photos and text exchanges that strongly support her side of the story. But then again it could all be a big elaborate media conspiracy to fake domestic abuse to frame an insignificant assistant coach and squeeze Urban out.
"Crap wife" - way to trash the victim. You're a disgrace and should feel ashamed of yourself. Hope you get a ban.
September 10th, 2019 at 12:02 PM ^
That's where you are wrong. There weren't any signs of abuse the 90 times they showed up to the house. If there were, he would have been arrested.
There are photos and text exchanges that support her side of the story....between her and McMurphy, nobody else. There was no elaborate media conspiracy, this was a ploy by McMurphy to become relevant again when he was staring down the barrel of a dwindling career.
You can say I'm a disgrace all you want but I live a mile from where all of this "went down". It's a well known fact around here that the Smiths were both pretty shitty people. Two people that only wanted to party and argue. But hey, you probably know more than I, more than the police, and more than the Smiths lawyers because you have 5882 points on mgoblog right?
September 10th, 2019 at 1:04 PM ^
Again, you're claiming that the problem here is somehow Courtney Smith and that she somehow managed to trick Urban, his wife, the other coaches and their wives, the athletic department, the university and a reporter (in fact, the national media) into thinking that he was abusing her. She must be pretty brilliant and cunning to pull that off. I don't know her and so I can't say whether she's as horrible as you claim she is, but again - BELIEVE WOMEN when they tell you they're being abused and provide evidence. No matter who your fucking football coach is.
You claim there is no evidence of abuse but dismiss all the seemingly legitimate evidence that backs up her story - 'oh we can't trust those photos', 'we're only getting one side of the story' while also ignoring the text message exchanges. You're also ignoring the fact that Urban knew about all these 'fake' incidents and LIED about it in a press conference. That's the definition of a cover-up. By the way, Smith WAS arrested for a domestic incident in which he threw her into a wall. When she was pregnant. Swell guy. He wasn't charged, but that sure seems pretty bad - I mean where there's smoke there's fire, right? Or maybe she threw her pregnant self into the wall and then called the cops.
Honestly, you and the OSU shouldn't constantly make excuses and claim conspiracy like this, it makes you look bad. It also seems like you consider him a real piece of shit for not adequately coaching up the WRs and that is the true crime here.
If she comes out and says she made all of this up to frame her husband and ruin his life/career or whatever, I'll gladly and appropriately eat my share of crow. But I'm not gonna hold my breath waiting for that to happen.
(also - a ploy by a reporter to boost his career would in fact qualify as a media conspiracy)
September 10th, 2019 at 9:17 AM ^
FWIW while you're going to get pummeled with down votes from the masses I dont disagree with either of your points because they're both true however.........
The rumor about Meyer's and the unidentified coed does extend quite a bit further past this blog. One of my employees played safety for Florida a hundred years ago and is quite connected still to the athletic department and he said that was pretty well known around campus albeit as you correctly state, undocumented beyond rumors. And I have heard this topic broached many times in many national forums with a "nudge, nudge, wink, wink, you-know-what-I mean" type banter when the reasons for his departure from Florida are discussed.
Zach Smith you are also correct on. There have been no charges made and personally I happen to believe him, largely because my first marrage was also to a drunken nutcase and i know first-hand just how crazy shit can get when you're dealing with somebody who drinks heavily. And it's pretty well documented that both Zach and his ex were heavy drinkers. The biggest issue for me if I was an OSU fan would be Zach was fairly well documented to be a shitty and undependable coach, not to mention a pretty scummy individual personally. Do I think he was a wife beater? No. Do I think he is a scumbag and a shitty coach who Meyer should've fired for THOSE reasons? Absofuckinglutely.
September 10th, 2019 at 9:40 AM ^
As far as the rumors, yeah they may be around. I have literally never found any sort of article reporting on them that shows any validity to the claims. I'm a wait and see if there is some solid evidence to the truth. +1 for the employee that played safety for them 100 years ago haha.
As far as Smith. I agree wholeheartedly. After everything that has happened I don't think there was the abuse that McMurphy reported to have happened. Which means "Urban covered up domestic abuse" that you see here frequently is at the very most an incredible reach. But I will say that Urban was loyal to a fault with Smith. He gave him way too long of a leash. Trouble at home needs to stay there. But he let that (along with his excessive drinking and other personal issues) interfere with what he was being paid to do. That right there is where Meyer messed up. He should have been gone about a year and a half before he was let go because his job performance was declining. There was a point where he had all the talent in his room and they were a weak spot for the team. Then Hartline steps in and takes the same guys he had up to the next level. So you are absolutely correct...he should have been fired long before they pulled the rip cord.
September 10th, 2019 at 10:39 AM ^
I'm sorry - weren't there tons of photos showing her bruises and scrapes she suffered at the hands of Smith? Didn't he repeatedly threaten to seriously hurt her or even kill her? (I also think he admitted to it in a text message exchange). His vile, abusive behavior extended beyond the physical and basically sounded like psychological terror. All trademarks of an abuser.
This is also the same guy who has shown a complete lack of composure in the public sphere and flipped out on Twitter on more than one occasion. But keep defending him, by all means.
Also "Trouble at home home needs to stay there" is a horrible concept. Attitudes like that exacerbate and enable domestic abusers.
September 10th, 2019 at 11:28 AM ^
There were some pictures of cuts and bruises, but not a single person could figure out where they were actually from or when the pictures were taken. In fact due to her hair color and style it was pretty much said that the timeline that McMurphy was claiming didn't line up with when they would have actually happened. Not to mention the guy didn't even freaking talk to her own family who basically disowned her. You honestly think that parents that know their daughter is being abused would turn their back on her? As a father of two daughters I can say without a doubt that I don't care what the situation is, anyone lays a hand on either of them or emotionally abuses them, I'm not turning my back on them, I'm going to jail myself after I finish beating the guy that is involved.
I am not and will never defend Zach Smith. He's a POS. Everyone knows that, OSU fans will be the first to tell you that. I'm here to defend the popular opinion on this blog that "Urban Meyer covered up abuse". That is a concept that has been completely blown up, but hey believe what you want to believe. My point about the vast number of inconsistencies that have been brought to light about the Smith household is only stated to further reinforce the fact that people claiming Meyer covered up abuse is a completely asinine theory. He kept a shitty coach and person around for too long because of blind loyalty to Earl Bruce.
September 10th, 2019 at 12:02 PM ^
The popular opinion is not on this blog - it's everywhere in the US outside the State of Ohio. And its the truth.
So, Urban didn't cover up abuse...because there was no abuse? Interesting (also this makes it sound like you ARE defending him, you realize that, right?). In that case, he shouldn't have been suspended right? It was all a big misunderstanding? Pretty easy decision then. But, were Urban and other Ohio State officials talking about not-abuse in those text messages? Were they concerned about his employment with the program because he wasn't abusive to his wife? I don't get it. And I know we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but the guy's behavior in the aftermath of the scandal did NOTHING to lead me to believe he might be falsely accused. Everything he did made me think he was a complete and utter psychopath.
I've never heard about her family, nor do I know the circumstances surrounding their relationship ( I doubt you do, too). But guess what? A lot of women who don't have strong family support still get abused - in fact, you could make the argument that it would make them more vulnerable to an abusive relationship. But you're again trashing the victim- insinuating that her distressed family relationship is the result of her behavior. I don't know if that's the case either necessarily, but that sure sounds like some cooked-up nonsense from the Ohio State conspiracy swamp.
And unless there is VERY compelling evidence to the contrary, I tend to believe women when they claim abuse and then produce photos to support it.
September 10th, 2019 at 8:34 AM ^
Off the top of my head, I'd give Durkin and Phil Fulmer a (dis)honorable mention.
Possible that least scummy coaches would be easier to narrow down.
September 10th, 2019 at 8:44 AM ^
How about Pete Carroll at USC. Enough said.
September 10th, 2019 at 8:47 AM ^
I don't put him this category. Anyone who is looking to side step recruiting rules, etc, fine. Not that I want that for Michigan, but whatever, thats an arbitrary set of NCAA rules that pretty much everyone is ignoring
Anyone who is hiding crimes, covering up scandal, ignoring character issues, all for the sake of winning I feel like belong here.
I agree with your top 5 but in different order. I would probably put Briles at 2, Mork at 3 and Urban at 4.
September 10th, 2019 at 8:56 AM ^
How about Pete Carroll at USC. Enough said.
September 10th, 2019 at 8:42 AM ^
You should have titled this "Scummy coaches that I don't like."
September 10th, 2019 at 8:47 AM ^
I thought it was Pete Carroll doing the coed, but I would not be surprised if Urb did it too.
September 10th, 2019 at 9:51 AM ^
I've never heard that rumor about Carroll and I always hear it (around here) about Urban.
September 10th, 2019 at 8:53 AM ^
Dantonio.
He's an ass. Just a plain old asshole.
September 10th, 2019 at 8:54 AM ^
Brian "Student Killer" Kelly is high on my list!
September 10th, 2019 at 9:05 AM ^
Yea and add the Prince Shembo rape that wasn’t investigated and eventually lead to the suicide of the victim because of it. Then add the way he screams at his players and I’d put Kelly in the top 5 for sure.
September 10th, 2019 at 9:06 AM ^
Have you ever been on one of those lifts? They are scary indoors on a nice flat floor. They shake, wobble, sway, jerk etc. I was always dreading them. Any ass would know not to use it out in those conditions. He should have at least have been charged with manslaughter or something.
September 10th, 2019 at 9:04 AM ^
My top 3 are Paterno, Briles and Freeze. Butch Jones would be high on my list too, if half of the accusations against him are true.
What do we think of Saban for hiring so many coaches coming off scandals? He's not on my list, but he should be a footnote.
September 10th, 2019 at 9:07 AM ^
Jim Tressel
September 10th, 2019 at 9:14 AM ^
Jim Tressel, Gary Barnett, Butch Davis, Barry Switzer, Bobby Bowden, Tom Osoborne, Charlie Pell, Pat Dye, and Ron Meyer have all been involved in major scandals and/or looked the other way while their players did some heinous shit.
September 10th, 2019 at 9:22 AM ^
Briles should be higher than Meyer. Dude covered up gang rape.
September 10th, 2019 at 9:36 AM ^
Regardless of what he knew or covered up for Smith at OSU, but after reading Patterson book on Hernandez, Pope Urban has retired the #1 position for what he allowed at Florida. All the Tebow "atta boys" are wiped away by the "oh shits" of Hernandez, the Pouncey's and many other upstanding citizens he brought to Gainsville.
September 10th, 2019 at 10:10 AM ^
I've talked to people who attended school in Florida (actually both Florida and FSU) while Meyer was there. His reputation was that of a complete scumbag but people looked the other way because he was winning.
September 10th, 2019 at 2:15 PM ^
You beat me to it. That cast of criminals that Meyer recruited while at Florida is why he belongs on this list.
I don't think Tressel belongs on this list though. Pants-gate was a trivial scandal that the media ran with and that Tressel handled about as poorly as it could have possibly been handled.
September 10th, 2019 at 9:52 AM ^
Other than being bad at coaching a football team, what did RichRod do that's scummy?
September 10th, 2019 at 10:11 AM ^
He had an affair at Arizona with allegations of sexual harassment and having an assistant cover for him.
September 11th, 2019 at 10:29 AM ^
Boo sexual harassment. Thanks for the info(/reminder).
September 10th, 2019 at 10:11 AM ^
He was accused of cheating on his wife and harassing a female employee of the athletic department. I'm not looking up whether or not those claims were substantiated or settled out of court. That was the gist of it. Cheating on your wife, doesn't move the needle for me. Exposing yourself to a female coworker, definitely scumbaggy.
September 10th, 2019 at 10:00 AM ^
I think there’s a pretty clear distinction between guys like Art Briles and Pete Carroll. If you think recruiting infractions are in the same galaxy as covering up sexual assault, I’m not sure what to tell you.
September 10th, 2019 at 10:06 AM ^
I'm not nominating anyone, but I'll list my standards when considering nominations.
1) A coach who knowingly covered up an actual crime with a victim(s) or potential victim(s) (rape, domestic violence, assault, child molestation, murder, anything with a gun, DUI, etc.). I'm not going to knock a coach for not talking about a guy or trying to help a guy who got drunk and knocked over some mailboxes or stole a construction cone.
2) A coach who has had a player or student staffer die as a result of their own ineptitude, ego, or overall idiocy.
3) A coach who has created a system where his players can knowingly cheat or not attend class and still earn credit or achieve grades high enough to play.
4) A coach who knowingly allows or "forces" medical staff to clear players to play or shames them into playing or also allows them to use PEDs under his watch.
5) A coach who uses their power or position to coerce a female or male staffer into doing things they otherwise wouldn't do if that person wasn't a coach.
Things I don't care about:
1) A coach who pays players or knows about players getting paid. If we are still getting upset about this, we need to move on. I'm glad Michigan is above this and that should be good enough for the lot of us.
2) A coach who is banging prostitutes while claiming to a "godly man". This just makes you a douche, not a dirty or scumbag coach.
3) A coach who is cheating on their wife. Again, this just makes you a douche (not something a person can't recover from).
Now, I understand that my own interpretation of standards has kind of eliminated Freeze. However, he still makes my list for 1) lying to new players about the NCAA allegations 2) trying to blame everything he did on the previous staff.
September 10th, 2019 at 10:25 AM ^
Fulmer didn't really bother me because he was unapologetic towards cheating. I'm going to do this to win football games until somebody stops me. The flip side of this is why I hate guys like Tressel, Freeze and Coach K more. I know god damn well they are cheating their asses off, but they all act like they are beacons of high moral standards.
Alex Boone was so drunk he passed out at the wheel and smashed into a parked car on campus. He could have killed people, and himself. I would have been arrested and probably expelled from school. Tressel sat him for one game against Northern Illinois. That piece of shit was a politician through and through, Holtz would fall under this same category.
September 10th, 2019 at 10:31 AM ^
I almost reflexively said Craig James.
September 10th, 2019 at 10:41 AM ^
He did kill five hookers......so......
September 10th, 2019 at 10:43 AM ^
For crying out loud you omitted Sweatervest
September 10th, 2019 at 12:12 PM ^
what about barry switzer? oklahoma was blow/guns/felon central while he was there, and he was so infamous that he made it into the law books about SEC (securites exchange, NTSEC) violations of disclosure law with a 'stock tip' he inadvertently heard while under the bleachers....not /s.
September 10th, 2019 at 12:24 PM ^
He skates due to the statute of limitations.
September 10th, 2019 at 5:29 PM ^
Mike Dubose
Rick Neuheisel (read *Scoreboard Baby*)
Gene Chizik
Sugar Ray Locksley
Mark Mangino was allegedly no picnic
September 10th, 2019 at 8:21 PM ^
Well you didn't specify head coaches so.........… Sansatanski will forever hold the spot of most vile fuck ever.
JoPa died in shame which is apt.
Meyer is directly responsible for the murders of 4 people and should be in jail.
Spitting in someones face is a crime in 42 states. Lou Holtthhhzzzzzzpppppthhhtssszzzzzpth has committed that crime at least 10,000 times.
DickRod stabbed the best football team ever to exist in the heart in front of the world. Somehow they survived but that fuk is still walking free.
Sweater vest retired in shame.
Over 25 years but tOSU's corch that brought them to some kind of prominence in their minds attempted to murder a 20 year old on national TV for doing what was expected of him.