Tag: DC

Finally, Nick Saban appoints his assistants

Nick Saban didn’t have to look hard for his assistants – and there was no real surprise when they were announced. Mike Locksley has been announced as offensive coordinator, replacing Brian Daboll who left to be OC for the Buffalo Bills after the school’s National Championship win over Georgia. Saban has appointed former Penn State wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Josh Gattis as joint offensive-coordinator and wide receivers coach. Gattis has done incredibly well in his time at State College, and Alabama will be fine. Tosh Lupoi will be the school’s defensive coordinator, although Saban also hired UTSA assistant coach Pete Golding to be its co-DC and defensive line coach. Lupoi and Golding will replace Jeremy Pruitt, who

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Great hire: Tennessee hires Pruitt to be new head coach

It came at the cost of one athletic director and a lot of red faces in Knoxville. A lot of Volunteers fans were the butt of jokes about the social media. And then Tennessee hired a former head coach as an AD, and within a few days, the school had installed a new coach from hated rival Alabama – defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt. While details on Pruitt’s contract are not known, Pruitt was hired over Georgia defensive coordinator Mel Tucker and Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele. All three had done fantastic jobs at their respective schools this season. Of course, the hiring of Pruitt did not come without its controversy. Apparently Jimmy Haslem, the school’s powerhouse booster, wanted Tucker for the

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Atmosphere “horrible” in South Carolina coach chase

A South Carolina source close to the SEC Football Blog said that the atmosphere in Columbia has “been horrible” around the school’s coaching search. S South Carolina’s top target was Houston head coach Tom Herman, but a big pay rise has meant he will stay in place. They also wanted Georgia defensive co-ordinator Jeremy Pruitt, although some boosters are unsure about him thanks to his adventures with the Bulldogs coaching staff, where he apparently caused a lot of disharmony. The chase for the South Carolina head coach job hotted up on Friday as rumors began to swirl that Auburn defensive co-ordinator Will Muschamp was close to being appointed to the role. Muschamp is reported to be supported by former head

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Why Mark Richt’s firing at Georgia was coming

“I don’t know what the world is coming to in our profession. I think when you win nine games, that’s a pretty good season, and especially with the body of work that he’s been able to put together there for however years he’s been there. …I hate to see people that have the character and quality and ability to affect young people in a positive way like Mark Richt not be a part of our profession.” – Nick Saban. Last Sunday, Georgia released a statement that they had decided to end the career of Mark Richt “by mutual consent”. Richt was gone, and the atmosphere around Athens has been like a funeral. There were some fans who went straight outside the

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Rollin’ Tide – Final SEC Power Rankings

It was quite a week in the SEC. And while it was about the football, it kinda was and it kinda wasn’t. We had Cam Newton threatening to slap the s_(& out of a heckler before the Iron Bowl, Les Miles getting chaired off against Texas A&M after he kept his job despite everyone saying that he was out of one, and Mark Richt getting booted from Georgia despite a 9-3 season. Down South, the Florida Gators were wonderfully inept in a 27-2 home loss to Florida State, and Ole Miss won the BATTLE OF THE EGG in CowbellLand. Elsewhere, Kentucky lost to Louisville after being 21-0 up (and their QB Patrick Towles has said he’s transferring) and Missouri didn’t show

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Will Alabama lose both Smart and Kiffin in 2015?

It’s that time in college football where everyone’s getting hired and everyone’s getting fired, but the big news might well be at the University of Alabama, where the Crimson Tide may well be looking an offensive and defensive co-ordinator when all is said and done. It’s obvious to me and any writer out there that offensive co-ordinator Lane Kiffin won’t want to stay long-time in Tuscaloosa. He’s got a 35-21 head coaching record from his days at Tennessee and Southern California (we can’t call ’em USC on a SEC website), has a great offensive mind and is a fantastic recruiter. He’s also as loyal as an arms dealer. His agent, Jimmy Sexton, is very good at finding spots for his clients, and with

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John Chavis suing LSU AND Texas A&M, LSU sues back

Surely, this must be the weirdest story out there today. Texas A&M DC John Chavis is suing former employer LSU as well as his current employer Texas A&M over this new contract. Chavis, who left LSU at the end of the season for College Station, where he replaced much harangued/awful defensive co-ordinator Mark Snyder, is suing LSU because the Baton Rouge school has asked Chavis for $400,000 which he claims he does not owe. According to College Station TV station KBIX’s website, John Chavis was given the right to terminate his employment agreement with the Tigers “without cause with 30 days notice.” It added: “If there were between zero and 11 months left on the deal, Chavis claimed he would

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South Carolina to have two DCs in 2015, reports say

South Carolina is to have two defensive co-ordinators for the team next year, reports say. John Hoke, who comes from the NFL and has most recently been with Chicago, will come on board to coach USC’s passing defense, and current DC Lorenzo Ward will coach the Gamecocks rushing defense. Ward worked for Steve Spurrier at Florida between 1999-2001, the report from GoGamecocks.com says. The decision comes as a little bit of a break for Ward, who was in charge of a USC defense that gave up 30.4 points-per-game last year, “good” for 91st in the country. A lot of people felt that Ward would be given his marching orders in the off-season. The decision was going to be announced on Thursday, but

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LSU, Auburn rob top co-ordinators and recruiters from Alabama

LSU and Auburn have both taken defensive co-ordinators from their biggest rival, Alabama. In a stunning Tuesday, Kevin Steele, the Crimson Tide’s inside linebackers coach, defected to LSU to become the Tigers’ new defensive co-ordinator, after John Chavis left for Texas A&M after the firing of Mark Snyder before the bowl season after an awful season for the Aggies. Steele had previously been a defensive co-ordinator at Clemson, where his team saw 70 dropped on them by West Virginia in the 2012 Orange Bowl. LSU fans and bloggers weren’t too happy about Steele’s signing. “The Valley Shook”, the LSU website, said that he suspects the hire “will go over like a fart in church“. Also, LSU announced that they’d sign

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Texas A&M dismisses two starters

Texas A&M has tossed two of their starters after they were arrested on Tuesday night. Linebacker Darian Claiborne and defensive linesman Isaiah Golden were both booted after being arrested on three charges each of aggravated robbery. The police report says: “On May 23, 2014 at approximately 2255 hrs, officers with the College Station Police Department were dispatched to the 2000 blk of Holleman Drive W in regards to a report of an aggravated robbery that had just occurred. Upon arrival officers met with two victims, a 20 year old male and a 22 year old male, and learned that the reported robbery had actually occurred a short distance away at their apartment in the 1100 blk of Jones Butler Road.

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