What if I told you that despite the cutting of 825 jobs and 459 course selections at Rutgers University, all of the assistant coaches at Rutgers are getting double digit pay increases? My first thought was that this is just a piss poor display by the administration. Kind of like when the average wages in America go down, and our Senators and Congressmen vote another pay raise for themselves.

There’s one major flaw in that comparison, the coaches will probably produce a return on investment. And over the long haul, possibly create enough revenue for the school to start turning a profit. I’m in no way condoning the elimination of jobs and courses, but in reality those raises wouldn’t amount to a drop in the bucket toward saving those jobs and courses.

A successful athletic program will help the school to hold on to what it has, though. It also creates added social events for the alumni and student body. Where before, all there was to do was….

Atlantic City Baby!

Chucky is back in the ACC to bring fear in the hearts of the Offensive Coordinator

We knew that it wouldn’t take long for former NC State head coach Chuck Amato to find another job, and we also knew that Bobby Bowden was feeling a little lonely after seeing his son step down as offensive coordinator. So what’s the next best thing? Hire his old friend Chucky back on the staff. Bowden announced yesterday that Amato will be on the Florida State staff. Amato will serve as the linebackers coach and executive head coach, which he held before he left to be the NC State coach. Jimbo Fisher was hired last week as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in another sign of an overhaul of the coaching staff..

I got my glasses as the Sunglass Hut. How about you?

Florida State fans should also be happy because there is now one less Bowden assistant/relative in the head coaching buisness that Bobby could feel bad for because his job is in jeopardy and lose to. Amato brings some familiarity back to the Seminoles’ staff and if anything else he will rival Bowden on which coach wears the coolest sunglasses on the team.

So the obvious question is, who cares if the coach from Rice decides to leave for the possibly greener pastures of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Normally this would probably not merit a mention on ITB, because we only care about the obvious stories like whether Brady Quinn has his shirt off. However, this is an interesting story for another reason.

As you may know, Enda Krabappel Steve Kragthorpe was recently sniped from Tulsa so he could coach Louisville. Well, it seems it didn’t take long for Tulsa to follow suit, only about 5 days. Nothing surprising there, coaches get hired all the time. What is interesting is that the coach who got sniped, Todd Graham, recently (as in 4 days previously) signed a contract extension with the Rice Owls to remain their head coach. Graham recently led the Owls to a 7-6 record, one of the rare winning seasons in school history. He signed a contract to coach the Tulsa Hurricanes yesterday, the thirteenth.

Maybe this is just me, but this is getting re-freaking-diculous. You just signed a contract extension, then 3 days later you bolt for a new job? How is that classy at all. Why even give these guys contracts in the first place? Just pay these guys week by week, that way the media and fans have no reason to get upset when their coaches leave after a week. How these jackasses can even act upset when an 18-year old reneges on a verbal commitment is beyond me. These kids obviously learn it from someone. This needs to stop, whether its the NCAA that steps in or college presidents… something.

College football coaches work extremely hard. Actually all coaches do from the High School level on up to the Pros. Sometimes though, you have to wonder how much fun these coaches are having, I mean they have to let loose every once in awhile. Can you imagine Joe Paterno busting out and singing Frank Sinatra at a staff meeting? Or Pete Carrol playing the air guitar to a Rolling Stones song right before a big game. Well here are some coaches from Trinity High School in Texas who aren’t afraid to show their wild side.

Just imagine if you were a underclassmen coming back the following season. How do you look your coach in the eye and not laugh at him after watching this?

Will Steve be able to convince Brohm to stay?

The dust had barely settled from the Bobby Petrino quick exit to the Atlanta Falcons and Louisville already has his replacement. ESPN.com is reporting that the Cardinals have come to agreement with Tulsa’s coach Steve Kragthorpe on a 5 year deal that will pay around $1.1 million a year. Kragthorpe was 29-22 in four years at Tulsa and led the team to 3 bowl games in his 4 years, winning one of them. His first goal as the new Cardinal coach…convince Brian Brohm to stay.

Pete Carroll has said all along this year that he plans to stay at the University of Southern California, but we all know how much we can believe coaches these days. Nick Saban went on record a few times saying that he would stay in Miami to coach the Dolphins but when push came to shove he left for Alabama. There is nothing wrong with that, but why go through all the trouble telling everyone that you aren’t interested when you really are interested.

According to the Miami Herald, Dolphins’ owner Wayne Huizenga flew in his private jet down to Costa Rica to visit with the Trojans’ coach while he was on vacation. This meeting between Huizenga and Carroll is classified as an information only meeting. The Dolphins want to find out if Carroll is really interested and if he is, I would have to think that he would be the leading candidate at this time.

I’m going to go on record and say that I think Carroll will be back at USC next year, but if he has no interest in the NFL like he said, why go through this process? Obviously Huizenga had to contact Carroll to find out where he was staying and if he was available to talk. So if Carroll really wasn’t interested why not tell Huizenga not to waste his time? All questions that will be answered in the next few days.

Tide Fans hope to see a replay of this in a few seasons

The Sun-Sentinel is now reporting that the Nick Saban era at Miami is over. Alabama has found their coach and will no longer be the laughing stock of the coaching search world. The deal was initially reported for 10 years at 35 to 40 million dollars.

According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, Saban met with the Dolphins and after a heart to heart talk with Dolphins’ Owner Wayne Huizenga, he (Saban) decided that his heart was in college football.

Nick Saban is going to announce at 10 am EST whether he will stay at the Miami Dolphins or take the job as the Alabama Crimson Tide Coach. The Sun-Sentinel is reporting that Saban will be gone.

“Saban is gone for sure,” one source said.

Sources said Saban told Dolphins assistant coaches that he was uncertain about what his final decision would be. But Saban did try to gauge whether several current assistants would follow him to Alabama if he accepted the offer.

Glenn Mason, who spent ten season with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, was fired today following their 31 point choke job Friday night against Texas A&M at the Insight Bowl.

More tomorrow.

There comes a time in a professional athlete’s career where they still think they are at the top of their game, but everyone else knows they aren’t as good as they once were. Yet no one has the heart to tell him so. Well that’s the way I am starting to feel about the whole coaching situation at Alabama. The Tide fans and School Administration think they are still an elite school, but no one outside of Alabama (well maybe Auburn) has the heart to tell them that their vacant head coaching position isn’t as attractive as it once was. Since their last National Title the Tide are 98-83 with seasons of 12, 9, 8, and 7 losses.

First we had the whole Rich Rodriquez saga. Every paper in Alabama said he was taking the job, then he came out and said he was staying at West Virginia. That had to be a big blow to the Tide’s ego, to have a coach spurn their school for West Virginia. But in reality why would he want to leave? He has a nice situation in Morgantown with two Heisman Trophy Candidates returning on offense, in a conference with a BCS bowl bid, and a good shot of winning it next year. He’ll make the same amount of money and not have to worry about getting fired after a 6-6 season.

I am going to be honest here, there have been so many names thrown out for this job that I probably will forget a few. Now I am reading fromThe Football Scoop that Nick Saban is still the man for the job, but if he doesn’t take it Bret Bielema, Jack Del Rio, or Paul Johnson are next. Bielema is the favorite among some prominent alumni. Again, why would Bielema leave Madison for Tuscaloosa? The Badgers are routinely in the top third of the Big Ten, and as much as SEC fans want to think their conference is the greatest, the Big Ten is just as good of a conference. I can say the same thing for Tommy Bowden who has been rumored in this whole ordeal. Is moving from Clemson to Alabama a step up?

I think the only way Saban (or even Del Rio) takes the job is if he admits that he wasn’t cut out for the NFL. It’s alright, Pete Carroll did the same thing and look how USC has won 1 1/2 titles with him as head coach, and the same goes with Spurrier. It takes a lot for a NFL coach to admit that, but if they can look past that ego they can still succeed.

Paul Johnson wouldn’t be a bad choice but is he really any better than what they had? He has done wonders with Navy and has turned the Midshipmen’s program back to respectability. There are plenty of other coaches that fit Johnson’s profile but none have the name value that Alabama wants. The longer they wait, the tougher it will be on the program’s ego and their recruiting class for next year. Because what recruit is going to commit to a school when they don’t even know what offense/defense they will run?

What is going to be next? Jim Tressel, Lloyd Carr, Pete Carroll? Or better yet maybe Joe Paterno or Bobby Bowden might be interested. I think when it is all said and done, the Tide will have wished they kept Mike Shula because whoever will take his place will not be as good as him.