The Hawkeyes go to the Outback Bowl
As optimistic as I usually am about the Iowa Hawkeyes going into the season even I didn’t think I would be typing that headline at the end of this year. Finishing 8-4 is a pretty impressive improvement from last year’s 4-8 record but it is actually the play on the field that I was most impressed with overall. Most people (myself included) thought Iowa would beat Northern Illinois to start the season and when the Hawks couldn’t pull it off it looked like we might be in for a long year but NIU was pretty impressive all season (until the MAC Championship anyway). Losing to Ohio St. and Wisconsin was to be expected and Michigan St.’s turnaround from last year was even more remarkable than Iowa’s. If Mark Dantonio hadn’t made the boneheaded decision to put Andrew Maxwell into the end of Notre Dame game they might be facing Florida St. for a National Championship. Those are Iowa’s four losses, no inexplicable loss to a terrible Purdue team or getting beat by a Northwestern team simply because they couldn’t figure out how to stop them. The Hawkeyes came out on top of rivalry games against Iowa St, Minnesota and Nebraska, the trophy case looks a little better these days. With the recent news that LT Brandon Scherff is returning next year for his senior season the future looks a lot brighter.
I openly questioned whether Kirk Ferentz could get the Hawkeyes turned around one more time but Ferentz did what Ferentz does, he stayed the course believed in what he was doing and didn’t let the noise get to him. There was never a “hot seat” for Ferentz, his contract made sure of that, but he didn’t just sit around collecting his paycheck and hoping things would get better. He made staff changes (Bobby Kennedy and Chris White) that helped add to the new blood from last year (Greg Davis, Brian Ferentz and Levar Woods). The attrition that had hurt the team from previous years seems to have stopped and for the most part this team stayed healthy throughout the year. I’m looking forward to what this staff can do with some continuity amongst themselves and continuity of the roster. Bringing back a starting QB that played pretty well, a stable of RB’s, three offensive line starters (including a future top 10 pick at LT), and a solid group at TE should help make the offense next year pretty good. Finding some playmakers at WR will be priority #1 during bowl prep and spring practice for Greg Davis. Phil Parker came into his own as a defensive play caller at the end of the season and his blitzing during the Nebraska game was a thing of beauty. Next year he has to deal with replacing those three outstanding LB’s but hopefully he’ll get some pass rushers at DE pretty soon. I have to admit I am thoroughly impressed by the turnaround of the Hawkeyes and I’m looking forward to the Outback Bowl and beating LSU. It won’t be easy (WR’s Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry will keep Phil Parker up nights I’m sure) but I think the Hawkeye’s pull it off. The new QB for LSU could be a wildcard, he’s talented but untested and against a veteran defense that has weeks to prepare I’m feeling optimistic but then again don’t I always.
Quick hits
– This Iowa basketball team is fun to watch. You never know who’s going to step up to help out Devyn Marble. Marble is the constant but everybody from Zach McCabe to Gabe Olaseni to Peter Jok has stepped up at one time or another. That might be this team’s best asset because it doesn’t matter how much game film you watch it’s impossible to game plan to stop nine different guys. The Hawkeyes go to Ames to take on a ranked Iowa St team on Friday the 13th. The first time in 26 years the Hawkeyes and Cyclones will meet as ranked opponents (that was the stat I heard the other night during the broadcast, I assume it’s accurate). Big game, both ways.
– The Seattle Mariners gave Robinson Cano a 10 year $240 million deal. Cano is a soon-to-be 32 year old second baseman whose power is likely to be affected by his move from Yankee Stadium to Safeco Field. The idiocy of MLB teams astounds me sometimes. The only time a team has signed a player to a 10 year contract and not ended up regretting it was when the Yankees signed Derek Jeter to a 10 year deal…he was 26 when they did it. The only time a player should get a 10 year contract from a team is if Mike Trout hits free agency when he’s 26. Well done Seattle you just signed yourself up for mediocrity for the next decade. Enjoy paying Cano $24 million dollars when he’s 40 years old.
– The University of Texas may or may not be firing head coach Mack Brown. Mack Brown may or may not be stepping down as head coach at the University of Texas. Nick Saban may or may not be replacing Mack Brown as head coach at the University of Texas. Nick Saban may or may not be signing an extension to remain head coach at the University of Alabama. The only thing I’m sure of is Nick Saban is about to get a lot richer and things are about to get interesting down in Austin. If new Texas AD Steve Patterson fires Mack Brown and doesn’t get Nick Saban he better make sure he doesn’t end up with Todd Graham as the new Longhorn’s coach because he won’t be the Texas AD for long if he does. Although I’m sure the Texas job is Graham’s “dream job”, he apparently dreams a lot.
– The Houston Texans fired Gary Kubiak after they lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, their eleventh loss in a row. Owner Bob McNair was far more patient with Kubiak than most NFL owners would have been and this year’s debacle certainly called for his dismissal. McNair mentioned Lovie Smith as a possible name in his coaching search but I would advise him against that move. The Texans defensive personnel is designed to fit a 3-4 defense and Smith is a Tampa-2 type coach if you need an example of how that doesn’t work just watch a Cowboys game. Square pegs don’t fit in round holes. If he wants a defensive coach call Ray Horton in Cleveland otherwise look at Ken Whisenhunt and get him to bring in a 3-4 defensive coordinator.
– USC got their man in Steve Sarkisian and Washington got an excellent coach to replace Sarkisian in Boise St.’s Chris Peterson. A lot of people think Washington upgraded and wonder why USC chose Sarkisian when Peterson was also involved in the search. This is a prime example of coaches fitting their environment. Sarkisian was the guy USC wanted when Pete Carroll left for the Seahawks but he had just taken the Washington job and he wasn’t about to pull a Lane Kiffin (obviously it would have been called a Sarkisian if he had). This time the timing was right. Peterson has turned down numerous jobs over the last several years because of his comfort level at Boise St. but he had outgrown that job. Washington doesn’t bring the pressure or the media scrutiny that USC has and is a much better fit for Peterson’s low-key personality. Bravo to both schools on those hires and double bravo to USC AD Pat Haden he has replace Kevin O’Neill and Lane Kiffin with Andy Enfield and Steve Sarkisian in the last year, that’s a good job by an AD.
– The college coaching carousel hasn’t spun out of control too much this offseason (that could all change when Mack Brown is out at Texas especially if Saban takes the job). Obviously the USC and Washington jobs were filled quickly and it looks like Boise St. and Wake Forest have filled their vacancies. Florida and Nebraska decided not to fire their head coaches even though it was a distinct possibility. Jeremy Foley was correct to not fire Will Muschamp after this season. Florida won 11 games last year and this year they had an unbelievable amount of injuries. Muschamp didn’t forget how to coach and I think Florida will be rewarded for their patience. Nebraska wins a lot of games under Bo Pelini and he certainly shouldn’t be fired based on the results on the field a better argument for canning Pelini is that he is a terrible representative of the University, in short he’s an asshat. I hope the Hawkeyes have begun a new tradition of beating the Cornhuskers every year.
– The Texans got the ball rolling on the NFL coaching carousel but trust me it’s just the beginning. The Mike Shanahan saga in Washington will be interesting and I don’t care what Jerry Jones says now I won’t believe Jason Garrett and his staff are safe until about March. Leslie Frazier is a goner in Minnesota and I think Rex Ryan is toast with the Jets. Titans head coach Mike Munchak is probably going to be looking for a nice offensive line coaching job after this season. I think Greg Schiano in Tampa Bay, Dennis Allen in Oakland and Joe Philbin in Miami are all coaching for their jobs over the last three weeks.
– If one of the jobs (there should be 5-8) in the NFL isn’t filled by Cleveland defensive coordinator Ray Horton the NFL needs to seriously reconsider its hiring practices. Cleveland’s defense has been pretty good this year and their offense has rarely helped them out.
– I’ll be shocked if Michigan St. defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi isn’t a head coach in college football next season but he deserves a better job than UConn or Bowling Green. Maybe he should wait until next year the Nebraska and Illinois jobs should be open by then.
I should get around to a Iowa/LSU Outback Bowl preview before I go into NFL Draft mode so stay tuned.
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