Thursday, October 26, 2006

Why Jim Tressel Will NEVER Leave Ohio St

Jim Tressel to NFL? No Way. Ohio St fans can stop freaking out; there's no way that Tressel goes to the NFL (even the Browns).

It's one of those rumors that floats out there because it SEEMS to fit, not that it has any basis in reality. I've floated a few of those in my time, but never as ACTUAL rumor -- merely Idle Speculation. Come on, folks: There's a glorious difference!

Some college football coaches would make great NFL coaches. Um, yeah, I can think of one off the top of my head: Charlie Weis. Otherwise, I think that the things that make for a great college coach -- say, ABSOLUTE CONTROL -- aren't really available in the NFL.

Given his previous NFL experience (an absolute prerequisite), Nick Saban was as well-prepared as any college coach to make the jump, and look at him now. He's among the NFL's biggest control freaks and has 1 win to show for it in '06.

So I offer up a list of one: Weis. (And he is an NFL coach who happens to be spending a few seasons in college football. Sorry, ND fans.)

Jim Tressel? Pete Carroll? Urban Meyer? All of CFB's elite coaches make too much money -- and, again, have too much unrivaled power -- to feel the need to prove themselves in the NFL, where the money bump ain't that great -- and the power decline is immense. Just ask Carroll about his NFL experience.

(It's funny: Even in college hoops, there are few coaches who I'd say are suited for a jump to the NBA. I always find it strange that Tubby Smith is considered NBA material; that guy is an A-list screamer. Can you imagine him doing that to pros? Even guys like Coach K or Tom Izzo are WAY too control-freaky, cult-of-me to succeed. If he wins a second straight national title, I'd say Billy Donovan would get a shot at coaching the Knicks -- as soon as Dolan fired Isiah -- but one of Donovan's true strengths -- recruiting -- would be wasted at the pro level.)

Commenters: Which college football coaches, besides Charlie Weis, would you say are best-suited to jump to the NFL?

31 comments:

manninghamheisman said...

Dude, your blog totally rocks. Got 7 of my friends hooked on it!

Brave Sir Robin said...

Charlie Weis? Really? That guy would eat a dick in the NFL, just like he does in college.

manninghamheisman said...

I don't think Weis would be any worse in the NFL. He'd be Romeo Cremel basically who's decent

I think Cal's Tedford would be good NFL coach

Unknown said...

Tressel wouldn't leave OSU unless he lost 2 of 3 to Michigan and the 'fans' at OSU turned on him. Which, they would.

Unknown said...

Wow. DJ Gallo on ESPN doesn't hold back on Weis.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=gallo/061025

fezafou said...

Is four Super Bowl rings eating dick? just wondering, and also Weis will not leave ND in the next 10-15 years sorry dan.

nyc-steelers fan said...

Hard to predict a good coach no matter what his background and pedigree. Some good coaches came from college, a la Tom Coughlin, and some stinkers came from the pro ranks, a la Art Shell. Not everyone is suited to being a good coach in the NFL, and it is almost impossible to predict how well a guy is going to do, until he is in the line of fire; having said that, it's remarkable how the disciples of Walsh have done. My man Cowher's cult hasn't done so well (see, Haslett, Mularkey, LeBeau, Capers); Bellichek's is still trying to prove themselves (mangini's doing well, but not so much Crennel and Saban).

Anyway, taking a chance on a college guy is not necessarily the worst idea in the world, because chances are, no matter WHO you take, about a 4 in 5 chance that you'll be considering firing him inside of 5 years. I will say this - Buying a guy out of a multimillion dollar contract to come be your savior is a BAD idea.

As for your question, I'd say Bob Stoops might be a good candidate - his intensity and work ethic seem a notch above most of the other good college coaches out there, on a par with the grudens and shanahans. No place for the good old boys like Spurrier and Bowden in the NFL.

MP said...

None.

No coach should jump from college to NFL.

Absolute control is the key, and only a guy with a lot of coordinating experience in the NFL truly understands what "control" exists in the NFL (ask Marvin Lewis). The college and pro games are now so different that a college coach can't survive. Saban, I'm looking your direction.

Tressel? Are you kidding? He's so old-school and tight-fisted he'd last one week in the NFL. Players would laugh at the sweater-vest.

No, no, no. No more college coaches jumping ship.

Brave Sir Robin said...

Fezafao,
I'm sorry, I forgot about Weis's previous NFL Head Coaching experience...oh wait, no I didn't. Being an assistant coach is an entirely different monster than being a head coach. Look at Dave Wannestadt or however you spell his last name. Multiple Super Bowl rings as a defensive coordinator in Dalls. Sucked as a head coach.

FreKy J said...

No college coach should be allowed to take a head coaching job in the NFL, unless they've already done their time as an NFL coordinator first.

Brave Sir Robin said...

PS, after reading that Gallo article, he is my new hero.

Anonymous said...

There's no way Weis leaves:
1. He has a gullible administration at his Holy Grail college job handing him money hand over fist.
2. College is easier than the pros by a factor of 10, at least. Maybe 20. No salary cap, 7 out of 10 opponents are creampuffs, much fewer games to prepare for, no playoffs where your entire reputation might be staked to one bad play by a flaky QB (too many bowl games for real scrutiny), plus, you have NCAA slush funds, huge alumni and booster perks, little criticism, less stressful environment, and on, and on....
3. He's doing well... but not nearly well enough to get bored.

Anyone who thinks he could leave works for Notre Dame or writes under the name of "Dan Shanoff". How many successful coaches of big school programs leave voluntarily? Very, very few. After Saban and Spurrier, any college coach would have to think three times before actually considering an NFL job. And even then, the odds are waaaay against it.

Weis would be an idiot to leave and I don't think he's an idiot the way he floats NFL rumors to get himself a raise. He's basically Spurrier and having worked with Belicheck, I think he knows it. He can't coach a complete football team, but he's good with QB talent and coaching an offense (we think). That doesn't cut it in the NFL, but it could potentially get him a Hall of Fame coaching career in the NCAA minor league.

Brave Sir Robin said...

I should have just combined all of these into one comment, but I keep on coming back for these.

Rafael is slightly incorrect. We put up with Cooper going 1-9-1 against Michigan and ruining some National Championship seasons in there. Tressel would have to be 8-4 for 4 straight seasons and lose to MIchigan all those years to have the fans turn on him.

ndyanksfan05 said...

Yeh Weiss would totally suck...at least I hope he thinks that so he will stay for the duration of his contract.

Four rings = brave sir robin can suck his dick

manninghamheisman said...

hey guys,

I said this once and I'll say this again

this is the best blog out there...chill with the insults and griping at Dan!!! I would pay $1000 a year for this blog service. Instead he gives it to use for free with advertising. We are truly BLESSED

henry s said...

Texas Tech coach Mike Leach would be an interesting NFL coach, particularly if he wound up on a team like the Rams who already had a built-in aerial circus...granted, he's won nothing at the collegiate level, but the fact that he can wring so many points out of the talent he gets...no mean feat there...then again, he could wind up being the next Mouse Davis...

Anonymous said...

lets look at this logically...there are a few basic skills common to both:

motivating the team
calling the right plays/practing the right things
preparation for the "next" game
using your talent to the maximum

some big differences:

recruiting vs. drafting
paid players in a salary cap vs. paid players that get paid by boosters
teenagers vs. older guys
2-4 years to get output from the college kids vs. working with established players or having longer to develop them.


however, the big commonality between the two is that you dont win without talent. Talent may not win you a championship, but it will put you in the position to do so, and a good coach will win with a talented team eventually.

based on this logic, dungy is not a good coach because all he has ever coached was talent and hasnt made the difference to win it all yet. Belechick may be good, but he wouldnt win without talent, re:browns.

Brave Sir Robin said...

I'm sorry shittyteamsfan05. Four Rings as an ASSISTANT, not as a head coach. Still hasn't won shit in college and never will. Besides, everything he did last year was with Ty's players.

Also, I don't really swing that way, but I do take the offer as it was intended. I know how much it means to you to be attacked Weis's dick underneath the warm comforting girth of his stomach. I wouldn't dream of taking that away from you shittyteamfan05. You can keep your position on your knees.

ndyanksfan05 said...

With pleasure...his fat is comforting and suprisingly smooth and gentle on my skin

Four rings on two teams and creating the best playoff QB of this generation (if not in NFL history) in Tom Brady = probably a good NFL coach.

ToddTheJackass said...

To take an easy answer, it's tough to know if any college coach could do well in the pros, because it's impossible to know how various schemes would work in the NFL.

While Spurrier's fun and gun might be great for the College game, it definitely didn't work in the Pros. On the opposite side, Bill Walsh's West Coast offense worked wonders in the NFL (though Walsh was an assistant in the NFL before Stanford).

But to answer the question I guess I can come up with two names that could work:

Rich Rodriguez of West Virginia could be a decent coach of a team who would have an athletic enough QB/RB to successfully run the spread offense (see: Falcons, Atlanta).

The other name I can come up with someone a lot more balanced, like a Tom O'Brien of BC, who consistently has had success not really hinged on superstar players, but on balanced attacks, and a solid offensive line.

That being said a guy like O'Brien really isn't vocal/all-about-me to draw enough attention to himself to get hired by the NFL.

-Todd (Boston)

manninghamheisman said...

ndyanks and sir robin,

Hey guys,

Get a room!!! Stop talking about Weis's johnson. I just had breakfast!!! The words ND in a title already make me sick as I HATE notre dame. last thing I want is visuals of his manhood and quotes like "With pleasure...his fat is comforting and suprisingly smooth and gentle on my skin"

MoL said...

You got it right Dan, Tressel is 5 wins away from Woody Hayes status. The potential of 2 Championships in 4 years and boosters/alums will pay ANYTHING to keep him there. After the debacle that was Cooper, this guy comes in and is a savior of that program. Even if they have a couple of off years (anyone see that coming?), one national championship earns you so much (ask Lloyd Carr). No, Tressel is there to stay for the next 10+ years. There is no other place where he'd like to coach or where he'll find 1) the success, and 2) be as revered and respected as he is now.

Jen said...

I'm with mark...none, but I like freky j's Prior Offensive Coordinator position requirement.

The difference between the college and NFL levels is too drastic. As Jim Tressel said in an article that I read yesterday, he was an education major and feels that he is teaching as he is coaching, or something to that effect.

I would personally rather deal with immature college kids than overpaid ego-maniacs.

rukrusher said...

How's Norm Chow doing in Memphis?

Matt Berg said...

Kirk Ferentz?

Politics Blogger said...

A sleeper...Ron English (Def. Coordinator at Michigan)

A familiar name, Jim Harbaugh (San Diego)

Unknown said...

Brave Sir Robin

I did grow up in Ohio, so I know the beast. hehe

10 years ago, a guy like Cooper couldn't be fired...10 wins a year, New Year's Day bowl every year... OSU had to wait for the Bellisari Era to can Cooper.

Now...pffft. One bad year is usually enough. Tress has the Title..so I say 3 bad years (bad meaning, losing to Michigan) and he'd be out.

TJ said...

Dan, I think you're wrong when you assume that a coach being well-suited to the NFL is the same as whether he wants to go to (or thinks he can succeed in) the NFL.

And since when are money and control enough to stop a guy from jumping ship? Spurrier was the king of Gainesville--the guy with more money and control than almost anyone--and even he made the leap.

Just because Tressel wouldn't do well in the NFL doesn't mean OSU fans shouldn't worry about him leaving--especially since he knows he could go fail in the NFL for 3-4 years then come right back to college as some other school's (Illinois? Mich St?) savior.

Justin said...

Tressel would have one advantage in the NFL - paying his players is a lot more straightforward.

Anonymous said...

forget tressel... i think he is already an OSU icon...

i think maybe ferentz...

then again.. it'll most likely be a route via the coordinator that a former college coach will become a pro coach...

Site Admin said...

After Saban and Spurrier, any college coach would have to think three times before actually considering an NFL job. And even then, the odds are waaaay against it.

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Jimmy Johnson had a nice run with the Cowboys after leaving Miami


You got it right Dan, Tressel is 5 wins away from Woody Hayes status. The potential of 2 Championships in 4 years and boosters/alums will pay ANYTHING to keep him there. After the debacle that was Cooper, this guy comes in and is a savior of that program. Even if they have a couple of off years (anyone see that coming?), one national championship earns you so much (ask Lloyd Carr). No, Tressel is there to stay for the next 10+ years. There is no other place where he'd like to coach or where he'll find 1) the success, and 2) be as revered and respected as he is now.

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2003 was a down year for the Buckeyes. We all took it at face value. You can't win them all when you graduate a ton of your top players including your QB. In 2003 the Buckeyes finished 3rd in the Big 10 and had to settle for and Alamo Bowl pasting of Oklahoma State.