Some thoughts on a Monday afternoon

12/1/2008

Sorry to force feed this stuff to you, but we re at an important time where there is much to discuss. Keep the e-mails coming. I ve gotten some great insights from many readers. Everyone seems to have an opinion about something.

-First off, we ran a story today about the effect Brandon s firing will have on verbal commitments and to a lesser degree the effect it will have on BG s assistant coaches. We reported BG has 21 verbals, but I have learned the actual number is 20. Not a big deal as the exact count is difficult to gather as coaches are not allowed to comment on verbal commitments. We also reported that the next coach will not be allowed to rescind scholarship offers from those who have already verballed. This is true.

-The commits I spoke with yesterday are unsure of what their next move will be, but the consensus is they will wait to see who BG hires before deciding whether to look elsewhere. To me, this is good news for the program. The way I see it, the recruits will initially like whoever BG brings in. The next coach will say the right things to the recruits and will garner enthusiasm from the fan base. Everyone will be optimistic and energized; the recruits will love the new coach. So provided recruiting coordinator Doug Phillips can keep the verbals on board until a new coach is in place, my guess is they will be in a BG uniform come August.

-The one thing Greg Christopher said Saturday that sort of surprised me was the assistant coaches will be re-assigned to different jobs within the university if they are not retained or are not hired elsewhere. Apparently their one-year contracts expire in June. So listen up BGSU students. Don t be surprised if you find yourself arguing with Troy Rothenbuhler come March because he wrote you a parking ticket while you were in class. Also, it may come to a point where you re at the cafeteria inside Founder s and you find yourself buttering up to Adam Gonzaga so he ll give you an extra helping of mashed potatoes. As for you alums, try to show compassion to Matt Campbell if he interrupts your dinner with a phone call on a week night asking you to donate to the university s capital fund. Unbelievable.

-My guess is at least a couple of the assistants will be retained. From my dealings with them, I like what I see. They are mostly young and full of energy. From all accounts, Mike Ward is a dynamic recruiter, and let s face it, under his watch the defense improved drastically from his first to second season as coordinator.

-Per a few things I ve heard, Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen may not be a good fit for this job. Mullen was the quarterbacks coach at BG under Urban Meyer.

-As I wrote in my previous blog, according to the Web site Footballscoop.com, BG has shown interest in Purdue defensive coordinator Brock Spack. I m not saying he is not a legitimate candidate, because he very well could be, but doesn t it make sense for Christopher to at least interview a Purdue assistant so that he doesn t sever any ties with that university? Perhaps I m overanalyzing things.

-Diyral Briggs was named MAC East Defensive Player of the Week. As I wrote before, I voted for Briggs as MAC Defensive Player of the Year.

-Should BG take a look at Arizona assistant Mark Stoops? My colleague Maureen Fulton reported Toledo is/was at least interested in Stoops. If he doesn t get that job, maybe he becomes a candidate for the one 30 minutes down the road.