As Eagles' fans have all endured a horrific stretch of football talking about replacing Frank Spaziani has become a fun past time. Many of these fans have dreamed about Mike Leach donning the maroon and gold and taking over at the Heights. This morning SB Nation's Bill Connelly wrote an interesting piece on where the pirate loving college football coach could land. He had a set criteria that included: whether the job was open, fit with current personnel, recruiting base, AD that may butt heads with him and whether it made sense for him.
The order of likely landing spots went as follows:
1. Arizona
2. Florida Atlantic
3. California or UCLA
4. Kentucky
5. Mississippi
6. Boston College
Let's look at what Bill had to say about BC:
Is The Job Open? (1-10) No, but it could be soon. Boston College is floundering in Frank Spaziani's third season, staring a 1-5 record in the face and looking like they will almost certainly be ending their 12-year bowl streak. However, Spaziani got a contract extension just last year, and he is under contract through 2015. For an athletic department that is both loyal and seemingly resistant to the concerns of a smallish fanbase, this could mean that Spaziani survives this year's disaster. 4.
The contract extension scares the crap out of me too. Would GDF be able to lure in a coach, and more importantly be able to pay him if he had to give Spaz a huge settlement on his way out the door? That would cost the university a lot of money, and with the ticket sales BC has been pulling in, you have to wonder if it is even a possibility.
Personally I have made it clear the removal of Frank Spaziani has to happen. There is far too much to lose here for the Eagles: fans, revenue and most importantly money will all go down the tubes if Spaz stays. I'd say 6.
How's The Recruiting Base? (1-10) Obviously the recruiting base would extend beyond this area, but out of curiosity I ran a Rivals search for 2011 recruits from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and Connecticut. Those five states produced three four-star recruits (a defensive back, a tight end and a linebacker) and 11 three-star recruits. Only two of those 14 players were wide receivers, and they went to Iowa (Marcus Grant) and Nebraska (Taariq Allen). B.C. has a unique recruiting draw with its Catholic base, but you picture hard-nosed linebackers and big running backs when you picture Boston College. 4.
Bill brings up a good point here. There isn't much in this area for recruiting. As we all know the hotbeds of recruiting is down south, an area BC only gets a taste of. However, BC has built solid recruiting pipelines in Pennsylvania, Ohio, NJ and New York. Just looking at the ESPN Top 150 there are 12 recruits just in those areas alone. As Bill said BC has the reputation for hard nosed linebackers and RB's, but add Leach's pedigree for the QB and spread and our recruiting base immediately expands to states BC may not have as many inroads with. 6.
How Much Of A Fit Is The Current Personnel (i.e. how much do they currently pass)? (1-10) Boston College actually passes it more than you think they do (they're 71st in Adj. Run-Pass Ratio), but they aren't any good at it. They are 75th in Passing S&P+, and that feels about 25 spots too high. 4.
I feel Bill's rating is less indicative of the potential of the personnel currently at BC and more about the current offensive system that is already in place. Could Mike Leach come in immediately and change all of that? Absolutely. Many folks have clamored that Chase Rettig just needs a good system, and a coach to help him mature, and who would be better than Leach? The supporting pieces are there. Bobby Swiggert and Alex Amidon are perfect slot receivers, and a healthy Ifeanyi Momah and Colin Larmond Jr can help stretch the field. Bring a solid offensive line coach with you, and this offense could meet or even exceed Coach Jagodzinski numbers. 7
How Strong Is The "Good Old Boy" Network? Does The School Have An Athletic Director Who Might Butt Heads With Him? How Strong Is the Fanbase's Zest For Wackiness? (1-10) Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo fired Jeff Jagodzinski because he interviewed for a job with the Jets. He is fiercely rigid and demands completely loyalty. If Leach didn't receive the resources he felt he needed and decided to raise a bit of a stink about it, this relationship would probably become toxic in about four seconds. 2. And that's being generous.
So yeahhhhhh. About that. Gene DeFilippo would never, ever, ever coexist with a coach like Mike Leach. IT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN. His ego is too big to share with a coaching ego like Leach. So basically you can take the rest of those points and flush them down the toilet.
But, let's play pretend. What would happen if BC Board of Directors said enough is enough and decided to move the Athletics department in another direction? Say one that actually gives a crap about winning football games. What better way to say there is a new way of doing things at BC then hiring Mike Leach? With GDF: -100 Without GDF: 4
Is The Job In A Major Conference? (1-5) That it is. 5.
It certainly is. Get's him right back into a major market, with the distinct challenge of trying to get an apathetic fan base back into his program.
Does It Make Sense? (1-5) I have a high sense of morbid curiosity, and I would love to see Leach take a job like this. But no. It's just not going to happen. 1.
This makes little sense for Coach Leach especially if GDF is still aboard. He is going to want to find a school that allows him free reign to do whatever he wants and one that is in a better college sports market than Boston College. We can continue to pray to the football gods that Leach will come to BC but sorry folks he is going to demand a lot, and he is going to get to pick a school of his choosing. Mike Leach to Boston College isn't going to happen.