Tag: Head Coach

Notre Dame Football: Christmas Came Early Thanks to USC

What we know is that there won’t be anyone to confuse as a great head coach at Southern Cal in 2020 and that’s something any fan of Notre Dame or any Pac-12 school not named USC should be thrilled about.

Merry Christmas, Notre Dame fans!

It may only be the early hours of December 4 as I sit and type this but it might as well be three weeks from now because I’m not sure any Notre Dame fan will get a better present than the one that just arrived on their doorstep with a return address of Los Angeles, CA.

Clay Helton appears to be returning to USC next year.

This news comes just days after a Sports Illustrated report erroneously said Helton would be out of the job and that Urban Meyer was the number-one candidate USC’s administration had in mind to replace him.

I won’t lie, upon reading that article I got more than a bit uncomfortable as a lifelong Notre Dame fan as very few fits seem as puke-worthy perfect as Meyer would at USC.

It appears now that we can say that report was in fact, false.

Let me say that I don’t think Clay Helton is an awful coach.

He led the Trojans to a third-overall final ranking in 2016 after guiding them to a Rose Bowl win over Penn State and even after falling behind big at Notre Dame this season, his players fought until the end for him, pulling within three late.

He also was the only coach to beat Utah this regular season, a currently top-five and possibly headed to the CFP squad.

It’s not that I think he’s awful by any means – that status is reserved for the likes of Tyrone Willingham, Tim Beckman, and Mike Riley if you’re looking for Power Five examples.

I just don’t think Helton is anything special, whatsoever.

Since starting his USC career by winning 27 of his first 37 games, the Trojans have gone just 13-11 in his last 24.  There also appears to be some turbulence coming in terms of talent, or lack-there-of as USC currently ranks 67th in 2020 recruiting rankings per 247Sports.

Louisiana, as in the Louisiana and not LSU, North Texas, Western Michigan and Vanderbilt all rank immediately ahead of the Trojans according to those rankings.

Compared to the rest of the Pac-12, only Utah ranks lower at 107.  It is worth noting a lot can change between now and National Signing Day but it’s clearly not looking like this recruiting class will be anything stellar at USC.

Getting stars to USC hasn’t been the issue for Helton as he his classes were rated the following in recent years by 247Sports:

2019 – 20th
2018 – 4th
2017 – 4th
2016 – 10th
2015 – 2nd

He gets talent to Southern California but his teams have regressed with the more elite talent he brings in.  Sound like someone you used to know, Notre Dame fans?

From afar he seems to have a little Charlie Weis in him, although he seems a lot less insufferable than old Charlie was.

What we know is that there won’t be anyone to confuse as a great head coach at Southern Cal in 2020 and that’s something any fan of Notre Dame or any Pac-12 school not named USC should be thrilled about.

WATCH: Washington’s Chris Petersen announces he’s stepping down

University of Washington’s head coach Chris Petersen is stepping down, effective following the Huskies bowl game.

University of Washington’s head coach Chris Petersen is stepping down, effective following the Huskies bowl game.

The athletic department announced the news Monday, naming current defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake the Huskies next head coach. Petersen will transition into a leadership advisory role within the athletic department, according to the news release.

“It has been a privilege and a professional dream fulfilled to be part of this world-class institution,” Petersen said. “I will forever be grateful, honored and humbled to have had the opportunity to coach our fine young men on Montlake for these past six seasons. I thank each of them, as well as our coaches and administrative staff for the incredible commitment they’ve made to Husky football during my tenure. The football program and Husky Athletics across the board will continue to prosper – and do it the right way – with Jen Cohen’s leadership and the University administration’s commitment to excellence. I’ll be a Husky for life, but now is the right time for me to step away from my head coaching duties, and recharge.”

Petersen helped Washington win two PAC-12 Championships (2016 and 2018), a College Football Playoff appearance (2016) and three New Years’ Six Bowl games in a row.

The Huskies finished the regular season with a 31-13 win over rival Washington State for a 7-5, 4-5 Pac-12 regular-season record.

Petersen shocks college football, Washington announces DC Lake will lead Huskies after six-year coac

University of Washington’s head coach Chris Petersen is stepping down, effective following the Huskies bowl game.

University of Washington’s head coach Chris Petersen is stepping down, effective following the Huskies bowl game.

Former Longhorn Charlie Strong fired from USF

Former head coach Charlie Strong has been fired from the same position at USF. A career 21-16 with the Bulls, they went 4-8 this season.

Former Texas head coach Charlie Strong has been fired from USF after his third season in charge. The Bulls lost to arch-rival UCF 34-7 on Friday night to drop them to a 4-8 record in 2019.

Strong was a career 21-16 at USF, but his last two seasons have been poor. After going 10-2 in his first season in 2016, the Bulls started the 2017 season a perfect 7-0, including wins over two Power 5 teams. They then went on to lose their final six games by an average of 18.8 points per game. 2019 was the final straw for Strong, going 2-6 in the American Conference.

Texas will open its 2020 football season with USF and will be going up against a brand new head coach. While a reunion with Charlie Strong would have been nice, it will not be happening anymore.

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Seahawks opposing QB profile: Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins

A closer look at the Seattle Seahawks upcoming opposing quarterback Week 13 – Minnesota Vikings signal-caller, Kirk Cousins.

Following their 17-9 defensive slugfest victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, the Seattle Seahawks now have a much stiffer contest against the 8-3 Minnesota Vikings and their quarterback, Kirk Cousins.

Cousins will lead his Vikings against the Seahawks in a rematch of last year’s Week 14 Monday night game played in Seattle. Unfortunately for Minnesota, the Seahawks dominated in a 21-7 victory, further feeding the narrative of Cousins’ inability to win in primetime.

As a starter, Cousins’ record in the national spotlight is a paltry 7-13, with an 0-7 record on Monday nights. Cousins is somewhat of an enigma to evaluate. He always produces solid numbers, wins plenty of games to stay well within the playoff hunt, but is seemingly always incapable of winning the ones that matter the most.

However, the Seahawks certainly won’t be paying attention to Cousins’ lousy primetime record as he is in the midst of perhaps his best season yet. Cousins has thrown for 2,756 yards, 21 touchdowns against only 3 interceptions and a sky-high passer rating of 114.8, which is higher than Seattle’s own Russell Wilson and his rating of 112.1.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll certainly holds Cousins in high regard, even admitting he and Wilson were quite similar when both quarterbacks were interviewed by Seattle during the combine for the 2012 NFL draft.

“It was interesting back at the combine when Russ and Kirk were coming out,” Carroll said Wednesday. “I recall it as we went back to back with those guys in our meetings up in the hotel. You couldn’t expect to be more impressed by two back to back guys coming out and talking about the game, their future, their awareness, their resolve, their commitment and competitiveness.”

Cousins will now be leading an incredibly talented roster against the one team ahead of them in the wild-card standings. The Vikings will certainly be hungry to prove they can win on the road against an elite NFC team. The Seahawks are playing their best defense of the year and will need to keep their high level of play up if they want to defend CenturyLink Field from the invading Vikings.

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Week 12 preview and prediction: Seahawks at Eagles

Previewing and predicting the Week 12 outcome between the Seattle Seahawks and the Eagles in Philadelphia.

It is officially the home stretch for the Seattle Seahawks. With only six games remaining in the regular season, and the most difficult schedule in terms of strength of opponents, the Seahawks are going to be pushed to their limits. First up on the docket is a road trip to the City of Brotherly Love to face off against the Philadelphia Eagles.

This will be Seattle’s first trip to Philadelphia since 2014 when the Seahawks suffocated the Eagles in a 24-14 victory that was never nearly as competitive as the final score might indicate. In fact, the Seahawks have not lost to the Eagles since a 26-7 defeat at home in November of 2008.

Philadelphia was a trendy pick to win the NFC by many during this offseason. After last season’s injury-riddled 9-7 campaign following their Super Bowl run in 2017, the Eagles looked to bounce back and return to championship-caliber form.

So far, this has not happened. Despite Philly’s talented roster, the Eagles have stumbled to a disappointing 5-5 record, going 2-2 in the last month. While they have earned impressive road wins over Green Bay and Buffalo, they’ve also been dominated by Dallas, Minnesota, and were completely stymied by New England.

The injury bug has bitten once more, specifically in the secondary and wide receiving corps, which roughly translates to the Eagles receivers struggling to get open, while opposing receivers do not find such difficulty against Philadelphia.

Furthermore, the Eagles could very well be without running back Jordan Howard and right tackle Lane Johnson. Although Philadelphia has a solid backup in former Washington State standout Andre Dillard, this could present an opportunity for a surging Seahawks pass rush, should defensive end Jadeveon Clowney play on Sunday.

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Christopher Johnson using whatever goodwill he has left on Adam Gase

Chairman and CEO Christopher Johnson publically endorsed Adam Gase despite his 2-7 record, much to the chagrin of fans.

For better or worse, Christopher Johnson is hitching his wagon to Adam Gase.

The chairman and CEO stated Gase will remain the head coach in 2020 despite from fans and pundits alike calling for his firing.

“I want to assure you there will be no changes in coaches here,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday. “Adam has the trust of this team. He has the trust of Sam. He has the trust of (general manager) Joe (Douglas). He has my trust. He’s a good man. He’s a good coach.”

Johnson explained part of the reason for keeping Gase is continuity with Sam Darnold’s development. Johnson added that Gase’s first year can’t properly be evaluated due to a ridiculous amount of injuries to the team.

“Sam hasn’t been given the best opportunity to thrive,” Johnson said. “We’ve had so many moving parts on the offensive line that I think it has affected his ability to play as he would like. There’s a great deal of work to do. Everyone understands that. And we’re just getting started. But I feel really good about this team moving forward.”

It’s not surprising that Johnson isn’t planning on firing Gase after one season. While it would send a positive message to an angry and win-deprived fanbase, it could cripple the morale of a team that has yet to turn on Gase. 

What is surprising, though, is how Johnson effectively gave a ringing endorsement of Gase despite the Jets’ 2-7 record and terrible statistical rankings. Even after a seven-point win over the equally-lowly Giants, the Jets rank 30th in points scored and 32nd in total yards. Even with a bevy of injuries, those numbers are atrocious; they’re nothing Johnson should be publicly praising.

It also sends a bad sign to Jets fans when you basically tell them you’re happy with the job Gase has done in 10 months. Objectively speaking, he’s been a terrible coach in the games he’s lost, and lucky in the games he’s won. He was pitched to fans as an offensive genius, but the Jets have only scored more than 20 points and put up more than 300 yards of offense twice all season. Darnold looks to have regressed and no player looks to have developed under Gase’s guidance. He even cost the Jets their starting inside linebacker by leaving Avery Williamson in a meaningless preseason game in which he tore his ACL. 

It would have been easier for Johnson to take Le’Veon Bell’s approach and just continue preaching patience for the future of the team. Instead, Johnson is telling fans he believes Gase is that future, despite every indication that this won’t be the case. 

“I understand it. I’m frustrated, too,” Johnson said when asked about fans’ frustrations. “Every player on this team hates to lose. … Losing is a whole new thing and it’s terrible and I want it to stay terrible. Who wants to get used to that? But I can assure you that this entire building is about getting this team to a better place.”

Almost three weeks ago Johnson was caught on camera criticizing the team before a loss to the Jaguars. The next week the Jets lost to the previously winless Dolphins. If Johnson wasn’t happy with the team before, what changed over the past few weeks for him to suddenly support his coach? The Giants win, though great for morale, wasn’t particularly impressive considering the defense blew a two-score lead and were a Jamal Adams fumble recovery for a touchdown away from losing.

This is less about Gase and more about a vote of confidence for the team moving forward. Though the Jets roster is bad and their season awful, there are still solid pieces surrounding Darnold. If players were also calling for Gase’s head, maybe Johnson would change his tune. But with players like Jamal Adams and center Jonotthan Harrison praising Johnson’s decision, firing Gase would decimate the morale of the team for the rest of the year and send the Jets into a bigger tailspin before moving back to square one this offseason. 

“It shows [Johnson] has faith in coach Gase, like the rest of us do,” Harrison said. “It shows he sees the potential and he sees where this team is going. Instead of listening to the outside noise — Gase this, Gase that — he said, ‘I have total faith in coach Gase.'”

Adams, who at one point refused to talk to Gase and Douglas after trade rumors, also backed Gase: “That’s our head coach and that’s who we ride with.”

Johnson doesn’t have the best track record as an owner. His hands-on approach and seemingly genuine interest in player causes — a drastic contrast from his brother, Woody — made a strong first impression, but he’s 11-30 since taking over in 2017. He let Mike Maccagnan build the roster through the 2019 offseason and played a role in overpaying for free agents. Gase could be yet another mistake in the Christopher Johnson era, and that’s probably not something he’d like to admit after only 10 months.

“It’s said that you are what your record says you are, and that’s not very impressive,” Johnson said. “But looking forward, I think it’s going to be a good team. I have so much faith in Adam and Joe to put together a great future for us.”

We’ll see about that.

4 Studs and 2 Duds in Seahawks’ wild overtime defeat of 49ers

Studs and duds from the Seattle Seahawks nail-biting win over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 10.

The overtime magic seems to keep flowing for the Seattle Seahawks. Only a week removed from their dramatic overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Seahawks found themselves in yet another thriller when they needed an extra period to take down their rivals by the bay, the San Francisco 49ers.

Seattle vs. San Francisco on “Monday Night Football” was being billed as the game of the year, and it didn’t just live up to expectations, it exceeded them. In one of the wildest, climactic, back-and-forth wins one will ever see, the Seahawks delivered the previously unbeaten 49ers their first loss of the year in a game that came down to the final play of overtime.

The 49ers may still be in first place in the NFC West, but their margin for error was severely diminished as the Seahawks clearly demonstrated they are more than capable of taking back a division crown themselves. Here are four Studs and two Duds from Seattle’s Week 10 win.

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