Despite the news conference today when he angrily shouted down reporters asking if his staying would be good for Rice football, my sources tell me that Ken will resign tomorrow as football coach of Rice. Fabulous news. Old Kenny has driven this program to a pathetic state. No fans, almost no wins (thanks Tulane....errr I mean Katrina), and no funding thanks to apathetic alumni like myself. It can only be up from here. Rice baseball was in a similar position before Wayne Graham turned things around and made us into a national powerhouse. Football is a different game, but we should be a contender in C-USA every year given our location. There is finally some hope to next season, despite bodybag games with UCLA, Florida State and UT-Austin to open up the year. Names for the next coach that I'm hearing out there include Duane Akina, Mike Singletary, RC Slocum (doubtful) and Todd Dodge...pure early speculation at this point...
Thank goodness Hatfield is leaving. Talk about driving a program into the ground. I'm hoping they hire someone who can recruit, as that seems to be Rice's biggest problem given the academic hurdles. There is a ton of talent in Houston that could create a strong program if they could be convinced to stay home. Won't be easy, but anything is better than 1-10 and 2,000 fans showing up at games.
Todd Dodge would be a great candidate as he's well known in the Texas HS coaching ranks. He could be a great recruiter at Rice and bring in some good athletes for a change. He won the 5A state championship last year, so the guy can coach too. Also, his son is supposed to be a stud QB at Southlake, so he might follow his dad to Rice. I keep hearing Mike Singletary's name when job openings come up. Mike's a Baylor grad, so he might consider the job. I'm not 100% sold on Duane Akina. Texas' secondary had all kinds of trouble with Texas Tech and other pass happy offenses before Greg Robinson got there. He's emotional and fiery, but I just don't think that he gets the job done as HC. At this point, I think Rice needs someone who's young, hungry, and committed to building the program from the bottom up. A few years ago, Urban Meyer brought Bowling Green up from a pile of crap. Maybe Rice can find a coach to do the same.
Oh come on. SMU? Tulsa? Tulane? Central Florida? UAB? UH? UTEP? Those are beatable teams. Hell we were close to beating UTEP and UCF this year with our atrocious team. We did beat Tulane. We beat SMU and UH last year. We can definitely compete in CUSA.
I'd prefer an up and comer to RC, but RC is certainly a proven coach. He looks better and better the more of Fran I see at A&M, that's for sure.
If you keep running that straight triple option offense, there's no way you can win. Its easy to gameplan for an offense as consistently stagnant as Rice's was. There was never a passing game and consequently Rice get beat into the ground. Their one win came against a team that nearly got dissolved because of hurricane katrina. (congrats to Rice) Now watch them hire some guy like Bill Calahan who embraces only passing. All the players will be so confused after running the triple option all their life and will tank again. Just ask Nebraska.
Bigtexxx is right. With the right coach and semi decent recruiting, Rice can compete in CUSA. A head coach won't solve everything. They need a new marketing plan for football too. Rice has to get non-alumni involved to fill the stadium. Making it affordable and providing a fun atmosphere for kids might help turn Rice football into a family event. Think how minor league baseball markets themselves. Don't go the UH route and have delusions of getting into the Big 12.
