By JOHN P. WISEOne Great Season
Remember when I wrote this?
Me too, and regardless of which team wins the BCS Championship in Glendale, Ariz., next month, a second-year head coach will hoist the crystal Coaches' Trophy for the fourth time in 11 seasons. That's actually pretty impressive.
OREGON: Are Ducks America's Team?
Bob Stoops did it at Oklahoma in 2000, Jim Tressel turned the trick two years later at Ohio State and Urban Meyer won it at Florida in 2006. Stoops and Tressel each would play in two more title games, losing both times. And Meyer won another championship in 2008.
So what does all this tell us? Not a whole heck of a lot, other than maybe Oregon coach Chip Kelly or Auburn's Gene Chizik could very well be putting the early moves on a decade of dominance. If I was a betting man, I'd put my money on Kelly.
And for guys who will be second-year coaches in 2011? Keep an eye on Brian Kelly at Notre Dame, probation-saddled Lane Kiffin at USC, Derek Dooley at Tennessee, Louisville's Charlie Strong, Kentucky's Joker Phillips and Texas Tech boss Tommy Tuberville.
Of the coaches above, who do you think might make some noise next season?