The Firing Line - 9/29/2008

A few excerpts from the morning news about coaches on “The Firing Line”…

That Tommy Bowden and Al Groh have hit their ceilings. The last time I did a “worst coaches list” in the summer of 2007, three of the five choices (Dennis Franchione, Bill Doba and Karl Dorrell) were fired by season’s end. The other two, Clemson’s Bowden and Virginia’s Groh, came within a game of winning their respective ACC divisions, achieving temporary redemption and earning fat offseason contract extensions. A year later, any semblance of momentum is shot. Following Saturday’s loss to Maryland, the most talented team of Bowden’s tenure is 3-2 and Clemson fans are likely resigned to the likelihood that no Bowden-coached team is ever going to make it past the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Meanwhile, Groh’s program is sinking like a rock. It’s one thing to have a down season; following a 31-3 loss to Duke, the Cavs — a year after reaching the Gator Bowl — appear well on their way to a 1-11 nightmare. It appears both schools have a whole lot invested in a pair of coaches who will never eclipse anything greater than they already have. – SI

Gettin’ toasty seat — Al Groh. The numerous off-field issues the program had, coupled with its losing record and the direction the team is headed could add up. – ESPN

The Clemson Tigers are stuck with Tommy Bowden after giving him a six-year extension in December just because Arkansas made a phone call. But remember, this is Clemson, not exactly a bastion of integrity, and a university with enough boosters used to paying off people, most illegally, so that a few million to break a contract should be no problem. – Palm Beach Post

(Chancellor Jim) Rogers and (Head Coach Mike) Sanford aren’t exactly best pals, because a couple of years ago Rogers wrote this memo to the higher-ups at UNLV saying that although Sanford wasn’t the problem with the football program, the program had problems he couldn’t fix. – Las Vegas Sun