Wyoming Coach Dave Christensen Hospitalized

Wyoming football coach Dave Christensen has a set routine. On Tuesday, his team proved they don’t necessarily need him around to keep that schedule. Christensen left UW’s facilities early Tuesday morning and was admitted to Ivinson Memorial Hospital, where he was being treated for kidney stones. Back at War Memorial Stadium, however, it was business as usual. “That’s the beauty of the program that he’s got set up,” UW assistant head coach Dan Hammerschmidt said. “Some of the other programs that I’ve been to, you’d be … wondering what to do. “But everything is so by-the-book, the same way every year, every practice, every day.” Christensen mentioned that he wasn’t feeling well in passing after his Monday afternoon press conference. He came to UW’s football facilities Tuesday morning, but didn’t make it long before trainers sent him to the hospital. – Star-Tribune

Is UNLV Coach Mike Sanford “Panicked?”

There is a little panic going on here. A little circling of the wagons. Hey, it happens when you are a head coach in a fifth year, still searching for your first winning season, and you’re coming off a forgettable loss in which some of your players afterward questioned the team’s mindset. Most coaches not named Pete Carroll, at some time or another (and many on a daily basis), restrict access to us bothersome types in possession of recording devices and meddling queries about injuries and position changes and other routine points. Like if there is one coach on staff capable of counting well enough to avoid delay-of-game penalties following timeouts when trying to attempt tying field goals in the closing seconds of a conference road game. You know, small stuff like that… But you don’t need a Masters degree to figure out what’s going on here. He’s worried and has good reason. The loss at Wyoming and how it transpired was beyond brutal for a coach in his fifth season. Teams with bowl aspirations don’t lose to a team that finished in last place last season, is picked to finish last again and started a true freshman quarterback under a first-year coach running a new offense. It was an awful loss for a UNLV team that has insisted things are different this season. UNLV now faces a stretch of UNR and home to Brigham Young and Utah. Things could go south fast here. They have at some point during each of Sanford’s four seasons. A few starters — without being prodded in the least by reporters — said after the Wyoming game that some players didn’t take the Cowboys seriously enough. Not a good thing. So it is no coincidence that for the first time in Sanford’s tenure (which includes, remember, four previous “circus” weeks for the UNR game), he is limiting access now. He will tell you it has nothing to do with the Wyoming loss or what his players said afterward, or the fact he now faces the most critical three-game stretch of his tenure, one that could ultimately decide his fate as UNLV coach. He will tell you there is not a shred of truth to any of that. On its face, limiting access this week means nothing. A few levels below, there is some panic. – Las Vegas Review-Journal

Dan Hawkins on Hot Seat at Colorado

Fourth-year coach Dan Hawkins, 13-26, is showing up on national coaching “hot seat” lists after opening with losses to Colorado State and Toledo, games most CU fans had chalked up as victories before the season. Saturday, Colorado hosts a Wyoming team no doubt brimming with confidence after leading Texas late in the first half last week. Then the meat of CU’s schedule arrives, with a trip to West Virginia followed by Big 12 opponents. CU was favored in its first two games but fell behind early and never recovered. The Buffs couldn’t stop the pass, or the run, and didn’t show much firepower on offense until falling far behind in the 54-38 loss to Toledo last Friday. There’s much to be done — in a hurry. Team captains have called for a players-only meeting this week. And Hawkins said Tuesday the defense will be simplified for Saturday’s game. “You get tied up in knots a little bit with trying to do too much,” Hawkins said. – Denver Post

The Firing Line: Glenn Hangs By a Thread

“The Firing Line” at Football Rumor Mill focuses on coaches around the country who are in serious jeopardy. The latest edition centers on Wyoming Coach Joe Glenn…

Tenuous. That’s how Wyoming’s Joe Glenn described his future as the Cowboys’ football coach on Tuesday. The likeable leader (except among some Utah fans) of the Cowboys is on the hotseat with his team having gone 2-5 this season, and he knows it. – St. Louis Tribune

Wyoming coach Joe Glenn, whose team has scored just 17 points in five MWC games this season, acknowledged that he may not be guiding the Cowboys next season. When asked about his job status, he said it’s “tenuous.” Glenn added that when he met with school administrators before the season, his team needed to go to a bowl game to salvage his job. For that to happen, the ‘Pokes would have to win out. After playing SDSU this week, the Cowboys visit Tennessee, play at UNLV and finish the schedule at home against Colorado State. A decision on his job status will be made at the end of the season, Glenn said. – Deseret News

The Firing Line: Focus on Joe Glenn

“The Firing Line” at Football Rumor Mill focuses on coaches around the country who are in serious jeopardy. The latest edition centers on Wyoming Coach Joe Glenn…

In the bottom-line business of college football, the University of Wyoming has hit rock bottom. And even though he is one of the most popular and well-liked of UW’s 30 football coaches, it’s time for coach Joe Glenn to go. The Cowboys lost 40-7 Saturday to No. 14 Utah at Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium. UW is 2-5 overall, 0-4 in Mountain West Conference play and has been outscored 131-10 in those four MWC losses. The Pokes have lost four straight and have one of the nation’s worst offenses, averaging nine points per game. And they lead the nation with 27 turnovers. – Wyoming Tribune Eagle

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for the University of Wyoming football team, the Cowboys proved it can. For the fourth straight game UW gave up a defensive touchdown early in the contest. It also committed five turnovers and gave up two touchdowns on special teams in a 40-7 homecoming loss to No. 14 Utah in front of an announced crowd of 17,123 at Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium. The Cowboys fell to 2-5 overall and further into the cellar of the Mountain West Conference at 0-4. That’s bad right there, but it gets worse.UW lost its fourth straight game, which marks the fifth time in coach Joe Glenn’s six seasons the Cowboys have lost at least four in a row. — Utah returned an interception for a touchdown on UW’s second offensive possession. UW has allowed five defensive touchdowns this season. — UW has committed five or more turnovers four times in seven games, and added to its nation’s worst total with 27. “It’s a horrible recurring nightmare,” Glenn said. “I don’t know what to tell you. I think we had pretty safe plays in there. Poor choices are hurting us.” – Wyoming Tribune Eagle

The Firing Line: Focus on Prince and Glenn

“The Firing Line” at Football Rumor Mill focuses on coaches around the country who are in serious jeopardy. The latest edition centers on Kansas State Coach Ron Prince and Wyoming Coach Joe Glenn…

Kansas State

It’s starting to look that way. After Texas Tech thrashed the Wildcats 58-28, a purple-clad rooter saw K-State President Jon Wefald going up the ramp to see coach Ron Prince in the locker room and bellowed: “Whoever hired him should have to fire him.” Wefald, who saved football at the school 20 years ago by borrowing millions of dollars and hiring Bill Snyder, was instrumental in choosing the thinly experienced Prince to succeed Snyder. The leather-lunged fan might have been speaking for many regarding Prince, whose hubris has worn thin in his third season. Prince has upset Texas twice, but is 0-6 against Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. And since last November, the Wildcats are 3-6 and in that stretch have allowed point totals of 73, 49, 45, 38, 37 and 58. The signing of 19 junior college players last February has proven to be no fix at all… So what’s next? The future looks murky. Wefald, who has moved football into such a prominent place at the school, has announced his retirement. K-State also has no separate athletic director. Bob Krause, the school’s vice president for institutional advancement, curiously was named to oversee athletics when Tim Weiser left for the Big 12 office. After K-State worked so hard to produce “the Miracle in Manhattan” turnaround, the school cannot afford to backslide very far. Repairing this program after the Herculean efforts to build it the first time may take a long, long time. – Omaha World-Herald

Wyoming

It was another lost weekend for the football team at the University of Wyoming… The Cowboys dropped to 2-4 for the season with a 24-0 loss at New Mexico on Saturday…
In the first six games this season, Wyoming has been outscored 153-72, including 91-3 in three Mountain West Conference contests… It hasn’t been a lot of fun for UW head coach Joe Glenn, his staff and his players as well as the Cowboy Nation. – Laramie Boomerang

The Firing Line: Focus on Glenn - 9/30/2008

The Denver Post reports Joe Glenn will remain head coach of the Wyoming Cowboys at least through the end of the 2008 season…

Joe Glenn will coach the Wyoming football team through the 2008 season. Only then will his job status be evaluated, according to athletic director Tom Burman. Unlike the musical chairs quarterback situation at Wyoming, Burman said Monday there is no chance of a midseason replacement of his coach. “Joe is our head coach, and we believe in him and his staff,” Burman said in a telephone interview. “At the end of the year, we will assess the program and the full body of work. Until then, we will just let them play.” Speculation about Glenn’s job status has grown the more the team struggles. The Cowboys (2-3) were blown out by Bowling Green 45-16 on Saturday. – Denver Post

Hanging by a Thread: Eight Coaches Who May Not Return in 2009

By our count, there were at least eight coaches Saturday who exponentially increased their chances of joining the unemployment line. Let’s cover them one by one:

 

Al Groh – Virginia:  Groh led his Virginia team to a 9-4 mark last year, winning several games by single digits.  This season, it seems thing are back to business as usual in Charlottesville.  The Cavaliers are 1-3 following a 31-3 trouncing by… (drum roll, please)… DUKE!  The Blue Devils ended their 25 game ACC losing streak.  We think it’s only a matter of time for Groh.  He has not endeared himself with prominent boosters.  Most power brokers around the football program do not like him.  It will take a near-miracle for Groh to return in 2009.

 

Phillip Fulmer – Tennessee:  The Vols couldn’t beat Auburn, who in eight possessions in the second half managed six punts, one turnover and one kneel down.  Tennessee is 1-3 with Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Kentucky and Vanderbilt remaining on the schedule.  7-5 looks like a best case scenario, as we can’t see how the Vols can stay on the same field with the Tide and Bulldogs.  Throw in another loss and Fat Lady can begin warming up her vocals.

 

Joe Glenn – Wyoming:  After the 5-7 finish last season, Glenn’s Cowboys are off to a 2-3 start after being blown out Saturday 45-16 by Bowling Green. The heat is rising and we think there’ll be a new sheriff in Laramie very soon.

 

Kirk Ferentz – Iowa:  The Hawkeyes are 3-2 after losing to Northwestern Saturday.  Ferentz was widely respected when he took over the Iowa program coming from the NFL.  He had an immediate impact, but the luster is long gone as the Hawks have fallen to the middle of the pack (6-6 last season).  Ferentz should have taken another job long ago.  Now, with the program engulfed in turmoil with several arrests over the past year, we think a change in leadership is very likely.

 

Greg Robinson – Syracuse:  The Orange lost to Pitt Saturday in a competitive game.  However, it really doesn’t matter at this point.  Robinson can’t save his job.  Every coach in American knows this one is only a formality.

 

Tommy Bowden – Clemson:  Clemson is a difficult spot and Bowden has done an admirable job – even though he has yet to win an ACC title.  However, the Tigers are 3-2 after a loss at home to Maryland.  Bowden just signed a long-term extension – and we think he deserves to return.  Nevertheless, the natives are restless.

 

Stan Brock – Army:  The Knights were 3-9 last season and are currently 0-4 following a valiant effort against Texas A&M.  It’s clear Brock is not getting the job done.  A change is likely.

 

Tyrone Willingham – Washington:  At the time of publication, the Huskies were trailing to Stanford 21-14 in the second quarter.  However, we included him in our list because Tyrone Willingham is in the same situation as Greg Robinson at Syracuse:  he can’t save his job.  It’s not if, but when.  Washington will have new coach in 2009.