No secret that Gus Malzahn has been offered the Vanderbilt job
And we can say that not because of all the rumors, but because of what Vanderbilt said while denying that Malzahn had been hired.
But director of communications Rod Williamson said Vanderbilt hopes the report would be accurate very soon.
This is either an act of a school confident that Malzahn is going to sign, or another reason why you should not try to run an athletics program without an athletics department.
Earlier on Team Speed Kills: Gus Malzahn Accepts Vanderbilt Head Coaching Offer (We Think)
Okay, so that might not have been entirely accurate at the time. But it will stand unless he says "No."
Did Mack Brown's mistake lead to Florida's hiring
There's a lot of finger-pointing in the direction of Mack Brown after Will Muschamp's decision to leave for Florida. Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman says Brown was set to retire at the end of the year, but ...
At least one source told me Brown had decided in the offseason to step down at the end of the 2010 season, but he changed his mind after his first losing season at Texas, worried that his legacy had been tarnished.
Muschamp was annoyed by the decision, sources close to the football program have said, and chose to leave what he thought was promised him: arguably the best coaching position in the country because of Texas' enormous resources, facilities and budget and the recruiting edge that is the Lone Star State.
This is potentially important to Florida when it comes to the most significant worry that hiring Muschamp would present: That it's merely a bus stop on his trip back to Texas. It's unlikely that Muschamp would turn around and head back to Austin after a couple of seasons on such a high-profile stage, but if there were any danger of that in the first place, there won't be if the tensions between Muschamp and the Texas administration were significant or left some hard feelings.
This is also the problem with head-coach-in-waiting set-ups. HCIWs don't take the position to either get the job or take the money that comes if they don't get the job; they accept the coronation so that they get the job. If that doesn't happen quickly, things can go very bad.
Burnt Orange Nation's take
Our great Texas blog pegs the starting point as the 2010 BCS National Championship Game. Brown decided to try to turn things around this season with a plan that didn't work, leading to his decision not to retire.
But when Florida came calling on Muschamp, one of maybe three destinations (along with Georgia and LSU) for which he would consider leaving Texas, he had to think back to that National Championship game, about how he was potentially one ill-advised speed option call away from taking over the mighty Texas Longhorn empire, and about how everything that happened after that effectively delayed his ascension indefinitely until Mack Brown eventually, finally decides that his legacy is secure enough to walk away. I can't blame him for taking that job.
You have to think that 2011 is going to be Mack Brown's last season in Austin. Even if the team doesn't do well, it's hard to see how Brown can stop a fan uprising.
Keeping Jeff Driskel
According to the mother of one of Florida's top recruits, Muschamp is already at work trying to keep Meyer's class together.
"He’s fully committed," Mary Driskel said. "He got his classes set up. He’s on his way."
The knowledge that Steve Addazio won't be back can only help.
Al Golden headed to Miami
This is probably a good hire.