Alabama update, plus Eddie Gran

Well, Rich Rodriguez turned 'em down. He's staying at West Virginia. That makes sense to me, honestly, because he's a third-generation mountain boy. His wife is from WVU. She and hubby are WVU graduates. He makes good money. He can win a national championship there. It's a nice situation for the Rodriguez family. Mo' money, mo' problems. The pressure in this state is a serious drawback for many coaches. Just sayin'.

Meanwhile ...
Eddie Gran has talked with some people at North Texas about their vacancy. Gran is going to be a very high-profile coach in time, and I think North Texas is a reasonably good place for him to start. There is a recruiting base, of course, and it's a winnable league. Gran is a young guy, a smart coach and understands how to use the media to his advantage.
Chance to leave before next season: 75%

I'm less certain about Al Borges' situation. I think he's an outstanding offensive mind. I'm not sure he's accomplished enough yet to plow his way into a major D-I job like Stanford. If we're talking about a place like San Diego State or the like, well, I'd have a different opinion. Stanford probably is too big of a jump from Auburn O.C., but Borges certainly has the charm to make miracles happen. He has the skills, too. I just don't know if schools will take a risk based on his three years at Auburn. Borges wasn't exactly thriving when Tuberville hired him.
Chance to leave before next season: 20%.

Check this out

Alabama offered Nick Saban $5 mil/year PLUS a $7 million signing bonus.

And he turned it down ... without even talking directly with officials at Alabama. Wow.

Coaches Poll results

Interesting if you haven't seen it yet.

USA Today Coaches Poll

Note: Gregg Brandon (Bowling Green) and Dennis Franchione (Texas A&M) ranked Auburn No. 5. Wow.

Quick thought on Alabama

I know everyone has an opinion about what will happen at Alabama. Here's mine, which is a little different.

Rich Rodriguez, based on the evidence I've seen, probably will be the Tide's next coach. If that happens, I can't wait to see how that will affect J.P. Wilson's value. The kid is an outstanding pocket quarterback. Not sure he can run that QB-attack stuff WVU has been running this season.

One guy who should get a sniff is Art Briles at Houston. I saw a few of their games this season on ESPN 8, I think, and they really stuck with me. We watched the C-USA championship game, and UH mauled Southern Miss. Really exciting offense. Would be a perfect fit for Wilson.

Briles hasn't been a college head coach long (he was a crazy-successful high school coach for a long time) but it's pretty clear to me that he's ready for a bigger challenge. He deserves an interview before Alabama goes head-over-heels for Rodriguez, whom I think is a tad overrated at this point.

Auburn update

Hey everyone. It's been a little while. Football has been off since the Iron Bowl, so there hasn't been much excitement around the Plains lately. Let me catch you up on a few things.

A: Auburn football is playing Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl. Old news, I know, but should be an interesting game at least. The Cornhuskers' offense looks a lot like Auburn's. The spotlight will be on CBs David Irons and Jonathan Wilhite to make some plays. A few readers have e-mailed asking about the payout. The Cotton Bowl provides $3 million per team. That money, for the most part, goes directly to the SEC for re-distribution during the league's "summer meetings" in May.

B: I made my Heisman vote yesterday. Each voter can choose a maximum of three players. I went with Troy Smith (Ohio State), Darren McFadden (Arkansas) and Ian Johnson (Boise State). Some might argue that Brady Quinn deserves a mention.

Here's my thinking.

Troy Smith had an excellent season and is the most important player on the consensus No. 1 team. Easy.

McFadden is the best player I watched this season. I think he's the best SEC back since Bo Jackson, and may become one of the 10 best college backs of all time. Outstanding player.

Ian Johnson? Amazing consistency, and finally helped Boise State crawl into the Bowl Championship Series picture. He's incredibly tenacious. I love watching him play.