Shotcallin' - Week 11

When Kansas State hired Ron Prince prior to the 2006 season, I felt it was a dumb hire. Three years as offensive coordinator of a mediocre-at-best Virginia offense did not scream "HO SHIT HIRE THIS GUY!!!!111" to me. Regardless of my feelings then, his firing on Wednesday feels completely unjustified and premature.

First of all, it's Kansas State. Their program patriarch, Bill Snyder, won two-thirds of his games in Manhattan, and no other coach is even close. Except for a few brief years in the late 90's, K-State has never been a national program. In fact, Prince's 16-18 record gives him the second best winning % among K-State coaches.

Even though it was highly unlikely Prince would ever achieve attainable success with the Wildcats, his firing has me steamed because dude was given LESS THAN THREE FULL SEASONS TO RUN THIS PROGRAM. Is college football suddenly like the NHL when it comes to coaching tenures? Was K-State so enamored with Ron Prince during the hiring process that they were expecting 8-10 win seasons out of the gate? This was not a good team during Snyder's last few years on the sidelines. It has been, and will continue to be, a major rebuilding effort. I believe that college coaches should always be allowed to see their first recruiting class graduate. In addition, Prince signed 17 JUCO players this past offseason. Those guys have played 9 games. If the administration is willing to allow he coach to sign 17 JUCO players (a major WTF in the first place), at least have the decency to let the plan run it's course.

And, not wanting to go all Terrance Moore/Scoop Jackson on folks, but this only decreases the number of black D-1A coaches, already a touchy subject in the media and other diversity circles. Thinking back on Tyrone Willingham getting the early axe from Notre Dame and I hope we really aren't seeing a trend here. Even if you make a poor hire (and Willingham/Prince do fit in that category), at least let them ride out the first few bumpy seasons. Espicially at a 2nd tier program like Kansas State.

Then again, this is college football. Tommy Tuberville is apparantly on the hot seat despite being three seasons removed from an undefeated season and having a 34-14 record since that season. Would anyone Auburn could hire be able to achieve that level of success? Not bloody likely...and that is exactly how the Ron Prince's of the world get hired. You want job security? Become an assistant coach under Mark Richt.

Picks:

Kentucky (+10.5) over Georgia - $15

Georgia Tech (+4) over North Carolina - $10

Florida (-23.5) over Vanderbilt - $20

Arkansas (+13) over South Carolina - $10

Yeah, we struglin' this week fellas...

Sobered Up will be up Monday.

Last Week: 2-7

2008 Inferior Picks: 5-4

2008 Overall Record: 42-40-2

2008 Pot: $90