From Tony Barnhart posted on CBSSports: "Remember when Penn State started 0-2, with losses to Ohio and Virginia? It looked like Penn State's football team might win 2-3 games at best. But after Saturday's win over Wisconsin, the Nittany Lions are 8-4. A big part of coaching is holding things together when it looks like the whole world is trying to pull you apart. Getting those players to believe in themselves and to keep playing hard week after week is what coaching is all about. There have been a lot of great coaching jobs this year. What Kevin Sumlin has done at Texas A&M has been remarkable. Will Muschamp has the Florida Gators at least a year ahead of schedule. Urban Meyer went 12-0 in his first season at Ohio State when nobody thought that was possible. Mark Richt held his team together after a 35-7 loss to South Carolina and now the Bulldogs are one game away from a shot at the national championship. But Bill O'Brien is my coach of the year. " I say... what about Brian Kelly??? He's had one hell of a year as well. Actually all of those guys have done a nice job...... maybe they should split the award?
How anybody could write an article on Coach of the Year and not mention Brian Kelly is beyond me. That said if I had to chose from the ones he listed, Bill O'Brien did a hell of a job under the most difficult circumstances, not just the negativity surrounding the team but that he lost several (6?) including a starter at RB and WR and his kicker to the NCAA offer of a free pass on the transfer. The other guys, including Brian Kelly did great jobs as well...but none had to face what O'Brien did at PSU.
Barnhart, like Brando, is a media figure that I was surprised to find is a central Southern sports figure. I always figured they were national guys. Everyone comes from somewhere, but to me when you transcend that professional level from regional to national level coverage, there SHOULD BE more of a responsibility on you to cover the nation. For the most part, they're all right but they are SEC homers with Barnhart also having heavy ACC sympathies. That being said, neither are fans of ND. If you watch them on the local CSS coverage, you get to see them with their collars unbuttoned a bit more than you do on CBS. They'll note be going out of their way to say or do anything for ND unless it's to mock them. I don't find Kelly's omission shocking. What I find funny is that these guys all talk about how awful the B1G is, but when a team goes from being ''O for" to having a decent year by playing in that conference... all of a sudden, the guy is a genius. How about Franklin at Vanderbilt? Meyer at Ohio State? Richt can never be overlooked because he's perpetually on the hot seat despite the fact that he just keeps winning. Snyder at KState? Riley at Oregon State? Mora at UCLA? Let's not forget the Bruins were a laughable doormat who is now a team you really don't want any part of... in one year.. and doing so all without the sympathetic coverage that Penn State has received. And yes, their coverage has been sympathetic. The crimes committed their should have buried that program. Instead, it was just shock news until kickoff and since then it's become an underdog story... Phooey.
Here is the link: http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/21141913/what-we-learned-as-top-of-bcs-holds-bottom-may-lead-to-armageddon The COY stuff is down in the middle of the article. I think absolutely Brian Kelly should be in the mix for COY... and I think Barnhart must have not meant the omission. They are all good candidates as listed. If Richt loses to Bama and the Dawgs wind up in the Cap One it's just another flop on the big stage for his detractors.
By the way the Maxwell nominees for COY include Brian Kelly and all of Barnharts favs in addition to several more.
As much as I like Kelly and think he's done a great job of coaching and managing this team, I won't be disappointed if another coach wins. A lot of guys do great jobs, like the PSU coach, and don't end up in the top 10.
We've come to take it for granted that our guy won't win.....our guy has not won the B1G coach of the year since 1979! Every other school in the conference has had a winner - some 4 and 5 times - since an Ohio State coach has won the conference award. Tress won a national award in 02, but not the conference as I recall.... I have a hard time seeing how anybody is more worthy than our guy this year....there are some I would include on the short list with him, Kelly being one, but nobody did a better job, imho
I'd either vote for the Penn State coach or Brian Kelly. I thought PSU would be lucky to win two games. As far as Kelly, going 12-0 with that schedule and the travel demands that go with it is phenomenal. Add to the mix that he does with an academically outstanding squad and its even more incredible. Now that I read my own words it's Kelly. Meyer did a great job. But the B10 was weak this year and because of the suspension he inherited he had no real pressure. His time will come again.
That's one way to look at it Krebsie, another way is that they didn't have a whole lot to play for.....they were also a 6-7 team last year in a year of great turmoil, showed the most improvement of any of the other candidates in only his first year on campus. Kelly would make a fine choice, O'brien less so but still worthy, but imo neither have the measurables that Meyer does....that said, I don't expect him to win
As far as I'm concerned O'Brien or Meyer would be good choices. Kelly started the year with an unranked team and now has them on the top of the heap. He has reservations for Jan. 7, 2013 and that's the best award a coach could get (except for maybe a nice contract extension which I can see if he only wins one more game this year. )
I have a hard time getting worked up about this type of award. A lot of coaches did great jobs this year, some of them did great jobs just to get their teams to .500, with much less talent than say a Kelly or Meyer or Muschamp had on their teams. Undefeated takes a combination of luck and good coaching for sure. If Kelly wins that's great, but it's wins on the field that I really care about. Tyrone Willingham was once coach of the year at ND...didn't work out so well. So I won't really worry about Kelly winning or losing this award.
BT, As you know I am a Buckeye fan only after the Irish, And I get death threats defending Meyer on the Irish BBs so I have no axe to grind. I just don't think Meyer's situation was insurmountable by any means. You can play fast and loose when there is no downside. He is a great coach.
Gotcha Krebsie, and I get that argument, but there is another school of thought on that is pretty solid as well and at least in my view is more compelling.....it's a whole helluva lot easier to get the kids up early and/or staying late in the weight/film room and focusing on the practice field daily when you are playing for a title......each and every week with nary a misstep. To keep them focused for an entire season without the same kind of material incentive as a tool available for use by others is an extraordinary achievement ..... Like I said, Kelly is a very worthy candidate as is O'Brien and Sumlin did an extraordinary job as well esp with a frosh QB in a new conference, new teams/styles and venues .....I have no prob with any of those guys.