A Grip on Sports: College football coaches may not get to meet Pat Sajak but they certainly are spinning the Wheel of Fortune
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Flurries. Pretty cool word, huh? As we right this, Spokane is experiencing “flurries” of snow. We decided to string together a bunch of column-filling “flurries.” We’re nothing if not adaptable.
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• It’s called a coaching carousel for some reason. But that doesn’t seem to fit. We prefer the coaches’ Wheel of Fortune. Round and round it goes, until it either stops on a whole bunch of money, a sunny vacation spot or bankruptcy. All we’re missing is Pat Sajak’s commentary.
It was San Jose State watching Tuesday as its number came up, with its football coach, Brent Brennan, becoming its former football coach. And Brennan not only winning the big bucks, but also a trip to Tucson.
All for giving Vanna the letter “W.” As in wins. Or Washington.
That letter also filled in a couple other squares, from Alabama to Arizona.
Brennan is the right fit at the right time for the Wildcats. And, also, just another in a long line of coaches whose whole life has been changed in a matter of days. Ever since Nick Saban decided he had enough and it was time to ride off into the sunset with Miss Terry. In this case, fortune favors the available. And nearly everyone is available.
• Pete Carroll didn’t want to ride off. He wanted to keep coaching. Jody Allen decided he wasn’t going to be doing that with the Seahawks anymore. That led to a jarring scene yesterday. John Schneider walking solo onto the dais at the Hawks’ headquarters. The operative word being “solo.”
For the past decade plus, Schneider made that walk at the end of each season to meet the media with Carroll. No more. Now Schneider has to determine who he will make the walk with in the future.
Did we learn who that might be Tuesday? Nope. But we do know it won’t be a sitting NFL coach. Unlike college, that doesn’t happen, at least in rare cases. Mainly because to poach a competitor’s coach, one must negotiate compensation. A draft pick or two. A few million dollars.
Why do that? There are 17 assistant coaches out there who might be the next Bill Belichick? Or Belichick himself? He’s available. Or a college coach who might be the next Jim Harbaugh? Or Harbaugh himself? He certainly seems available.
• The area’s weekend college hoops’ slate for the men has some interest, right?
The Cougars, coming off a 2-0 week, are in the Bay Area. Stanford on Thursday, Cal on Saturday. A chance to put together a couple more Pac-12 wins. A chance to improve the resume. A chance to be in the NCAA conversation. That’s all Washington State fans wanted before the season began, right?
Gonzaga fans wanted a lot more. Always do. But they’ll have to settle for the same goals, at least this week. Actually, lesser ones, as neither Pepperdine on Thursday nor San Diego on Saturday offer the opportunity to burnish the Zags’ NCAA bona fides. In fact, with NET rankings of 220 and 236, respectively, both only offer danger. Wins won’t help much. A loss? Crushing.
Eastern Washington leads the Big Sky with its 3-0 mark. But a tough assignment awaits tomorrow night. Weber State in Ogden, Utah. The Wildcats feature the conference’s best player, Dillon Jones, already five-time Big Sky player of the week. They also have a homecourt advantage as good as any in the conference. Even if you get past that hurdle, though, improved Idaho State looms on Saturday in Pocatello. The Bengals’ 6-11 record doesn’t reflect it but take our word for it. It’s a tougher-than-it-used-to-be road trip.
Idaho is improved as well, which makes Thursday matchup in Pokey interesting. And Saturday’s in Ogden a challenge for the host Wildcats.
• One last thought. The Kraken’s Matty Beniers is on the injured list. He was the victim of a vicious hit by Columbus’ Cole Sillinger. Though Sillinger wasn’t assessed a penalty during Saturday’s game, he should have been. And our favorite yet-to-be-adopted rule should be in play.
We’ve long thought if a player is injured through an illegal hit, no matter the sport, the person who caused the injury should be suspended for as long as the injured player is out. An eye-for-an-eye so to speak.
No one has ever adopted it. Someone should.
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WSU: Around the Pac-12 and the nation, Washington introduced Jedd Fisch yesterday, though the former Arizona coach didn’t need one. So, let’s just say he was celebrated yesterday. And that he nailed it. Matt Calkins and Christian Caple had their thoughts on the hire. There were also thoughts from others as Washington tries to rebuild its roster heading into the Big Ten. … Jon Wilner answered questions in his most recent mailbag, which ran in the S-R this morning. … He also has his thoughts in the Mercury News on the other hire, Arizona filling its vacancy by grabbing San Jose’s Brent Brennan. It’s an enthusiastic thumbs up. The same response is coming from Tucson, with Arizona seemingly having a chance to keep key players. … We can also pass along Stewart Mandel’s mailbag, which includes Pac-12 related questions. … Oregon needs a new cornerbacks coach. … Colorado has just about filled its coaching staff. … Oregon State continues to attract Power Four transfers. … In basketball news, Wilner has his men’s power rankings in the Mercury News today. … Oregon is atop that list and, seemingly, in a good spot to make the NCAA tourney. … Could Colorado make it? The Buffs will have to cut down on mistakes. … Utah received a boost even when it lost recently. … UCLA may have found its point guard. The Bruins face Arizona State next. … If Arizona is indeed in a slump, USC might just be the perfect elixir. … The Pac-12 is the best women’s conference in the nation this season. That’s unquestioned. There are four teams in the top eight of the AP poll and rightfully so. … That doesn’t include Oregon State, which just continues to win. … It does, however, include Colorado, ranked third. … Utah is ranked as well and is paying well for it. … Finally, Oregon State is the top-ranked West Coast team in the preseason baseball rankings.
Gonzaga: We mentioned the Zags above. We didn’t mention, however, what will probably happen tomorrow night. When the game is over, Mark Few should have 700 wins on his ledger. It’s a large number and deserves a large story. Theo Lawson supplies that, using the eyes and voices of Few’s assistant now and then to put some context on the number. … He also covers some of the milestones of the past. … Soccer standout Gianna Riley has an offseason assignment. That news leads off the S-R’s latest local briefs column.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Montana needed a quarterback. It seems to have found one in the portal. … The men’s player of the week in the conference was split between Montana State and Northern Colorado. … Idaho State released its football schedule Wednesday.
Preps: The holidays and rivalry games are over, which mean we’re back on a regular GSL basketball schedule. Well, we will be soon. There were games last night and Dave Nichols has a roundup of the results, leading with host Rogers handing West Valley its first loss of the season.
Kraken: The beat-up Kraken trudged through its road game last night in New York with backup Chris Driedger in goal. He was pummeled in a 5-2 loss to the Rangers. … There has been some call ups to fill roster holes, including Beniers’.
Seahawks: Schneider shared a little news yesterday as well as the vision that is driving his coaching search. … The list? That has to come from other sources.
Mariners: Who knew all the San Francisco Giants needed was another former Mariner catcher to turn the corner? Or that the Dodgers’ outfield would be perfect with Teoscar Hernandez on the roster? Maybe the M’s offense was better than it showed.
Sounders: Could Seattle have found its next star player?
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• We left our bed early this morning. So early, in fact, there was hardly any snow on the ground. As we write this, there is quite a bit more. Thanks to, yep, you guessed it, some “flurries.” Lots of them, actually. Until later …