Mark Whipple as Potential OC

With all this Bill Young to Oklahoma State talk garnering steam, I still want to squeeze out some more names being thrown around for the OC job. 

Mark Whipple, currently an Offensive Assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles, is a candidate many on the Hurricanes message boards and blogs want badly. To be honest, I had never heard of Whipple before a few weeks ago. His most notable position is definitely his stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a QB coach, from 2004-06. He was around for Big Ben’s rise to NFL stardom, and was given the appropriate credit. But, it doesn’t seem like Big Ben has had any drop off since Whipple’s dismissal, so add that into the mental equation as a candidate.

Whipple does have extensive college coaching experience, however, all of it was in D-1AA. Stints at New Haven, Brown, and UMass, he won the AFCA coach of the year award in 1998, so he has that going for him. Only 51 years old, Whipple would have a lot more years to give to Miami, and probably still harbors thoughts on leading his own D1 program. 

Personally I don’t have him in my top 3. He seems to me just an NFL guy, who hasn’t even been a coordinator, with a (very short) rep as a good QB coach. Maybe Andy Reid is repping him hard (uh oh), but I’m just not sold on the guy. I’d much rather have a young gun, ready and willing to take chances, to lift Jascory into the next stratosphere.

Bill Young to Oklahoma State?

You want to go back to this Bill? And where's the 30 foot high Jesus statue with the thumbs up?

Damn Pokes are trying to steal Miami’s DC. All of us are worried and frettin’ about whom Randy is going to hire for the OC, and now T Boone and “I’m a Man” Mike Gundy are coming after Young, who just finished his first season with UM. Supposedly, the deal would be for $700k a year, twice what Young is making now. Um, holy fucking shit? And, it’s his alma mater. Did someone just get the deal of their lifetime, and at age 61, in his twilight years? I think so.

But Young took a pay cut to come to Miami last year, and has repeatedly stated he knows what is coming in the next few years, how great this team can be, how high the program can get back to. He’s no fool. This okie ain’t no Coker. My personal opinion is he will stay. No reason for him to have left Kansas last year if he wanted to always be in the judgemental Bible Belt, with all the jesus freaks and their promise rings.

ACC Recruiting Update Part 1

Take a look over at Canespace, a pretty substantial Hurricanes site, for a guest post I did on ACC recruiting. There are two parts, one for each division. I’ll link to the second part as well when it’s posted.

Part 1 here.