A new theme seems to be that whenever I travel, big news happens back home.
In July, I went north of the border, up Canada way. While I was busy being utterly confused by the French language and trying to convert things to the metric system, my niece (a.k.a. the infant who has her uncle wrapped around her littlest finger) introduced herself to the world.
Since that time, I have enjoyed being a homebody, hanging in the heartland. Alas, duty called this week, and I currently find myself outside the state border.
Naturally, the K-State football team (a.k.a, the source of much pride, satisfaction, discouragement, and now embarrassment) made news today with the announcement of the (eventual) dismissal of head coach Ron Prince.
Some might argue that Prince was not given enough time to find success as head coach. After all, he's in just his third season at the helm, and coaches like Missouri's Gary Pinkel and KU's Mark Mangino were both struggling to find success in their third years. Now, both programs (unfortunately) find themselves competing for Big 12 North championships.
While such may be true, it can be argued that both aforementioned coaches at least had their squads showing improvements in key areas by their third seasons. On the other hand, Prince's Wildcats seem to have peaked in his rookie campaign. Back in 2006, the Wildcats found themselves in the post-season with a true freshman quarterback and speedy defense seemingly fueled by the energy of then-coordinator Raheem Morris.
Now, the Wildcats would be beating all odds to become bowl eligible. They feature a wildly inconsistent offense and a defense that may be fast, but tackles like weak cornerbacks on Tecmo Super Bowl going up against the Nigerian Nightmare. Granted, the passing game can be spectacular at times, but it's still not enough to compensate for the lack of a defense.
The question now is, who will be the next coach walking the Bill Snyder Family Stadium sidelines. Rumors are rampant, and even include the namesake of the stadium himself (a.k.a, the messiah of football in the Little Apple) coming out of retirement. Seems unlikely in most scenarios, but I guess it would make more sense than digging up the corpse of Vince Lombardi or awarding the job to the winner of an NCAA Football 09 tournament on X-Box 360.
I am taking such rumors with a mammoth-sized grain of salt, however I would not be surprised if the new coach came from the Snyder coaching tree. There are several names out there that would be intriguing possibilities, and I'm confident the athletic department will make a quality hire. (I'll even go as far as guaranteeing that they don't hire a blind hobo who combs his beard with a plastic spork.*)
*No, I don't think anyone has ever hired a blind hobo that combs his (or her, this blog is about equal opportunity) beard with a plastic spork for a Division I head football coaching position, but I figured the reiteration might be reassuring.
I would like to take the opportunity to toss my hat in the ring for the position, but I'm not really sure what that phrase really means. After all, I own several hats and I have never been tempted to toss them into any sort ring, be they circus rings, boxing rings, or burning rings of fire.
Oh well, my resume is pretty thin in the football coaching department anyway. I'm not sure yelling at the television when the weak-side contain gets sucked in on an end-around counts as "prior coaching experience," and my play-calling has been limited to the offerings available on my video game system of choice. (Watch out for the flea-flicker).
The really interesting thought in my head is what Prince's exit might be like following K-State's final home game. How will the crowd react? Boos? Polite cheers? By singing "Happy Trails?"
How will Prince respond? Humble acceptance? By swearing revenge? Maybe even something like this?
That would make for an interesting press conference, anyway.
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