Columnist Steve Guiremand: Tollner approaching end of line at San Diego State

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Nov. 2, 2001 | 11:31 a.m.

Steve Guiremand covers college football for the Sun. His Around Campus column appears on Fridays during college football season. Reach him at 259-2324 or steveg@lasvegassun.com.

Navy's Charlie Weatherbie became the first Division I head coaching casualty last week.

The question now: How long before likeable San Diego State coach Ted Tollner joins the list?

This was perceived as a make-or-break year for Tollner, who is 42-46 in eight seasons with the Aztecs. With an almost unheard-of 20 starters back -- including talented running back Larry Ned, the nation's top rusher entering this weekend's games -- it appeared San Diego State would contend for the Mountain West Conference title.

But after finding another mistake-filled way to get blown out by BYU, 59-21, last Saturday night at Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego State (2-6, 1-3) assured itself of its third straight losing season.

Tollner, who turned down a reported $750,000-a-year deal with the Cleveland Browns last winter to become offensive coordinator and assistant head coach, seems almost resigned to the fact he won't be back next year. His contract with the Aztecs is guaranteed through February.

"Don't beat around the bush," Tollner said when asked about his future after the BYU loss. "Be as blunt as you want to be. I am going to coach the next three football games as hard as I can. This is a business and if you're not winning, you have to deal with it. Everything will take care of itself.

"I told our players and coaching staff to keep their self-respect for the final three games. It is all we have left. You people (the media) have a job to do, so do it. But we need to maintain our self-respect and not allow the outside negative things to affect us."

San Diego State athletic director Rick Bay has brought in big names such as Steve Fisher to coach basketball and Tony Gwynn to take over the baseball program. So who will he look at to replace Tollner?

Here's a few names that come to mind: John Cooper, who coached both Arizona State and Ohio State to the Rose Bowl and wouldn't have to worry about getting waxed by Michigan each year, former Arizona head coach Dick Tomey, who made a living recruiting top-notch prospects out of the San Diego area, and former Arizona State and Cal head coach Bruce Snyder, who is also being mentioned as a replacement for Tom Holmoe at Cal.

As for Tollner, he's sure to get his share of NFL and college assistant coaching job offers. There are few better quarterback coaches around. Just ask Steve Young, who would have been moved to safety at BYU if Tollner hadn't persuaded LaVell Edwards to keep him on offense.

Who knows? Maybe UNLV's John Robinson can persuade his old USC assistant to stop by Las Vegas for a year to tutor Jason Thomas next fall.

Dancing in the dark?

USC head coach Pete Carroll found a unique way to fire up the troops before the Trojans' 48-41 victory at Arizona last Saturday: mariachis.

Trying to find a way to loosen his team up, Carroll had a group of mariachis perform for 15 minutes outside the Trojan locker room. Carroll even danced briefly for the team.

"I was totally jacked by the mariachis," Carroll told the Los Angeles Daily News.

The idea to invite the mariachis to the game apparently was the idea of team security coordinator Xavier Suazo. The mariachis were walking through USC's team hotel on Friday night when Suazo invited them to stop by the game, with Carroll's blessing.

Hey, who needs those "Win one for the Gipper" speeches when you can simply bring in a mariachi band?

This Carr no lemon

Although he has dropped recently in informal Heisman Trophy polls because his team has lost twice in a row, don't be surprised if Fresno State quarterback David Carr ends up the first pick of next spring's NFL draft.

At least that's the opinion former Bulldog Trent Dilfer, who quarterbacked the Baltimore Ravens to the Super Bowl championship earlier this year.

Dilfer says Carr can do things he can't do when it comes to throwing the football. He attended Fresno State's 38-34 loss at Hawaii last Friday because his current team, the Seattle Seahawks, had a bye.

"I think he's the first pick of the draft," Dilfer told the Fresno Bee. "I've been saying that for two years. It's a no-brainer. Why would the Houston Texans pick anybody else? There's not a quarterback in college football as good as him. It's not even close. ... I think he's probably a more complete player than I was at this point."

Considering Dilfer led the nation in pass efficiency his last year at Fresno State and set an NCAA record for most pass attempts without an interception (271), that's saying a lot.

"Athletically, he's going to be one of the better guys in the league," Dilfer said. "Between his speed, strength and quick feet, he'll be able to step in right away and fit the profile."

Dilfer was particularly impressed with Carr's ability to get the ball off while scambling under pressure.

"That's what I like the most about him," Dilfer said. "He can throw sidearm, he can throw it up high and he can throw it three-quarters, which is natural for him. Look at the guys like that -- Drew Bledsoe, Kurt Warner, Dan Marino was that way, and Brett Favre's that way to a certain degree. To be able to drop down and throw accurately across your body, that's a gift; you can't teach that. It's something they tell pro quarterbacks not to do because most can't do it."

Whether Carr is picked first next spring could well depend on the decision of another highly touted college quarterback who could come out early and is reportedly being eyed by the Texans: University of Texas lefty Chris Simms.

Once around the MWC