Friday, Dec. 10, 2004 | 10:09 a.m.
Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4088.
WHAT: Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl.
WHEN: 6:45 p.m., Dec. 23
WHERE: Sam Boyd Stadium.
TEAMS: UCLA (6-5) of the Pac-10 Conference vs. Wyoming (6-5) of the Mountain West Conference.
TICKETS: $100, $50, $30, $10. Call (866) 388-FANS. Tickets can also be purchased on the Internet at www.unlvtickets.com.
One advantage to being coach of a 6-5 college football team that didn't beat anybody with a winning record is that you can practice for your bowl game without Notre Dame calling.
The biggest distraction for Las Vegas Bowl coaches Joe Glenn of Wyoming and Karl Dorrell of UCLA heading into the Dec. 23 game at Sam Boyd Stadium will probably turn out to be the size-too-small bikini tops of the showgirls who posed with them for pictures during Thursday's news conference at the ESPN Zone.
That's probably the way it should be, although to be honest, I'm not sure the cheesecake at the Continental Tire Bowl would quite measure up to our variety.
But for other schools, including some that are involved in bowl games of consequence, the distractions that result during early December -- prime time for firing and hiring head coaches -- are both real and significant.
Take this Tuesday up in Salt Lake City. When the BCS thorn-in-the-side Utah Utes showed up to continue preparations for their Fiesta Bowl assignment with Pitt -- arguably the biggest game in the program's history -- their head coach was shaking hands in Florida, the man many had penciled in as his replacement was shaking hands in Las Vegas and the third man in the pecking order was home wringing his hands over a difficult career choice.
With Utah head coach Urban Meyer on the road to officially accept the Florida job, offensive coordinator Mike Sanford on the road to officially accept the UNLV job and defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham calling in sick to officially weigh a head coaching offer from his present employer as well as one from BYU, his alma mater down the road in Provo, only a couple of low-rung assistants and Bobby Boucher were left to run practice.
Somehow, it doesn't seem right that coaches preach about the importance of traits such as loyalty and dedication and commitment, then jump on a private plane to be wined and dined by Ol' Tex the minute it fires its football coach, leaving the water boy and a couple of graduate assistants to work on the game plan.
I mean, I'm no Trev Alberts, but if the reason for all this urgency to hire a new coach is because the clock is ticking on recruiting season, then why not move recruiting season back a month? That way, the hot commodity coaches could remain with their teams until after their bowl games and even fool some of their players into believing they might even stay around beyond that.
When I posed that question to the Las Vegas Bowl coaches, their immediate response was that I was right. Not about moving back recruiting season, but that I'm no Trev Alberts.
"You know, it is what it is," said the gregarious Glenn, perhaps the best thing to hit Wyoming since a flannel shirt and mud flaps, given the haste with which he has turned things around in Laramie. "It (national signing day) used to be back into April ... but (that's) too long. Most teams pretty much have their recruiting lined up before the season starts, anyway."
So then this theory about moving so quickly to make a hire because you don't want to fall behind in recruiting doesn't really apply, right?
Wrong, said Glenn. Well, he didn't exactly say my logic was totally flawed, only that coaches bailing out on their players to better their careers is just part and parcel of college football, BCS style.
"Job changes, it is what it is," he reiterated. "I don't know how you are going to get around it. There's always going to be jobs open and coaches lookin' at 'em. Personally, I'm just glad to have the job I've got."
His counterpart pretty much said the same thing.
"Most job opportunities are usually in December, they're not in January," said Dorrell, whose young UCLA team nearly scuttled cross-town rival Southern Cal's back-to-back national championship plans before falling 29-24 at the Rose Bowl last Saturday.
"I would think that when they hire a coach, like they hired me in December, you still have plenty of time to recover and get yourself a recruiting class."
But at least Dorrell was sympathetic to the players' point of view when coaches walk out on them to feather their own nest.
"To extend the recruiting process, yeah, that could probably help," he said upon re-thinking my proposal. "But the likelihood of that happening is just not real strong."
In a lot of ways, the NCAA reminds me of my kid brother when we were growing up. I don't understand how it gets away with some of the things it does.
To wit: When a recruit signs with a school, he must remain at the school for the length of the contract. If another school tries to contact him about transferring, it's an NCAA violation.
But when a coach signs with a school, he can still be bought by the highest bidder. If another school tries to contact him, it's just business as usual.
Joe Glenn may be right. It is what it is. But I still don't see why it couldn't be what it is in January instead of December.
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