Not all new coaches will hit the jackpot

Sporting News, The, June 26, 1995 by Ivan Maisel

This is the time of year coaches reintroduce themselves to their families and their golf clubs. School is out Spring recruiting is wrapped up. Coaches answer mail, speak to alumni groups and bug their agents for endorsements.

Except, of course, for the newly hired head coaches. Whether they are veterans, such as Howard Schnellenberger at Oklahoma or Rod Dowhower at Vanderbilt, or newcomers, their fingers will drum the desk until the freshmen report in August.

Some have more to look forward to than others. Here's a quick look at the fortunes or misfortunes that await the new Division I-A head coaches:

Hitting the Jackpot: Schnellenberger, Oklahoma; Ron Cooper, Louisville; Gerry DiNardo, Louisiana State; Rick Neuheisel, Colorado; Mike Bellotti, Oregon.

Anyone who wanted to pry Schnellenberger out of his hometown of Louisville had to offer a lot Sooners Athletic Director Donnie Duncan did -- 54 lettermen and 19 starters. Gary Gibbs may have been run off, but he won nearly two of every three games in his six seasons. Schellenberger also left behind enough that Cooper should flourish.

DiNardo will find a foundation built in Baton Rouge. Curley Hallman shored up the talent drought he found in Death Valley but couldn't make the Tigers believe in themselves. LSU went 4-7 last season but lost four games by less than a touchdown.

Colorado had five players go in the first two rounds of the NFL draft but don't cry for Neuheisel. He has a veteran offensive line and a solid defense. Bellotti takes over a team that won the Rose Bowl last season. What's not to like?

Give Them Time: Butch Davis, Miami; Dan McCarney, Iowa State; Bob Simmons, Oklahoma State; Tyrone Willingham, Stanford; Nick Saban, Michigan State

It might seem odd to ask for breathing room for Davis. Though it sounds odd to term a 10-2 season as "slippage," the Hurricanes aren't the team that dominated the sport from 1986 through 1992. Combined with the offseason that Miami has endured and the adjustments every team makes to a new coach, contention for the national title is at least two years away.

The others all have had stellar careers as assistant coaches. Simmons has the most rebuilding to do. McCarney must overcome the image problems he has endured after spousal-abuse charges became public. Saban and Willingham take over teams that have won recently.

Can I Have My Old Job Back? Tommy Tuberville, Mississippi; Lee Owens, Akron; Jim Grobe, Ohio; Dowhower, Vanderbilt.

Tuberville's progress will be stunted by tough NCAA probation. Dowhower is a passing coach taking over a running team. Owens and Grobe must turn around long-term losers.

Grudge match

New Louisvile Coach Ron Cooper says he has been stunned by the intensity of the need for revenge in this season's opener at Kentucky. "It's all people talk about," Cooper says. "I'm from Alabama. I know Alabama-Auburn. This has been something." That's not good news for the Wildcats, who didn't win another game last season.

Husky-momia

Just how passionate are fans of the Washington Huskies? Coach Jim Lambright ran into a tittle trouble this offseason as he sought to change the helnet First of all, he wanted the helmets to be purple. Lambright wore one when he played for Jim Owens in the early 1960s, and only Northwestern and East Carolina wear purple helmets. Then word got out he wanted to take the "W" off the helmet and put the Husky mascot on it.

You would have thought he wanted to change the mascot to a Chihuahua. The Seattle Times conducted a reader poll and received 10,000 responses. By a four-to-one margin, the fans wanted the "W."

Lambright went with the public. He unveiled the new helmet at a local golf tournament and silent auction that raised money for the Boys and Girls Clubs. At the end of the evening, from the back of the room, someone yelled out "What about the helmet? Ill give you $1,000."

"Sell it," Lambright said from the dais.

Then someone else yelled out, "$1,200." The bidding ended at $3,000. For a helmet. Guess now's the time to tell everyone the Huskies also will be wearing white shoes this fall. Bidding starts at $750.

Track stars

Montrell Williams, the Idaho kick-returning specialist, ran one 200-meter race for the Vandals this spring. His time qualified him for the NCAAs. Though Williams didn't qualify for the finals once he arrived in Knoxville, Tenn., plenty of other Division I football players did.

Texas Christian backup wide receiver Brashant Carter ran the second leg on the winning 400-meter relay team. Colorado first end Matt Lepsis finished seventh in the discus. UCLA offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden finished fourth in the shot put and Washington tight end Ernie Conwell finished fifth.

Not only that, they all got to miss spring practice.

Ivan Maisel covers college football for Newsday.