12:27 AM
Football
Michigan State University has a football history of folding when it counts. By unloading John L. Smith and hiring Mark Dantonio as their new head football coach. The Spartans have put themselves in a position to perform better than any time since the legendary Duffy Daugherty coached Michigan State to a combined 19-1-1 record in 1965 and 1966, winning back-to-back Big Ten and National Championships.
The reason is simple: Dantonio is a winner from a pedigree that screams success.
He does not have to talk about what he is going to do as Michigan State's new coach. Because he, unlike so many others, has already done a lot of significant winning in support roles under Nick Saban, Jim Tressel and Earle Bruce, all winners and outstanding football coaches.
To say Michigan State has been in the dumper since Duffy Daugherty left in 1972 is being kind. In 34 seasons, the Spartans have been barely above .500. Dantonio spent 6 seasons at MSU as its secondary coach under Nick Saban. Dantonio contributed to Michigan State's successful 1999 season when the Spartans went 10-2, won the Florida Citrus Bowl and were ranked No. 7 in the final polls. Michigan State's secondary under Dantonio was regarded as one of the best in college football, ranking 10th in pass efficiency defense in 1998 and 7th in 2000. A half dozen Spartan defenders under Dantonio were NFL draft picks.
Dantonio spent 3 years as head coach at the University of Cincinnati where he became the first head coach in 23 years to pilot a team to a winning season in his initial campaign, capping the season with a convincing 32-14 win over Marshall in the PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl.
Only the legendary Sid Gillman had taken Cincinnati to a bowl game in his initial season as head coach. Even this season the Cincinnati Bearcats upset then No. 7 Rutgers on Nov. 18, the highest ranked team Cincinnati has ever beaten.
Before moving on to Cincinnati, Dantonio served as defensive coordinator under Jim Tressel at Ohio State, assembling the defense that led the Buckeyes to the national title in 2002. Ohio State was 2nd nationally in scoring defense and 3rd in rushing defense during its perfect season.
In 2003, Dantonio's defense at Ohio State was 2nd nationally against the run, 10th in total defense and 16th in scoring defense.
He was a member of Earle Bruce's Ohio State staff in 1983 and 1984, helping the Buckeyes to the Fiesta Bowl and Rose Bowl.
Dantonio has spent the majority of his coaching career in Ohio where he also helped the Akron Zips to an 8-3 record and an appearance in the Division I-AA playoffs. He then joined Jim Tressel's staff at Youngstown State and helped the Penguins make 3 Division I-AA playoffs during 5 seasons, and posted a perfect 11-0 regular season record in 1990 when he was the defensive coordinator.
When Tressel became Ohio State's coach Dantonio followed as his defensive coordinator. Dantonio is clearly a winner, and I believe he will find some winning players and train them to excel. Dantonio has made a career out of producing results.
I remember when Michigan State was arguably THE football team in the country during 1965 and 1966. I am so happy that Dantonio is a Midwest boy born and bred. He has the strong Midwest ties to compete effectively against major magnets like Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame.
I was born and raised in Michigan and now reside on the West Coast in Washington State. Welcome aboard, Mark Dantonio.
Nick Saban - A Great College Football Coach Who Might Bring Alabama Back to Greatness
Nick Saban recently became the University of Alabama football coach by signing the richest contract ever awarded to a college football coach.
One biggie is $200,000 if he reaches the BCS championship game and escalates to $400,000 if Alabama wins.
Saban also gets a country club membership, two cars, a luxury box at Bryant-Denny Stadium and up to 25 hours of yearly flight time for personal travel in a non-commercial plane.
Ah, it is good to be Nick Saban in Alabama today. Now he must win and win big, something he has been able to do at other college coaching positions.
Saban then went to Michigan State and in five seasons turned the Spartans from a mediocre, continual late-season failure into a 9-2 season that included wins over Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State before he resigned in 1999.
A season earlier, MSU knocked off then No. 1 ranked Ohio State 28-24 at Ohio Stadium and routed highly-ranked Notre Dame before folding later in the season.
If the Big 10 was not tough enough, Saban's next stop was another five seasons with the LSU Tigers in the even tougher, nastier Southeastern Conference.
He chalked up a 10-3 mark and an SEC championship in his second year and topped things off with a 13-1 record in his fourth season (2003) that earned the Tigers a second SEC championship with Saban as well as the BCS national championship title after a 21-14 win over the Oklahoma Sooners.
Saban was able to build a defense with the Dolphins but never really got the offense going, suffering his first losing record as a head coach.
Saban's extended family has football connections. His cousin Lou Saban was a two-time All-Big Ten player at Indiana University and later was head coach for the NFL Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos and New England Patriots.
Saban played as a defensive back for Don James when James was head coach at Kent State University. James also coached NFL great Jack Lambert and led the Golden Flashes (it may be true) to their only Mid-American Conference title in 1972.
Like Saban, James was a winner. James went on to coach 18 seasons at the University of Washington. He was twice named National College Coach of the Year (1984 and 1991), guided Washington to the National Championship in 1991, took the Huskies to 6 Rose Bowls (winning 4), won the Orange Bowl title in 1985, had a 10-5 bowl game record, and won 22 straight games from 1990 to 1992.
James was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997; Saban will likely be inducted into the same Hall of Fame at some point in the future.
Here is what Saban had to say about James: "Don James was my college coach at Kent State. Saban was a graduate assistant and then defensive assistant for the Kent State University football team.
I have distant connections to Saban and James.
I graduated from Michigan State in 1966 and saw two great years of football before graduating. There were 5 All Americans on MSU's 1966 team: fullback Bob Apisa, halfback Clinton Jones, defensive end Charles "Bubba" Smith, wide receiver Gene Washington and rover (linebacker) George Webster.
I remember a game in 1965 when All-American running back Jim Grabowski from Illinois and George Webster were running full steam toward each other and Webster flattened Grabowski. Grobowski went on the play for the NFL Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears.
Football at MSU then turned to crap until Nick Saban arrived and took the Spartans back to prominence. I relocated to Washington State in 1973 and followed the University of Washington Huskies-and Don James-closer than I did Michigan State during those years. You will not meet a better college football coach or person than Don James, he is always about honesty, integrity and doing the right thing.
My expectation is that Nick Saban will bring Alabama football back to its rightful place. I have been a Crimson Tide fan since the day "Joe Willie" Namath walked onto the Alabama campus.
I am also fired up for the football season to start as Michigan State has a new head coach, a guy named Mark Dantonio who is serious about defense and will instill the kind of discipline and winning attitude MSU needs.
The days of the country club atmosphere are over at Michigan State. Dantonio will not accept losing and neither will Saban. Look out SEC, here comes Nick Saban.
The reason is simple: Dantonio is a winner from a pedigree that screams success.
He does not have to talk about what he is going to do as Michigan State's new coach. Because he, unlike so many others, has already done a lot of significant winning in support roles under Nick Saban, Jim Tressel and Earle Bruce, all winners and outstanding football coaches.
To say Michigan State has been in the dumper since Duffy Daugherty left in 1972 is being kind. In 34 seasons, the Spartans have been barely above .500. Dantonio spent 6 seasons at MSU as its secondary coach under Nick Saban. Dantonio contributed to Michigan State's successful 1999 season when the Spartans went 10-2, won the Florida Citrus Bowl and were ranked No. 7 in the final polls. Michigan State's secondary under Dantonio was regarded as one of the best in college football, ranking 10th in pass efficiency defense in 1998 and 7th in 2000. A half dozen Spartan defenders under Dantonio were NFL draft picks.
Dantonio spent 3 years as head coach at the University of Cincinnati where he became the first head coach in 23 years to pilot a team to a winning season in his initial campaign, capping the season with a convincing 32-14 win over Marshall in the PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl.
Only the legendary Sid Gillman had taken Cincinnati to a bowl game in his initial season as head coach. Even this season the Cincinnati Bearcats upset then No. 7 Rutgers on Nov. 18, the highest ranked team Cincinnati has ever beaten.
Before moving on to Cincinnati, Dantonio served as defensive coordinator under Jim Tressel at Ohio State, assembling the defense that led the Buckeyes to the national title in 2002. Ohio State was 2nd nationally in scoring defense and 3rd in rushing defense during its perfect season.
In 2003, Dantonio's defense at Ohio State was 2nd nationally against the run, 10th in total defense and 16th in scoring defense.
He was a member of Earle Bruce's Ohio State staff in 1983 and 1984, helping the Buckeyes to the Fiesta Bowl and Rose Bowl.
Dantonio has spent the majority of his coaching career in Ohio where he also helped the Akron Zips to an 8-3 record and an appearance in the Division I-AA playoffs. He then joined Jim Tressel's staff at Youngstown State and helped the Penguins make 3 Division I-AA playoffs during 5 seasons, and posted a perfect 11-0 regular season record in 1990 when he was the defensive coordinator.
When Tressel became Ohio State's coach Dantonio followed as his defensive coordinator. Dantonio is clearly a winner, and I believe he will find some winning players and train them to excel. Dantonio has made a career out of producing results.
I remember when Michigan State was arguably THE football team in the country during 1965 and 1966. I am so happy that Dantonio is a Midwest boy born and bred. He has the strong Midwest ties to compete effectively against major magnets like Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame.
I was born and raised in Michigan and now reside on the West Coast in Washington State. Welcome aboard, Mark Dantonio.
Nick Saban - A Great College Football Coach Who Might Bring Alabama Back to Greatness
Nick Saban recently became the University of Alabama football coach by signing the richest contract ever awarded to a college football coach.
One biggie is $200,000 if he reaches the BCS championship game and escalates to $400,000 if Alabama wins.
Saban also gets a country club membership, two cars, a luxury box at Bryant-Denny Stadium and up to 25 hours of yearly flight time for personal travel in a non-commercial plane.
Ah, it is good to be Nick Saban in Alabama today. Now he must win and win big, something he has been able to do at other college coaching positions.
Saban then went to Michigan State and in five seasons turned the Spartans from a mediocre, continual late-season failure into a 9-2 season that included wins over Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State before he resigned in 1999.
A season earlier, MSU knocked off then No. 1 ranked Ohio State 28-24 at Ohio Stadium and routed highly-ranked Notre Dame before folding later in the season.
If the Big 10 was not tough enough, Saban's next stop was another five seasons with the LSU Tigers in the even tougher, nastier Southeastern Conference.
He chalked up a 10-3 mark and an SEC championship in his second year and topped things off with a 13-1 record in his fourth season (2003) that earned the Tigers a second SEC championship with Saban as well as the BCS national championship title after a 21-14 win over the Oklahoma Sooners.
Saban was able to build a defense with the Dolphins but never really got the offense going, suffering his first losing record as a head coach.
Saban's extended family has football connections. His cousin Lou Saban was a two-time All-Big Ten player at Indiana University and later was head coach for the NFL Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos and New England Patriots.
Saban played as a defensive back for Don James when James was head coach at Kent State University. James also coached NFL great Jack Lambert and led the Golden Flashes (it may be true) to their only Mid-American Conference title in 1972.
Like Saban, James was a winner. James went on to coach 18 seasons at the University of Washington. He was twice named National College Coach of the Year (1984 and 1991), guided Washington to the National Championship in 1991, took the Huskies to 6 Rose Bowls (winning 4), won the Orange Bowl title in 1985, had a 10-5 bowl game record, and won 22 straight games from 1990 to 1992.
James was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997; Saban will likely be inducted into the same Hall of Fame at some point in the future.
Here is what Saban had to say about James: "Don James was my college coach at Kent State. Saban was a graduate assistant and then defensive assistant for the Kent State University football team.
I have distant connections to Saban and James.
I graduated from Michigan State in 1966 and saw two great years of football before graduating. There were 5 All Americans on MSU's 1966 team: fullback Bob Apisa, halfback Clinton Jones, defensive end Charles "Bubba" Smith, wide receiver Gene Washington and rover (linebacker) George Webster.
I remember a game in 1965 when All-American running back Jim Grabowski from Illinois and George Webster were running full steam toward each other and Webster flattened Grabowski. Grobowski went on the play for the NFL Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears.
Football at MSU then turned to crap until Nick Saban arrived and took the Spartans back to prominence. I relocated to Washington State in 1973 and followed the University of Washington Huskies-and Don James-closer than I did Michigan State during those years. You will not meet a better college football coach or person than Don James, he is always about honesty, integrity and doing the right thing.
My expectation is that Nick Saban will bring Alabama football back to its rightful place. I have been a Crimson Tide fan since the day "Joe Willie" Namath walked onto the Alabama campus.
I am also fired up for the football season to start as Michigan State has a new head coach, a guy named Mark Dantonio who is serious about defense and will instill the kind of discipline and winning attitude MSU needs.
The days of the country club atmosphere are over at Michigan State. Dantonio will not accept losing and neither will Saban. Look out SEC, here comes Nick Saban.
0 comments:
Post a Comment