The Sports Rumors

College Football Players…NFL Head Coaches… Money… Power…

Another busy day at work for me which means I don’t have much time to say too much (I don’t know if that’s for the better or worse). Regardless, here’s what’s on my mind.

Ryan Mallet, quarterback of Michigan, will be transferring out because new coach Rich Rodriguez runs a spread offense and his pocket style passing has no place in it. Consequently, Mallet will be ineligible to play for one year, while Rodriguez obviously won’t be. I don’t know if I can think of a scenario in sports right now that screams injustice and double standard more than the way college football players and college coaches are treated differently. I understand that the NCAA doesn’t want players hopping around from school to school as if they were in the NFL. But there has to be some middle ground. Off the top of my head, the easiest solution to this is for college players to be able to transfer out of a school if their current coach is replaced and not face a penalty of one year. So for Mallet’s example, he can transfer to wherever and be eligible to play right away because his previous coach, Lloyd Carr, was replaced. This current system of transfer penalties if you will is not fair and has to stop.

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I can’t remember where I read it, I think it was in Sports Illustrated, but it was about some writer making the case for how it is unfair that college players are not paid for playing college football. The argument, as I’ve heard for years, is that they bring in so much money for the schools via bowl games and television contracts etc, that it is unfair that they don’t see a dime. Excuse me? Last I checked, the average college education for four years in a public institution costs somewhere in the ballpark of $80,000. That is instate mind you. So getting a full ride to a higher level education by playing a game in which they get PLENTY of other “unofficial” perks isn’t enough? B.S. College football players have it great, and I don’t care if they play for Duke or USC. A program paying for your entire education that will give you the fallback of having a plethora of jobs available to you when you graduate (assuming they aren’t going to the NFL) is more than enough compensation. And not to mention the fact that you are treated like a God even if you’re the third string offensive lineman. So enough with the “lets pay college athletes” crap.

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If I hear one more person say either of the two statements, my head will literally pop off:

1. Bill Cowher said he’s not considering a return to the NFL until 2009. He said so.
2. Pete Carroll won’t leave USC for the NFL unless it’s on the west coast.

Let me address the first statement of idiocy. Really? Bill Cowher won’t listen if someone is dangling control of personnel decisions and $8-10 million? He’s going to pass that up to stay as an analyst with CBS? That’s funny because I remember the likes of Dennis Green, Marty Schottenheimer, Dick Vermiel, Joe Gibbs, and Bill Parcells (twice) saying that they were going to stay in the booth. Don’t be naïve and think that if becoming the highest paid coach with a good team would be something Cowher would pass up for the sake of remaining as an analyst.

The second ludicrous statement. Now that it is official that Pete Carroll is considering the Atlanta Falcons job, do you think that he wouldn’t listen hard if Washington (playoff team), Baltimore (a season removed from being 13-3) or other teams came calling? “I don’t see Pete Carroll leaving USC for anywhere but the west coast” to quote friend and site contributor Basil. Last I checked, Atlanta ain’t on the east coast buddy. Holding out for a west coast NFL job means that Carroll would wait for Seattle, San Diego, or the greatest job of all, Oakland. Yeah, so much for that theory. Carroll will jump at the first opportunity he gets if the right pieces are in place. What are the right pieces? Money and power. I previously thought that Carroll would also want a somewhat established team or at least a team with a tradition and history. I guess that flies out the window if he’s considering Atlanta; the worst job to take over in the league right now and a town with no football history/tradition. You have a head coaching vacancy, and you have power to offer with a lot of money to throw in, give Pete Carroll a call.