04/24/24
January 14, 2010
Bettis: Bill Cowher "Holding Out" for Giants Head Coaching Gig: In an interview with Chris "Mad Dog" Russo on Sirius XM, Jerome Bettis let the cat out of the bag, saying that Bill Cowher is holding out for the NY Giants head coaching job, and will stay at CBS until said job becomes available. So, do we believe Bettis, or is he just blowing smoke?
posted by cletus7777 to football at 11:36 PM - 8 comments
And that is exactly why Duke should go after him if Cutcliffe goes to Tennessee. It's only about a 15 minute drive from his house in Raleigh to the Duke campus. If he took the job in Charlotte, he would probably have to hole up in a hotel for the entire season. Besides, it's not like there is any expectation of Duke football to be a perennial number one in the nation or anything.
posted by NoMich at 06:23 AM on January 15, 2010
For that matter, Cowher could wait to see if the job came open at his alma mater, NC State.
Tom O'Brien is not exactly doing a lights out job at State (I still can't figure out why he left BC for that job. I always thought he wanted to get back to Virginia, but that's another story).
If Cowher went to either Duke or NC State, their annual game against UNC would become a lot more noteworthy. It wasn't that long ago that no one much paid attention when any of those three schools played each other in football.
This past season, Duke for the most part had a nice, cozy stay-close-to-home travel schedule, which would likely appeal to Cowher.
Just somebody get Cowher out from behind that desk on the NFL pre-game show. He can't get a statue of himself admitted to the wax museum because he's such a studio stiff in real life.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Giants might like to get John Fox for themselves. He's done OK at Carolina despite some questionable rostering decisions (mainly at QB).
When Fox has enough healthy people and Delhomme isn't doing his Hindenburg imitation, the Panthers have made the playoffs and generally played well. Fox has coached through some severe on-field talent shortages at times which were no fault of his own.
And, Fox has owned Coughlin's Giants in recent years. Vivid examples of a team being outcoached and out game-planned. Tiki will tell you.
posted by beaverboard at 09:00 AM on January 15, 2010
When did pros-turned-commentators go from just yakking about sports to becoming shills for their teams? I guess it's the change in environment over the past 10 years; seems like a lot of recent "graduates" have been either encouraged to be edgy or are naturally gifted.
Maybe Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi have left a bad taste in my mouth. Wait, let me rephrase that.
posted by yerfatma at 09:21 AM on January 15, 2010
Coach Cutcliffe announced mid-morning that he's staying put at Duke.
Duke AD Kevin White is twice fortunate. One, to have Cutcliffe to begin with, and two, that the coach is happy where he is.
White didn't do anything while he was the Notre Dame AD to necessarily justify being the beneficiary of such good fortune.
Having extended Bob Davie's contract (the team promptly began the next year 0-3), hired George O'Leary (who never coached a game at ND), and lavishly and very prematurely extended Weis' contract, White then flew the coop to bring his own special brand of magic to Durham.
Thus far, his transition from Touchdown Jesus to the Blue Devils has gone better than many people thought it might.
posted by beaverboard at 12:29 PM on January 15, 2010
As an NC State Alum I can say State tried to get Cowher before O'Brien was hired but it was the year Cowher retired and rumor was he wanted to take time off.
I would say he's waiting for the Carolina job. At the end of the season their was lots of talk in North Carolina of Fox being fired and then Cowher possibly coming back to the NFL. Then Fox kept his job and no more Cowher talk.
posted by WolfpackMD at 02:08 PM on January 15, 2010
As an NC State Alum I can say State tried to get Cowher before O'Brien was hired but it was the year Cowher retired and rumor was he wanted to take time off.
I would say he's waiting for the Carolina job. At the end of the season their was lots of talk in North Carolina of Fox being fired and then Cowher possibly coming back to the NFL. Then Fox kept his job and no more Cowher talk.
posted by WolfpackMD at 02:08 PM on January 15, 2010
So, do we believe Bettis, or is he just blowing smoke?
I choose to both believe Bettis and believe he is blowing a certain amount of smoke.
posted by Joey Michaels at 03:11 PM on January 15, 2010
I think he is waiting for Carolina to give Fox the ax. He lives in Raleigh, his youngest daughter is a student in Raleigh, and he is an NC State alum. Charlotte is just a short drive from the Triangle Area. Additionally, he built a HUGE home there. When stepping down from Pittsburgh he commented he would be very happy to stay in NC for the rest of his life.