Possible replacements for Coker, OU fans' ire, more

	Since taking over at Miami in 2001, Larry Coker is 54-11, but the 'Canes have declined in the past few seasons. Joel Auerbach/US PRESSWIRE
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Bored on a plane recently, I attempted to compile from memory a list of every game I've covered for SI.com since 1999. I'm confident I correctly recalled at least 95 percent of them. (Although there was one week in 2003 that was just a complete black hole in my memory bank. I'm talking no recollection of my possible whereabouts that weekend. It must have been some game.)

Upon doing some analysis of said list, I found that I've covered far more games involving Miami (16) than any other team (next closest: USC at 10). Of those 16, Larry Coker was the Hurricanes' head coach for 15. So you'll have to excuse me if I'm feeling a bit somber now that it's all but a foregone conclusion that Coker, one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, will no longer be coaching Miami after this season. The program has been on a progressive decline for years now, and last Saturday's blowout loss at Louisville merely served as the most telling confirmation to date. Athletic director Paul Dee's spin was that the 1-2 'Canes could still win the ACC. Technically that's true. And technically I could still marry Scarlett Johansson.

It's an ugly situation in Coral Gables these days, to be sure, but it has created an interesting subplot: How often do we get to spend three months debating who will get one of the most coveted jobs in college football?

Now that the Larry Coker Watch is officially underway, should Miami just rehire Butch Davis?
-- Nicholas, Atlanta

As a Rutgers fan, how worried should I be that the coach who finally turned the Titanic around, Greg Schiano, will bolt for his old homestead once Larry Coker gets the boot?
-- Dan Zolin, Wilmington, Del.

Both are intriguing possibilities but by no means sure things. Davis burned a lot of bridges at UM when he abruptly bolted for the Browns right before Signing Day in 2001. Would most 'Canes fans welcome him back with open arms? Absolutely. Would Dee? That I'm not so sure about (though, according to Tuesday's South Florida Sun-Sentinel, there may be a movement afoot at the school to force Dee out with Coker). Schiano is an ideal fit in a lot of ways -- he's continued to recruit South Florida hard while at Rutgers -- but it's a big step up from running a longtime Big East doormat to a longtime national juggernaut. Miami may prefer someone more experienced.

Obviously, Miami has the cachet to attract some very big names. The question is, will it be able to afford one? Despite all those national titles, the 'Canes do not do overly well attendance-wise at the Orange Bowl and are not as well-funded as many of the nation's elite programs, and it's already going to cost the school an arm and a leg to buy out Coker after it just gave him a fat contract extension last year. For the right price, Miami could probably land someone like Tommy Tuberville (a former Miami assistant under Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson) or Rich Rodriguez, or perhaps go the Pete Carroll/Charlie Weis NFL route. If Miami gets rebuffed, or if it can't afford it, expect Schiano's phone to be ringing. (Note: Schiano's spot on the call list could rise exponentially if Rutgers beats Louisville and/or West Virginia this season.)