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Riding the coaching carousel

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Posted: Monday July 26, 1999 06:30 PM

Nineteen Division I schools have new coaches this season, including some of the biggest names in college football. So let me tell you who's going to do well, who's going to struggle and which new coach will do the best.

At South Carolina, Lou Holtz will try to breathe life into a program that went 1-10 last year, has lost 10 straight SEC games and has just one bowl victory in 105 years.

Holtz has revived programs before, taking N.C. State, Arkansas, Minnesota and Notre Dame to bowl games by his second year at each school. But with a schedule that includes eight games against teams that made bowls last season, Holtz and South Carolina will be lucky to get three wins this year.

Rick Neuheisel, once considered the top young coaching prospect in football, bolted Colorado for $1 million dollars a year to revive Washington. But after guaranteeing to return the Huskies to the nation's elite, Neuheisel admitted to several minor recruiting violations, doing little to endear him to the Washington administration.

The Huskies will struggle on the field, too. Quarterback Brock Huard is gone and so are most of Washington's offensive threats. I expect the Husky faithful to be uneasy with Neuheisel by October.

Gary Barnett finally got the job he wanted at Colorado, where he was once an assistant to Bill McCartney. Gone are Neuheisel's laid-back ways. In are a more disciplined set of rules.

Expect this to be a totally different team. Barnett has talked of a commitment to the running game, a more physical attacking defense and, more importantly, getting the rivalry back with Nebraska. The results will be immediate -- the Huskers still win the North, but Colorado will quickly close the gap.

My pick for the best fit for a new coach is David Cutcliffe at Ole Miss. The former offensive coordinator at Tennessee, Cutcliffe was hired last December and coached the Rebels to a surprise Independence Bowl win over Texas Tech. With starting quarterback Romaro Miller back, as well as 1,000-yard rusher Deuce McAllister, Mississippi has a legitimate chance at the wide open SEC West.

And Cutcliffe won't be a one-year wonder, either. He's already proven to be a solid recruiter by landing much sought after QB Eli Manning -- Peyton's brother.

 

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