Low Tide:  An Iron Bowl Recap 

Keep It Coming:  Kevin Sumlin’s Extension

Bad Behavior:  Mike Tomlin & Jason Kidd

Later Gator:  Brent Pease Out at Florida

By Levi Dunagan

 

1^st Down:  Iron Bowl Recap

For one to truly grasp the gravity of what transpired in Auburn, Alabama on Saturday, one must first realize what was lost.

Alabama lost a game to a hated rival, a chance to win a second straight SEC Championship, a third consecutive BCS Championship, and a Heisman trophy.  This all happened in one night, in a single second!

Auburn, meanwhile, had everything to gain from a win over Alabama.  Most fans didn’t believe the Tigers would even be a factor in the SEC West race before the season began.  One could even argue that Auburn wasn’t perceived as a serious threat until after its win over Texas A&M.

One of the best games of the college football season granted its viewers a final play that will be stitched into the fabric of collegiate athletics forever.

Not to be grandiose, but there is a legitimate argument to be made that the final play of the 2013 Iron Bowl is the greatest final play in the history of college football.  When one considers the timeliness of the play, the stage that was set, and the historical rarity of a missed field goal returned for a touchdown to win the game it is not farfetched to think it could be the most historic play of legendary rivalry. 

2^nd Down:  Kevin Sumlin’s Extension

Kevin Sumlin will remain the head coach at Texas A&M.  However, should he have accepted an extension?

Sumlin will likely be pursued by an NFL team soon, which means more money and an opportunity to compete at the highest level.  Furthermore, Texas A&M wasn’t even that good this season due to nagging injuries to Johnny Manziel, poor play calling, and a wretched defense.

Will Sumlin find College Station, Texas to be less friendly next season?

Sumlin is hauling in a top class but replacing Manziel will be difficult (should he enter the NFL draft).  Sumlin would do well to convince Mike Evans to stay in school another for another season.  Evans has disappeared in recent weeks and struggles to get separation in man coverage at times.  This was evident against both LSU and Missouri.

Sumlin should sell Evans on the idea that he can be the centerpiece of an offense next season that will play more to his strengths (mainly the deep ball or the comeback route).  Evans could use next season to refine his routerunning and play in a variety of different spots on the field.

Evans was extremely effective in the slot during the spring and moved around some early in the season when Texas A&M was pushing the pace more.  However, upon realizing the defense would not improve, Texas A&M didn’t push the pace of the game as much.  This resulted in Evans being stuck on the outside on a permanent basis.

Sumlin is a great coach, and is certainly the best Texas A&M coach in quite a long time, but I do not believe that he will be there for more than another couple of seasons.  That could mean that Sumlin takes an elite college job or it could mean that he exits for the NFL.  Either way, I don’t see Sumlin staying until 2019.

3^rd Down:  Mike Tomlin & Jason Kidd

A coach behaving badly isn’t anything new.

(See Petrino, Bobby)

However, in Mike Tomlin’s case I do not believe it was intentional.  Tomlin is well thought of in the NFL and is respected by Roger Goodell.  The fine he received was a message to everyone to not do that again.  The fine did not reflect a belief that Tomlin did anything intentional.

Jason Kidd assuredly told one of his players to “hit me.”  Kidd then proceeded to spill his drink and have extra time to draw up a play to try to tie the game.  This was blatantly unfair and hurts the integrity of the game.  The NBA hammered Kidd with a  $50,000 fine.

Okay, so maybe in the NBA that’s not that much money.  However, in the world that most of us live in that is more than a substantial amount of money.  Kidd deserved the fine and probably should have been suspended for a number of games.  Except, the Brooklyn Nets are so bad that it would probably be doing them a favor. 

Good call Commissioner Stern.

4^th Down:  Florida Fires Brent Pease

Proof that America is still doing something right!

If you were as bad at your job as Brent Pease, then you would be fired too!  I would be fired!  We would all be fired if we were the engineers of the worst offenses in the modern era at the University of Florida!

I am going to help Coach Muschamp out and let him know a few names he should be more than willing to consider.  I think it’s safest to assume that he will probably want to try for an entirely new philosophy in what might be his last season with the Gators.  Muschamp will have one of the hottest seats in the country so he will need to find someone who can come in and produce without overwhelming his current roster.

Andy Ludwig is the offensive mind behind the Wisconsin Badgers potent rushing attack this season.  Wisconsin has had tremendous offensive success and appears to run an offense that Muschamp would like to see in Gainesville.  The job would be a move up for Ludwig who would likely embrace the opportunities that Florida could provide.

Bob Cole is the O.C. for the Northern Illinois Huskies.  Cole has tutored Jordan Lynch to tremendous success and accolades.  Lynch has a similar set of skills to current Gators’ quarterback Jeff Driskel.  Cole would be easy to attract and could provide Driskel with enough designed quarterback runs to keep defenses in base sets.

I would mention Joker Phillips, however, he is already the wide receivers coach and the recruiting coordinator.  The likelihood that the promotion of someone within the coaching staff would be well received is remarkably low.  I think Muschamp will likely bring in someone with extensive experience with pro-style offenses.  Given the success of Cam Cameron at LSU, there may be a chance Muschamp might look to an NFL play-caller to help his struggling Gator offense.