FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Porkins said 06/25, 08:18 AM
Thanks to Mike4RedSox for the topic idea.

I'll take:

1. June Jones (SMU)- One of the most underrated coaches in the history of the game is responsible for the single biggest turnaround in Division I-A history. 1 YEAR after taking the reins of a 1-11 hopeless Hawaii team, he led the Warriors to a 9-win season.

SMU, suffering from the "Death Penalty", needs his magic again. The program that once produced greats like Don Meredith, Ray Berry, Eric Dickerson, and Forrest Gregg is ready to ride.

2. Neuheisel (UCLA)- Another underrated guy with the recruiting power and skill to compete with USC.

3. Rodriguez (Michigan)- Great strategic hire

4. Bo Pelini (Nebraska)- Time for the Blackshirts to return to prominence.

5. Paul Johnson (Georgia Tech)- This guy can flat out coach. The only Navy coach to go 6-0 against Army, and the 1st to bring home 4 straight Commander in Chief trophies. After taking Ga Southern to 3 straight I-AA title games and winning two, he moved to I-A where he has been dominant.

Ga Tech has a proud but dormant tradition of winning. Time to bring it back.

I love Cutcliffe, but he misses narrowly- more due to the school than to his ability

Porkins said 06/25, 01:08 PM
1. If all Jones can do is manage QBs, then how do you explain an 8-win improvement in ONE year at a school that had zero recruiting power and little history of success? Given what he had to work with in Manoa, what he did is amazing.

2. As a HC, Johnson has a winning % of .733. That's riduclous. At Navy, he's won 61% of his games- at a service academy. Are you kidding?

You use the same old argument against the triple option that has kept Johnson from getting a high profile job before 2008, but the fact is that Johnson is right- Florida, Texas, and other have succeeded (and won 2 titles) specifically BECAUSE they use forms of the triple option.

3. Bobby Petrino is good at one thing: Looking out for himself. John L. Smith built that Louisville program and Petrino merely inherited the talent and recruiting channels.

Prior to Smith's arrival, the previous 5 coaches at UL had losing records. Smith took them to 5 straight bowl games, won back to back CUSA titles, and won 61% of his games. I agree Petrino continued the success, but he does NOT deserve credit for the turnaround.

He DOES deserve credit for switching from college to the NFL to college to the NFL to college and abandoning countless players in his wake.

Arkansas' firing of Houston Nutt was not a good move, and Petrino's hiring was no better. He doesn't belong here.

Porkins said 06/25, 01:33 PM
"Elite players just don't want to come to Tech anymore"

Oh...so they should just give up and say "oh well, we can't compete anymore"?

No. You go and get a guy like Paul Johnson who masterminded the #1 rushing offense in the NATION to come in and get your program back on track.

If he did what he did with the level of athletic talent available at a service academy, imagine what he can do in the ACC.


As for Petrino, he built off of someone else's success. Period. And now he's in the SEC. The SEC is NOT the Big East or CUSA. Assuming he doesn't cut and run on this contract too, we'll see what kind of coach he really is. He just doesn't belong in the top 5.


But Jones does. You criticize his teams in Hawaii, but look where he was. Their nearest competitor was 6-8 hours away. By PLANE! So little to work with and yet he created a BCS team in the WAC!

That doesn't impress you? Unprecedented success at a school that size on an island chain with a total population less than that of Philadelphia alone?

How can you call that team flat? They fell short against elites like Georgia, but Hawaii has been one of the most exciting teams in football in recent years.

Thanks to Jones.

Bottom line- wherever you put him, Junes Jones HAS to be on this list.