Rutgers and Addazio would be good for each other

I know this sounds like me pushing a used car, but I really think Rutgers should pursue Steve Addazio and that the BC coach should seriously consider going to the Big Ten doormat.

If you believe the coaching gossip, Rutgers is considering a run at Joe Moorhead. There is some boldness in poaching an SEC coach with a buyout, but it also makes sense. Rutgers has hired a lot of coordinators and assistants in the past and the only one to succeed was Greg Schiano. A more established coach with northeast ties is a different approach and might be less risky. Moorhead fits that bill...and so does Addazio. Yet Addazio might be even less risky than Moorhead. Moorhead rebuilt Fordham but hasn't done a rebuild at the P5 level. He also doesn't have as much experience as a head coach at the P5 level. While Addazio might not have the same upside as Moorhead, producing consistent seven win seasons would be welcome at Rutgers.

Why would Addazio want to leave BC? Well, even if he turns this season around, there is a certain stagnation to his tenure. Maybe he survives this year and maybe he takes things to the next level, but the reality is he is more likely done all he can at BC. And the next losing season he has will probably be his last one as a head coach. Going to Rutgers probably buys him another three to five years as a head coach. There is very little downside for Addazio. He gets more money. He gets a fresh start yet can apply much of what he has done at BC and Temple. If he fails, no one holds it against him (everyone fails at Rutgers). If he wins at all, his legacy will be that of a program builder and a guy who stabilized programs.

BC has seen this sort of thing before with TOB's move to NC State. That was a win-win as BC got a shot in the arm with a new coach, and TOB got six more years of coaching that he wouldn't have ever had at BC. Did he change his legacy or NC State's place in college football? No, but he didn't hurt his image or his bank account either.

If this marriage is going to come together, Addazio will have to get to .500. BC hired him off of a losing season at Temple. I doubt Rutgers would do the same.

The fact that Addazio's name has not been floated means this is unlikely to happen, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't. Maybe six weeks from now both sides will realize that they belong together.

Rutgers implosion good for BC

Kyle Flood keeps shooting himself in the foot and is probably on his way out. Although Rutgers is not in our conference, what happens in the Garden State still impacts BC. New Jersey is a critical recruiting territory for BC. If Rutgers is in chaos, we can pick off some of their current recruits and get in with future recruits before the school finds a replacement.

But it is not just recruiting where BC will see the benefit. I don't think Addazio will be a serious candidate to replace Flood. I think the Temple and BC connections will disqualify him to some Rutgers people as too small time with limited upside. Yet a few ACC coaches might get interest (Doeren? maybe Golden looks for a safe landing). Those potential shake ups might disrupt current and future opponents. There might even be some Big Ten and ACC coordinators who get in the mix and hurt their current team's recruiting and bowl prep.

In an ideal world Rutgers will always be a mess. BC needs to address many of their own issues to reach the next level, but a BC-friendly New Jersey certainly won't hurt our rise to the top.

Riffing on BC news

There are a few stories that deserve more than just a link but not their own posts...

Tampa Bay hired Greg Schiano and it had a ripple effect on BC recruiting. BC is targeting Don Bosco WR Leonte Carroo. They are also trying to get TE Michael Giacone. This shift is a gift for a BC class that had numerous holes to fill. Let's hope our staff is working overtime to close these kids.

Jags and McGovern were both mentioned as candidates for the Rutgers job. I don't think either will get much beyond an interview. Rutgers will reach for someone with some sizzle. I am not sure how Jags would fit in Piscataway, but I actually think McGovern would do very well at Rutgers. He's not the showman that Schiano was but he knows New Jersey. Leveraging those roots could build on Schiano's recruiting momentum. The question that will haunt McGovern in any interview is how much the defense is his doing and how much is Spaz.

Regardless of whether he salvages this recruiting class by flipping some Rutgers recruits, I think this recruiting season raises concerns about Spaz's ability and willingness to close on these BC targets. Two recent articles really jumped out with damning quotes. First Jameson McShea -- who called BC his dream school -- said this regarding head coaches in his recruiting process:

“I spent a lot of time with Coach Murphy and not much time with Spaz [BC head coach Frank Spaziani],” McShea said. “That's basically what it came down to.

BC slow played McShea so you can sort of rationalize Spaz not putting time in with the kid, but that just raises other questions. Why don't we cultivate our backups better? Why don't we kick up the sales pitch when it appears that other recruits are waivering? The other story was BC missing out on QB Matt Johns. How did we lose him? Mike London's charm and sales pitch.

“When I went to Boston College I was like, ‘this is it,’” Johns said. “My parents said, ‘let’s go visit Virginia.’ We actually went down and spent a day with the coaches and got to talk with them and then I had a little sit down with Coach [Mike] London.

“After that point, there was no No. 2 school.”

Army announced earlier this week that they had switched dates with BC. We will travel to West Point this fall and they will return in 2013. There's been speculation as to why they switched. I think it comes down to BC trying to change perception and tweek demand. A seven game home slate going into 2012 with Spaz and a lagging economy is not enticing to BC. If they keep it smaller and highly desirable (ND, Miami, Clemson, VT) there won't be as much Grouponing. The hope would be that the program and the economy would be in better shape to help ticket sales when Army returns in 2013.