[Eds note: Allow me to take a break from BC venting. Since North Carolina football is in the other division and about to enter a long dark period, I don't feel like my advice will haunt BC in anyway.]
As the John Blake situation continues to unravel it looks like a certainty that North Carolina will face multiple sanctions and fire head football coach Butch Davis. On Barnhart & Durham last week, Mr.CFB said that the Carolina boosters are embarrassed, don't care enough about "big time" football to have it dirty the University's reputation like this. He implied that they will not go out and get a big name coach to replace Davis, but rather a safe, boring choice who will manage the program for a couple of years. I strongly recommend some who is safe but not boring: Steve Logan.
Logan will make the most of whatever is left at Chapel Hill. He'll hire a good staff. He'll do things the right way. And be a witty and good face of the program.
I am sure there are concerns about recruiting (or lack there of). Logan is smart enough to know that he would need solid recruiters, especially dealing with limited scholarships.
I am sure there are some Heels fans that cringe at the notion of hiring a former ECU coach. Let that go. Logan has more than proven himself and the ECU association probably helps. High school coaches in your recruiting territories know him. The media knows and likes him. His time building the program at ECU should be reassuring.
Age shouldn't be an issue. Logan is 57 and younger than TOB, Beamer, Spaziani, Grobe, and Friedgen.
I have no idea if Logan would want the job. He reportedly is pretty content in Tampa. I don't know if the BC experience soured him on college football again or if he wants to rebuild anything at this point. I do know he interviewed for the BC job after Jags was fired and wanted it. These coaches are naturally competitive. If someone can get him to Chapel Hill for a discussion, I am sure the competitive juices will start flowing again. I don't think it would take much for him to want the job.
Probation is going to be a long hard road for UNC football. There will be questions if the program will ever recover. But there is no doubt in my mind that bringing in Steve Logan would make the recovery process fun and fast.
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Bill, please elaborate on this: "I do know he [Logan] interviewed for the BC job after Jags was fired and wanted it."
Do you mean you have a reliable source that confirms this? Or you are fairly confident on your own that this is true?
I was NOT aware of this development. Assuming it's true, we can conclude that Gene selected Spaz over Logan. What were the reasons for this?
Alex -- see HERE
Logan and Jack Bicknell Jr both interviewed and both wanted the job. My guess opinion is that Gene felt more comfortable with Spaz.
Thanks, Mod, although I don't know if the quote from that article ("...had expressed interest in the job") is enough to convince me that they really wanted it. That's more of a throwaway line is it not? "Oh, they interviewed. So clearly they really want the job!".
I guess we'll never really know if Logan/Bicknell Jr truly wanted the job or they interviewed merely as a courtesy to Gene. But if one or more of them expressed real interest during the interview, I can't imagine why Gene would pick Spaz other than to admit he was wrong to gamble on Jags. Or to mend Spaz's hurt feelings.
Alex -- Don't you get it? Gene is a knucklehead!
It's one thing to pass over your long-time DC for an NFL coach, especially one with the energy and charisma of Jags. But, after that went up in flames, there was no way Gene could pass over Spaz a second time, for a peer. It would be tantamount to firing him, which he did not deserve (then) and Gene could not afford to do.
I was no big fan of Logan. Like Jags, he benefited big time from a historic offensive line and Matt Ryan, arguably the best QB to ever play at BC. I thought his play calling was frequently suspect, even with Ryan, and no less dull than Tranq's once he was without a D1 caliber QB. You must remember those games when he kept running the same dive play six or seven times in a row. It worked, sometimes, because our O-line was that strong.
I miss Chris Crane.
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