End of the Week Rant: Don't miss a Buyer's Market

I tweeted a link to this article, but I want to give it its due here: "A smart college football team could use this slow coaching carousel to hire a big upgrade." Long story short, not many college jobs are opening this year, meaning programs that do make a change will have their pick of coaches and won't be competing with each other. BC is specifically mentioned with reference to Moorhead and Bob Shoop. But it doesn't really matter who BC wants. What matters is that we will never have a better time to target "our" guy -- whoever that might be.

Of course the one problem with the timing is that we don't have a strong, empowered AD who can maneuver us through this. So instead I direct this to the BOT members who will be involved in the Daz decision and the search: DON'T SCREW THIS UP! Power 5 jobs are desirable. Things like the practice facility make BC more desirable. If we have the right recruiting resources and staff budgets, many great coaches would want to come here. With few jobs opening, even more guys will consider the position. Use the timing wisely!!!

End of the Week rant: the basketball team better not suck

Jim Christian talked up this team in the offseason. On paper it looks better. Even guys I trust like Hoffses say this basketball team will be better than last year. I was getting excited. But then they had a tough time in an exhibition against Stonehill. I know it is only an exhibition. I know in this environment Christian is testing things and seeing how the new guys play together. I know there were plenty of positives. But, come on! On talent alone, a team that is supposedly going to run, should run Stonehill out of the building.

The fanbase is dying for BC basketball to be back. If this team does anything positive, people will give Christian more time. But there has to be a killer instinct that puts lower level teams away and really explodes! If we don't have intensity for a Stonehill game, how are we ever going to hold on for an ACC team?

I am not giving up just yet, but there better be noticeable improvements this year. We waited as Donahue said development would come and he wasn't worried about winning. But he never turned the corner. Now Christian needs to do something. Don't let this team go through the motions. And the players need to step up too. They came to BC to be in an elite conference. Show intensity and show your skill. Please don't let this season fall apart before it has even started.

End of the Week rant: BC might not care about sports, but they care about fund raising

Reports of BC keeping Addazio even if he continues losing has many BC fans flipping out. But my friends, there is hope. BC might not care about Sports. Father Leahy and the Board may be slaves to their budgets and don't want to buy out Daz or hire an expensive replacement. I don't agree, but for the sake of this argument I will concede all those points. But all BC alumni and fans can take comfort in the fact that BC absolutely cares about fund raising. BC will make a make a decision on Addazio when his status becomes impossible to justify to people donating money.

Trust your cynicism. Do you think Brad Bates would be out if he was a hit on the fund raising trail? Do you think they would have shaken up the Flynn Fund/Development Office if they didn't care about fund raising? BC won't keep Daz around after another 0-8 season purely for the drain it would be on trying to raise money.

Don't worry about reports. Don't worry about gossip. Have faith in BC's desire to keep the money flowing in.

End of the Week Rant: Bates screwed up the basketball hire much more than football

I don't care if we lose by 100 on Saturday and Daz is fired at halftime. I don't care if Jim Christian stuns the world and wins the ACC this year. Regardless of how this all plays out, when we look back at Brad Bates' tenure, hiring Jim Christian will always be his most head-scratching decision.

First there was the "he's staying" "no he's not" aspect of the Donahue firing. That should have been the major clue that Christian didn't have the politics, the plan or the message set up prior to the end of the basketball season. Then he followed that up by hiring Jim Christian. A journeyman coach whose journey never even approached New England or ACC basketball. He was a non-factor to our fanbase and our recruiting base. Not good. Plus we all had to pretend that his struggles at TCU (private school in a major conference, pro sports market, etc) weren't applicable to his potential success at BC. If Brad Bates was going to make a borderline and highly questionable hire, there were safer more BC appropriate guys available. Schmidt, O'Shea, even [can't believe I'm writing this] Jim Calhoun!

Maybe BC's setup is difficult for an AD. Too much interference on some issues and not enough guidance on others. That's probable. Ever job and institution has its limitations. But good people adapt and still make the most of those situations. Brad Bates does not. The fact that Addazio wasn't his worst hire is proof.

End of the Week Rant: Leave the Coordinators alone

Remember last year when BC had the worst offense among the Power 5 teams and one of the worst in college football? Offensive Coordinator Todd Fitch took the blame and was pushed out. Now he is coordinating a Top 10 Offense at Louisiana Tech. I hammered Fitch last year even though prior to the season Addazio said it was "his" offense and the coordinator implemented his philosophy. I also endorsed Addazio's idea to have Jim Reid run the same defense as Don Brown. In retrospect, I was probably wrong. And so is Addazio. A good head coach needs to find a scheme and coordinator he likes and then give that guy some freedom. We had injuries last year on Offense, but as big a problem was flipping QBs and styles and approaches. We never simplified. Now the Defense -- with the majority of the players the same -- look lost or overmatched. Something is not working. My fear is that once again we are dictating to coordinators instead of letting them set the approach.


Periscope Update: I held another Periscope Friday morning to discuss schedules and Brad Bates' contract. These remain a work in progress so I appreciate feedback. A few notes:
-- If you doubleclick the video it takes you to a Periscope fullscreen so that the movie is not such a closeup.
-- This didn't get as many live interactions as the Post Game Periscope did. Post game after a night game is a natural timeslot. Is there a daytime slot that people would prefer to discuss general news?
-- I appreciate the questions and topics that I got ahead of time. Keep them coming.

LIVE on #Periscope: Bye Week - Periscope. Boston College's future schedule and ADs. https://t.co/lCxg4fjIq5

— Bill Maloney (@bcatleagle) October 14, 2016

End of the Week Rant: BC better honor the 2007 team next season!

With Jags popping up around the BC blogosphere, I was reminded of something that needs to happen. Next season, BC needs to honor and welcome back members of the 2007 Atlantic Division Champions!

Jags is clearly still a lightning rod among BC fans, but that is not the point. Having some sort of gameday event would be about honoring the whole team ten years after their great run. I know BC is honoring Matt Ryan this season, but he wasn't a one man team. Think of how great it would be to have Silva, Herzlich, Albright, Tennant, Brandon Robinson, Purvis, Larkin, and the rest all back. Have Callender catch a pass in the corner! Have Aponavicius kick a chip shot!

Who knows if Bates will even be here next fall? I also don't know if Addazio will want reminders of other teams' successes during his make or break fifth year. But I don't care what they want. The team deserves it and it would be nice to remember when this was all fun.

End of the Week Rant: Someone needs to occasionally remind our coaches how little scrutiny they are under

I tweeted about this earlier in the week, but I still can't believe that Steve Addazio talked up his defense to the media this week and no one really challenged him on the Virginia Tech game. Also he keeps mentioning the team's youth, but as has been pointed out by many (including BCI this week), the team is not young by College Football standards. If he were saying this at an SEC school or a Big Ten power, the media would be combative to his face and the talk radio shows would be killing him.

I am not advocating over the top confrontational media. But tough questions should be asked. Julian Benbow is doing a good job and is much more critical of Addazio's game management than Vega ever was. But he's only one guy. Find me another Power 5 program where the media is so absent and accommodating?

I am sure quality of life is low on the priority list for most big time coaches. They want money and power and the best opportunity to win. But being the coach at BC can be relatively rewarding financially and on the field, without the pressure or scrutiny. Do you think Urban Meyer can go anywhere in public in Columbus and not get bothered? Addazio could walk through Cleveland Circle right now and be left alone. No one is putting moving signs in his front lawn if BC loses a game.

The lack of intensity might manifest itself in smaller crowds or less fundraising, but as he struggles through a rebuilding process, he should be thankful that the pressure he's feeling is not coming from the media or casual fans.

End of the Week Rant: I don't care what happens with the National Anthem at Alumni Saturday

I am surprised. I thought the National Anthem protest would be just another short trend in our short attention span culture. However, it seems like each week brings new athletes into the mix. Most of the focus has been on professional athletes, but more college athletes are getting involved. Saturday will be BC's first home football game. Something may happen. Something may not. I don't really care either way.

If a player wants to protest, I am okay with that. If no one does, I don't care (or take it as sign of character of our team). If Addazio weighs in, I wish him the best. But his college coaching peir group hasn't been the most eloquent or intelligent on the subject.

I don't even care what BC fans do during the Anthem. Given how many fans regularly miss the opening kickoff, the Anthem is the least of our worries.

My indifference is not about not caring about our country, my pride in being an American, or my understanding on racial equality. It is more my position on a lot of things that get people fired up on either side. We get so caught up in the hot button issue of the day and showing our solidarity with one side or the other, that we miss the big underlying issues and do little to solve any of them. Solving these issues takes time and answering hard questions. Ranting about the hot button issue of the day is easy. I use ranting about sports as my distraction from the real life. On real issues, I struggle to find a way that I can make a difference beyond kneeling or ranting or tweeting or liking something on Facebook. Regardless of what happens at Alumni, how people react to the Anthem is not really a problem...or at least, not my problem.

End of the Week Rant: the ACC Divisions are stupid

The ACC Divisions are stupid! Not a new theory, but I am reminded of that by the Colorado-Michigan game (of all things). In the run up to this weekend's game in Ann Arbor, I've seen Kordell Stewart's Hail Mary a dozen times. And each time the announcers say something along the lines of "one of the most memorable play of all time in College Football." Not spoken, but implied, is that Flutie's pass is right there too. Although we've all seen the play a million times, the BC-Miami game doesn't get that sort of annual stroll down memory lane because WE HARDLY EVER PLAY MIAMI! Why don't we play Miami? Because the conference is huge and they are in the other division!

The ACC's expansion necessitated divisions so that the conference could hold an Championship Game. At the time, they did their best to divide the teams to meet as many needs as possible and balance the power. Balancing teams based on their strengths in 2004 was dumb and shortsighted. Powers ebb and flow. Then you throw in the new teams and the Maryland departure and you have an even more random collection of teams that have no real connection.

As I've said and written before, the two divisions should revert back to some sort of shared history. The former Big East teams (Boston College, Louisville, Miami, Pitt, Syracuse and Virginia Tech) plus one sacrificial lamb should make up one division. The other would be filled by the more traditional ACC teams. That makes sense historically, geographically, and probably recruiting wise too. And best of all, BC would play Miami every year! ("...caught by Boston College! It's a touchdown!")

It won't happen. The politics are too messy. But that doesn't mean it shouldn't.

End of the Week rant: Bates needs to stop talking about schedules!

(I am thinking of ending each week with a little bit of a rant. We'll see how long it lasts.)

The New York Times published an article this week on the challenge of College Football scheduling. BC's Athletic Director Brad Bates is one of the featured quotes. You can go read it yourself, but the general message is the BC party line: "it is so hard to find like-minded opponents...blah, blah, blah...it is so hard to schedule non-conference games..."

Is anyone else tired of this whining? Eight games are scheduled automatically (via the ACC). There is one FBS game annually. We have Notre Dame in a rotation. When all is said and done, BC does not have that many games to fill. It is not that hard. The only challenge comes because BC is overly cautious and in who they schedule for those few open games. They want someone good, but not too good. A winnable game, that generates interest and respectability. That sort of game is hard to find because that is what every program wants! If BC's primary schedulers (Bates and Addazio) were smart they would evaluate the supply and demand issue of those games and say: "screw it, let's go schedule the big boys on our terms."

If BC were willing to play a neutral site game opening weekend every year (like they are this year) we could play a Power 5 team annually. Would you like to see BC at Lambeau Field against Wisconsin? How about playing Georgia in the Georgia Dome? Don't want to be in hostile environments like that? Okay, how about playing Alabama at Fenway or Gillette? Those opportunities are out there every year. Hell, ESPN will help broker them. They are profitable. They are exciting. They are different. The only problem is the potential loss. But padding the win total is not doing BC any favors these days. What is going to juice our fanbase and reputation more: beating UMass or losing to Alabama? Because every once in a while we will beat those tradtional powers and it will feel glorious. The best moment of Addazio's career was beating USC. But neither he nor Bates learned the lesson of that night. Instead they are continuing to try to thread the needle of practical scheduling. But because of their caution, the odds are that neither of them will be around for these games they are scheduling.