John L. Smith, say hello to Larry Coker.
These poor guys–although not in the monetary sense–are suddenly in the same boat. It’s a boat filled with angry alums and blistering media critics. It can’t be fun to be a college football coach when everyone knows your clock is about to hit zero.
No one thinks Smith will be spared the ax, not after Michigan State has lost four in a row and its players still make elemental mistakes, like downing a punt 1-yard deep in the end zone.
You also won’t find a soul who thinks Coker will return to Miami, not after his team’s on-field brawl with Florida International that makes you dust off the thesaurus to find variations of “embarrassing.”
Coker met with members of Miami’s board of trustees on Monday, and President Donna Shalala reportedly told a trustee: “Nobody’s job is in jeopardy now.”
Remember that word: now. If you hadn’t noticed, college football coaches almost never get fired during a season.
But after the deed gets done, look for two candidates to emerge. Actually, one already has: Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, Miami’s defensive coordinator under Butch Davis in 1999-2000 and a Bears assistant from 1996-98.
The other is Barry Alvarez, the Wisconsin athletic director who is moonlighting as a BCS analyst for Fox. Alvarez, 59, interviewed for the Miami job in 1995 and reportedly turned it down in 2001, earning a raise as Wisconsin’s coach in the process.
Shalala hired Alvarez at Wisconsin in 1990. And if she can put together a nice enough offer this time around, look for them to reunite.
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tgreenstein@tribune.com
