George Foreman Bowl To Decide Newest Pack Coach?

On December 30, Navy and Boston College will tangle in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, N.C. At stake? Not only does the winner take home a beautiful crystal muffler (OK, I may be making that up), but it could very well be that the winning coach will be the new leader of the Pack.

Ever since Chuck Amato was ousted as State’s coach just after Thanksgiving, baseless speculation and a flurry of rumors have surrounded the vacant Wolfpack job. Jimbo Fisher, Bo Pellini, Paul Johnson, Mike Sherman, Steve Kragthorpe, David Cutcliffe, Dick Sheridan, June Jones, Norm Chow, Bobby Johnson, Jerry Glanville, Jim Donnan and Larry Coker are just a few of the names that have popped up in connection with the position.

The name gaining the most momentum in recent hours has been Boston College head man Tom O’Brien. Among the many checks in O’Brien’s favor are that he churns out NFL offensive linemen like they’re going out of style; his teams exhibit a disciplined, hard-nosed fundamentally sound style of play; he has carved out a niche for the Eagles in an area in which college football plays about fourth-fiddle; he has come to be known as a strong recruiter in the Northeast; he is highly, highly respected within the coaching community, leading most observers to believe that he should be able to assemble a strong staff; and he consistently wins. B.C. just finished its third straight regular season with a 9-3 record and will be playing in its eighth bowl in a row while trying to build on its streak of sixth straight bowl victories – best in the nation. In 2004, O’Brien earned the American Football Coaches’ Association’s Academic Achievement Award by posting a 100-percent graduation rate; he’s garnered honorable-mention accolades in this category seven other times.

A native of Ohio, O’Brien ironically is a graduate of the Naval Academy. He served as an assistant at Navy and Virginia before taking over the Eagles program a decade ago. Rumor has it that O’Brien has been unhappy over the lack of facilities, support and commitment at Boston College when it comes to football. He reportedly has campaigned for a few jobs in recent years due to this dissatisfaction.

On the downside, O’Brien is 58 years old and is relatively unfamiliar with the Southeast, though his experience at Virginia and within the Atlantic Coast Conference should make the learning curve easier to handle. Also, in the interest of full disclosure, he is the subject of this humorous, yet thought-provoking site. As an interesting side note, O’Brien’s title at Boston College is actually sponsored: he is the Gregory P. Barber and Family Head Football Coach at Boston College. Interestingly, I was the Marco Mirales y Familia Content Strategist at KeywordSourcedMarketRankingSmartCherishInteractive for a little while. But I digress …

Johnson proponents cite the Navy coach’s consistent winning, North Carolina roots (he’s a Western Carolina alum from Newland, N.C.) and relative youth (48). However, many folks question how his flex option offense will translate into the ACC, his ability to recruit at the highest levels, his attitude concerning his availability for other coaching positions and the price tag that comes along with his hire. Multiple sources have indicated that Johnson will refuse to interview for any opportunity unless he is assured that he is one of the top two candidates, which seems a little too uppity for my liking, coming from the coach at Navy. Media outlets report that Johnson makes $1.3 million per year (with incentives) at Navy … could NC State justify paying a coach with stops at Georgia Southern and Navy upwards of a million-and-a-half beans per year? Would Pack fans be willing to sit through (potentially) a series of fullback dives for three hours every Saturday? Could Johnson tailor his offense to match the existing Wolfpack personnel, especially the potential talent available at the skill positions? Would Johnson be able to put together a staff that would ease his transition to the ACC and its recruiting trails?

To the dismay of many Pack fans, Fisher’s candidacy has apparently been ended prematurely, with NC State cancelling his interview that was slated for this week. This leads most to speculate that the Wolfpack’s focus has been narrowed to Johnson and O’Brien. While this writer believes that it is shortsighted of State to eliminate prospects such as Fisher, Chow and Kragthorpe without as much as an interview, if the Pack is indeed down to the above two candidates, it appears that the search has been a relative success.

Could the Meineke Car Care Bowl winner’s next stop be in Raleigh, to set up shop in the Murphy Center? If so, Meineke pitchman George Foreman is somewhere smiling … and likely grilling something. And the eternal debate on whether State did the right thing in firing Amato and made the right choice in selecting the new coach will continue until results can actually be seen on the field.