The LSU offer was reportedly worth $500k, while Tennessee reeled him in with that shiny $850k offer.
Being that his former employ was in the NFL, Ed Werder style gossip soon followed.
Apparently, some within the organization felt Orgeron was more focused on his coaching future than his current job, and Payton grew tired of Orgeron juggling phone calls from LSU and Tennessee. The source also suggested that [Saints' coach Sean] Payton was not very pleased with the progress of the defensive line under Orgeron even before the LSU-Tennessee tug-of-war began, and he is looking forward to the opportunity to bring in a veteran defensive line coach with NFL experience.
Meeeeowwwwwwww. This isn't all that surprising, we are talking about the gossipy NFL here where if somebody isn't ticked at something they might as well stop breathing.
Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.
Quarterback:Drew Brees is, to me, the third best quarterback in the league. And that's not just because I have a giant man-crush on him. Say what you will about your Tony Romos and Carson Palmers, but I'd take Brees over those two, especially as he appears to be in the prime of his career. All he's done since arriving in New Orleans is put up gaudy numbers through the air, but he plays a heady game based on quick (and good) decisions. He's also a good guy off the field and the unquestioned leader of the team. Mark Brunell was brought in as Brees' backup while project Tyler Palko continues to develop, and while you don't want to see the old lefty play at all, his arm looks good enough in camp to sustain for a couple of weeks if need be. Anything more than that, though, and the Saints are in trouble. Heat Index: 9
Running Back: Running back committees are a bitch for fantasy owners, but none have encountered a mess like this, where four backs are going to get a fair share of touches. Exactly how the carries shake out depends on Deuce McAllister's health; ditto for the productivity of the group. All four backs -- McAllister, Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas, and Aaron Stecker -- are talented, but Deuce is the only pounder that can keep the running game glued together. If he's in the lineup, expect Bush to flourish, with Thomas making a solid impact as well. If he's not, Thomas takes on a larger role and, though he rolled up Chicago for over 200 yards from scrimmage in Week 17 last year, it remains to be seen whether he can be a full-time NFL back. Luckily, Deuce has looked healthy so far. Heat Index: 7
As FanHouse previews each BCS conference, the college football songbook will cast an unflattering light on each conference in the only way we know how. Next up the SEC.
The extension calls for Smith to earn up to $70 million over six years, with $26 million in guaranteed money. The deal places him third on the list of highest-paid ends behind Jared Allen and Dwight Freeney, but Smith's deal isn't far behind either of those two. It also trumps the seven-year, $63 million deal with $20 million that linemate Charles Grant got a summer ago. So was it worth it?
Well, who knows. Smith was on his way to being a premiere pass-rusher before fattening up and playing poorly last year. New line coach Ed Orgeron is trying to install a scheme much like the Giants' (who isn't?), which relies on lighter, faster linemen, so Smith will have the opportunity to remind everyone that he's got the ability. Whether he takes advantage remains to be seen.
Either way, from a talent, PR, and chemistry standpoint the Saints couldn't afford to see Smith walk after this year, and they had/have plenty of cap room. But with the money tied in its ends, the team will be hearing some deserved scorn from its fanbase if they're not a terror for quarterbacks.
The College Football Songbook is a weekly feature in which we'll be making as much fun as humanly possible of the most embarrassing moments in college football. Through words, music, and related video we'll leave a lasting memory implanted on the brains of the vanquished that they are not soon to forget.
It's everyone's favorite time of year, when coaches drop like flies mere days after getting the dreaded vote of confidence from the administration. I'm actually going to miss Ed Orgeron. But still, you let the program down, you gets the pink slip. Just don't let that door hit you in the ass.
Hat Tips:
Special hat tip as always to Pete Holiday for putting the video together.
(BTW: Totally ignoring firecoachnicksaban.com because... well because you people are just nuts)
Back in August, Fanhouse tabbed three SEC coaches in danger of losing their jobs during or after this season. And with the season nearly 1/3 of the way over(!), some have cooled off, while others are squarely in the frying pan. So, it's time to check those coaches' status thus far. I see three levels of heat on the seat of these guys:
1. Hog-roasting, doughnut-glaze-melting heat of a million angry fans: Houston Nutt and Phil Fulmer. Nutt is kind of obvious: he was in trouble before the season (trouble that was completely avoidable), and that was coming off an SEC West title. Dropping games to Alabama and Ken-freakin'-tucky hasn't cooled anything. Plus, he's bat-crap crazy. As for Fulmer, in August I wrote "barring complete and total disaster, Fulmer will be the head coach at Tennessee for awhile, probably as long as he wants it." Yeah, well... the 39-point loss to Florida might not qualify as complete and total disaster, but it's as close to it as Fulmer's been outside of the Season of Which We Do Not Speak. For the first time in his career, Fulmer has lost a significant portion of the fan base and needs some quality wins this year to re-cement his spot on Rocky Top.
Being a coach in the SEC can be lucrative (just ask any coach at Alabama). But because of the insanely high expectations each fan base has for its team, it can also be a pressure cooker (just ask any former coach at Alabama). Coaching in the SEC is kind of like being a salesman in Glengarry Glen Ross: first place, an SEC championship; second place, a set of steak knives; third place, you're fired.
Alright, so maybe third place isn't grounds for immediate dismissal, but it makes the barbecue circuit in the spring a little more uncomfortable. More than half the coaches in the league have been with their teams for less than five years, so turnover isn't unusual. Before we take a look at coaches who need to impress this fall to remain on their respective sidelines, let's be clear about who most likely isn't worried about losing his job anytime soon.
1. Urban Meyer -- current king of college football 2. Nick Saban -- even if he's not Bear Reincarnate, Bama's got a lot of money tied up in him. 3. Steve Spurrier -- If you can charge $100/year for access to your website, you've got job security. Click clack. 4. Tommy Tuberville -- Steadily maintains one of the best programs in the SEC this decade. 5. Mark Richt -- see also Tommy Tuberville 6. Les Miles -- Goofy hat, goofier comments, but wins.
Surprisingly, Bobby Johnson still isn't on the hot seat. He's managed to do something that nobody else has done since George McIntyre in the early 80s: hold the Vandy job for more than five years. And whether or not he also becomes the first coach to lead the 'Dores to a bowl since McIntyre, he's well-liked in Nashville and should be around for awhile. Also, Rich Brooks has gone from fans wearing "Rich Brooks Farewell Tour" t-shirts to writing songs about him, and could take the 'Cats to back-to-back bowl games for only the third time in 25 years.
So which of the four remaining coaches are on the hot seat? After the jump...
As reported pretty much everywhere today, audio was released of Alabama coach Nick Saban using a derogatory slur.
During a meeting with Florida reporters, Saban relayed a story about a phone call from a friend on the LSU board of trustees who had an unusual encounter with a cajun-accented LSU fan (full audio here).
"He was walking down the street yesterday before the Sugar Bowl," Saban said on the taped comments. "He calls me. There was a guy working in the ditch, one of those coonass guys that talk funny.
"I can't talk like them, but he can. Most people in Louisiana can."
Continuing to tell the story, Saban then quoted the worker's vulgar comment about Saban going to Alabama.
Saban has since apologized, asking that it be understood he was merely relaying the friend's story and that he himself finds the term offensive.
Expect this to get a lot of play the rest of his career. And a beatdown from one Ed Orgeron. And maybe The Waterboy as well as I think they're both offended.
"Mama says alligators are ornery cause they got all them teeth and no toothbrush. Mama says Nick Saban's the devil."
But we all know he's not really the devil, it's just his medulla oblongata.
So far the Tasmanian Devil of a coach is just 7-16 in two full seasons, but this can be mitigated by 1)it's Ole Miss, 2)he's The Orgeron, 3)it's the SEC, 4)it's Ole Miss.
And he can totally beat the crap out of Urban Meyer. No official word yet from the man, but I think it'll sound something like this:
I just have one question, however. Can a statement of fact be editorializing? When it comes to ESPN's reportage of the story, I think it can. You be the judge (headline):
What must it be like to be an Ole Miss fan? Is it just me or does it seem like Eli Manning has been gone from Oxford for 20 years? My 11 year-old daughter asked me last night if Ole Miss had ever been good. She nearly hit the floor when I reminded her that they beat Auburn in 2003.
Ole Miss has fallen faster than George W. Bush's approval rating. First came the bizarre firing of David Cutcliffe as head coach. Cutcliffe had reasonable success by Rebel standards and was fired with a winning record. Ole Miss alumni forget who they are from time-to-time.
They are never going to be anything more than a mid-level SEC school. News Flash to Rebel fans: Archie Manning has graduated. He's a member of AARP. His son wouldn't even attend your school. Tommy Tuberville left because he knew the program would never compete for an SEC title. It's a quaint program that has its place.
Former Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron, most recently a defensive line coach with the New Orleans Saints, has accepted a position on Lane Kiffin's staff at Tennessee. He had mulled competing offers from LSU and Tennessee, both with big money dangled in front of him.
Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, 
It was exactly a week ago today that 
(BTW: Totally ignoring firecoachnicksaban.com because... well because you people are just nuts)
As reported pretty much everywhere today, audio was released of Alabama coach Nick Saban using a derogatory slur.
What must it be like to be an Ole Miss fan? Is it just me or does it seem like Eli Manning has been gone from Oxford for 20 years? My 11 year-old daughter asked me last night if Ole Miss had ever been good. She nearly hit the floor when I reminded her that they beat Auburn in 2003.
