Greatest Shirt Sponsor Ever - Round 4

Yes it's Round 4 - The Round of 16 - of The Greatest Shirt Sponsor Ever!

Round 3 finished yesterday (Thursday) and as usual the results can be viewed here. Coventry finally bowed out to frankly more deserving sponsors, but the greatest shock of the round was Sharp, stalwart of Man U for 12 years, being ousted by QPR's Guinness. Honestly, is this the point we've reached? ;-)

Anyway, this is where it gets really interesting with the final 16 sponsors battling it out. Hitachi may have gone, but Crown Paints and Candy still fly the red flag, but the legendary CP faces seriously stiff competition in the form of Wang...stiff..Wang...is anybody actually reading this anyway?

Once again, our thanks and gratitude go out to John Devlin for kindly allowing us to use his fantastic illustrations. John's work can be found at the True Colours site and he is also on Twitter so pay him a visit and give him a follow.


Rules:

1) You are voting for the SPONSOR, not the team that it adorned.

2) Voting for Round 2 closes at 23:59 on Tuesday 11th December (ignore what I said on twitter)

3) This is a bit of fun... if you don't like the results, take a deep breath, smile and accept that democracy is flawed... ;-)

NB Again, the polls will no longer show the results after you've voted. Results will only be revealed at the end of the round.

Let's get it on!

Red Flags and Temple hirings

This is the only (somewhat) Red Flag I care about.

If Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw listens to the players, chances are better than even he'll be sitting with the one or two who might come back and watch the Owls in an empty stadium a couple of years from now

If they made a movie about the current Temple football head coaching search underway, they'd probably call it "Eight Days in December."
Good title, a take-off from the 1962 novel thriller "Seven Days in May" by Charles W. Bailey.
Eight days because that's how long the last coaching search took and I don't think this one should take any longer than that.
 Seven Days in May had a red flag theme, about a President (played in the movie by the late, great Henry Fonda) whose nuclear disarmament policy caused a revolt among the generals who feared a war with a red flag country (the then Soviet Union).
 This one has a red flag theme, too, the "non-CEOs", meaning players, trying to tell the CEO how to do his job.

'If Temple can get San Jose State coach Mike MacIntyre, a former Owls assistant who built something quickly in San Jose, I wouldn't worry about how long he stays. That's exactly the kind of hire Temple needs to make.'
_Mike Jensen, Philadelphia Inquirer

What's that Dick Vermeil said when the fans booed Ron Jaworski?
"If you listen to the fans, it won't be long before you're sitting with them."
Good line, Mr. Vermeil.
That also applies to the players.
Players play and athletic directors pick coaches.
If Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw listens to the players, chances are better than even he'll be sitting with the one or two who might come back and watch the Owls in an empty stadium a couple of years from now.
 I hope Bill Bradshaw, like Henry Fonda, sticks to his guns and hires the best proven head coach out there, with the best proven head-coaching record and heeds this red flag.
I also hope Matt Rhule gets a head-coaching job at a lower level (the Kent State and Ball State jobs will be available) and then proves his worth to Temple by building a proven head coaching record, like Darrell Hazell and Pete Lembo did.
If he does, I will personally climb to the top of the Bell Tower and wave the Matt Rhule Flag after Mike MacIntrye, Pete Lembo, Dave Clawson, Mario Cristobal, Ken Niumaltalolo, Bill Cubit or Tom O'Brien lead the Owls to a couple of BE titles and bolt for Tennessee. (I think there are a couple of high-character guys in that group who will stay, though.)
And it will be a Cherry Flag, not a red one.
Other red flags ignored in past Temple hirings:

The Red Flag File

JERRY BERNDT _ For some reason, Temple President Peter J. Liacouras was enamored with Berndt, who never had a real record as a winning head coach before. RED FLAG: He was 0-11 with the Owls (Rice Owls) the year before he was hired by the Temple Owls. He also got to go 1-10 with the Temple Owls, making him the only head coach in history to go a combined 1-21 for two teams named the Owls. Berndt could not recruit his way out of a paper bag.

RON DICKERSON _ Joe Paterno, no big lover of Temple football (thank God in retrospect), urged Dickerson not to take the Temple job. When Dickerson was adamant about taking it, Joe supported Dickerson, saying that "Ron is the best defensive coordinator in the country." RED FLAG: The "best defensive coordinator in the country" allowed 55 points in his last regular-season game, a bowl loss to Clemson. Dickerson was in over his head as a CEO. He could recruit, but he couldn't coach his way out of the same paper bag Berndt recruited from.

 BOBBY WALLACE _ The man won three Division II titles, but those were Division II titles, taking the scraps of players not wanted by the big Southern schools like Auburn and Alabama. Because he was hooked into the Southern recruiting system, he found some good players for that level. Those kind of players would never work for Temple and Wallace found out that the hard way. RED FLAG: He didn't have the level of drive or commitment needed to succeed at football's highest level, no desire to live in the Northeast and Temple wasted eight years of their fans' lives as a result.
In these eight most important days in Temple hiring history, going over the red flag mistakes of the past might be the best way of avoiding a big one now.

Great Tracksuits of Our Time: No.5

Our good friend Rich Nelson from the always excellent 'Escape To Suomi') provides us with this contribution to our 'Great Tracksuits' series:

Arsenal (1989/90):

"With a design most associated with the West German team that were victorious at Italia '90, this top was assumed to be just another standard Adidas template. But amongst fans of Arsenal, it’s a memorable item, a signature Adidas piece, which is amongst the holy grail for Gunners fans of a certain age.

"A recent re-release (minus the cannon) flew off the shelves, and will be associated with the great team of Adams, Rocastle, Merson, Smith and Thomas. P.S. I have the re-issue, and a very, very small original…"

Special thanks to Rich for his suggestion, and to prove Arsenal weren't the only team wearing this tracksuit, here's Got, Not Got with proof of some other teams wearing a similar design...

KYW mentions MacIntrye as possible Owl coach

Temple had a shot at Bruce Arians in 2006 and 2011, but virtually no shot now.

WANTED: HEAD COACH, TEMPLE UNIVERSITY _ Large, urban, school in nation's fourth-largest market, seeks HEAD coach for up-and-coming BCS program. School is committed to winning at the highest level of football and a new president is coming on board in January whose stated top two priorities are success at fund raising and winning in the Big East. Successful candidates will have had WINNING seasons as a HEAD coach at an FBS school. Philadelphia-area connections a plus, but not necessary. No current assistant coaches need apply.

When you hire an assistant coach, you are just as likely to get a Ron Dickerson as you are an Al Golden or a Steve Addazio

There's a reason why they call the position HEAD coach.
That's how I see the specific criteria for the next Temple University football coach.
Temple football owes a debt of gratitude to Al Golden, a driven young assistant coach, who built the program.
It owes somewhat less to Steve Addazio, another career assistant, who recruited a fine class last year.
In a way, both were crap shoots because, when you hire an assistant coach, you are just as likely to get a Ron Dickerson as you are an Al Golden or a Steve Addazio.
Now, though, this is the most important hire in the history of Temple University and the school needs a proven winner as a head coach. Remove the guesswork by hiring a guy who has won as a head coach before at the FBS level. Period, end of story.
Current Indianapolis Colts' head coach Bruce Arians would fit the criteria, and was a leading candidate for the Temple job in both 2006 and 2011, but his career has advanced far past Temple's pay grade and I'm afraid he's out.
So it leaves those current hot college head coaches. An assistant would be a big mistake now.
I think it's important Temple work quickly because these guys are being rumored for other jobs.
That narrows the field thusly:

YES TO (in order):

Former Temple assistant Mike MacIntyre

MIKE MACINTYRE, current head coach San Jose State _ MacIntyre, against an impossible recruiting, funding and facilities disadvantage, went 10-2 and has the Spartans  in a bowl game. One of his two losses was to PAC-12 champion Stanford by a 20-17 score. One of the wins was over BYU. Another was a 52-24 pounding of a 9-3 Louisiana Tech team.
MacIntrye has Temple connections and knows all about the program, having been the Owls' defensive coordinator in 1997 and 1998. He had San Jose State, with about as much talent as Temple had this year, playing at a much higher level than Temple. MacIntrye, a finalist for the Temple job in 2011, was the only possible name mentioned as a successor on a 5:45 p.m. KYW report by Temple play-by-play man Harry Donahue. I agree with Harry, who is a very good friend of Temple AD Bill Bradshaw. Great choice. At $450K, makes about half of what Daz made at Temple this year, according to the website coacheshotseat.com.

Kent State's Darrell Hazell

DARRELL HAZELL, current head coach,  Kent State _ Hazell took a team that Temple beat, 36-14, last year (he wasn't head coach then) and beat the living daylights out of a Rutgers' team that blew out Temple this year, 35-10. Hazell had Kent State (remember, Kent State we're talking about here), 11-1 before losing the MAC title game in overtime to NIU. Hazell has Philadelphia-area connections. He's from Cinnaminson, N.J. Currently grossly underpaid at $350K per year. Purdue is rumored to be interested.

PETE LEMBO, current head coach, Ball State _ Had Ball State, a team Temple beat, 42-0, last year, go 9-3 and earn a trip to the Beef O'Brady Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla. Like Temple, Ball State beat South Florida. Unlike Temple, Ball State also owned a win over a Big 10 team. Knows all about the area having been head coach at Lehigh University. Not a sexy pick (just look at the photo), but the guy is a damn good head football coach and not likely to get outcoached like Daz was in the Maryland game. Since Temple has plenty of talent already in place, Lembo is just the type of guy most likely to get the most out of it. Makes $400K per year.

NO TO:

MATT RHULE, current assistant offensive line coach, New York Giants _ Rhule is an outstanding young man but has no (zero) wins as a FBS head coach. He's a fine recruiter, but would be a crap shoot as a game day coach. Addazio did not think enough of him to make him sole offensive coordinator, instead bringing in Ryan Day from Boston College to be co-coordinator with Rhule. Shortly after that, Rhule left for the Giant job. Temple is too big to be the first head coaching opportunity, especially at the BCS level. I'd encourage Rhule to get a head coaching job at a place like Kutztown or Delaware and work his way up the head-coaching ladder that way. It's obvious he's well-liked at Temple, but the question you have to ask yourself is, "Does he pass the non-Temple smell test?" Would even Kent State or Western Michigan hire him for their head coaching openings? The answer is no. His first head coaching job should not be in the Big East.

TOM BRADLEY, former Penn State defensive coordinator _ Yeah, I know that photo is of Jerry Sandusky but if you hire Bradley he brings all of that Sandusky Penn State baggage with him and that's a headache Temple can't afford. Plus, Bradley is a dead fish personality and not likely to inspire a fan base like Addazio was. While Bradley has recruiting ties to Western Pennsylvania, he has no recruiting ties to Eastern Pennsylvania or South Jersey and that's where Temple needs to win the recruiting wars.

The bright side: Coach Daz not leaving

Boston College AD tries to sell Daz to President
by: papreps
Boston College AD tries to sell Daz to school president.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think Daz would concoct a harebrained, one-dimensional, offensive scheme that would lead to so many three-and-outs and put Temple's defense in an impossible position. The question then becomes, "Do you see him as a reasonable person open to change or a stubborn former offensive lineman who wants to run the ball all the time?"

EDITOR'S NOTE: I wrote this story on Sunday, not believing any university was stupid enough to hire a 4-7 coach. I will leave it here as a testament to the stupidity of some college administrators. Hopefully, Bill Bradshaw is on the phone with San Jose State's Mike MacIntyre right now. More on that to come. MacIntrye is available, loves Temple, a former Temple assistant, and probably did the best job of any head coach in FBS football last year. Good riddance, Daz.  Don't let the door hit you in the ass.

On the way up the steps, maybe for the final time ever, from season seats that I have held for nearly 10 years at Lincoln Financial Field, someone said:
"Don't look so down, Mike. Look at the bright side."
He didn't tell me what the bright side of a 4-7 season was, so I had to figure that out for myself.
I walked 22 rows up, made the left into the men's room, washed my hands before leaving, made a left, walked down 34 steps and across Lot K to my car, all the while thinking what could possibly be the bright side to a season I thought would be no worse than 6-5.
Then it hit me just as I was about to stick the key in the door of my car (the remote doesn't work).
This will be the first year as a Temple fan in the last five we won't have to hear the endless speculation about an Owl coach leaving for a possible higher-paying job.
"That has to be the bright side he was talking about," I thought.
Since that kind of off-season speculation has bugged me to no end, I guess not having to worry about that is a bright side.
I'm not so sure it's bright at all. Let's face it. Al Golden recruited five straight No. 1 MAC classes, as ranked by both Scout.com and Rivals.com YET, with the same inherited talent, Daz under-performed half the current MAC coaches. That leads to only two possible conclusions: Daz's 1901 offense doesn't fly in 2012 or both Scout.com and Rivals.com talent analysis was way off.
My eyeball and smell test leads me to think the former, not the latter.

Yes, Addazio's name will come up in some stories by writers who like to throw names against the wall and hope it sticks. Let's face it, though. Coach is going nowhere. Nor should he.
The latest "rumor" has him going to Boston College. I've addressed that in a feature film short at the top of this post. I'm not sure if I should submit the script to Hollywood as Science Fiction, Comedy or Tragic Comedy.
Steve Addazio was a good coach in 2011. I don't think he was a good coach in 2012, largely because  my projections for 2012 were 6-6 (8-3 if everything broke right). Never in my wildest dreams did I think Daz would concoct a harebrained, one-dimensional, offensive scheme that would lead to so many three-and-outs and put Temple's defense in an impossible position. The question then becomes, "Do you see him as a reasonable person open to change or a stubborn former offensive lineman who wants to run the ball all the time?"

The answer to that question holds the key to open the door of a possible 9-3 season next year or keep it bolted shut.

Then I got something in the email box this morning that brightened my day from loyal TFF reader Steve Sipe (due to a coding problem, you can't read that he has the Owls beating Fordham 54-0 and Idaho 45-0 and losing to ND, 34-21). It follows:

Mike, I always love reading your blog. I tried to set up my own dedicated to the Big East and expansion. I did not realize how tough it is to develop a web site. Compliments to you on TFF. One of your articles focused those areas the Owls need to improve to be successful in 2013. I have been trained to use analysis to compare and evaluate data points to estimate future results. 

If your suggestions are followed, I believe the following results will be achieved:   

         OUT OF CONFERENCE (KNOWN)          

08/31      at Notre Dame             L      34 - 21

09/14      Fordham                       W     54 - 0

09/28       at Idaho 45 - 0

10/19       Army                             W     34 - 13

                IN CONFERENCE, IN DIVISION (KNOWN)

Boise State                    L       17 - 14


Houston                         W       34 - 17

Memphis                        W       42 - 10

San Diego State           W       21 - 17

SMU                                W       28 - 13

IN CONFERENCE (ESTIMATE)

Connecticut                    W      24 - 17

Rutgers                            L       17 -16

USF                                  W      35 - 10

I would count a 9 - 3 season and a bowl bid Phenomenal! Most of the western schools do not emphasize defense in the MWC. With varied play calling, the Owls could exploit this weakness. 

On the other side, our defense needed 2 fixes: a better pass rush, and mature secondaries knowing which man to cover. Since a lot of this work was finished by the end of the 2012 season, defense looks strong. 

Quarterback is an issue. I will try to reach out to PJ Walker and welcome him to Temple. I do not believe PJ should be out of the picture. Let Juice Grainger lead our team with PJ as his backup. Convert Neiss into a reverse back that can pass if he can not make to corner to drive downtown. With mature wide receivers, Chris could have been a success. However, losing both wide receivers and tight ends last year made Chris look weak when the Owls went from MAC to Big East. Nevertheless Chris is our 2nd best rusher. Why not give the Owls a Penn State type Zwinack running back. Chris can blow holes and hide fakes as a running back. When you are 3RD and 4, do you want Juice running a draw or handing off to Chris to trample a linebacker. The thought of Chris lowering his 240, 6'3" body into our opponents smells like a 1ST down every time. 

Steve Sipe

I hope you are right, Steve. If so, I will hop and skip out of the stadium after the last game next year and the bright side this year will be a bright spot next one.

Greatest Shirt Sponsor Ever - Round 3

We've reached Round 3 - The Round of 16 - of The Greatest Shirt Sponsor Ever!

Round 2 ended on Friday and the results can be viewed here. And what a set of results they are! Hitachi defeated by Avco, Panasonic losing out to TDK and the biggest travesty of all, Granada Bingo losing to Blackburn's McEwans!!! ;-)

So with the first lot of seeded casualties, the remaining 32 sponsors now fight it out amongst themselves.

Once again, our thanks and gratitude go out to John Devlin for kindly allowing us to use his fantastic illustrations. John's work can be found at the True Colours site and he is also on Twitter so pay him a visit and give him a follow.


Rules:

1) You are voting for the SPONSOR, not the team that it adorned.

2) Voting for Round 2 closes at 23:59 on Thursday 6th December

3) This is a bit of fun... if you don't like the results, take a deep breath, smile and accept that democracy is flawed... ;-)



NB From this point on, the polls will no longer show the results after you've voted. Results will be revealed at the end of the round.

Let battle commence!

Videoblog 2: Kick-Off (MB Games)

Chris O returns with the second Football Attic Videoblog, this time taking MB's Kick-Off as its subject.