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By BJ Bennett
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SouthernPigskin.com State of North Carolina columnist Stephen Cheek talks about the coaching situations in the state of N.C and also gives ECU some love.

By Stephen Cheek
SouthernPigskin.com State of North Carolina Columnist


SouthernPigskin.com State of North Carolina columnist Stephen Cheek talks about the coaching situations in the state of N.C and also gives ECU some love.

 


http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=3085Old North State Pigskin is a blog focused on the North Carolina schools in the ACC and Southern Conference.  It is written from a fan perspective, nothing more, nothing less. I am not a current or former coach, administrator or player of any university. I am not a professional journalist. While I am an alumnus of the University of North Carolina, I am also the son of a lifelong Duke football fan (believe it or not,) the son-in-law of an NC State alum, a great admirer of the Wake Forest program and I grew up following the Southern Conference. I just make observations as I see them…and have fun doing so. Comments, criticism, suggestions and corrections are all welcome at sacheek@gmail.com. I hope you enjoy.

Coaching is Making All the Difference

George wrote me this week and mentioned an obvious omission in my Old North State Poll, East Carolina.  After Saturday’s dominating performance over national power West Virginia, the slight to the Pirates is even more glaring I admit.  The only reason I have not included ECU until now was simply their membership in Conference USA, a conference SouthernPigskin.com does not cover.  As you can see below, the omission is corrected although many may disagree with my ranking.  The email George sent did get me to think of an idea for a post, which would not only include the Pirates, but also all the other schools in North Carolina.  It is an idea that is obvious, but one which has been lacking for some time here. I am referring to coaching, and right now it is making all the difference on the field to the football fortunes of the schools that call North Carolina home. http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2007/1206/ncf_g_jgrobe_200.jpg

Since 2000, all of the NC schools save Appalachian State have changed coaches.  Several of the schools have changed multiple times.  Before Skip Holtz, ECU kept John Thompson for a miserable two years after firing the highly successful Steve Logan in 2002.  Duke endured the disastrous tenures of Carl Franks and Ted Roof before landing David Cutcliffe this season.  NC State dumped alum Chuck Amato after the 2006 season when he proved he could not win without Philip Rivers.  Carolina muddled through Carl Torbush and John Bunting before hiring Butch Davis in 2007.  Elon is in only the third year of the Pete Lembo era and Western Carolina hired a new staff this year.  Wake hired Jim Grobe in 2001 while only Jerry Moore has more than seven years tenure at his school.  What did all this turmoil result in?  A lot of bad football, that’s what.  Is it any surprise that Appalachian State and Wake Forest have hit their strides for several seasons under stable coaching staffs while all the other schools are in some sort of building or rebuilding mode?

Coaching is huge and you only have to look at the records on the field for proof.  I have heard it said that players win championships, not coaches.  I agree with this statement for the most part.  I also agree with the corresponding idea that one can be the best coach in the world but you will still get clobbered more times than not if you don’t have the talent.  But how do you get that talent to begin with?  What do you do with that talent once you have it?  That is coaching.  Jerry Moore has obviously done a good job finding players overlooked by the FBS schools and luring them to Boone.  How else do you walk into the Big House and shock the college football world?  But luring talent is not enough.  Look no further than NCSU under Chuck Amato.  The talent was in the program, a fact proven by the NFL draft, yet without Philip Rivers the best State could do was 7-5.  That was on the coaches.  Has ECU really recruited better under Skip Holtz?  The rankings nationally say no, yet under Holtz the Pirates have risen to #14 in the country.  Under previous coach Thompson they were 1-11 and 2-9.  Has Wake Forest recruited any better since Jim Grobe arrived?  You could argue maybe but it has been his system and player development that has made all the difference.  The list goes on.

Look at Duke, the worst BCS program.  David Cutcliffe has worked wonders in two games with Ted Roof’s players and has turned Duke from a laughingstock into a team that will contend every week almost overnight.  Butch Davis has suddenly energized a UNC program to the national media and sold out tickets.  A few years ago the Tar Heels were losing to Furman in front of 35,000 fans crammed into 60,000 seats.  Pete Lembo has turned Elon into the Texas Tech of the SoCon while Dennis Wagner has already matched last year’s win total in two games at Western Carolina.  Is it a sure thing that all the staffs in place in NC will win?  Of course not, but is it a sure thing that there has been an upgrade in coaches across the board?  ECU’s win on Saturday, Wake’s standing in the polls and sold out stadiums in Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill is all the proof you need.  Now can the Old North State schools hold on to the staffs they have in place?  That is a question for another post.  Let’s just enjoy the ride for now.

 

Old North State Power Poll

http://logoserver.com/college/WakeForestDemonDecons3.GIF1. Wake Forest – The final drive against Ole Miss proved this is a veteran team that knows how to win.
Record: 2-0

http://www.logoserver.com/college/EastCarolinaPirates4.GIF2. East Carolina – Pirates must prove they can get up for Tulane and Memphis as well as VT and WVU.
Record: 2-0

http://www.logoserver.com/college/NorthCarolinaTarHeels9.GIF3. North Carolina – Thursday night will go along way to prove if the Heels are pretenders or contenders.
Record: 1-0

http://www.logoserver.com/college/AppalachianState.GIF4. Appalachian St – Up a spot after Duke lost, but there are bigger tests than Jacksonville ahead.
Record: 1-1

http://www.logoserver.com/college/DukeBlueDevils2.GIF5. Duke – Showed a lot of heart in loss to Northwestern but I don’t give credit for moral victories.
Record: 1-1

http://www.logoserver.com/college/NCStateWolfpack5.GIF6. NCSU - Injuries still decimating this team, makes me wonder if anybody will be left standing by November.
Record: 1-1

http://www.logoserver.com/college/ElonPhoenix.GIF7. Elon – High flying offensive attack doesn’t disappoint against Stony Brook, scoring 30 points.
Record: 1-1

http://graphics.fansonly.com/schools/unc/graphics/western-carolina-logo-150.gif8. Western Carolina – Blowout at FSU was a given, now can the Cats regroup against 2-0 Liberty.
Record: 1-1


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Stories written by SouthernPigskin.com columnists are done independently.  Views do not always coincide with those of the remainder of the staff or the ownership of SouthernPigskin.com.

BJ Bennett - Bennett developed the Southern Pigskin concept as a teenager. He has worked for over a decade in sports journalism, writing for major newspapers and hosting a radio show for The Fan Sports Radio 103.7, ESPN Radio Coastal Georgia. Bennett has been published in newspapers, magazines, journals and websites all across the southeast. Down Here, Bennett's original book on southern college football, is currently in the process of being published.