UH Coach

So, UH seems to have a new head coach ready to go, and it's Art Briles (and once again, Berman of Fox 26 scooped everyone).

I love this quote in the Houston Comical:

Financial terms were not available Thursday. A source familiar with the situation said, "They will be somewhat less than Dennis Franchione will be getting at Texas A&M."

Gee, ya think? Jerry Wizig is a doofus.

Briles may turn out to be a great hire, but it's a huge gamble hiring someone with no more experience at the college level. I hope it works out. It's a pretty strong statement of just how far things have fallen at UH that position coaches with good Texas high school ties wind up getting a shot as head coach (although I have to say, setting a high school record with 8,560 yards of total offense in a season is pretty damn impressive stuff!).

And yes, Jerry, making considerably less money than a proven D 1-A head coach hired by A&M from one of the most successful programs in the history of college football (where does the Comical find these clowns?!).

(12-06-02 Update) The quote above has been changed from "said" to "jokingly said" in a later story. I guess that's proof that there are editors at the Comical (a question we ask frequently). But Jerry Wizig is still a doofus.

(12-06-02 Update 2) Hmm... as I reread this post, it sounds a lot more pessimistic than I meant. I really do like the Briles hire for UH, and I think he has great potential and is unlikely to bolt at the first opportunity. This wouldn't be a good hire by UT or OU standards, but for where UH is at this point in time, I think it's as good as one could hope -- an energetic, positive guy who's innovative and who will recruit the hell out of Texas, but who isn't so experienced that really big-time schools crowded out UH in obtaining his services. I'll be out to watch some UH games next year for sure (unlike this year).

[Posted at 17:43 CST on 12/05/02] [Link]