Perhaps it wasn’t a coordinator search that you’ll tell your future grandchildren about, but the last two weeks have served as a reminder that few things in the sports world can turn into a daytime soap opera quite like a college football coaching search.
Over the weekend, Anwar Richardson asked me if the type of day-to-day drama we witnessed this past week was indicative of the norm or if we had been experiencing something a little special.
“Well, there was the time that Teryl Austin had agreed to become the team’s defensive coordinator and was actually introduced to a few players as the new coordinator, only to reverse field 24 hours later after determining that he’d made a mistake,” I told him.
“Oh, and then there was the time Duane Akina left the program and Mack Brown hired Jerry Gray, only to see Gray leave a few weeks later and Akina return to the program after realizing that he had made a regretful decision.”
So, maybe this job does do crazy every once in a while when confronted with the Longhorns trying to make critical football hires. Yet, even by UT’s usually lofty standards, this week’s sequence of events created a story that will go into Longhorn football lore. With that truth in mind, let’s take a look back at how all of this unfolded.
November 3rd -
In addressing a number of issues inside the football program, I passed along a couple nuggets that would come to fruition in the following weeks:
a. TCU’s Sonny Cumbie was the name everyone needed to keep an eye on.
b. Texas was prepared to open up the bank vault in an effort to answer its offensive coordinator needs.
For the rest of the month, we continued to report that Cumbie was the No. 1 target on the offensive coordinator front and that the Longhorns were vetting his interest and prepared to make him one of the top two highest-paid offensive coordinators in the country.
November 29th - Behind the scenes, Jason Suchomel confirmed in a conversation with an offensive recruit the Longhorns were pursuing that Cumbie's name was coming up in recruiting conversations as the guy the Longhorns were aiming to land. With that information in hand, I reached out to a source with knowledge of UT's intentions and was able to confirm once again what we had previously reported, which was that Cumbie was the favorite for the position.
November 30th - After continued vetting over the course of the next 24 hours and confirming through multiple channels,
Anwar Richardson reported that "Strong has targeted TCU co-offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie as his No. 1 candidate for the Texas offensive coordinator position, and the hope inside the Longhorn program is that a deal can be closed over the weekend and an announcement can be made as early as Monday, December 7, two days after the Longhorns complete their season in Waco."
In addition to confirming Strong's intention to move in on Cumbie as soon as Strong was ready to move forward with the hiring process, we outlined that the deal still had hurdles that needed to be cleared, but that Cumbie's reputation with developing quarterbacks was the key factor in his rise to No. 1 status.
December 4th -
In our weekly War Room, Suchomel reported "any talk of a deal with Cumbie being in place are premature. Nothing has been agreed upon, and the talks aren't nearly far enough along that some under-the-table agreement is even a possibility."
December 7th a.m. - Orangebloods is the first to report that Strong was hosting Cumbie and his wife in Austin.
In addition, Anwar Richardson reported:
"From what I have been told, Strong is very interested in hiring Cumbie because of his reputation as one of the best developers of quarterbacks in the nation. Texas currently has quarterbacks Tyrone Swoopes, Jerrod Heard, Kai Locksley and Matthew Merrick on scholarship, while incoming freshman Shane Buechele is expected to arrive on campus in January. Cumbie is viewed as a coach who can mold one of those players into the next Trevone Boykin, who has excelled at TCU the past two seasons.
"However, Tulsa co-offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert is also a strong candidate, according to sources. One source said Gilbert could be a 'better fit' because he has called plays before. Cumbie has never called plays at TCU. If Cumbie and Strong decide not to work together, Gilbert will be the next coach to receive a call.
From what sources have told me, if Cumbie’s second interview goes well on Monday, he will move one step closer to becoming the Longhorns’ new offensive coordinator. If not, Strong will shift his focus to Gilbert.
December 7th p.m. -
Richardson reports that Cumbie is mulling over his options as of late Monday night and that no decision is expected before Tuesday.
December 8th - It was pretty much quiet all day on the Cumbie front, as the TCU co-OC considered his options, while Strong began to initiate conversations with Tulsa's Gilbert, his other primary target.
December 9th (9:15 a.m.) -
Orangebloods is the first to report that UT is hosting Gilbert in Austin for an interview with Strong on Wednesday morning.
"According to sources, Gilbert flew into Austin on Wednesday morning and is currently on campus. From what I have been told, TCU co-offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie has not responded to the job offer he received from Strong on Monday. As a result, Strong decided to fly in Gilbert and as a backup plan, which could lead to a job offer on Wednesday."
December 9th (10:30 a.m.) - Cumbie issues a press release announcing that he is turning down Strong's offer and will remain with TCU.
December 9th (2:45 p.m.) -
Suchomel reports that "the interview with Gilbert went very, very well. Apparently Gilbert was 'beaming and smiling ear to ear' when walking around the football offices."
December 9th (9:25 p.m.) -
Suchomel reports that after "talking to two sources tonight, including one who has connections in the Tulsa program, Tulsa co-offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert informed Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery tonight of his intentions to take the Texas offensive coordinator job, barring any last-minute setbacks.
As had previously reported earlier in the day, "if Gilbert's hiring becomes official, look for Tulsa's Matt Mattox to be a primary candidate to join Gilbert at Texas as the Longhorns' offensive line coach."
December 10th (9:03 a.m.) -
Orangebloods is the first to report that California offensive coordinator Tony Franklin is in Austin and interviewing on Thursday morning with Charlie Strong.
According to Suchomel, "Where this really gets interesting, from what I'm told, is that Gilbert left Austin last night believing the job was his if he wanted it. One source told me this morning that Gilbert and those close to him are now a bit confused at where things stand with this morning's interview."
As it turns out, Franklin's interview was mostly wasted time, as he was never considered a true candidate for the job despite the interview and by the time he left town on Thursday afternoon, it was almost as if he had never been in town.
December 10th (4:04 p.m.) - Orangebloods reports that "a high-level source did indicate to Orangebloods just now that Tulsa's Sterlin Gilbert is expected to be named the Texas offensive coordinator and will be formally announced on Friday."
A second source indicated that Gilbert is officially telling those in the Tulsa athletics office of his decision on Thursday afternoon.
Full disclosure: If there was one mistake we made during the course of the entire coordinator search saga, it was not emphasizing strongly enough in this report that while there was an agreement in principle on a deal between Gilbert and Texas, there were still details that needed to be resolved. Throughout the rest of the night,
whether it was in a special Thursday night War Room chat or answering questions on the Orangebloods message board, we made every attempt to stress that language such as "done deal" was a little too strong, given that the night ended with Gilbert's agent still in conversations with Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director Arthur Johnson and that a contract had not been signed.
December 11th (8:00 a.m.) - In an Orangebloods exclusive, Anwar Richardson outlines where the breakdown in discussions with TCU's Cumbie broke down.
Per Richardson's sources, "Cumbie had two questions that went unanswered about Strong’s future at Texas, which led to his decision to walk away from the job offer:
"1. Will Strong coach the team after next season?
"2. How many wins will it take in 2016 to save his job?
"Since nobody above Strong could give Cumbie a straight answer, the 34-year-old assistant coach decided not to take the offer after days of consideration. From what I was told, Cumbie was worried about his own future, and did not want to jeopardize his opportunity to become a head coach down the line by possibly getting fired after one season."
December 11th (1:45 p.m.) - Orangebloods confirms that Tulsa co-OC Sterlin Gilbert has decided against accepting the Texas job.
Two of the big issues related to the decision involved issues that had impacted Cumbie's decision.
a. According to sources, Texas would not guarantee the contracts of his assistant coaches that he wanted to bring. Gilbert's deal was guaranteed for three years, but the deals for his assistants were not.
b. Gilbert wasn't able to get any guarantees that Charlie Strong would be around beyond 2016.
December 11th (2:58 p.m.) - Texas president Greg Fenves tweets the following:
December 11th (4:46 p.m.) -
Orangebloods is the first to report that the Longhorns refuse to take no for an answer from Gilbert and that Fenves would be part of a team that included Charlie Strong, Jeff Traylor and Texas AD Mike Perrin that was planning to fly to Tulsa on Friday night in an effort to change Gilbert's mind.
December 11th (9:15 p.m.) Orangebloods confirms through three different sources that Gilbert has accepted the offensive coordinator position and that Tulsa OL coach Mike Mattox was set to join him.
December 12th (10:44 a.m.) -
In an Orangebloods exclusive, Anwar Richardson outlines the pledge made by Texas president Greg Fenves to Gilbert in his home on Friday night that closed the deal.
"Sources told me one of the main reasons Texas President Greg Fenves and athletic director Mike Perrin flew to Tulsa on Friday is because Sterlin Gilbert wanted reassurances from Strong’s bosses that the head coach is not going to be fired after next season. I was told Gilbert wanted both men to 'look him in the eye' and inform him about Strong’s future.
"As I previously reported, TCU’s Sonny Cumbie asked administrators the same question earlier this week, but was not given an answer about Strong’s future. As a result of that non-endorsement, Cumbie turned down Texas’ offer to become the new offensive coordinator.
"However, Gilbert was told he was not coming to Austin on a one-year trial basis, according to my sources. Instead, Strong was backed by Fenves and Perrin during their meeting on Friday, and told Strong would be retained after the 2016 season. Once Gilbert received the reassurances he wanted, he agreed to become the new offensive coordinator."
December 12th (3:00 p.m.) - The University of Texas officially announces the hires of Gilbert and Mattox, along with the departures of former co-OC's Shawn Watson and Joe Wickline.
No. 2 – Indulge me for a moment …
From the moment Shawn Watson was removed as offensive coordinator back in September, the Orangebloods staff viewed this hire as the single-most important moment of Charlie Strong’s off-season and this would be the story that might define the current Orangebloods staff.
It was our quest to pursue the most important hiring decision of the Strong Era as if nothing we had ever done in the last 15 years as a website mattered more than how well we covered this story.
Really and truly, this was our first real opportunity to flex some critical football team news-breaking muscle since Anwar Richardson joined the site back in the summer of 2014 and I can safely say that I have never been prouder of the teamwork and skill at Orangebloods than I have been with the work of Anwar, Jason, Dustin, Alex and myself.
In fact, one competitor of ours was so frustrated by our news-breaking in the last two weeks that he/she attempted to wreck relationships we had with sources on multiple occasions. I guess when you're not breaking news, all you can do is try tokeep someone else from breaking the news.
At various stages of this process, every member of the staff contributed to the telling of this story and there wasn’t a single selfish moment from anyone on our team at any point of the process. All that mattered was all of collectively doing an elite-level job in telling this story.
I thought we accomplished that goal and I just want to acknowledge the best crew in the industry.
Attaboy, Anwar. Attaboy, Alex. Attaboy, Dustin. Attaboy, Captain Stubing Suchomel.
No. 3 – The Michael Scott of college football ...
It wasn’t pretty, it had a bunch of scary moments and I don’t know that it changes anything from a big picture standpoint, but …
I thought Charlie Strong got the right guy.
In landing Sterlin Gilbert, Strong accomplished the following:
a. Finally joined the Big 12. When Strong arrived in Austin, he brought a cap-gun to a machine-gun conference on the offensive side of the ball. Three yards and a cloud of punts football is gone and an arrival to millennial offense has arrived.
b. Aligned his offense with the type of football that is being played in almost every high school in the state of Texas.
c. Picked the coordinator whose basic ideologies includes a power running game and a ton of vertical shots down the field in the passing game.
d. According to those familiar with the Baylor inner-circle, you can count on one hand (and maybe a couple more fingers) the number of people who truly know the inner workings of the Art Briles offense, which ranks as one of the best and most explosive across the country, and Gilbert is one of those in that inner-circle. Imitation is the name of the game in college football and if there’s an offense to imitate in the state of Texas, it’s this one.
e. It pissed off Briles, which counts a second win over him in the calendar month.
Also, if we’re keeping it 100, Strong just hired a coordinator with some fairly sizable intestinal fortitude when you consider he was not only unafraid to tell big-boy Texas to take a hike if his demands weren’t met, but he practically had the Longhorns begging for his services on Friday night because of his stone-cold poker face.
One of the endearing things about the Michael Scott character of the American version of
The Office is that he’s never to be completely underestimated. Just when you think he’s about to lose a big client, he seals a deal over ribs at Chili’s.
That’s Charlie. Whatever issues that existed this week with getting this hire completed, Strong was part of what was right, no matter how unconventional his methods might look. Sonny Cumbie’s wife might not have liked Austin, but word on the street was that she dug Charlie. The same is true with Gilbert.
Yes, he missed on his first target. Yes, he probably shouldn’t have interviewed Terry Franklin after meeting with Gilbert. Yes, things appeared to be a disaster on Friday afternoon.
Yet, by the end of the episode, Strong emerged as a winner, complete with a commitment from Greg Fenves to his new coordinator that his job status is rock solid.
Time to eat some ribs.
No. 4 – Scattershooting on the Longhorns …
... If we're going to keep it real, I'm not sure that it matters one bit what Greg Fenves and Mike Perrin told Sterlin Gilbert on Friday night about Charlie Strong's job security, if the Longhorns are 2-3 after the Oklahoma game or if this team doesn't win at least eight games, Strong will be in trouble.
Time to get to work.
... I really think Jake Raulerson should have waited until the spring before making a decision on a transfer. I understand why he didn't wait, but even after knowing the details of his situation, I still would have waited.
... "111111111qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq"
My son Hendrix's first contribution to the column when I wasn't looking.
... Javan Felix knocking down the game-winner over UNC proved what I've always said about Felix... he's a big-time player that needs to be on the floor in crunch-time... or something like that. Seriously, what a great moment in the history of the program and his fingerprints were all over it.
... Eric Davis Jr. is really going to be something once his confidence takes off and he starts to come out of his shell.
No. 5 – Buy or sell …
(As always, these are questions submitted by Orangebloods subscribers)
BUY or SELL: Texas averages over 30 points a game next year?
(Buy) Considering the Longhorns averaged 26.5 points per game this season, I’ll go ahead and say with confidence that the Longhorns can hit at least another 3.5 points per game in 2016. Hitting a mere 30.0 points per game this year would have ranked eighth in the Big 12, ironically the same position Texas held in 2015 with its 26.5 points per game.
BUY or SELL: Sterlin Gilbert's impact puts Texas offense in the top half of B12 next year?
(Buy) If the Longhorns can answer the quarterback issue, Texas can win eight games, which would put it in the top five within the Big 12. The top three will be much more difficult to crack.
BUY or SELL: The starting QB for the ND game is currently on the Texas roster?
(Sell) A sense of urgency to get another option on the roster exists and I believe there will be another quarterback on the roster, via transfer or the JUCO market, by the time the season starts. Of course, the smart money is probably on Tyrone Swoopes at this point (the player I’m told the remaining coaches have the most confidence in), but I’m going the other way for now.
BUY or SELL: UT has a 1,000 yd rusher next year in Gilbert's system. (Note: Tulsa's leading rusher had 732)?
(Buy) It had a 1,000-yard rusher this year with the correct snap distribution and a little luck with health.
BUY or SELL: Patrick Hudson flips to Texas? Use your gut and not your head on this one.
(Sell) At the end of the day, I think he sticks with the Bears.
BUY or SELL: Beating UNC can spring board UT to a very good season-ending in a run to the sweet 16?
(Buy) Getting to the Sweet 16 is about getting to the tournament and playing well twice on the same weekend. In Shaka, I trust.
BUY or SELL: Both defense and offense is in the top 50 nationally in 2016?
(Sell) I’m not quite ready to go there … yet. Let’s not get too carried away.
BUY or SELL: Coaching staff changes are not finished.
(Buy) The Longhorns need another ace recruiter on the offensive and I think Strong will have to replace Tommie Robinson to achieve that goal.
BUY or SELL: If Texas had played Baylor's schedule we would be bowl eligible and Watson is still the OC?
(Buy) The entire narrative of the season changes with a cakewalk first four games. Ironic, huh? Meanwhile, Baylor might have lost five games if it had played the Texas schedule.`
BUY or SELL: A wide open QB competition in the spring, which bleeds over into August. The starter is not named until about 10 days before the opener. Merrick and Locksley challenge for the position.
(Sell) I was with you all the way until the part about Merrick and Locksley, two players I do not believe will impact the quarterback position in 2016.
No. 6 – Shaka gets his signature win ...
I’ll admit that I didn’t see this one coming at all.
In fact, on a scale of 1-10, I’d have probably listed UT’s chances of beating No. 3 North Carolina at about a 2 or 3.
While you could see Shaka Smart’s team making progress in recent games, I hadn’t seen anything close to a top 25-level performance, let alone something better than that, although the win over UT-Arlington last week was an indication of something like that being capable.
To beat a team like the Tar Hills on a day when it shoots better than 50-percent from the floor and hits 24 of 28 free throws because you just played a tad bit better?
Just didn’t see that happening, but it happened and now a new standard has been set for this team to aim for each night it plays moving forward.
The Longhorns will have setbacks over the remainder of the schedule, but Smart has this program moving forward and eventually beating the likes of the Tar Hills won’t register as an upset.
It’ll be the new expectation and that seed was planted on Saturday in Roy Williams’ lawn.
No. 7 – Speaking of Longhorns basketball ...
Don’t look now, but with a little bit of patience and trust, Karen Aston has the Texas women’s basketball team on the verge of big things.
With a win over No. 14 Stanford on Sunday, Aston’s players have built an 8-0 record and own wins over three top-14 teams (No. 4 Tennessee and No. 9 Mississippi State are the other victims) in the last four games.
Suddenly, the Longhorns are ranked in the top five and have posted a better resume thus far than anyone ranked ahead of it, including No. 1 U.Conn.
Frankly, the Longhorns look like a team headed straight for a rumble with No. 4 Baylor for Big 12 supremacy this season.
I guess I’m going to have to create a section each week for Aston’s hard-chargers moving forward.
No. 8 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …
… Scattershooting on week 14 in the NFL
a. In the biggest piece of irony of the NFL season, the Cincinnati Bengals went from a team with the best injury situation in the league through its first 12 games to devastated with an injury they couldn’t afford. The loss of Andy Dalton leaves the Bengals as a dead team walking.
b. Is Pittsburgh the best team in the AFC at this very moment?
c. Why does Deandre Hopkins essentially make plays every week without a top quarterback, but Dez Bryant becomes a borderline JAG without Tony Romo? I know Michael Irvin’s production didn’t drop off the side of the mountain when Troy Aikman was out of the line-up …
d. Russell Wilson is playing the best football of his NFL career in the last month.
e. Man, the Texans should have drafted Blake Bortles. I was so wrong about the use of that pick.
… Conor McGregor came, he saw and he conquered Jose Also in emphatic fashion. I’m still trying to figure out what it means outside of the fact that McGregor is now the biggest thing the UFC has going and Aldo might have just lost in the most embarrassing fashion of any all-time legend the sport has ever seen.
… Luke Rockhold beating Chris Weidman wasn’t a shock, but Rockhold dominating Weidman was. Man, that dude has scary skills.
… The Golden State Warriors are mortal … barely.
… Scattershooting on week 16 of the English Premier League
a. The Reds played like hot garbage for most of their game against West Brom and I’m going to break something the next time I see them give up a goal in a set piece, but my goodness, I go love me some Jurgen Klopp.
b. I’m guessing Tottenham fans are going to be smoldering over their loss for a full week.
c. What world are we living in when Bournemouth is beating Chelsea and Manchester United in consecutive weeks?
d. My fantasy soccer team took one on the chin this week and I’m probably more angry about this fact than my fantasy football disappointment from a week ago. OK, let’s not go that far, but I was not happy that half my team took the weekend off.
e. Romelu Lukaku is everything Man United, Chelsea and Liverpool need. Good grief, he’s on fire.
No. 9 – 77 Days Until Oscar Night ...
With the SAG and Golden Globes nominations announced this week, a few things became a little clearer as it relates to the status of the favorites for the Academy Awards.
On the Best Picture front, only
Spotlight was nominated by award groups, which indicates that it might warrant favorite status and at the very least a lock for a nomination when few locks for nominations seem to exist.
As it relates to Best Actor, there’s a feeling out there that Leonardo DiCaprio is emerging as the favorite, but Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs), Bryan Cranston (Trumbo) and Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl) all received double nominations this week. The smart money is on one of these four men taking home the big prize.
Meanwhile, both Brie Larson (Room) and Cate Blanchett (Carol) were given double nominations for their work, seemingly creating a head-to-head battle for Best Actress when the dust settles.
100 Words or Less Movie Review: The Martian (B+)
Despite a world-class cast, let’s call this what it is, which is the Matt Damon One-Man-Gang Space movie and it says a lot about Damon’s powers as an actor/showman that he’s able to lift up Space Castaway at every turn. All the best parts of this very good movie are centered around Damon’s ability to make every scene that he’s in completely captivating. The cast is sensational, but this is really Damon and director Ridley Scott’s movie and together they create an exceptional sci-fi movie that taps into a variety of human emotions throughout.
My Current Leaderboard
Best Picture (based on movies I have actually seen)
1. Spotlight
2. Sicario
3. Room
4. Creed
5. Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Actor (based on the movies I have actually seen)
1. Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)
2. Michael B. Jordan (Creed)
3. Matt Damon (The Martian)
4. Michael Keaton (Spotlight)
5. Tom Hanks (Bridge of Spies)
Best Actress (based on the movies I have actually seen)
1. Brie Larson (Room)
2. Emily Blount (Sicario)
3. Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Best Supporting Actor (based on the movies I have actually seen)
1. Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)
2. Jacob Tremblay (Room)
3. Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)
4. Benicio del Toro (Sicario)
5. Sly Stallone (Creed)
Best Supporting Actress (based on the movies I have actually seen)
1. Joan Allen (Room)
2. Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)
3. Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)
4. Tessa Thompson (Creed)
5. Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)
Best Director
1. Lenny Abrahamson (Room)
2. Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)
3. George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)
4. Ridley Scott (The Martian)
5. Denis Villeneuve (Sicario)
No. 10 – And Finally…
I’m done. Time for sleep.
