ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Dipping back in the mailbag for a second time today ...

Ron in Harrison, Ohio, writes: Brian, great blog. I read it nearly every day. Does the coaching turnover this offseason seem high? Every team except West Virginia has lost at least a coordinator. Is this a problem (lack of consistency) or a good thing (good pool of coaching talent in the Big East)? How does this compare to the "big time" programs like Florida, Oklahoma, USC?

Brian Bennett: The turnover has been unusually high this offseason, and especially with some of the late moves we've seen here in February alone. Is there one overarching reason for it or is it more of a coincidence? I tend to lean toward the latter. A couple of coaches, like Ron English and Rob Ambrose, got head-coaching gigs, while others such as John McNulty and Gary Brown went to the NFL. You want your assistants to be in demand for better jobs. The ones that would trouble me are the ones like South Florida's Wally Burnham and Troy Douglas leaving for the same jobs at Iowa State and North Carolina, etc. Those should be basically lateral moves, but the pay and prestige were apparently better at their new schools. Assistants move all the time, and it's part of the game. It's nice to have staff stability, but sometimes that can be overrated since the players change every year anyway.

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Chris from Tampa writes: Is the amount of coaching turnover at USF typical of most NCAA teams or is it more common at USF? IF so, why does USF seem to lose big coaches so often?

Brian Bennett: I'm not sure I'd agree that the Bulls lose a lot of "big coaches" often. Departed offensive coordinator Greg Gregory had been on staff since 2005, and the previous and probably future O.C., Mike Canales, is still on the staff. Burnham, who left as defensive coordinator, had been there for nine years. Yes, the Bulls lost Dan McCarney as defensive line coach after a year, but he was a former head coach whom everyone figured was just biding his time. So South Florida has had a relatively stable cadre of assistants; it just seems to me the Bulls have been hit with the normal turnover all at once.

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John from Fairfax, Va., writes: Love your articles, Brian. How do you think Jock Sanders getting booted from WVU will effect the team? Will this result in a bigger year for Noel Devine, even with better receivers coming in this year?

Brian Bennett: I still think we'll see Sanders back with the Mountaineers at some point in 2009. Yes, he made a big mistake with his DUI arrest, and yes, it was his second run-in with the law. But from everything I hear, he's a guy who's always worked hard and done everything the coaching staff has asked. So provided he doesn't mess up anymore, I think we're likely to see a suspension but not an outright dismissal for Sanders.

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John from Fairfax, Va., writes: Brian, I love how people slam you on your All-Nobodies teams without reading the actual criteria, don't you? Do you know much about Eugene Smith? Do you think he is talented enough that he could take the WVU QB job away from Jarrett Brown?

Brian Bennett: From what I've seen, read and heard about Smith, he's a good athlete with a strong arm who needs to pack some weight on his frame. I would be shocked if he doesn't get some playing time this year. West Virginia wants Brown to be the starter, but Smith has to play if for no other reason than to get experience for next year after Brown graduates. That is, assuming Coley White doesn't step up this spring and become a factor at quarterback.

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Jeff from Cincinnati writes: I think I've got the Big East scheduling dilemma solved. First off, DePaul should get the boot (sorry, Blue Demons you aren't even in the right time zone) and we should pillage Boston College from the ACC. Secondly, with how Villanova performed this year they should pool their exorbitant amounts of money with Temple and build a 40k range stadium and break contracts with the Linc. Then they move to FBS, the Big East has 10 football, 16 basketball, and 'Cuse have someone to beat up on. How does this not make sense? Does BC want to come back?

Brian Bennett: I've talked in the blog a lot about Villanova, so I won't get into that here. If the Big East ever decides it needs to cut some teams loose, DePaul has to be first on that list, in my mind. I understand why the league picked the Blue Demons, because of the Chicago market. But it's not working out in men's basketball for DePaul, which at last check was 0-13 in league play. And the Chicago area is not exactly in breathless anticipation for updates on Blue Demons basketball. Besides giving Marquette and Notre Dame a natural geographic rival, DePaul doesn't bring much to the table. Would BC want to come back? I'm not sure how much the school has really benefitted from moving to the ACC, as its bowl destinations have been atrocious and it still makes no geographic sense. But there may have been too many bridges burned for the relationship with the Big East to be rekindled at this point.