THE HOT ONE

"I'm burning up out here bruh!"

There is an old English colloquialism that says, “I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place.” When a person uses it they are simply saying that there are two forces restricting one’s movement. They are unable for some reason to do something that they would like to do, such as act or not act in a certain way. The OG’s on the block  just said it like this, “Man its tight out here bruh and I can’t make a move right now.”

Well homeboy, it works the same way in the world of college football coaching. Normally schools will make a coaching change right after the last ball game which is usually at the end of November or the first week in December. It has to be done at that moment because recruiting season kicks into full gear during this time because National Signing Day is the first week of February. So they have to cut ties with the old coach and make a move on a new cat ASAP.

Here’s the problem big dawg! The hot coaching candidate is HOT because he’s winning. So more than likely his team is still playing for something like a conference championship or a big time bowl game. Louisville’s Charlie Strong is one of the hottest coaches in the country and everybody is chasing him at this point.

However, his Cardinals were playing in the Big East Championship game last night which they eventually won 20-17 over Rutgers. However, Auburn has a coaching vacancy and they interviewed him this week. The media got a hold of it and asked ole boy if he had in fact interviewed for the job. He vehemently denied it like he was supposed to do and everybody acted a fool because he lied about it. I mean, what was he supposed to do bruh? Say yes while he’s preparing his team to win a conference championship?

On some real talk, would you tell your boss that you just interviewed for another job if he asks you? Not a chance homeboy! So why would you expect Charlie Strong to be any different. He has a job just like you do.

 The timing is just bad because Auburn or schools like it can’t wait until after Louisville’s BCS Bowl game is over to interview Strong because they would miss out on all of their recruiting because signing date is in February. It is what it is.

 Remember when boyz at Cincinnati were fired up at Brian Kelly for bouncing to go to Notre Dame right before their BCS Bowl appearance in December of 2009? They were 12-0 heading to the Sugar Bowl to play Florida with the highest ranking and best record in school history and Kelly got the nod from Notre Dame and dipped. When the opportunity presents itself you gotta take it. They weren’t going to wait until he finished playing in the Sugar Bowl to hire him. They would have just moved on because they needed a new coach for a reason.

Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! If LSU weren’t about to play for a national title in 2007 Les Miles would be coaching in Ann Arbor right now! Remember when Lloyd Carr retired and the Wolverines were looking for his replacement? You better believe that they hollered at Les because he’s a Michigan man. It was all over the news and ole Les was playing with that rock that I told you about earlier. However, he couldn’t walk away from LSU because they were about to play for a national championship. He was too close to the prize to leave but if they were just playing in a BCS Bowl he’d be singing the Victors in the Big House right now. Timing bruh!!

Remember when the Miami Dolphins’ fan base was upset with Nick Saban for lying about not going to Alabama and then going anyway? It’s the nature of the beast and there’s no good way to do it. You can’t be honest with your present employer about interviewing. Take your heart out of it and look at it for what it is.

So all of you Louisville fans out there don’t trip when Charlie Strong packs up the joint next week and goes south because he will! It’s like breaking up with the chick that’s been good to you but she really wasn’t the ONE but the woman of your dreams is finally available and now she wants you. Now there is no guarantee that it’ll work out but you gotta give it a shot. Otherwise, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life because you can always step back down. In the movie "A Bronx Tale" Sonny told the young boy, "C", "You're only allowed 3 great women in your lifetime." Well, in coaching you're only allowed ONE major opportunity if you're lucky! WEll...maybe two if you're Nick Saban.

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Get @ me on Twitter: jaygravesreport