TigerNet -- Blogs -- Mickey Plyler's Blog

Instability
In a sport where stability could separate the great teams from the good ones and the special teams from the great ones, we have so little stability in college football today. No wonder a team with two losses won the national title this past season.

Wednesday we officially found out James Davis will not be back next season but Aaron Kelly will. The day before we found out that Phillip Merling is leaving but Cullen Harper and Dorell Scott are not.

This weekend the staff will host over 20 prospects in what could be the best recruiting class for the Tigers in several years. Will Jamie Harper be a part of that class? How about R. J. Mattes?

Defensive coordinator Vic Koenning’s name was mentioned at Auburn (I don’t think he has any interest in leaving) and wide receiver coach Dabo Swinney has been mentioned as a candidate at South Alabama, who will start a football program next season.

Tommy Bowden was headed to Arkansas but decided to stay. Rob Spence interviewed with Tennessee but decided to stay.

Instability at Clemson at every turn but this is how things work today. It’s not just Clemson, it is everywhere including the nation’s top programs. Let’s examine two of the top programs in the country:

LSU
LSU is a program that has won two national titles under two different coaches in this decade. When Nick Saban was hired away from Michigan State he was not the hottest coach in the country but led the Tigers to a national title in 2003. After Saban leaves for the NFL LSU hires Les Miles, another coach that was not the hottest name in the industry. Monday night Miles led the Tigers to their second national title in five years.

Go back to one year ago today and think about where the LSU program was. The Tigers lost four first round picks in the NFL draft including two of the top six picks. Last year, quarterback JaMarcus Russell was the 1st overall pick to the Raiders, safety LaRon Landry was the 6th overall pick to the Redskins, wide receiver Dwayne Bowe went 23rd overall to the Chiefs and wide receiver went Craig Davis 30th overall to the Chargers.

How many programs could lose four first round draft picks and still win the title the next year?

Southern Cal
Pete Carroll has won two national championships at Southern Cal and seemingly several more are on the way if he stays at the school. But he is talking to the Falcons and rumored to be a candidate with the Redskins.

Southern Cal lost two Heisman Trophy winners in the same draft and continues to lose top juniors and top draft picks every year. They have lost three coaches, two who have gone onto head coaching jobs.

Now a new book is out detailing the allegations about Reggie Bush and his improprieties at the school.

Southern Cal is another perfect example of success despite instability all around the program.

Players and Coaches Relocate
In the last few weeks we have learned:
Running backs coach Stan Drayton is leaving Florida for Tennessee.

All across college football staff are hired and fired and new coaches come in every year at a higher rate.

FSU has had academic scandals and lost two underclassmen to the draft, linebacker Geno Hayes and defensive lineman Letroy Guion.

The top programs continue to take hits through the draft as juniors declare. Auburn has lost defensive lineman and Chic-fil-a Bowl MVP Patrick Sims. Miami loses defensive end Calais Campbell and safety Kenny Phillips. Dejuan Morgan is leaving NC State and Branden Albert is leaving Virginia.

Michigan will not only lose their head coach in Lloyd Carr and seniors like Mike Hart, Chad Henne and Jake Long but juniors Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington as well. The news got worse in Ann Arbor this week when quarterback Ryan Mallett announced he would transfer.

When Will It End?
Coaches continue to come and go as salaries continue to escalate. Players transfer and head to the NFL at a higher rate almost every year.

In the old days a school hired a coach and he was there to stay. His staff was intact and stability followed. Players were signed and you kept them for four or five years. This is not the case today.

So when will it stop? Never. In fact it is going to get worse which leads me back to my original idea of today’s blog. James Davis has played his last game at Clemson and now the attention turns to C.J. Spiller and the rest of backs on campus. Phillip Merling looks like he will head to the league and we now begin the DaQuan Bowers watch. But Clemson will still play football next season. There will be a time when Bowden will not be the coach at Clemson but they will still play the game here. Koenning will not always be here nor will Swinney or the rest of the staff.

In the end, you are who you are. Sure you can pay a few million dollars to a hot shot coach. You may have a great player or a few great players but each still play no more than four years at your school. Your hot, trendy offense will not always be in vogue. Over the long term, however, you are who you are.

The game is still about who has the best players and the best players are going to chose a school most often because of those things. Tradition never graduates or leaves to go to the NFL.

In my lifetime I have not witnessed a game at Clemson without Howard’s Rock. I am pretty sure that will still be here. The Hill looks a little different now than it did when I was a kid but it is not going anywhere either. Lake Hartwell is almost dried up but my bet is that it is not going anywhere either. Clemson has a tradition for a reason.

Michigan is a power because of its tradition and its population base. The same can be said for Southern Cal. LSU dominates in a great state for recruiting. Texas has so many advantages as does FSU, Florida and Miami. I know FSU and Miami are down but they will be back in the long run because you are who you are.

Clemson is a football power. Not in the same breath as Notre Dame, Texas and Oklahoma but a power still. This program has been one of the top 20-25 programs in the country over the last 30 years for a few reasons and those reasons will not change. In the long run football is important at Clemson. The tradition is there. The facilities have been and will once again be there. The Rock, the Hill, the Paw and Death Valley will last longer than Davis, Merling, Bowden, Koenning and Swinney. I love James Davis and wish him the best. But I love Clemson more and hope the next back at Clemson will be better. Chances are I will see another great one in my lifetime.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency