I said it first...
First of all - I must gloat just a moment in saying right now that I called it. Andrew Luck will stay at Stanford. Like I told people, you don't go to Stanford to leave school early for the NFL. You go to graduate. Once his degree is in hand, the NFL will be ready and waiting for him. Now, where his coach ends up, that's a more interesting situation. A month ago, I would have said Michigan, but that appears to be not happening anymore and with Luck staying at Stanford, I wouldn't be surprised if Harbaugh did, too. San Francisco seems logical to me, and I wouldn't be surprised if Jon Gruden ends up in Denver. As for Miami... maybe, but I also read that Harbaugh would prefer to coach in the NFC, as opposed to facing his brother on a semi-regular basis in the AFC. We'll see.
Meanwhile, in the Maize & Blue...
As for the University of Michigan, say what you want, but it was time to let Rich Rodriguez go. I expect him to be successful elsewhere, but his bull-in-a-china-shop attitude when he came to Michigan, trampling on tradition at times without even being aware of it, made it clear he wasn't the right man there, not from day one. Maybe that wasn't fair to him, but at the same time, he was ignorant for not being aware of the traditions he came to at Michigan and for disregarding them as he did. It was time for the university to move on and I expect Denard Robinson to do so, too. But in 3 years, RichRod hadn't gotten the program beyond a one-man offense and a shoddy defense... winning eases lots of wounds, but he wasn't able to accomplish that. Whoever comes in will come to a bare cupboard and the Wolverine faithful will have to be prepared for another couple rough years ahead.
And how about the Silver & Black...
How do you fire a coach who goes 6-0 in division? Tom Cable took the Raiders from a dysfunctional 5-11 to a gritty, tough, respectable 8-8 and got fired for his troubles. I'm still in awe. The Raiders were built in his image and it was an image that fit Raider football - tough, in-your-face, not-gonna-knock-us-down, etc, and now after a season of marked progress, he's gone. It's a mystifying move to me and only continues to demonstrate just how dysfunctional Al Davis and the Raiders are. Even if he wanted Hue Jackson to coach, or an outside shot at Harbaugh, I don't think you let a player's coach like Cable go, not if he has his players winning. Terrible move, Oakland. To the fans of the Silver and Black... ouch.
Coaching Predictions -
I like Denver to go after an offensive-style coach who will mesh well with Elway's front office and Tebow at QB. I think Jon Gruden, if he wants to return to coaching, is a good fit here, especially in a division he's coached in before that would give him a shot at Al Davis twice a year.
In Carolina, I'd keep my eye on Rob Ryan. He's overdue for a head coaching job (I thought he'd get one before Rex, honestly) and I think he fits what Carolina wants and needs - a tough defensive guy who can build a team that can withstand the offensive firepower of Atlanta, Tampa Bay and New Orleans. He'll need an experienced offensive coordinator for that side of the game, but otherwise, I think it's a very likely scenario.
San Francisco is the most likely Harbaugh scenario, but I'm not sold on it yet. If I had to put money on it, I'd probably go with Harbaugh. As for alternatives to that, there's not a lot of high-caliber coaching talent that seems readily available. If he was interested, I could see Brian Billick returning to the NFL here, but I expect if no Harbaugh, they'll find an up-and-coming offensive assistant like Hue Jackson, unless Oakland makes him their head coach.
Cleveland is a tough one and part of me expects to see Mike Holmgren step in, which isn't an ideal situation, but very possible. Mularkey from Atlanta appears to be a high possibility, but I expect them to be fairly exhaustive in their search - I wouldn't be surprised if Cleveland is the last team with a coaching vacancy to fill it.
On my NFL Awards -
MVP - Tom Brady. There's just no question here. If you watched the Patriots or look at his stat-line, you can see why.
Offensive Player - Michael Vick. Absolutely electric. Not perfect, but he's the one who has the Eagles surging and when it comes down to a single offensive player you're forced to design your entire gameplan around, it's Michael Vick.
Defensive Player - Troy Polamalu. The Steelers defensive lives and breathes by this guy - if he's gone, so are they. And much like Vick, when you look at a single defensive player that you have to design your gameplan around, Polamalu and his flowing locks are exactly that. He's a dervish on the field capable of whatever the game calls for. That he missed time this year and the Steelers floundered a bit without him is testament to his deserving of this award.
Offensive Rookie - Sam Bradford. Boring, predictable, but he had a great rookie year as QB and was a main reason the Rams were NFC West contenders.
Defensive Rookie - Ndamukong Suh. The lynchpin of the Detroit Lions defense from here on out, he is as good as advertised and his disruptive line play only makes his fellow linemen better.
Coach of the Year - Bill Belicheck. The mad genius dumped Randy Moss, prompting many people (not including yours truly) to think that he'd given up on the season. Instead, this very young Patriots roster was coached to one of the most stunning seasons of football I've seen. I hold Belicheck to a high bar and normally wouldn't select him for this award, but the sheer youth and inexperience on defense, which has improved as the season went on, as well as the young skill players on offense, is too compelling for me to overlook.
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