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I’ve been absent from the college pig talk this year because I had some crazy idea about getting married and missed my usual 4 weeks of pre-season and early-season research. Unfortunately, that meant I didn’t do the Picks of the Week this year (and after last year’s .500 record, I had to tweak my system a bit).

But, here are some of my thoughts and observations on your comments Po Monk:

1. Ole Miss is moving in the right direction; I’m not so sure about State. I can envision an 8 win season in the next 1-2 years for the Rebels, but even with best case projections for the Dogs, I can’t get ‘em above 6 (and 6 is really, really optimistic). I think Croom gets one more year and if he can’t do better than 4-8, he’s outta there.

2. Cutcliffe will be a head coach again, but it’ll be at a C-USA or Big East team.

3. The Alabama faithful need to understand that the Alabama job just ain’t what it used to be. When Frank Beamer turned down the job about 8 years ago to remain at Virginia Tech - that was the sign that Bama was on the way down. When Dennis Franchione turned Bama down for Texas A&M, that confirmed it. Deltamud77 was spot on in calling them the formerly hot chick who is now divorced with 3 kids and overweight. Perfect analogy. And if Houston Nutt turned down the Nebraska job, I’m pretty sure he’s not leaving to go to Tuscaloosa.

4. Grobe may jump ship to Bama, but they won’t get Petrino, Rodriguez, that guy from Rutgers, or any other “name” coach. Those guys are looking at the Miami job.

5. I think USC or Florida will play OSU for the national title. Only way Michigan gets a rematch is if both teams lose this week.

6. Nobody in the ACC saw Wake coming either – this was completely out of left field. And they’re doing it with 2 of their best players hurt. An amazing job by that entire program.

7. The best coach in the country who doesn’t have a head coaching gig is Bud Foster, defensive coordinator of Virginia Tech. If I had a coaching vacancy, I’d break the bank to hire this guy. Problem is that I think he’s too much of a redneck to ever leave Blacksburg. Must be something he likes about being in the middle of nowhere and the smell of manure. Wonder where he might find another coaching gig like that?

8. Ole Miss should have hired Rick Neuheisel in a New York Minute and hired Orgeron as recruiting coordinator/defensive coordinator. I hated the holier-than-thou attitude that went with the explanation of why he was passed over.

Delta, before Pete even announced the Cut firing, inquiries had been made with Petrino. And some of the so called Reb "insiders" said it was a done deal. Well, that was not true. Then after Cut's firing was made public, Boone made that bold statement about hiring only a proven head coach, thinking that a deal with Erickson would be forthcoming. Supposedly, Erickson was interested and wanted Mazzone as his OC. But, Erickson was still in a contract with an NFL team at the time, and the season was not over, nor had his contract expired. He did not want UM to announce anything involving him at that time, including any interest he had in the job. Boone rushed things a tad by announcing that Erickson was a candidate, possibly botching the whole deal. At that point, Erickson had to deny any interest --- although it was speculated that he would be fired at the end of the season by the NFL team, he had to wait to actually be fired in order to get his contract severance money. Erickson was later interviewed in CA by RK and Boone, but by then, I don't think he was as interested and seemed to prefer to take his money from the NFL team that fired him and enjoy life for a while.

I viewed Erickson as a "burnout" from day one and did not think he would have the necessary energy or recruiting ability to pull Ole Miss out of the tailspin we were in at the time. I also liked the idea of Rick Neuheissal as head coach, but UM did not have enough collateral built up with the NCAA (due to severe sanctions in the mid-90s) to pull off hiring Rick. We did not need the extra scrutiny. Apparently, no other school has hired him either. And, aside from Rick's baggage, I questioned his ability to recruit in the South.

No doubt, it was a botched coaching search that was poorly executed. I think we got lucky landing Orgeron, simply by having an opening at the right time for him. Others may disagree. We won't know who is right for another year or two. But, I think that coaching serach is a good example of what happens when an AD relies too much on the high dollar supporters/GOBs, and not enough on his own good instincts. Boone handled the subsequent basketball coaching search much, much better.

Po monk, check your PM