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LSU's defensive coach situation could get interesting

Former Georgia coach Jim Donnan reported on an Atlanta radio station earlier this week that John Chavis has reached an agreement to be LSU's defensive coordinator.
           
Not so, said Chavis, former defensive coordinator at Tennessee.
           
Chavis told me Tuesday he had not talked to LSU.
           
Would Chavis be interested in going to LSU?
           
``I don't want to comment on a job unless there is an opening,'' Chavis said.
           
LSU coach Les Miles has yet to announce what he will do about his co-defensive coordinators, a situation that clearly failed. LSU ranked 11th in the SEC in scoring defense and 12th in pass defense.
           
Chavis would be a great hire for LSU. He did one of his best jobs at Tennessee this past season, helping the Vols rank in the top five in the nation in total yards allowed and in the top 12 in pass defense and run defense. Not bad for a unit that got no help from an anemic offense that ranked last in the nation with the most three-and-outs.
           
Chavis said he doesn't want to coach anywhere that doesn't provide a chance to compete for a championship. So you'd think Chavis would certainly be intrigued to coordinate a defense at talent-rich LSU.
           
Chavis has had numerous calls from other colleges. He's had feelers from the NFL. He's turned down at least four offers in the past 10 years to be an NFL assistant.
           
Provided Miles makes a defensive change, and Chavis doesn't go to LSU, former Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron might be a candidate. Orgeron is defensive line coach for the New Orleans Saints.
           
While Orgeron has a reputation as a good defensive line coach and for being a greater recruiter - Nick Saban was concerned about Orgeron recruiting Louisiana when Saban was at LSU - there might be some lingering ill will between Miles and Orgeron when Orgeron was recruiting at Ole Miss.
           
Orgeron's name has been mentioned as a possible assistant at Tennessee under new coach Lane Kiffin, who worked with Orgeron at Southern Cal.
           
Archie Manning, Mr. Rebel himself, spoke glowingly of Orgeron, even though Orgeron failed as a head coach at Ole Miss.
           
``If I were a head coach, he's someone I would consider hiring,'' Manning said.
          


Dooley may really not be interested
  
Derek Dooley's name has been mentioned as a candidate for the Mississippi State job, vacated by Sly Croom.
           
Dooley, head coach at Louisiana Tech and son of former Georgia Hall of Fame coach Vince Dooley, has indicated he's not interested. He's told sources that he feels you have to recruit the junior college ranks to be successful at State and that's not the route he wants to take to build a program.
           
Interestingly, Dooley's Tech team upset Mississippi State in the season opener, setting the tone for a poor season that led to Croom's ouster.
    

     
Big 12 should adopt SEC system
 
The Big 12 needs to alter its tie-breaker system to determine who plays in the conference championship game.
           
In case of a three-way tie in which each of the teams is 1-1 against the others, the Big 12 advances the highest ranked BCS team to its league title game. In this case, Oklahoma, which lost head-to-head to Texas, gets the nod over Texas and Texas Tech.
           
The Big 12 would be better served to adopt the SEC format. The SEC takes the top three teams, eliminates the lowest ranked team in the BCS standings, then takes the winner of the head-to-head match provided those two teams are within five spots of each other in the BCS standings.
           
That seems a fairer way to declare a winner your division than using polls and computer ratings to decide to who plays for a conference championship. Shouldn't head to head results count for something?
           
After all, Texas beat the two teams -- Oklahoma and Missouri -- scheduled to play for the Big 12 title.
 


SEC has poor record vs BCS teams
 
I have felt most of this season that the SEC was down. I believe the quarterback play in the league might be the worst I've ever seen. I believe the majority of the offenses border on being inept. I believe the defensive numbers are buoyed by playing against weak offenses.
           
Here's another reason I think the SEC is down: The league went 6-9 against other BCS teams.

The wins: Florida over Miami and FSU, Alabama over Clemson, Kentucky over Louisville, Georgia over Arizona State, and South Carolina over NC State.
           
The losses: Tennessee to UCLA, Georgia to Georgia Tech, Mississippi State to Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt to Wake Forest and Duke, Ole Miss to Wake Forest, Arkansas to Texas, South Carolina to Clemson, and Auburn to West Virginia.
           
In six of those nine loses, the SEC team allowed at least 30 points, three times surrendering at least 38.
           
Moreover, the SEC lost twice to non-BCS teams: Mississippi State to Louisiana Tech and Tennessee to Wyoming.
           
Also, the SEC won't be able to fill two of its tie-in slots - the Independence Bowl in Shreveport and the Papajohn.com bowl in Birmingham . The SEC should get two teams -- Alabama and Florida -- in a BCS bowl and only six other teams are bowl eligible.
 
           

Extra Points
           
* Vanderbilt can't catch a break. The Commodores are bowl eligible for the first time since 1982, but the program might incur a 26th consecutive losing season if coach Bobby Johnson's team loses its bowl game.
           
* Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said he would consider being a TV commentator to analyze games, but not if it meant second-guessing or criticizing coaches. Fulmer said he would like to coach again, but only at a program that has a chance to win and has passionate fans.
           
* Defending national champion LSU had poor actual attendance, averaging more than 20,000 empty seats for home games against Appalachian State, North Texas, Mississippi State , Georgia , Tulane, Troy and Ole Miss, according to a media member. He said fewer than 30,000 fans were around in the fourth quarter against Ole Miss and Troy

* Two reasons for success at Florida and Alabama: Florida leads the nation in turnover margin at plus-21 and Alabama is second in the SEC at plus-9, while Florida leads the SEC in rushing and Alabama is second. Don't turn the ball over and run it well and you'll win a lot of games.
           
* South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier benched tight end Jared Cook for loafing during the Clemson game and wondered if some of his juniors were thinking more of the NFL draft than playing against the Tigers. You've got to applaud Spurrier for sitting a player for lack of effort. More coaches should do it.