Never has the Carousel been crazier at season’s end than in 2021. EVER!
The Odyssey has expressed its disdain at Texas and Oklahoma’s selfish arrogance in their bolt for the SEC. Not only did the Odyssey take great pleasure that the Big 12 championship game included neither traitor, Oklahoma discovered that one of the first casualties of their move to the SEC was none other than Oklahoma. Who can blame Lincoln Riley for bolting? Instead of weekly blood letting in SEC games, he can enjoy weekends at Manhattan Beach (Note to Coach Riley: With all the big bucks you now have, you can afford a chauffeur. Traffic in downtown LA is a touch different than in Norman or Greenville). If the transfer portal results in Oklahoma being crippled with a mass exodus for Tinseltown, the Odyssey will cry few tears.
I do not understand why LSU hired Brian Kelly. Sure, he is a damn fine technical coach but on the important Bayou charm scale, Kelly might register a negative score. Repeatedly showing his questionable character upon his exits from Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Notre Dame, do not expect the Odyssey to be rooting for Kelly. If Dave Aranda was gettable, that would have been a better fit for the Bayou Bengals. Notre Dame should do just fine with the youthful Marcus Freeman at the helm.
Normally, the Odyssey abhors the truckloads of cash sent off to fired coaches. However, given the way that Miami let Manny Diaz twist in the wind for two weeks, I am glad Diaz pockets $8 million on his way out the door. Particularly, because Diaz was a favored native son of Miami because his old man was once Miami’s mayor.
The Mountain West featured the best and worst coaching performances of 2021. Blake Anderson made a curious lateral move in leaving Arkansas State for the Cache Valley. However, Utah State’s 10-3 record and Mountain West championship was beyond belief. The over/under win total for the Aggies in August was 3.5. Colorado State rectified a horrible hire in Steve Addazio. Addazio had a mediocre record at Boston College and had no ties to the region. To boot, his run-first approach was at odds that CSU’s recent history of producing excellent wide receivers. His 4-12 record as Rams’ coach well matched his dour personality. I am excited for CSU that Mike Norvell was hired though anybody other than Addazio would have been a step forward. With their splashy stadium, CSU should be a major player in the Mountain.
Jim Mora must REALLY want to coach (or need the money) when he took the UConn job. Given that UConn has no conference to play in, the Husky job seems like a road to nowhere.
At this minute, Oregon, Virginia and Nevada are on the clock. Where will the Carousel stop when the music ends? Stay tuned.