photo courtesy of arkansassports360.com
As we continue to be on pins and needles here in the central valley with wondering who the next head football coach at Fresno State will be, we’ll continue our series of some potential coaching candidates to replace Pat Hill.
Three more names have been leaked out in recent days, and these guys mainly reside on the defensive side of the ball.
Here’s a closer at them, who also happen to be at one point, former Bulldogs:
JETHRO FRANKLIN
If it weren’t for Pete Carroll bolting for the NFL, Franklin would have been kept at USC. But another former Bulldog, Lane Kiffin, opted not to retain him.
Franklin now finds himself basking in the south beach sun and coaching at the University of Miami, and coaching a unit that in the past produced the likes of Warren Sapp, Vince Wilfork, Jerome McDougle, etc.
Much like Fresno State, there is also a cloud of uncertainty surrounding their coaching staff’s future. Current head coach Al Golden, who was the guy that brought Franklin to Miami after both were at Temple, has been rumored to be linked with a few job openings elsewhere.
Franklin though seems to have his most roots in the central valley. He played at Fresno State from 1986-1987. His coaching resume also reads that Franklin was with the Bulldogs for eight seasons between 1991-1998, the most out of any coaching stop for him.
Maybe the only issue for Franklin is that he’s been nothing more than a defensive line coach, and that he’s never ran the show as a defensive coordinator at any coaching stop, whether if it was in the college ranks or even the NFL, where he had stints with the Packers, Buccaneers and Texans.
Yet, his ties to the valley and his NFL experience could make him too good to be passed up.
INTEREST LEVEL: PRETTY HIGH
CORY HALL
Hall’s name was leaked out due to three things:
1) His ties to Fresno State as a former Bulldog defensive back.
2) His NFL credentials.
3) The job he’s done at Clovis North High School in just his first season as varsity head football coach.
But, it’s the third reason which may become the reason why he’s likely a long shot for the head coaching job at Fresno State.
Hall, despite his Bulldog background, as well as his passionate and exuberant energy that he shows his team under the Friday night lights, doesn’t have too much coaching experience and has zero from the collegiate level.
Making the jump from being a head coach at the high school level to the Division-I ranks is a very daring leap. It might be best that Hall starts out as a position coach before working his way up, if the college coaching ranks become his calling down the road.
INTEREST LEVEL: LOW
WILLY ROBINSON
This was a name that got leaked out late last night and now, he could emerge as the most legitimate candidate.
Robinson (photo) has 33 years of coaching under his belt, including 12 in the NFL ranks. But that’s not the only elite competition he’s helped coach.
Robinson was recently at the University of Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference. While in the SEC, four of his Razorback players earned All-Conference honors in 2010, and he coached a defense that was the best against third down conversions that same season and ranked fifth overall in the best college football conference in America.
However, his flaw is probably what happened this season at Arkansas. His Razorback defense took steps back due to injuries and gave up 79 combined points versus SEC rivals Alabama and LSU. His unit ranked 51st nationally but ninth overall in the SEC in both scoring and total defense. The backward progression of the Razorback defense this year was what likely led to his departure.
Yet, it seems wherever he has gone, his coaching seems to rub off in a great way. He once helped the St. Louis Rams rank third in the NFC back in 2006 in pass defense and had the top scoring defense at Oregon State back in 1999, when he was the Beavers’ secondary coach.
But why is it that he’s being mentioned with the open Fresno State job? Two reasons: on one end, the Bulldogs were one of the worst teams defensively in the nation and had a secondary that was burned way too much, which is Robinson’s area of expertise. Second, before he was in the SEC, PAC-10 and the NFL, he was a Bulldog, who played under Jim Sweeney from 1977-1978, and then coached under him from 1980-1986.
If Fresno State can’t manage to get one SEC guy to come coach the Bulldogs (Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain), then Robinson just might be the next best option.
INTEREST LEVEL: VERY HIGH
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