Just a little haiku

To say how much I like you

"Tangerine" from Buffalo Tom

On Sunday night in Chapel Hill, the Boston College men's basketball team upset the #1 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels 85-78 to kick off 2009. This was a huge victory for Coach Al Skinner's hoopsters, but it was immediately overshadowed by the Jeff Jagodzinki interview request from the New York Jets story, and his possible dismissal for accepting the Jets interview. According to media reports, Boston College Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo has instructed head football coach Jeff Jagodzinki he will be fired if he interviews with the Jets today.

It shouldn't surprise anyone, including Gene DeFilippo, that Jagodzinki's name would pop up in the NFL coaching carousel. Jagodzinki's coaching pedigree is filled with NFL stops:

1999 - 2003  Green Bay Packers  Tight Ends Coach

2004 - 2005  Atlanta Falcons  Offensive Line Coach

2006  Green Bay Packers  Offensive Coordinator

2007 - present  Boston College  Head Coach

Before Jagodzinski's move to the NFL in 1999, he was an assistant coach at five college football programs, including a stint as B.C.'s offensive coordinator/offensive line coach from 1997-1998. Jagodzinski's previous experience at Boston College made him a candidate for the head coaching position when Tom O'Brien was unceremoniously pushed out the door by Boston College A.D. Gene DeFilippo in 2007.

Skip Bayless was on ESPN2 Monday morning claiming that Tom O'Brien left B.C. high and dry two years ago when he accepted the head coaching position at North Carolina St., and that DeFilippo's actions towards Jags was a direct response to O'Brien's defection and Jags' interest in the NFL. In essence, DeFilippo was defending the Boston College football program from predators.

Bayless's assertion, regarding Tom O'Brien, could not be farther from the truth. When North Carolina St. showed interest in Tom O'Brien, DeFilippo made no effort to retain O'Brien and there were reports of a deepening rift between O'Brien and DeFilippo. DeFilippo practically packed OBrien's luggage, made the plane reservations and called the limo service to take him to Logan Airport. Say hello to Andy Griffith and good-bye to Mary Ann's.

Let's not forget that DeFillippo did not hire Tom O'Brien, who was brought in by former Boston College Athletic Director Chet Gladchuk, to clean up the program in the wake of an embarrassing betting scandal at The Heights. O'Brien had an impressive run at Boston College, but there was a feeling among B.C. alums and DeFilippo that a change would be good for the program. Under O'Brien, the Eagles were seemingly unable to win the big game and secure a spot in a high profile bowl game. People were sick of the Motor City Bowl and the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

If this can be a criticism of O'Brien, he did take B.C. to a string of mediocre bowls. But before O'Brien, there wasn't a string of consecutive bowl appearances and B.C. was not a program perennially hovering around the Top 25. Clearly Tom O'Brien felt unappreciated and disrespected by the Boston College athletic community. Hello Wolfpack!

How does all of this relate to the Jeff Jagodzinski situation?

Gene DeFilippo is a big boy and he knew the ground rules when hiring a football coach. When DeFilippo decided B.C. should move its conference affiliation from the Big East to the ACC, he was attacked by his former colleagues in the Big East. The Big East felt duped by B.C.'s defection to the ACC, but conference expansions and defections are now a way of life in the NCAA. Was DeFilippo a Machiavellian megalomaniac when he moved Boston College to the ACC? No, he was a pragmatist that realized the landscape of college sports was changing and he did not want to see his institution left behind and reduced to playing in a non-BCS conference.

The Boston College athletic director is seldom played for a fool, but his reaction to Jagodzinski's interview is perplexing. Is there language in Jagodzinki's contract that would prevent him from interviewing within the first three years of his contract? (A few media outlets are reporting that.) If that is the case, I fully understand DeFilippo's reaction.

If that's not the case, what the hell is DeFilippo doing? It's not unusual for a successful coach to be contacted by the NFL or another NCAA institution. Through the years, Pete Carroll has interviewed for a few NFL teams but the interviews went nowhere and Carroll remained at USC. Does anyone recollect USC going on the warpath versus Carroll? Coaches being fired, coaches being hired, coaches leaving the NCAA for the NFL -- it's all part of the cesspool of college sports.

The Reality of the Situation

In all probability, Jags is not on the short list for the Jets job, but his relationship with Brett Favre possibly opened a door for him. Should Jags speak with the Jets? Absolutely!

Is Jags qualified to be a head coach in the NFL? Based on his two-year record at B.C., there is nothing that demonstrates he can't coach in the NFL. Jags and B.C. surprised a lot of folks in 2008 by winning the ACC Atlantic Division and losing to Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship game. The loss of starting quarterback Chris Crane, in the eleventh game of the season at Wake Forest, hampered the team's success down the stretch but Jags did a great job rebounding from the Matt Ryan era to achieve a 9-5 record.

If Jags eventually wants to be a head man in the NFL, he has to show interest in the Jets job. Perhaps Jags told DeFilippo that Boston College was his dream job, but is Jags the first person to fib during a job interview? Most people have taken jobs as a steppingstone to a better opportunity in the future - it's the American way.

Without knowing all of the specifics, the relationship between Boston College/DeFilippo and Jags has been permanently trashed. How can Jags return to B.C. and work with a boss that has issued an ultimatum reminiscent of a Third World dictator named Hugo Chavez? If Jagodzinski's interview with the Jets doesn't lead to him sitting on the royal throne in Weeb Ewbank Hall, Jags has other options in the world of football, but he would be leaving behind a nice chunk of change ($1.5 million) at Boston College. Interestingly enough, this ranks him around 40th on the NCAA Head Coach Money List. (Tom O'Brien makes $1.25 million at N.C. State and O'Brien received a bump in pay when he went to the Wolfpack.)

The reality of the situation is that Boston College is a nice college football program, but Boston College should not confuse itself with being a major college football program such as USC, Texas, Ohio St. or Florida. Urban Meyer left Utah to take over the program at Florida and that is the natural progression of life in the NCAA food chain.

Jeff Jagodzinski ostensibly accepted the Boston College job viewing it as the next step in his career. Gene DeFilippo may have viewed Jeff Jagodzinski as the man who would coach the Eagles for the next twenty years. As a fan of Boston College football, this situation is reminiscent of Tom Coughlin leaving the Eagles for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Boston College football program does not possess the mystique or allure to keep successful, young football coaches cemented in place for the next twenty years.

If Tom O'Brien had received what he felt was much deserved appreciation and respect from the Boston College community, we would not be talking about Jags and the Jets. O'Brien would have been content to retire as the head man at Boston College, but he's now building a program at N.C. State that is going to be very good next year.

Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo has to accept some blame and the future of Boston College football is in his hands. DeFilippo usually plays the game at a high level, but this situation with Jagodzinski does not meet his usual high standard of leadership and competence. The next day or two should be interesting for Boston College football and its fans.

Possible Successors

Boston College has three in-house candidates that could take over the program. Offensive coordinator and former East Carolina head coach Steve Logan has been mentioned as a possible successor and so has defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani.

The third possible candidate is assistant head coach/offensive line coach Jack Bicknell, Jr. who led Louisiana Tech to a 43-49 record in eight seasons.