Minor war of words between Michigan and MSU continues after game

By Kevin McGuireOct 30, 2016, 3:34 PM EDT
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After Michigan State walked off the field with yet another loss in Big Ten play, this time against Michigan, Spartans quarterback Tyler O’Connor told the media he was given praise from an unnamed Wolverines defensive linemen. there appears to be a difference n opinion on this story.

According to O’Connor, he was told by a Michigan defensive linemen “You guys might not have won the game, but you guys kicked our ass.” That quote was shared by Luke Srodulski of Land of 10, via Twitter.

Upon catching wind of this quote, Michigan defensive end Chase Winovich laughed at the idea of a Michigan player admitting this to be the case.

Michigan State did come out attacking Michigan on the ground in the first half, and the Spartans did make things mildly interesting late in the game, but there was never much question of which team was kicking which team’s butts in East Lansing on Saturday.

Until next year!

Kentucky assistant Dean Hood named head coach at FCS Murray State

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By Bryan FischerDec 13, 2019, 3:53 PM EST
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Mark Stoops’ coaching job this season was one of the more impressive you’ll see given the number of key injuries the team suffered throughout 2019 but the Wildcats head coach will have to deal with losing one key assistant who is returning to the FCS ranks.

UK special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach Dean Hood was named on Friday as the next head coach of Murray State football, an FCS program at the other end of the state.

“Dean Hood is a man of character and integrity who possesses a tremendous work ethic and unique ability to advance our football program,” AD Kevin Saal said in a release. “I look forward to partnering with him to accomplish our shared vision for the program…to develop leaders of character, competence and consequence, for football and 40+ years of life beyond football.  Murray State University is honored to welcome Dean, Crystal, Trey, Daven, Jada and Cordia to their new home in Murray; a community that I know welcomes the Hood Family with open arms, supporting hearts and a true passion for the future success of Racer Athletics.”

Hood is no stranger to the Racers on the field as he spent several years at another OVC school in Eastern Kentucky as head coach. He linked up with Stoops in 2017 and has produced plenty of impactful results between the lines, including punter Max Duffey just recently being named the Ray Guy Award winner as the nation’s best at the position.

Steve Clinkscale also handles defensive backs for Kentucky but Hood’s loss in the third phase of the game is pretty notable given how well most of his units have performed in recent years. It will be interesting to see what direction Stoops goes but he can at least be excited at one of his former assistants returning to the FCS level as head coach.

Appalachian State confirms no interim tag for Shawn Clark, ex-Mountaineers OL gets five year deal to be head coach

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By Bryan FischerDec 13, 2019, 2:45 PM EST
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Eli Drinkwitz surprise departure from Boone after just one season has led to a rather expected move to fill his shoes with somebody who definitely won’t be bolting the school that soon.

Confirming reports from earlier in the week, Appalachian State has officially removed any sort of interim tag from Shawn Clark and give him the permanent position with a five year deal as head coach.

“It’s a great day to be a Mountaineer,” Director of Athletics Doug Gillin said in a statement. “We are thrilled to announce Shawn Clark as our new head coach. He’s been a great leader for us since the day he returned to his alma mater. He has experience at both Power Five and Group of Five schools and is highly respected among his peers, his players, on campus and in the community. His experience as a leader, play-caller and recruiter will help us to continue to raise our football program to new heights.”

“This is the opportunity of a lifetime to be named the head football coach at my alma mater, the school that I love so much,” Clark added. “I would like to thank Chancellor Everts, the Board of Trustees and Doug Gillin for entrusting me with this great responsibility. I am excited to keep pushing our players to greatness on and off the field and to work with a great coaching staff to win championships. My family and I are grateful to stay in Boone and keep pushing this program to new heights.”

Clark has been the offensive line coach at his alma mater the past four years under both Drinkwitz and Scott Sartterfield before both moved onto Power Five gigs.

The 44-year-old Clark was part of staffs at Louisville, Eastern Kentucky, Purdue and Kent State as well before returning to Boone, where he was an offensive lineman on some of the program’s powerhouse teams back in the mid-1990’s.

Clark’s first game fully in charge will come on Dec. 21 in the New Orleans Bowl against UAB — a spot he’s pretty familiar with having served as the interim offensive coordinator for the team’s game at the Superdome in 2018. That resulted in a blowout win that no doubt played a role in him getting the full time gig just a year later and AppState fans have to hope for similar results as Clark takes the field this time around as head coach.

Reports: Barry Odom isn’t leaving the SEC — nor the Ozarks — for next coaching gig

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By Bryan FischerDec 13, 2019, 1:30 PM EST
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Recently fired Missouri head coach Barry Odom was expected to find work quickly after being dumped by his alma mater and thus was rumored to be up for just about every defensive coordinator gig at Power Five schools all over the country.

As it turns out, Odom does not appear to be leaving the SEC — nor even the Ozarks — for his next stop. According to both FootballScoop and The Athletic, Arkansas is zeroing in on hiring him as Sam Pittman’s first defensive coordinator.

Odom was the head coach of the Tigers for four seasons after being elevated from being their DC to take over for longtime stalwart Gary Pinkel in 2016. He spent three seasons as Memphis’ coordinator under Justin Fuente as well and served a number of different off the field roles in Columbia prior to that. The Oklahoma native knows the region quite well and was widely associated with helping turn around Mizzou when he was a linebacker and team captain in the late 1990’s.

He takes over for John Chavis, who was one of Chad Morris’ first big hires when he first took over in Fayetteville. The ‘Chief’ as he is known, was paid a hefty salary after coming over from a stint at Texas A&M but failed to produce the kind of turnaround that could have kept Morris around as head coach, with the Razorbacks ranking No. 124 this past season in scoring defense — statistically the worst Power Five unit in the country.

With Morris now serving as Auburn’s new offensive coordinator, it’s pretty clear that in the SEC, there’s plenty of soft landings available for coaches who get the axe at the end of the year — and we’re not even getting into the buyout life either.

San Jose State, Brent Brennan set to formally announce new contract

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By John TaylorDec 13, 2019, 12:48 PM EST
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Brent Brennan has yet to reach the .500 mark at San Jose State, but his bosses have seen enough to reward the 47-year-old head coach.

A press conference has been called for Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET that will feature Brennan and a pair of SJSU leaders, athletic director Marie Tuite and president Mary A. Papazian.  According to the school, the presser has been called to announce a contract extension for Brennan.

Brennan’s current deal is scheduled to run through the 2021 season; details pertaining to the extension are not yet available.

During his first two seasons with the Spartans, Brennan went 3-22.  This past season, SJSU improved to 5-7, the football program’s most wins since the six they put up in its last bowl appearance in 2015.  Those five wins in 2019 included SJSU’s first victory over rival Fresno State since 2016.

According to the USA Today coaches salary database, Brennan was paid $599,000 in guaranteed compensation in 2019.  That number was 10th among the 11 Mountain West Conferences coaches listed in the database.