Tyrone Nix And The Politics of College Football
posted by Scott Hood on Thursday, November 29, 2007
Nix, I’m sure, is excited about the opportunity to replace his former boss Jeff Bower at the school where he first excelled as a football player in the early 1990’s and than as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator for 10 years.
There’s no question in my mind Nix loves the University of Southern Mississippi. He’s spent nearly one-half of his 35 years on this planet in Hattiesburg, MS, the home of USM.
He knows the place well. He knows the culture. He knows the dynamics of the football program and what makes it tick to the tune of 14 consecutive winning seasons and 10 bowl appearances in the last 11 years.
Nix has played an integral role in that resounding success.
Here’s my concern: Does the athletic administration at USM consider Nix to be a legitimate candidate for the job?
Unfortunately, we still live in a world divided between black and white. When it comes to college football coaching searches, there’s a watchdog organization known as the Black Coaches Association. They make sure schools interview an acceptable number of minority candidates whenever an opening occurs.
You may recall the BCA condemned South Carolina in 2004 for its failure to interview an African-American candidate after it quickly hired Steve Spurrier as a replacement for Lou Holtz, who announced his retirement the week prior to the Clemson game.
Well, the same scenario has played out this week at two schools, Texas A&M and Ole Miss, with the hirings of Mike Sherman and Houston Nutt.
Now, both those men might have been the best candidates at their respective schools. But, we exist in a politically correct universe where eyebrows are raised whenever a Division I institution, especially one in the South, hires a white football coach.
Based on conversations I’ve had with people close to the USM coaching search over the last few days, I have my suspicions that Nix has little chance of being hired as the next football coach at USM.
Why is Nix being interviewed? I fear it’s to pacify the BCA and keep that organization off the school’s back the same way it viciously attacked USC three years ago, as well as a number of other schools in the past.
So, am I saying Nix is likely a “token candidate” with a slim chance of being hired? Yes, that’s absolutely what I’m saying.
I wish it wasn’t that way. Based on his past contributions to the school’s winning football tradition, Nix deserves better from the USM administration. He shouldn’t be treated as a political pawn.
Much to my dismay, I suspect he will be.
That’s too bad. I believe Nix should be taken far more seriously than he will be. In my opinion, he has done a very good job as defensive coordinator over the past two seasons.
In short, I wish I could believe Nix is being interviewed by USM for the proper reasons: 1) he’s an alumnus; and 2) he’s a pretty good football coach.
Based on his accomplishments as both a player and coach, I firmly believe Nix’s candidacy for USM head football coach should stand on its own merits.
I challenge the USM administration to do just that. Nix deserves at least that much from the school he helped put on the college football map.
Remember, Nix was brought to USC by former mentor John Thompson and given the title of co-defensive coordinator shortly after Spurrier was hired.
Within months, Thompson had left the program after he incurred the wrath of Spurrier for his sometimes bizarre defensive schemes.
Nix took over the reins as sole defensive coordinator starting with the 2006 season. By all accounts, the USC has been more than respectable during his tenure, especially considering the Gamecocks played most of the season without two of their best defensive players – MLB Jasper Brinkley and DT Nathan Pepper.
Sure, they were gashed pretty badly by Arkansas and Florida this season. But the good performances have far outnumbered the poor performances over the past two seasons.
Is Nix ready to take the sizeable step up to Division I head coach? I sincerely believe the answer to that question is yes.
But I don’t think he’ll get the opportunity to realize that dream at USM.
That means he should be stalking the sidelines in 2008 for his third full season as USC’s well respected defensive coordinator.
As Bill Parcells says in that cheesy beer commercial, that’s a good thing.
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Tyrone Nix’s opportunity to impress the brass at Southern Mississippi is quickly approaching. His interview for the vacant position of head football coach for the Golden Eagles will likely occur on Friday.
Nix, I’m sure, is excited about the opportunity to replace his former boss Jeff Bower at the school where he first excelled as a football player in the early 1990’s and than as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator for 10 years.
There’s no question in my mind Nix loves the University of Southern Mississippi. He’s spent nearly one-half of his 35 years on this planet in Hattiesburg, MS, the home of USM.
He knows the place well. He knows the culture. He knows the dynamics of the football program and what makes it tick to the tune of 14 consecutive winning seasons and 10 bowl appearances in the last 11 years.
Nix has played an integral role in that resounding success.
Here’s my concern: Does the athletic administration at USM consider Nix to be a legitimate candidate for the job?
Unfortunately, we still live in a world divided between black and white. When it comes to college football coaching searches, there’s a watchdog organization known as the Black Coaches Association. They make sure schools interview an acceptable number of minority candidates whenever an opening occurs.
You may recall the BCA condemned South Carolina in 2004 for its failure to interview an African-American candidate after it quickly hired Steve Spurrier as a replacement for Lou Holtz, who announced his retirement the week prior to the Clemson game.
Well, the same scenario has played out this week at two schools, Texas A&M and Ole Miss, with the hirings of Mike Sherman and Houston Nutt.
Now, both those men might have been the best candidates at their respective schools. But, we exist in a politically correct universe where eyebrows are raised whenever a Division I institution, especially one in the South, hires a white football coach.
Based on conversations I’ve had with people close to the USM coaching search over the last few days, I have my suspicions that Nix has little chance of being hired as the next football coach at USM.
Why is Nix being interviewed? I fear it’s to pacify the BCA and keep that organization off the school’s back the same way it viciously attacked USC three years ago, as well as a number of other schools in the past.
So, am I saying Nix is likely a “token candidate” with a slim chance of being hired? Yes, that’s absolutely what I’m saying.
I wish it wasn’t that way. Based on his past contributions to the school’s winning football tradition, Nix deserves better from the USM administration. He shouldn’t be treated as a political pawn.
Much to my dismay, I suspect he will be.
That’s too bad. I believe Nix should be taken far more seriously than he will be. In my opinion, he has done a very good job as defensive coordinator over the past two seasons.
In short, I wish I could believe Nix is being interviewed by USM for the proper reasons: 1) he’s an alumnus; and 2) he’s a pretty good football coach.
Based on his accomplishments as both a player and coach, I firmly believe Nix’s candidacy for USM head football coach should stand on its own merits.
I challenge the USM administration to do just that. Nix deserves at least that much from the school he helped put on the college football map.
Remember, Nix was brought to USC by former mentor John Thompson and given the title of co-defensive coordinator shortly after Spurrier was hired.
Within months, Thompson had left the program after he incurred the wrath of Spurrier for his sometimes bizarre defensive schemes.
Nix took over the reins as sole defensive coordinator starting with the 2006 season. By all accounts, the USC has been more than respectable during his tenure, especially considering the Gamecocks played most of the season without two of their best defensive players – MLB Jasper Brinkley and DT Nathan Pepper.
Sure, they were gashed pretty badly by Arkansas and Florida this season. But the good performances have far outnumbered the poor performances over the past two seasons.
Is Nix ready to take the sizeable step up to Division I head coach? I sincerely believe the answer to that question is yes.
But I don’t think he’ll get the opportunity to realize that dream at USM.
That means he should be stalking the sidelines in 2008 for his third full season as USC’s well respected defensive coordinator.
As Bill Parcells says in that cheesy beer commercial, that’s a good thing.
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.