BOULDER, Colo.—Missouri coach Gary Pinkel had time to turn the Tigers into a national power. Kansas backed Mark Mangino until the Jayhawks took flight.
Kansas State didn’t have the same patience with Ron Prince, firing him last week, effective at the conclusion of the season.
The pressure to win is immense and immediate.
Patience may be a virtue, but not for a Big 12 head coach.
“You throw a rock on the gas pedal and go as hard and fast as you can,” Colorado coach Dan Hawkins recently said.
Yet loyalty to a leader can be lucrative. Pinkel was a pedestrian 37-34 in six seasons before going 12-2 last year and capturing the Big 12 North.
No. 12 Missouri can claim a second straight title with a win at Iowa State, coupled with a loss by the Jayhawks against fourth-ranked Texas.
Not that Pinkel wanted to discuss the possibility until it actually happened.
“To think about the championships and all those things, I don’t think that’s wise. We know what’s out there,” Pinkel said. “We’ll see what happens.”
The Tigers sticking with Pinkel and the program’s rise to prominence gives other Big 12 coaches reason for optimism, even when they’re struggling.
Iowa State coach Gene Chizik has lost eight straight games. But he’s not fretting for his future, knowing that his boss, athletic director Jamie Pollard, realizes it takes time to develop a top-notch program.
“I’m very blessed,” Chizik said. “But I don’t think patience is forever.”
In Manhattan, Kan., the patience lasted 2 1 1/2 seasons.
After not living up to the standard set by Bill Snyder, Prince is now a lame-duck coach still looking to land his team in a bowl, a possibility if the Wildcats (4-6, 1-5) beat Nebraska and Iowa State.
Prince had the misfortune of following Snyder, who was a consistent winner in 17 years as Kansas State’s coach. Snyder turned a team that won one game from 1987 to 1989 into one that reached bowl games 12 straight seasons in 1992-2003.
Snyder retired after a 5-6 season in 2006. Prince, a first-time head coach, was hired to replace him.
“We are very proud of what we’ve done,” said Prince, who was signed to a contract that runs through 2012 over the summer. “We didn’t win enough games in a soon enough time—that’s the bottom line.”
The removal of Prince hasn’t led to any awkwardness with his players—the Wildcats remain committed to halting a four-game skid.
“At some other point, we’ll say our goodbyes,” Prince said. “Right now, we’re not thinking about any of those kind of things.”
Chizik is trying to keep the mood light at practice, just to loosen the tension after the Cyclones’ 28-24 loss at Colorado in which Alexander Robinson was stuffed 12 inches short of the goal line as time expired.
“We’ve lost eight straight, no one enjoys that,” Chizik said. “We try to keep it fun.”
So the Cyclones recently played dodgeball instead of running drills.
“There’s a lot of pressure to win fast and early,” Chizik said. “The bottom line is people are going to get anxious.”
As Prince found out.
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ALWAYS WATCHING:@ Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy has warned his players to be careful. Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops informed them they’re being monitored.
What has these Big 12 coaches on alert?
Facebook accounts.
“We don’t have any policies other than just be really careful what you put on Facebook,” said Gundy, whose team is ranked 11th. “Just be careful.”
The fifth-ranked Sooners have their compliance office monitoring pages of players on Facebook, which is a social networking Web site.
“We make them aware of that,” Stoops said. “Anything that they put on there is going to be public. So, just make sure you’re smart about it. From time to time, we have to bring guys in, and ask about it.”
Prince has warned his players they’re responsible for the photos they place on Facebook. Anything risque on there could come back to bite them later in life.
“It’s a very tricky thing,” Prince said. “When you want to be evaluated for the NFL, maybe perhaps later for jobs or graduate school, those are all places that we believe will become public domain and people will evaluate you and who you are based on your site.”
Chizik couldn’t agree more.
“In this day and age, they (students) just live on that stuff,” he said. “We’re more along the line of just trying to educate our guys and let them understand the potential negatives that can happen—try to stay proactive in that way.”
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HIGH TECH OFFENSE:@ After giving up 56 points and more than 600 yards of total offense, Gundy was asked how to slow down the second-ranked Red Raiders.
“Good question,” he said. “Somebody’s going to have to play really, really good on defense and be able to score some points.”
Long known for their proficient passing game, the Red Raiders have been quite successful running the ball as well. They’re averaging 132.6 yards a game on the ground.
“They’ll get you focused on the pass game, get you letting up in the box a little bit, and they can hurt you running the football,” Mangino said. “I think it’s contributed to the success of their offense greatly. I think it’s kept people honest on the defensive side of the ball.”
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: “If the speed limit is 55, I’ll drive 55. If I don’t, I’ll get in trouble. If I start talking about things I’m not an expert about or have any definitive knowledge about, I probably need to keep my mouth shut.”—Baylor coach Art Briles when asked about who he would cast his vote for in the Heisman race.
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PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:@ Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell and Nebraska defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh earned Big 12 player of the week honors. Texas A&M kick returner Cyrus Gray was the special teams player of the week.
Harrell threw for 456 yards and six touchdowns in a 56-20 win over Oklahoma State.
Count Stoops among those impressed with Harrell.
“He does everything you look for,” said Stoops, whose team will face Texas Tech on Nov. 22. “He’s got great accuracy, he’s got a quick release, he’s well drilled and schooled in his read progressions, he’s got good feet to avoid people in the pocket,” Stoops said.
In a win over Kansas, Suh had 12 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks. He also caught a touchdown pass, coming out of the backfield after lining up as a blocking back.
Gray accumulated 261 yards on kickoff returns against Oklahoma, including a 98-yard touchdown.
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FIRST DOWNS:@ Baylor freshman Robert Griffin has 11 rushing touchdowns, the first Bears player with more than 10 in a season since 1974. … Coach Dan Hawkins turned to his son, Cody, to guide the Buffaloes to a win over Iowa State after freshman Tyler Hansen struggled in the first half. Cody Hawkins threw a career-high four touchdown passes. So, now what? “I don’t know. We’ll probably lean back more on Cody,” Dan Hawkins said.
