James Willis to Florida?

by outsidethesidelines on Dec 26, 2010 10:22 PM CST in Football

Consider this some very good news for Alabama: James Willis is apparently headed to Gainesville. Per the Lubbock Avalance-Journal:

First-year defensive coordinator James Willis stepped down on Sunday, the day the Red Raiders arrived in Dallas to begin preparation for the TicketCity Bowl against Northwestern.

The Avalanche-Journal learned Sunday night Willis was talking about a job with the University of Florida and Tech coach Tommy Tuberville found out through third parties. The two came to a mutual agreement Willis should leave Tech.

Why is that good news for Alabama? Simple. James Willis is the first-year defensive coordinator at Texas Tech, and you know he's not going to go behind the back of his longtime boss, Tommy Tuberville, just to take a demotion to being a position coach. In other words, this likely means that James Willis is headed to Gainesville to be the next defensive coordinator at Florida under Will Muschamp, which quite obviously means that Kirby Smart will not be leaving Alabama to take that position.

Finally, how comical is it that Tommy Tuberville just cannot quite seem to find anyone with any degree of loyalty to him? From Jetgate all the way to this, apparently people just love going behind his back. Maybe that is why he was at one time so beholden to John Lovett and Noel Mazzone. Perhaps he should not offended notions of karma by leaving Ole Miss in that pine box.

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No WAY Muschamp's THAT dumb

James Willis is a fine coach but I don’t for one second buy that he would only go to Florida as DC. He’s been a DC for exactly one season and Texas Tech finished 116th in the nation on defense (out of 120 teams). The Tech folks wanted him gone and Tubs will fire/get rid of whoever he needs to stay alive (see John Lovett, Noel Mazzone, Al Borges, etc.). He’ll end up coaching linebackers at UF and getting one of those meaningless associate head coach titles. Muschamp will come after Smart with all he’s got (if he hasn’t already) but that doesn’t mean he’ll go.

by deeringcrossfire on Dec 27, 2010 12:58 AM CST reply actions

Yeah, I assumed he was being pushed out when I heard he was leaving.

QUACK QUACK!!

by CarrotTop4 on Dec 27, 2010 12:31 PM CST up reply actions

Tubs can't exactly expect to engender loyalty:

This is a man hiding in a duck blind during recruiting season, jettisoning coordinators/coaches at the first sign of criticism towards him, the “pine box”, etc. In short, he is an articulate, sane version of Houston Nutt. Those two guys have always been far more ethically challenged than Petrino or Saban combined. Yet they get a pass. Every. Damn. Time.

"Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is." -Sir Francis Bacon

by Stuck in the Plains on Dec 27, 2010 2:46 AM CST reply actions