Domino effect
So no one's said it yet, but if success continues to be a trend at UTEP this season, will Mike Price's name begin getting mentioned for the job at Clemson, which was vacated Monday?
Tommy Bowden stepped down as Clemson's coach at the beginning of the week, four days after his Tigers lost 12-7 at Wake Forest to drop to 3-3. It was disappointing, considering Clemson was tabbed by many to compete for the Atlantic Coast Conference title and a BCS berth before the season began.
The coach of the aforementioned Wake Forest team that beat Clemson, Jim Grobe, told the Associated Press on Tuesday that he is not interested in the job saying he's "a Wake Forest guy." In the meantime, interim head coach Dabo Sweeney will try to keep Clemson in contention in the ACC. It is unclear if Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips will continue to pursue a man for the job or let Sweeney finish out the season. But if the search is delayed and the Miners keep winning in the meantime, is it not possible that Price's name will pop up?
It's pure conjecture at this point, but it would be unprecedented if Price made it into Clemson's radar.
For one, not a month ago, many in this town were ready to part ways with the UTEP coach after the Miners started the season with three losses. But Price has completed an amazing swing, getting the Miners back to .500 and primed for a chance to take sole possession of first place in Conference USA's West division this Saturday against Tulsa. This has many fans back on the bandwagon and they don't want to see their coach plucked away.
For two, it's almost directly because of Price that Clemson got off to such a bad start this season. In September 2007, Clemson entered talks with Alabama to play a neutral-site game to open the 2008 season. Why? Because Alabama had to find another game after severing a deal to play UTEP because of its ties to Price. Had this deal not gone through, Clemson would've opened the season against Central Florida, which is having problems of its own this year, and probably scored an easy win. Instead, the Tigers played Alabama at the Georgia Dome and got thrashed, obliterating hopes of a national title appearance and providing the catalyst for a 3-3 start.
So Mike Price's actions while the head man at Alabama all those years ago may have set the stage for a chance to don another shade of orange.
But again, pure conjecture.
That Would be a downer if Price left for Clemson. I am one of those that believe in the program that Price has. Yeah!! We have three losses to start the season. One of them was a no brainier (UT). The other two games could have been wins. I still believe that the Miners will end up with a good season. They have showed that they have the heart to win games. Good luck with the rest of the season Miners.
Posted by: Juice | October 15, 2008 at 05:42 PM
One word..NO
Posted by: missile | October 15, 2008 at 06:16 PM
The bottom line is that Coach Price is a quality coach and he is leading the football program in the right direction. He is building a solid fan base and an exciting team. The facts are that the Miners are now a competitive team, although the scores against Austin and Buffalo were not an indicator of that, the game stats are. By my opinion, the Miners could have done better offensively when they did win (but I am not calling the plays). It is only a matter of time before the Mark Price offense takes full stride and I can’t wait to be there to watch it happen. I, for one, will not be happy if Coach Price leaves to some other school.
Posted by: miner fan | October 15, 2008 at 10:32 PM
I like Coach Price, he's a great fit for UTEP, but he's not going to get the phone calls that everybody thinks he is. For one, he has NEVER had more than 2 winning seasons in a row. Second, his record at UTEP is good for UTEP, but not the kind of record that gets noticed. And third, he's not young anymore, football programs aren't going to shell out a million dollars for a guy who may not even make it to see his freshman class graduate.
Posted by: draz | October 15, 2008 at 11:30 PM
C'mon already...we've won three in a row and now Coach Price is leaving for Clemson? What about all the calls for his head when we were 0-3? Coach Price is well on his way to building a solid program here. We will have ups and downs all year and should really improve in the next couple. Let's not worry about what we cannot control and worry about what we can. LET'S FILL THE SUN BOWL!!!
Posted by: Cart Before the Horse | October 16, 2008 at 08:58 AM
How bout filling the Sun Bowl for next home game?
Just take one game at a time. Miners by 2 points this Saturday. 4-0 in CUSA.
Posted by: Superminer | October 16, 2008 at 09:25 AM
It looks like former Raiders coach is the leading candidate for that job.
Posted by: Caesar | October 18, 2008 at 12:41 AM
It looks like former Raiders coach Lane Kiffin is the leading candidate for that job.
Posted by: Caesar | October 18, 2008 at 12:41 AM