By
Denny O'Brien
©2008 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
MEMPHIS — Conference USA’s
football coaches arrived in Memphis Saturday in anticipation of today’s
annual Football Media Kickoff. It marks a return to the Blues City after
visits to Dallas in 2006 and New Orleans in 2007.
This year conference
officials spared no expense as the event is being held at the
internationally renowned Peabody Hotel, widely considered the South’s
Taj Mahal. Even so, it isn’t the world famous Peabody ducks that are the
biggest draw on this hot July day.
Here’s a preview of
today’s storylines:
Missing in Action
Absent from the media
frenzy will be the familiar drawls of former league coaches Jeff Bower
and Art Briles. Bower was fired last year from Southern Miss, while
Briles bolted Houston for Baylor and the Big XII.
Bower had been the league
monarch since its inception, and he also was a media favorite for his
candid responses and opinions. You never left an interview with Bower
wondering where he stood.
Briles’ Texas twang was
the antithesis of his offensive philosophy. His offenses were as
fast-paced as his speech was slow, and both were so distinct that they
were unmistakably Briles.
With their absence, the
league is beginning to run low on good-ole-boy rhetoric. Thankfully,
Memphis coach Tommy West is still around to pick up the slack.
New Faces
Though Bower and Briles
are gone, there should be no shortage of intriguing characters. New
Southern Methodist coach June Jones is likely the hottest ticket.
Jones is tasked with
rebuilding the Pony Express after taking Hawaii to new heights. The
Warriors stormed into the Bowl Championship Series last year after
finishing the regular season 12-0.
Though not nearly as
intriguing, new coaches Larry Fedora (Southern Miss) and Kevin Sumlin
(Houston) also will command their share of attention. They may not have
the national appeal of Jones, but their teams should finish higher in
the standings this fall.
Expansion Buzz
League expansion has been
a hot topic within the media of late, though none of the conversation
has been driven by the C-USA office. But you can bet it will likely
surface when media members make their rounds with Commissioner Britton
Banowsky and league coaches.
Some of the expansion
conversation can be traced back to East Carolina athletics director
Terry Holland, who is open to exploring a move to 16 in C-USA. The rest
of the fodder is mostly the invention of columnists and fans in dire
need of a football fix.
Prediction: The message
from the C-USA brass tomorrow will render all previous expansion banter
as moot.
Pinkney and Slate
Quarterback Patrick
Pinkney and defensive end Zach Slate are accompanying East Carolina
coach Skip Holtz to the media hoedown. The honor has traditionally been
reserved for two media-savvy seniors — one from each side of the ball —
who figure to have a significant impact on the upcoming season.
Slate’s name is etched on
nearly every All-Conference USA preseason ballot, and his engine makes
him a media favorite. Though Pinkney isn’t found on any preseason
superlative lists, his presence in Memphis is significant.
He marks the first ECU
quarterback to attend the event since David Garrard last manned the
huddle.
