That's a bit much

It is hard to fathom what all happened last week. We know that the UW Huskies were humbled by the Michigan Wolverines. I was looking forward to a good game. I started listening to the game when it was in the second quarter and the score was 17-3. I had other things going on at the time and when I got the game on the radio in my car it was a shock. The game was played on Wolverine terms and the Huskies could never get over the hump and get close enough to make it a good game.

After the game rumors started again that Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh might be in line for a head coaching job in the NFL. That hasn’t happened yet. But it still could, who knows.

What did happen in the coaching ranks has been interesting. Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was let go after 14 seasons 2 Super Bowl appearances and one NFL championship title, numerous division championships and playoff appearances. He has the most victories of any Seahawk coach. At 73 it looks like he was forced out but his energy level is surpassed by no other NFL coach. Carroll has won a NCAA football championship and a NFL championship. He is in elite company.

I know there are some people that look at Carroll and don’t like his hyper excitement when the team succeeds with an interception, touchdown, 4th down defensive stop or blocked field goal but that is who Pete Carroll is. The fans in the stands can get that excited why not a 73 year old football coach who still believes he is 50 and loves to celebrate with his team. Was it the right move? That is hard to tell. Coach Pete still has some energy to get the job done but I’m sure ownership was thinking we need to look to build this team for longer than a couple of years. As a Seahawk fan I’m grateful for what Pete Carroll has accomplished and hope whoever the new leader is can keep it going.

72 year old Nick Saban made a decision that surprised a lot of people by retiring as the Alabama football coach. With seven National championships, six at Alabama Saban cited his age as one reason that it was time to move on with his life and let the Crimson Tide find a new leader. Ever the perfectionist, it is getting more difficult for college coaches to recruit athletes to buy in and fulfill a commitment to play for the team for 3 or 4 years. With the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) payments that athletes can get it is getting harder for coaches to compete when other programs are trying to buy off players with big money from businesses and donors. Love him or hate him a lot of the kids he recruited are living well in the NFL. It’s hard to fault his decision.

Also this week, Bill Belichick was let go as the New England Patriots head coach. Belichick guided the Patriots to 6 Super Bowl victories. The Patriots lost three other Super Bowl games two of those to Eli Manning and the New York Giants. The 71 year old Belichick has had a hard time winning since QB Tom Brady moved on from the Patriots.

Belichick was noteworthy for his press conferences often times questioning the reporters why they would ask such ridiculous questions. Basically saying your job reporting is far less stressful than being on the sideline making decisions about kicking a field goal or trying to gain a couple of yards on 4th and one. Whatever the decision would be part of the Q & A post game. I’m sure the last time many of these reporters may have played a competitive game was in high school if they were lucky. Reporting, playing and coaching are not the same. Trust me!

Belichick and Saban are close friends and both are perfectionists which sometimes makes their jobs difficult. At Belichick’s age it will be interesting to see if he coaches again.

Washington Husky coach Kalen DeBoer will leave Seattle and replace Saban at Alabama. DeBoer’s time at the UW helm was highly successful just coming up short in the National Championship game. His replacement will be Arizona Wildcat Coach Jedd Fisch who turned the Wildcats into winners in his three seasons in Tucson. The Huskies will be playing in the Big Ten next year and Arizona will be part of the Big 12. These two coaches left their posts for bigger opportunities and paychecks. I must say that Coach DeBoer’s travel itinerary will be much easier than Fisch or whoever replaces Fisch in Arizona.

So that is a bit much to talk about this week for sure. And I didn’t even talk about college basketball that would have taken up about the same amount of space. Oh well, maybe next week.

— Dale Anderson is a sports columnist from Ritzville. To contact him, email [email protected].