Four Coaches to Watch in 2008

Without a good coach, your football team is nothing.

In 2007, we saw some amazing coaching (and some amazingly bad coaching). While the entire coaching staff is important, it is ultimately the head coach that makes the calls on everything. Here’s who I think will be interesting to watching in 2008:

Charlie Weis, Notre Dame
After announcing earlier this year that he’d be giving up some of his power on the field to regroup a bit, it will be interesting to see the new head coach dynamic between Coach Weis, his staff, and his players. I think this move is, overall, a good one for the Fighting Irish.

Les Miles, LSU
Who won’t be watching Coach Miles in 2008? The SEC is always rough, and many have voiced opinions the LSU and Miles were overrated in 2007. Having another National Championship Season in 2008 would help to solidify Miles as a top coach in the BCS, not just someone lucky with a talented team.

Rich Rodriguez, Michigan
I’m interested to see the changes afoot at Michigan. I know a lot of people aren’t happy with Coach Rodriguez’s move to the Big Ten for West Virginia, but I’m trying to keep an open mind. He’s completely changing the way the offense works at Michigan (or so, I’m assuming he’ll be doing that), and a big change at one of their major schools could be exactly what the Big Ten needs to kick start their less-than-impressive records in recent years. Someone needs to put tOSU in its place!

Joe Paterno, Penn State
Will he retire? Or, perhaps the more appropriate question is this: Will he be forced to retire? All I know is that as much as I love JoePa, it is time to get Jay Paterno OUT of the system so PSU can actually have a good quarterback again. I’m assuming Coach Paterno wants to go out with a bang, so I think they’ll be playing their hearts out this year – it will be fun to watch him coach.

What coach are you excited to see in 2008?

Picture from WikiCommons.