Divulging search news good for Clemson fans

By Marc Hudgens  |   Sunday, November 16, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

Clemson Tigers
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Wow, what a difference a week makes.

That, and a handy flight-tracking Web site.

Until this past Tuesday, not a peep was heard out of Clemson University about its head coaching search since ex-skipper Tommy Bowden’s forced resignation Oct. 13. Athletic director Terry Don Phillips, like most in his position, preferred it that way so as not to distract the team from the rest of the season; additionally, he didn't want to get any prospects in potential hot water with their bosses.

But things changed drastically Tuesday, when it was discovered that Phillips flew to Oklahoma City and interviewed Sooners defensive coordinator Brent Venables. Then, this past Thursday, folks found out that Phillips interviewed former Oakland Raiders head coach and ex-USC offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator Lane Kiffin, but the meeting actually took place the prior week. On Friday, news broke that Phillips would be interviewing Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster over the weekend.

Tiger message boards were abuzz as fans were glued to FlightAware.com, which they used to track Phillips’ traverses.

When I checked out the site Friday, I saw that Clemson’s plane traveled to Louisville, Ky., leading me to believe that could be the Foster interview (Foster is a Kentucky native). A later blip on the site’s radar briefly showed a scheduled flight from Louisville to Lawrence, Kan., but that trip was apparently canceled.

Flight tracking aside, news breaking on Clemson’s coaching search was good for the fans. Until Tuesday, Tigers fans were driving each other nuts with speculation and rumor, and last week’s scoops helped quell much of that by putting some meat on the bones.

The news was so huge that there was little talk of Clemson’s then-upcoming game with Duke, in which the Tigers won handily 31-7. But given the complete flop that was this season and that many had subsequently (and understandably) given up several weeks ago, few really cared about the Duke game and preferred to put this ugly campaign behind them and move on to a new coach.

If last week is any indication, this week will be just as interesting on the coaching search front; after all, it’s unlikely Phillips will stop with only three interviews in the bag.
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About Marc Hudgens

Marc Hudgens has been with RealFootball365 since 2007, covering college football, specifically Clemson and Oregon. He also writes for SouthernPigskin.com covering the ACC. He enjoys the acidic wit of Hunter S. Thompson, is a freelance graphic designer and has written several screenplays. He ...
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