They rebuilt Stanford Stadium in the off-season and from the looks of it, the finished product is nothing short of spectacular. Now the Cardinal have to rebuild their football team, which is likely headed for a winless season. Although Walt Harris is in only his second season, he has a new boss in athletic director Bob Bowlsby. And Cardinal Report says Bowlsby might be eyeing Dan McCarney to replace Harris. Bowlsby and McCarney, who announced this week that he would be stepping down as Iowa State coach at the end of the season, developed a friendship back in 2000 through former Iowa assistant Bob Elliott, now the defensive coordinator at San Diego State. McCarney and Elliott were teammates at Iowa and have been friends ever since. Frankly, this appears to be a bit of a longshot, but it's worth monitoring. A word of thanks to Image of Sport for the terrific shots of the new Stanford Stadium and Harris. Image of Sport is a premium photo service. If you are in the publishing business or just like top-notch photography, take a look at their gallery.
1 comment:
McCarney actually wouldn't be a bad pick - he successfully brought a moribund, uncompetitive football program to uncharted waters: five bowl games, big, consistent wins over Nebraska and Iowa, all with the restriction of the 12th ranked football budget in the Big 12.
Stanford has the restriction of academics (another area McCarney was successful at) and is starting at dead for a football program, but its financial resources are unlimited. McCarney could probably navigate Stanford back to a few bowl games and make it an attractive job for a bigger name coach.
Right now, Stanford has a five-year graveyard and a couple of coaching casualties that are strikes against it. There are a ton of good openings right now, so McCarney, crony or not, is worth a look.
His exuberance would, if nothing else, be a refreshing change from the "grumpy accountant" demeanor of Harris.
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