Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.
This got me to thinking: If these two guys, who haven't even coached a game at their respective schools yet, have these URLs already out there, what about some of the nation's top coaches? Let's run down the latest AP top 10, while obviously skipping Cincinnati, which has no coach at the moment:
No. 1 Alabama: FireNickSaban.com
Status: Placeholder page.
Registrant: Domains by Proxy, Inc.
Could very well be that Alabama snatched this one up via this proxy group, but they aren't listed as the registrant. Tough to tell.
No. 2 Texas: FireMackBrown.com
Status: Placeholder page.
Registrant: Above.com Domain Privacy.
Same situation as Alabama. Unclear who actually owns this, although unlike the Bama one, this is an overseas group.
No. 3 TCU: FireGaryPatterson.com
Status: Placeholder page.
Registrant: Domains by Proxy, Inc.
No. 4 Cincinnati: No Coach.
No. 5 Florida: FireUrbanMeyer.com
Status: Placeholder page.
Registrant: University Athletic Association (aka Florida's athletic department).
No. 6 Boise State: FireChrisPetersen.com
Status: Available for purchase.
Registrant: None.
I suppose things have gone so well, they'd never dream of wanting to fire the guy.
No. 7 Oregon: FireChipKelly.com
Status: Up and running, albeit abandoned since early season turmoil.
Registrant: Ken Swartwout
This appears to have been formed in the aftermath of the Boise State debacle to open the season. It looks like a word hasn't been written since maybe a week after the win over Utah. I mean, they are in the Rose Bowl.
No. 8 Ohio State: FireJimTressel.com
Status: Up and running, but only as a preemptive strike against those who actually would want Tressel fired. (Great mocking line of "This domain is parked to keep it out of the hands of folks who shouldn't be trusted with kitchen utensils, let alone web sites.")
Registrant: Chris Stassen
Despite some groaning about the offense this season, they are in the Rose Bowl, and this fan seems to want to protect the honor of the Sweater.
No. 9 Georgia Tech: FirePaulJohnson.com
Status: Up and running. Another fan defending his coach. The site reads: "Hopefully this site will never be active."
Registrant: Domains by Proxy, Inc.
No. 10 Iowa: FireKirkFerentz.com
Status: Redirects to Iowa's official athletics page.
Registrant: University of Iowa Athletics
Savvy to have it redirect to their site. Surprised that if other schools at the top do own their domains using that Domains by Proxy, Inc. that they don't do the same.
In case you wondered, FireTurnerGill.com is registered to an individual in Athens, Georgia while FireBrianKelly.com was registered through a private proxy group earlier this year. When I reached Iowa Associate Athletic Director for External Affairs Rick Klatt by phone on Monday he described what the Hawkeyes do as "an act of courtesy" for a "minimal investment," which makes perfect sense. As Klatt told me, it probably wouldn't stop a disgruntled fan from just creating another site, but it's a public show of support for the staff.
All registration information was pulled via whois.domaintools.com.
This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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Turner Gill was a name that got thrown around for vacancies especially with the lack of Black Coaches in the NCAA, but his resume may not live up to the hype.
As the site mentions: He is 20-30 with only 1 winning season in 4 years. He’s coming off a 5-7 (3-5) season… IN THE MAC. The conference has produced some solid names, but usually after successful seasons.
While I do NOT think Kansas is a premiere destination Football school by any means they could have parlayed their recent success into a bigger hire than this.
It may work, who knows, but there was a longer list of potential hires than just Turner Gill out there worth looking at. No need to make such a rapid hire when Gill would have still been there.
The site mentions Harbaugh repeatedly… but Stanford to Kansas is not a wise career choice and actually just a sideways move. Harbaugh should hold out for the right job when it comes along and it might even be in the NFL.
If I were the Kansas AD, I would have gone with Edsall or Holtz.
by XLI on Dec 14, 2009 5:08 PM EST reply actions
Honestly people. Don’t frequent these sites. These weren’t set up by fellow fans ‘that just couldn’t take it anymore’. As you can see they are set up way in advance in the hopes that if a coach stinks, you will find them and frequent them so they can start generating ad revenue. Lazy people have officially found an easier way to make a cheap buck than welfare.
by umich4life on Dec 14, 2009 5:38 PM EST reply actions
If the coach is bad enough in general, it makes sense to hold onto FireSoandSo.com, as he may get a new job, start to suck there, too… and then someone will be mad enough to pay you for the site. I still own FireCoachK.com, but he seems to be doing fairly well at the moment. I can wait.
by L'etat, c'est moi on Dec 15, 2009 6:06 AM EST reply actions
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