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Coach Jags issue is no surprise

Jan 5th, 2009 by Bill Burt

Boston College athletic director Gene DeFilippo made a mistake.
He trusted Jeff Jagodzinski, who reportedly said he would not accept an NFL invite to interview as head coach for three years.
“Jags” couldn’t take it any longer. With all of those NFL openings, and more to probably come, he was concerned that the opportunities would dry up.
According to a BC source, DeFilippo was rip-roaring mad, especially finding out through a third-party about the proposed interview. DeFlippo went out on the limb for Jagodzinski, a former offensive coordinator at BC for two years (1997-98), twice.
Once, when Mark Whipple was the overwhelming favorite among BC alums to replace Tom O’Brien in 2007. Whipple, who guided UMass-Amherst to a national championship (1-AA) and Brown to three-year winning record, though, wanted to insert his own staff.
It didn’t happen. Whipple soon was not rehired by the Steelers and has since joined the Eagles as an offensive assistant.
The second was before this season when Coach Jags wanted a reported pay raise, which be all accounts he received with DeFilippo’s strong pushing.
Now he is expected to be interviewed by the New York Jets, probably by Wednesday. DeFilippo will probably announce that Coach Jags will be out and a new search will begin.
Should we be surprised by all of this?
No.
BC is now in the Atlantic Coast Conference because of monetary reasons. And big-time college football is really a minor league for not only playing talent but coaching talent.
Did Coach Jags lie?
Yeah. But let’s be honest. There have been much, much worse lies than this (see coach Nick Saban before leaving the Dolphins).
Coach Jags was eventually going to be going elsewhere in the NFL and DeFilippo knew it.
To be honest, this might be the best thing for BC as it now can focus on a college coach. The program survived the loss of Matt Ryan. It can definitely survive the loss of Coach Jags.

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  • Colin

    “The program survived the loss of Matt Ryan. It can definitely survive the loss of Coach Jags.”

    They survived the loss of Matt Ryan BECAUSE of Coach Jags. Regardless of Jags’ contract stipulations (which are just rumors at this point), BC looks bad by giving him an ultimatum. Shouldn’t an employer encourage career advancement, and doesn’t it make BC look good to have a coach who’s desired by the NFL?

  • http://blogs.eagletribune.com/sports/ Bill Burt

    Colin
    I’m not begrudging Coach Jags. This is all about a money grab. He wants to be an NFL coach. So he lied. I call it a white lie. My guess is college isn’t his thing anymore any way. I’m not so sure he is a great coach. He did nothing special at BC. He was good, I guess. But they didn’t shock anybody and he didn’t outcoach anybody. In fact, to the contrary. That Vanderbilt game was a mess from the BC side. They were 10 points better before the game started no matter who was at QB.

  • Randy

    This goes to show you that BC is not has “big time” as they think they are.
    BC thinks they are the mecca of everything college sports. The sense of entitlement over there has always amazed me. I love to see them dirt kicked in their face anytime I can.
    No one aspires to play sports at BC like the school thinks. Basketball players dream of playing at Duke or UNC, footballers love the idea of playing in front of 100,000 fans at Michigan, or at Notre Dame, USC, you name them, but BC isn’t on the list.

  • http://blogs.eagletribune.com/sports/ Bill Burt

    Randy
    I sense a little angst … I mean, a lot … toward BC. The school is what it is, a very competitive national school with academic standards probably among the toughest in the country for “big-time” sports. You must accept that before trashing them. They are in a conference with some schools of similar ilk (Duke, Vandy, UNC and Virginia). And we know college sports are not treated like they from Maryland on down. They definitely attract over-achievers in basketball compared to their ACC brethren, but in football they are among the best.

  • Wrongo

    Bill,
    Vanderbilt is in the SEC. The problem I have with BC is most likely the same problem the majority of people around here have with BC… I didn’t go there. I don’t care how they do, and truth be told I enjoy it when things go poorly for them. That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the good job that Al Skinner does with the BC hoops team. WOW! He gets more out his players than anyone, which begs the question – when will Al leave?

  • ryan

    i have no problem with boston college, it is the alumni that are the problem. they are a cult. they are arrogant and think that their college is the best. it is filled with the irish catholic elite that could not get into notre dame. you dont see that arrogance at schools like harvard or yale. they look down on schools like merrimack and assumption which are good schools as well. boston college is a good school and that is all that it is and nothing more!!!!!!!!!!!

  • http://blogs.eagletribune.com/sports/ Bill Burt

    Wrongo
    You’re Righto, I goofed. Obviously, BC would not play an ACC team in a bowl game. But you get the point. In fact, Clemson has a great academic reputation as does Georgia Tech and Wake Forest. As for coach Skinner I can’t agree more. His teams always are aggressive on both sides of the floor. As for Ryan’s claims about BC alums, he makes a point. Reputation is they are front-runners. They don’t support basketball as they deserve. That’s enough BC-bashing.

  • Witty

    The big thing about coaching is that if you want to be successful (as an individual coach) you have to move around alot. If there is an opportunity out there you have to take it. Its not a matter of Jags being the right or wrong guy to coach at BC. Its a business. From a business perspective you have to believe as a coach that going on to the NFL is the right thing to do. It is difficult to keep a college coach around for a long time unless they coach attended that school. There is a strong connection between the coach and the tradition at the school. There are few legacy coaches out there like Joe Paterno, and even fewer who have been to the NFL and gone back to a successful college career like Pete Carroll.

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