Dave Sez

Grobe Staying Put?

The iron couldn't be hotter. Jim Grobe had (is having) a legendary year at Wake Forest, he was unanimously voted the ACC Coach of the Year and first-tier jobs Alabama and Miami have opened up. Now is the time for Jim Grobe to cash in on the hard work he's done building a program at Wake (and previously at Ohio). But the thing is, Grobe says he's staying. He's made it pretty clear that he has no desire to leave Wake Forest.

How about that?

On one hand, while I'm happy for Wake, I'm disappointed for Grobe. I mean, he's a great coach and by all accounts, he's a great guy. The media loves him because he's friendly, intelligent and sincere without any of that standard coach's veneer. He doesn't schmooze or belittle the media and they love him for it. Shouldn't this guy get a shot at the bigtime? He's winning at Wake Forest, one of the most difficult jobs in all of college football, and he's doing it this year despite a series of injuries at critical positions. The man can flat out coach and should get a chance to try his skills at the very highest level. Wouldn't it be interesting to see what he could do with the talent of an Alabama or Miami? Just imagine what his running schemes could do if his team were not only smarter and better-coached, but bigger and stronger than their opposition. It would be scary.

On the other hand, maybe he's doing the right thing. We instinctively think that coaches should want to trade up, but maybe Grobe is outsmarting us all. Think about it - how many college football coaches get to gracefully end their career? Who retires on their own schedule? Practically no one, that's who. Almost everyone ends up getting fired in the end. The only way around it is to win so much and for so long that you earn Bobby Bowden or George Welsh-type Coach Emeritus status. And very, very few coaches achieve that. Jim Grobe is one of the few to have that chance. I mean, is Wake Forest ever going to hire a better coach? They kept the incredibly mediocre Jim Caldwell for eight years! (BTW, did you know Caldwell is the QB coach for the Indianapolis Colts? I had no idea until l just Googled him.) Just getting Wake to the ACC Championship has probably earned him at least five more no-questions-asked years. If he wins tomorrow, and I think that's highly likely, I think that will damn near earn him lifetime tenure.

Think about. He could leave for Alabama - and they are interested, or were before he made these statements - and fight for his job every single week. You beat Auburn? Great, now beat Tennessee. You won a national championship? Great, now do it again. Bear Bryant would win three in a row with these players. Or he could stay at Wake, a great small school where he is imminently appreciated and have himself a nice, long career that ends when he wants.

Maybe Jim Grobe is even smarter than I thought.