God And The Power 5

baylor

Amazing how $7 million can make someone (not me) a fan of another team so quickly.

When Matt Rhule took over the head coaching job at Baylor, one of the reasons he gave was that he was called to accept the position because of his faith.

That kind of stunned the people who knew him at Temple over nearly the last 10 years because no one had ever heard him mention his “faith” or “God” in a public statement in any of his press conferences at the Edberg-Olson Football Complex.

Many had just written off the comment as “playing to the audience.” That said, in his first press conference at Temple University, was his statement of “wanting Bill (Bradshaw) to allow me to sign a 15-year contract” also playing to the crowd?

Probably.

Still, I could see God listening to all of this and giving the Dikembe Motoembo “no” waving finger to Rhule on both counts.

That begs the question. How come God has never called for one of these big-time coaches to come help a lesser school than a Power 5 one?

You know, the same God who might agree with the Pope on this:

impossible

To me, God is the Being who says to go help the weaker become stronger.

In college football, that means telling the big-time coach to go help the G5 team, not the P5 team.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think so.

The photo of Matt Rhule cheering for the Baylor basketball team does not sit well with me, not because I wish him ill but because it represents the perfect illustration of power and money over weakness and poverty.

It is amazing how $7 million dollars makes one a fan of another team so quickly.

I would like to think that if I was offered $7 million tomorrow to be a fan of, say, Alabama and reject my fandom of Temple that I would say no and I am fairly confident no amount of money could make me reject  the team I love.

God must love the Power 5 over the Group of 5. I’m still waiting (hell, praying) for the first photo of Nick Saban or Dabo Sweeney saying at a press conference that they have been called to a school like Temple or Navy because God called  them to go there.

Because God gave me common sense, I will not hold my breath but I would love to, err, God-willing live long enough to see that day.

Sunday: Recruiting Thoughts

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15 thoughts on “God And The Power 5

  1. Coaches will root for whatever school happens to be paying them at the time. Coach Collins was all-in for the Gators of Florida, until he wasn’t. That’s just the nature of this business. Now, your points on Matt Rhule and how he become much more vocal about his faith when a Christian university began paying him $7M/year, that seems a bit too convenient. Not saying he always hasn’t been devout, but you can’t start wearing your faith on you sleeve overnight. You just come off as phony…

  2. I don’t recall any public utterances of faith from previous Baylor coaches. Last big time coach anywhere who mixed faith and football in speaking was Gerry Faust when he got to ND (right from Moeller HS IIRCC). Nick Saban is very open about practicing his religion and has donated large sums to the Neumann Center on campus at Tuscaloosa, but he doesn’t preach faith.

  3. Matt has a phone system with caller ID that announces the caller: “ring ring,,,call from…seven million dollars.”

  4. Well said. I totally agree with you.  Rabbi Dick White, Temple 61

    Sent from my Galaxy Tab® A

  5. Well Mike, now you’ve done it. You got me going on this faith thing. In general, faith can be so misused and harmful if it isn’t truthful (and even then many people get suckered in to deviant uses of faith). Yeah, I never remember Rhule being so religious oriented. If he was but didn’t braodcast it at Temple (did he think it would not go over well?) but now he can let it all hang out at a religious school (you know, the one that just had major immoral problems), so be it. I really don’t care because he’s not at Temple anymore! Now I’m just interested in how well Collins is going to do.

  6. Matt Rhule is a phony. I hope Baylor loses every single game he coaches.

  7. Slight detractor here. Any coach will instantly change all of their accounts and twitter wallpaper once they accept a new job. Heck, Collins did that too. Temple was all over his account within a day. We all would have raised eye brows if he didn’t.

    Was Rhule giving lines at Temple and doing so again at Baylor? Yes, and he should. If his goal is to one day coach in the NFL then that’s what he will work toward. It’s just part of the college football industry.

    Few schools have genuine lifetime Paterno’s. I more blame the BOT for not creating a better environment to retain talent than I do seeing the talent go.

  8. For me the most shocking thing about him leaving is how well he hid the fact that he was going. At the end of the bowl game he said that he and the rest of the coaches were immediately hitting the recruiting trail. At least with Addazio and Golden, there always was a feeling that they were going to leave at the first opportunity. Rhule, on the other hand, really sold the idea that he loved TU and Philly and had found a home. I know I won’t be fooled again and know that if Collins has even a modicum of success he’ll be gone in a heartbeat.

    • It’s college football 2017. Extensions are worth less than the paper they’re printed on. I don’t think Temple did anything to ‘lose’ Rhule; it’s the disparity in the P5/G5 structure that did it in, as well as the ‘business’ aspect of CFB.

      Joe P.

  9. A little off topic, but did they announce when the spring game is yet?

  10. I don’t see how a real Christian can go to that place in Whacko.

  11. No matter what these coaches say, coaching is a job. The best coaches are salesmen, that’s how they recruit. Rhule is no different, he said a lot of stuff that looks stupid now but he was just doing what they all do, sell. I hold no hostility towards Rhule, he did a good job here. I’ve moved on to the next chapter with coach Collins.

  12. And we all know the man will be out of town in a couple years when the first P5 offer is received, even if it’s Kansas or Iowa State. So if that happen, it means he had a couple good years while the Owls won a lot of games and drew attention.

    Looking at the positives, it means a coach can come to N Phila and win with enough splash to get offers at the next level. It also means the TU AD has a good feel for hiring coaches.

    Now win a bowl game !!!

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