Which Coach Are You Most Interested in Hearing From at Big 12 Media Days?
With Big 12 Media Days right around the corner, the Heartland College Sports crew goes around the table to discuss a some of the bigger issues that will be discussed in Frisco, Texas.
Which Big 12 coach are you most excited and interested in hearing from at Media Days?
Matthew Postins: If this were a postgame question, I would say TCU’s Gary Patterson, because Gary is good for 15 minutes of stream-of-consciousness in a hoarse voice. But this coming week in Frisco? I’d say I’m most anxious to hear from West Virginia’s Dana Holgorsen. Plenty of expectations have been attached to the Mountaineers this year and while he’s locked in with his contract for the next several years, 2018 could be a litmus test on Holgorsen’s long-term tenure at West Virginia. He’s going to get a lot of questions about Will Grier, about his defense (which has to get better) and those pesky expectations. He need to put it together in 2018. I’m eager to hear what he has to say — especially after the third Red Bull.
Derek Duke: There will be plenty of chit chat at Big 12 media days this year. I myself am having football withdrawals so maybe I am a little crazy for saying this. There are three coaches I look forward to hearing from the most. Dana Holgorsen, David Beaty and Kliff Kingsbury. Why these three and not Tom Herman, Lincoln Riley or Bill Snyder? These three coaches have the most to lose heading into the season. You can make a serious argument that all three are on the hot seat this season and if they don’t live up to expectations, there may be no 2019 Big 12 media days for them. First off, Dana Holgorsen must get it done this season. This program has been hungry for success and the stars must align this year especially with the best quarterback in the conference leading the way. For Kliff, is a bowl game enough to keep his job? Tech has become stale since Mike Leach left long ago and it appears that getting to a bowl game has been the ceiling for this program under Kliff lately. Lastly, Kansas head coach David Beaty. He is heading into year four and what progress has been made? Last year they weren’t even competitive in the conference games and this is the final stand for David Beaty if he wants to stick around.
Cameron Brock: I would like to hear from Lincoln Riley. His high school coach thought he would work for NASA. Mike Leach saw his brilliance and cut him to offer a staff position. Riley is obviously well educated and incredibly intelligent. I could care less if the conversation is about football. I honestly just want to have a conversation with him. At his presser, I look forward to hearing him brush off the “You don’t have Baker anymore questions”. He will do this comfortably and with ease. At the breakout sessions, I would love to hear a Leach story from him. Leach stories are always fun to hear about. One of my favorites is when Leach talked to a high school coach about Westwern European Politics. That was hilarious.
Pete Mundo: Dana Holgorsen. With the Mountaineers gearing up for a season where they have a potential Heisman contender at quarterback and possibly the best offense in the Power 5, I want to see that fire and a little more swagger out of the West Virginia head coach. I’d love to see that attitude of, “We expect to win the Big 12 Championship this year and anything less than an appearance in Arlington in early December will be a let down.” That killer instinct feels like it is sometimes missing from Holgorsen. It will not only do his program some good, but I believe the WVU fan base is dying to see that kind of outward confidence from their head coach. I’m also curious to see which head coaches, outside of Gary Patterson, become the great defenders of the Big 12 Conference. As new head coaches last year, Lincoln Riley and Tom Herman couldn’t really do that. Does that change as they now have one year under their belts?
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