Here is a clip from DandyDon on the subject. He mentions the pressure of the LSU and AU jobs. Reader comments on the interview:[SIZE=-1] Fisher was asked are you interested in the UNC job.."Yes, very much" What type of program would you run??? good answers Compare the SEC and ACC ...even and balanced, tradition, great players everwhere...blah blah Have you been directly contacted about the job? "no" hmmm (internet buzz with his name) Do you really think you can win at UNC? "yes" Do you think you can handle the pressure to win quickly? Yes...very used to the pressure at LSU..and AU... Jimbo, UNC is probably seeking a coach with Head Coaching Experience? How do you answer that question coach? Why you? I thought he did a great job answering this question... UNC has great facilities and money, but recruiting the top players will be much tougher than he thinks...that is the real problem at UNC...you have to share top talent, with NCSU, Wake Forest, Clemson, Tenn, Virginia, VT, ECU, Duke, and some South Carolina...lots of good players just too many other programs to compete with IHMO... [/SIZE]
I think Butch Davis has already talked with them. I read somewhere that Paul Johnson (Navy) is also on their list. As a side note, my company does business with UNC and we had the opportunity to see their facilities about two years ago. You gotta give Mack Brown credit... their football center, indoor practice facility, stadium renovations were all pushed through and financed while he was there. UNC's stadium holds some 60,000... the setting is quite beautiful. Brown won there, so it can be done. It's not like they don't have the money or fat cat boosters. Getting past the "basketball school" thingy would be the major challenge.
Not a big surprise that colleges in need of a head coach are looking at Fisher. I am surprised he has gone this long without landing a job. I don't know if he will be hired, but the day is coming. He will end up as head coach somewhere. The big question is who will replace him?
He has already turned down offers from Delaware and Mississippi State, so he isn't interested in a coaches graveyard. North Carolina is not one. I think Jimbo is holding out for a good job where he can stick and since he's one of the highest paid assistants in the country at nearly a half million, he can't afford to take a small school offer just to get some head coaching experience. Some good football school will take a chance on him soon, maybe UNC. He'd probably take it. What he really wants is to be head coach at LSU or Auburn. Four or five years with a winning record at UNC could put him in position for one of those jobs.
I think Fisher's big problem here is UNC's recent history. When Mack Brown left, they replaced him with one of his assistants, Torbush, who had no head coaching experience. He failed, so they went and got Bunting, also with no head coaching experience, but a Tarheel grad... UNC's big into the "hire from the fam" thing. He's been a disaster. .... so, they've had two guys in a row from the world of assistants... doubt they'll do it again. Plus, when Roy Williams invites you to his mansion for lunch, you need to have a mansion of your own so he'll be comfortable when he drops by your place.
I am from La...have been in Chapel Hill 10 years. You are spot on regarding the basketball school challenge. :lsup: Even when Brown was here, and UNC was a top 10 team, there was good attendance but very little buzz beyond Saturday. The average person or student around here hardly acknowledges football as sport. The facilities are definitely now a plus. In La., not only is BR abuzz with LSU sports, the entire state is...not the case here. Tailgaiting kind of exists but is not a religion like down in BR. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knockin UNC. And, the challenge for any new coach is going to be to win. But...the culture here is basketball all the way. Not much in the way of a football tradition. I wish Bunting had been able to get a winnng tradition going. He is, by all accounts I have heard, a great guy. I hope someone can do it, though. It would be nice to see some football games here worth attending. Geaux Tigers!
Why wouldn't he go to Delaware? I'd be extremely surprised (and initially disappointed) if he were offered the LSU job. I think he'd be better off at Delaware than UNC. Delware wouldn't pay him what he makes here? I imagine winning at UNC is going to be extremely difficult - the demise of Miami and Florida St is a plus, but Ga Tech, Clemson, Wake, Va Tech, and BC are pretty competitive. I think he'd be better off at a solid mid-major or 1aa school than a mediocre bcs school.
