Brett McMurphy of AOL Fanhouse did a report card of all new coaches in their opening games and Joker graded out pretty good.
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[B]Kentucky’s Joker Phillips: [/B]Before his first game as a head coach, Phillips said he probably would be hugging a toilet somewhere before kickoff. Turns out the only things Phillips hugged last Saturday were his players and the game ball after winning at rival Louisville 23-16. After spending 23 years as an assistant, Phillips’ debut was impressive. Despite joking about his nerves getting the best of him, they never did and the Wildcats followed suit. UK resembled its head coach: cool, calm and collected. [B]Grade: A[/B]
[/QUOTE]I hope Joker keeps his grades up through out the season and the Cats get lucky enough to win the 9 games every one hopes they can win. Lets look at some of the other coaches that are of interest of Cats fans and how they graded out.
[QUOTE][B]Louisville’s Charlie Strong: [/B]Billboards all over town are promoting the Cardinals’ new coach using variations of the word “Strong.” After a shaky start against Kentucky — UL trailed 6-0 after 35 seconds and 20-6 at the half — the Cardinals made some Strong adjustments in the second half. Ultimately, the Cards rally fell short. The cupboard may be low on talent right now at the ‘Ville, but the effort, like their coach, was Strong. Grade:[B] B [/B][/QUOTE][QUOTE][B]Western Kentucky’s Willie Taggart:[/B] This was no way to treat an alum, by making Taggart begin his head coaching career at Nebraska. The Hilltoppers lost 49-10, marking their 21st consecutive loss. Taggart was an outstanding option quarterback at WKU from 1995-98 and showed he still knows a thing or two about establishing a running game. Despite the lopsided defeat, Bobby Rainey rushed for 155 yards against the Cornhuskers’ rush defense that ranked ninth nationally against the run last season.[B] Grade: B[/B][/QUOTE][QUOTE][B]Vanderbilt’s Robbie Caldwell:[/B] In his first game leading the Commodores, the former turkey inseminator’s team outplayed — and outgained — Northwestern, but lost 23-21. The Commodores’ comeback hopes ended when they were penalized for a controversial late hit that allowed Northwestern to run out the clock.[B] Grade: B[/B]
[/QUOTE][QUOTE][B]Tennessee’s Derek Dooley:[/B]Even before Dooley’s debut at Tennessee, he had already gotten SEC commissioner Mike Slive to forget what the former Tennessee coach’s name was. Crippen? Kiper? Kifner? Slive won’t mention Lane Kiffin by name and, if Dooley’s 50-0 victory over Tennessee-Martin is any indication, he’ll never need to. The Vols allowed only three first downs in the rout. Last year, what’s his name guided UT to a 63-7 season-opening win against Western Kentucky only to lose the next week at home to a Pac-10 team. Does history repeat? The Vols and Dooley welcome Oregon to Knoxville on Saturday.[B] Grade: A[/B][/QUOTE][B][URL=”http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2010/09/08/mcmurphys-law-lets-grade-how-the-new-faces-did-in-their-new-p/”]Read Entire Article[/URL][/B]
