BC Not Big Time

A belated commentary on the state of the Boston College football program.

The school recently hired a new football coach to replace the departed Tom O'Brien. News of O'Brien's jumping ship to ACC rival NC State surely made the Super Fans jump with joy. No more inexplicable losses to lesser opponents. Goodbye to that conservative, boring offense. Good riddance to O'Brien's no nonsense, no fun culture. No more trips to small market Charlotte, NC for the Car Quest Bowl or Car Care Bowl or Car Wash Bowl. Nope. It's time for a new era for college football in Chestnut Hill. Boston College is a program on the rise. After escaping from the Big East to join the ACC and pouring tons of money into a new athletics facility (all for its football program), it was only logical that the school go out and reel in a big time football coach. A sexy name that will lure recruits and national attention to Chestnut Hill. It's a new era for college athletics in New England....

It's The Jeff Jagodzinski Era.

EH.

The problem with BC is that they want to be a big time football program. They joined the ACC for one reason and one reason only: to make more money on the football program. However, there is a stark reality that the administration fails to understand. Boston College does not have what it takes to be a contender. The school doesn't have the size or the community support to be an elite program. Year after year, Bowl committees pass on the Eagles in favor of conference rivals with worse records because BC can't generate enough tickets sales. Boston College simply doesn't garner the same support from the surrounding community that most other ACC schools do. However, the even bigger problem is the program can't attract the elite talent to play football at Boston College.

It's an uphill battle to build a consistent winner in such an environment. And if anything can be said about the Eagles it's that they have been amazingly consistent. They boast the longest bowl winning streak in the nation. Accomplishments like that, if nothing else, demonstrate that Tom O'Brien was taken for granted as head coach. Boston College is not on an even playing with most other schools in the ACC when it comes to recruiting. The academic requirements at Boston College weed out many of the top high school players. Yet instead of finishing near the bottom of the ACC with the likes of Duke (a school that runs into the same recruiting challenges), BC has consistently been able to compete with Virginia Tech, Florida State, and Miami. Whether the Big East or the ACC, the Eagles have finished in the top half of the conference standings year in and year out. They do it with less talent than most of the teams they play against. They win because they are well coached.

So now Tom O'Brien is gone. Likely frustrated by his low salary and tired of the lack of respect he and the program received from both fans and foes. The administration at BC was also ready to move on. The coach had taken the team as far he could and the school didn't hide their displeasure with that fact the O'Brien wasn't much involved (let alone seen) on campus. It was time for a change.

The coaching search was on. You heard names like Mark Whipple, Steve Mariucci, Kevin Gilbride, Jim Fassell, and even Doug Flutie. When the dust settled, BC decided on a cheaper....oh, excuse me....an up and coming, lesser named coach to lead its football program.

Boston College needed to shell out some cash for a more established coach to lead the program. If the administration really believes that BC football is among the elite then you need a name that can compete with the Butch Davis' and Charlie Weiss' of the world. Now maybe Jagodzinski and the "very dynamic offense" he is promising to bring to Chestnut Hill will attract some top notch talent, but that remains to be seen. While Notre Dame immediately became a force on the recruiting trail simply by hiring a known commodity as coach, it will take time for Jagodzinski and BC establish themselves. During that time, Butch Davis will be building a powerhouse at UNC, Miami and Florida State are more likely to turn their programs around than fall flat, and O'Brien will build a consistent winner at NC State.

Boston College needed to attract more talented recruits to the program. They needed to draw more attention to collegiate athletics in the Boston area. They needed to create a buzz around the football program. They needed an identity to distinguish themselves among the crowd in the ACC.

They needed a Name.